Traveling Across America: Day 2

We decided to go through West Virginia for nicer views and better roads rather than go through Ohio. 

Our plans were to make it to Nashville by the end of the day. We left at 6:45am and arrived in Nashville shortly after 8:00 (EST), after riding 640 miles for the day.

We first started off on route 711 to route 119 and on to route 43. Went through some local towns and down a steep windy hill to start off. While on 43, we were heading over a bridge near Cheat Lake when we became almost blinded. The fog was so dense it was almost a whiteout. Shortly after we stopped at IHOP and had breakfast and discussed some plans.

Then we took I-79 through most of West Virginia. There are some beautiful hills and valleys with small farms. I kept looking back and forth while taking it all in. At one point,  we stopped for gas so I purchased a Powerball. My plan is to buy one in every state since New Yorker’s never seem to win. We continued on and crossed into Kentucky. I’ve never been to Kentucky before so I was excited. Upon entering the state border, we passed Marathon Gas Stations Petroleum Plant. That was really cool. It it was like its own town right off the highway. Shortly afterwards, we stopped to fill up on gas because I was running low. After filling up, we thoght we would get lunch. Gabe asked the gas station attendant for recommendations for food so we don’t have to get fast food. We went to a Mexican place called Taco Loko. It was delicious. We got back on the road and came through a small portion of Daniel Boone National Forest, still on I-79, but didn’t get to see anything. 

Then we came into Lexington, Kentucky. There were many beautiful horse farms with some serious acreage! From there, we headed onto the Bluegrass Parkway where we saw historic signs for Abe Lincoln’s hometown and Wild Turkey distillery.

After riding longer, we stopped in Bowling Green Kentucky, just off I-65, to suit up after seeing the skies.  It was really dark and could actually see the rain failing. Good thing we stopped and changed into our rain gear. It rained hard for a few minutes. Then it stopped. As we entered Nashville, it rained again until we arrived at our good friend’s mother’s house.

Overall, it was definitely long day, but another good day for sure. It was sunny most of the way until we were close to Nashville and saw some of Hurricane Harvey. I also invested in a “cruise control” device which made an incredible difference. It is called Go-Cruise. I found it online as a substitute to electronic cruise control. I can sit up and take my hands off for several minutes at a time sometimes. It makes a world of difference considering I’m riding across country on a sport bike (crotch rocket).

Author: Matt Quinn

I like to get out, travel, and explore new places and sharing that with people around me! View all posts by Matt Quinn