2018 Ride to the Prairies of the Midwest (Iowa & Illinois)

Stafford to Gatlinburg. Have you ever been on a motorcycle trip wishing it would rain? The ambient temperature gauge on my 2006 Street Glide reads 100 degrees. It is hot and sunny. I could see the dark rain clouds ahead. I can see heavy rain falling in the distance. The cold rain showers me for a few short minutes. I immediately took shelter by stopping under a gas station pump canopy. I check my handy dandy weather radar phone app. The app shows more rain ahead. I put on my rain suit with the idea that the rain is not going to interrupt my ride. I am back on the road. The ambient temperature gauge fell to just below the 90 degree mark. The cold rain feels pretty good cooling my skin as it pelts against my rain suit. In less than ten minutes the sun appears. The clouds are gone. The sky is clear ahead. That ambient temperature gauge on my dash shoots back up to 100 degrees. I still have my rain suit on. I begin to think, that radar app has been accurate in the past. Where is the rest of the rain? I start to feel like a turkey baking in a plastic oven bag. All I see is blue skies ahead. Where is that rain? I’ve only been in the rain suit a short distance. I feel that it took longer to put on the rain suit than the time I spent wearing it in the rain. Should I take it off? Will it rain again as the weather radar app indicated? What if I took off the turkey oven bag...the rain suit? How long will it take me to dry off if it does rain again? I was suited up and ready for more rain. Baking in the rain suit I wanted a downpour so badly. I eventually stopped to get out of the rai suit. 

Great Smoky Mountains. 

My first stop was Gatlinburg Tennessee. During breakfast I did a map study plotting the day's ride. I was to navigate west making my way from Virginia to Iowa. I jotted down a few notes with a numbers direction indicators such as LT (left), RT (right), EAST, WEST in large enough writing for me to reference while navigating the mountains. I began the days ride enjoying the cool morning air as I rode thru the tunnel of trees in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I had the direction notes wedged to my gas tank for quick reference. I found the road leading to Clingman’s Dome. It is the highest point in Tennessee and the Appalachian Trail crosses it - so I had to go. I enjoy backpacking while not on the motorcycle and could not resist a short hike. So as usual, I deviated from the loosely planned route. I changed out my riding boots for my hiking shoes and walked up to the lookout known as Clingman’s Dome. Awesome site above the trees. 

 

I felt satisfied after the hike. I am back on the bike enjoying the twisty road thru the National Forest. I enjoyed the coolness of the shade and curves so much that I must have missed a turn. I was surprised to read a road sign that stated, “Asheville 10 miles.” I think to myself, how did I end up east of Gatlinburg and almost into North Carolina? Easy fix, I’ll avoid a U-turn and navigate west again. The minor detour was worth it when I recognized that the revised route took me to the “Tail of the Dragon.” It had been a few years since I rode this route. I’ve also taken a motorcycle safety course or two since then. I was stoked to be able use some of the new leaning skills from a sports bike course taken last year. So in my brain I was flying around the turns. Lifting my body off the seat pushing the bike upright more so I could take the curves faster and with more tire traction. I was getting the hang of it, moving off the seat to the left, then immediately to the right and so forth. The curves were coming faster and faster. I was feeling like a pro sports bike racer on my old Harley. Well, that was until I downshifted while leaning in a turn. The rear tire squealed sliding slightly to one side. It felt like I was sliding on a banana peel. Reality set in and now in my mind I was a weekend rider who was riding the curves much to fast on an old Harley. So I counted my blessings for keeping the motorcycle upright. I slowed down the rest of the way into Maryville, Tennessee. 

