Day 1 - MA to NJ (314 miles) & Day 2 - NJ to Front Royal, VA (230 miles)

Day 1 - The first day of this event was Saturday, October 2.  I planned to make a single long day of this, since much of it would be on major highways. For those who ride motorcycles, this kind of riding is  generally called "slab" or "superslab" riding, which generally means limited-access, Interstates, Turnpikes and the like. To add to your lexicon, some alternatives to this type of riding are called "the twisties" and "sweepers." More on this later.

Summary: Not very interesting stuff. Everyone has done this in a car. I like the Tappan Zee route, as it avoids NYC, but adds 10 miles to the trip.

Scary event of the day: Happily, not a single one.

Fun event of the day: Arriving at Cherry Hill, and seeing a very-excited Noah waiting for me. Meredith has a photo of him of wearing my helmet.

Weather: Clear and cool, sunny, and warmer in the afternoon.

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Day 2 - Second day was Sunday, October 3. I had figured on another day of slab riding, but got to talking with Meghan's father Dennis Pitzer this morning before I left. He suggested I try roads parallel to I-66 in VA (going west of I-495). I reset the GPS, and took US 50 almost all the way out to Front Royal, where I'm staying for night #2. Once I finished dealing with a substantial number of stoplights, and malls, I entered Loudon County, VA. The character of the road changed immediately, and soon I was in horse country, with large fenced areas, and rolling countryside. There were many small towns along the road, some of which had speed limits of 25mph with radar-wielding cops to keep people under the limits. Plenty of motorcycles on this road. Interesting characteristic is that US-50 is pretty straight, but what keeps it interesting is the ups and downs of the road. I even stood up on the pegs a few times to see what was over the next hill.

Scary event of the day: Going over the Delaware Memorial Bridge, and catching a wind gust just past the top which almost blew me over (note to self: in high winds, lower the windshield and get head and body down lower).

Fun event of the day: Smelling the wonderful odors coming off the fields in Loudon and Fauquier Counties in VA.

Weather: Cool and clear to start, and cool and cloudy in VA. Interesting note: Outside the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, ambient temp gauge said 64F, inside at the lowest part, same gauge said 77F.