The best laid plans are often cast aside. I had the best of intentions of writing once I got back to my motel room after dinner but apparently riding my Mighty DR takes it out of me more than I realized as I woke up face down on the bed some hours later hands and face quite swollen. 

I contemplated getting up and writing only to roll over and go back to sleep and sleep until the morning.

Checkout time is in 15 or so minutes so I have to make this brief.

 

I think I may have poisoned myself at dinner the night before because I woke up feeling very off and quite tired. As a testament to how poorly I was doing I failed to turn on the Spot Tracker, lube the chain, or even check tire pressures or oil. As fatigue descended on me in earnest I came down from the hills and ventured into Roanoke in search of a Starbucks where I sat in air conditioning drinking water and coffee and working on software. After this extended break I started to feel better and braved the heat, stop lights, and traffic to ascend back to the tree covered cool parkway.

At one light I noticed I was in a turn only lane at a red light.. A scooter was to my right and a behind the scooter. The light turned green and the scooter took off and so did I. I signaled at least two car lengths ahead of the car and merged into the lane to continue past the turn. At the next light I noticed the car was not stopping so I stayed near the while line as he forcefully drove right up next to me. 

"Sorry, shit happens." this toothless and antagonistic man said.

I was not angry. A previous me would have been.

"I'm glad it didn't." I said. He seemed surprised by this and seemed calmed by it. The light turned green and I pulled away.

The weather on the Blue Ridge Parkway continued to be fantastic. 

 

At one point I came across some construction. It was quite some time before the lead truck arrived. I asked the lead car if I could pull ahead which they said was ok. The guide truck arrived and, as they do, guided us slowly past the construction site. We sped up a bit doing maybe 35 miles and hour when in our lane around a corner a full sized dump truck came hurtling at us. The guide truck slammed on his brakes as the dump truck swerve to the left to miss him. I hit my brakes thankful for the upgrades I had installed. I will be helping Duncan install stainless brake lines on his bike as soon as I get back if he doens't do it. Surprisingly, whereas I've had terrible luck with EBC brakes on my Beloved Blue Oil Burner, the EBC brake pads I got for the DR have made a big difference.

I came across this interesting cemetary I've seen a number of times before. 

 

I remember this corner from years ago when Ian and I first traveled this road and stayed at a campground not far from here. I remember this corner because at the time it caught me by surprise. The Blue Ridge will do that to you especially on your first or second time down it.

 

There were so many dirt roads and trails going off in all directions that I wanted to explore. There's something about going through an area knowing that I am about to say goodbye to it for a while that makes it more compelling, somehow easier to be more interested. 

 

 

I stopped at a picnic area and noticed several messages on my phone and a voicemail. I braced myself for bad news. "There are big problems in life, this is not one of them." I told her. I spent a bit of time on the phone as angry clouds rolled over me. "I have to go. It's about to rain." I thought as I put my phone and wallet into my, hopefully, waterproof tank bag. I rode on and less than a mile from my previous location I came upon absolutely soaked roads which lasted for miles. I was left dry.