As I have already posted, my friend James died last month so I had made the decision to go to his burial in Arlington National Cemetery. I knew that flying would be to easy so riding my bike was the only way I wanted to make this trip. The original plan was for James' and mine platoon sergeant to ride together, but he has recently retired and had a job offer that made flying a necessity for him. So I am making this trip on my own.
The day before I left, I packed and checked every little thing on my bike to include putting on a new PR2 rear. I stayed up late so that I could sleep in and depart after my son went to bed for the night. Of course changing your sleep schedule isn't usually advisable, especially before a long trip, but I have a lot of practice courtesy of the US government. I said my goodbyes and promised to answer my phone if my wife called since I had just bought the Sena. I was off and next stop was gonna be Woodbridge VA, to stay with CrashDB. The weather was cooling off and the sun was setting and there wasn't much traffic to speak of. I made good time through Missouri and Illinois, then came to Kentucky where the weather and road didn't want to make it easy for me. On I-64 somewhere between Louisville and Lexington the rain started and the temperature dropped in to the high 50's making it a chilly night for a guy with a t-shirt and a mesh Cortech jacket. At least my feet were dry and warm in my new boots. I guess I could have stopped and put on my rain gear, but I got caught off guard and didn't see the point in putting rain gear over the top of a wet riding jacket and damp Joe Rocket pants. I pulled underneath an overpass to check the weather radar and see if I needed to go ahead and prepare for a frog strangler. While I was stopped another rider pulled up behind me to seek shelter. He was riding an older R6 and said he was almost home. He was wearing shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt and was feeling pretty miserable from the cold and wet. We chatted for a while and when I saw that the weather was passed we parted ways and I headed on towards Lexington.
The progress was short lived since I-64 was blocked due to a down power line. I decided to go ahead and let my GPS reroute me since asking directions is way to easy. After a 30 mile detour that should have only been two or three I guess I will stop and ask next time. Probably not, because I never learn. By this time it was almost 4 am since I lost an hour after crossing into Kentucky. I was still wide awake and making great time since I was running 80-85 mph and there was hardly any traffic on the interstate. I get into West Virginia around 5 am and have to opportunity to watch a beautiful sunrise on a toll road. There was just a little low lying fog and the sun coming up over the Appalachian mountains was absolutely breathtaking. So much so that I forgot to stop and take a picture, but that is one of those times when I know that I made to right choice to ride instead of fly.
Coming into Virginia I was starting to feel a little tired but it was time to refuel so I stopped at the first available exit and refilled. I had seen a sign on the interstate about a bridge of some sorts so I asked the lady working about it and she said "Humpback bridge is just a mile down the road". So off I went to check it out. It did not disappoint. It had a hump back and was also a bridge. The greatest thing was the beautiful stream that was underneath just trickling away. The park was spotless and meticulously maintained unlike most other state parks I have visited.
Back on the road the traffic was starting to get pretty congested and slow due to all the campers and trailers. I got in to Woodbridge around noon and found my way to CrashDB's house. Leg one of my trip is done, 1062 miles in 16 hours. I took a much needed shower and sat down to relax and try to figure out when my friends were going to be coming in. Then I realized that I hadn't eaten anything since supper the evening before and Dave said that we could take his car and check out a local burger joint called 5 Guys. After eating a great burger and homemade fries I was starting to feel like I really needed a nap. Then my friends started texting and calling letting me know that they were either in DC or waiting on weather to clear so they could fly in. I end up riding up to Arlington, VA to meet my buddy Ben to see what we could do for the evening. Lets just say that riding in DC for the first time shouldn't be on a motorcycle. The roads are confusing and it seemed like nobody ever uses their signals to change lanes. I made it to my buddy's hotel and we came up with a game plan. We end up drinking a couple beers while waiting for everyone else and give up after we find out that the delays for everyone's flights were gonna make it a really late night. I tell Ben I will meet him at his hotel in the morning and back to Dave's house for some much needed sleep. I get there and he is watching Red so I have to finish that since the last part is the best anyway. After another shower I hit the sack and slept like a baby since I had been awake for about 36 hours.
