Road Trips

After finishing the Void Rally in Fredericksburg, Virginia instead of going straight home, I decided to use up some of my vacation time and take a little road trip. I left Virginia on Sunday morning heading southwest. I don't really have much of a plan other than floating around trying ...

While scrolling through my blog's draft folder, I found a not-so-unusual exchange between my husband Kenny, daughter Chloe and myself. It's just a little glimpse in to what goes on around here when we've been cooped up in the house. This draft was from December 2014 when winter was settling ...

There was a time when visiting the Bedford Coffee Pot was one of those things that just nagged and nagged me. Way over on the western half of Pennsylvania, it seemed lightyears away. In truth it is a mere 330 miles that for whatever reason may as well have been a million ...

At first glance, you might think that the Uniontown, Pennsylvania muffler man is your run of the mill handsome Bunyan. But, upon closer inspection? Oh, no, he is not. Check out the come hither eyelashes! ::hubba::hubba:: In a funny way, he looks more come at me, bro than some of ...

Tucked within the "stick" of West Virginia, that wee sliver of land between Pennsylvania and Ohio is the town of Chester. Why is this important? Well, pally - Chester is the home of the World's Largest Teapot. Now, I know what you're thinking. You can't believe you didn't know this very ...

Sometimes I will pull up a favorite in my GPS and follow it on a whim. That isn't to say that occasionally before I arrive at whatever place I'm going to that I don't think to myself, "what the hell are you doing?" Shortly before ending up at Tim's Secret ...

The "favorites" list in my GPS is sprinkled with all sorts of places and things that I might stop at as I'm passing through an area. I often pull up the screen and just let it stay in view. When something in the list is a short distance away, I'll ...

During my Pennsylvania rambling road trip to nowhere, I ping-ponged around the state visiting things that I'd long wanted to see but had never made time to. One of those stops was to visit my first Madonna of the Trail on US40 in Beallsville, Pa. Just look at this lady ...

The PennDOT Road Sign Sculpture Garden is an outdoor art installation located in Meadville, Pennsylvania. In July of 2015, while I was riding through Pennsylvania, I was able to stop for a visit. It was one of my "must stop" places for several years. After pulling in the lot, I ...

When I get out into the rolling farmland I am often overcome by a sense of peacefulness. Deep green arms flag as I ride by. "Heyyyy there, Miss Fuzzy," waves the corn. "Hi, corn. Lookin' good. Lookin' good." And so it goes, rambling along going nowhere fast. Roads like this ...

After deciding to hang a left at the decision point, I set off to see the Whispering Giant in Dunkirk, New York. Since I was just 'round the way, I also decided to see a muffler man or two and some other roadside gems. When I got up that morning ...

After visiting the Kinzua Viaduct, I pulled up the list of favorites in my GPS. One of the closest was the Whispering Giant in Dunkirk, NY. At less than 100 miles away, stopping for a visit seemed like a no-brainer. Ong-Gwe-Ohn-Weh was restored by Peter Toth in 2014. He cuts ...

How many times have you been here in your life? Left or right? The blue pill or the red pill? Whatever choice you make puts a different chain of events in to motion. Right = Hotel Left = More, more, more When I'd reached this sign it was dinner time ...

An unexpected stop at the Zippo Lighter Museum made my afternoon. After visiting the Kinzua Viaduct, I still had hours of daylight left and no particular place to go. Pulling up the list of "favorites" on my GPS showed that there was a Whispering Giant less than 100 miles away ...

While I'm riding along, I often pull over and snap photos of things that would be best described as random. Though I think they're cool I sometimes struggle with a way to weave them into a post because they don't really have a narrative. Often the images are just something ...

Pulling off route 144, I wheeled into the parking lot for what was signed as a scenic view. I had to jockey to find a parking space. Can you believe the crowd? After parking I marched up the grassy knoll and had a look around. Rolling green as far as ...

Making a left off of Route 6 in Galeton, I followed PA 144 south to what the map says is the town of Clarence. That stretch yielded about 75 miles of backroad rambling on good tarmac. At the risk of sounding like a broken record... I saw little to no traffic ...

After I finished up my breakfast at the Wellsboro Diner, I set off west towards Galeton on Route 6. From there I would pick up 144 south and follow that towards Moshannon. Hanging a right on 879 north towards Karthaus and the Quehanna Highway, I was looking for Wykoff Run ...

After picking up a few postcards and finishing up breakfast in Wellsboro, I set off west on 362 and 6 to pick up route 144 south in Galeton. I followed that all the way to down towards Moshannon where I picked up 879 to Karthaus. But for someone like Kenny ...

After my thwarted attempt at visiting with the Williamsport Whispering Giant, I didn't have much else on my radar for the day other than riding. No planned stopped, no interesting barns, scenic overlooks - just riding and whatever popped up along the way. On my way out of town, I ...

The Williamsport, Pa. Whispering Giant was right up the block from the hotel I stayed at in town. My plan for the day was to swing by, take a picture of it and then head off towards Lock Haven to start a ride loop. When I pulled up the spot ...

When I woke up on Wednesday morning the ferocious rain from the night before was little more than a memory. The deluge ran its course and left a gray mist in its wake. After re-packing my bag, gearing up and preparing to leave my hotel room I looked in the usual ...

While I was cruising around the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania, I stopped to visit the Rockwood, PA Muffler Man at the Scottyland RV Resort. Kenny and I passed there once before a few winters ago but the resort was closed so we had no muffler man joy. Persistence finally paid ...

This has been my path over the last two days. Not exactly sure what I'm doing today but I'm probably not going west. That's as much of a plan as any, right? ...

