From Upsate NY, through Eastern Pennsylvania

Mountain along a river.

Tamaqua, PA.  Typical PA coalmining town.

Another scene of Tamaqua.

Bridge - McAdoo PA I think.

Too bad I didn't get any photos along the route from PA 309 swooping down from the Pocanos into the LeHigh valley. The view was breathtaking, especially from the vantage point on a bike.

Seneca Rocks WV BMW /5 Motorcycle Rally

Staunton, Virginia - Birthplace of Woodrow Wilson

View from Woodrow Wilson's Birthplace

Woodrow WIlson's Private Car.

Staunton, Virginia - Car show

Too bad there weren't any classic bikes at this car show.  I guess my BMW /5, being a '72 is sort of a classic in itself.

Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia

Afton Lookout

Rockpoint Lookout

Shenandoah Valley

Too bad I didn't get to enjoy more of Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway.  When I stopped in Buena Vista, Virginia, the next day was cold, foggy and rainy, which would have meant much worse conditions on the parkway.  I wisely stuck to the valley below.  I ran into some pretty record cold temperatures coming into North Carolina.  I even had to buy a better set of gloves because the ones I had weren't waterproof and my hands were getting very wet and cold.  I could also feel myself shivering from the cold.  Imagine that in the middle of July, this far South.

Again I missed out on some great photo opportunities.  In South Western NC, towards the Tennessee border, there are some amazing gorges with lots of white water rafting.  I guess I was too busy enjoying the ride, to stop and take pictures.

 45th Annual ALPCA convention, Chattanooga, Tenn

Wipeout!

Japanese Crotch Rocket burnt beyond recognition

Kinney's Garage which charged me hefty towing and storage fees - as if I had any choice in the matter.

Yes, after the ALPCA convention, I managed to wipe out just outside of Chattanooga.  About as far away from home as I could get.  I took a curve too fast, went off the edge and tumbled into a ditch.  Aargh!  With my bike a wreck, I had no choice but to wait for a tow-truck.  I surveyed the damaged of my bike.  The headlight was smushed - no doubt it would need to be straightened out and rewired.  Then the right valve cover was broken, as I went down.  That would have to be replaced as well.  This was Saturday afternoon and obviously no bike shop would be open for service until Monday.  Besides, I had no clue if there was a BMW dealership in the area.

I was okay, but my left leg was rather badly sprained.  T  Besides I was in no condition to continue riding.  Without any medical coverage, I decided to call off the ambulance because I know how damn expensive medical bills can be.  I could still walk more or less okay - I'm sure it was just a pulled muscle.

Anyway, Kinney's garage towed my bike to their lot because I had no idea where any BMW dealer could be found in Chattanooga.  I called George Love, who had a display of motorcycle plates at the Chattanooga convention - maybe he would know of a dealer.  It turns out he knew of a Honda Dealer, who in turn knew of a BMW dealer who was more of a hobbyist and not well advertised.  That seemed just the kind of guy I needed to see anyway, someone with older bikes.  After settling that, I spotted this burned out crotch-rocket in their lot.  Man, I supposed things could have been worse.  They went on to explain that some black guy bought the bike on a bad check, pulled a foolish stunt while riding, and went through the window of a Honda dealership.  He didn't survive, and needless to say, nor did the bike.  Right next to the bike was his helmet, and shoe.  He must have been NBA material judging from the size of his shoe.  At any rate, that's one less player.

After paying the exhorbitant towing and storage bills, I had Bob Taylor from the BMW motorcycle shop truck my bike over.  He managed to straighten and rewire the headlight; not a great job, but enough to get me home.  And as luck would have it, he also had a spare valve cover.  He also replaced the tire on the rear of my bike which needed replacing anyway.  The bill came to about $350, not bad for getting back on the road. Unfortunately he only took cash, and that promptly cleaned out my bank account.  I had very little left to get home on - I would be pretty dependent on my VISA card.

By Monday, I healed well enough to ride and from Taylor's cycle, I was back on the road again.  This time I didn't wipe out taking that curve.

I was fine until I got to Paris, Kentucky where I was caught in a torrential downpour.  It was at that point, I discovered that my bike wasn't waterproof.  The headlight was no longer properly sealed and water got in, fouling up the electrical system.  My bike would mis-fire and eventually gave out half way up a hill in the center of town.  I flagged down a car who took me to the nearest hotel, as I decided to call it quits.  I would take a taxi out to my bike the next day and hopefully get it running again.  After untaping the headlight, I found that all kinds of water got in, so I drained it out, wiped it down and taped her back up.  I was once more good to go.  My problems weren't over, however.

After filling up in Ohio, I discovered a short in my headlight as I attempted to turn them on.  Rather than fiddle with the electricals again, I decided to leave the headlight taped shut - and figured as long as I didn't need to use the headlight, I should be fine.  Well, my destination was my Grandma's farm, just east of Windsor and time was a wasting, so I hustled on.  It turns out I barely got there in time, as darkness was rapidly approaching before I finally arrived at my distination.  I parked the bike in the barn and looked at it the next day.  It turns out a connector was shorting, so all I did was rearrange things a bit, tape up the melted wires and once more I was good to go, with a working headlight.  My next stop was at a friend's in Toronto:

Here I am, in Toronto

I was so happy to make it back home to Ottawa!

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Page created Aug 12, 2001