emailto: hun@bikerenews.com

The morning seemed quite nice; I almost left without the chaps. Naaaah, better take them; I can always pack them away if it gets tooooo hot. I stopped at the handy corner station for a quick fill up, yes, the price is still outrageous, but I don't want to get that one started again. I did manage to walk across the street and snap a couple of shots of the Cherry Blossoms. Ours are a little ahead of DCs; we could have a Cherry blossom festival early if we wanted to. Anyway, I gassed up and hit the road. It was still early enough for the highway to be fairly empty, and I really enjoyed being able to just pick a lane and kick back and cruise. I let it run at 3500 rpm for awhile, and then, just for a mile or so, eased on up to 4500. I only did this after I was sure the engine was nicely warmed up, and that I was alone on the road. I headed for the "Toll Road" that leads to Carolina; I kind of hung in the right hand lane, and did not try to pass anyone.

The ride down was good; it got a little chillier as I got closer to Carolina, glad I brought the chaps. It was also kinda windy, sand blowing across the road by the time I hit Kitty Hawk. As the morning progressed, I saw more and more bikes, both headed to, and returning from. Or at least I thought they were "returning from", they were definitely headed North. As I said, the farther South I got the more X wind I hit. There were a couple of places on the big bridge across the sound that I could only describe as "fierce". It was moving me and the Valkyrie back and forth in the lane, that's a pretty stiff breeze.

I hit the outskirts of civilization, and started checking the roadside for vendors, crowds of people, and that sort of thing. I started to think that it was all WAY South this year, cause I did not see a thing. As it turned out I missed most of the stuff on the first time through, did not realize it.. Very few folks were out and about.

I continued to ride, went across the bridge to Roanoke Island, and then another big bridge. I was trailing a group of folks on bikes. I figured they were either going somewhere, or headed for home. I decided to follow them, and if they ended up at a house, I would just turn around and go back.

As it turned out, they were headed to "Vertigo" tattoo.. This is South of the last bridge, and down a little side road to the left. We parked, and I talked to "Chris" on the 83 Gold Wing standard. It sure is looking good, the bike only has 31,000 miles on it, it is just getting broke in good. He got the seat redone; everything else is the result of washing and polishing. We talked about bikes, I mentioned that I had an identical bike, currently not running, but that I hoped to have it back on the road this year, it makes a great "commuter" bike, and it gets WAY better mileage than the big six cylinder monster.

I snapped a few pictures of the bikes. The girls at the bikini bike wash looked so good I just had to get a couple of shots of them too.

One of the vendors was "Whispers Leatherwear", specializing in leathers for women, and they had an excellent figurine of "Betty Boop". This little hussy is a nostalgia thing with me; she dates from the 1930s, and was still very popular in the forties and early fifties. Anyway, I had to get a good shot of her for our fearless webmaster and head water boy, and fellow Boop admirer. Cathy, the owner ( wisperleather@aol.com), mentioned that she could get me the figurine if I was interested. Hmmm I think I will just settle for the picture.

Stopped at "Dirty Dicks" crab house on the way back, don't know where they all came from in the hour or two that I spent at "Mann's Harbor", but the parking lot was full. I parked and walked around a little, everyone was just standing around shooting the shit. I ran into one of the guys from "up here", and we caught up on current events.

I continued back northward, I noticed orange cones, and a couple of tents, so I pulled in to the parking lot. Too late, vendors were packing up and getting out of dodge. I stopped inside for a quick lunch and then back on the road for home.

Stopped at the very last gas station in NC, "Border station". Talked to a gent named "Chuck" he was in his seventies, and told me he has always had a bike. We decided we had a lot in common; I did not have to explain why I have all this gray hair, and am still riding around on a motorcycle. Chuck is a retired iron worker, rides a Harley, has a place in Norfolk, and another one in NC. Rides back and forth, goes to Myrtle, Daytona, etc. dang, he makes retired life sound REAL good. .

One more stop on the way home, fire station number seven in Chesapeake. Terry King, one of the fire fighters on duty, gave me a tour of the forty-year old fire truck they are rebuilding. When this project is complete, they will have a 1965 Mack "Fire Truck Hearse". They have been working for a year and a half, the only delay right now is funding.

I have to hand it to the guys, they are doing a fabulous job on the truck. This is a frame up restoration; all that fresh red paint looks great. They did all the gold foil work themselves, and made some other modifications as well. One of the major improvements involved replacing the original Detroit Diesel engine and Spur gear transmission with a Cummings Diesel and an automatic transmission.

This may not sound like a big deal, but it will make the truck much easier to handle. Some folks refer to the old transmission as a "Crash Box", and it could be quite a chore to drive. When finished, the body will have fittings and a lift to accommodate a coffin, and will be used for Fire Service funerals in the local area.

Well, I guess that's all I can come up with for now, be careful out there. Remember that many of the basic cage drivers are stupid and thoughtless; watch them closely, and treat them with suspicion, especially the ones who are "On the Phone".

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