Major Milestone: 20,000 Miles!

The odometer read over 20,000 miles after my ride yesterday which I didn’t know I was taking when I left the house with no particular destination in mind.  It was simply one of those days that promised to be gorgeous from start to finish without a drop of precipitation anywhere in sight, cooler air temperatures, and sunlight aplenty to offset the breeze created by moving on two wheels through standing air.  I meandered here and there, changing my course as often as a girl changes outfits before an important date, and managed to make sure that I was somewhere safe to stop at when the big 20K rolled over from 19,999.9. 

 

As you can see, it was also my first jacket day even though technically it was still summer, albeit the very last day of it.  I enjoy stopping beside moving water whenever I can.  There’s something peaceful about a brook, creek, stream, etc. that’s moving along without a care in the world.  

I ended up in White Haven, and it was there, after consulting the odometer that I realized it would be a good day to make the milestone number of miles.  After that it was just a matter of deciding where to go and how to get there.  

Well, I didn’t decide it all at once.  This kind of haunting pic was made on a road I’d never taken before as I headed to Blakeslee.  It promised to lead to Lake Harmony and it did, but the lake wasn’t impressive enough to hold my interest more than a quarter of the way around it. 

 

The same road gave me this unique view of the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike which leads to where both my daughters live, though an hour apart from each other. 

Diuretics aren’t much fun when one is out riding.  Bathroom breaks are a necessity and here I am after taking one at the Wawa convenience store at Blakeslee Corners.  I picked up a huge brownie too, but didn’t get around to munching on it till I was back at the house.

 

Like a little kid, I’m still fascinated by heavy machinery doing its thing.  I paused at the red traffic light that controls the single lane of traffic that has to take turns here because of the construction in the other lane, and after snapping a few pics I looked up just in time to see the light going red again.  I wasn’t in any hurry, and nobody was behind me, so it didn’t matter.

 

I was still 20 miles out from rolling the odometer numbers to the new milestone, so I thought about where I might head so that I’d be close enough to the valley to be able to stop for the picture safely.  I road a bit more toward the Poconos and then turned around, headed back to Blakeslee Corners and then turned onto Route 115 north which would bring me back to the valley. 

  

The scenery when I take the back roads and byways is always worth taking in around here and whenever I could I stopped to get a picture of something I enjoyed seeing.  Here it was a stand of pines lined up like soldiers right beside the road. 

 

This “Pinchot State Forest” on a map makes one’s head spin.  It’s not a single area, but rather a whole bunch of different places not physically connected to the others.  I’ve been on roads where multiple signs welcome you to Pinchot State Forest, and then inform you maybe a half mile later that you’re leaving Pinchot State Forest.  And then after a few miles, the same thing happens.  Very odd indeed, but that’s Pennsylvania.

And here it is!  Twenty thousand miles, just a month shy of nine years from when the Piaggio came home with me for the first time.  I can honestly say that I’ve enjoyed every single turn of the tires on the BV!   In order to get to the spot where the odometer actually read the perfect 20,000 I rode about a half mile down a side road from Rte. 115, and then turned around to complete the mile where I knew I’d be safe to take the shots I took.

 

I was wearing a kind of goofy smug look of satisfaction as I snapped pictures to capture the joy of the moment. 

  

And I frolicked among the flowers at the nearby Bear Creek Cafe to add to the fun I was having from rolled the numbers over. 

 

After that it was down the mountain, back into the valley, with me wearing a huge grin the whole rest of the way. 

  

When I finally parked the bike under the deck I’d gone 11 miles into the next 10,000 miles that I hope to mark on the trusty old scooter.  Finding the perimeter of the continental United States to be 8,878 miles, I’ve gone over the equivalent number of miles twice!  Here’s hoping to do the perimeter of Eurasia next!  LOL!