Preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse

Its a strange thing that I don't remember the last time I had to negotiate a bridge out. For the last few years I have encountered a bridge out at least every 2nd or 3rd ride. Its not that the roads and bridges in NJ are getting any better, I just have been unlucky at encountering bridges that are out these past few months.

That changed today as Jack and I went out for a post PFW event ride on Sunday. On Arneytown Rd I saw the bridge out sign and knew we had to go for it. The bridge was still mostly intact so it was possible to get over it however the bridge crew did a good job of making it difficult.

They parked a large excavator on each side of the bridge with the shovel down to block the path. It would have stopped most people be we are professionals at this so with a little limbo Jack and I made it through the first excavator....

...and then over the second. From there it was on to Emily's Church where we found a couple of vultures drying their wings.

The past two weeks I have been keeping the rides local as I have been preparing for the zombie apocalypse (i.e. the total solar eclipse). I have been planning this trip for over a year. Seeing a total solar eclipse has been on my list of must do things for since going to a planetarium in high school. The reason that I have not tried to see one until now is that it required travel to some remote part of the world with only a 50% chance of actually seeing it. The one on August 21 is special for a couple reasons. First it is the first eclipse since 1979 that will be able to be seen in the US and second it is the first eclipse to go across the entire US since 1913. In order to see the eclipse you have to be in a 60 mile wide band that starts just south of Portland Oregon and ends in Charleston SC (Here is a map of the path). With an eclipse that spans the US is should be possible to find some where with clear skies to be able to see it but it takes a lot of planning and some luck.

In order to see the eclipse you have to be somewhere in the 60 mile wide band with clear skies so everything depends on the weather. As we all know weather reports are not very accurate and the difference between a partly cloudy sky and clear sky is not something meteorologists spend a lot of time trying to predict. There are some great sites that NOAA has and some astronomy organizations maintain that try to predict the cloud cover so I plan to use these to improve my chances at being at the right place. 

The other issues is that since this eclipse is in the US and has been well publicized there are going to be a lot of people traveling to see it. Every hotel in the path has been booked for the past 6 months and the roads leading to the big cities where it will pass over are going to be traffic jams of people. This is why if you are going to try an see this eclipse you will have to prepare for the zombie apocalypse. There will be millions of people following the best weather and popular cities to see the eclipse. You have to stay ahead of the crowd and plan for any possible problem or you will get eaten by the crowd and miss the eclipse. 

My plans are to fly to Denver the Friday before the eclipse and then head to where I think the weather will be perfectly clear. That will give me 2 and a half days to get in a place to see the eclipse. The weather in the north west especially east of Portland has the best chance of clear weather (76% vs 50% for Charleston). There are also less people north of Denver yet there are still a lot of good highways so I can move around the country quickly. The main problem is going to be finding a place to stay and places to eat. Because of the influx of people the hotels and restaurants will be overwhelmed. I may end up camping out and eating beef jerky from gas stations but as long as I get the see the eclipse that won't matter. 

For those of you not traveling to see the eclipse there will still be a partial eclipse seen from NJ so get your eclipse glasses or make a pin hole camera and enjoy the partial eclipse.

Assuming my plans work out I hope to share some good pictures and stories about the eclipse. That is assuming there isn't a sudden Sharknado that encircles the globe( as being shown on SYFY tonight)