So I made Charleston, West Virginia last night, staying at the Budget Host motel. It was cheap, which is about the best thing I can say about it other than the fact that it had a good view of the Kanawha river directly behind.
I've been enjoying riding through both the landscape and the towns as I'm traveling east. Aside from the beauty of the hills and forests, it's interesting to see the older towns and buildings reflecting the history of our country. I lived and worked in Manhattan for a while and had a chance to explore some of the northeastern states, but it's been a very long time and it's refreshing to see the cultural differences again. In my mind, aside from a few town like Fredericksburg, Texas seems to be primarily a mix of modern cities and metal building strip towns along the roads. Of course that's a generalization, but it's nice to see something different and mindful of our country’s rich history.
I wanted to see something different besides the inside of my eyelids, so I woke up early about 5:30 in the morning and was on the bike looking for gasoline, breakfast and coffee by 6-ish. All I could find was a local Hardee's, eating a breakfast sandwich and sipping my coffee while I listened to a group of retired guys talk about their time in the army. Stories of drill instructors and Russian soldiers wanting to trade cigarettes across the German border.
We all acknowledged each other with nods as I headed out and got on the bike. The temperature was in the low 60s and felt great, but I had to zip up all the vents on my Klim jacket. This is the first time I've used this jacket on a trip, and had wanted to take my warranty replacement Firstgear Kilimanjaro, however its shipment was delayed. I'll spare you the story, but my Kilimanjaro was the perfect jacket in Alaska, then failed miserably in Central America when the sleeves began to leak. Firstgear still honored the warranty three years later but in the meantime I picked up an older Klim Latitude jacket. The light weight and simplicity of the jacket appealed to me but it's not been tested in heavy rain or cold temperatures, whereas the Kilimanjaro was perfect in those temperatures. The Klim fits well and I feel sleek and aerodynamic in it. Think of a silvery, carbon fiber snake that swallowed a bowling ball and you'll get a visual. I need to lose 30 pounds in the next four days so that I can have room to layer for warmth in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. I think it's doable.
The early Sunday morning highways were almost empty and the crisp air felt great. Fog and clouds covered parts of the highway with shafts of sunlight breaking through here and there. At times I had the highway and the beautiful views all to myself.
I made the decision to head east through Cumberland, MD rather than north, as my older sister had lived and worked on a museum project there in the 80s and I’d never gotten a chance to visit. I swung through the downtown section and shot a picture to text to my sister.
From Cumberland I continued on to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, grabbing a late lunch before touring the battlefield. Civil War battlefields have always mesmerized me and I could've spent the entire day staring across the fields and trying to imagine the scenes. I was tempted to stay an extra day to do just such a thing, however the town was packed with tourists, so I continued on to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where the long day finally caught up to me.
I had a chuckle that evening in the hotel room when I checked the photography website for Deals Gap. Here and there along the route there are photographers who shoot images and post them online to immortalize your ride - for a fee of course. I managed to find a couple of pics of me on the road, needless to say rare since I travel alone…
