What happened to the summer?

This blog is supposed to be about motorcycle rides, and in particular, the annual July trip to someplace. This July I rode exactly ONE day. And that ride was to Mt Airy (Mayberry), NC to eat a PCS (Pork Chop Sandwich) at the Snappy Lunch. Not much more than 100 miles each way.

What took the place of the multi-thousand mile trip on two (or three) wheels was almost 7000 miles in a 2006 Impala - but that doesn't rate blogspace. We did have a wonderful time in Savannah, and then NYC where Ann and I attended a training thing, followed by several days at the Malabar Farm hostel to attend the Vintage Motorcycle Days in Ohio, then back to Florida via another night in Savannah.

Anyway, I am here at home and Ann is in Kansas. Last evening, after a picture perfect day working around the house, the sky filled with clouds at about 6PM and I changed clothes and jumped on my old bike for a ride to a nearby campground in the Jefferson National Forest. It is about 30 miles each way, and most of the ride is on a slow, curvy road that parallels, more or less, a creek. Ideal roads for the old R60. I never went over 60 MPH the whole trip. When I got to the campground turnoff onto a gravel road I got to see a teen-aged bear running (picture found on the web, is not mine, but that was what it looked like) across the road. I had never seen a bear in nature before. He was fast and very beautiful. I rolled off the throttle but never had a chance to get on the brakes (what brakes?) before he was in the woods on the other side of the road. I stopped to look for him, but it was twilight in heavy woods and he (or she) blended right in. I tooled around the roads of the campground where there were only about 4 families set-up and then went back out the same gravel road, this time even slower in case I got the chance to see the bear again. No such luck. However, when I got to the paved road there were about 6 or 7 raccoons running for cover and tripping all over each other. they reminded me of the Keystone Cops. I actually laughed out loud. Again, this was a first for me. I have seen single raccoons, but never a bunch of them together.

The rest of the trip back home was fauna free except for the deer we see almost every time we go up the road to the house.

I am reminded each time I ride that bike how much I enjoy riding it. The odometer rolled through 88888 miles on this trip and I think I am going to treat it to a new seat. The original one is starting to crack after only 40 years. I bet the new one doesn't last that long. Anilia, you keep track of that, OK?