Brad will tell you that my bike needs service or breaks down during our annual rides. Well....It did. I arrived in the Tennessee town of Franklin. It is near Nashville. I stopped on a not so busy street to check the map. I needed to find a place to sleep. I searched for parks and hotels. Yes, I sleep in parks at times. I got back on the bike and it would not start. The battery was dead. I am in a no parking zone. It is dark. I pushed the bike around the corner to a better parking spot along the street. I am in downtown Franklin. No hotels near. I think that I should have learned to use that Uber App! Instead of calling a taxi to help me find a hotel, I contacted a new friend who I met running the Marine Corps Marathon the year prior. Surprisingly the new friend arrived in minutes. We decided that I’d go to a hotel and tackle the problem together the next morning. The next morning we went to my bike. Removed the battery and took it to the Harley dealership to get a new one. By the time we got back to my motorcycle the temperature was pretty hot. I put the new battery in the bike and it started immediately. Sounds simple - not. In order to access the battery I had to remove my seat. In order to remove the seat I had to take off my chopped tour pack. Lucky I had a tool kit with everything I needed. I need to add a short screw driver so I might not need to take off the tour pack next time. 

My new friend and I went to lunch in Nashville. We both ended up with parking tickets! 

Iowa. The next day, I met Brad near Burlington, Iowa. He was at Conesvilles, Iowa at the RedNeck Revival and Rally. Brad had already parked his camper and was making new friends. I rode the camp grounds observing the temporary residents. There was a paved drag strip with bleacher seating. Tent camping was on one side of the strip and RV type camping was on the other side. This was a motorcycle type rally and it had four wheeled vehicles to race down the track. The race participants are some awesome fearless people! I saw professional cars with nitro, professional motorcycle race bikes, every day riders racing their bikes, golf cart racing, ATVs racing and there was a picnic table that raced down the track. Yes, a picnic table. I got to ride it around the camp ground. It was pretty neat. There is a pole on it for entertainment too. I hear it is pretty popular at Conesville. 

Conesville Drag Strip - you can race your bike against yourself if you like. There is plenty of open track time before the competition begins. 

In addition to the drag strip I witnessed:

· That motorized picnic table was an automatic party where ever it went. 

· Mud bog. I saw a big tired truck get stuck and pulled out. There was a daily driver Ford Explorer that had the doors removed and it was first in the mud. I think the four rednecks inside had removed their clothes too. 

· There was a male and female dash or gash for cash event. It was a foot race thru the mud. The contestants were slipping and sliding to the finish. The prize was a bucket of money that was passed around the crowd for donations. Part of the donations went to a local charity. The runners were pretty smart. They avoided dirty laundry by taking off all their clothes before the mud run. Ha! 

· Zip Line at the main stage area. There was a large ten foot cylinder thingy laying near the end of the zip line. People were falling off the zip line bouncing on the soft cylindrical thingy. I heard a story that some broke their legs the year before so the height of the zip line was lowered. 

· Did I mention there was a drag strip? It was the main attraction! 

Next stop was Savanna, Illinois. 

The ride from Burlington, Iowa to Savanna, Illinois wasn’t far. We had a slight delay to fix the tire on the trailer Brad was using for his bike. We were at one shop to repair the tire but I ended up riding to another shop to get the new tire to be mounted on the rim that was at the other shop. I am scratching my head trying to remember how this happened. Regardless have a cool picture of the spare tire tied to my rear seat. 

In Savanna, we set up camp down the road from a well known place called Poopies Pub. We spend a few days exploring the small town along the Mississippi River. We frequented Poopies and the Iron Horse Saloon. The Iron Horse has a really neat museum in the back of the building. It also has a horse statue up front near the bar. That horse gets rode often with people dancing and having fun around it. Poopies Pub had a live band nearly every night we were there. We ate our meals there since it was close to camp. It rained there every day during our stay. Despite the rain we rode north to Dubuque, Iowa for lunch at Catfish Charlie’s. It rained the whole ride. So from Dubuque we rode west to the J&P Cycle mega store. Well it used to be a mega store. You can still order from the catalog but the brick and mortar (warehouse really) store has down sized. Brad and I both were soaking wet because our rain suits failed. I know my rain suit is about 12 years old with literally hundreds of miles of use. The set has hundreds of hours baking in my saddle bags too. So we were going to get new rain suits from J&P Cycles but there were none on display or in stock. A group of riders coming from Milwaukee had just wiped out their store inventory. So Brad had the idea to go to Walmart and get some water repellent spray - we did and it worked. 

