So this morning I had a meeting and a couple of errands I needed to get done, so my normal routine was changed up. Now, I am most certainly NOT a morning person. I normally get up around 7:30 and roll out to work around 8:15. This morning though. I had to head north an hour to the north side of Cumming, GA. Since I really don't enjoy driving the highway, I decided that I'd set out early, and enjoy some backroads and a more scenic route, which meant that though by highway the route would be about 55 minutes, it would be 80-90. Sounds good to me.
So up at 6:00, in the shower and out the door by 6:45. The first sight of the day, a pack of deer, with a 5-6 point buck and 3 doe grazing by the road not a mile from the house. Now, deer are pretty, but frankly, they scare the pants off me, 1500 lbs of animal that can move and change directions quickly and with no warning, fortunately, I think these are so comfortable with cars and bikes that all I got was a stare down by the buck. From there, it was left on the Hopewell out to Drew Campground and on up into the backside of Cumming. These are mostly rural roads with several neighborhoods, but still, there are some great vistas and views up the road.
From there, it's a quick loop around downtown Cumming to get to highway 9 headed up towards Dawsonville (Bill Elliot's home town for you NASCAR fans) and then a quick blast up a couple of miles to the meeting. Traffic was light, and the ride was about as good as it gets. The only real downside, was that it was a little cool. I set out this morning with a t-shirt and a fleece sweatshirt under my mesh jacket, and while it wasn't too bad in the sun, the shady valleys with the damp morning air got a little chilly.
From after the meeting, it was after 10, and since I was already close, a quick run down 369 to GA 400 and a half mile of freeway to the GA Driver's License facility to renew my license and get my picture updated for my license. Then back to Alpharetta via more backroads, this time straight down Highway 9 all the way into Windard Parkway, where Office Depot awaited. I needed a couple of business card holders to mount inside one of the pannier bags for business and forum cards, and finally to Quizno's to pick up lunch for the crew at the office before heading in about 1:00. All told, 130 miles. Had this been done in the car, I'd have been in a truly foul mood by the time I got in, and yet done on the scooter, the things that get me uptight and annoyed in the car just roll off.
Yeah, what could have been a bummer of a day turned into a great morning, it's really too bad that now I'm really struggling to get in gear for work at a desk :-).