We survived the first day of the journey. We rode about 225 miles (I’ll have to get the exact mileage off my bike). When we checked into the hotel, I left my bike parked and rode with Duck to get a snack. It just would have taken more energy than I had at the moment to drive my bike, pay attention to every thing around me and try to get to the place where we were going.

Here are some tidbits from the first day of my first long motorcycle trip:

• When you are riding a long ways, it’s easy to relax or not be in an alert state all the time. I don’t share that to scare y’all, but it was just a realization I had. After traveling on the highway for an hour or so, we came into a town with some stop lights. It took a minute for my brain to process how to stop the bike.
• Music makes everything better — except when it’s the same song over and over and over. I thought my MP3 player had gotten stuck on repeat song somehow, but in actuality, I have multiple copies of the same songs on my MP3 player. I’m definitely going to fix that tomorrow before we ride again. I also discovered that some music is better to ride to than others. At one point some Alabama songs were lulling me into a false sense of security — well, let’s just say that doesn’t go well with the staying alert.
• Communication is vital. There were many times I wanted to ask Duck something or tell him something. We’re having a communication system installed on our bikes in the morning and we’re really looking forward to it after the long ride up here. We’ll be able to listen to music but when we talk, it’ll turn the music down. It’ll be great for those times when I miss a turn and Duck has to “feel” his way there. At least he’ll be able to tell me which way to turn.
• Stop for gas when you have a quarter of a tank or more. We started looking for gas and had a little trouble finding some. We had gas in our reserves, but the way the gas situation is, it’s better to start looking before you have to dip into reserves. Oh, and when you stop, if there’s a girl checking out your bike and you — don’t make eye contact. At least not if you’re a woman too

Duck wanted to get on the road after lunch so I fixed my MP3 player up and took off riding. We stopped about 142 miles later. He said, “I thought you were never going to stop!” I’ll take that as a compliment. He didn’t think I’d ride that long without stopping — although he thought it’d only take 30 minutes for me to stop — NOT! My bike is the bomb! I love it and it’s comfortable to ride. Don’t get me wrong. My booty is still sore. Speaking of which, the jacuzzi’s calling my name.

More updates tomorrow as we hit the start of the parkway!