Originally Posted by
eddie_the_K
That's a level of enlightenment I will never reach by retaining control and booking rooms in advance. That's a true adventure. All comments about civilized behavior aside, I admire it in those of you who do it. But I still ain't sleeping on the ground.
-Ed
I have never really enjoyed planned trips. I tour by motorcycle as well, and have found that not having a solid plan has allowed me to see things I would have missed had I planned. It is also more relaxing overall to not follow a schedule. On the bicycle it is definitely interesting though, you cannot simply ride another 50 miles if you cannot find a place to stay. Thankfully I haven't had much of an issue. The worst I had was having to ride another 12 miles, to go to a different campground after being told I wasn't allowed to hang my hammock at a KOA. That was annoying since I had a problem with my eye, it turned out to be a scratched cornea and needed to find a place. I was riding with one eye closed that day. Thankfully I found a fantastic old campground, whose owner and employees, as well as campground residents and other campgrounds treated me wonderfully. I was able to get to a doctor in Angola, who then sent me to an ophthalmologist the same day. I stayed and rested at that campground for two days. The eye was bad. I could barely make out the E at the top of the eye chart with that eye. The doctor cleared me to ride though, telling me it would heal fairly quickly, but the vision wouldn't clear up for a while. He was right. I couldn't see out of that eye for almost another two weeks.
That campground was Buck Lake Ranch in the Angola, Indiana area. I would have missed it had I been following a set schedule, and that would have been unfortunate. It is an old campground from the 40s. Almost anyone who was anything entertained there. Minnie Pearl performed there when she was a teenager. The Three Stooges, George Hamilton, Gene Autry, Alabama, Elvis, basically everyone performed there. It was a really cool old campground, and I will be back. The people there treated me so well. I truly enjoyed it. It is old, and not a place one might choose when planning, but it was a gem for me.
The eye problem was another reason a schedule sometimes gets screwed up. You cannot plan for that type of thing. I was able to simply sit back and take the time to deal with it, without calling ahead and changing plans.
Definitely do the trip, and enjoy. When you get through the Pittsburgh area, let me know, if I am home we could meet up for a bite to eat or a drink.