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August 22nd, 2012 | Caribbean

Into D.C. and out to P.C. …!!

I did not figure on taking over seven hours to cover a little over 500 kms between Hillsville in south-western Virginia, to the nation’s capital of Washington DC…

The final two rides of my North American tour… In Yellow my ride to Washington, and in Purple, the one I will make to New Jersey on the 6th of September…

I had after all set a route which would take us up Interstate 77 and then Interstate 81, all the way to our destination… On a multi-laned freeway, we could easily cover more than 100 kms in any given hour…

Not the perfect weather for my penultimate ride to Washington…!! High winds and spray thrown up by racing 18-wheelers made things a little tricky…

What I did not foresee, was a weather front, that had us riding for over two hours in driving rain and high winds, dodging trucks that threw huge fountains of spray in every direction, and made overtaking a bit of a gamble…

The closer I was getting to my final destination, and the end of my North American ride, the more cautious and apprehensive I became…

I had not come this far to “lose it” on a cold and wet day in Virginia… There was so much at stake for me, and at one point I decided that it was just too dangerous to continue, and pulled off the Interstate to take refuge under the roof of a service station…

I went inside to get a cup of coffee and the guy behind the counter struck up a conversation with me…

“You picked a bad day to make a long ride…!!” he said , after hearing where I was heading…

“Yeah.. I did not count on this weather…!!” I replied…

“It’s not only the weather, on Sundays all the trucks are out on the road, trying to get to the places they need to offload at before Monday morning…!! Lotsa freight out on the roads on Sundays…!!”

Traffic was backed up to a point 4 miles ahead….

He went on to tell me that he “stayed the hell off the Interstate” on Sundays, and then wished me good luck as I finished my coffee and walked out to the bike…

Looking back now, I have to smile to myself, as I have ridden in far worse conditions before… But then the “stakes” were not as high, and at the time, the end of my ride was but a distant thought in my mind…

…and 16 miles behind…!! What a mess…!! The Interstate became a parking lot for the next 2 hours…

An hour later, the wind had died down somewhat and the rain had eased into a light drizzle…

I rode back out onto the Interstate and within barely 50 kms, close to the town of Buchanan, ran into a traffic jam caused by an accident that had occurred about 10 kms ahead of where we came to a dead stop…!!

According to some of the people in the cars parked around me, the local radio station had advised that the back-up of vehicles stretched for over 20 miles…!!

We stood in the same spot for well over an hour before the debris was cleared and the traffic began to move again…

But then I had another problem…!! As is my custom, I had left my lights on and when I pressed the starter on the Big Fella, all I got was a loud “Click-click click”… My battery was flat…!!

I frantically pushed the bike to the side of the road and very luckily spotted a young guy who had come up to chat with me while we were stuck in the traffic jam…

As he passed, I shouted that my battery was flat and he quickly pulled over and helped me jump-start the Big Fella… This took some time, as I had to get all the kit off my bike first, to get the seats off in order to gain access to the battery…!!

With my kit scattered all around the bike, we got the Big Fella growling again, and they wished me well as they drove off to rejoin the mayhem up ahead…

Good Samaritans on Interstate 81…!! Thanks for the help Guys…!! Much appreciated…!!

Rode with this Harley for a short while…. Check out his number plate…!! Cool…!!

Ah… America….!! Still spending money on all the wrong stuff…!!

In all the excitement, I forgot their names, but I do remember that they are to be married in a few weeks time, and I’d like to take this opportunity to not only thank them for assisting me, but also to wish them everything of the best for their future together…!!

If you guys get to read this, please drop me a line so that I can add your names to this post…!!

From that point on, every vehicle on the highway traveled at speeds way above the limit, trying to make up for the time they had lost while waiting for the accident to be cleared…

Patrol cars on the highway ignored the fact that most of us were doing 120 km/h in a 105 km//h zone…!!

It was a mad dash to Washington, and it was after 6.30 pm when I finally rolled up to the beautiful home of Jon And Maria Karl, in the suburb of McLean…

Washington in my sights…!! There was still plenty of traffic to contend with, but mercifully, the weather had cleared and we made good time…

Jon is the brother of my very good friend Allan Karl who lives in California and with whom I rode through Southern Africa in 2008 while he was on his own ride around the world…

After a quick shower, we sat down to dinner and enjoyed a few glasses of excellent red wine, while I recounted some of the stories from my tour…

I had arranged to leave the Big Fella at Jon’s home while I visited Patricia, and after the family had gone to bed, I spent a few hours sorting through the kit I would leave there and packing the two small bags I would be taking with me…

At 2,00am, I finally fell into bed, and was awoken by my alarm just 3 hours later…!!

