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

[MCRoads]

Quote from Most Pathetic State Clinches:

Michigan: drove into it from Indiana on Old US 27 near I-69. We then immediately turned around, and ate lunch at a diner just south of the IN/MI border. This may also be the most pathetic way I can claim an interstate traveled, as I have only been on 0.6 miles of I-69 from the Indiana Toll Road at exit 356 to exit 357.

What is the most pathetic way you can say you traveled on an interstate?

[SkyPesos]

All interstates that I only traveled a portion that is concurrent with another interstate. Most notable example for me is also I-69, which currently, I've only been on the concurrency with I-94 in Port Huron, and adding the concurrency with I-465 in the future once the southern segment gets finished to Indy. Another interstate is I-57, as I've only been on the concurrencies with I-70 and I-64.

[paulthemapguy]

I accidentally clinched I-189 trying to get from the Charlotte-Essex Ferry to Ben & Jerry's on a family road trip when I was 18.  You basically can't travel I-189 without clinching it.

[Scott5114]

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.

[CoreySamson]

I only traveled the part of I-49 that's part of the Texarkana loop, simply because my dad wanted to see it rather than I-369/I-30 again.

I've only traveled I-20 between TX-43 and US-59 in Marshall, as well as the part in Jackson where it multiplexes with I-55.

I think I also traveled part of I-37 in downtown San Antonio in 2019 finding an exit to get to the Alamo, but I can't remember if I did that well, because I was focused on driving. That might be my most pathetic.

[SkyPesos]

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.

Is there a possibility that he actually drove on I-78 and got the numbers mixed up with the concurrent US route numbered 22?

[Max Rockatansky]

I've done my fair share of exit hopping on SoCal Interstates.  It's lame but it often is a good way to get past traffic.

[Roadgeekteen]

I-40, I was just on the I-85 concurrency. I-64, was on the I-81 and I-95 concurrencies.

[US 89]

As far as I can tell, I've done a decent job at getting at least a few miles on most of the interstates I've been on. The most "pathetic" interstates I can claim are probably I-27 (Loop 289 to US 82) or I-37 (I-35 to I-10), both of which are a few miles long. I also have about 10 miles of discontinous segments of I-26 in upstate SC south of Spartanburg.

I do have shorter independent segments of other interstates, but in every case I could come up with I had traveled a more substantial segment somewhere else along the route.

[TheGrassGuy]

The only section I've ever driven on I-83 is the Harrisburg Beltway section.

[pianocello]

The only time I've been on I-44 in St. Louis is before I-44 was extended. It was just I-55 and I-70 at the time.

[WillWeaverRVA]

The only way I have been on I-90 and I-190 in Illinois is by way of the Blue Line subway, which runs in the median. I took the subway from Union Station in Chicago to O'Hare Airport after a flight from Springfield to Chicago got canceled during an ice storm and the parents of my girlfriend at the time weren't able to arrange some other way to get there, so I took an Amtrak train up there.

I've never actually driven any streets or highways in the Chicago area, although I took a $300 cab ride from O'Hare to Springfield once (because another connecting flight got canceled and the idea of spending a night in the airport caused me to have a massive panic attack).

[webny99]

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.

Is there a possibility that he actually drove on I-78 and got the numbers mixed up with the concurrent US route numbered 22?

Or maybe he just drove on some random segment of US 22 and wasn't aware that it wasn't called an interstate. I wouldn't put that past a non-roadgeek.

[webny99]

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.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Or when an entrance ramp has its own exit ramp for the next exit before joining the mainline, like this.

[1995hoo]

Or how about if the person only "touches" the C/D road via the weave lane while using the ramps to make a "cloverleaf U-turn" on the non-Interstate at that junction?

[jeffandnicole]

Crash on an overpass over the interstate highway, and the car falls to the highway below, but at least you would leave your mark.

[Scott5114]

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.

Is there a possibility that he actually drove on I-78 and got the numbers mixed up with the concurrent US route numbered 22?

Or maybe he just drove on some random segment of US 22 and wasn't aware that it wasn't called an interstate. I wouldn't put that past a non-roadgeek.

No, he was pretty clearly lying, as he was a habitual one-upper who lied about literally everything for no reason (there was this ongoing months-long saga where he was supposedly joining the military and his boot camp date supposedly kept getting pushed back, then he missed work for a few days when he was supposed to be going, but he claimed he got on the wrong transport plane and went to the wrong base, so they pushed it back again, and so on and so forth). Another road-related gem from this guy was that water towers don't actually contain water, but instead contain the machinery (?) that controls all of the stoplights in the city, which he knew for a fact because his uncle who worked for the water department (??) in Moore showed it to him.

[webny99]

^Sounds interesting, LOL! I think we've probably all met at least one or two people like that. In my case, a few kids from middle/high school come to mind, and I have no doubt some of them remain convinced you'll believe their lies into adulthood.

[jp the roadgeek]

Only section of I-75 I've ever been on is the portion between I-4 and the exit for Busch Gardens.  And the only portion of I-65 I've ever been on is a portion of the I-70 concurrency in downtown Indianapolis.

