Memorable Rides
June, 2007
To start
off, I usually put on an average of 10,000 miles per
year on my Road King. I usually do this by unconsciously
cruising around, doing local weekend trips and various
rides, with my wife and another couple or two, just
exploring the beautiful roads in Connecticut and
northern New York State. We love day trips with some
sort of destination in mind. We’ve done the Harley
Factory Tour in York, PA., the Hudson Valley Raptor
Center in Stanfordville, NY., and one of our favorites,
the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA.
Last year
we rented a big, beautiful house in Virginia Beach for a
week. The wife and I rode down on the Road King with the
family following in two cars packed with everything but
the kitchen sink. We rode through the night and arrived
at the beach house around sun up. The weather was
absolutely gorgeous, warm and sunny. We spent the day
setting up the house and shopping to fill the pantry and
fridge with everything we needed for the week. The house
was already set up with a barbecue out back and the A/C
was up and running.
Everyday
was an adventure, riding and checking out the
surrounding area. We hit the local museum, gift shops
ant the board walk along the beaches. We found the local
biker hang out called BONESHAKERS SALOON where
the locals hung out. The lot was always packed with
bikes and the food and drink was the best. We were
welcomed by friendly patrons, employees and owners.
Every night was like a bike show with stocks, customs
and choppers of every type. We wound up making
Boneshakers our stopping off point everyday before
returning to the beach house. I think we did around 500
miles just around Virginia Beach that week. The weather
just couldn’t be better. Everyday was 80 degrees or
higher and we hung out on the white sand every morning
until 11am or so. Tranquil was the only way to explain
the feeling, no one else on the beach, just pelicans and
dolphins passing quietly by.
On the following Saturday,
after our morning walk on the beach, we returned to the
house and sadly started packing up to go. The weather
was still around 85 degrees and sunny with white puffy
clouds slowly passing by. My wife and I reluctantly
dragged ourselves out of the house and onto the bike and
the others into the cars for the unwelcome trip home.
After leaving Virginia Beach we headed over the
impressive Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel system. (For
those that have never seen the bridge and tunnel system,
it is over four miles long, shore to shore. Whether you
are driving north or south, the Chesapeake Bay
Bridge-Tunnel showcases the mighty surge of the Atlantic
Ocean, the beauty of the bay and the soaring grace of
this engineering marvel. Both a tourist attraction and a
travel convenience, the Bridge-Tunnel connects
Virginia’s Eastern Shore with the Virginia mainland at
Virginia Beach near Norfolk). So anyway, as we started
over the expanse of the first length of the bridge,
where it runs flat along the top of the water, we could
see a black haze lying over the roadway. This was so far
in the distance it looked like a giant swarm of insects
just hovering over the road. As we got closer we could
finally make it out, oh yea, a major thunder cloud
seemed to be just
hovering and waiting for
us. As we approached the temperature took a turn for
the worse, from a sunny 80 to a cloudy and windy 60
degrees. The wind was a chilly, damp ocean breeze that
seemed to go right through you. Remember, we were in
short sleeve t-shirts, doing about 60mph into this
nightmare from the twilight zone and that’s when it
started to get interesting. As we crossed into the
blackness of this storm the rains came down in
bucketfuls. It never started in a mist or sprinkle, just
tons of water all at once. The windshield on the Road
King was beaded up so much I couldn’t see through it and
to make it worst I wear prescription glasses and they
were beaded up as well. All this brought my vision down
to about 2 feet. So now here we are, no rain gear, not
even a jacket, doing now about 40, raining like the end
was near and no where to stop to get out of the
stinging, cold rain. I had to slow my speed to 10-15mph,
just fast enough to keep the bike upright. All this made
it feel like forever to get to the other side and what I
thought would be the end of the storm. Boy was I wrong.
When we finally could pull into a lot, off the roadway,
I had my wife climb into the back of my sons car, to get
warm and dry off and I decided to ride it out, being
that I was soaked to the bone and had about 2” of water
inside my boots. As I rode down that highway I was
thinking, what the hell am I doing out here, getting a
thrashing from the stinging rain, freezing my butt off
and not really enjoying the ride!
I rode it out for about
another two hours and the rains finally started to
lighten up. Now even though it was still raining it felt
like just a mist compared to what I had been through.
The weather finally cleared once we made the NJ Pike and
the rest of the ride was pleasant and a good time to dry
out. Although my feet were dyed black, to the ankle,
from my boots for a week I came through without a
scrape. So now what ever the temperature or weather
forecast I never leave home with out my rain gear.
See you in the
saddle!
Mr. Bling
Frank Acquafreda
