NH to Florida In One Go

(As usual, click the thumbnail images to see larger versions)

I left New Hampshire on my motorcycle on a Wednesday morning, intending to arrive in the panhandle of Florida sometime the next afternoon; 1500 miles or so (2400km) in one continuous ride. Here's a view of the round trip:



I got a reasonably early start on a beautiful New England Fall day and headed east towards the coast (into the morning sun) where I'd pick up Interstate 95 for the first leg of the long southern trek.



It was quite cool, but I had my heated vest on. The foliage was just about at peak color, making the first part of the drive very pleasant. The clear air and the bright, slanting sunlight made the colors really pop.


I entered and crossed half of Massachusetts, then cut south across the hills of Connecticut. Here's Hartford, in the distance:


No, the white car did not just make those skid marks. :-)

My first gas stop was around here. (The Goldwing has a large gas tank and can travel for 3-4 hours nonstop at highway speeds.)

The trees were greener as I headed south towards New York, but there still were spots of nice color.


As the sun climbed, it became gloriously warm, and I was able to take off my heated vest and a layer or two of clothing. A gorgeous midday:


I bit later, I hit the outer reaches of New York City.


As usual, Da Bronx was a mess.


I lived in the NYC area for 7 years, and I understand the attractions of city life. But driving through the city isn't one of them. Here, I95 lets you know what a bowling gutterball feels like.


Parts of the Bronx landscape are wholly artificial. And, no offense to New Yawkers, but I have to say: butt ugly.

Above: It's all concrete and steel as far as the eye can see, a landscape entirely subjugated to the needs of machines--- automobiles. You know, it's only a short step from the "Machine City" of the Matrix. ;-)

Whenever I go back to NY, I marvel that I actually lived here, a place so unlike where I now am. I have to say I don't miss this:


Or this:


Or this:


Here, I'm approaching the George Washington Bridge in heavy traffic. There's always heavy traffic at the GW. Day, night, holidays--- doesn't matter. You'll always hit slow traffic.




You do get a nice view from the bridge, however. Heading west, as I was, you get a view up the Hudson to your right, and (as shown below) the skyline of lower Manhattan in the distance to your left.



Without the World Trade Towers, the skyline is rather generic.

Its spectacle is in its horizontal sweep. When the WTC Towers were there, it also had impressive vertical impact. Now, thanks to the glories of radical Islam, not so much. Mohammad Atta, I wish there were a hell, just so you could rot in it.

Here's the cut through the Palisades on the New Jersey side of the river.


Fun fact: The term "cliffhanger" originated in the 1914 movie serial "The Perils of Pauline," which was filmed in and around the New Jersey Palisades.
More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_Palisades

I crossed through the spaghetti traffic patterns of Fort Lee; a series of close-spaced Interstate, State and local interchanges with as many as 14 side-by-side highway lanes at a given time.

Below: The opening credits of the Sopranos, with Tony driving into New Jersey while chomping on a cigar, were shot around here. That's Manhattan in the distance.


I drove the length of the New Jersey Turnpike through the afternoon, stopping as needed for fuel and calls of nature. At one point I snoozed briefly in a rest stop to recharge my own batteries.

Long day.

As the sun started to get low in the sky, I crossed into Delaware. Here are the twin bridges over the Delaware River.


I'd stopped several times for gas by this point and stopped again after crossing the bridges for gas and a light dinner. I was standing beside my bike drinking a coke when a man came up behind me. "Excuse me, sir," he said.

I turned around. He looked apologetic and motioned to his small son, a boy of perhaps 5. "My son loves everything yellow," the man said, "Could he look at your motorcycle?" My Goldwing is bright yellow, a color I choose for high visibility in traffic.

Of course he could look.

I pointed out some of the bike's features to the wide-eyed boy while his mother got a camera ready. I asked if the boy would like to try on my helmet--- also bright yellow. He nodded mutely, eyes like saucers.

Remember the Rick Moranis character in Spaceballs, "Dark Helmet?" Except for the glasses and the color, that's what this kid looked like in my helmet--- it was HUGE on him.



But the kid was happy. His Mom snapped the photo, and the three of them went back to their car.

Oddly, they then sat there watching me until I suited up and rode off, feeling very self-conscious as they sat and watched my every move.

It was getting on towards dusk when I crossed the Susquehanna, the sun low in the sky, casting long shadows and shading everything with a reddish hue.


A while later, I saw sunset over Baltimore:

(if you're skimming, the above might be worth the extra click to enlarge...)

Here we go under the harbor (with motion blur from the slow shutter)...




...and up the other side.


I think this (below) is the bridge over the Patapsco, but I couldn't swear to it. The camera makes this look brighter than it really was: I was entering my nighttime riding "zone" where all attention is just on the illuminated roadway ahead; aging eyeballs aimed so my fovea centralis can entirely seek roadway detail...


I reached the DC beltway as night fell. Speeds fell, too; the tail end of rush hour.




A long night ensued as I made my way south and west across Virginia and both Carolinas. The night-dark, tree-lined highways offered little to see and nothing to photograph. This was just about eating miles, and so that's what I did, stopping for gas as needed, and once, for a brief nap in a South Carolina roadside rest area. Zzzz-zzzzz-zzzzz.

It got quite cool as the night wore on, and I put on my heated gear and extra clothing layers.

The night passed uneventfully, with long stretches where I seemed to be the only vehicle on the road, the Goldwing's excellent headlights cutting a brilliant tunnel through the leafy Carolina darkness.

I stopped for gas and breakfast at first light. Shortly after, full day broke clear, cold, and very pretty.



I crossed into Georgia.


Although I was far outside Atlanta, the highway showed the effects of rush hour. On a motorcycle, I could use the HOV lanes and managed to make pretty good time despite the thickening traffic.


The landscape got duller and the traffic thicker. This kind of motorcycle riding kind of sucks--- extra risks, compared to driving a car, with few extra rewards. I'd been going for about 24 hours now, and wished for more sensory stimulation, but the next few miles were an unrewarding grind. I forced myself alert.


But at least I was still making progress.


Things really bogged down near the city proper.


But I was soon through downtown Atlanta and making good time again.


As the day wore on, I crossed into Alabama, passing through Montgomery and heading south towards the Gulf Coast. The land flattened, the sun got hotter, and the temperatures and humidity climbed. I stripped off layers at gas stops. There was no hint of Autumn; this was still late Summer. The climate finally felt distinctly Southern.


It got more so. Cotton was ripening in the fields of southern Alabama and Northern Florida.


Errant bolls blew across the highway; the white tufts rolling like tiny tumbleweeds across the pavement, catching on the grassy verge and gathering in the gutters.

Some fields were spectacular:


I pulled into my sister's in Crestview, Florida shortly thereafter, approximately 32 hours after leaving my house in NH. I was tired and a bit sore, but I'd enjoyed the ride.

Hope you did too!