Oklahoma City

I have neglected to update my blog over the last 968 miles. My last real post was in Bristol Virginia and even then I was really too tired to write much. There wasn't much to write about in Virgina. I traveled through the Shenandoah valley and the wind really beat me up. It was all I could do to keep the bike upright. The wind blew me all over the road and every time I had to pass a big rig or when one passed me it was alway a white knuckle adventure.

Exhausted, we arrived in Bristol Virgina. I did not do any sightseeing. I went directly to the hot tub and took a soak. The next day I rode out separate from the girls. I was headed for the Dragon's Tail (Route 129 between Tennessee and North Carolina. The girls headed straight for Nashville Tennessee. The ride was perfect. It was sunny and very little wind. I met a group of bikers outside the local Harley dealership who gave me some helpful hints on riding the dragon's tail. They said to stay away from the center line because the guys on crotch rockets often went over the center line. This was very good advice as this is exactly what happened.



When I caught up with the girls at Nashville they had some interesting pictures to show me. They had snuck into the Bristol Motor Speedway and took some pictures of the track. While in Nashville we went to the Grand Ole Oprey, the main venue for country singing. Last year the Grand Ole Oprey was flooded and they just completed the restoration. We took the tour and headed out for the Country Music Hall of Fame. As we were driving the radio emergency system came on and instructed us to seek immediate shelter for an impending tornado. We got off the road and went into our hotel room. 5 minutes later it came through and knocked out the power to our hotel. Sue got stuck for 10 minutes in the elevator. That explains why no blogging in Tennessee.

The next day we rode to Arkansas. It was a pleasant albeit uneventful ride. Pretty boring countryside. We stayed on post at Little Rock Air Force base where we got a chance to catch up with some of our extended Air Force Family. We hung out with the Browns (Sans Elijah) and enjoyed the nice amenities that an active base has to offer.

Today we set a goal to make it to Elk City Oklahoma. But after a day of getting pounded by the wind we settled on Oklahoma City. I am even more exhausted today than after the Shenandoah ride. We are ordering room service and we will take a shorter ride tomorrow to Amarillo Texas.