Day 12 (26 May). Tallahassee, New Tires, and Rain

From: Perry, FL

To: Montgomery, AL

Miles today: 252

Total miles: 2777

When I started out this morning, the air was oppressively muggy – a storm on the way.  I drove US 27 to Tallahassee, home of Florida State University (the Seminoles).  Concerned about the tread on my tires, I turned into Orion Motorsports.  They agreed with my concerns, had the tires I needed in stock, and replaced them in about three hours, all for a very reasonable fee.  I don’t mess around with brakes or tires.  Thanks guys!

While my bike was being worked on, I explored a bit of the city. I had intended to go to the

Museum of Florida History, but it was closed for renovations.  So instead I went to the Capitol Buildings; there are two, the old one (now a museum) and the new one, a 22-story tower just behind the old one.  Both are located on a hill (!), something I was beginning to think Florida didn’t have any of.  It is about 200 feet high and quite steep.  The old Capitol has been restored to how it looked in 1903 or thereabouts, and many of the chambers are filled with exhibits about the history of the state and its government.  It was nicely done. Then I went to the new building, of which the entire 22^nd floor is an enclosed observation deck; great for social functions, and nice views.  Here are a couple of shots.

View from the new Florida State Capitol, Tallahassee; old Capitol building is at the bottom.

Look -- Hills in Florida!

With the motorcycle ready at about 12:30, I girded my loins (put on rain gear) and headed out into the remnants of the storm that has been pounding Texas and Oklahoma for the past week.  I rode the 200 miles northwest to Montgomery, Alabama, in almost constant rain, but only one real downpour (and I was able to sit that out in an Arby’s). 

When this is ahead of you at 10 am, you know you're going to get wet.

If you are going to ride for multiple days in the eastern half of the US, at some point you are going to have to ride through rain. I’ve actually been lucky to have avoided it so far, other than the thunderstorm in the Everglades. You put on your rain gear, you stick to main roads, and you keep going.  It isn’t that bad most of the time; it was much cooler than yesterday (75 degrees versus 95 degrees), and everyone tends to drive a little more carefully.  Some of the biggest challenges are with the helmet visor; no wipers for the outside, and no defogger for the inside. You cope in various ways.  I have waterproof gloves, but they are big and bulky; I don’t intend to use them unless it is also cold.  Thus, the gloves I do wear quickly become soaking wet.  This is not great, but it is not nearly as bad as the hiking in wet boots I used to do when I was younger. 

When I crossed into Alabama (from Georgia), I entered the Central Time Zone.