Adios PCB - Hello NC
After being in Panama City Beach for over 5 weeks, it is time for me to head back home. It was great that my brother and his wife allowed me to live at their beach house and work for that long. I was able to make many excursions, drink and many bars, eat at many restaurants, enjoy the beach and view, and spend time with them as well. Overall another wonderful trip but I must get back to reality.
I decided to leave on Sunday of bike week. The weather looked ok in Florida but I may have to play in the rain on my travels to Savannah. I make this a two day trip. I stop in Savannah (where I grew up) and visit family. Then I head to NC where I currently live.
The very beginning of the ride on Day 1 was fantastic for about the first 60-90 miles. Why? Many other bikers were leaving too. It felt like one gigantic group ride. At one point, there must have been about 70-100 bikers rolling down the road. Very cool sight to see.
Again, I tried to use a different route back to Savannah than I used to get to PCB. I did get on I-10 for about 40 miles to get past Tallahassee but after that, nothing but back roads.
Sunday was a warm day. It was actually very quiet as well. Not much traffic just a bunch of small towns. I finally had to get gas and pulled over at a grocery store that had a few empty storefronts for a break in the shade.
After eating a snack and a drink, its back on the road. I did read the weather report and everything looked good until the last 100 miles where I may encounter spotty showers. I was about 50 miles from my parents house and the skies started to look a bit ominous. I decided to put the hammer down and try to out run the rain.
After about 25 miles, the road got really wet. It then dawned on me that I was not outrunning the storm but instead I was catching up to it! Doh! I slowed down but the roads were soaked. They had gotten a LOT of rain. When I was 5 mins from my parents house, I began to get into the rain. I was able to pull up into my parents garage and head inside.
I was damp on the outside but that was all. I put my helmet, jacket, pants, and shoes out to dry and then spent time with my parents.
I left the next morning after a good breakfast getting on the road about 9am. This is the shorter of the two day drive. The day started off partly cloudy around 70. Again, pretty uneventful as I am just taking back roads back to the North Carolina. About halfway home, I began to notice the skies getting a bit angry. The closer I got to home, the worse it looked.
I did notice that sometimes the pavement was dry and other times it was wet. I figured it was going to be another one of those days where there are spotty downpours. I just kept moving on down the road.
At one point, I did find a nice rest area/park in one small town and stopped for a break, a snack, and to hydrate some.
After resting (well, actually walking around), I got back on the bike and headed north once again. I really lucked out once more as I never hit any major rain pockets. I always seemed to just miss them but in some spots, the roads were a mess. You could tell a LOT of rain had fallen recently. Most places it was just wet but in a few areas, you really had to watch out for some major puddles.
After stopping for gas one more time, I finally made it back home to some very happy puppies. I greeted them first then proceeded to unpack, do laundry, and relax. What a great but exhausting trip. Cannot wait to do it again!