Cracks in the Concrete: A Motorcycle Odyssey Through Modern America

The first thing I did after arriving in Black Mountain on 5/15 was trade my motorcycle for a mountain bike. Justin had arranged for me to join a group ride near Old Fort organized by Kat, a local bike mechanic and friend of Justin & Liz.  The mountain biking crew. Photo taken before things got hairy. It's been a week and a half, so unfortunately I don't remember everyone's name, but I'll try my best: (left to right) Forgot (starting off on a bad note), Kat, Tim, Shannen, Forget, Roger, Yours Truly. Behind the camera: Vaddis (definitely spelling that wrong).  Kat, Tim, and Roger work together at the local bike shop. Kat decided to become a bike mechanic a number of years back when she was living in northern Arkansas. She was working as a waitress at the time and would bring lunch to her future husband, Adam (who was unable to join the biking outing on 5/15), who was working as a bike mechanic. On these lunch visits, she realized that he seemed to be having a lot more...

I took the highways out of Blacksburg, but when I saw signs for the Blue Ridge Parkway outside of Fancy Gap, VA, I impulsively took the exit.  After a quick stop for gas, Harriet was surging and stalling a bit (will be having the mechanics take a look at this when I bring her in for her next servicing), but that cleared up after about 5 miles on the Blue Ridge. As the Parkway had me in a Carolina state of mind, I popped on my Blue Ridge playlist , which is mostly Carolina/Appalachian folk.  I missed the turnoff for an awesome scenic overlook, but figured there'd be plenty more. There weren't.  I got about 20 beautiful miles in Virginia before the Parkway was abruptly closed about a mile after crossing into North Carolina due to damage from Hurricane Helene. For the next three and a half hours, I followed detours on back roads mirroring the Blue Ridge Parkway on the way down to Black Mountain, a small mountain town about 30 minutes outside of Asheville.  While it was ...

After my pit stop in Pittsburgh where I picked up my new boots, tent, and a new phone (all of which have been crucial upgrades), I pointed my headlight south for Morgantown, WV.  In Morgantown, I met up with Tommy. Tommy and I were in the same class for pre-calculus and physics in high school. He's now a medical resident, and I'm unemployed. Tommy & I at Cooper's Rock State Park - The angle is deceptive, he's not actually that much taller than me Tommy likes that the residency program in Morgantown generally allows for reasonable work life balance and an easy commute back to Pittsburgh to see family and friends. In the past few years, these factors have become more important to Tommy. He's seen a lot of professionals in the medical field with very limited or unfulfilled personal lives due to prioritizing their career goals above their personal life. Seeing the full life cycle from birth to death on a daily basis at the hospital, Tommy's come to the realizati...