Day 16 was 550 miles on the trusty Honda, riding from Columbia, S.C. to Arcadia, Fla. I started out at 4:30AM and enjoyed over an hour of cool riding before daybreak. Dawn arrived before reaching Charleston and turning south on I-95 toward Savannah and Jacksonville.
I suspected the day was going to be a hot one, and I thought about starting off at 7:00-8:00PM the night before, but I enjoy the scenery. After all, why miss the journey just to get to the destination?
Earlier in the week thunderstorms were in the forecast but they did not materialize. For that missed forecast, I was quite pleased. I didn't want to "cook" in my rainsuit!
By mid-day temperatures were in the 90s. I knew it was hot; I just didn't know how hot. After arriving in Arcadia, I learned the high for the day was 99ยบ F.! No wonder I was hot!
How interesting the race (errr, the pace) is of vehicles on interstates in the Southeast. I wonder if the continual presence of State Police has something to do with it. (heh-heh). I didn't see any state cops in South Carolina, but patrol cars were visible in Georgia and Florida, and the first officer I saw in Florida was a motorcycle cop with a vehicle stopped on the inside shoulder. He was seated on his bike and writing out a ticket to the driver.
Drivers were "fast" through Orlando about 2:30PM. Compared to Chicago, though, they were considerate and stayed in lanes (except for one who must have thought he was on the Sebring race track). No one, and I do mean "no one", tailgated me at any point during the day or displayed any rudeness at my driving at the posted speed limit in the right-hand lane. How refreshing that was.
Jacksonville and Orlando are beautiful cities. Maybe I'll have to return and spend time exploring them.
Gas prices? From a low of $3.73 to $3.99/gal. for regular. Didn't see $4.00 all day (although $3.999 is there!). But I had checked www.gasbuddy.com the day before and saw that regular in McHenry is $4.15! Ouch! Headwinds and 70MPH speed limits cut my gas mileage to 37.8. I like 48MPH much better!
How about your summer plans? Will you curtail driving? Will you shorten or cancel any trips by car or van?
© 2008 GUS PHILPOTT
You never know who is interested…
3 months ago
1 comment:
Not so much horse-hauling this summer due to diesel prices. And I just bought my dream trailer last spring. Oh well; I like that we may all be driving less = polluting less.
Post a Comment