Jon is a political correspondent and was interviewing someone on ABC News early that morning… A car had been sent to collect him at 6.00am, and he kindly offered to drop me off at Ronald Reagan Airport on his way into the studio…

A now familiar sight to me… Leaving Leeward Dock on the main island and heading towards Parrot Cay…

At 9.15 am, I was in the air and on my way to Charlotte, and two hours later, was on my connecting flight to the Turks and Caicos…!!

As the plane came in to land, seemingly skipping over the ocean on its way to the runway, I could hardly sit still in my seat…!!

It had been two months since I had last seen Patricia, and our time apart had been a little stressful to say the least…!! Not only had I been racing across North America to get to Alaska and back to the east coast, but we had also been trying to make arrangements for our wedding during this time…

With both Patricia and I nowhere near the venue, you will appreciate the difficulties of trying to tie up the 101 loose ends that these arrangements seem to breed…!!

After the usual drive to the hotel’s Leeward dock on the main island, and then the half hour boat ride out to Parrot Cay, the boat nosed its way into South Dock on the southern tip of the island, where Patricia was waiting for me…

Our reunion was emotional… Once the guests who had been on board with me had been driven away to begin their holiday in paradise, Patricia and I stood holding on to each other for what seemed like a long time…

I think we were both very relieved that I had made it this far without serious mishap (although I was feeling a little battered and bruised…!!) and that my ride was finally almost over… I had never fully appreciated the anxiety I had unintentionally put Patricia through over the past 14 months, while I continued my ride around the world…

It all came home to me on the short buggy ride back to her apartment in the staff village…

Since my arrival, I have spent a good deal of my time taking impromptu naps, finding it so easy to just lie down and go to sleep for an hour or two, something I am usually unable to do until after sunset…

“Darling… You’re not expecting me to pay for lunch, are you…??” Patricia and I spent her day off in Provo yesterday, stocking up on groceries and enjoying a quiet lunch together on Grace Bay…

Dealing with the arrangements for our upcoming nuptials will be made in a more relaxed frame of mind (I think…!!) and I am  now trying to wrap my head around the fact that while one huge journey is about to end, another, just as exciting, is about to begin…

The overlap between the two mental states should be “interesting” to say the least…!!

My plans for the next few months remain a little vague at this stage and I am trying not to concern myself too much with what will take place directly after the 14th of September… Or so I tell everybody…!!

Over the next week or so, I will be doing my best to try to relax and spend more time making decisions about what is of most importance to us right now, than dwelling too much on the end of my ride… Or so I keep telling myself…!!

GB

Parrot Cay, Turks & Caicos

 

6 comments to Into D.C. and out to P.C. …!!

  • Kim

    Wow!!! You are with your future bride… You take time to enjoy & soak up the sun & love – you deserve it!!!
    Well done GB!!!!!
    You think you’ve had stress – I believe arranging a wedding is not for the faint hearted…but then again, the only ‘faint’ you know…is in comic books!!
    Patricia, you look gorgeous & happy!!!
    BIG smiles & kisses
    K

  • Carolina Correa from Chile

    So happy for both!!! Big hugs and love for both, I wish you happiness. Keep up each day your love.You are always welcome to come here at my house, if your journey turns to the south. Good luck!!

  • Thank you Carolina…!! I fully intend to visit Chile again one day, and I will be sure to look you up when we do…!! Take care, R.

  • Thanks Kimmie…!! See you real soon, keep the Whizzo’s and ice handy…!! R.

  • Telita Trower

    Hi cuz
    To say I am sooooo happy for you is an understatement. I hope it will not take another forty years for our paths to cross. I wish you and Patricia a lifetime of happiness. She has the kindest eyes and looks like a beautiful person not only outside but inside as well. May you always be blessed with happiness, understanding, patience and loads of love throughout your lives together xxxxxx T

  • Mark Behr

    A journey made up of so very many milestones. Look forward to hearing how your wedding plans are going. Have a good break.

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