Great report this far as usual Bob...you bring the road to the reader. Thanks, after the weather we are having I needed some pick me up for whats left of winter. Looking forward to the next post of the journey.

 

The signs along 555 indicated that Hwy 50 was coming up. We were nearing Parkersburg and it got noticeably busier. Country two lane gave way to intersections and many more cars. That's how traveling is. Miles and miles of open road and countryside. The suddenly, other people, cars, buildings, and worst of all, stop signs. But that can be interesting too.

Entering Parkersburg



And West Virginia



Our rout took us basically through Parkersburg and then spit us out onto Hwy 50. By this time it was getting pretty cloudy and based on a few radar checks, rain was imminent. You could smell it in the air. Sometimes we would ride on wet sections of blacktop indicating that a cloudburst had passed. Steam rose up off the hot pavement. But so far so good.

A ways east of Parkersburg we came across these guys



Turns out the RAAM competition was going on. These guys ride coast to coast, west to east either solo or as a relay team.

http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/raa...?N_webcat_id=1

I am in awe of the endurance that these athletes have. But some of the competitors displayed a complete lack of road etiquette. The folks in the pic above were the best of the breed. But many of the follow cars thought it was smart to ride halfway off the emergency lane and in traffic. The end result on this curvy highway was that cars would come up on the very slow moving follow vehicles, slam on their brakes and try to merge into the fast lane after they slowed down to almost nothing. We witnessed this again and again. It did not give us a very positive feeling towards these other 2 wheeled travelers at all. And this was on a fast 4 lane. We would find that it would get much, much worse later when Hwy 50 narrows to 2 lane.

To be continued.....

 

Not trying to be mean but it was 58* here today. Wife and I went for a putt, stopped by the local dealer where she got a couple hats and a shirt and bought me some Tshirts for my birthday this Thursday (when I'm off and forecast is 65-66* and sunny). Guess what I'll be doing??


Glad you are redoing this trip. Thanks, I look forward to your road trip reports.

 

Bob, you are able to capture in words and pictures the feel of being on the trip. My wife and I both love your write ups (as the lake effect snow is coming sideways here).
Thank you thank you!!

 

Once again, thank you! Being able to "virtual ride" with you helps me get over the fact that I too parked the bike last November, and have since had it out only once in December. As per the last session, I'm looking forward to the next rounds of posts!

 

Hey! The picture of the Detour sign is/was less than 5 miles from my home. I really enjoy your skills.

 

Like I've told others who delight in pointing out my poor decisions (i.e. living in the frozen north), I'm glad someone's out there getting some miles in. Enjoy it for the rest of us!

You're very welcome! And thank you for the kind words. Thirty MPH winds and below zero here. Sigh.

I put mine away in November too. And it wasn't a day too soon. Seems like a million years ago. Thanks Jeffrey for joining along.

Thanks Jay! Always good to hear from you. I was thinking about you when we passed that sign.

 

Dude, you and Cheryl rock! Awesome story as usual.

That crap about us Canadians and alcohol is a lie. A top secret lie. Free health care means throwning the liver under the bus!

Anyway, love your adventures.

 

As we moved east we seemed to be just narrowly missing the rain. The roads would go from dry to very wet within a block or two. The water off the road flew up off of the cars ahead and would pelt us. Or was it rain? It was hard to tell. Either way, we weren't wet really. But, we figured we better pull over and get on the rain gear. So we exited Hwy 50 an went to, you guessed it, McDonalds. Looking back on it, I wonder why we stop at McDonalds so often. It sure as hell isn't because we love eating the crap. I guess it's because there are so many of them and it's consistent. Some may say consistently awful, and we would not disagree. But, if you've ever experienced the panic from imminent bowl evacuation because you made a poor roadside choice, you understand why we settle for "consistent".

The McDonalds was crowded. Many of the bicyclists were there among myriad travelers of all varieties. It seemed more like a Greyhound depot than a restaurant. We noticed one couple that had a dog sitting outside eating. There's no way to sugar coat it - they were filthy and we could smell them as we passed by them. We guessed they were hitch hiking or just plain old hiking. Normally we would feel somewhat sorry for people like that. But, it was pretty obvious that they were very content with their place in life. And they certainly hadn't gone without a meal....or cigarettes. I mention them only because we saw them at least two more times at various stops farther down the road. It was definitely strange. Of course we started in with the ghost stories. Maybe we were the only ones that saw these apparitions with their ghostly canine companion?

Rain gear on and continuing east we passed scores of follow cars and bicyclists. Sometimes they were where they should be. Other times they were not. After a while Hwy 50 narrowed down to two lanes. It also became very scenic.



It rained on and off at that point. It never became a full deluge, but it was enough to keep our faces wet with spray. We didn't mind. The bike does a great job of keeping us comfortable and it handles great on the wet roads. I had recently installed a Michelin Commander II on the back and it really gripped well in the rain. Through curves, stops, and starts, the bike was solid as Gibraltar. Because of the levels of confidence we had in the bike, we were able to take in the scenery, which was beautiful in it's lush green-ness.

Here we are entering West............uh.......Virginia.........?



We were certain we entered West Virginia miles back. Turns out we were in Maryland for about a minute and didn't even know it. I guess it takes a big bite out of WVA. Then it's back to West Virginia. So for what it's worth, Maryland looked pretty damn good too. I think. No matter, it was all good. The roads are a rider's paradise, even when wet.



It was around here, a bit east of the town of Israel, that we came upon the biggest hassle created by the RAAM bicyclists. The road climbed up a mountain and we encountered a slow moving tractor trailer. I figured it was the steep climb and sharp curves that slowed him down. Nope. It was a follow car going under 10MPH following a, no doubt, exhausted bicyclist climbing the steep hill. We found that out when we passed the truck on a brief straight (Thank you 107 big bore kit!). The driver of a car coming the other way was waving at us in a way that led me to believe we should slow down. Sure enough, around the next bend we came up on a line of very slow moving cars stuck behind another rider. I will say, that I appreciate the athletic display. I have even competed in bicycle racing back in the day and continue to ride today. But, this is absolute, unmitigated horsesh*t. We were barely able to maintain enough speed to stay upright. This went on for a long while. Cars going the other way were hollering at the riders, and they were not words of encouragement.

Eventually I figured we could ease by the rolling roadblock. It was a double yellow, but the long straight allowed us to move past at moderate speed. I can only imagine that the cages and trucks were envious as we slid pass the morass. At the front of the blockage, which was at least 10 cars and three trucks, were two very tired bicyclists. We didn't vent on them, tempting as it was. But we really have to wonder about those that are so self centered that they are willing to endanger lives (follow cars in traffic back on the 4 lane) and slow people down on a highway to walking speeds.

Once past the Lance Armstrong twins we topped out on the mountain. It really was a shame that at the very best part of the ride so far, a couple of lycra rangers had to put a damper on it. Point - there are parts of Hwy 50 that are amazing. Valleys, climbs, curves, bridges - it's all good.



We took in the rainy view -



The rain didn't matter. The bicyclists didn't matter. This is some beautiful country and we are glad to be riding through it.

cont.......

 

Thanks again Bob and Cheryl for bringing warmth to the frozen tundra. We're headed to -33 tonight and reading this brings a little bit of hope that some day the warmth will return and the bike may emerge from hibernation...