The morning was chilly at o-dark-thirty, around 50 degrees. I decided to put on my jacket liner and wound up leaving it on until I was in Tennessee. No sense in being cold if you have the proper clothing. I had intended to leave at 6am, but didn’t quite make it, as usual. The bike was ready and packed, I was properly dressed, just took care of a few work things before I left and that’s me late. Rats.
There is a big difference between the full fairing on the Goldwing and the windshield on the KTM – 10-20 degrees worth is what I’m thinking. I have the Kaoko throttle lock, and it helps a lot on long stretches, but the Goldwing’s real cruise control seems “right”. Maybe it’s that the speed stays the same on the Goldwing, and it varies on the KTM as you climb and descend. Don’t get me wrong, the Kaoko is a big help and it works perfectly, but it’s not what I was used to. I did get more used to it as the miles rolled on. And on. And on. But I was meeting my good friend John for a genuine adventure and that thought pretty much erased any issues with the throttle lock.
I got to the hotel in Columbia, TN around 6pm, after being stuck in construction traffic at two different spots in two different states.
Here’s the results of day 0 – getting there:
