"Roll On" - A Tribute Ride Honoring Sgt. Harry Watson

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Part I (continued)

The Harrod stop came at a little past the midway point in my 500 mile day. it was back on US30 to my next Tour of Honor memorial site in Chester, West Virginia. Lucky for me that the Tour of Honor organizers chose the memorial in Chester this year because I would have to pass through the town on my way to my last Tour stop for the day in Sewickley, Pennsylvania.

I've come to the conclusion that there is a strong correlation between heat and my comfort level over the course of a long ride on this bike. Frankly, if I can keep my butt cool, I can ride much longer without discomfort. The Sit & Fly mesh seat cover I added to my bike about a year ago has been the best $30 spend I've made on ride comfort for my CB1100. It allows airflow beneath me which keeps me cooler and drier than the stock, or even my aftermarket seat. I don't think it distracts or detracts from the look of the bike, but Rally-goers have seen my bike and can offer their own opinions of the aesthetics.





I deviated from US30 for a portion of the 200 mile leg from Harrod to Chester. Ohio state highway 172 takes a more direct route to Chester than US30. The map below shows the 172 route in blue and the US30 route in red. I didn't research this, but I think that OH172 may have been part of Lincoln Highway or at least part of the original US30 configuration. Regardless, I had time and energy to take a detour from the bigger US highway onto this little state highway. As if to confirm my decision, I encountered fewer than 10 vehicles and almost the entire length of the road had been recently repaved. This was the first of two detours this day and was easily the best of the two.





It was on 172 that I had my first exposure to what seems to be a sort of prank that road designers are playing on motorcyclists in this part of the country -- placing turns just beyond the apex of a hill, making it difficult to determine the radius and therefore the entry point and speed. It wasn't terrible, but it did take this flatlander a bit of time to get used to these blind corners and I noticed this not only in eastern Ohio, but throughout Pennsylvania as well. I have no pictures of these pranks because I was too preoccupied to pull out my lanyard cam. I'm sure that Ferret would have have snapped off 30 or 40 pics had he been with me. OH172 was a lovely road, though, and a perfect respite from the more sterile US30.

If not for a little spur of West Virginia that protrudes northward along the Ohio River, Pennsylvania's only neighbor to the west would be Ohio. I'm not sure why West Virginia has protrusion; my guess is that it has something to do with some ancient treaty involving river rights, but it looks to be about 30 miles wide at its widest point in the south and tapers northward about 90 miles to the point where the Ohio River meets the Pennsylvania border. Chester, West Virginia is just a few miles from that point.



I don't have much to report about the city of Chester. It seemed like a typical river town to me. The Tour of Honor memorial I was to visit is located on the town's main drag, Carolina Ave. Fairly busy street with no parking on the side where the memorial is situated. I decided to act like I had authorization and parked on the sidewalk in front of the memorial which features a 1/8 scale B-52. It is also supposed to have a water feature, but it either wasn't working or down the hill behind the bomber-on-a-stick. This was my least favorite memorial on my tour, but I still managed to choke up in the video as you will see below.















My second detour of the day was influenced by an actual detour on PA 151 which I thought would be the best way to get to my next stop in Sewickley, PA, avoiding Pittsburgh International Airport and potential traffic going into downtown Pittsburgh. 151 was supposed to take me to the Ohio River and then I would proceed south a few miles to cross the river (again) into Pennsylvania.

My day was almost complete and thus far there I had encountered little in the way of road construction. I was on pace to get to the last memorial in Sewickley before dark and I was pleased with myself for picking 151 as my scenic shortcut around the airport. It was just after these thoughts had crossed my mind that I saw the "Road Closed Ahead" sign. 151 was under construction and and a quick look at my phone indicated that the detour would take me back toward the airport. This would certainly put me at my Tour of Honor stop at or after dark, which was sub-optimal. Another look at my phone showed a road that roughly paralleled 151, but had a much narrow line on the map. "Probably a road through a subdivision", I said aloud inside my helmet. Then added, "It might have a 25 mph speed limit, but it still will be faster than going all the way back almost the way I came." I don't usually talk to myself. Maybe I did this time to help convince myself to take my own detour. If so, the technique worked and instead of turning right on PA18, I stayed on 151 to Ridge Road. Left on Ridge to Longs Run Rd. and Longs Run Rd. east southeast back to 151. Easy Peasy. uh huh.

Turns out that Longs Run Rd was a poorly paved, un-striped, curvy, forested, and desolate road running mostly down hill toward the river. It may be a delightful ride in daylight, but the hill and the forest removed the daylight and thus the delight. Frankly, I was nervous. "What if a deer pops out?" "What if I hit a gravel patch and go down? Who will find me and when?" I did not ask these questions aloud inside my helmet. I tamped them down to the back of my brain and kept on.

The whole detour was all of 4 miles, but darkness and unfamiliarity slowed me quite a bit. I didn't mark the times, but I'd guess that it pushed back my arrival time at Sewickley Cemetery, the location of the last memorial, by 15-20 minutes.

In the map below, the green line was my planned route and the red line is Longs Run Rd. The official detour would have taken me south, east, and north back to 151 and even in hindsight would have delayed me even more than my narrow road adventure (the purple line is drawn by my Spot GPS tracker.)



Crossing the Ohio River into Pennsylvania to my last Tour stop.


I arrived at the cemetery at about 7:00pm local time. Not dark, yet, but I would call it 'extreme dusk'. The cemetery made it feel darker.

The Tour of Honor memorial here honored the Tuskegee Airmen. Most Americans know the story of these heroic African-American men and their contributions to our efforts to win World War II. For those unfamiliar, I urge you to do a Google search on them.

If you've never heard the call of a rutting buck, you don't want your first time to be alone. in a cemetery. in the dark. Trust me on this. Fortunately, I saw the herd passing behind the Airmen's memorial just a second or two after hearing his call and so was able to rule out a wolf, a bear, a wildcat, the Banshee, and the Jabberwock.

Darkness, fatigue, hunger, and a little irrational fear kept me from spending more time at this memorial. The cemetery grounds looked beautiful and ancient. I would like to go back to visit this cemetery. At noon. With a companion.

Only one picture this time


And a short video:




A very short ride from the cemetery to my hotel on Neville Island. I have heard that this island has significance in the American Revolutionary War, but I have not read up on it. I for sure wasn't going to read up on it late on a Thursday night after a 500 mile ride and with another 250+ miles to go on Friday. I grabbed some snack bars and water from the little hotel commissary, talked to Cheryl, and went to bed.

I slept well.

End of Part I