Ride report -- 9, 10, and 11 March 2012

I got a characteristically late start on Friday, after having a very nice meal. Regardless of how well I pack, it always takes a bit of time to pre-flight the moto-bike and to get all of my cold weather gear on. Given the weather that night, and what I expected on the road, I wore my LD Comfort gear and the Gerbing's [heated] jacket, trousers, and gloves. I had purchased a little ascot-like thing from Aerostich on my last order, so I tried it out, as well (I like it – it keeps the breeze from coming in under my helmet, which keeps my neck warm).

I shoved off about 2130, heading north to Frederick. My route plan had a few BBQ joints (Smoke Chasing Grand Tour) and virtual geocaches, but the chilly air and lateness of hour caused those to fall off the plan in real time – it’s always useful to save a few places for next time!

I got to the Hampton Inn – Harrisburg West about XXXX after an uneventful ride. The temperature was pretty chilly – it dipped to the high 20’s (deg F) at one point, but stayed above 33 deg F for most of the ride.

It turns out that I’ve stayed at that Hampton Inn once before, on a really neat trip to Hershey Park. The hotel lobby has been completely rebuilt in the time between the previous stay and now – it’s very nice.

On Saturday morning, I tried to find a cache very close to the hotel. I thought it was a bit chilly (I didn’t bring a street-clothes jacket on this trip), but figured I could gut it out for the short hike over to the cache (which wasn’t there – DNF). There was a bit of a breeze, so the wind chill was noticeable. When I got back to the hotel, I packed up and got ready to go. The bike thermometer read 33 deg F, so with that slight wind chill, it was below freezing. Small wonder that I thought it was a bit brisk.

I headed in to Harrisburg on a mission to bag the Camp Curtin BBQ and to log the virtual geocaches in town. Harrisburg is a very interesting town. The north part of town is in the post-development, post-blight phase, with many blocks sitting completely idle. Closer to the core of Harrisburg is the state capitol and state government buildings. The area immediately downtown is pretty nice, and there’s a nice waterfront area (at which I dawdled a bit).

And, as promised, here's Camp Curtin Bar-B-Que Station. The area immediately around the Camp needed an influx of capital, but the Camp itself looked just fine. I didn't know how to interpret the CLOSED sign on the door -- it wasn't immediately apparent whether that meant "CLOSED for the day" or "CLOSED forever". 

Camp Curtin (the camp, not necessarily the Bar-B-Que Station) has an interesting history....

Pennsylvania State Capitol:

After Harrisburg, it was time to head southwest. I stopped off to exchange travel bugs at a travel bug “motel”, then continued through Boiling Springs and then southwest through Shippensburg and Chambersburg.

I'd read about this item of "road art", which is located near Shippensburg, so I stopped to take a picture. There's a stretch limo up on stilts at the same location...I save that photograph for next time.

This was my first Waffle House of the day; it's located on Route 11 in Hagerstown, MD:

...and here's Hempen Hill BBQ Bar & Grill (more Smoke Chasing Grand Tour):

 ...and this was my last Waffle House of the day (and of the entire trip):

Note that all Waffle House restaurants look alike...if it weren't for photograph metadata and notes, I wouldn't be able to keep them straight.

I had planned a very ambitious ride for Saturday, and had to shed a few stops to maintain a decent pace. I really wanted to go to Sharpsburg (to get a photograph of the post office), but that detour would have been costly in terms of time, so I kept heading southwest to pick up Interstate 68.

On the way, I needed to get a picture of any sign for the C&O Canal National Historic Park. This isn't the sexiest of signs, but it'll do.

I departed I-68 to head to Little Orleans, MD and Paw Paw, MD – what a trip! 

This isn't the smallest post office I've seen since I've started chasing them (Oriskany, VA fills that bill nicely), but it's pretty close.

Because of the direction from which I was approaching Paw Paw (the north, via Little Orleans), I wound up on some decent gravel roads waaaaay out in the country, right in the middle of a huge state forest. I noticed there were a few caches out there, so decided to go for one in particular. I load up, in the Navigator IV, all the caches along a route on the off chance that I’ll be near something interesting and have a bit of time for exploration. This was one of those opportunities. I wound up finding a cache very close to an interesting site, and skipping the one that attracted me to that side road (it was another 150 meters or so of bushwhacking, which is harder to do when dressed for cold weather).

