The Most Pathetic Way You Can Say You Have Traveled an Interstate

[dlsterner]

As far as 2di's are concerned, my two most pathetic clinches are both in Michigan, driving from Detroit (airport) to Grand Rapids.

Near Detroit, I-94 is a major E/W interstate, but I only have the 8 mile segment between Middlebelt Road (car rental lot) and I-275.
Near Grand Rapids, I-69 is (will be?) a major border-to-border interstate, but I only have the 6 mile concurrency with I-96.

For 3di's, it would have to be in Albany, NY.  I was taking NY 7 from I-87 towards Vermont.  As it crosses the Hudson River it is concurrent with I-787.  Less than a mile out of 10 total, and pretty much accidental.

[Rick Powell]

I ran out of gas once on I-80, and walked a few miles to the next exit with a gas can in my hand, my then-GF sitting in the car waiting for me to return on a hot day. That was probably the most pathetic way I can say I've "travelled" on an interstate.

[jaehak]

Getting on an interstate and then getting off at the next exit is pretty pathetic, especially if the exits are less than a mile apart. No, wait–doing this when there's a c/d road and never merging onto the mainline at all is even more pathetic than that.

The absolute most pathetic way you can say you have traveled an Interstate is by not traveling on the Interstate at all and just saying you did. That would be a pretty pathetic thing to lie about. But I knew one guy at work who lied about everything and tried to say that he drove on Interstate 22, before there was an interstate with the number 22. I guess he made up a number and didn't think I would know there was no such road at the time.

I drove I 22 before it existed. It was still just US 78 but also signed as future 22 and clearly interstate standard through most of it. I totally count it though. Same pavement, different shield.

[sparker]

Getting on an interstate and then getting off at the next exit is pretty pathetic, especially if the exits are less than a mile apart. No, wait–doing this when there's a c/d road and never merging onto the mainline at all is even more pathetic than that.

The absolute most pathetic way you can say you have traveled an Interstate is by not traveling on the Interstate at all and just saying you did. That would be a pretty pathetic thing to lie about. But I knew one guy at work who lied about everything and tried to say that he drove on Interstate 22, before there was an interstate with the number 22. I guess he made up a number and didn't think I would know there was no such road at the time.

I drove I 22 before it existed. It was still just US 78 but also signed as future 22 and clearly interstate standard through most of it. I totally count it though. Same pavement, different shield.

The first time I drove what was to become I-22 it ended at Winfield, AL (at AL 129), with some construction west of Jasper (this was late 2001).  The purple/blue ARC shields were posted for US 78 in AL; MS still had cookie-cutter rectangular shield-on-black signage.  This was about three years before "Future I-22" signage was posted; also, the stretch through New Albany was clearly substandard.  I drove it again some time later, but before full completion or posting of anything other than "future" signage.   Thus I don't consider myself to have even come close to clinching the route; only the I-standard section between Tupelo and Winfield could be, in my own evaluation, considered as "clinched".  But fortunately it would likely happen that in the future I'd simply drive I-22 as a whole rather than try to clinch the remainder (not much to get me off the road in between metro Memphis and Birmingham!), so health willing, I may actually clinch real/signed I-22 at some point. 

[skluth]

I hitchhiked around the country during the summer of 1978. I had a great time and loved it, but some would describe it as pathetic.

[SkyPesos]

Here's another one of mine: I-20. My family had a stopover in Atlanta on the way to Florida, and attempted to get back onto I-75 south after visiting a couple of places in downtown. We were on Ted Turner/Windsor SB and my dad turned onto an onramp, thinking it was for I-75 south. That onramp was actually for I-20 east, and weaved right under the I-20 east to I-75/85 ramps. So we were on I-20 for about 3 miles before the GPS rerouted us to get off I-20 at the US 23 exit, and we used US 23 and I-675 to get back onto I-75.

On a positive note, I got 2 of the I-675 variants clinched with this, adding onto I-675 in Dayton

[Scott5114]

I hitchhiked around the country during the summer of 1978. I had a great time and loved it, but some would describe it as pathetic.

This made me imagine a roadgeek hitchhiker sitting in Baltimore with a sign reading "Cove Fort or Bust".

[webny99]

I hitchhiked around the country during the summer of 1978. I had a great time and loved it, but some would describe it as pathetic.

This made me imagine a roadgeek hitchhiker sitting in Baltimore with a sign reading "Cove Fort or Bust".

Or if it was HighwayStar, the sign would say "Baltimore or bust" 

[Big John]

I hitchhiked around the country during the summer of 1978. I had a great time and loved it, but some would describe it as pathetic.

