Let me start off by saying that this writeup will accomplish two goals. The first goal will be to write a ride report about my trip. Secondly, and most important, will be to explain to you the extent to which both the iPhone and especially the Navigon app f*cking suck. So, if you’re either an iPhone or Navigon fanboy (or girl) you may want to stop reading now… Because the truth hurts!
Earlier Sunday as I was riding home from drills, I decided it would be a good idea to take a little three-day trip to WV… So, as any diligent traveler would when preparing for a last-minute trip, I put off packing and instead had a couple friends over for some beers. After all, I had to get up early. By midnight, my friends had gone home and I was packed up and ready to go. I had the alarm set to go off at 4:00am, with a backup to go off at 4:30… and another for 4:45.
I rolled out of bed around 5:00am after much internal debate and many snooze button smashes. I grabbed a quick bite to eat, had a small cup of coffee, took the dog out and fed him, got my gear on, and hit the road by about 5:30am. It was chilly! My thermometer at the house said 38° F. I had layers on and heated gloves, so the cold wasn’t too much of a problem.
The plan was to take the interstate down until I got close to Morgantown, WV. From there, I’d decide the rest of the route. Speaking of, my general game plan was to go to Morgantown and visit an old house and the old elementary school I went to kindergarten in. I had heard it was closed down years ago, so I was hoping to do some exploring if it wasn’t torn down. From there I was going to see the New River Gorge bridge and Thurmond, WV, an old ghost town. Then I was going to ride into eastern KY and head north into Ohio and back through PA.
There was a fun two-mile stretch of road in southern PA or maybe northern MD. It was so fun in fact that I stopped, turned around and rode it again, then came back through.
(the picture doesn’t really do it justice)
At the end of the road, I stopped and had a peek inside this old house.
My first real stop was in Booth, WV to see my old house I lived in for a couple years. It was old, dilapidated, and depressing. I took a picture… then left (btw, it looks better in the picture than in real life). Not much else to do there.
I actually had no idea how to get to my school. I only had the memory of taking a right off of my street on the school bus as a kindergartener 25 years ago… So, I took a right and figured I’d look for it. If I didn’t find it, I’d ask a local where it was. It turns out that if you take a right, it’s about two miles down the road on the right hand side! Didn’t even need to ask for directions… My manhood is intact.
Everything was boarded up except the front door which was actually wide open. There weren’t even any ‘no trespassing’ signs. It’s like they rolled out the red carpet for me!
Earlier Sunday as I was riding home from drills, I decided it would be a good idea to take a little three-day trip to WV… So, as any diligent traveler would when preparing for a last-minute trip, I put off packing and instead had a couple friends over for some beers. After all, I had to get up early. By midnight, my friends had gone home and I was packed up and ready to go. I had the alarm set to go off at 4:00am, with a backup to go off at 4:30… and another for 4:45.
I rolled out of bed around 5:00am after much internal debate and many snooze button smashes. I grabbed a quick bite to eat, had a small cup of coffee, took the dog out and fed him, got my gear on, and hit the road by about 5:30am. It was chilly! My thermometer at the house said 38° F. I had layers on and heated gloves, so the cold wasn’t too much of a problem.
The plan was to take the interstate down until I got close to Morgantown, WV. From there, I’d decide the rest of the route. Speaking of, my general game plan was to go to Morgantown and visit an old house and the old elementary school I went to kindergarten in. I had heard it was closed down years ago, so I was hoping to do some exploring if it wasn’t torn down. From there I was going to see the New River Gorge bridge and Thurmond, WV, an old ghost town. Then I was going to ride into eastern KY and head north into Ohio and back through PA.
There was a fun two-mile stretch of road in southern PA or maybe northern MD. It was so fun in fact that I stopped, turned around and rode it again, then came back through.
(the picture doesn’t really do it justice)
At the end of the road, I stopped and had a peek inside this old house.
My first real stop was in Booth, WV to see my old house I lived in for a couple years. It was old, dilapidated, and depressing. I took a picture… then left (btw, it looks better in the picture than in real life). Not much else to do there.
I actually had no idea how to get to my school. I only had the memory of taking a right off of my street on the school bus as a kindergartener 25 years ago… So, I took a right and figured I’d look for it. If I didn’t find it, I’d ask a local where it was. It turns out that if you take a right, it’s about two miles down the road on the right hand side! Didn’t even need to ask for directions… My manhood is intact.
Everything was boarded up except the front door which was actually wide open. There weren’t even any ‘no trespassing’ signs. It’s like they rolled out the red carpet for me!