Sunday, April 29, 2007
200 miles to home
Well, pops and I got some riding in Saturday. The weather was perfect, partly cloudy and breezy, with a near nonexistant chance of rain. The ride started at around 10:45am and we rode, and rode, and rode some more. All told, we did more than 200 miles on the day, most of it North of Pinellas County and it's gridlocked congestion. There are some great back roads in Pasco and Hernando counties! You have to ride away from civilization to find them, but they exist, for I have seen and enjoyed them. :)
I had done about 2 hours of riding Friday night and felt fairly comfortable with the bike, but I must admit to being a little nervous about riding on the highway for the first time. Dad took his time getting ready Saturday morning, so that only made me more anxious, but we eventually got underway. Once we were rolling, the butterflies gave way to excitement at having finally gotten out on the real road.
We took East Lake Road North to 54, mae a quick stop at tractor supply, then headed East. We eventually turned North again and started a long trek up to Brooksville. The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, our Harleys were glistening in the late-morning sunshine, the day was off to a great start. By noon we were heading up the Ehren Cut Off toward Highway 50. This is a popular destination for touring and sport bike riders, because of the gentle bends and smooth pavement. We were waving at passing bikes most of the day, and there were some beautiful The scenery is sparse in some places, but the roads are fairly open and the riding was very relaxing.
We stopped for a break on Bellamy Blvd, rode along 41, 50, and 52, then turned for home. On the way back there was a point where the only humans in sight were dad on his Sportster and I on my Deluxe, just thumping along with the wind rushing by our heads. That sort of moment is the reason I bought a Harley-Davidson. You simply could not enjoy a moment like that one in the same way from behind the wheel of a car. It was good stuff.
After a stop at Gulf Coast Harley-Davidson and my buddy Bryan's house, we met up with mom for dinner in Oldsmar. We got there just after 6pm, nearly 8 hours after we had started out that morning! Needless to say, it was one hell of a first ride and I look forward to many others. My confidence received a huge lift and I feel much more comfortable in the saddle. I still have my moments, and it will be a while before everything is second nature, but it is safe to say that I am hooked.
Labels: motorcycles
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That's sounds like the area were looking to buy if we get back to FL. Were looking at a neighborhood called Silver Ridge in Brooksville near the Parkway. It will probably be done before we can figure out what were doing but I'm sure there will be more comunities like it being built...more and more people are moving out that way. I just hope the market and interest rates don't go back up too much in the next year. Scott's going to talk to the Education Center and reenlistment this week so keep your fingures crossed. I'm really ready to come back to FL to be around family, but I think he still has some reservations about getting out of the Army...he's really proud of what he does and likes the security of it so we'll see what he ends up choosing.