Martinsburg VAMC – Martinsburg, West Virginia
Friday May 24th, Bridgeport, wV (Day Eleven)
WV State Coordinator: Eddie Shinn
After an exceptionally early start on Thursday, today we had a bit more time. Time to sleep, time to sit over breakfast, and time before KSU at 8:00 am. Talking with a few riders, the general consensus was, we slept well and were ready for the day. A mere ten hours later, however, most felt like we could shower and go to bed by 7:00 pm.
It was the day of extremes.
The first extreme was weather related. After a good breakfast at the hotel, many got into their rain gear. It was about a 50% chance of rain. The hope was that it would be showers, not a full-on storm. By mid-day, everyone who had on rain gear stripped it off and strapped in down on their bikes. Not only did it not rain, but it got quite warm and very humid.
To understand the terms “quite warm” and “very humid” you need to first understand that I’m a native Californian and live in the Sierra Nevada foothills, 30 miles east of Sacramento. In my area, the weather reports don’t use the word “hot” until it’s over 100 degrees. And, in addition, since we don’t typically have high humidity, when humidity rises above 65%, I can barely breathe.
Needless to say, the weather went from one extreme to another, and took its toll on all of us. In fact, Jackwagon asked Wayne if he wouldn’t lower his window and direct some air conditioning his way as he rode past the car.
The next extreme was landscape. Eastern Ohio, Southeastern Maryland, and Western West Virginia are some of the most green, lush, landscapes I’ve ever seen. The greens could not be greener. And the sky dotted with puffy white clouds made the blue even bluer. Everywhere you looked was worthy of a postcard image. Then we entered into the metropolis of the greater Washington D.C., the green and blue gave way to black and gray—tar and cement. In just a matter of a few hours the difference was hard to miss.
I overheard one of our bikers say as I was passing, “When I’m on my bike, I think about God. But when I’m in church, I’m thinking about being on my bike.” A sentiment most bikers can relate to. I’ve heard more than one biker express that they live and ride in “God’s country.” It’s hard not to connect with God when riding through a beautiful setting without the caged-in feeling of a car or truck.
Another extreme was the sense of place. The near-hushed setting of the Rocky Gap Veterans Memorial Cemetery was breath-taking. And later, the pleasant tree-shaded area to visit with vets and the tent-shaded area where we had lunch with other vets at the VA Medical Center in Martinsburg, renewed our strength for the last leg of our journey.
Yet on our ride into the hustle-bustle of our nation’s capital, all that peacefulness was diminished. Noisy traffic, signs everywhere, the need to be in just the right lane to take the correct exit, and the attempt to keep all our bikes and vehicles together, drained the pastoral calm and replaced it with the 24-hour-a-day hum of traffic through our dual-pained hotel window.
Finally, the extreme of traffic was hard to miss. Most people in this part of the country pull over and wait when police go by with lights flashing followed by a parade of motorcycles and chase vehicles with flags and other displays of patriotism. Especially considering it’s the Friday before the Memorial Day weekend and we’re headed toward D.C. All our escorts did a wonderful job and the people were generally polite and patient.
We left our escorts behind as we headed into DC. The last 50 miles were some of the most stressful of the entire trip. People where impatient, in a hurry, and some were down-right rude—even dangerous. At one point I saw six lanes of stop-and-go traffic “getting out of Dodge” so to speak. I suppose the locals know how many visitors there are over this weekend, so it’s the perfect opportunity to get away. I seriously doubt if an escort would have been suitable or have any reasonable chance of success amidst this teaming assortment of vehicles all with somewhere important to be.
I expect everyone will be getting a good night’s rest for our exciting day tomorrow. Tune in tomorrow to hear about the exciting events in DC.
Thank a veteran today,
Thank You – Libby Worden – Sitrep Admin
Libby,
Wonderful daily write up of the day’s activities along with photos.
Gary Warner
Clovis, CA
– friend of Dan Tristan, who is one of the riders.
Thanks for commenting. I’m glad you’re enjoying following Dan and the rest of us. It’s been a great ride and we managed to avoid most of the rain and all the tornados.