Diagnostics. For starters there is a remarkably large (we're talking transcontinental scale) latency between your router (192.168.1.1) and your ISPs router (2nd hop).
That's not unheard of -- more and more of the mid-size ISP's use virtual backhauls using mesh networks, where the signal gets encapsulated and the first router that shows up in your traceroute can be in your ISP's headquarters three states over. Especially if you're in the US and don't live in a metropolitan area, there's a good chance that you're connecting through one of those.
(It allows even a smallish ISP to offer broadband services in many different states, without the need to have any physical equipment or network in an area. The local telco can grab it, encapsulate it, and make it appear as if they connect directly to your own network center)