Skyline Drive

The Sunday of Labor Day weekend was the next ride.  We decided to take Baby up on Skyline Drive. 

It was a beautiful clear morning, and the temperature was in the 50s.  It was supposed to get up into the mid 80s later in the day, so we were deciding what to wear.  We figured t-shirts underneath leather jackets.  My jacket has vents which are very handy.  Since we stopped at East Coast Harley the day before on the way home form moving Katie, I bought a rag with a sweatband and a woven leather lanyard for my glasses.  I wore all that and figured that I could unzip my jacket part of the way later in the day if I got too warm. 

That all briefed well.  On our way out to Front Royal, the northern starting point of Skyline Drive, I was having trouble with both the lanyard and the rag. 

I wear bi-focals and even though they are progressive lenses, they still have to sit on my face correctly, and the leather lanyard was so stiff that with the helmet on, it put pressure on the bows to pull my glasses just up off my nose and I was not seeing the way I was supposed to out of my glasses.  No matter how I adjusted, I couldn't get them positioned right. 

The next thing was with the rag.  I was happy to have it because I didn't realize how nippy 50 degrees can get at 55-65 mph.  The problem was the sweatband was thick enough that it changed my helmet size and my helmet was fitting too tight.  I was starting to get a headache.  About halfway to Front Royal, I tapped Karl on the shoulder and asked for a break so I could make some adjustments.  Those adjustments were the rag and the lanyard both into the saddlebag.

I noticed on this cool morning that when we stopped for traffic lights, I fogged up my visor, so I'd lift it a couple notches whenever we stopped.  That wasn't a problem on the first ride two days earlier when it was
over 90 degrees out.

We got to the starting point, and paid our park entrance fee.  Motorcycles get a bit of a break.  It's only $8.00 for a bike (as opposed to $10.00 for a car) to get into the park, and with the receipt, we could re-enter the park for up to a week.  That's good to know.  It helps for making plans for future rides. 

We got to the first Welcome Center about four miles into the park.  There were quite a few bikers in the parking lot.  We parked near the rest of them.  There was a couple from Ontario doing some serious biking.  They were obviously planning to camp somewhere, and they were on two different bikes.  He had a Harley davidson Road King touring bike, and she had a Harley Davidson Heritage Classic.  When I saw how low her seat was on her bike, I thought for the first time, "Maybe I can get a bike that fits me."  (I can't straddle the Fatboy and have both feet on the ground.  It's way too much bike for me to handle.)

I admire lady bikers who have their own ride.  One of my neighbors in MI who Karl knew growing up told me that her first car was a motorcycle.  Since I didn't know her back when she was a kid and in college, I hadn't ever thought of her riding her own bike.  I thought it was pretty cool, and inspiration for me to learn to drive one.  My friend told me that she used to love it when she'd walk in to class with ther helmet and people would ask, "Who'd you ride with?"  She enjoyed the look on their faces when she said, "Me." 

Now having said all that, it seems like it's overwhelming at first.  With both hands and feet doing stuff.  It will take some getting used to.  That's why I think when I'm ready, I'll take the ladies only safety and licensing course. 

After a good stretch and a bit of time off the bike, we hopped back on and got started.  It was warming up nicely - now in the the 60s, but in the shade it was still nippy.  My hands did not sweat in the gloves on that day. 

Skyline Drive is such a beautiful place to ride.  So many scenic overlooks nto the Shenandoah Valley.  Lots of bikers enjoy the ride and on a beautiful day like that day, there were quite a few on the road.  Always a friendly lot, bikers always acknowledge each other with a wave when out riding.  Even the passengers wave.  I am very much looking forward to Skyline Drive again in October when the fall colors are at their peak.  I'm trying to talk Karl into taking a day off in the middle of the week so it will be less crowded.

Park speed limit is 35 mph, and it's 80 miles from Front Royal to the other end in Lexington.  There is another entrance/exit at about 1/3 of the war from Front Royal.  As we neared that place, Karl asked me how I was doing and did I want to get off there?  I told him no, let's keep going.  So he decided to go all the way to Big Sky Meadow, which is about the halfway point and we'd eat at the restaurant there. 

That was a nice long break.  While there, Karl asked if I wanted to go on or turn around and go back.  I thought about it, and I decided that Lexington was just too ambitious for my second day out.  If we went all the way to Lexington, we'd have to find a place to stay overnight because my backside would not be able to manage the ride home from there.  So we turned around and went back the way we came and decided to get off in the middle.

I'm so glad we did.  We took a break at that park exit and headed home via some byways.  It was about 10 degrees warmer at the bottom of the mountain than it was at the top.  But we stayed cool enough with the vents in our jackets. 

By the time we got to Nokesville, I needed a break and we stopped at a little corner store and had some Dove Bars.  That day was also the first time I'd ever seen a woman driving a crotch rocket.  Usually guys in their 20s ride those.  She and two guys stopped to buy gas at the corner store.

We finished our ice cream and then made the final push home.  It had been a 9 hour day of riding.  All in all, it was a great day.  I think the next time we do Skyline Drive, we'll make an overnighter out of it and ride the entire length of it.  Maybe I'll find a nice Bed and Breakfast in Lexington.

Neither one of us felt like cooking, so we ate out and took Kurt with us.