Start:
End:
Mileage: 340 miles
Route taken: Route 50 west to
Highway 522 north to Interstate 68 to Highway 219 south to Highway 33
west to
Interstate 79 south exit at
It was the first wrong turn I have made on this trip and I
was surprised it didn’t come sooner.
Not that it mattered, it was only a momentary delay and
actually proved to provide some interesting scenery.
Instead of continuing west, I was unintentionally headed
north and realized it until I was nearly at the West Virginia/Maryland
border.
No problem, I stopped for gas at
It skirted to the west of the
When I reached
The town of
Of the three people working at the station, no one had even
heard of the town, much less knew where it was. They were as helpful as
possible, one guy even called a friend who worked for the post office,
but to
no avail. I thanked them and went on down the street.
A West Virginia State Police Office was on my right, so I
pulled in figuring someone there could help.
Two troopers and a dispatcher later, the town was found, but
getting me there took a bit of work. The one trooper, who had lived
there his
whole life found the vicinity after two attempts and gave me
directions.
Off I went and the second set of directions were correct, but
with no sign for the town of
I don’t blame the officers, it was not exactly a bustling
town, but it did point to a disturbing trend I have seen as I go across
the
country.
No one seems to know anything about outside of their town.
This wasn’t the first time I have asked for directions, but getting
people to
tell me even basic information, has proven difficult.
When I was in
It isn’t just directions, but basic travel questions. If
someone asked me how far it was to
When I query about distances between towns, the reply is
usually one of uncertainty.
I don’t want exact mileage, and have said as much, but even
giving me rough estimates proves to be a challenge.
It puzzles me and makes wonder why I am getting so many blank
stares when I ask these questions. If I was getting erroneous
information, I
wouldn’t care, but it is the ignorance that is frustrating.
Do people not care about the area they live in? Are they not
able to travel around where the live? Has their world not expanded
beyond their
town? Am I asking the wrong people?
It gave me something to ponder as I headed towards
He told me he thought it was about an hour. It was getting
close to dark, but if I only had sixty miles, especially on an
interstate, I
could make it with some daylight remaining.
I could have gone north to
But I wanted to head south, so that is the direction I
pointed Libertad.
The first mileage sign I came across was about five miles
down the highway and knew I was in trouble. I was 92 miles from
Here is where retreating would have been the prudent, not to
mention, intelligent decision to make.
Of course my stubbornness overruled logic and I pressed on
southward.
The light disappeared quickly, even though I was speeding to
try and keep it in the sky as long as possible. The sunglasses were
starting to
become a problem, but taking them off meant no eye protection and the
wind at
80 mph makes riding without them impossible.
I rode for another 20 miles in semi darkness and when I saw a
rest stop, pulled in to switch eyewear. I have amber colored glasses
that are
used for night, so I put those on. It is the first time I have needed
them in a
month of riding.
I don’t like riding at dark. There are way too many variables
I can’t control. Objects in the road I can’t see, a pothole that I can
fall
into, drivers can’t see me even more at night, and then there is the
deer.
Deer is the ultimate danger at night. They come out and jump
in front of cars for no logical reason. The terrify me.
So for the remaining 53 miles I drove with my head on a
swivel and gripping the handlebars with clenched fists. The woods were
on both
sides, the possibility of deer was there.
The later you stay out on the road the better the chance of
seeing them. I had a sliver of light, and I wanted to take advantage of
it as
long as I could.
Traffic was light and I straddled the center line, giving me
better chance of avoiding animals and potholes. The road was relatively
smooth and
speeding wasn’t as dangerous as it could have been.
I knew if I could get to about 20 miles from the city the
woods would disappear and my anxiety level would drop substantially.
Nothing jumped out at me and I saw the exit for