Four Corners Tour – Ride Day 5 – Tour Day 2 – July 16, 2015 – Thursday

Start Time: 9:04 AM EDT
Stop Time: 5:22 PM EDT
Start Location: Estero, FL
Stop Location: Nashville, GA
Lodging: Our Place Hotel
Breakfast: Dad’s
Lunch: Subway
Dinner: Marketplace Cafe
Miles Traveled Today: 437
Weather: 81-95, Mostly Rain, 2/3 of day riding in rain. Sweet cool rain on a hot day.

Vacation is over, time to ride. No more of this paradise each morning.

Today was ALL Interstate, easy peasy to explain. I-75 with a short interlude on I-275 in Tampa so I could ride over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Apparently the rain and gloomy sky made the Skyway bridge impossible to see in my photo, hopefully my video comes out better. Here is the scenery my shot failed to capture.

It is a beautiful bridge, and surprisingly enough, even though I was raised in Florida, and pass through this area almost every year, I had never crossed this bridge before.

As you approach the bridge, there are multiple sign warning about high winds on the bridge, which were even more concerning than they would have been if I had not been pulling a camper. Turns out the wind was no problem, but bikers need to be aware that there is a potential for a difficult ride on windy days.

As always, tolls on a motorcycle are no fun, and even less fun for the cars behind me, and I-275 is a toll road. If you see a motorcycle at a toll booth, choose another lane.

I mean, it just takes time to remove your gloves, unzip the pocket of riding pants, get out the money while trying not to drop the 950# beast you are straddling, get your change, figure out where to put your change, zip the pocket you chose, and then start the lengthy process of getting your riding gloves back on, all of which must seem like an eternity to a car or truck driver.

AND, as I have come to expect, I felt assaulted when the toll booth operator said the toll was $2.50. I immediately responded with “the sign said $1.25”, to which he responded that my trailer counted as an extra axle. Rape I tell you, just plain old highway robbery.

Better change the subject before the veins in my neck explode. Which is probably not the ideal time to talk about Goonbops, but today was Goonbops a plenty day. First there was the Goonbop with his Goonbop son just north of Estero who apparently needed to get to the gas station Mario Andretti style, cutting in and out of traffic, and coming as close to hitting me in the process as I have experienced so far on this trip.

Then there was the Democrat Goonbop who decided to make the jump to Republican (she moved from the left lane to the right lane whilst I was still occupying the Republican right lane).

A huge part of riding a bike is being fully aware of what is going on all around you at all times, so you know what your options are, in this case, I knew I had room to move right and let this lady correct her Democratic proclivity. When she finally realized what she had done, she jerked right back to full bore Democrat.

2/3 of the day was spent riding in the rain, and while most non-bikers think this would be an awful part of biking, on a hot day, and it was a hot one, cool sweet rain is welcomed by bikers.

It lowers the temperature, and getting wet in riding gear is just no big deal at all. I wear mesh riding pants and jacket with a moister wicking tech shirt and underpants, so once it stops raining, I’m typically dry within an hour or less.

Repeated that wet, dry, wet, dry process several times through the day.

My destination was Our Place Hotel again, meeting my wife, daughter and grand-daughter there (they were about an hour behind me in the car).

Debbie and I were again treated to a great dinner with Thomas and Mary Howard Clayton just off the Nashville, Georgia square, with a short visit to Hannah’s Hope Park to see the new tables added since we were here just a few days back.

I also decided to try to get a panoramic shot of the whole memorial about Hannah again, my panoramic attempt last time we were here failed.

Nailed it this time.

Well, I’m off for Brandon , Mississippi tomorrow, and get to visit with my little sister and her family, and a treasured aunt and uncle. If I’m real lucky, my cousin the “chef” will cook dinner tomorrow evening. I can’t find words to describe the last meal he cooked for us (extraordinary falls way short).

Thank you Lord for keeping the Tupperware side up today.