Checking tire pressure and a few other details:

All loaded up and ready to go!

Make it to the garage and reinstall and check everything on the bike. I stand in the garage crossing my fingers, hoping my bike is ready for its journey. I will find out soon enough. I kiss Tiffany goodbye and head out. The bike gives a good wobble getting off my driveway and I think about how I’m going to have to pay attention to the weight the bike now has on it. The first few miles of my trip are spent paying close attention to what my bike tells me, as there is some paranoia that I could have possibly forgotten something drastically important. Between the change in weight and the new tires that still have an aggressive profile, the bike feels noticeably different. Fortunately everything feels fine once I get used to things.

Judd and I meet up in Cumming GA off of exit 17 on GA 400. There is a McDonalds there that has a few old motorcycles in the building, and our meeting place now feels very appropriate. There is even a small pocket bike in the corner. I thought my three hours of sleep the night before was bad, but I find out due to work, Judd is running on only two. We fill up on breakfast and decide to get on the bikes, to start the journey to Nova Scotia. Our first day would be 1000 miles, to get us as far north as we possibly can on our first day. I’m hoping to get a room in CT, which would only leave 600 miles to the easternmost point of the US in Maine.

McDonalds, roughly 5am:

Filling up for the first of many times:

Starting mileage: 23,767 miles

We have to make a quick detour before hitting the road, to get Judd a digital camera since his was not available before he left. Roll out via sideroads to the closest Wal-Mart on our way before hitting I-85 and he picks something up. We hit I-85 and quickly get out of Georgia. We end up on I-85 for over 400 miles heading towards I-95. The temperatures hang in the low 90’s by noon. Grab some lunch at a Wendy’s around Raleigh, NC and continue on our way.

Quick stop at Walmart for a digital camera:

Lunch at Wendy's, temperature is around 90 degrees and rising:

Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina end up being pretty uneventful. I think we were mostly just trying to stay focused since we had a lot of miles to cover and neither of us had gotten much sleep the night before. We did however see a lot of ADV bikes loaded up heading southbound on I-85. I’m not sure where they were going but I can only imagine they were on a great trip as well. I always try and wave to fellow sportbikers I see on the road, but now I can’t help but smile when I see a BMW GS, VStrom, or similar heading down the road, wondering where they are going. Heading to work, heading off road, or heading across the country, you never know with a bike like that.

Somewhere in Virginia:

Virginia was rough as the traffic slowed us down. For 30 miles, we could never get much past first or second gear. We never did see anything that would imply why traffic was creeping so slowly. The heat was getting to us, so we stopped for gas a little earlier than normal in a place called Triangle, VA. By the time we got back, traffic sped up but now the temperatures had gotten to over 100 degrees. I think this, coupled with the traffic we had ridden through, had tired us out a little more than we wanted.

Along with the traffic, the state itself slowed us a down a bit since we knew Virginia was notorious for issuing speeding tickets. We never really sped much up to this point but if definitely kept our speeds more reasonable. The "Speed enforced by aircraft" signs along the interstate are interesting, though. Fortunately we never did see much of a police presence on this leg of the trip, but the return trip home would be another story in itself.

Make out way through Washington DC and the traffic starts making its presence known again. We can see some of our capitol’s monuments peaking above the tree lines, but nothing close enough to see very well. We continue on and soon make out way into Maryland. The interstate in Maryland is really done up nicely and they have hand laid stone walls running along most of the road. Much nicer looking than the concrete median slabs seen in Atlanta.

We stop in for gas again in Maryland, close to the Delaware border. We’ve got a bit of a cluster ahead of us going through New Jersey and New York so we wanted to make sure our route would be a good one. We discuss plans and decide to follow the Atlantic coast on the I-95 interstate. Although we are running a little late, we decide we should keep on trucking and try and make Connecticut before we stop for the night. My calculations figure that will be around midnight or possibly even as late as two in the morning by the time we stop.

A quick gas stop in Maryland to check the maps:

Delaware was an interesting state, since I didn’t even notice we were in it. Probably a combination of the miles I had done so far today and the fact that we were only in Delaware for only about 15 miles. There’s nothing like not knowing what state you are in. I saw the border coming up from the exit numbers and when I saw the sign, I thought it would be for Delaware, but after crossing the bridge, the sign for New Jersey was what greeted us. Somehow I completely missed Delaware. We did ride through it, but I somehow must not have caught the signs.

New Jersey was a complete letdown, and that really is an understatement. I am sure there are nice places in the state, but riding through the New Jersey Turnpike was incredibly unimpressive. There is also a smell riding through that state that just is completely uninviting. Traffic was awful as well, even though it was already 11pm. We continue on and stop at the last service station before getting into New York. This place was packed. There was a line at least 20 cars long to get into the gas station area of the service plaza. I’m not waiting to we decide to keep going and hit gas later.

On out way out we catch up with a group of guys on sportbikes waiting to get gas. Judd pulls up to them to ask where a good place for gas is, and we chat for a bit. These guys were kind of fun to talk to. They see the luggage and ask where we are going, and all let out a “DAMN” when we tell them Nova Scotia. We continue talking and joke around a bit. Regardless of the blinged out bikes, they were pretty cool guys and give us some hints on where to get gas, and maybe a room for the night. We get gas at the next exit and continue on into New York.

Having not looked at a map in much detail, I wasn’t sure what to expect in New York since I wasn’t sure where the Turnpike would lead us to. After crossing the bridge, it looks like we were headed through New York City. We were shocked at the amount of traffic that we saw here. Going through a lot of tunnels and bridges, and much of the buildings here were aged, with a lot of character. It almost looked like a real life rendition of Gotham City.

Along with the traffic we saw, the tolls we saw in New Jersey and New York were pretty awful. I had completely underestimated how much it costs to get through these two states. Ironically, the least scenic areas we had ridden through so far were the only ones requiring a toll. Both Judd and I noticed this and couldn’t help but think that maybe these toll roads were an indication that the road was not to be traveled on.

Unfortunately the road conditions were pretty horrible here, regardless of the tolls paid, and the potholes I ran through were pretty brutal. I underestimated many of the seams in the road and they shook the bike up real bad. It was, however, a good test for the luggage I mounted, and I was hoping things inside were not getting beat up too badly. We were not in NY for long and we were soon in Connecticut, where the road conditions became much better.

At this point we decided that we needed to get a room. It was probably midnight by now and the idea of a warm bed was very attractive. Just before New Haven we pull off and try some of the hotels and motels there. We were shooting for something cheap but at this point we would have settled for anyplace that had a room with two beds.

The first place we find is completely sold out. I remember back on my first Canada trip and how hard it was to find a good hotel room late at night. We jump on the bikes and ride around for another place. Three in a row were all sold out. Apparently at this last place, we were told there was some huge wedding nearby that had all the hotels in that exit booked up.

We finally find an Econolodge down at the next exit that has a room. The rate is completely horrible for the quality of the rooms there, but at this point we didn’t care. Whatever the cost, it would surely be worth it. We get the bikes unpacked and settle for the night. Still kind of awake from all the riding we had to go through to find the room, we weren’t just tired yet so we grab a bite to eat out of the vending machines. We must have been awfully tired at this point because we were laughing uncontrollably at all the stupid stuff we saw on our first day. We set our alarms and decide to sleep in a little bit, since it was already 2am by this point.

An awesome midnight snack: Andy Cap's Hot Fries, M&M cookies, and a warm camelback full of water:

If we are good about our timing, there shouldn’t be any issues getting to Maine by Sunday, and the extra sleep will surely feel nice. It had, after all, been quite a long day.