A Little About Us

A Little About Us
INTRODUCTION: First, allow me to introduce the members of this group...I'm Mike riding my 2003 Heritage Softail Springer...my wife Juju is on her 2015 Freewheeler...and Ed and Nancy are on their 2009 Heritage Softail. For the purposes of this trip we are referring to ourselves as H.A.R.P. HARP is a made-up name and it simply stands for Hogs And Retired People...and all that means is that we are members of HOG (Harley Owners Group) and we are...you guessed it...retired! The name came about when seven of us made a trip out west, but just the four of us this time. I've done blogs before, and this one will be for the same reason...to refresh our memories in our "Golden Years" (they say the memory is the second thing to go...and I can't remember what the first thing was). What is different this time is the blog is being shared by THUNDER ROADS PENNSYLVANIA MAGAZINE...Truly, an honor. This journey will be a round trip from, and to our home town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The plan is to travel to the Atlantic coast at Ocean City, Maryland for the "Official" start on U.S. Route 50. We will follow U.S. 50 west for over 3,000 miles to its terminus in Sacramento, California. From Sacramento, we will head a bit further west to the Pacific Ocean before we begin to travel south. California Highway 1 and U.S. Route 101, better known as the Pacific Coast Highway, will be the route for about 500 miles to Santa Monica. At the world famous Santa Monica Pier, we hop on Route 66...The "Mother Road". Travelling about 2,500 miles to the north east, we'll arrive at the end of 66 in Chicago, Illinois. The "Official" end of our journey. From Chicago, it's just another 450 miles and we're back in Pittsburgh. We've made very few lodging reservations, thus eliminating the pressure of trying to get somewhere by some deadline. The whole purpose of this ride to see this country and whatever piques our interest along the way...and we will be looking for that giant ball of yarn! So we invite you to ride along with us. We hope you will find it both entertaining and informative. Please feel free to leave your comments and share this with anyone you feel would have an interest.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Day 2 - July 15th 2015

Days without an incident: 2

Today was a mix of sunscreen and rain gear.  Not enough rain to make it a problem, just enough to "suit up".

We got an earlier start today after working through the learning curve of packing and unpacking every day.

After a breakfast of ham, eggs, waffles and such, we were off through the eastern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Within 25 miles we were into horse and farm country.  The sun was glowing and
the clouds, at this point, were sparse as we passed through towns like Middleburg and Waterloo before getting to Winchester.  Here we took a rather extended break at the Harley dealer.  We shopped a little and then went to their Cafe for a snack.

While there, we met a couple from Staten Island, NY as they were traveling south.  We talked for quite a while and compared riding stories as they waited for a tire to be installed.

Another 25 minutes west and we were heading toward the mountains in West Virginia and riding through towns like Capon Bridge and Mount Storm.  Here we stopped for lunch at the "Sit a Spell"
Saddle Mountain West Virginia
Restaurant and U.S. Post Office.  A nice little place with good food....and stamps.

The rain was light but intermittently steady (if that makes any sense.)  Just enough to warrant the rain gear and tighten your grip on the bars a bit.  Even
with the rain, the scenery through Virginia and West Virginia was spectacular.  Rolling meadows, farms bordered by miles of hand-laid stone walls, and twisty roads where the trees on either side had reached across to each other and created a green tunnel that was both cool and dim.

All in all, it was a good day...and for me, it was the best way I could think of to spend my birthday.  With my baby and our traveling companions on the road, on the bikes.  I am indeed, one lucky guy!

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