CODED TAXI RTE AT CLE LEADS TO CONFUSION WHEN DEPARTING FROM THE E SIDE OF CONCOURSE 'A'.

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PARKED AT GATE IN CLE; I RECEIVED THE CODED TAXI INSTRUCTION 'ORANGE RTE.' 'STARTING POINT; ALL TERMINAL PARKING AREAS: ROUTING VIA; JULIET; WHISKEY; UNIFORM RWY 28. (HOLD SHORT OF RWY 23L. RWY 23L HOLD LINE LOCATED ON RWY 28). ZULU.' (SEE DIAGRAM ATTACHED). THAT SOUNDS SIMPLE YET I WOUND UP MAKING A R TURN ONTO TXWY WHISKEY WITH UNIFORM BEHIND ME AND FACING THE END ON RWY 28. HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN; EVEN AFTER BRIEFING THE FO ON THE DIFFICULTIES ASSOCIATED WITH CLE TXWY PATTERNS? IT'S TAKEN A WHILE TO SORT OUT; BUT THERE IS AN IMPORTANT LESSON TO BE LEARNED; ESPECIALLY WITH REGARD TO SMGCS TAXI OPS. THE PROB BEGAN BY NOT KNOWING WHERE TO JOIN JULIET. THIRTY MINS EARLIER I HAD ARRIVED ONLY TO TAXI AROUND A LONG LINE OF ACFT IN SEQUENCE FOR DEP ON JULIET. SINCE THE A CONCOURSE BLOCKED MY VIEW OF JULIET AND THE GND CTLR SPECIFICALLY OMITTED ANY REFERENCE TO UNIFORM DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME; THE MSG WAS UNAMBIGUOUSLY CLEAR: TAXI TO THE END OF THE LINE ON JULIET. HAVING BEEN INTO LGA RELATIVELY FREQUENTLY AND EXPECTING DELAYS; THE INSTRUCTIONS MADE A LOT OF SENSE. WITHOUT TFC IN LINE I COULD HAVE PROCEEDED STRAIGHT AHEAD TO UNIFORM AND THAT WAS SPECIFICALLY ABSENT. THEN; WITH THE BRAKES SET; I MEMORIZED WHAT TO DO. JULIET; DOGLEG R FOR WHISKEY TO LOOK FOR A L TURN ONTO UNIFORM IN THAT SEQUENCE. THIS WAS MY FIRST FLT INTO CLE IN YRS; MY FIRST CODED TAXI ROUTING; MY FIRST FLT WIHTOUT AN ISTR AT NIGHT; WITH AN FO STILL ON PROBATION. READY WITH A PLAN IN MIND I RELEASED THE BRAKES TO TAXI TO THE END ON THE LINE ON JULIET. NOW AN ACR 727 APPEARED AT THE END OF CONCOURSE A ON JULIET; HE WAS INSTRUCTED TO WAIT FOR ME. I LOOKED FOR WHISKEY AND SAW ITS TAXI SIGN STRAIGHT AHEAD. NOW I SIMPLY HAD TO GET ON WHISKEY AND LOOK FOR UNIFORM. UNFORTUNATELY TXWY UNIFORM WAS BEHIND. THIS MUST HAVE LOOKED COMICAL; BUT IT FRIGHTENED ME. HOW EASILY THE BEST INTENTIONS COULD LEAD TO THIS. YOU ASK; IF YOU WERE NOT SURE; WHY DIDN'T YOU ASK FOR CLARIFICATION? THAT'S THE POINT. THERE WAS NO CONFUSION; THE INSTRUCTIONS WERE IN BLACK AND WHITE; WRITTEN AS CLEAR AS CAN BE; TAXI TO JULIET; PERIOD. BUT LET'S LOOK AT HOW PLT'S ARE TRAINED TO JOIN A ROUTE OF FLT. CLEARENCES ARE ISSUED; IN ONE OF THREE WAYS. FIRST; 'ON PRESENT HDG; JOIN J75.' SECOND; 'PROCEED DIRECT TO FLATROCK TO JOIN THE MINKS TWO.' OR THIRD; VIA A CRUISE CLRNC. THERE WAS ONLY A HINT OF WHERE TO JOIN JULIET; AT THE END OF THE LINE. I SUGGEST IF CODED ROUTES ARE USED ANYWHERE; 'ENTRY POINTS' MUST BE INCLUDED IN THE INITIAL CLRNC. FOR ME; IT'S ONE MORE TRAP TO BE LOOKING FOR!