Dutch Windmills at Fulton, Illinois. This Dutch Wind Mill is near the bank of the Mississippi River directly across from Clinton, Iowa. There is a museum to learn about the story of the wind mills and the town. It is worth the short detour if you are riding thru. There are some neat downtown small town shops too. We got some home made pie around the corner. 

Bike Repairs at Rock Falls, Illinois. After sampling all the homemade pies in Fulton, we decided to visit Workman Harley Davidson in Rock Falls Illinois. I lived near the area and the team at Workman’s has done much of the maintenance on my motorcycle. I continue to visit Workman’s during my rides for tires, brakes, and maintenance. This dealership is special because it is family operated and as a result has outstanding customer service - why else would I ride fourteen hours to get maintenance done? So I thought my clutch was failing. I wanted to get a mechanic to take a look at it. On the way, we stopped for gas and Brad’s bike would not start. His battery was dead! I think this was the first breakdown for Brad during our rides together. Brad had the idea that we could connect the pigtails for our battery tenders together to jump the batteries. We connected the wires with no success in starting his bike. We asked a gentleman in a pick up truck for a battery jump. Sounds easy but that seat had to be removed and we were wearing rain suits. Whew what an experience. Check out the pic of Brad. He had fun with the jumper cables! 

We arrived at Workman’s. Brad got a new battery. The mechanic came to talk to me - my clutch was in great condition. When the inspection cover was removed oil exploded out of the clutch side! There is normally four ounces of fluid on that side. The engine seals had blown. The excess fluid had made it difficult to shift into neutral. Luckily the bike warranty was still active. The bike stayed the night at the shop. I have been renewing my warranty since I purchased the motorcycle in 2005. I discovered that I could not renew the warranty for another term. The motor company stated the bike was over 12 years old and they would not issue another warranty for it. Perhaps it was my warranty history. I’ve used it as needed which was frequent. 

Once my bike was repaired Brad and I visited a place called Psycho Silo Saloon. It is located just south of I-80 near Langley, Illinois. It is a grain silo turned into a saloon. This is a unique place to see too if you find yourself traveling I-80 across Illinois. It continued to rain until we arrived in the parking lot at Psycho Silo. We noticed some tents set up for an event. Tables with center pieces and motorcycles on display under the large tents. We saw no people. In the parking lot, Brad was getting out of his rain suit and putting on a dry pair of jeans. He is standing beside his motorcycle in his underwear when two dozen cars pull in one after the other just as if they all convoyed together. The cars were loaded with people. It turns out the tents were set up for a wedding reception. There is Brad getting dressed beside his motorcycle! 

We stayed one more night in Illinois and headed home. I know it rained 100% of the time during the two days it took me to get back to Virginia. 

More photos to view are at:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tKFeaVb5bgUPtbqZ9

2016 Ride to Glacier National Park

Montana August 2016

The 2016 NoWhereRide took us to Glacier National Park, Montana. This was the second attempt at going to Glacier.  During the first ride near Glacier we ended up following the Louis and Clark Trail into Oregon. That year we rode the entire Oregon Coast from north to south - what an awesome detour! This year we met in Missoula. We did some white water rafting, experienced the Testy Festy and took in the sites of the huge mountains of Montana. 

Tour Bus at Glacier Nat Park

Bill rode west from northern Virginia toward Missoula. Wanting to travel quickly I rode over the mountains of Cumberland and got into the toll road. That toll road stretched from Maryland, thru Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and into Illinois. The toll road was nice in that most of the travelers stayed to the right except to pass - the rule or etiquette that most drivers in northern Virginia do not follow. The toll way had petroleum stands and restaurants also known as “Oasis” which allowed me to stay on the toll way without taking exits for petro or food. I was rolling on the smooth surface of the toll road and feeling really good about the ride. I didn't stop for sites because I've been thru the area many times. 

