Northern States Tour – Day 26

Day’s distance: 331 miles
Total trip distance: 5,786 miles

I got a very early start, before dawn, in order to take advantage of a break in the rain and to not have to fight commute traffic. I avoided most traffic but the rain started up again in Norfolk and showers persisted throughout the early afternoon along my entire route. Temperatures were in the high 60’s and 70’s.

I took two interstates to get to Hwy 58, but then I stayed on Hwy 58 for the entire day. It was all two-lane each direction and when it wasn’t going through a built up area, it looked like the photo below – not too scenic, not very hilly, not very curvy. I think I stopped for coffee three times, it was that exciting.

I hit a milestone on the bike today – 50,000 miles! That represents some very good times and a few epic adventures across 43 different states.

I didn’t take many photos today due to a combination of bad weather and uninspiring landscape. However, as Hwy 58 reaches Stuart, the landscape becomes more interesting quickly.  Below is a vantage point called Lover’s Leap. It’s a popular viewpoint on Hwy 58 …

and just seven miles from the motorcycle only campground.

I arrived in the afternoon and joined others at the camp in motorcycle related conversation. It turns out that just this last weekend, the Twin Valley Riders Club held a rally here at Willville. These were some of the folks I met over Memorial Day weekend last year while camping here. Too bad I missed them  🙁

I waited until roughly 5pm to set up my tent to ensure the rain had stopped for the day.

At that point, five of us rode into Stuart for dinner at the Stuart Family Restaurant. The skies were clearing up quickly and the fried chicken dinner was quite good. This day was just getting better!

There should be more photos tomorrow as I travel into West Virginia. The forecast is warmer and drier as I think I’m finally out of the rain for the next week.  🙂