Father’s Day, 2010. We rolled out of the driveway at 7am that Saturday morning, a quick weekend jaunt down to West Liberty, Kentucky. The weather was perfect all weekend, though a bit hot, well into the 90s. Our chosen route was I-75 south through lower Michigan and all of Ohio, then 275 east to the AA highway, a more scenic route than taking I-75 to I-64 East into Morehead, our destination for the night.
We arrived around 2pm, and checked into our hotel room at the Quality Inn in Morehead. When they gave us our room keys, we were advised not to place them near a cell phone or to take them into Walmart, due to the tendency of their inventory control scanners de-magnetizing them. Guess where we went first? Yep. (Luckily the keys still worked when we returned that night.) After stopping at Walmart for an additional SD card for my DSLR and disposable camera for on the road shots, we then made our way through the sunny, winding curves and hills to Bill’s Dad’s house in West Liberty, now being occupied by Bill’s younger brother.
On the way to the house, I successfully completed a rather sharp turn up a steep hill, turning onto the highway the property was located. This was a turn I really honestly did not think I could maneuver, and that I’d been concerned about on the way down.Rather than make the trip out in the morning, we decided to continue on to Louisa, Bill’s Dad’s hometown, and Glenwood, the site of their family plot. Stopping at a gas station in Sandy Hook, a small town on the way, I discovered that I’d failed to notify my credit card company that I was leaving Michigan. Because gas pumps are a common target for credit card fraud, my card was suspended so I went inside to pay cash for the gas I’d just pumped. I was greeted by the cashier, a twenty-something lady, with: “Oh, nayo thayett is so hawt, a cheek roddin a bock!” which I was able to translate into: “Oh, now that is so hot, a chick riding a bike!” We chatted briefly as she told me about wanting to learn to ride, and I suggested taking a safety course to see if it was for her. I then called my credit card company to straighten out my issue, and we were back out into the sunlight.
The ride to Louisa, is a beautiful, back country, rural route, with farms and horses on both sides of the road. I gazed up at the hills thick with foliage and took a deep breath of the sweet country air. We passed a field where several older men were seated on the tailgate of a pickup truck with a cooler between them, the day’s work being done. Both of them waved as we rode by, to which we returned the greeting. I still smile when I think of that moment.
Several times throughout our ride, we encountered barking dogs that tore across their front yards, not afraid at all of our bikes. Bill had given me a pointer: slow down as one approaches you, then when they get close to the bike, punch it. They can’t possibly keep up once they’ve gotten that close to the bike and have slowed down. It works!
We arrived at the family plot and after parking the bikes at the base of the very steep hill the plot is located on, and made out way up, having to stop a few times to catch our breath. It was a HOT day. Upon reaching the top, we were disappointed to find the family cemetery unbelievably overgrown, grasses and weeds about waist high. It broke my heart to see the graves of his family members pretty much forgotten, and my mind began to search for ways we could keep up the maintenance. Being 400 miles away, it’s a bit tougher, especially when there are other family members in the area. I have yet to figure that one out.
Dusk turned to nightfall on the humid hour’s ride back to our hotel room in Morehead, and the lightning bugs lit up darkness in sparkles of chartreuse light. It made it a bit difficult to scan for the glowing eyes of night time critters, so the ride back was a bit more tense than the ride out. We made it back into the glorious air conditioning of our hotel, thankful for a hot shower and cool sheets.
The ride back on Sunday was uneventful, after filling up at Shoney’s for breakfast, with the exception of a bee flying up Bill’s pantleg going back north on I-75. This was twice he’s been the lucky recipient of nature where it’s not intended. We were able to stop safely, but could not locate the party responsible. We were back on the road shortly after, through Ohio and back into Michigan, stopping at Exit 210 for Alexis Rd, or what I refer to as the “helmet stop”. Neither Ohio nor Kentucky have helmet laws, but Michigan does. Once exiting at Alexis Rd, you can continue from the exit ramp back onto the on ramp, pull over to the side to put on your lid back on before crossing the Michigan state line. There is a dirt patch to the side of the entrance ramp, evidence of many bikes that have pulled over to don their helmets.
As expected, we arrived home at about 8pm, thankful for another safe ride, recalling the bright sunny weekend and holding tight until the next.