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Riding to Shanksville tomorrow

2K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  dennisinmd 
#1 ·
I have decided it's finally time to take a longer ride. I am planning to ride up to Shanksville, PA tomorrow and visit the flight 93 memorial. I will be traveling west through western MD and then up 16 to 30, then over to the site. Any suggestions on better routes and other places to visit are welcome. Will write a ride report when I get back.
 
#2 ·
Re: Riding to Shanksville tomorrow -Report

Ride to Shanksville.
Left home at 6:45 AM Friday morning. Turned around after 2 miles, forget my frozen bottles of water. Restart at 07:00. 58 degrees, brrrrrrrr. Never did get over 75, and the flight 93 memorial site was 65 and windy. Sweatshirt under my Joe Rocket Comet jacket, chaps over my Draggin jeans, double gloves, still a chilly ride.
Back roads to Westminster and pickup Rte 140 west. Gas and coffee in Taneytown. Into PA the route number changes to 16 west. Next stop Zoudersville for coffee and a couple of Advil. Conversed with a career Marine Sargent. His comment on the US flag I have on the back, "Keep it flying". At McConnelsburg turn onto Rte 30 west. Oops, am I really heading west? Turn around, see sign indicating 30 east, oops again, turn around again. Lost 10 or 15 minutes, no big deal. Next stop Breezewood, more coffee and Advil. Road construction in Bedford delays about 15 minutes. Looks to be quite an extensive project, so anyone heading out that way on rte 30 be prepared for delays around Bedford. Continue west on 30 to Buckstown, left on Buckstown road, about 5 miles to the flight 93 memorial site. Spend half an hour taking pictures and talking with some of the vistors. No one is allowed near the crash site. I will post as many of the pictures as I can in a photo album on Yahoo. Return trip home another 5 hours. Same route, different stops, more coffee and Advil. Five hours each way, 340 miles total. I'm tired, my back and shoulders ache, but I'm glad I did it. Time to start planning the next trip.
 
#3 ·
Glad you made it and are planning the next one. *L* Have you tried Aleve?
Are you looking at some mods on your bike now after the trip? Back rest? Moving the handlebars back?
 
#5 ·
Re: Ride to Shanksville

I have a Protac back rest, an Airhawk seat pad and highway pegs. It's the only way I could have ridden for 10 hours (with a lot of breaks of course) and not be a cripple at the end. My sleeve length is 35, so the bars are just about right for me. I will try the Aleve.
 
#6 ·
Re: Riding to Shanksville tomorrow -Report

Nice pics... couldn't tell from my view but what was that plaque with the MC borders?
 
#8 ·
Sorry Vince, I don't know. There were so many displays that it was hard to concentrate on any one of them. I was also concerned about having enough time to get home before dark. My night vision really sucks. I don't even like to drive my cage at night. Mild cataracts make halos around oncoming lights, and the glare makes it hard to see the road.

My digital camera is just a little cheapo that I picked up as some kind of bonus gift, so the quality of the pictures suffered. I would have borrowed my daughter's digital, which is much much better, but my grandaughter is using it for taking pictures of the American Girl stuff she is selling on ebay. I suppose that if I am going to be doing much more of these kinds of trips I should invest in a better quality digital camera. Now that my income has been dratically reduced due to my retirement I will have to start watching my spending habits a bit closer.

I really want to get an enclosed bike trailer as my next big item. I am missing the KY Lake get together mainly because 800 plus miles is a bit long for me to attempt on my bike.
 
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