To say that the location and the view were breathtaking is to take something from the experience. This was definitely a "do 'gain".

I continued southwest to Paw Paw, to get the required post office photograph:

...then headed west to connect up with Interstate 68. I wanted to bag the post office in Ohiopyle, PA, but it was getting dark. By the time I reached the post office, I needed to light up the sign with the high beams, and light up the rally flag with a flashlight. 

Not too bad, eh?

With the sun down, it was getting cold again, and I was ready to get something to eat and grab some z’s. I headed to the Hampton Inn in Uniontown, and grabbed chow at an Italian place across the street.

It was up to 35 deg F on Sunday morning, but the forecast was for a very nice day. I rode through Uniontown in the morning to get an idea of the place (it’s very interesting, in a good way). Uniontown has some connection with George C. Marshall – there’s a nice memorial park in his honor downtown.

I headed to Braddock’s Grave, which is located on U.S. 40, east of Uniontown. U.S. 40 generally follows a colonial-era path / road that later became National Pike. Colonel George Washington led men who built a 12-foot wide “road” through this area to permit the movement of British troops to the Pittsburgh area to defend against French and native attacks on British colonists. A section of this trail / road is plainly visible at Braddock’s Grave, which is really cool.

From Braddock’s Grave, I headed east to Fort Necessity. This is one of the places I need to revisit, to spend some time in the visitor’s / interpretive center.

I've been meaning to spend more time investigating U.S. 40; while riding east, I happened upon this old toll house:

I headed south to get a photograph of the post office at Accident, MD:

...and Archie’s BBQ... 

Continuing south and east, I grabbed Kitzmiller, MD (where I had a very nice, but brief, stop at the Potomac River) then headed into West Virginia. 

The road from Kitzmiller to U.S. 50 has been on my list of roads to ride for a while, now, so it was nice to finally ride it.

I needed to grab a photograph of the post office in Romney, and it was time for a Blizzard™ at the Dairy Queen there, so a stop was in order.

Heading east from Romney, I wanted to make a stop in Unger, WV. The address given at roadsideamerica.com was incorrect (I believe), which caused me to take a long (but exceptionally pretty) detour. Doing a little beside-the-road research on the *directions* to the place told me where the turn was, and I finally found the place, located just north of the West Virginia – Virginia line. 

After I got my pictures, I headed for Winchester, then east on Route 7 to Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts – my last bonus photograph of the trip.

Sunday’s weather was spectacular. The temperature got up to 68 deg F, which was perfect.

All-in-all, it was a wonderful weekend. I was able to see Harrisburg a bit more, and I got to visit a few more places that are now on my “do again” list (specifically Little Orleans, Paw Paw, Ohiopyle, Kitzmiller).

Sargent Saddle Review -- BMW R1200RT

I've been meaning to write a nice review of the aftermarket R1200RT saddle by Sargent Cycle.

Let's start with a statement of the obvious, and one that I'm sure nearly every R1200RT rider knows. The stock BMW saddle is a plank. That's true of nearly every other stock saddle I've ridden, and the BMW R1200RT is no exception. The stock saddle looks great -- it really fits in with the contours and look of the bike. My hind end refused to appreciate just how great that stock saddle looked, though, and it was time to make a change.

I looked online at a number of aftermarket saddles, and read a lot of reviews. I settled on the Sargent, and ordered it right after I got back from Washington State last summer. The new saddle showed up earlier than promised, and I set about performing the installation. I bought the heated pilot / heated pillion saddle combination. I had to replace the bike's saddle heat connectors, by snipping the original connectors off the bike, installing new backshells, and crimping pins on the exposed wires. Nothing required but a pair of side cutters, a crimping tool, a strong light, and patience. I really took my time, and spent about an hour getting the job done right.

So, aside from the fact that it is electrified, how does it feel?

Well, shortly after I completed the installation, I took it on the road. Where the stock saddle would start to get to me after a few hundred miles, the Sargent kept me solidly in the saddle. In early October, I rode The Void (1200+ miles in 30 or so hours) and felt GREAT. I rode with other folks who were standing on the pegs or nearly sitting side-saddle to relieve pain, and I felt just fine.

I can't say enough about the Sargent, and how it fits me just right. As with anything else associated with long distance riding, your mileage will vary.

Ride report -- 18 February 2012

This winter has offered some amazing riding weather. I recall last year's first ride was some time in February -- I've been able to ride nearly every weekend so far this year.

