Day 5 - Pontoon Beach, Illinois to Wheeling, West Virginia

---

Howdy from Wheeling, WV! 563 miles and four states today!

I left Pontoon Beach at 3AM and headed east on I-70 for the entire day. Those 563 miles took me 13 hours to cover, as my back has about had it with riding for a while. Towards the end of the day, I had to stop every 20 miles or so to get off the bike and walk around. A long and painful day to be sure but I made it to tonight's revised destination of Wheeling, WV.

I met some interesting people along the way today. A gentleman working at a gas station in Indiana asked me about my bike and where I was headed. When I told him that I was tired, he laughed at me and said that us young people were soft. He then proceeded to tell me that he rides his Harley 300-400 miles per week. I then told him that I've ridden over 2300 miles since Tuesday. He didn't have a whole lot more to say after that. I met another guy at a McDonald's in Ohio who told me about a similar trip that he took on a then new CB750 when he got back from Vietnam in 1971. Cool guy. Cool people are out there, you just have to be open to having conversations with strangers. The Alien understands that and is a very friendly guy, even if the same can't always be said for his alter ego, me. I'm the one who pays the bills though, probably because I suffer fools much more readily (and frequently) than the Alien ever would.

Even though I was in pain today, it was a great day for riding. I-70 through eastern Ohio is amazing. 85 mph the whole way with lots and lots of twisting road through valleys and over hills with lakes and rivers all around. These are the kind of roads that make me happy to ride a motorcycle. I think that feeling is pretty common among motorcyclists everywhere. It's all about the turns and twists.

When you're driving your car and want to turn, you simply turn the steering wheel and the car turns. The wheel even comes back to the center position for you. Nothing to it. Turning a motorcycle is an entirely different matter though. Let's take a sweeping left hand turn at speed for example. Here's how it works: As the rider approaches the curve, they apply both the front and rear brakes simultaneously using their right hand and foot. Next, the rider will use their left hand to operate the clutch and their left foot to downshift, then the right hand will come off of the front brake and operate the throttle to match engine speed to the newly selected gear while the left hand releases the clutch. Now, as the rider actually enters the left hand corner, they will turn the handlebars to the right (yep). This is called counter steering and causes the bike to drop to the left. Once the desired angle of lean has ben achieved, the rider will turn the handlebars to the left in order to actually turn left. As the rider is going through the turn, adjustments can be made in two ways. More throttle will stand the bike up, while less throttle will allow it to lean farther. More steering to the left will stand the bike up also. Generally these two methods of adjustment are used together, for example to take the curve sharper, throttle input will be reduced while steering input will be increased. All the while, the rider is putting their weight on the uppermost or outside foot peg as this places the most pressure possible over the axis of the tire's contact patch. Finally, as the rider exits the corner, they will turn the handlebars slightly more left while slightly increasing the throttle input, thus standing the bike back up.

It seems like an awful lot going on for something as simple as following the curve of the road, doesn't it? In truth however, an experienced rider does all of these things without even thinking about it. The whole process is seamless and fun. Rinse and repeat for the next corner. Good times! Note: It is perfectly acceptable to yell "Wheee!" while doing this.

So, yeah, it was a good day of riding. Unfortunately though, my back would not allow me to push on the last 40 miles to my intended destination of Washington, PA so that's how I came to be here in Wheeling, WV for the night. Wheeling, what a bizarre place. I've only been here a few hours and I'm already uneasy. I checked into the only motel I could find, threw my gear in the door and went back to the front desk to ask the manager to recommend a good place to eat. He didn't say a word, just picked up the phone, punched in a number and asked somebody named Paul whether or not he was serving food tonight. (This should have served as a giant red flag) He then directed me across the street to a building marked "Tavern". I entered to the smell of old cigarette smoke, stale beer and even older, staler fryer oil. I took a seat as the staff and patron (there was only one) ignored me. After a while, a waitress approached and threw a menu down on the table so hard that it slid off onto the floor. She then walked off indifferently. After retrieving the menu and waiting for another little while, she returned and took my order. When she left, a man who was not in possession of a great number of teeth but who's name tag identified him as the famed "Paul" approached my table, looked at me pointedly and asked "What about the Jew Hell frump?" "Excuse me?", I replied. He looked exasperated and repeated himself slowly, annunciating each word. "I say, What. About. The. Jew. Hell. Frump?" Ok, WTF??? I was just about to tell him where he could stuff his anti-Semitic nonsense, when I mentally reconstructed what he would have sounded like with teeth. "What about the Jew Hell frump?" became "Whereabouts do you hail from?" Giving him the benefit of the doubt, I said, "Los Angeles". He smiled and muttered "Dodgers", then walked away, thus passing out of our tale forever.

Upon returning to the motel, I took my first good look at the room. Dear God. Besides the questionable stains everywhere, the cigarette burns on the bed, carpet and tub and the smell of meth labs past, it wasn't too bad. I also noted that the door doesn't lock. I am far too tired to move to another place right now, so I wedged one of the stained chairs under the knob and placed both my open pocket knife as well as a 14 inch crescent wrench on the night stand. It will just have to do for tonight.

Stay Tuned - Tomorrow I'll finally be arriving in Morgantown WV, where I'll be staying for five days with 350 other bikers. It's only 80 miles away!

See you on the road.

Ride Safe,

Alien

---

Photos

Um...I'll just wait out here, thanks!
How awesome would it have been if it said "Free Candy?"

Indiana Welcome Center
Yay, go corn! Or whatever.

The Amish and the Mothership
I tried to get this Amish lady to get on the bike so I could take her picture but no dice.

My "Welcoming Kit" since my door doesn't lock
Come get some!

Comments

[marc sapers]

Whelling, Pa. Sucks
You are almost to your destination and then you can relax for five days and recoup. Can't wait to hear about Morgantown, West Virgina. Have a great ride tomorrow. Dad

[Barbara Colwell]

You're Kidding, Right?
How you can get up that early after 4 grueling days, is beyond me. I will be happy when you finish tomorrow's 80 miles. I will admit that today sounded like a much better day. How about the weather? Did you drive stripped of your jacket and gloves? I am thankful you are through for the day. Be safe and rest plenty the next 5 days!