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May 05, 2005
You're on your own again
MOORESVILLE, NC -- May 5
Even the night before what would become by far my longest distance riding, I was somewhat worried about this day. Having had the accidental benefits of an extra 'day off' in Gettysburg and a riding partner all the way to Charlottesville, this would also be the longest I'd ever ridden alone. And with only the one night to spend with my brother outside of Charlotte, NC, it would be followed immediately by an equally long day to get to Atlanta.
With all this challenge ahead of me, I did the prudent thing the night before and stayed out drinking with Liz until 2 in the morning. I woke at 7 am and did my best to unruffle myself for the road ahead. With zero appetite, a need to put as much distance initially as possible, and no likely ameneties between Charlottesville and Roanoke in Blue Ridge country, I threw together my first picnic breakfast of a banana, leftover wings from Tuesday night's meal, and a stale bagel from Liz's fridge.
The forecast had warned of afternoon/evening rains throughout the Virginia-Carolina expanse, but the morning saw nothing but a blue sky ahead of me as I topped off with fuel at the (now open) Waynesboro entry point to the Parkway and proceeded to enjoy what would likely prove to be the last of serene empty roads of this trip.
Roanoke is about 100 miles and change from the beginning of the Blue Ridge Parkway, which meant more gambles on whether or not a full tank of gas could get me where without peeling off at an indeterminate junction for a long 10 mile descent into some town that might have an open gas station. About halfway down the stretch, I enjoyed my impromptu breakfast and the complete silence that enveloped me. I had only passed a few cars and zero bikers the entire 50 miles of parkway at this point.
US 460 presented the first opportunity to exit the Parkway directly for Roanoke. My relief at seeing a gas station within 3 miles was almost swallowed by the sheer nastiness of the highway and its mass of impatient drivers that had seemingly come out of nowhere, a stark contrast to the emptiness of the Parkway a few minutes previous. While refueling, I was treated what would likely be the first of many "You're all the way down here from New York on that thing?" conversations with fellow gas pumpers.
Ten harrowing minutes of driving later, I finally found an intersection that would take me off the mercurial 460 into the business district of Roanoke. For a mid-size city, it has a rather pleasant downtown market promenade with vendors and a promised Strawberry Festival for May 6 and 7. I may have missed it by one day, but I suspect the town itself will have the bigger loss given that no strawberries are even in yet due to the late Winter this season. Even by NC, I was still seeing roadside strawberry stands promising a May 13 availability at the earliest.
I ended up lunching at a Korean-run fried seafood stall in the main food court of the downtown market. A perfect representation of the food groups necessary to quell the sins of the previous night -- protein, breading, potatoes, and grease. With no strawberries to wash down my plunder, I settled on some Virginia grapes that had come in and determined to get back on the Parkway post-haste. By now, the sky was definitely graying up.
Little did I realize at the time that my journey was only a third complete by this time. The Parkway winds quite lazily for another 100 miles before even getting to the NC state line. My initial ambition had been to ride it all the way to scenic Blowing Rock, NC and take US 321 down to Hickory before finding the back roads that led to my brother Darren's house on Lake Norman. By the time I even got to the state line, however, it was already almost 3 pm and the need to make time prevailed.
NC highway 18 actually crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway twice, and in my impatience to believe I was getting on with the trip I mistakenly took the first crossing and was rewarded with a vaguely scenic parallel route of farms with the added challenges of trucks and cars entering the right of way to keep me at peak focus.
When I crossed the second junction where I should have gotten off the Blue Ridge, I encountered my first true mountain descent road of the trip. Up until this point I had prided myself on being able to take most of the curves the parkways in 3rd gear with no brake, but the steep descent and unmarked spirals of this road quickly humbled me into a mixture of 2nd gear high revs at 25 mph and the odd clutch-n-brake to keep from hitting a tight curve too quickly. Fortunately I still had this road mostly to myself and was not treated to any impatient drivers on my ass to tempt me into poor judgement.
