June 4 - Down to Boone

We left Buena Vista, VA this morning with high hopes for a good day of riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Everything went great for the first hour or so. Then we started to get into some fog as we climbed the mountains. Soon we were creeping along just fast enough to keep the bikes upright. The fog was so thick I had to raise off the seat to see the yellow line. Not a lot of fun. Once we crested the mountain & started down the other side, the fog disappeared and we were able to make good time for a while.

Around noon it started to rain lightly so we decided to get off the Parkway near Roanoke to find someplace for lunch. Unfortunately, it was about a 7 mile ride to the nearest open eatery & by the time we arrived at the Mountainside Cafe it was raining hard. The place turned out to be more tavern than cafe. The place was populated by various bar flies and ladies of questionable virtue. It took about 15 minutes to find someone who could make a bad cup of coffee. For lunch we ordered the specialty - a cheeseburger. It turned out to be an old fashioned grease dripping off your elbows burger. Tastes great but will stop your heart if you consume more than one.

After lunch, with the rain all but stopped, we mounted up & and headed back to the Parkway. Now Boyd & I had the foresight to put on rain gear before we left but Lloyd had decided that the rain was over. He was very, very wrong. And not only was the rain not over, but the fog decided to return. It was another 30 miles before were rode out of the weather. We were then able to make a relatively smooth run to Boone, NC where we stopped for the night.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better but the forecast is not hopeful. The good news is that we should hook up with Billy, Eddie & Robert tomorrow afternoon.

Gunny