Day 1

We left at 5:30 right on schedule and arrived at the McDonalds on Kent Island only to find Glenn, Kathy, Roger and Jenny were at a different McDonalds across the bridge. Our first day has ended in Parkersburg WV, 397 miles today. Route 50 from its beginning in Ocean City to Fairfax Virginia is a mass of concrete 4 and 6 lanes with traffic racing to and fro. But after Fairfax it begins to slow down and becomes a 2 lane country road running through small towns with very old houses and well manicured lawns. I have found route 50 to be well marked with the exception of Winchester, Virginia. There is a road sign on the east side of the city and then no signs again until you exit the city on the west. It is as if the whole route just disappears within the city limits. I have traveled route 50 through Winchester twice before and both times ended up lost but thanks to my trusty GPS this trip proved to be much better through this town. Around Gore you begin to find the foothills and then enter West Virginia and find some of the best roads to ride if you like the twisties. We climb hundreds of feet to the top of a mountain and then decent trying not to ride the brakes. We can smell the brakes overheating on the cars and trucks that pass. This year the roads are some what broken up and patched after the winter freezing and thawing and with the heavy rains mud and trash have washed down on the roads from the mountains. Then we had the road crews out cleaning and placing gravel on the shoulders. On a mountain road with hairpin curves and 9% down grades this can be very dangerous for a motorcycle. I’m not complaining because I love the roads of West Virginia; just know you need to be aware of all possible dangers on these mountain roads. We had a little rain to add to the day. From Clarksburg to Parkersburg route 50 again becomes a 4 lane divided highway where you can make good time. We pulled into the motel at 6 PM – 12 hours in the saddle.