By the time I officially entered the valley of central NC for a long ride through the small towns that eventually connects with suburban Charlotte, I was reeling in a fog of muscle cramps, fatigue, and frustration at the remaining distance. It soon became apparent I'd need a true pick-me-up at whatever diner reeled its ugly head around the next curve. As if on cue, a huge red sign proclaimed COFFEE HOUSE -- JUST AHEAD ON RIGHT. The sign indeed did not lie, and I was soon happily seated inside one of North Carolina's more interesting chains of southern greasy spoons. Despite its name, the Coffee House pretty much gives you diner quality brew and instead specializes in grits, ham-n-eggs, and 13 inch hot dogs made with house chili. The latter soon became just the tonic I was looking for:
I exited the joint a new man, and determined to make the final 60-odd miles it would take to get to the luxury oasis that doubles as my brother's house. All this time the sky continued to threaten rain with every shade of gray imaginable, but it failed to deliver on its promises. The rainsuit compartment remained untouched as I reached the halfway point of my distance between Florida and New York.
Mooresville having been incorporated into the sprawl of Charlotte, the final 15 miles or so proved to be the most chaotic of the day putting even downtown Roanoke to shame. I plowed through it and soon made the relative serenity of The Point on Norman, in which the NC franchise of the Zino family calls home. My 7 pm sharp arrival with 380 on the trip odometer for the day was succinctly timed to allow me to tuck in the next generation of Zinos, my beautiful nieces Ansley and Katie. Two stories later, and I could begin offically unwinding and wining.
The latter proved prophetic in ways I'd never imagine when -- two glasses of Coppola claret later -- my brother finally arrived home from a lengthy and apparently agitating day of business in Wilmington. The decision was made that we'd grab a late night full dinner, which led to an indecisive romp through a few of Mooresville's many upscale shopping centers before jointly coming to the inspiration that Cinco de Mayo demanded a mexican place to hang our hats.
All of my misgivings about graping-n-graining my booze for the night were quelled by the chance to have many rounds of margeritas and soft shell tacos into the wee hours of night. Two rounds apiece of these all-too-bright-green concoctions later, and we knew something was definitely amiss. In my pre-emptive haste to overplay my hand when we first sat down, I had asked for Patron and been treated to the Spanish equivalent of "huh?" by our flighty waitress. Settling into "when in suburban Rome..." mentality, I drank what I was given until even Darren was questioning exactly what was in these things that tasted 'off'.
When we had our fill and returned home, it was Darren's wife Brenda who explained the mystery to us with characteristic matter-of-factness: This place had no liquor license, and thus was putting wine in the margeritas instead of tequilla -- this in addition to whatever ungodly limeade comprised the base of the atrocity. The only bright spots I took from this strange experience were that I could continue enjoying good wine at home to close off the evening, and then collapse in what was by far the most comfortable bed of the trip in the guest room. It really was a shame I couldn't stay for an extra day.
-- Todd & Diana
Here's the Gallery for today:
And the playlist:
| Title | Artist | CD |
|---|---|---|
| Rabbit in Your Headlights | Unkle | Psyence Fiction |
| No One Fed Me So I Stayed | Deerhoof | Reveille |
| The Unconventional | Japan | In Vogue |
| Wishfull Thinking | Dose One & Boom Bip | Circle |
| Backdrifts (Honeymoon Is Over) | Radiohead | Hail To The Thief |
| My Beautiful Leah | PJ Harvey | Is This Desire? |
