This journey started as an idea to get my friends back together after 10 years, to ride again. Great idea but a lack of participation on behalf of the old friends led me to venture out on my own.
From the day I began heading west from New Jersey, this trip seemed doomed. A couple of glitches and a rainy start made me second guess my thinking that I could do this on my own and more so, with such a small window of time.
I got past the rain and the initial scare of riding through it basically because I wouldn’t give into the fear and turn back on the very first day. I just kept thinking I hope my mom was watching over me from above and helped me find a way to get through the rain safely. Well I am here to write this so I’m going to believe she was the angel on my shoulder during that ride.
The start of the second leg from Philadelphia to Buckhannon started off great. The weather was clear and cool and the path I chose to ride was off the main highways so my odds for a easy ride was looking pretty good. Boy, that didn’t last too long.
The ride by Googles estimate should take me just around 6 hours. That means at least one more by bike. My initial thoughts are to just get in 4-5 hours and stay somewhere midway between the two towns thinking it might be too much to do all in one day.
As I get into Amish country, the pace slows to a crawl. My years away from the North East eroded my memory about Amish country and the road through it. Two lanes with a solid yellow line for miles and miles filled with eighteen wheeler’s as far as you can see. This was only one of the two areas I would ride through that the road was like this. All in all I’m guessing it set me back an hour.
The second part of the ride took me to the Interstate and more eighteen wheeler’s. Other than rain, the next biggest fear I have on a bike is riding with semi’s. They don’t care about you being this tiny little vehicle that gets wind blown every time one sides by in the next lane. That and the fact that they ride in ALL lanes at 75 mph makes it difficult to avoid them. I spend the majority of the time racing to jockey for a position ahead of them. It can wear a person out quickly.
At the five hour mark I decided to take my chances and see it through to the end rather than call it a day. I am about three hours out and the last leg of the ride will take me to mostly one and two lane roads off the Interstate. My initial thought was that it would be a welcome change to not have to race semi’s any longer.
As I hit the back roads I quickly realize that I will now have to deal with inclines and declines with twisties and switchbacks that will test my abilities. Not usually a big deal but after five hours on the bike, riding those roads takes a lot of energy, which I am lacking at this point. Although I deal with the roads pretty good, the semi’s reared their ugly heads again and I find myself behind them again on roads where it’s near impossible to pass even where the broken lines allow. Again, despite tough conditions, and over eight hours on the bike, I make it safely to Buckhannon.
Getting off the bike is difficult. I am spent. Sore, achy and with a headache from the combination of the helmet, wind and pipe noise for 8 hours. Although I am glad to see my friends, I can’t get the thoughts out of my head about seriously rethinking my ability to take this long trip in the allotted time I set aside.
During my three days in West Virginia, I spend a good part of the time retooling and calculating my plan for the trip out west. It doesn’t go well.
Just one man’s opinion
The Regular Guy