The plan: 3 days, 12 sites weekend celebrating graduating training.

That was the plan...

After packing up the bike I headed out to my first destination Cumberland.

Forgetting I had 'avoid highways' set on your GPS I headed into some beautiful scenery. About three hours in I started wondering where all the big roads were. By then I was to far to change routs, so I enjoyed the view.

I was surprised by a number of things visiting Cumberland, first it was part of the town, unlike Paradise which was in the middle of nowhere Cumberland was very accessible. Next was the multiple avenues for coal to be brought in. Both train and barge. In fact it looked like more coal arrived over the river than on the rails from the areas of accumulated soot or 'dirt' as it were. Research tells me that the scrubbers at Cumberland are so good that the gypsum byproduct of burning the coal there is so pure that Georgia Pacific built a sheetrock plant next door. Find out more about Cumberland HERE and HERE and HERE!

And off to the next site about an hour away, Johnsonville Started as one of the first coal plants Johnsonville has transformed into 100% gas combustion plant now. While not the first, it was in the first 3 sites to create electricity from natural gas, in the 70's in fact it first ran on oil then converted to natural gas around '76. [](/assets/blog-images/IMG_0393.JPEG_

There are dirt roads in and around the plant that lead from main road to main road through the wooded area. I know this because somehow I found myself riding around in them. I happened to find the back side of the plant, A happy little accident. Find out more about Johnsonville HERE and HERE and HERE!

The shadows were starting to make their way to the east and it was time to head towards the hotel... Or so I thought. Roughly a half hour into the ride west I stopped for a drink and a leg stretch. And that's where the trip ended. The bike had an electrical problem, one I thought I had fixed in the past, but this was much worse, I was 300 miles from home. Upon finally starting the bike I immediately headed home. I did make it home, the bike stayed running through 3 fill ups and it was very dark by the time I made it, but I made it. The rest of the planned celebration trip will have to wait for another day.