Time Traveling Through Indian Territory (Go East, Young Man)

Utica, NY

Thunder trumped the alarm clock for Old Danny Boy this morning. Getting up at 4:00 wasn’t too bad. After all, he had the alarm set for 4:20. We don’t see this kind of weather in Oregon – warm at 80 degrees, a thunder storm rolls in, crashes around for a time, quickly dumps a lot of rain, then rolls on. The humidity, now at 99%, causes a heavy mist to form on the ground. What a wonderful time to go for a motorcycle ride.

We don’t usually stop until we burn our first tank of gas. This morning, ODB pulled into the first stop on the turnpike for coffee. Contrary to his usual ways, he made me wait while he took his sweet time. It was still dark, the rain was falling but tapering off, and baby clouds were being born in fields across the way, still on the ground and waiting for liftoff. He's standing there singing between sips. How someone can be so darned happy at this time of day is beyond me.

Along about 8:00 we stopped so he could get out of his rain gear and check in with She Who Beat Chinook Winds at BINGO. SHBCWB who wasn’t all that happy to hear from him. Turns out it was only 5:00 in Salem.

 He knew we were getting close to the Eastern Time Zone, but was surprised to learn we’d been in it since crossing the border into Indiana yesterday.

 So . . . Hello from the East!

The last time we were in these parts was 2009 when we followed US Hwy 20 from Newport, OR to Boston, MA. That road runs right through downtown Cleveland. We got SO LOST while trying to negotiate city center that we ended up in a bus only lane. Ironically, it was a lane for Bus Rapid Transit, the same type of bus route ODB drives for LTD.

This time around it was WAY different. No stopping. No intersections. No Signals. No small towns to look at. And nothing to do but 1, Aim high in steering. 2, Get the big picture. 3, Keep your eyes moving. 4, Leave yourself an out. And 5, Make sure they see you (He's had remedial Smith System Training so often they need to invent a sixth key just to keep him interested).The only thing that slowed us down was the occasional toll booth. We spent the entire day on freeways or turnpikes. It’s a great way to get from Point A to Point B. It’s a lousy way to see the country. Thankfully we’re back on state highways tomorrow.

I-90 into Cleveland from the south

However, I-90 does go through Cleveland. We managed to do that during the morning rush. We were able to enjoy an amazing view of Cleveland’s skyline as we approached from the south. Front and center was Progressive Field, home of the Insurance Agents. I mean Indians.

In my humble mo-cy opinion, the 550 in Colorado with its deadly rock walls and sheer cliffs is a safer place to ride. ODB really had to keep his wits about him to keep us out of trouble. That’s not easy as he only has a few wits left.

(Google Map Update)