Four hours later and still feeling pretty tired I am up and ready to head back to DC since I didn't want to ride my bike in a suit, so I am going to change at Ben's hotel room and ride with him in his cage (I know, I know this a motorcycle trip) over to Arlington National Cemetery. We end up having to cross the bridge instead of just following the traffic circle onto ANC so Ben pulls an illegal U-turn right by the Lincoln memorial and we cross back over to find a parking spot. We wait in line behind a tour bus and are allowed to pull in once the clock struck 8. 150 or so people show up, 10 or so are from our unit (230th MP Co) in Germany. We are escorted to James' burial site where the Full Honors graveside service is conducted. James is laid to rest three rows away from his driver (Knapp) who died last year after complications from his legs that he lost. Knapp had been selected to participate on the US ParaOlympic hockey team and died during practice.
After the service everyone was invited to the reception, where James' family had set up pictures and finger foods. All of the 230th alumni gathered to see some sights and hang out for the rest of the day. We started off by seeing the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier, where I had a tour set up through a friend who was a Tomb Guard of the inner area where they do their inspections and rest between shifts.
From there we went and changed before we went to see the Pentagon. Our previous company commander gave us a tour and showed us some of the inner workings. The Hall of Heroes which listed every Medal of Honor recipient was such an awesome experience.
Not many picture taking opportunities in such a secret building. But I was surprised to see Best Buy and pretty much any other store you would need inside.
After the Pentagon we all met up at the Lincoln memorial where Ben completed another illegal U-turn to find a great parking spot. But this time there was a ton of traffic and there were several angry DC locals that gave the one finger salute while we got turned around. Oh well, no harm done.
The tourists were very annoying and I was starting to feel on edge around all the crowds. I am one of those guys that if I am in a crowded restaurant that I want the corner table so I can keep my eyes on everything, so being here where I always have my back to someone (or a large group of people) just makes be feel a little nervous.
Korean War Memorial
Seeing these memorials really puts everything into perspective. All 58,000+ names on The Wall really made me feel the gravity of a war that had been over for almost 10 years before I was born. I have always appreciated what those who came before me have done and sacrificed for our great country, but I really appreciate being able to see the monuments erected in their honor.
Vietnam War Memorial
The Washington Monument was next and was a lot bigger than I expected.
But it all depends on your perspective.
Our last sight to see before going to eat a late dinner was the World War II Memorial. But my phone had died by this point so I didn't get any pictures of this beautiful place. The lights and water really made it a nice spot to reflect during a hot DC sunset.
We all agree to meet at a restaurant called the QuarterDeck whose specialty is Maryland blue crab. I just needed to plug my phone in since none of my friends had a GPS with them, to find our way over there. While my phone is charging I try to open my nav app and my phone crashes. I take the battery out and try to reset the phone, and it does the exact same thing when I open my nav app but this time it won't turn back on. Uh-oh! I am in an unfamiliar city with two friends who are also unfamiliar and nobody has a GPS. So we head towards the last known direction and try to find the restaurant. After two hours of bad directions from people that we asked we gave up and ended up eating at a diner close to the hotel where my friends were staying. I get some google directions to find my way back to Dave's house and head off so that I can finally get a good nights sleep before I take off for home in the morning. Once again I get lost since I took the wrong Woodbridge exit off of I-95. I end up on the wrong end of town and spend another two hours trying to find my way back. I finally get in and took a shower, and think to myselft that my return trip is so screwed without a GPS. It was now 4:30 am and I had to be up and out by the time that Dave left for work. I don't have an alarm since my phone crapped out so I leave a note by Dave's door to please wake me up before he takes off. Sure enough two and a half hours later Dave knocks on the door and I am up and packing my bike up to make the trip home. I say my goodbyes to Dave and thank him for his hospitality (I haven't forgotten about the Bud Light). But before I can head home I need to find a US Cellular store to switch my phone out. I have to head north into WV and find this store without GPS, so this should be interesting. My directions off google were perfect and I followed Dave for 20 miles or so and made it to WV without a hitch.