Entering Glacier Nat Park 2016

When I arrived in Indiana, I paid another toll. This toll caught my attention because the amount due was $17.75. That was the birth year of our Marine Corps! I stopped at an Oasis to fuel the bike and stretch my legs.  I had been riding fairly fast on some of those long straight roads across Ohio. I drank a bottle of water and walked in a circle around the bike. I was amazed how the air-cooled motor performed at high speeds for hours and hours in the heat.  As I walked around the bike, I was looking for fluid leaks and noted all the bugs that will be tough to wash later.  My ride bell was still attached to the bike. I had that bell since 2001 on my Softail Deuce that was destroyed in a garage fire - I kept the bell thinking how lucky I've been riding over the years.  

Earlier that year, I had participated in a new motorcycle rider safety course that was being designed for the Marine Corps. I've taken MSF Courses every other year for the past 17 years and this new course was a blast! I learned so much about riding and gained some new techniques to control the motorcycle. My bike had just passed a state safety inspection just weeks before the bike trip. I felt like I was more prepared for this bike trip more than any other trip. Then as I continued to walk around my bike, I spotted it - the bald rear tire!  Brad will tell you that each year something always happens to my bike…maybe there is some truth to it.  I usually replace tires – not by choice but by necessity because the tires get slick quick!  My engine gaskets blew one year causing a few day delay for repairs. 

 

I've been known to ride until the tires are bald, seriously smooth, and then going just a little further before I get a new one. Not a good idea since the bike uses tread to stop, accelerate, turn and keep me alive. Brad and I were riding in the rain along some switchback roads near Maine one year.  I applied the brakes and slid thru a turn.  Fortunately the bike remained upright. It got my attention and pucker factor up. The next morning I got a new tire.

So, I continue to ride but not as fast as I have been earlier that day.  Now it is getting dark as I stop for gas in Chicago.  The bike appears to be sitting low in the back and higher in the front.  I am determining where to stop for a new tire.  I’ve experienced many Harley shops that require appointments and it really puts me off, especially when I ride to unfamiliar towns and need services such as a tire repair or blown seals.  I spent a few years living in Illinois so I was a little familiar with the motorcycle shop offerings. I knew just the shop that would accommodate my bike without an appointment, Tom Workman’s Harley Davidson.  Tom has a family operated Harley Davidson Dealership in Rock Falls, Illinois.  They have worked on my 2006 Street Glide many times. So I decided to ride about 3 hours further on this bald tire. 

Bill, How much further did you plan to GO?

I spent the night in Tampico, Illinois, birthplace of Ronald Reagan. I arrived at Workman Harley Davidson in Rock Falls just as they opened for business.  My customer information was still in their database.  The staff treated me like family.  Once the rear tire was off the bike, the mechanic brought it out to show me.  He didn't know how the tire was holding air!  The rubber was gone exposing the fabric woven threads.  I am lucky the tire didn't blow out in the middle of the night as I rolled down the I-92 toll-way with those cable type guardrails. So I got a new tire and brakes. Turns out my rear brake pads had no surface area left - perhaps no rear brakes kept me from hitting the brakes and rupturing the tire?  Glad I took that safety course that gave me confidence in using the front brake more forcefully! 

Fargo, North Dakota 2016

Fargo, North Dakota.  I could have rode thru Iowa and used a more direct route to Missoula but I enjoy the fact that I've rode in every state except Alaska and Hawaii.  I cannot remember much about North Dakota.  I know I rode to the state line during a Sturgis rally while playing the ABCs of Touring.  So this time I decided to detour north east thru Minnesota and across North Dakota.  I ended up in Fargo and took a selfie to show I was there.    

On the western end of North Dakota I entered Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the Badlands of North Dakota.  They are a little greener than the Badlands of South Dakota.  I did not see as many prairie dogs as you’d see in South Dakota.  So while I snapped some photos.  I was walking along the cliffs overlooking the river to get a good photo.  As I walk back to the motorcycle I note the kids I saw playing in the parking lot were staring at me as I come walking thru the grassy area.  Then I notice the "Beware of Rattlesnakes" sign.  Thankfully I had on my leather boots!