I had the bike serviced at Bob's BMW yesterday (24000 mile check, new tires, plus several other things that needed to be done), and the job took a little longer than I had budgeted. Instead of heading out yesterday afternoon, I decided to take the long way home, through the District, and do a little sightseeing. I figured that I'd be able to get out at a decent time on Saturday and would be able to catch up on the riding.

After getting a really good snooze, I was all packed up and ready to head out. The sky was nearly crystal clear (and remained that way almost all day).

It was a nice, and brisk morning. I don't recall seeing the temperature go below this value all morning.

My route had me heading north to Harrisburg, PA via I-495, I-270, and U.S. 15. I'm on the Waffle House Grand Tour, so I stopped by to visit the two Waffle House locations in Frederick, MD to get pictures of my bike, rally flag (er, little serape), and the dining establishment. I was pretty hungry by this time, but didn't want to spoil my lunch by chowing down at the Waffle House.

Waffle House #1666

Waffle House #1555

From Frederick, I headed north to Thurmont, MD -- near the home of the BMW Bikers of Metropolitan Washington (BMWBMW)'s Square Root Rally in Sabillasville, MD. I needed to get a picture of a sign for the Catoctin Mountain Park, and the good folks of the National Park Service didn't disappoint.

I've been here once before, many years ago. The hiking is excellent, and there's a lot of nice history to be seen and enjoyed. I'll be back, when the weather is a little warmer. It's tough to get much walking done when you're dressed like the Michelin Man(TM). I ride on Michelin Pilot Road 2 tires, by the way, but that's not why I feel like the old boy when I ride in the winter.

Catoctin Mountain Park

After that nice stop, I was on to Gettysburg. As you can see, the skies were completely clear. Gettysburg is in a valley, and there was a bit of a breeze, just to keep the temperature crisp. The number of visitors in the battlefield was very light, which was nice for my riding pleasure.

The very nice Visitor's Center is down a road to the right in this picture.

I had a wonderful trip to Gettysburg last year...it was really nice to visit the battlefield and the town again in the winter.

Yes, as you can see, I didn't put the sunscreen on (again).

The Big Money Rally has a nice list of bonus locations, among them National Park System units and selected Post Offices. The Gettysburg Post Office is on the list, so here's my ride, rally flag, and the building.

Gettysburg, PA Post Office

No motorcycle trip would be complete without the opportunity to visit one or more geocaches. This is one that I stopped to find. I managed to find five on this trip, which is pretty good, considering the temperature.

Virtual geocache

 I had wanted to stop by the battlefield (Devil's Den) last October during The Void Rally, but dropped that location when time got tight on the first day. I didn't make it back to Devil's Den on this trip; I saved it for next time (when it's a bit warmer).

I did climb to the top of the tower that looks across the battlefield; I've been by, but never to the top, and knew that I'd get a great shot of Little Round Top.

Little Round Top (left)

 It was getting to be about time to head back to the barn, so I stopped for the virtual geocache at this covered bridge. It was amazing to walk across a bridge this old and well maintained.

Sachs Covered Bridge

And, here I am, back in Northern Virginia, at the end of a wonderful ride....

Smoke Chasing 2012

The increasingly popular Smoke Chasing Grand Tour begins in just a couple of weeks (1 March 2012). I have my "flag", so I'm ready to go....

Early spring?

What an unusual winter. I'm sitting on a pinnic table outside Bob's BMW, reasonably comfortable, in mid-February. If it weren't for the breeze, it would be really nice. I can't wait for the service on the bike to be complete, then I'm off for parts west.

I've heard that we're in for a bumper crop of bugs this year, because the cold usually beats their numbers back over the winter. More ticks. Sigh.

Ride report 120115

The Big Money Rally has been going for three days, and since the weather was very clear (albeit somewhat crisp), I headed out to bag a few bonii. As you can see, the bike was reporting the chill in the air -- the icing warning (the snowflake above the odometer) didn't stop flashing for the entire 7 1/2 hour ride.

I was wearing my usual riding gear, plus a Gerbing's heated jacket and trouser combination, my usual winter Gerbing's heated gloves, and a wool balaclava from Aerostich. The heated gear, plus the grip heater and saddle heater made the trip a wonder. I felt a little chill on my ankles (I wasn't wearing the heated socks, today, which I'll add for the next chilly ride), but other than that I was really comfortable.

