I spent much of Tuesday following one of the many routes published in the two Appalachian Backroads motorcycle guides I had picked up at the Cleveland Motorcycle Expo a few years ago. It was these guides
Tuesday I ran a route called "Woodbooger" (I kid you not, that's what the guide calls it!) up into the foothills north towards Kentucky. Along the way, the houses along the road became smaller and closer to the road, reminiscent of mining town homes. Judging by the age and condition of the vehicles parked next to the homes and the conditions of the homes, I would have to venture to guess that this part of the country has been left behind. It is a sad reminder that not everyone in the United States of America is blessed with the same opportunities that I am. I stopped at a little convenience store and gas station along the way for a bottle of water and a snack. The gal working there was very friendly and I asked her where the water was and told her I wanted to grab a snack. She replied that "We ain't got much," so I asked her, "and why is that?" Her response sort of sums up some of what I was thinking along the way, looking at the houses. She said, "Well I guess we're just about the bottom of the food chain up here."
I headed on into Kentucky, getting stuck behind a lumbering coal truck for part of the ride. Buffalo had told me a story once about him and his previous lady, Meredith, getting stuck behind a coal truck and when they stopped to eat, they were covered in coal dust. So I dropped the clear visor on my helmet just in case! In Kentucky I rode west on a highway parallel to the state line, until I found my intended turn off to return to Virginia, only the road was blocked! I found a couple of Kentucky riders at a gas station and explained my dilemma and they told me to just "go through the parking lot over there at the park and that'll take ya' 'round the lake and back to the highway" and they were right!
It was a good day of riding. I have to say that the folks in this part of the country are very friendly. When I first got here and was looking for Big Hill Road, the road the house is on, I stopped at a gas station. The pumps had a sign that said the card readers didn't work so I went into the store and asked the man at the counter if he knew where Big Hill Road was. He said Yup. So I asked if I could give him my credit card and fill the bike up. He said he didn't need the card, just go pump and pay him when I was done. When I was full and paid, he said Big Hill Road was just up past the winding part of the road, where it straightened out and then look for **something I couldn't understand** and the concrete bridge. I asked him to repeat what he just said. He had to say it two more times before I understood that he was telling me to look for the trailers! LOL Then, that same day, when it poured rain, after I had dawdled at the feed store, Taco Bell and the grocery store, one of the guys working at the grocery store gave me a roll
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| the driveway to the house |
of paper towels out of his car to wipe my bike down with. He said, you can just keep that roll and put it in one of those boxes on your motorcycle... he meant my saddlebags! And everybody who has stopped to talk to me has relatives in Ohio!
When I am out on the front porch at the house, the locals wave when they go by, as if I have lived here all of my life. I am sure everybody knows this is a air BNB house, but they are still real friendly.
Peace and Love all.
Bobbi
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