Day 2, 5 Jun

Up early and what do we see? RAIN. Well, that means we might as well get a slow start so we left at 8:45 wearing all our rain gear. Since I had discovered yesterday that my riding suit leaked Mark loaned me a rain jacket to wear over my Roadcrafter. This loaner looks like it will be up to the job....but it's PINK with some blue. Oh well, I feel good about my manhood and dry is worth any cost so away we go. We decide to take the Interstate as far as Charleston WV since the backroads would not be much fun in these conditions. Along the way the rain just gets worse. At one point we were putting along at 75 going up a hill and a tractor trailer decided to change lanes right in front of Mark. Wish I had had ABS at that point. No contact, just a bit of pucker factor. At that point the rain and clouds were all around us. By 1300 we finally found dry roads and started stripping off rain gear. We got to Parkersburg WV, got off the slab and soon got on Ohio 555. This is a must do road. Go to Google Earth and follow 555 north and you will see a road that is clearly a paved goat trail. At 45mph it is all the fun I can stand. In fact, lots of the road are fun at 35mph if you like to pactice your riding skills. Much better than the Dragon! By the time we had put 20 miles on 555 I had to force myself to concentrate because I was getting tired and on this road you need to be on your "A" game at all times. There were countless times I reached the top of a hill only to find that I could not see which way the road turned, oh, and the suspension was now light and the road was falling away fast. Exciting.
We finally got to our destination in Newark and spent the night with Mark's old friend Steve. Steve's brothers showed up and we talked motorcycles and other manley stuff until late. Man, what fun. In total we rode 376 miles today under challenging conditions. My check engine light did not come on so the battery must have been the problem.
Riding in the rain for a few hours leads to some serious mental exercise. Think about that damn drip inside the helmet that lands right on my nose. Why do some car drivers tailgate in the rain? The middle of the toll booth is coated with a thick layer of slime that is like a wet bar of soap in the shower. When you want to pay the toll for the group it's always hard to dig out the money. Bob Evans is the wrong place for fast food at noon. A hot cup of coffee is great when it's raining. A cold beer at the end of such a day is priceless.