Foggy Parkway

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Last weekend was supposed to be rainy all weekend. Saturday was OK with very scattered showers and Sunday looked to be the same so at 7:00AM, I headed north on Rt 18. My plan was to stop and have breakfast with the Knobbies MC, ride up to visit with the lady at Jonas Ridge Outfitters then ride The Parkway down to the Mineral Museum to talk with Yvonne. It almost went as planned.

I followed Rt 18 all the way to I40 where I stopped for gas. As I was filling up, one of the Knobbies pulled up to get gas too. We talked for a few minutes then headed east on I40 until the next exit and the Timberwood Restaurant. The rest of the club was already at the table and I got there just in time to place my order with the rest. We had a very pleasant breakfast and I left them as they were discussing where to ride. I had my ride already planned.

When I walked out and looked at all their bikes, they used to be an exclusive BMW club; now any biker is welcome. I parked next to a new Victory. I also noticed that most of their bikes were large tourers. My Sportster looked very small next to them.

I continued up Rt 18 and veered left onto Rt 181. Rt 181 is a very enjoyable road to ride with its sweeping curves. My next stop was the Jonas Ridge Outfitters but again, they were closed. The same sign saying they.ll be back in the spring was stuck on the door. I looked inside and all the shelves were empty. I hope they open again soon. It was always a nice place to stop and visit with the owners and other bikers who enjoyed riding up Rt 181.

I continued up Rt 181 and after a couple miles, it parallels The Parkway so I cut left on one of the side roads to get on The Parkway and it too was still closed with tree debris blocking the lanes. I hope this opens soon too. I really enjoy riding The Parkway and since I'm retired, I'd like to ride the complete length of it this year.

I rode back down Rt 181 until I turned right onto Rt 183. I took it all the way to Rt 221 where I turned right. After a few short miles, I got on The Parkway. It was open, the gates were open and the barricades were down. I could finally ride a section of The Parkway. I had really missed it over the winter.

It was beautiful. The trees were the very bright green showing their new leaves. Occasionally, the sun would shine through them and the color almost blinded me. It was great!

I stopped at an overlook to enjoy the moment. It was very quiet with no traffic. Along the way, I could see the remnants of the harsh winter with trails of wood chips where trees used to be. It was very sad to see but that's the way 'Mother Nature' prunes her trees.

The farther north I got, the foggier it became. I was going up into the clouds. It had also started to drizzle and my glasses were getting wet - making it hard to see. It got so bad that I slowed down to a crawl and tried to follow the double-yellow centerline which at times was difficult to see. It was one of the worst times I have been on The Parkway. Every once in a while, the headlights of an oncoming vehicle would magically appear out of the fog. Sometimes, they would startle me because I was so focused on that double yellow centerline. I was really glad there wasn't much traffic.

I found my way to the Rt 226 exit and stopped in the Mineral Museum to visit with Yvonne. I hadn.t seen her for some time. She is very pleasant to talk with. She helped a couple tourists with directions while I was there. She's very knowledgeable of the area.

After a few minutes, I said my good-bys and headed down Rt 226 all the way to Shelby. I got home about 11:00AM and took Cindy out for a nice light lunch at Showmars - we had the senior's special. It was a great way to spend a Sunday morning even if I couldn't see some of it!

Foggy Parkway

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