Those are my beady little eyes, peering out from my helmet.

I knew I wanted to head to southern Maryland, so off I went. The Big Money Rally has a whole set of bonii locations for the first "phase" (12 January through about 1 April 2012). The bonii include National Parks and selected U.S. Post Offices. The National Park units must have the word "park" in their name, so I was off to Oxon Cove Park in Maryland, which is one of the closer units that fit the criteria. Oxon Cove Park contains Oxon Hill Farm, which is a real demonstration farm. It's been YEARS since I've been there -- it'll have to wait a little longer for a re-visit, when I have a bit more time on the clock and the mercury is a bit higher in the sight glass.

Part of the challenge with photo bonii is getting the shot composed just right. I don't have the right hangars for the rally "flag" yet, so I improvised by using the bike as a prop. This was my first bonus location for this rally. As you can see, the parking lot was completely empty on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

The next stop was Fort Foote, one of the U.S. Civil War forts that ringed Washington, DC.

And from Fort Foote, I was on to Fort Washington. Fort Washington is another place I've haven't visited in years...perhaps later this year.

 

As I mentioned earlier, in addition to U.S. National Park Service units (that have "park" in their name or official signage), selected U.S. Post Offices are on the bonii list. My next stop was the post office just outside Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division.

And, here I am, again, peering out of my helmet, in the bright winter sun.

Since I was in the area, I stopped off at Smallwood State Park to bag a geocache. 

The U.S. Post Office in Nanjemoy, MD is pretty small, as most of the rural post offices are.

One of the reasons I enjoy these Grand Tours so much is that they, like geocaching, cause me to go places I wouldn't otherwise have visited. I spent a lot of time rolling through some amazing places in rural Maryland this afternoon. While I saw only two other motorcycles (both dirt bikes), I saw quite a few young people out either walking along or playing basketball.

The U.S. Post Office in Welcome, MD shares a building with what appeared to me to be a residence.

I just couldn't pass this one up. Apehanger's Bar & Grill in Bel Alton, MD has a LOT of motorcycle parking. When I'm by here in better weather, the bikes are stacked up like cord wood. Today, there was only one, lonely BMW R1200RT out front. The other motorcycle parking spots had cages in them. Apehanger's is, I've learned, for sale. There's one heckuva investment opportunity for someone, waiting in Bel Alton.

Piney Point is a very interesting spot...I've never been in that area, before, but want to go back and explore more when time permits. For now, though, I've "bagged" their local post office.

As I rolled out of Piney Point, I was getting hungry, and the sun was heading down, so I turned northward to return to the barn. I headed for what was to be the last U.S. Post Office of the day, in California, MD.

There's a serviceable, but not great, Mexican restaurant near the post office, so I parked the bike and grabbed a bite to eat before heading north.

So far this year, I've been able to ride on two weekends. It was chilly both times, but the weather was otherwise excellent. It's great to get out to ride, and to practice rally skills (e.g., route planning, bonii searching, timed stops). Here's hoping the weather holds out reasonably well the rest of winter!

Butt Lite 6IX

Butt Lite 6IX closed for new registrants today. I realized, as I was starting this post, that I hadn't blogged that (a) I was interested in participating in Butt Lite 6IX, (b) that I had registered, and (c) that I have a slot.

So, here's that post:

(a) yes
(b) yes
(c) YES!

I have the next few months to train...I have a slot in this year's Cape Fear 1000, and want to run the Minuteman 1000. I wanted to run the Mason Dixon 20-20 "Mountain Do Do", but Joe's graduation ceremony is that weekend, so I'm off to a nice family occasion!

2012 Cape Fear 1000

The Coastal Carolina Rally Crewe runs the Cape Fear 1000 every year in April. It's two concurrent long-distance endurance rallies: a 29 hour version and a 10-hour mini-rally. 


This year's (2012) 29-hour version starts at 1000 Eastern Time on Friday, 20 April 2012 in each of three locations:

• Arcadia, FL
• Jamestown, NY
• Paris, TN

Each rider in the 29-hour rally must be at the rally HQ not later than 1500 Eastern Time on Saturday, 21 April 2012. 


There is a mandatory 4-hour rest stop (which can be extended to six hours for additional points), so the rally involves a maximum of 25 hours in the saddle. For those who ride a consistent 50 mph over long distances (which includes fuel stops, bio-breaks, snack stops, stretch breaks, flower-sniffing, and bonus-location-finding), that's about 1250 miles.


