long fast ride.. and one slow part

I had to visit my house in Oklahoma so decided to make a road trip out of it and visit some people along the way.

I started off late due to getting the oil changed at my Ducati dealer in Winchester and having the front end examined do to worring from an occasional sound made when breaking. The tech explained to me it was probably just the springs within the forks slopping against the tubbing of the forks when braking and not to worry.

Other than that, the multi checked out fine and strangely had to pay to get the bike looked at for the "front fork problem" even though it's still under warranty.

A few bills later I was on the road. I met a couple from Quabec doing a backroads ride through Virginia and ending up in West Virginia. COOL PEOPLE.. I was going to tag along but time was an issue so I just pressed on.

I forgot to mention, I ride a Ducati Multistrada with no GPS (still trying to figure out the best one for me). I do use Google maps on my IPhone but it eats the battery so for this part of the ride I was just enjoying music being played. I know listining to music while ridding is dangerous but to mitigate the risk, I keep it just loud enough to block out the wind.

So off I tooled down 81, enjoying the smells and traveling about 70ish.. just enjoying the ride and the cool temperatures. I took 77 and cruised into Columbia to meet up with an old friend and swap lies. Somehow though during the ride on 77, while stopping for gas, I got turned around and went the wrong way. .. no worries, the tank was full and the weather gorgeous but still ate up some daylight.

Finally made it to his bar and told some lies before racking out at his house.

Day two.
I hit the highway again and headed east to Augusta.

I am going to fast forward on this trip because it was a lot of highway miles just enjoying the ride and road.

My rout was: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and finishing up in Lawton, Oklahoma.

The cool interactions were with people at gas stops, really made the trip interesting. Some casual conversations: The young guy in a countryside gas station that commented "This is the first Ducati I had ever seen." An extremly older gentleman that asked "What type of spaceship looking bike I was ridding." I met another young man in Atlanta who talked my ear off about tire wear and methods you could use during long rides to ensure that you dont have flat spots. All of these conversations happened on the first 2000 miles of the trip (went a real long about way to get to Oklahoma).

After finishing up business in Oklahoma, I headed home on a kinda of more direct route via: Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia and finishing at home.

will finish when have more battery. .
.