Road Trip to Dad's

My brother and I met at my Father's this weekend to help him with some projects that needed an extra set of hands. Dad lives in South Alabama, near Dothan, and my brother is in Huntsville. Since the weather was great, both my brother and I decided to ride our bikes. That put us both at 4+ hour trips each way with the roundtrip covering around 500 miles.

Other than a severe cramp in my left ass cheek on the way from Atlanta to Auburn, the ride down was great. I like to stop in Auburn because it is about the halfway point and it is where I change from interstate to 2 lane backroads. It's also fun to go back to the old college town and grab a bite to eat. Once I get on the 2 lane, the twisties and occasional stops help keep the legs stretched and the rear end from going numb. I was really looking forward to this drive. This is a road I have been driving for almost 20 years and know how many great curves and hills are along the route. I had my mp3 player loaded with Pearl Jam, Switchfoot, Hoobastank, Five For Fighting, and Republika. It is very easy to go way over the speed limit with "Ready to Go" coming through the earbuds.

About 2/3 of the way into the trip, the sun had set and the night sky was crystal clear. As I was ripping down a long hill, I watched the full moon in my side mirror rising like a rocket ship behind me. It was so bright and peaceful looking, it became a welcome companion as I rolled in later in the evening.

We helped Dad do some trim work and painting on his storage shed while listening to Auburn get their asses handed to them by Arkansas. BOOOOOOOOO! Later in evening, we spent a few hours feeding and watering all of his and my aunt's horses. This was followed by a very late dinner. Dad's schedule is a few hours behind mine due to work and the difference in time zones. The late dinners and his smoking are the only drawbacks to my visits.

I got a late start coming back home on Sunday. My brother had to get back in time to cut his grass, so I decided that I would stay and help finish all of the "2 man" stuff. This put me leaving south Alabama a little after 3:30. I wanted to make sure I got home before it cooled off too much and became uncomfortable. The temp was awesome and I had one of the best rides I have ever done. I tagged along with a couple on a Harley for quite a while. They slowed me down just a bit in the curves, but made up for it on the straight stretches. I can't tell you enough what a thrill the drive was back up to Auburn. I loved carving through the sun dappled roads at 70 and jamming to great tunes. This time of year with the dry leaves gently raining down around you is one of the greatest riding experiences you'll ever have.

I fueled up in Auburn and turned on to the interstate and headed north by northeast. My shadow immediately jumped ahead of me and pointed the way home. I was worried that the rest of the trip was going to be boring and give my left cheek a workout again. The highway is great for nothing but covering long chunks of asphalt at near triple digit clips. With few curves, it can easily drone on you if you are running 115 miles. I was fortunate enough to get behind a couple of great pace cars and stay above 80 all the way home. I got in with a particulary rowdy bunch and were covering 2 miles a minute for about a 5-7 minute stretch. This is not my normal behavior, but the road was wide open for miles with great visibility. You can imagine that Stacie was a bit surprised when I arrived about 30-45 minutes early. I pulled in just in time for a great dinner, watched Smallville, and called it a weekend. I hope all of your's were at least half as fun as mine.