An extremely early start to the day put me on the road at 4:10. I was sneaking out of Illinois a couple of hours later and a little after sunrise. Not much to say about this part of Illinois as most of it was traversed in the dark.
I do, however, have to remark on the passage through Gary, Indiana the prior evening - I think the factories let their waste out into the river at night. If you have not traveled through this city in the evening you have missed out on the stench of industrialization. If you have any friends who are teetering on the edge of environmentalism just take them out for an evening stroll in Gary. The stench will turn your stomach!!
As expected, Iowa was corn and beans!! Lots of it. I think every available acre is under crop in that state. The only really remarkable thing about Iowa was the number of New York license plates on the road. I guess there must be a candidate from that great state making the rounds!
Nebraska? Some corn, well, okay, lots of corn, some cows and a whole lot of nothing in the west. Oh, and, I think Omaha is larger than Cleveland!
One thing I do like about being out here is the interstate speed limit is 75 in most states and that allows for reeling in the interminable flatness at a decent clip. I had blue skies and wall-to-wall sunshine for my ride across the central time zone. It was cloudy and threatening rain as I pulled into Cheyenne but I made it both before sunset and any rain that may come.
Being out in the elements it is a job just trying to maintain a comfortable body temperature. I left Illinois with temperatures, I think in the 50’s – it was cold enough that I plugged in my vest and socks! Through the day the temperature rose all the way to 95F. Through this you have to determine when to take what off or put what on. I did not do such a good job today and ended up with a runny nose in the afternoon.
It was not a very good combination: runny nose, cruise set at 85 with a strong crosswind! I managed to maintain a certain level of civilization through it but it was a pain.
One thing I learned about Western Nebraska is that although they have lots of exits, unlike other states where the retail establishments serving the traveling public are on the exits, out here you have to drive into town to get gas. I had passed exit after exit as my tank dribbled down to a gallon and finally pulled off to some tiny town with an un-attended credit card operated pump on a gravel lot.
I am having some trouble with the visor on my helmet so I will take a look at it tonight and hopefully get it to work for the ride tomorrow. The way things are looking now I will have to junk the helmet and pick up a new one. One little piece of homework, then, is to see what motorcycle dealerships there are in Jackson, WY. I can fiddle with the helmet in dry conditions but I don’t want to be caught on a mountain pass with some precipitation (which, up there can change from rain to snow to freezing rain in the space of minutes!) and have to fiddle around with the visor as I try to find a safe spot to pull over!
Oh well, all in all a good day
Friday, August 31, 2007
Day One – Indiana Cruising
Well, the first day of the trip has gone well. I put in a full day at the office and then got on the road, just missing the heavy part of Cleveland traffic and then hopping on the turnpike for the run to Mokena, IL.
Long trips always start with some amount of apprehension and this one is no different. I put all my things together last night and did not want to pack until this morning just incase I forgot something. Well, it looks like I have all I need and I even managed to leave with one less bag than I had on the last trip.
I had an incident-free ride today and I hope that is a harbinger for the rest of the trip. I have no photos today because mile after mile of soy beans and corn did not inspire me to pull out the camera!
I am kind of excited about the start in the morning because I came in under a waning but still rather full moon and it should be hanging in the western sky as I leave in the wee hours of the morning. I think it should be nice to start the day with the moon lighting my way before the birds announce the start of a new day.
Other than the hotel not having a room ready when I got here (they soon fixed that so that is cool) there is some bloomin’ idiot driving up and down a strip close to here revving the silly shot out of an un-muffled V-8 sumthin’-or-other. It sounds great and I am sure it is a fine automobile but it would be nice if he would confine his auditory performance to the portion of the clock when the sun chooses to show its face.
Grrrrrrr ......... one more run up the strip and I swear I am going to go out there and crack open a can of Kenyan Kung Fu on his sorry little ...... give the half-pint b@st*&% a generous portion of knuckle sandwich!
If tomorrow goes like today (with the exception of the *&$%# little sh#*% out there in his hot rod) I will be one happy traveler!