MISSOULA, MONTANA

In Missoula, Brad arrive a day ahead of me. He discovered the downtown bars and Testy Festy.  We decided to spend some time around town, go see the festival and do some whitewater rafting.  The white water rafting was the highlight of our stay. 

We hired a guide from Montana River Tours.  We floated down the Alberton Gorge.  Our tour guide was awesome.  He told us some history of the river and described the river at different water levels during the year.  There was a family on the raft with us.  The family had two middle school aged boys. Brad told camping stories and talked about his culinary skills using a Dutch Oven.  

We were in a calm stretch of water and the dad and two boys jumped into the river for a swim.  Brad was telling the mom about his favorate Dutch oven recipes.  The dad had a GoPro on his helmet and Brad was interested in getting some photos from the helmet cam.  The discussion was interrupted as we had to pull the boys back into the raft as we preparing for more rapids.  During another calm on the river, the mom yells over at Brad, "Hey give me your email. I'll send you some photos and you can send me recipes!"  The dad was sitting in front of me on the raft.  He turned to look at Brad; the guys face was priceless- he immediately asked what had happened and what photos was his bride offering to send to her new friend?!?  We all got a good laugh out of that moment! 

Glacier National Park 

Flathead Lake, MT 2016

After the white water rafting trip down the Alberton Gorge we stopped in Missoula for dinner. As we ate, a group of about 14 bikers from Portland, Oregon came into the restaurant.  Turns out the group planned to ride thru Glacier National Park too.  They had the trip all planned out to where breakfast, dinner and hotels they were staying it.  Sounded like a trip that took months in the planning to make reservations and plan the route.  We were warned that there would be no hotels this time of year at Glacier.  It didn't bother Brad and I because part of the fun is finding a hotel.  Besides we had sleeping bags and are no strangers to sleeping under the stars. 

Whitefish, MT 2016

We departed Missoula and rode toward Glacier National Park.  We rode around Flathead Lake.  The water was a unique shade of blue that captures your attention.  We ended up at a small railroad town called Whitefish.  Whitefish had horse tie up parking areas along the Main Street.  Neat town.  We saw the old locomotives, had lunch and decided to stay the night and enter Glacier the next morning.  

Glacier Nat Park 2016

There was a hand full of hotels in the town.  Just as we signed for our room at the Pine Lodge, a large group of bikes rolled into the hotel parking.  It was the riders from Portland who we met in Missoula the day prior.  We lounged around the pool and went to dinner and drinks with the group.  The group was staying in Whitefish as few days. They planned to ride from the northeastern entrance of Glacier and back to the hotel.  Brad and I rode east and was not returning to Whitefish.  We passed the group the next day going opposite direction on the Going-To-The-Son-Road in the park. 

While in Whitefish we met a former Navy Sailor.  He was our bartender.  We told him our plans for riding thru Glacier. The sailor showed us some photos of a hidden lake.  The lake looked like a postcard.  He said it was a short hike and the site was worth every step.  I made a mental note of the trailhead location and when we arrived at the trailhead - Brad took some persuading but agreed to go for the hike.  So off we go hiking with our biker leather jackets and boots.  This hike was the highlight of visit to Glacier.  The sites were breathtaking. 

During the hike Brad’s stomach growled like a bear!  He must have been thinking of the huckleberry pie we were going to get later that day.  We walked past a large family who had stopped along the trail to eat sandwiches.  Brad stood next to the dad and warned him about the hungry bear in the area looking for a sandwich.  The man’s eyes widen at the thought of a bear.  He asked Brad is we had seen any bear.  Brad rubbed his stomach and told the guy he was hungry and was about to turn into a bear if he didn’t get a sandwich.  The guy immediately walked away leaving Brad hungry.  I guess the guy had too many kids to feed and didn’t want to share with some strange man hiking a trail wearing biker clothes. 

