Friday, August 9, 2024
We began the day by meeting in Middletown, NY to start the trip. We’re heading toward Moab, Utah! And just like all the other trips, we hopped onto I-84W. It was raining when we left, and seemed to never stop raining. We rode until we hit I-80W and got to Bloomsburg, PA when Eddie’s fuel light came on. So, we got off and when I got off the bike to fill up, my pants and shirt were quite wet. I didn’t realize it, because I’ve always used a one piece rain suit on my prior trips, but I had my rain pants too low on my waist to when we got off, my jeans and my shirt were wet! So, after filling up, I hiked them ALL the way up so water wouldn’t accumulate.
From Bloomsburg, we continued down I-80 in the rain until Eddie needed fuel again. His bike is several years older than mine, so he is the limiting factor. It seems that he needs to refuel every 120 miles at highway speeds. It stopped raining briefly when we reached a town called Clearfield, PA which is where we stopped for gas. However, when we pulled in to fill up, the woman came out to tell us they were out of power and so was the rest of the town due to the storms. We checked Google maps and saw a Sheetz further up the road so we headed there. Fortunately they were open and had power. After filling up we grabbed some food and chit-chatted with a couple that came from New Hampshire and were on their way to Nashville. They were both on BMW sport touring bikes.
While we were finishing eating, it started to sprinkle again, so we geared up and continued. About half hour later, it finally seemed to stop raining. It was such a relief. We rode about 300 miles in the rain. Luckily, the weather seemed to change a little from the forecast the night before so when we stopped again for gas, we took the rain gear off. It was so refreshing! It was sunny and about 77 degrees.
We continued until we needed fuel again and after stopping, Eddie realized that a rubber spacer in the chain guide that I just replaced was sticking out. The little rubber “pins” must have came loose. So, since I brought the whole garage with me, I slapped a zip-tie through it to hold it in place. We also looked for a spot to have dinner and we headed there next.
We finally got to the restaurant, JJ Winns Restaurant & Lounge in Montpelier, Ohio. We each got bacon and cheddar stuffed burgers with homemade fries. It was really good!
While there, we were discussing where to go and how far we wanted to go for the day. So, we looked around South Bend but most of the hotels were sold out, so we found a Hampton Inn in Elkhart, Indiana. So we headed into the sunset until we arrived at the hotel. It was a decent first day considering the weather.
We finished the day with about 685 miles.
Photo Album: Day 1 Photos
Adventures of Matty Q 