Day 27 - October 28 - Wake Forest, NC to Bethesda, MD - 270 miles

I was up early this morning, and had a very fine pre-ride breakfast with Dan and Rita. Everyone gave me the advice to get into Bethesda, and off the roads around Washington, DC before 2PM when the traffic starts to build.

I followed orders, riding along parts of US Route 1, Interstates 85 and 95, and finally 495. Not much traffic on 1 and 85, but a lot on 95. Those readers who ride motorcycles know that being around big semi-trailer trucks almost anywhere can be dangerous. Generally, the idea is to stay far enough behind them (at least 200 feet). The idea is that at that distance the driver would probably be able to see a motorcycle rider in his rear-view mirrors. Also, the air turbulence associated with the big rigs, while still present, is minimized. I addition, I tend to want to get past them to minimize my exposure to the turbulence, but also to minimize any possibility of  my being exposed to tires coming apart, as they're prone to do. On this trip, I have found most drivers of interstate trucks to drive very predictably, and reasonably.

My only real moment of drama (other than when I crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge on Day 2), was when a driver of a Mercury Sable just north of Richmond, VA on I-95 zoomed past me on the right, then immediately, decided to occupy the space I had in my lane. Hard braking and a loud horn kept us out of contact, and sent her back into her lane. Whew.

Soon I was in Bethesda, spending time with Beth's niece Alissa Thornton, her daughter Elena, and her husband Matt Thornton. We have a very fine dinner at Guapo's Tex-Mex restaurant, which I can highly recommend if you're in the area.