Further up the trail Brad strikes up a conversation with another gentlemen.  The conversation turned to food and how we were going to stop at the “Café” for the best huckleberry pie around.  The gentlemen asked Brad if he liked barbeque.  Brad told the man that he loved to eat but he does not like BBQ!  Turns out the gentlemen owned the Red Hot and Blue BBQ franchise.  He was familiar with where Bill lives and he still owned a house in the Washington DC area.  You never know who you’ll meet hiking in Montana!

Brad hiking to Hidden Lake 2016

My handy dandy camera stopped working during the hike.  My cell phone has a camera but it was turned off and buried at the bottom of my saddlebag on the bike.  Luckily Brad had his phone to take some photos on the hike. 

During the hike we saw some white mountain goats, rams, and something that looked like large squirrels.  The squirrels stole a loaf of bread from a family having a pic nic.  Yes, the whole loaf of bread!  The animal perched himself on an outcropping of rocks where we could see him handing out slices of bread to his animal family. 

HUCKLEBERRY  PIE!!!

Bill at Hidden Lake lookout 2016

After riding thru Glacier we had to stop at this house turned into "Park Cafe" which boasted the best Huckleberry pie around.  I ate my first bison burger and piece of huckleberry pie that day.  Both were really tasty!  We rode to the Canada boarder and then headed south toward the Louis and Clark National Forest. 

Top of the World 2016

We rode Bear Tooth Pass!  Elevation 10,947 feet!  The switchbacks and overlooks made for a white-knuckle motorcycle ride!  We stopped at the "Top of the World" gas station and general store.  Check out the photo of the gas pump.  The numbers roll instead of digital display. 

There was a brief decision point to choose between riding thru Yellow Stone or the Chief Joseph Scenic Bi-way.  We chose the scenic bi-way.  The scenic ride offered some amazing views.  Brad got to use his handy dandy air compressor and tire plug kit.  He helped a couple repair a flat tire on tier BMW bike and get back on the road.  

Brad can fix it! Chief Joseph ByWay 2016

Chief Joseph Scenic ByWay 2016

BearToothPass 2016

Brad and I plan no details of our trips.  We avoid chain restaurants and prefer the local diners.  Often we bring our paper road atlas into the diner and discuss where to go next.  This year we got some directions thru Wyoming from a gentleman who worked as a surveyor.  We rode east on the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway and ended up in Cody, Wyoming.  We spent the night there at a hotel with a friendly cockatiel; it tried to take the sunglasses off Bill’s head as we checked into the hotel. 

Cody, Wyoming 2016

From Cody, Wyoming we rode to Laramie, Wyoming where the idea of the annual bike ride to nowhere was conceived years before.  Laramie was the town where Bill and Brad rode to after being at a Sturgis Rally with a few other friends.  The rally was fun but Brad and I enjoyed riding thru the Black Hills, Custer, Devils Rock and aimlessly riding around much more than the organized rally.  So it was in Laramie where we had the idea to meet and ride aimlessly to nowhere instead of attending the organized motorcycle rallies. 

Brad getting ideas of where to ride. Wyoming 2016 

Heavens Peak 8,897 feet

That evening in Laramie, we walked around the town and heard a live band.  We go to watch a Colorado band called the Symbols perform.  I liked the performance so much that I ended up with an autographed CD from the band.  The band members and roadies provided some good conversations in the bar.  One woman and her boyfriend were hula hooping around the bar.  The hula-hoops were their means of transportation.

Our ride together came to an end.  Brad left Laramie riding west toward Utah and Bill rode east toward Virginia.  I had to stop due to a severe thunderstorm.  I was drafting behind a tractor-trailer truck because visibility was a few feet!  So I couldn’t see and the lighting across the Iowa sky spooked me so I took shelter at a car dealership and got back on the road when the rain lightened it.

Rain and lightning go away! Iowa 2017