You're alone in a hotel room and catch a glimpse of your riding gear hanging in the closet and you think it's a person standing there and almost poop yourself? Asking for a friend ...

On Tuesday after work, I set off for Pennsylvania in hopes of beating the nasty weather that was on the way. Plus with the approaching long weekend, I wanted to maximize my available riding time. Why not set off from somewhere closer to the start of the loop that I ...

This is my third point-n-shoot camera in as many months. ::sigh:: This one is clipped, locked and loaded in my jacket. I think this calls for a little ramble around on the ole motorcycle, don't you? After work today I'm going to shove off to do a whole lotta nothin' ...

My mother in law lives in a small town in Maine. So small, it feels like you could throw a rock from one side of it to the other. (And I suck at throwing.) Each year that small town hosts a great Fourth of July parade and an all day ...

In 2013, I posted a few places that I'd hoped to visit during the year. Some I managed to get to, some are still lingering around waiting for me to find the time. It should come as no surprise that more and more stops get tacked on my wishlist each year ...

Places like West Virginia and Arkansas are doin' it right. Does your state do this? ...

The Aiguille du Mdi in Chamonix, France was a once in a lifetime experience. Teetering at the tip of a mountain peak at over 12,000ft up, it was about as much as my wimpy little heart could handle. From the moment I stepped into the cable car and we began our ...

Sometimes I go through periods of time where nothing seems to make any sense. I think I have mental problems. I can't sit still, I can't write, I can't relax, I can't be alone with my thoughts because I feel like I'm going to burst into a million pieces. When these times ...

Since turning 40, it seems like I have become highly sensitive about squeezing all the fun out of each day. There aren't lots of things that I really want. Sure, "stuff" is nice but it doesn't usually set my heart on fire. My daydreams are filled with colorful imaginings of ...

Packing The Givi box liner worked out fantastically. Packing all of my clothing into gallon ziplock bags then packing them into the Bestem bag kept everything neat and tidy. This represents all the clothing and toiletries I packed for a 10 day trip: Flying The Oxford Handysack backpack again worked out ...

It's my Dutch brother from another mother, Pimmie! The internet is really amazing. But it seems that not a week goes by when I don't read about someone lamenting what childhood was like when we were growing up in the 70's and 80's. We actually went outside. Kids just stare ...

We found our home ...

Can you tell from my super-toothy grin that I was pretty excited to be at the top of the Col de L'Iseran? After seeing pictures of that dang sign on the web for years, it was incredible to be able to stand there soaking in the view with my own eyes ...

When Kenny and I decided to call it a night on Friday, we were still on the Little St. Bernard pass. As we started our descent from the top of the pass we pulled in to a hotel that our friend Ed mentioned he was going to try to stay ...

Just before Kenny and I started our ascent up into the mountains on the Col du Petit St. Bernard, the wind picked up began to thrash the trees about. We were going to get wet. This Alpine trip would be the first long term test in variable conditions of my ...

When I was a kid, we were... "financially challenged." Growing up that way can leave a residue that clouds your thinking even if you've managed to claw your way out of that circumstance. As the years have passed through hard work, luck, chance - my life has changed dramatically. Even ...

Kenny and I traveled across the Simplonpass in Switzerland while heading towards the Col du Petit St. Bernard in France. Assorted pics from Simplonpass: The bridge is called Ganterbrücke. I'll sign off with my favorite photo from the Simplonpass. I think it really personifies Kenny and I - two awkward ...

While I struggle to find the thread that will weave my trip posts together, I go back and look through photos, fondle stickers, shuffle postcards from the places we'd been. This morning I picked through a folder that Kenny dropped onto my Macbook. It was filled with GoPro stills from ...

Following our last trip through the Alps, there were several mountain passes that we hadn't ridden that found their way on to my riding bucket list. You know, for "next time." In hindsight, it's really by the grace of the universe that there was a next time. Chalk it up ...

Just yesterday I read an article that pointed out what the author saw as a flaw in the bucket list process as it is often portrayed in contemporary culture: As popularly conceived, however, the bucket list is far from being a reckoning with the weight of love in extremis, or an ethical ...

It can be very tempting to think that when you fly somewhere far away on an overnight flight that the sheer excitement will keep you going. Jet lag? Ha! I spit in your face! Ptoo! Tempting. Yes, tempting. But my reality is something more along the lines of wobbling my woozy ass out ...

You won't regret stopping to take the picture but you will regret NOT stopping. It's a battle for many riders. You see something beautiful, something weird, something interesting and you saaaaaaaail right on by thinking, "I should take a picture of that." Well? Just do it. Stop. It'll only take ...

One of the biggest concerns that we had when choosing a rental bike was its fuel range. Sure it would be nice to try an all singin', all dancin' big ole "dream bike". But a gas-sipper that can still motor along the highway is where I was squarely focused. With ...

And so we're back from our trip to the Alps. The trip that was once a wish, seemingly a million miles away on the horizon is now a collection of gorgeous memories. Being home is wonderful. And terrible. You know how that goes. Now comes the time when I will ...

My life's To-Do List is a never-ending endeavor to see beautiful, fun, exciting, wondrous things in this world. Putting ideas on the list and daydreaming about them is almost as much fun as being able to mark them off as done. Almost. These photos are some of the things I've ...

In preparation for our trip to the Alps, my friend Ed has made us a great set of stickers featuring the 5 of us that are going: I just love it! There's~ Ed & Drea, 2-up. They could make an espresso, take a photo, whip up a 20-page paper on a ...