The Hustle Shuffle...

The Hustle Shuffle...

Brrrrr! Some wouldn't say that it was very cold at all, but for this tenderfoot, the low 30*s were plenty cold enough. Add to that the thought of swinging a leg over the saddle of our girl and scooting on down the road... Yeah, wind chill and all that jazz on top of the already coolness, and... Think what you will, but this boy trapped inside an aging body thought it was downright frigid! Not quite Eugene weather yet, but danged close!

Nowhere in particular to go, so the temptation to linger another day in that modest motel room and temporary home was... oh yeah, mighty powerful indeed! Heck, I could have easily thought of dozens of reasons to validate not getting out there and braving the elements... Some were even borderline reasonable. Not hard to justify taking it easy at all, of course, but I had work to do and another mission to accomplish...

I'd just finished listening again to Toby Keith croon about, “Don’t let the old man in…” It's become an important daily chore lately to ponder that sentiment while acknowledging the implicit imperative, and no matter how much I'd rather lie around and take another nap... after cranking the thermostat up to a comfy 'tropical' setting... Nope, duty was calling, and I had to go.

Besides, once back out there gliding along some smooth ribbon of asphalt, that immutable smile would surely find its way across my beaming face like it always does, only this time I'd have to remind myself to smile but not grin. See, grins expose our teeth and present the possibility of them cracking in a frigid breeze: For my money it's simply too chilly for any such foolish risk-taking...

Dang, 9am already, I suddenly realized... I'd better get a move on if I was going to make it in time to a Hardees for a sausage biscuit. When riding I must minimize carbohydrate intake to avoid drossiness, but I've learned one such item combined with a cup of black coffee can be tolerated.

For my money, Hardees (Carl's Jr. out west) is the gold standard by which all other fast-food breakfast offerings are measured! Nobody else even comes close to their savory biscuits, and their sausage with only a hint of spice is among the very best too! Time to get my serious hustle on and shuffle on down the road...

~ PAUSE ~

I’ve said it many times, but it bears repeating again: “I’d rather be lucky than good!” I normally like to ride a bit before stopping for a first meal. If I eat early, and I most certainly could, I find I’m hungry all day long and therefore eat more overall. Since I’m, among other things, committed to maintaining my youthful figure, well… delaying that first plunge of my head into the trough just seems plum logical to this naïve diner…

So, we rode to the next town, Goldsboro, NC, and sought the Hardees I’d found on the net… I saw it plain as day, too, as we rode right by the exit we’d needed to take! I just knew that would screw up breakfast also, as Hardees switches to lunch offerings at 10:30am! I sped up, took the next exit, then made a wrong turn. Double dang! Now we were in a ‘neighborhood’ winding around residential streets trying to get out of that maze…

We finally did find our way out, and only one U-turn later (two total that morning), we pulled into the parking lot and promptly entered the home of best-in-class biscuits with my fingers firmly crossed… It turns out finger-crossing was enough, and I hadn’t needed a rabbit’s foot or four-leaf clover at all… we’d had a full eight minutes to spare! Yeppers, another broad grin (this time we were indoors), and then the festivities began!

The ride over had been as cold as I’d thought it would be, but this time I’d plugged-in my Gerbings, unlike the day before, and that combined with my heated grips, I’d held up rather well. Following a delightful biscuit with sausage & egg (I felt like celebrating) plus a wonderfully aromatic cup of hot ebony libation, we suited up, hooked up, and hauled… ourselves northward towards our next as yet unknown destination.

We made ‘the turn’ in Tarboro, figuring to not continue any further northward, after missing a couple more turns and annoying a few drivers with our unhurried pace. Since we’d taken back roads nearly the entire way, passing was not an option much of the time, so I did pull over now and then to allow traffic to pass; however, … The only wave of thanks we received hadn’t included all the fingers on the hand used for the salute.

As the shadows continued to lengthen, we glided into Greenville and began the search for a home for the evening… and there it was. Perfect! A nice place, fairly new, and park-at-the-door rooms! Shucks, it even had a Denny’s right across the road; and, according to the nice lady at check-in, there was a place right next door that served the absolute best breakfast anywhere! I thought to myself that I might just have to stay over another night so that claim could be put to the test the following morning…

So, there we were. Another day on the road safely concluded and a cozy room with geezer friendly temperature. I heard no knocking at all on the door that evening, so… Mission accomplished!

DDT (12)