Day Twelve

Georgetown, Washington D.C. to Burlington, North Carolina

Mileage: 312

Waking up, per the weather forecast, we expected to see rain, but the skies were partly sunny. We started out at about 9am, one of the earliest we have begun any leg of this trip. As we merged onto Interstate 66 east, a throng of motorcyclists were passing by. Just like us, many of the RTR particpants were on their journey home. At the RTR, I looked around, but didn't notice any license plates from CA, AZ or CO at the RTR.

News reports estimated that there were approximately 250,000 motorcycles in attendance for the Rolling Thunder Ride!

When we reached Manassas, Virginia, we exited onto State Route 29 southbound. I've been on this road a few times in the past and it's a relaxing drive throught the countryside. There are a few stops lights at first in Warrenton, Virginia but from there to Lynchburg, Virginia, it's a smooth and comfortable 65 mph.

The weather was fine until we could see dark clouds just before our exit onto State Route 87 at Reidsville, North Carolina. In minutes, drops started to fall. Then the clouds opened up. I wanted to pull in under one of the overpasses only to see a dozen bikes hiding there and gearing up in rainsuits. Luckily, there was another a few miles further. We pulled off the highway and put on our rainsuits. Just as we were all dressed and ready to go, the sun came back out. Instead of taking them back off, we got back on the highway. Good thing because a minute later, as we were exiting onto route 87, the skies opened up again. This time it was really coming down. I once heard an analogy of this type of downpour. "It was was raining like a cow peeing on a flat rock!" That pretty much sums it up. It was coming down so hard that we almost couldn't see the road. We came upon a small gas station/store and hid under the canopy for 30 minutes or so. It let up enough that we could proprerly see the road so we continued on. The hotel was another 20 minute ride.

We arrived at the hotel about 6pm and unloaded the bikes. We were in a bit of a hurry because the plan was to meet Sludge's father and sister for dinner and his home is nearly an hour ride. We got to Sludge Senior's home near 8pm and was greeted by his sister and her friendly, 10-month old, 90-pound, German Shepard puppy. Yes, I did say puppy. He's the biggest Shepard I have ever seen.

It was a pleasure to meet Sludge's father and sister. An hour or so of good conversation lead to dinner. Ms. "K" grilled steaks for us and since we were such good little bikers, served ice cream as dessert! Great dinner! Thanks again. It really hit the spot.

Another hour of talk and we had to head back to the hotel. It was already after 11pm and we had a long drive to the hotel on winding roads in the dark. Good thing Sludge knew the roads! Too bad he didn't stay longer. I know that he would have like to do so. I also want to mention that after meeting some of Sludge's family, it's apparent that this is a family of geniuses. All of then are well very educated. His father and older sister have doctorates, his younger sister has a Master's. Sludge and his late mother have Bachelor's degrees. Wow, so much intelligence in one family! The thing is, of the people in his family, you'd never know of their education. Along with Sludge, they're all very down to earth and genuine people. It really was a pleasure to meet both Sludge Senior and Ms. K.

I watched the weather for the Burlington, NC area for the next morning. Again, the forecasters call for rain.