It's going to be another long day. The hotel has free breakfast so I'm carbing up while I have the chance. Eggs, sausage patties, English muffins, lots of hot tea and a couple of oranges. Jessie, the young gal I met last night, appears in the breakfast room, and fuels up while we discuss the upcoming day. She suggests avoiding the Interstate and I'm all for that. Hands down! I drag out the map and we take a look. Now there is a local road, Hwy 146 that looks promising. It follows the Connecticut shoreline for a while eventually merging into Hwy #1 which continues along the coast well into Rhode Island. This looks good so I set the GPS up accordingly.
We move out and take the "InterSlab" for a couple of miles and the then veer off onto Hwy 146. Jessie is a great rider and handles her Honda sportbike with confidence and skill. I know many woman riders and all have attained the high-level skill set required to run these machines. My #1 gal, Lori is a very strong rider. I have followed her for many a mile and always admire the line she rides on the highways and the twisties. Sunshine Sue can ride with the best of them and I know there's nothing Little Deb likes better than "running with the Big-Boys." Jessie fits in the same class as you girls with no problem whatsoever.
Jessie proclaiming the virtues of her Honda.
Now off the "Slab" we follow 146 down through some quaint little villages and turn once we hit the shoreline. The aftermath of Hurricane Irene can be see with the downed trees, the huge amount of beach sand that is piled up along the side of the road, burying fences, smashed cars and household debris scattering the landscape. In a lot of locations power is still out and the stop lights are now ad hoc 4-way stop intersections. It all seems to work and everybody appears to get along. We reach a point on 146 where the police have the road blocked so the power company can clear a fallen tree and replace the downed power lines. For us this meant a U-Turn and retrace our footsteps about two or three miles. No problem. We deal with it and we're back on track on Hwy #1 in less than twenty minutes. Along the way we stop for a refreshment break at a place called the Rustic Cafe. It is in a lonelier part of the countryside, although Jessie points out the irony of their sign, "The Rustic Cafe" and underneath that "Wi-Fi Zone". Too funny. It is an oxymoron of sorts.
Connecticut Shoreline
Refreshed we're on our way continuing along the coast here and there as well as quick returns to I-95 whenever a bridge comes into play. Eventually we cross into Rhode Island and make a pit stop for fuel. Jessie is hungry and so am I so we do the "What do you feel like routine." She suggests sushi and being from Vancouver I have no problem with that. I ask the GPS for some suggestions and presto(!) a few come up with the closest being over in Newport, about a 20 km ride away. This is a no-brainer so we're off. This side trip for lunch actually has a secondary benefit to it. Heading to Newport now meant we would have to take the two bridges that span the openings to Narragansett Bay putting us on the east side and much closer to our final destinations.
The GPS was true to form and led us straight to the front door of Sumo Sushi. I love these devices! Parking was at a premium so we ducked into the lane beside the building and found a spot at the end. I asked the guy in the store if it was OK to park there. He replied that it was pretty good but sometimes the local constabulary did issue some tickets. He told me to give him my phone number and he'd call me if any problem arose. Now that was downright neighbourly and I thanked him for his goodwill. Lunch was good, although I am spoilt by the Vancouver sushi prices. It was easily three to four times more expensive than what I was used to at home.
We saddled up and made the trip out of town up to I-195 where we would split up; Jessie to Pawtucket, outside of Providence and me east to Cape Cod. When we got to the division and Jessie inadvertently took the wrong exit, we stopped, said good-bye and we went our separate ways. I wish you well Jessie. It was a pleasure riding with you that day. Now I was off on the last dash for the Bourne Bridge and onto the Cape. Traffic was not overly excessive until I got to the bridge ramp. It took a few minutes of jockeying and everybody found their place in line. I crossed the bridge deck at 5:15 PM and gave a whoop as I had now completed a life wish and ridden coast to coast. It seemed so long ago when I first started planning this trip and now two milestones had been reached. The first was getting to Knoxville. The next was ride onto Cape Cod to complete the second checkpoint. Both accomplished and me feeling none the worse for wear, save for a few equipment hassels, I was very thankful and extremely happy.
Motel time and I was strict with myself this time. I told myself, the first motel after crossing the Dennis municipal line. Oh and it had to have Wi-Fi. The first one I came to I rolled in and the place was deserted. Parking the bike I ventured into the office and was greeted by a woman who happily confirmed vacancy, (Duh!) and yes they certainly did have Wi-Fi. Truth be known their Wi-Fi connection is one of the best I've used on the entire trip.
So here I am. Two major items on the trip list accomplished. Got myself a clean motel, I'm the only guest there, good internet access and no need to get up early in the morning.
I think I deserve to sleep-in tomorrow. Don't you?
Is this working?
ReplyDelete