US Cross Country - Day1 Youngstown, Ohio

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Distance: 400 miles Time: 7 hrs 15 min.


All my bags are packed m ready to go
m standing here outside the door
I hate to wake u up to say good-bye.. -- John Denver


Due to a lack of vacation, I took a partial day off from work and reached home around 1:30 pm. It took me some time to get my luggage loaded. Maybe by the end of thr trip I will become an expert in this. I left Hackensack, NJ around 3 pm. Plan was to take I 80 W for the rest of the day. I had to cross PA in its entirety and since I was late to start, I decided to cut back on my coffee breaks.




Sunset was around 8:10 pm and I still had significant miles to go. This was probably the only day on the trip I rode in the dark. There are several reasons I believe you showed stop before dusk and not ride in the night. a) Insects have their last moment on the helmet shield during this time. b) Visibility becomes poor; very easy to misjudge a turn. c) You can't see far ahead reducing your speed. d) And finally, if it rains, you may complete the rest of the sentence. I saw various shades on the horizon during sunset. To cover some ground, I had a 175 mile run before my fuel guage started blinking. Decided to stop around 9 pm in Clarion, PA for dinner.

I entered Ohio around 10 pm. Was kinda scared taking this picture as I was worried about ppl not spotting me. I saw some changes as I crossed the state boundary. I80W renamed to Ohio Turnpike. Lot of trucking companies, Cummins, Indalex (aluminium maker). I checked in a super-8 motel around 10:15 pm and it took me another 20 min to unload and lube the bike's chain (very important). I learnt from the receptionist that most of the business in the area comes from truck drivers who are taking a hit in this economy affecting others.

I am a little tired. There's a bar nearby. M grabbing a drink and then m off.