Wednesday, August 8, 2012

The Journey Begins!


loaded and ready to roll
With only 2 days to go with Kickstarter, I finally left on my epic journey!


Day one started with much to wrap up in Philly.  By 2:00 PM I had successfully loaded the bike with a ridiculous amount of baggage.  Every passerby decided to make an off handed comment regarding the overload of the motorcycle.


Where's the fixin bar?
I left 2024 Wallace street, my former residence and current location of the Light Room Gallery at 3:30 Est. time.  I want to get as far as State College and find a place to camp.  I had one last chore to do before fleeing the city. I recently misplaced my motorcycle registration. Well, it flew out of my wallet on 95N in New Hampshire about a month ago, but that is a story of another time. Now I had to go to across center city, through mid-day heat and traffic to an auto-tag place to get a dup of my registration. Here’s to waiting until the very last minute.  I figured it would be the ultimate test to see how my overloaded cycle would hold up to the fury of a hot august day of driving in  Philadelphia. 

 Aside from what appeared to be a crack head gingerly dancing across a red light will all the leisure of the world, and a slew of maddening horns in response to her exhibition, my registration was safely secure and I was on my way.  Needless to say, it was about 4:15 by time I hit deadlock traffic on I76 through the dreaded Conshohocken curve with the city skyline in my rear view.  An hour later I pulled into my favorite turnpike rest stop where I normally load up on the fixins bar at one of the only Roy Rogers left in the area. This time I would refrain from indulging in all you can pile pickles and re-sort my load as I had very little room for comfort they way I had things piled on.  Comfort is everything on long trips.  ½ hour later I was re-sorted, much more comfortable and on my way.  

Lewistown, PA
 It cost me $7.10 when I exited the turnpike. Christ, I was only on the thing for an hour. Let that be a sign that I should be avoiding all pay highways… all highways for that matter.  Once off the turnpike I started north through mid PA towards state college.  With about 50 miles to go until I reached the campus of the tarnished Nitney Lion, the sun was setting quickly.  I decided to  pull off at the nearby town of Lewistown.  I pulled into a gas station, looked on my iphone for the nearest campground and asked the attendant where I could purchase a six pack to go.  Obviously I have plenty of room on this bike for more shit.  I found a campground about 30 minutes away in a Pa State Park (no alcohol allowed) and the attendant pointed me to a local grill, where I bought a 6 pack  of beer and some chicken fingers.  Once I strapped those necessities onto the bike, I was on my way to the campground.  Let me mention I seem to be in the heart of the Appalachians and there is a large amish population here. I was excited to pass several horse and buggies while approaching the entrance to Greenwood Furnace State Park.  Too bad I haven’t rigged a camera to the bike yet. No sooner that I entered the campground the sun had set and it was getting dark quick.  I found an open spot ($20) , strapped on my headlamp and made camp.  The insects are fucking loud and I have zero phone service.  Ahh the wilderness at last. Next stop... Erie
Camping at Greenwood Furnace State Park