Long trips always start with some amount of apprehension and this one is no different. I put all my things together last night and did not want to pack until this morning just incase I forgot something. Well, it looks like I have all I need and I even managed to leave with one less bag than I had on the last trip.
I had an incident-free ride today and I hope that is a harbinger for the rest of the trip. I have no photos today because mile after mile of soy beans and corn did not inspire me to pull out the camera!
I am kind of excited about the start in the morning because I came in under a waning but still rather full moon and it should be hanging in the western sky as I leave in the wee hours of the morning. I think it should be nice to start the day with the moon lighting my way before the birds announce the start of a new day.
Other than the hotel not having a room ready when I got here (they soon fixed that so that is cool) there is some bloomin’ idiot driving up and down a strip close to here revving the silly shot out of an un-muffled V-8 sumthin’-or-other. It sounds great and I am sure it is a fine automobile but it would be nice if he would confine his auditory performance to the portion of the clock when the sun chooses to show its face.
Grrrrrrr ......... one more run up the strip and I swear I am going to go out there and crack open a can of Kenyan Kung Fu on his sorry little ...... give the half-pint b@st*&% a generous portion of knuckle sandwich!
If tomorrow goes like today (with the exception of the *&$%# little sh#*% out there in his hot rod) I will be one happy traveler!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Routes and Plans
It’s funny that no matter how many trips I make I always experience a heightened level of anxious anticipation in the days before I leave. This trip takes me to the northern Rockies traveling through Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and then back across the plains to the Black Hills of South Dakota.
I have booked the hotels, I have an idea of the route I want to take and I am frequently checking the weather for the cities through which I will be traveling. The motorcycle went in for some warranty work at the end of July and beginning of August and I have since taken a 1,000 mile weekend tour to check it out and used it to commute to work. This past weekend I took a quick 200+ mile swing through the hills of eastern Ohio for one more road check.
I will leave after work tomorrow and end the day in Mokena, Illinois. Friday will be a long day across Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and on into Cheyenne Wyoming. Saturday will take me through Wyoming, along the valley east of the Grand Teton range, finishing the day in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The next day is ambitious! I want to travel back into Wyoming, through Yellowstone and then on up through south west Montana and ending the day in Grangeville, Idaho. Monday will take me through northern Idaho into Kalispell, Montana. Tuesday I will spend most of the day in Glacier National Park and sleep in Great Falls, Montana. Wednesday I will go south back into Wyoming through Bear Tooth Pass and finish up in Sheridan, Wyoming. Thursday I finally find my way to Sturgis!! I will ride through the Black Hills and stop by Mount Rushmore as well as the Badlands National Park. Friday will see me streak across the prairies too South Bend, Indiana and then on to Cleveland on Saturday.
I have booked the hotels, I have an idea of the route I want to take and I am frequently checking the weather for the cities through which I will be traveling. The motorcycle went in for some warranty work at the end of July and beginning of August and I have since taken a 1,000 mile weekend tour to check it out and used it to commute to work. This past weekend I took a quick 200+ mile swing through the hills of eastern Ohio for one more road check.
I will leave after work tomorrow and end the day in Mokena, Illinois. Friday will be a long day across Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and on into Cheyenne Wyoming. Saturday will take me through Wyoming, along the valley east of the Grand Teton range, finishing the day in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The next day is ambitious! I want to travel back into Wyoming, through Yellowstone and then on up through south west Montana and ending the day in Grangeville, Idaho. Monday will take me through northern Idaho into Kalispell, Montana. Tuesday I will spend most of the day in Glacier National Park and sleep in Great Falls, Montana. Wednesday I will go south back into Wyoming through Bear Tooth Pass and finish up in Sheridan, Wyoming. Thursday I finally find my way to Sturgis!! I will ride through the Black Hills and stop by Mount Rushmore as well as the Badlands National Park. Friday will see me streak across the prairies too South Bend, Indiana and then on to Cleveland on Saturday.
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