Speaking of I-70, the most pathetic way to say you've been on it is to either get off the Baltimore Beltway go to the Park & Ride lot, or drive US 30 through Breezewood and stay on US 30 as you leave town.

[catch22]

I-587, also my one and only accidental Interstate clinch.  On a 2017 vacation, I took the wrong exit off of the traffic circle next to the Thruway and took the rather short trip to the eastern end.

[formulanone]

I have about two miles of I-795 and I-785 in North Carolina, though at least the latter was only a tiny stretch at the time. Basically, capture a photo of the shields and move on.

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.

Is there a possibility that he actually drove on I-78 and got the numbers mixed up with the concurrent US route numbered 22?

Or maybe he just drove on some random segment of US 22 and wasn't aware that it wasn't called an interstate. I wouldn't put that past a non-roadgeek.

No, he was pretty clearly lying, as he was a habitual one-upper who lied about literally everything for no reason (there was this ongoing months-long saga where he was supposedly joining the military and his boot camp date supposedly kept getting pushed back, then he missed work for a few days when he was supposed to be going, but he claimed he got on the wrong transport plane and went to the wrong base, so they pushed it back again, and so on and so forth). Another road-related gem from this guy was that water towers don't actually contain water, but instead contain the machinery (?) that controls all of the stoplights in the city, which he knew for a fact because his uncle who worked for the water department (??) in Moore showed it to him.

^Sounds interesting, LOL! I think we've probably all met at least one or two people like that. In my case, a few kids from middle/high school come to mind, and I have no doubt some of them remain convinced you'll believe their lies into adulthood.

There's a handful of people I've met over the years who seem to lie so badly that it's almost interesting, because you think there will be a punchline at the end, but usually they just seem to have different grasp of language and reality.

Usually, I can just assume someone just misunderstands a few things, and that's just normal in some cases. It's totally normal for someone young to not know everything, and that's forgivable, just as I don't know much about most current stuff. But sometimes it's fun to nonchalantly call out an obnoxious know-it-all by asking a rather basic follow-up question (or two) which usually means they'll soon stay out of your way when you're in a crowd.

[sparker]

I have about two miles of I-795 and I-785 in North Carolina, though at least the latter was only a tiny stretch at the time. Basically, capture a photo of the shields and move on.

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.

Is there a possibility that he actually drove on I-78 and got the numbers mixed up with the concurrent US route numbered 22?

Or maybe he just drove on some random segment of US 22 and wasn't aware that it wasn't called an interstate. I wouldn't put that past a non-roadgeek.

No, he was pretty clearly lying, as he was a habitual one-upper who lied about literally everything for no reason (there was this ongoing months-long saga where he was supposedly joining the military and his boot camp date supposedly kept getting pushed back, then he missed work for a few days when he was supposed to be going, but he claimed he got on the wrong transport plane and went to the wrong base, so they pushed it back again, and so on and so forth). Another road-related gem from this guy was that water towers don't actually contain water, but instead contain the machinery (?) that controls all of the stoplights in the city, which he knew for a fact because his uncle who worked for the water department (??) in Moore showed it to him.

^Sounds interesting, LOL! I think we've probably all met at least one or two people like that. In my case, a few kids from middle/high school come to mind, and I have no doubt some of them remain convinced you'll believe their lies into adulthood.

There's a handful of people I've met over the years who seem to lie so badly that it's almost interesting, because you think there will be a punchline at the end, but usually they just seem to have different grasp of language and reality.

Usually, I can just assume someone just misunderstands a few things, and that's just normal in some cases. It's totally normal for someone young to know know everything, just as I don't know much about current stuff. But sometimes it's fun to nonchalantly call out an obnoxious know-it-all by asking a rather basic follow-up question (or two) which usually means they'll soon stay out of your way when you're in a crowd.

To be played by Jon Lovitz in the bio?  Seriously, IMO the most pathetic way to say one has traveled a particular Interstate is if it was multiplexed with the Interstate you were really using! 

[index]

I accidentally clinched I-189 trying to get from the Charlotte-Essex Ferry to Ben & Jerry's on a family road trip when I was 18.  You basically can't travel I-189 without clinching it.

Back in 2018 (before I could drive on my own), I had unintentionally clinched I-676 trying to get out of Philadelphia when I told my mother to make an exit that ended up being wrong. Google Maps decided that just traveling it all the way to US 130 would be quicker than getting off and going back to the original route, so clinched it was. Even if it wasn't I probably definitely would've just said to travel it anyway so I could clinch it for myself.

[JoePCool14]

I think I may or may not have been on a tiny section of I-93 underground in Boston either in a crappy taxi or on an airport shuttle. Despite this being only 3 years ago, I can't really remember. Boston roads completely confused me. 

[Mapmikey]

The most pathetic way I've traveled an interstate is in a 1984 Chevette.


In the vein of what the OP meant, for me it is I-44...only driven between I-270 and US 61-67.