| Nie Smuccie Sie Tatry | Poland - Goralska Orkiestra | Secret Museum Of Mankind Vol.1 Ethnic Music Classics 1925-48 |
| Halloween | Japan | In Vogue |
| Paint It, Black | The Rolling Stones | Singles Collection: The London Years (Disc 2) |
| A Perfect Day Elise | PJ Harvey | Is This Desire? |
| Sail To The Moon (Brush The Cobwebs Of The Sky) | Radiohead | Hail To The Thief |
| Passionate Friend | The Teardrop Explodes | Postpunk Chronicles: Going Underground |
| Amelia | Cocteau Twins | Treasure |
| Astrid | The Legendary Pink Dots | The Tower |
| Bedroom Athlete | James Chance & The Contortions | Buy |
| All Alone In Her Nirvana | Death In June | Die Schuldigen und der Nebel:The Guilty Have No Past |
| Song Of Joy | Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | Murder Ballads |
| My Infatuation | James Chance & The Contortions | Buy |
| Slow | My Bloody Valentine | Ecstacy and Wine + EPs |
| Lake | His Name Is Alive | Stars On E.S.P. |
| The Old Fort | Don Ellis | The French Connection |
| The Chase | Alan Reeves/Phil Steele/Philip Brigham | Kill Bill, Vol. 2 |
| Pakard | Plastikman | Artifakts (Bc) |
| We Travel The Spaceways | Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Solar Arkestra | Soundtrack to the Film: Space is the Place |
| Going Underground | The Jam | Postpunk Chronicles: Going Underground |
| Summer Lies | The Magnetic Fields | The Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees |
| Holocaust | Big Star | Third - Sister Lovers |
| Tonite It Shows | Mercury Rev | Deserter's Songs |
| Shipwrecked Blues | Clara Smith | Ladies Of Blues : Vol. 1 |
| Honey White | Morphine | Yes |
| 777 | Autechre | LP5 |
| In A Mess | Liliput | LiLiPUT (Disc 2) |
| My Old Man | The Walkmen | Bows And Arrows |
| In New Orleans | Leadbelly | |
| Fear Is A Man's Best Friend | John Cale | The Island Years (Disc 1) |
| Ruin | Squarepusher | Music is Rotted One Note |
| Sarah | Ween | Pure Guava |
| Transient Scratch | WE | Incursions In Illbient |
| Too Much | Matera | Same Here |
| Happiness | Built To Spill | Ancient Melodies Of The Future |
| Baby Song | The Raincoats | Odyshape |
| 40 Days | Slowdive | Souvlaki |
| Thisness | Miles Davis | Miles Davis Quintet 1965-68 (4) |
| DNS-Wasserturm | Einstürzende Neubauten | Strategies Against Architecture II |
| Harbor Lights | Elvis Presley | The Sun Sessions CD |
| Sunday's Slave | Nick Cave | Tender Prey |
| 5:30 | DNA | Dna On Dna |
| State of Grace | Swayzak | This Is Tech-Pop: 21st Century Electro and New Wave |
| Sharch Of Tearry | Alva | Slattery For Ungdom |
| Kangolicht | Einstürzende Neubauten | Strategies Against Architecture II (Disc 1) |
| Iodine | Leonard Cohen | Death Of A Ladies' Man |
| Wardrobe | Einstürzende Neubauten | Strategies Against Architecture II |
| Harm Of Will | Björk | Vespertine |
| Take Me Ta Mars | The Flaming Lips | In A Priest Driven Ambulance |
| Corpses as bedmates | The Third Eye Foundation | Ghost |
| (What A) Wonderful World | The Flaming Lips | In A Priest Driven Ambulance |
| First Cut Is The Deepest | Norma Frazier | Best Of Studio One, Vol 2 (Ful |
| Here They Roll Down | American Music Club | United Kingdom/California |
| I Want To Be Your Dog | Swans | World of Skin [1997 remaster] |
| Way To Blue | Nick Drake | Five Leaves Left |
| Six | John Cage | SYR 4: Musical Perspectives - Goodbye 20th Century |
| Tower Of Silence Pt 2 | Organum | Volume One |
| Kings | The Magnetic Fields | The Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees |
| Teenage Riot | Sonic Youth | daydream nation |
| Jump The Boy | His Name Is Alive | Stars On E.S.P. |
| I Love You - Yello | Yello | You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess |
| David Watts | The Kinks | Something Else + 8 |
| Never see it coming | OP8 | Slush |
| What Have I Done To Deserve This? | Pet Shop Boys | Actually |