The reward at the end is satisfaction for a safe and fun ride and a BBQ dinner on Saturday evening.



The 2012 Cape Fear 1000 opened for registration this morning at 0100 EST. One of my riding buddies registered at 0107 and found all of the slots except Jamestown, NY already closed. I slept in a little longer than I should have, but found a slot when I logged on about 0200. So, I'm all set for the first LD rally of the year.


Here's the distribution of bikes registered in this year's rally:

BMW              47

Harley-Davidson   6

Honda            41

Kawasaki         13

Suzuki            6

Triumph           1

Victory           1

Yamaha           10

Total           125

Total w PAX     142

There's a lot of prep work that needs to be done over the next three months -- additional farkling (new camera to install, sort out audio improvements (time for SiriusXM?), improve the mount for the traffic service, and so on), practice runs, practice planning sessions, 24000 mile check, new tires, ....

Last ride of 2011?

It's always hard to tell when the last of some things happens. I'm guessing, that because of scheduling and weather, that today's all-too-short ride may have been the last ride of the year.

The Void 2011

And...that's a wrap, until the Cape Fear rally in April 2012....

The Void 2011 -- Ride report

What a great ride!

I completed The Void yesterday afternoon. I started in Lebanon, PA at 0900 Friday, and finished at about 1330 on Saturday.

A few thoughts:

• I learned a lot from the MD 20/20, and didn't make those mistakes this time around...I made some new ones, but nothing serious.
• I still plan too aggressively...I need to give myself more time -- at least 10 minutes. The good news is that my plans always include bail-outs. The bad news is that I usually need them. Fuel stops are under five minutes, and most bonus locations are quick, but they aren't free.
• I had almost everything I needed. I forgot the road food at home, so needed to stop by the store Thursday evening. Not a big problem, but a distraction anyway. I needed stamps, so needed to stop at a post office on the way...took just a few minutes, but every minute counts.
• I need to think about traffic light density and construction zones -- these two factors destroy a timeline. U.S. 13 in Delaware comes to mind as a perfect example of a time-robbing route. Just because it says 45 MPH or 55 MPH on a sign, doesn't make it so.
• I had never done a rest bonus at the host hotel. I learned how to stop the clock quicker than I did last night. This cost me a big double bonus in North Carolina this morning. An extra half hour would have really helped.
• I made a few wrong turns, based on either my interpretation of really good signage, or signage that just wasn't clear enough. Either way, I was able to recover very quickly, so didn't lose any time.
• Choices. I went for a 999 multi in Delaware on Friday; that decision slowed me up enough to ensure I couldn't make it back to Lynchburg in enough time to do the difficult "Multi-N" loop in Virginia (which is what the winning rider did).
• I had fun. I had a lot of fun. I learned a lot about myself, about my motorcycle, and about motorcycle riding.

And now, on to the narrative:

I started in Lebanon, Pennsylvania on Friday morning. The start window ran from 0850 to 0910; I spent a few minutes unsuccessfully riding to the Lebanon Post Office (which I didn't locate), then rode to the Rite Aid downtown (at which I'd seen another rider earlier). One candy bar and a good receipt (to start the clock) later, I was ready to place the telephone call that let the Rally Masters know that I'd started the clock.

Note to self: these large chain drug stores are nearly everywhere (except in small towns where you want to buy sun screen because you're getting baked behind your helmet visor, but that's another story), and they have good receipts (meaning: the city, state, date, and time are on the receipt).

I had planned to pick up a two-bonus multi in PA and DE first, so I was off to find a cemetery in Bristol, PA. It was a beautiful morning, and the road conditions were really good.

Here's what I was searching for in Bristol:

This poor gal was killed in an automobile collision, and had more than a few visitors on Friday to pay their respects.

From Bristol, I was off to Dover, Delaware to visit the Governor's House. Pretty nice place.

As I alluded to earlier, I spent a lot of time navigating the streets and highways of Delaware...nice place, but very time-consuming.

The combination of Bristol, PA and Dover, DE (in any order, and with no other bonii in between) was worth 999 points (333 + 333 + 333 for the combination)

From Dover, I needed to travel just a short distance up the road to Smyrna, Delaware, to take a picture of a water tower. Very conveniently (for me), the water tower was adjacent to a Sheetz (and I needed fuel):

Smyrna was worth 111 points.

