Sunday, October 16th
Longview, Texas
I wake and beat my alarm - again. It’s 5:40am local; the continental breakfast starts in 20 minutes. Another shower, dressed and wander over to the lobby, where a light breakfast satisfies my hunger. Once done, I shuffle back to the room and pack out.
I took the first load of stuff to the bike thru the side door. As I opened it, I noted that at the pool fence line, not ten feet away, an opossum. Immediately, my mind races to the possum meme “Found Cat” (too much internet, I think). After a short hiss, the marsupial walked off, and I continued on my way. I greeted him in my own special way.
With the bike loaded, and the wildlife encounter a peaceful one, it’s time to resume riding!
CEFCO/Exxon, 3305 S Eastman Rd, Longview, TX 4:24 4:30 0:06
I’m riding in eastern Texas in the region called “piney woods” With the moonlight throwing strange shadows along the freeway, a few lyrics of a Charlie Daniels song came to mind:
Well, if you ever go back into Wooley Swamp, well, you better not go at night
There's things out there in the middle of them woods
That'd make a strong man die from fright
Things that crawl and things that fly
Things that creep around on the ground
And they say the ghost of Lucius Clay gets up and he walks around
The last line of the chorus echoed in my brain for what seemed to be hours:
There's some things in this world you just can't explain
...like long-distance endurance motorcycling..
Since I was able to get a bit more sleep, the night riding turned into day riding much faster than it did 24 hours ago. Time for more fuel:
Raceway #728, 2175 S Louisa St, Rayville, LA 6:59 7:12 0:13
You now note that I don’t even have to be quick at stops now. My original plan was to do this ride in about 34 hours. I wanted to be certain that if I did hit that time window, I’d be arriving relatively close to noon local time. I had some intel that the store was open Sunday, but this is deep in the Bible belt; no telling what if any changes have happened since I lived in the region 40-odd years earlier.
funny lookin’ cactus around these parts!
I chased Google’s location by ear for the Whynot Grocery; a bit off the main highway. When I got to the intersection, it was nothing but a partially dilapidated building and a decaying parking area “No, Google, you’re wrong!”, so back to the main road. Had I not been as focused on the Google Map verbal directions, and more to what was around me, I might have picked up the store at the bottom of the hill about ¼ mile away.
I made it...good time, too!
Whynot Grocery, 4280 Hwy 19 S, Meridian, MS 10:13 10:41 0:28
The 1640-odd miles was traversed in just under 33 hours. I spent a bit of time chatting with the two nice ladies that worked there, got a ride end form signed, had a refreshing drink, and made a quick call home to let family know that my first goal was achieved.
A funny thing then happened - my brain kicked in for a few minutes. “Hey, think I can make it to Jacksonville ?” I had just a few hours before I needed to call and cancel one night of a reservation that I had already made. Google informed me that from my location to my chosen lodging in Jacksonville is a bit over 800 miles, and that it's over 10 hours of travel time to accomplish that. That few seconds of clear thought also computed a good chance that I could get 2000 plus miles total in under 48 hours; that's Saddlesore 2000. That is, if I left - now.
To be continued (click)...
Longview, Texas
I wake and beat my alarm - again. It’s 5:40am local; the continental breakfast starts in 20 minutes. Another shower, dressed and wander over to the lobby, where a light breakfast satisfies my hunger. Once done, I shuffle back to the room and pack out.
I took the first load of stuff to the bike thru the side door. As I opened it, I noted that at the pool fence line, not ten feet away, an opossum. Immediately, my mind races to the possum meme “Found Cat” (too much internet, I think). After a short hiss, the marsupial walked off, and I continued on my way. I greeted him in my own special way.
With the bike loaded, and the wildlife encounter a peaceful one, it’s time to resume riding!
 |
| Stop 1 - Exxon - Longview, Texas |
CEFCO/Exxon, 3305 S Eastman Rd, Longview, TX 4:24 4:30 0:06
I’m riding in eastern Texas in the region called “piney woods” With the moonlight throwing strange shadows along the freeway, a few lyrics of a Charlie Daniels song came to mind:
Well, if you ever go back into Wooley Swamp, well, you better not go at night
There's things out there in the middle of them woods
That'd make a strong man die from fright
Things that crawl and things that fly
Things that creep around on the ground
And they say the ghost of Lucius Clay gets up and he walks around
The last line of the chorus echoed in my brain for what seemed to be hours:
There's some things in this world you just can't explain
...like long-distance endurance motorcycling..
Since I was able to get a bit more sleep, the night riding turned into day riding much faster than it did 24 hours ago. Time for more fuel:
 |
| Stop 2 - Raceway, Rayville, Louisiana |
Raceway #728, 2175 S Louisa St, Rayville, LA 6:59 7:12 0:13
You now note that I don’t even have to be quick at stops now. My original plan was to do this ride in about 34 hours. I wanted to be certain that if I did hit that time window, I’d be arriving relatively close to noon local time. I had some intel that the store was open Sunday, but this is deep in the Bible belt; no telling what if any changes have happened since I lived in the region 40-odd years earlier.
 |
| Vicksburg Bridge crossing the Mississippi River- LA/MS border |
 |
| Vicksburg Bridge crossing the Mississippi River- LA/MS border |
 |
| Welcome sign for Mississippi |
funny lookin’ cactus around these parts!
I chased Google’s location by ear for the Whynot Grocery; a bit off the main highway. When I got to the intersection, it was nothing but a partially dilapidated building and a decaying parking area “No, Google, you’re wrong!”, so back to the main road. Had I not been as focused on the Google Map verbal directions, and more to what was around me, I might have picked up the store at the bottom of the hill about ¼ mile away.
I made it...good time, too!
 |
| Good backup photo, but not where I need to be - Whynot, Mississippi |
 |
| Stop 3 - Whynot Grocery, Whynot, Mississippi |
Whynot Grocery, 4280 Hwy 19 S, Meridian, MS 10:13 10:41 0:28
The 1640-odd miles was traversed in just under 33 hours. I spent a bit of time chatting with the two nice ladies that worked there, got a ride end form signed, had a refreshing drink, and made a quick call home to let family know that my first goal was achieved.
A funny thing then happened - my brain kicked in for a few minutes. “Hey, think I can make it to Jacksonville ?” I had just a few hours before I needed to call and cancel one night of a reservation that I had already made. Google informed me that from my location to my chosen lodging in Jacksonville is a bit over 800 miles, and that it's over 10 hours of travel time to accomplish that. That few seconds of clear thought also computed a good chance that I could get 2000 plus miles total in under 48 hours; that's Saddlesore 2000. That is, if I left - now.
To be continued (click)...
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