| Can't You Hear The Beat Of A Broken Heart | Iain Gregory | The Joe Meek Story-The PYE Years |
| Nag Nag Nag | Cabaret Voltaire | The Living Legends |
| This Town | Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark | Navigation |
| Introduction | Nick Drake | Bryter Layter |
| Black Satin | Miles Davis | On The Corner (Remaster) |
| Monument to Perez Prado | Nurse With Wound | Who Can I Turn To Stereo (Two Golden Microphones) |
| Big In America | Stranglers | Greatest Hits 1977-1990 |
| Tune time machine | Nurse With Wound | Who Can I Turn To Stereo (Two Golden Microphones) |
| Stuck On Amber | The Boo Radleys | Wake Up! |
| Brand New Day | Van Morrison | Moondance |
| The Crowd | Roy Orbison | The All-Time Greatest Hits Of Roy Orbison |
| Barock - Plastik | Stereolab | The First Of The Microbe Hunters |
| Leah | Roy Orbison | The All-Time Greatest Hits Of Roy Orbison |
| Suspended In Gaffa | Kate Bush | The Dreaming |
| Trashman in Furs | The Geraldine Fibbers | Butch |
| Slight | Dose One & Boom Bip | Circle |
| Oh Say Can You Do? | Carla Bley / Paul Haines | Escalator Over The Hill (Disc 2) |
| Waiting For The Miracle | Leonard Cohen | The Future |
| I Saw the World | Pearls Before Swine | Balaklava |
| Iceblink Luck | Cocteau Twins | Heaven or Las Vegas |
| Cease2exist | Ladytron | Light & Magic |
| Only Shallow | My Bloody Valentine | Loveless |
| The Twilight Hour | The The | Soul Mining |
| Lonesome Home Blues (Take 1, Unissued Test) | Tommy Johnson | Masters of the Delta Blues - Friends of Charlie Patton |
| Sound Dimension | Full Up | Best Of Studio One, Vol 2 (Ful |
| In My Garden | Swans | Children of God [1987 original] |
| Find The Answer Within | The Boo Radleys | Wake Up! |
| Cancel Your Order | DoMe | Dome 12 |
| Something I've Got To Tell You | Glenda Collins | The Joe Meek Story-The PYE Years |
| If You Haven't Any Hay Get On Down The Road | Skip James | Complete Recorded Works (1931) |
| Tell Me Why | The Beatles | A Hard Day's Night |
| Ant Man Bee | Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band | Trout Mask Replica |
| If You Go Away | Scott Walker | Scott 3 |
| Silence | Claire Voyant | Love Is Blind |
| Garlands | Cocteau Twins | BBC Sessions (Disc 1) |
| Ghosts: First Variation | Albert Ayler | Spiritual Unity |
| Blind Love | Swans | Children of God [1987 original] |
| Hello There | John Cale | Vintage Violence |
| Extensive Care | Crossover | This Is Tech-Pop: 21st Century Electro and New Wave |
| Rolling Log Blues | Lottie Beaman | Ladies Of Blues : Vol. 2 |
| Greed | Swans | Greed / Holy Money |
| RST / Event (Edit) | RST | Le Jazz Non |
| The Family God | Angels Of Light | Everything Is Good Here/Please Come Home |
| 22-20 Blues | Skip James | Broke, Black & Blue: Volume Three - Good Whiskey Blues |
| All The Way Around | Marvin Gaye | I Want You - Deluxe Edition |
| Cigarette Tricks | Guided By Voices | Alien Lanes |
| Echo Canyon | Sonic Youth | Bad Moon Rising |
| Look-Ka Py Py | The Meters | Funkify Your Life: The Meters Anthology (Disc 1) |
| What More Can I Say | Jay-Z | The Black Album |
| All The Pretty Little Horses | Current 93 | Calling For The Vanished Faces - Funeral Music For Us A |
| I Can't Explain | The Who | Thirty Years Of Maximum R & B - Disc One |
| In my secret life | Leonard Cohen | Ten New Songs |
| Caresse | Psychic TV | Force Thee Hands Ov Chants / Blinded Eye In Thee Pyramid |
| Backlit | ISIS | Panopticon |
| Sea Armchair | Current 93 | Calling For Vanished Faces - Love, Sleep And Dreams |
| Cyclopean Metric | Electric Company | A Pert Cyclic Omen |
| Half Timbered | Saint Etienne | Places To Visit |
| Time / The End of Time | The Chameleons | Strange Times (bonus tracks) |
| Fruit Tree | Nick Drake | Five Leaves Left |
| Futè Robot | Micromars | Harpsichord 2000 |
Posted by Todd at May 5, 2005 11:00 PM