Took it under suggestion to take the 50 out west.   Swung past the Pentagon and Arlington Cemetery.  I think the thing that surprised me the most was how close everything was to the Capitol.

Pentagon

The 50 itself wasn’t much fun for the first little while.  Lots of traffic lights – but cleared up once I got past Winchester.  Nice road, twisty, not crowded.   Fairly shaded so it wasn’t too hot.  Solid riding.

At least until this little bastard made it into my helmet.   I don’t even know how he got in – normally the visor is open, I feel something hit my face and then slide into the gap.   So I thought I was imagining things at first – then it was a lot of riding down the highway smacking my own head.   I must have looked ridiculous.

Country Fried Steak at Log Cabin Grille.

Highway 26 from Marletta to Woodfield is a Ohio Scenic Byway.   I wasn’t really sure why it was in my list of goals, but I didn’t mind.  Beautiful little bit of road.  Twisty, shaded.. And then I passed a Covered Bridge.  Very cool, but I blew past it and pulled up at this one:

Only after did I realize there were marker posts along the way to turn off to see more things.  I guess if I had really done my homework, I would have that information ahead of time.  The few turnoffs I did see after this appeared to be dirt, so not something I had the appetite for anyway.

Pulled over at the McDonald’s at Woodsfield to grab a drink and figure out where to go next.   Found a KOA in Washington, PA, and realized I had some riding yet and not much daylight left.   Didn’t end up spending any money – the manager teased me about stealing wifi on my way out.  Not really sure what she said since I had my earplugs in…  But I’m sorry!  I meant to spend money!

I got to the KOA with a fair bit of time.  One of the better KOAs for tent camping – actual grass and level pads for tents.   Not so great for motorcycles, long ring road up and gravel roads down to the sites.   I actually got there with some time to spare and took a dip in their pool.  Very nice feeling, but really went to show how broken I was.  Even a lazy swim down a pool made me feel like I pulled something in my shoulders.  Two months of pretty much just riding and walking is starting to take it’s toll.

Makes me worried about an Iron Butt attempt. That was a longish day, but only 439miles.  Slow miles, so it’s possible I would have done a lot more miles given the same amount of time on a real attempt on big highways.  But I ached afterwards in the pool.  I suspect the real attempt is going to involve additives – painkillers and energy drinks…