We took off out of the Circle K and headed north on 133 towards Castle Hayne. We went around the roundy-round and continued toward the GE plant and turned onto I140S. Off the ramp and Navassa and cruised into Leland. From there we rock and rolled on Mt. Misery into the Reigelwood area. Busted a left and took it down to 74/76. We took our rest stop at the intersection of NC87.
After a leisurely break for some hydration, evacuation, and conversation we got on the bikes and continued on 87 over to 17. We continued on 17S to 87S heading toward Boiling Springs and peeled off on Funston/Daw's Creek. to run that road in single file. Unfortunately, we got behind a New York plate: "Hutz Pah." They had no Hutz Pah in their right foot as Charles said. We spent the next several miles until Leland following this lost, awful driver at 5 mph below the speed limit. Deep breathe... count to 10...
Back on 74/76, we headed over the bridge toward Carolina Beach. We took the back roads of Burnett and River Rd. to head south. River Rd. is a nice cruise and Gwynn had not seen how much the River Lights area has been built up. Yep...sux.
Now for the "...beautiful day to ride...until it wasn't" part. Around the Veteran's Park area of River Rd. I, rePete, the Road Captain, was faced with a dilemma.... the sky in front of me did not look right...but it was not "Impending Doom" Black (which is my favorite Crayola color by the way). I am taking in the whole sky and it looks like it is raining ahead of us, but maybe not really?? David did not trust my judgement and bailed out. Not a bad decision, because I decided it was just an isolated shower that we would ride thru in a minute and be out of it. WRONG! Well, kinda wrong. We did ride through it as expected... but we headed right back into it when we turned for the final approach on Carolina Beach Rd. to Joe's Oasis. By the time we got to Joe's we were W.E.T.. Sorry ya'll. I take the blame for that one. Charles continued on to "Thom" Cone's house to make a beer delivery. Lucky guy!
At Joe's, the Road Queen and Professor were waiting for us. The restaurant was sparsely occupied. We were waited on promptly and the service was very good. We got burger and dogs and sammiches. The burgers were very, very good. The Gouda Bites were very, very good. Deb got her Isaly's Chipped Ham(it's a Pittsburgh thing) for her "Not Chef Salad" and not sure what happened with Travis, but his plate was not empty? Just like Winnie's Burgers, very, very good, but my bill with a tip was $31. I am not worth that.
Travis and Road Queen headed out after lunch and the rest of us on bikes were stranded for awhile as the rain continued. That storm hung right over us , in that particular section of Myrtle Grove and slowly tracked North. We watched serious downpours, lightening and watched the lights flicker on and off. We did not leave the restaurant until 2:30 and it was still drizzling.
Gwynn, Slingshot, and Ditch headed toward the barn and Scotty and I went south with Grant who decided to take the Ft. Fisher Ferry back to Southport. Scotty peeled off to put his bike in the storage unit and Grant and I continued toward Ft. Fisher. When we got over the Snow's Cut Bridge it was obvious that it never rained a drop in CB! Dry roads, hot sun and smooth sailing to Ft. Fisher Ferry. Have a nice boat ride Grant!
Thanks to all that followed me into the eye of the storm today. We racked up 105 quality miles. Thanks for the TailGun Charles! I enjoyed it...even the rain. It was a good hang with my Cruiser buddies!
'Til the Next Ride,
rePete
First Officer
SCRC Port City 162