Ty's Mancation 2013 Recap-Day 3

Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground to Nashville, TN

I had a wrestless, fitful night of sleep...couldn't get comfortable, the wind was loud and a light rain fell early in the morning.  During one of the periods that I was trying to get back to sleep, I talked myself into giving up and just riding to my sister-in-law's house in Nashville to avoid all the rain and crap weather that had been forecast to dampen my ride for the next two days.  I woke up early Saturday morning, mad at the weather and how it was going to ruin everything.  After a hot shower, I checked the weather and felt slightly better about my chances of completing the day's planned route. It looked that, if I got an early enough start, I might be able to avoid the worst of the weather. I decided that I would go purchase some waterproof gloves in Waynesville about 10 miles away and then pick up my planned route.

So I packed up my soggy tent and headed out of camp at about 9am.  I had asked one of the other campers where the nearest MC shop was and he gave me some rough directions.  On my way into Waynesville, it started raining once again.  I got to an intersection and the cops had it blocked off for a 5k or some event.  Only they didn't post any sort of detour.  So I wandered around Waynesville searching for the main highway.  I finally found the place and snagged a pair of gloves, spending more than I had hoped in both time and money.

Back out on the bike, I told the GPS to start the day's planned route at the nearest waypoint.  Only, for some reason, the GPS was very confused and was not taking me on the roads I wanted to ride.  I stopped and scrolled around on the GPS map and decided that I would ride to Asheville, hop on the Blue Ridge Parkway and pick up NC 226 along the parkway.  My route had included heading north on 226 so I knew things would be right after that point.  Still in Waynesville mind you, I gassed up and hit the highway.  A few minutes later I'm in Asheville and heading for the BRP.

5 minutes after getting on the BRP I see the coolest thing.  A brown mass is sitting in the road about 30 yards ahead of me.  At first I don't realize what it is until it gets on all fours and starts strutting across the road.  I couldn't believe that I had just seen a bear in the wild!  How cool is that?!  I wish I had had the GoPro mounted on my helmet for that one.

So things are cold and drizzly at this point.  After about 20-30 minutes on the BRP I get to the Craggy Gardens overlook and visitors center and its here that things go from sucky to crap-tastic.  The next section of the BRP was closed!  What?!  I had no choice but to back track.  There was one turn off between where I was and where I had gotten on the BRP.  I decide to take the exit for Weaverville and see where that lead.

As I got into Weaverville, the rain really starts to come down in earnest.  Its noon and I'm hungry and need to formulate a new game plan.  I stop at a greek restaurant and look over the weather and the GPS maps once more while eating lunch.  At the rate I was progressing, it was going to be about 9pm before I got to my planned destination in WV.  It was raining steadily now.  I was cold.  It was going to rain on me that night and it was forecast to rain on my route back to Asheville the following day.  It was at this point I decided to pack it in.  Give up.  Cancel the show.  I was beaten.  I called my sister in law.  She was more than happy to put me up for the night.  God bless her, because that was the best news I had gotten that day.  I tell the GPS to get me to Nasheville.  It says it will take me four hours.  It was raining.

The first hour had me going on back roads through NC and TN.  The rain was light, the foliage seemed to be loving the moisture and repaid the weather by showing every shade of green possible.  It was beautiful. And then I hit I-40.

The minute I put wheel to interstate pavement, the sky opened up and what had been a light rain became steady and moderate.  I quickly found out that the sleeves on my raincoat were directing water INTO my waterproof gloves.  Feeling that first cold trickle of water seep down into my finger tip, I knew this was not going to be an easy ride.

As the rain continued to pelt my helmet, I noticed that it was getting harder and harder to see any details of the vehicles ahead of me.  I cracked my visor and my vision got better.  That meant my helmet was fogging up on the inside.  My vision became seriously impaired.  At one point I was sandwiched between two tractor-trailers, each throwing up about 500 gallons per minute of road spray, which seemed to be directed right at my helmet.  It was not a fun time.  I pressed on and eventually, the rain eased up.  As it did, the fogging of my visor disappeared and full vision returned.

For the remainder of the trip, the rain would come and go.  My gloves and boots were completely water logged.  I noticed that when it rained, water would seep through the upper 'seal' of my visor, and then collect right at the top of the eye opening.  I could watch it grow bigger and bigger until it hit critical mass, at which point it would drop down onto my breath guard.

I made it to Jean's house at 5:30, mentally drained from such a stressful ride and relieved to have survived unscathed.  

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