This made me imagine a roadgeek hitchhiker sitting in Baltimore with a sign reading "Cove Fort or Bust".

Or if it was HighwayStar, the sign would say "Baltimore or bust" 

Or angelo71?

[SkyPesos]

I hitchhiked around the country during the summer of 1978. I had a great time and loved it, but some would describe it as pathetic.

This made me imagine a roadgeek hitchhiker sitting in Baltimore with a sign reading "Cove Fort or Bust".

Or if it was HighwayStar, the sign would say "Baltimore or bust" 

Or angelo71?

Angelo71 has a grudge on Pittsburgh, so "Pittsburgh or bust".

[texaskdog]

Once my food didn't agree with me on I-10 and I COULDN'T WAIT so my wife pulled over and I walked to a tree just off the highway. 

[Bruce]

I clinched all of I-84 in CT and MA by staring out the window of a double-decker Megabus in the dark. It counts, but definitely not memorable.

[TheStranger]

Most of the Interstates I've driven on, I've driven on significant portions of (i.e. entirety of several 3dis, and state-wide length of I-80 in California).  Out of California I've driven I-65 between Bardstown and Indianapolis, I-35 through Austin, all of I-264 and most of I-265 near Louisville, and even got to check out a portion of I-69 south of Bloomington a half-decade ago.

However, the only portion of I-75 I've driven on so far is the segment concurrent with I-71 south of I-275, and only because I needed to take 71 to get from CVG airport to Louisville due to having to change my flight plans as the result of an Indiana snowstorm.

The only part of I-70 I've ever driven is from Indianapolis to Monrovia, as part of the drive to Bloomington.

[webny99]

Once my food didn't agree with me on I-10 and I COULDN'T WAIT so my wife pulled over and I walked to a tree just off the highway. 

How is that a pathetic way to clinch the interstate?

[Roadsguy]

I've since driven more of it, but the first time I technically drove on I-80 was just using the cloverleaf with I-180 and PA 147 to turn around from 147 north to 147 south.

[JayhawkCO]

I've since driven more (multiplexed in Milwaukee), but originally the only mileage I had for I-43 was exiting off of I-90 and turning around at the first exit.

Chris

[paulthemapguy]

Would it be super lame if I said I clinched I-880 in Iowa, even if I've never been on it while it's been labeled I-880 and have never seen a sign with Iowa I-880 on it?

[Roadgeekteen]

Would it be super lame if I said I clinched I-880 in Iowa, even if I've never been on it while it's been labeled I-880 and have never seen a sign with Iowa I-880 on it?

Depends on if you consider clinching to be pavement or routes.

[Rothman]

Would it be super lame if I said I clinched I-880 in Iowa, even if I've never been on it while it's been labeled I-880 and have never seen a sign with Iowa I-880 on it?

Yes.

[webny99]

I just thought of an even better one: traveling part of a posted detour.

[Roadgeekteen]

What about a failed hitchhike attempt on an Interstate?

[texaskdog]

Once my food didn't agree with me on I-10 and I COULDN'T WAIT so my wife pulled over and I walked to a tree just off the highway. 

How is that a pathetic way to clinch the interstate?

I couldn't clinch any longer I was unclinching.

[I-55]

The only standalone section of I-85 I've ever been on was the segment north of the I-75 split. My dad followed the GPS which told him to keep right to 75, but we were in the HOV lane where it was a left. Apparently the outdated GPS data is more reliable than the BGS's overhead. Since then I have given my dad verbal instructions as far as three miles in advance before major junctions (and am usually ignored until ~500 feet before the splits).

[Roadgeekteen]

It's impossible to clinch a standalone section of I-575 (Georgia).

[US 89]

The only standalone section of I-85 I've ever been on was the segment north of the I-75 split. My dad followed the GPS which told him to keep right to 75, but we were in the HOV lane where it was a left. Apparently the outdated GPS data is more reliable than the BGS's overhead. Since then I have given my dad verbal instructions as far as three miles in advance before major junctions (and am usually ignored until ~500 feet before the splits).

I've taken the wrong ramp at that split more than once - it's rather counterintuitive that going northbound, the interstate that goes further east should split to the left. And that confusion doesn't go away after you drive it a bunch, either.

I have never personally done the HOV lane northbound through there, but the issue with those is overhead signage basically doesn't tell you how the split works until you get right up to the exit. To stay on 75 northbound you essentially take a left exit to 85 and then another left exit back to 75. So I guess two wrongs make a right?