9 May, 2004
Springfield, OH, to Pittsburg, PA
| Sunday morning brought a ride through downtown Columbus. Not too many cars out yet. |  |
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I was bored of the Interstates, so I took a winding US22 through Cambridge, OH. Along this highway there was the prettiest rest area, with a lake! |
| One of the many tips I have picked up from reading the multitude of Iron Butt ride stories on the Net, is that many riders carry a photo or two of their families stuck in a tankbag map window or on the windshield. When I got my Aerostitch suit I got a map bag that velcros to the sleeve. Just right for a few photos to remind me it is a game I am playing, so don't do anything stupid. I have never gotten so many comments from non-riders on anything in my life! So take your family along, too. |  |
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Culture has fianlly arrived from Canada (??!!) to save us. Or at least Tim Horton's donut shops have, in Michigan and Ohio. Try them out: the food (sandwiches and fresh-made donuts) are good and prices are great! |
| To crossing into West Virginia from Ohio, you have to go over this neat suspension bridge. Looking up is very striking. |  |
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To get into Pittsburgh is...frustrating. First you go through a tunnel, coming out directly onto a bridge. Below and to the right is the hotel. But you have to cross the river, then drive down the river several miles because none of the exits lead to the bridge to go back across. Upon returning you find the exit, then wind your way through the Belly of the City before hitting the bridge, only to find the road goes into another tunnel on the far side. But there is one quick right before that, and since the hotel is still visible just below the bridge, you take it, sure to find you way easily to...the top of Mount Washington, over the tunnel. Consulting a 40 acre AAA map leads to a small, unmarked single lane winding road that finally leads down to the street that crosses in front of the hotel. I should have just jumped of the edge of the first bridge. |