It had been another very long cold and wet winter season.
I had been ready for this all winter through.
After having saved up some money over the previous 2 years, I was finally able to purchase the Garmin 590LM GPS unit I had wanted for so long.
After conducting so much research, I knew exactly what I wanted, that would do the job for me in the manner I wanted and I was anxious to put it to the test and get rid of this feeling of buyers’ remorse that I was carrying.
To compliment it, I had also purchased a Sena SMH5 Bluetooth unit to direct all instructions to my helmet-installed headset as well as a new Contour +2 POV camera.
So yeah, armed with a Blue-toothed GPS unit and double-mounted POV cameras on the bike, I daresay I was ready!
It didn’t matter that I was not very proficient at using them.
That would come on the trip. I would gain the necessary skills I needed OTJ! (On The Job!)
After all, touring - for me, is serious business!
I had spent the best part of my forced indoor time due to the cold weather, experimenting and designing the best mounting system that I could, for my POV (Point of View) cameras.
I was looking forward to obtaining some interesting video footage of this trip for myself.
So my dreams of the coming ride began to materialize and I began to plan of where to go and what places of personal interest to visit.
I contacted my group of riding friends from Texas who typically, embarked on an annual group ride right around the middle of April each year.
The group consensus was/is always to defer “Road Captain” status to Tony, who always does a good job of putting these rides together.
This year, the plan was to go to Arkansas and give them the experience of Arkansas roads and countryside.
So as I contemplated my plans, Arkansas could most definitely be on my return track and would make for a good reunion.
I had been contemplating a ride through the Shenandoah Valley for this year. More specifically, a ride along the Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP), so I accepted their invitation to meet up in Arkansas.
As plans began to take shape with more and more definite decisions, I turned more attention to weather conditions.
Mid-April in North East Ohio is definitely not similar to Mid-April in Arkansas nor Texas. I felt I could manage because over the years I had invested in some decent riding gear, so this was another chance to experience another ride under different conditions in a different part of the country.
On one hand I was apprehensive. On the other, I was excited.
In determining my choice of dates to travel and eventually meet up with them, I could not overlook weather conditions along the route of choice. Long range weather forecasts called for rain during my 3rd and 4th travel-days.
No big deal I thought. I have the gear and after all, I pay top dollar for the premier wet weather motorcycle tires on the market.
I felt “covered”. I had the confidence.
So I “put in” for my time off work and set about preparing the bike, my gear and myself for the journey ahead.