From Smyrna, I traveled north to Newark ("New Ark", as opposed to "Nurk", which is some other place, at another exit):

The Peoples Plaza get their own giant advertising sign, in the form of a water tower, which was worth 222 points to me.

Having spent A LOT OF TIME in Delaware, it was time to head north again to Pennsylvania. More time slogging along roads that had some construction and A LOT of traffic lights.

For 999 points, I went to Bernville, Pennsylvania, to visit the Kirkhoff Funeral Home (the site of the former Penn Valley Hotel):

My last stop in Pennsylvania was in Selinsgrove, for 1111 points:

There was a big traffic delay, so I just pulled over to the side of the road, jumped off the bike, and snapped the picture. As you might be able to see, it was getting late in the day when I made this stop. The traffic snarl around Selinsgrove added more delay to the plan. By now, I'm far enough behind on the plan that I abandoned the stop in Gettysburg (Devil's Den) which I'd been looking forward to all day. So, I'm now off to Virginia (via Maryland and West Virginia) to do the required odometer check in Lynchburg. My GPS told me that I'd be there right before midnight, and after a long ride, that's exactly where and when I ended up.

The odometer check was a ~15 mile route around a part of Lynchburg. That took about 30 minutes and was worth 1 point.

I stopped the clock at the rally hotel (the Quality Inn in Lynchburg) to begin the mandatory three-hour rest stop (which was worth 2000 points, plus 2000 points because every bonus after the odometer check was doubled(!)).

I got some good sleep in Lynchburg, then it was time to mount up again and head out. I'd dumped the massive 6672 point bonus (1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 6666 for the combination), so did a quick-replan. I planned to go to Kingsport, TN then Danbury, NC then back to Lynchburg (the fellow who placed second ran that route, but went to Danbury before Kingsport).

This is what (888 x 2) points looks like in Kingsport, TN:

This is one of the places to which I intend to return. I like river towns a lot, and Kingsport has a lot of appeal in that regard. It looks like they have good BBQ, as well, which is another good reason to return.

Next stop was in Abingdon, Virginia, for (111 x 2) points:

Abingdon is another place that I want to visit again.

Further up the road was Crockett, Virginia, where I aroused the attention of the person staffing the post office while I was earning (333 x 2) points:

She was wondering why so many people on motorcycles were running around her post office, taking pictures. By this time, I had been worried enough about getting caught on rural roads, in Virginia, on a beautiful fall Saturday, that I'd abandoned the Danbury, NC bonus (which would have been worth 777 x 2 points), so I chatted with the post office lady for a bit, explaining what we had been doing around her post office.

With Danbury off the plan, I now had enough time to stop for a bite to eat (which I did). Then, just for fun, I stopped off at Hiwassee, Virginia (for a whopping (6 x 2) points:

One of the many high points of this rally was seeing a very large black bear on a very small country road coming out of Hiwassee. The bear saw me about the time I saw it, and stood up on its hind legs. It looked at me for a split second, then went back down on all fours to amble a few paces, then stood up again. I was moving pretty slowly at the time (and as quietly as a motorcycle will allow), but the bear though better of a bear-motorcycle encounter, and ran through the brush downhill.

The road out of Hiwassee was beautiful -- another must-do visit in the future.

Also on a lark, I stopped by Bedford, Virginia, for my last stop (also worth 6 x 2 points).

Bedford is a charming town...on the list for revisits.

I finished 9th out of a field of 23 who started in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and learned lot. Now, it's off to the Cape Fear 1000 in April, 2012!

Many thanks to Scott LaShier and Gary Stipe (and a lot of others) who planned and executed yet another great The Void!

The Void start

Well, it's nice and quiet in Lebanon, PA this morning...I saw three RTs, one LT, and one Wing in the parking lot this morning....

2011 The Void

The rally packet arrived Tuesday evening, and I'm planning my ride. It should be a nice ride -- the weather sure is cooperating.

Packing light?

One of the major advantages to backpacking is that it forces you to pack light. There are a few extra things here to support the front end and back end of this hike, but we were able to carry everything in one trip to the terminal.

Location : 7100-7102 Elm Rd, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), Baltimore, MD 21240,
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Underway

On the tarmac at BWI...underway to CLT in a few minutes....

Location : 7100-7102 Elm Rd, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), Baltimore, MD 21240,
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