Lonesome Road

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel scenic overlook
Cape Charles VA

This day was boring as hell,  waking up and departed my hotel and got on the highway, banging out miles all dayand made it to Empora, VA, just outside Norfolk, VA .  This is actually one of the only places outside of Boston where I’ve been able to buy pizza buy the slice.  Anyways, I came here because I wanted to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel.  If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a bridge that turns into a tunnel, than a bridge again, than a tunnel and finally a bridge again.

First stop of the day was Wawa, god bless Wawa.  It was early in the morning though, and I didn’t get my favorite, buffalo bites.  After having stocked up on iced tea, water and filling my gas tank I headed out and rode across the bridge.  At first i was laughing in my helmet because it feels like your just driving out into the ocean, you can’t see the opposite shore.  I wanted to stop at the restaurant / rest stop but it was closed for construction, because of course it was.  The wind was so strong it was blowing the bike around, I was constantly adjusting my body position to fight the wind and stop it from blowing me into other lanes.  A couple trucks have been blown off the bridge due to winds, and after a prolonged length of riding the bike in a straight line while holding a lean angle rarely seen outside of hairpin turns, I can believe it. Coming off the bridge finds you on a small island that’s a bird sanctuary, which is where I took the only picture I took that day.

Part Of The Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel

Now from here it was just north to get home, following US 13 through the rest of Virginia and the entirety of Delaware.  And this is where I've come closest to getting killed on a motorcycle, and I’ve been taken out twice by old women in green cars.  I had been stuck in traffic next to a couple driving a Kia Soul for awhile now.  They weren’t really paying attention and I was keeping my eye on them as traffic didn’t allow me to get away from them. As I’m riding down the road I noticed a dog on the shoulder, I knew that dog was going to do something dumb and started moving over towards the shoulder of the road.  Sure enough that damn dog began to cross this 4 lane road.  Well, behind the Kia was a half ton pickup towing a huge boat, and the couple in the Kia stood on their brakes to not hit the dog. The pickup swerved into the lane I was previously occupying, i remember riding on the shoulder and seeing the truck’s front tire in my peripheral vision.  If I hadn’t been paying attention, I would have at least been seriously hurt if not worse.  At the next light another guy on a cruiser caught up with me and we had a short conversation.  He said he was sure I was dead; he had saw what happened and just assumed the truck had rolled over me.  I was a bit shaken and stopped at a rather large convenience store for a smoke, apply sunscreen and to get some water, you can never drink enough water.

The rest of day was spent on the highway, picking up the New Jersey turnpike and only stopping for gas.  Met another kid who was riding home from PA on a Dual sport, kid was really ringing the thing out on the turnpike.  Got stuck in a traffic snarl up somewhere near NYC just after the Meadowlands in New Jersey. I had planned to take 287 to avoid the NYC traffic, but missed my turn to avoid NYC and ended up following 95 too close to the city. I did eventually make my way to 287 to avoid riding in NYC again, which still definitely saved me some time, crossing the Hudson river on the Tappen Zee bridge, like I’ve done before and after what happened on my way out will do from now on, except for that time my girlfriend wanted to visit NYC on the way home from a show in NJ, but thats not bike related. A little more riding and I pulled off in White Plains, NY just to see where I was, its weird, i’ve inadvertently stopped at this same exit off 287 north multiple times on multiple trips. I don’t remember the number or the area, but I get off and its “OH, I’m here again” It was about 6 or 7, which is when I usually grab a hotel for the night, but I was only 3 hours from home, getting a hotel would be dumb, may as well tough it out and make it home. I called my girlfriend to let her know the plan and got back on the road.

At some point in Connecticut way after dark I realized I had over 200 miles on my current tank of gas and didn’t have a low fuel light on, it usually comes on about 180ish miles.  Not trusting 16 year old Italian electrics, and not wanting to run out of gas on the side of I-95 in the dark I pulled off in Niantic.  Nope, turns out the Ducati got really good gas millage just banging out highway miles, I think my quick math said 55mpg.  I continued the slog home passing through the rest of Connecticut, all of Rhode Island and to my apartment without incident.  I had just ridden over 600 miles in one day after leaving my hotel about 7am, arriving home at about 11pm.  I got off the bike and flopped down in the grass, calling my girlfriend to let her know I wasn’t dead and just laid there for a bit, my legs felt like jelly from being semi tucked almost all day. I finally built up the will to carry the bags up the three story flight to my apartment, leaving the bike parked on the street and uncovered. I laid down on my couch and immeaditly passed out in my gear, waking up in the middle of the night to take my armored pants off and go to bed.

This is one of, if not, my favorite trip I’ve taken on a bike so far.  Would I do it again? Fuck yes; I’d change some things though.  I’d eat from local restaurants more than twice.  I also wouldn’t stick entirely to the BRP.  I’m glad I did it, but there are sections that are boring, and a lot of the roads surrounding it are a lot more fun and interesting.  I’d really enjoy just getting a cabin and just riding around the surrounding area, having a home base to work from.  I wouldn’t bother with Tail of the Dragon again, unless they can promise me better stickers.  But I did it, I have the pictures from Killboy to prove it.  But if I did, I’d definitely hit it in the morning midweek like I did.  I only had one slow rider and they pulled off to let me pass.  I’d also make sure my bike was in better condition.  When I got home my rear tire was shot and I was almost a quart low on oil.  I’m looking forward to the 2021 riding season.  Hopefully with COVID will clear up and some better trips are ahead.