Easy Too
Tuesday April 30, 2018
As predicted, the tent flap stays closed until relatively late, which in this case means after 8:00 AM. A look outside reveals brilliant blue skies, and stumbling outside to check on the bike reveals cool but delicious temperatures.
Knoxville and Chattanooga lie in our path today. Kitty generally has three rules for all of our trips. I call them Kitty's Kardinal Rules. In order: 1) No Snakes; 2) No Cities; 3) No Traffic. I know that today I will violate at least two of the three. So I spend the morning discovering the various layers of Awesomeness that are her attributes, in hopes that the rules might be suspended today.
All through Tennessee today, we see numerous road signs that announce "Air Quality Awareness Week. Please limit trips." I did my part: I combined all my trips into one. Mission accomplished.
We navigate without incident through Knoxville, and with Chattanooga looming on the GPSP screen, with traffic alerts every several minutes (Kitty hears the same GPS instructions I do, so there's no escape!), we discuss that both cities share the characteristics of multiple Interstate routes converging. Great for business. For travelers, not so much.
Knoxville is a breeze at noon; and while Chattanooga presents some heavy traffic challenges, it's nothing too dramatic. Even so, I know I've violated two of three Kardinal Rules. We talk about this but I don't sense any hostility. Not that there would ever be hostility from Kitty (those of you who know her can bear witness), but the subtleties are there for the careful observer! At one point I run over an unanticipated bump in the road, which causes her to announce, "You are allowed zero to one of those per day." I think it distracts her from the Kardinal Rules so I focus on my earnest efforts to avoid replicating that bump on future days.
For those not aware of how this motorcycle communicates with its passengers and lets its passengers communicate with each other, allow me to take a brief side trip. This Gold Wing is equipped with a built-in GPS system that enunciates in both riders' intercoms. I've used GPS technology since 1999, and wouldn't want to do a major trip without it. Even free range bikers want to know how far to the next gas station, or how far to the destination, and instructions on how to get there. This Gold Wing also has Sirius XM Music, Weather, and Traffic. One of its capabilities, ]absolutely my all-time favorite, is its ability to overlay real-time weather radar right on top of the GPS route. This has guided us in countless situations as to what to expect, whether we'll need rain gear, or perhaps need to sit out a big red splotch. Today, there's nothing but clear skies on the radar for the duration of our trip.
We have Shoei RF1200 helmets with Pinlock shields, which as we learned in yesterday morning's 37-degree temps, absolutely prevent the shields from fogging, even while talking. We have J&M's highest quality headsets, the Elite 801 series. This is our second trip with these helmets and headsets, and we've both observed how light and well balanced the helmets are, how good the music sounds, and how easy it is to talk to each other. We keep the intercom always live, so communication is as easy as when sitting in our living room. Being able to communicate without yelling, without hand signals and gestures, is one of the most rewarding aspects of our rides together since 1997 when we got our first headsets. We missed out a lot on the years prior to that.
After winding through Chattanooga's traffic, we dip into Georgia on the Interstate, back into Tennessee, and then catch Rt 72 into Alabama and on to Huntsville. The clock on the bike is sync'd to the GPS, so it knows about time zone changes; I've been watching the clock on the GPS but miss the time zone change as we gain our extra hour rolling into Central Time Zone.
About 20 miles from Huntsville, AL, we see a white van with a driver frantically trying to rescue an escaped ladder from the four-lane highway. Oooofffff. Wow, if a motorcycle were to hit that thing at speed, I don't see any way it wouldn't go down. "Unless you're super-skilled at avoidance techniques," says Kitty in the headset. No, I don't think even super skills would prevent a get-off hitting a ladder at an angle. Just be careful out there!
We arrive at our hotel in Huntsville, about 6 miles out of the city center. Over a week ago, I planned to blithely roll into town and find a place. For those who are paying attention, this would be a Really Bad Move! I checked 23 properties, had a hotel search firm conduct a search, and couldn't find anything within 7 miles for under $300 a night. I was finally able to book an upscale Hampton Inn Hotel in Providence Village north of the city. This turns out to be a very upscale area with prices to match, but a beautiful venue with lots of shops and restaurants all within walking distance. We've traveled 713 miles so far.
So tonight we'll play walkabout tourist in this "village", and tomorrow we plan to spend the day at the US Rocket and Space Center, basically a no-travel day. I've even booked a cab for 8:30 AM so we can keep the bike parked where it is, right in front of the hotel, and dress in normal tourist clothes for tomorrow's activities. Don't judge me.
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