Riding South

The past three days have been a little CA-RA-ZEEEEE!  We have had a wonderful time already, however, despite some wild weather.  We left Sunday following beautiful Easter services.  It was a glorious morning spent amongst our new church family.  I told Steve, “This feels like home!”  It was also a little bit of fun being that it was April Fool’s Day as well.  But it is no joke – we celebrated a risen Savior and Lord during two worship services.

As we pulled out of Pittsburgh it was unseasonably cold and dreary, weather wise (we still had warm hearts and joyful spirits).  We headed south and dropped into West Virginia and as we did so, temps continued to plummet.  We felt like we were sort of slogging along.  I was wearing three long sleeve shirts, a thermal hooded sweatshirt, a fully lined motorcycle jacket and protective rain gear for an added layer of warmth, plus long underwear and pants.  We also used hand and foot warmers and tried to strategically place them on our coldest body parts.  It was funny – I told Steve at the day’s completion that parts of my body I sort of take for granted and don’t think about were screaming at me how cold they were!

After several stops to try and warm up we finally called it quits in Flatwood, WV for the evening.  I drank McDonald’s coffee and Steve ate a cheeseburger for our Easter meal.  We loved it even though we were chilly.  We found a hotel overlooking the glorious mountains that surrounded us.  It had a comfortable bed and hot showers and we were super happy!  This will remain a crazy, hilarious albeit cold memory for us!  Our total, first day miles were 158.

On Monday morning we set off, again (do over I guess), towards Kentucky and Wilmore to stop in and visit family.  The day was again very cold.  In fact, on this day Steve said after being off the bike for five hours he touched my hip and it was still freezing!  We took our time covering the distance (rode approximately 270 miles) and got in just in time to celebrate Dini’s birthday at a hibachi grill in the Lexington area.  It was yummy and entertaining!  She is such a joyful and happy girl so it warmed us doubly to spend time with her and also my parents and sister.  Steve and I laughed a lot on this day despite the again cold temps.  I wore the exact same layers plus I placed socks on my hands that already had two pairs of gloves on!  We listened to music and talked back and forth and Steve rocked out to Sheryl Crowe (‘All I Wanna Do IS Have Some Fun’) at one point mid-day which cracked me up!  I am sure people were staring at us from their nice warm cars.  We have the benefit of a great blue tooth audio system in our helmets.  We get great sound quality – we can talk, listen to the same music and even answer the phone if needed!

The scenery was majestic mountain peaks – fog sat in pockets along the drive and blanketed lower areas.  It was really pretty.  As we came into Kentucky the land slowly flattened out more into rolling fields that sprawled for miles of hilly Kentucky bluegrass.  We passed miles upon miles of horse fencing – more wide open feeling and with its own splendor and beauty.  Steve said the further south we rode it felt more and more like you could breathe deeper.  Even though we love our new home’s location, he is truly a country boy at heart.

More later - The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.      Psalm 19:1