It turns out that George worked for BMW dealerships for quite some time and has only very recently opened his own shop. (His benches aren't even 100% set up yet.) We got to chatting a bit while he worked and talked about why each of us had left our respective corporate jobs. It turns out that we share a lot of the same angst toward the politics of big business.
We talked a lot about bikes, obviously, and about what breaks on them, and the camp of riders who believe that because it's a BMW it should never break. Now, don't get me wrong, I bought my bike because it is incredibly reliable, but they are all machines, and therefore, break. To quote George, "If it's made by man it will break. If it's made by God it will die." Well said my fellow angsty friend.
After the oil change I headed to Front Royal where I took a left onto the Skyline Drive. Pardon my french, but Holy Shit, what a beautiful road!!
Even with a (mostly) obeyed 35mph speed limit it is damn fun, and because I got on it at 4pm there was very little traffic to contend with. I rode the first 30 miles or so and then dropped down to the west and into Luray, VA for dinner and a meeting.
I tracked down the church where the meeting was and found a little spot across the street for dinner. As I walked into the Artisan's Grill I noticed a sign on the door saying that they had live music on Wednesday nights from 7 - 9. Unfortunately, the meeting was at 7 so I would miss it.
I did, however, get to chat with Hector, one of the musicians, while I ate. Hector is a local guy, but wasn't always. He had a Latin accent of some kind, and mentioned playing in a Mexican band in L.A., but I never did find out where he was from. He did tell me that he had lived in Cincinnati for a long time and that after being in Luray for a while had decided that small town life suits him much better.
Hector and I also talked a bit about the lost art of the postcard, what with email and cell phones and all of that. I guess I am not one to talk given that I have not sent a single postcard on the trip, but I sort of wish that I did. As I was leaving he yelled to me across the place to send him a postcard later in the trip, and if I think of it I most certainly will.
So I was fed and had mingled a bit with the locals so it was time for a meeting. I walked into the church and asked if there was a meeting. The church folks informed me that there hadn't been a meeting there for some time, and they were unsure about where it might be. They told me about another church to try, so I did, and nothing. I made some phone calls and came up empty and at 7:40 decided that today was another missed meeting (not for lack of trying) and it was time to go set up camp. I was bummed, but it is bound to happen now and again, and I am grateful that it is a rare thing to not find a meeting where I go.
So I rode back up to the Skyline (and 15 degree cooler temperatures) and rode a little farther south to Big Meadows campground. Along the way it was getting toward sunset so I stopped to look.
As the sun sank lower the deer started to come out and line the road for miles. I slowed to about 25mph and avoided any close calls.
After setting up camp, in the daylight for a change,:
I wandered over to talk to Ted, a fellow biker from Wisconsin. He let me know about the parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway to avoid because of traffic or boring scenery. He also asked if I had any booze with me and I choked back the laughter because he wouldn't understand, and politely told him that I didn't. We had a nice little talk and it made me grateful that I am not drinking myself to sleep tonight.
After I took a shower I was leaving the shower area and noticed two siblings, a big sister and a little brother. The big sister was trying very hard to get her brother to play a game of some kind and the little brother kept yelling, "I don't wanna!" It made me smile and remember how nice it is that Alison and I have grown out of that…mostly.
