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
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