Gainsville FL to Tellico Plains, TN - 498 miles

Cold day in the south...  39 at 7:30 am in Gainsville... 49 at 6 PM arriving Tellico Plains, TN.  Froze fingers and toes but was a sweet ride.  Mostly I75 but put many miles behind in getting to March Moto Madness.  For the morning I stopped about every 60 miles to thaw out my body parts...   just after 12 a traffic jam slowed northbound to a crawl south of Atlanta for about 5 miles.   Then I pulled over at a Carhart store for a while... Then, warmed and energized I booked north stopping only for gas and wrapped up the day.  Most of the miles were right at 80 MPH.  Haven't calculated fuel milage but am certain it is low.  Whatever.

So where did the hours go?  I know that I took several warm up breaks...  Once I made that long stop I hit the power and stayed on it for hours on end... not watching the clock...  I don't even carry a clock.   Just ticking off the miles to the next fuel stop around 140 miles.   Once the fuel light comes on I decide if to take fuel right away or wait for a less traffic'd place.   Longer is better, within the fuel window.   When I pulled in for the last stop the clock on the wall was showing after 6 PM... Could have fooled me... felt like 4 maybe.   Nice to just have those miles all behind me.   Never really sensed a rush-hour period.   Just plenty of traffic skirting Atlanta.  The by-pass around Macon was light.