I get in to Martinsburg, WV and the ladies at the US Cellular store get me set up with a new phone within 30 minutes. I am now so tired that I can barely think straight so I need to find a spot to lay down and take a nap. The only problem with that is the great roads wake me right up and I keep pushing through. Hwy 50 through WV is the single best road I have ever had the pleasure of riding. It has so many tight, technical sections that are seperated by winding sweepers that it is impossible to not have a blast even if doing the speed limit. My maximum speed might have been 80 mph through this area but I was usually running around 55. A lot of the local traffic even pulled over when they had a chance to let me through.
Here is a map of the route that I took that shows how great this road is.
http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Martinsburg,+WV+25401+(Winchester+Avenue+Christian+Church)&daddr=39.523376,-78.0513+to:39.34478,-78.24002+to:Romney,+WV+to:Grafton,+WV+to:Parkersburg,+WV&hl=en&ll=39.078908,-78.574219&spn=1.228089,2.705383&sll=39.47463,-78.065758&sspn=0.152647,0.338173&geocode=FWUIWgIdBD1a-yFWYMiIZPG0wQ%3BFTAUWwIdHAhZ-yl7sLpyzwTKiTEiFovo7h7-Ww%3BFYxaWAId7CZW-ykNVmdmrPW1iTEKabMnrk2L7A%3BFdtPWAIdtERO-ynTY8TN4Xu1iTEZiA09o6yyVg%3BFX1LWAId6gE7-ykLBw-PIolKiDENJz89QTWDFw%3BFbYpVwIdV3gj-ylXJN4ye0xIiDGalCEMLOSTzg&mra=dpe&mrsp=1&sz=12&via=1,2&vpsrc=6&z=9Here are a couple pics from when I stopped, even though it was really hard to quit riding long enough to snap some pics.
I get in to Parkersburg, WV around 7 pm and am ready for a nap since the road isn't keeping me awake any more. I stop at a local park and find a shaded spot that is out of the way of all the joggers. I lay down and set my alarm for 9 pm. Two hours of sleep should be good enough for me to finish off the trip. I wake up 7:30 to some idiot with his rap music blaring and now I can't fall back to sleep. I hit the road and head towards Cincinnati since sleep is so over rated anyway. I make it through Ohio without any problems and get close to Indianapolis when the urge to sleep is getting to hard to control. I pull over and get fuel, and there is a Waffle House next door. So I get a waffle and a cup of coffee. I can't believe that the waitress actually served me since I am sure I stunk pretty bad and looked like a crack head with red sunken in eyes and hair that was matted down by my helmet. She was very friendly and asked me what I did, I told her I was a weapons instructor for the Army at Fort Leonard Wood, and she said "holy crap, my son is in basic training there right now." Super nice lady and her conversation helped to wake me back up. So back on the road and not even 20 minutes later I am having problems again. I guess I should have had more than seven hours of sleep in the past four days if I want to make a trip like this. So I find an abandoned bank next a Road Ranger and park my bike by the drive through and cuddle up next to the exhaust since it is still pretty cool on the asphalt. I sleep for an hour and I hear someone pull in, they just wanted to check on me and make sure I was ok. I guess a 6'2'' 250 lb man sleeping next to his motorcycle is a rare sight in Indiana. Oh well, I am awake and only 450 ish miles from home. I can do this, and I did. All the miles on the interstate were super boring but I am just glad I got to make this trip. It is by far the longest I have ridden in that amount of time. I am also fortunate to have a working GPS so that I could go ahead and ride an excellent road even if it wasn't the roads I had planned on riding. Total mileage for the whole trip was 2352. Now if you will excuse me I need to go re-apply my hemorrhoid cream and take another nap.
