Straight Out of Brooklyn

This photo is from my one-photo-a-day project (because it isn't enough for me to drive a loop around the country and write a blog while doing it, I need one more project on this trip). This house-store-junkyard is somewhere in PA (I think). What strikes me about it is all this stuff, but I don't see a totem pole.

Beside that silliness ...

It took a little doing (and re-doing), but I finally got all the gear strapped to the bike this morning, had my last good bagel for awhile, and rolled out of NYC at Noon.

It was a glorious day to ride 400 miles, so I did just that. Of course I had to deal with some traffic in NJ because it's NJ, but after that it was clear roads along with clear skies all the way to Uniontown, PA.

The first stop for gas was a little town in Pennsylvania called Bethlehem. I was surprised that there wasn't a sign to mark the birthplace of Jesus, but I guess it just proves that religion is on the decline in America. Another thing that should have been there but wasn't was while driving through Lebanon, PA ... I didn't see any trace of the attacks that have been in the news recently. It makes you wonder.

I traveled some great back roads (Route 222 to US-30 to US-40) in Pennsylvania and Maryland. One freak thing happened, somewhere in Maryland. A bug, either a bee or a wasp or something with a stinger, flew up the sleeve of my leather and stung me on the right forearm. I must have looked funny, driving 65 mph while pounding my forearm with my left fist. I pulled over, tore off my jacket, but couldn't find what it was. I did see a slightly inflamed vein, but wasn't too concerned. I'd been stung by a bee once before and hadn't died from it, so I put my jacket back on, mounted the bike again and drove on. The arm looks fine now, so no worries.

I wound up back in PA where I'm now holed up for the night. Tomorrow takes me through West Virginia, Ohio and on to Indiana, where I will visit with my good friend Heather and meet her man Bones (who gave me all the great roads I drove today).

I'll close with this mention from the my-but-your-name-is-unique category. The nametag on a waitress read Teareney and I asked her how she pronounced that. Sure enough she said "tyranny", and I said, "that's unique", to which she chuckled a weary chuckle (for a twenty-year-old), but I couldn't help wondering if she isn't a terror to hang out with.

A perfectly odd ending to a great day of riding. Hopefully the rest of the trip will be as strange and wonderful.