The photo shows west bound I-80 about one mile east of exit 4 (US46 and NJ94) in Columbia, Warren County.
We left the house in good spirits. The current weather was bright and sunny but with a forecast of afternoon and evening thunderstorms. We decided to jump on Route 80 westbound, then 81 south to Luray, Virgina. The plan was working good until we got caught in a traffic jam on the Route 80W expressway due to dynamite blasting by a road crew. We sat for quite awhile in the hot baking sun, until Silver Streak our motorcycle started to balk. She ran her temperature up near the red line. It was becoming unbearable to sit on the bike, so I made a decision, a terrible one. I decided to get off Route 80 and take an alternate route. I made a u turn up the opposite direction "on" ramp It seemed like a good plan until it turned into a disaster. The ramp turned out not to be a very short one, but continued on with many S-turns with blocked visibility. I quickly realized I couldn't turn around and go back down. If I tried to u turn around again I would be broadside to a lot of fast moving 18 wheelers, all coming at us at a high speed. I pressed on, directly towards the traffic we went while frantically waving for them to move over as we approached.
Over our intercom, I heard Carol begin to cry and moan. I told her, "I can't stop now, we'll get run over." I heard her moan again and felt her arms tighten around me. We made it through and I told her that I realized I made a terrible mistake and I would never do something like that again. We doubled back crossing the Columbia Portland Bridge and proceed south on Rt 611 .The intercom was surprisingly quiet for many miles. I don't think Carol ever fully recovered.
Chriss
We left the house in good spirits. The current weather was bright and sunny but with a forecast of afternoon and evening thunderstorms. We decided to jump on Route 80 westbound, then 81 south to Luray, Virgina. The plan was working good until we got caught in a traffic jam on the Route 80W expressway due to dynamite blasting by a road crew. We sat for quite awhile in the hot baking sun, until Silver Streak our motorcycle started to balk. She ran her temperature up near the red line. It was becoming unbearable to sit on the bike, so I made a decision, a terrible one. I decided to get off Route 80 and take an alternate route. I made a u turn up the opposite direction "on" ramp It seemed like a good plan until it turned into a disaster. The ramp turned out not to be a very short one, but continued on with many S-turns with blocked visibility. I quickly realized I couldn't turn around and go back down. If I tried to u turn around again I would be broadside to a lot of fast moving 18 wheelers, all coming at us at a high speed. I pressed on, directly towards the traffic we went while frantically waving for them to move over as we approached.
Over our intercom, I heard Carol begin to cry and moan. I told her, "I can't stop now, we'll get run over." I heard her moan again and felt her arms tighten around me. We made it through and I told her that I realized I made a terrible mistake and I would never do something like that again. We doubled back crossing the Columbia Portland Bridge and proceed south on Rt 611 .The intercom was surprisingly quiet for many miles. I don't think Carol ever fully recovered.
Chriss
