Going Home & American Pie-Saturday July 2

I drove 333 miles today. The total trip was 8,382 miles. About 1300 miles further than I thought I would go and not one ticket, that I know of & only several near accidents. I left East Liverpool early today (no reason to prolong my displeasure with this part of the country). As I crossed over the Ohio River bridge I crossed into Chester, WV. Within 15 minutes I crossed into Pennsylvania on US 30E towards Pittsburgh. Unfortunately I missed my turn at Potato Garden Run Rd., but I did see a sign for "Far Wood 4 Sale" though. I eventually connected with 376 around the city. I jumped onto 79S towards Morgantown, WV & passed thru Presto, Washington & Waynesburg,PA before looping around Morgantown onto 68E. I passed over Cheat Lake which had lots of boats on it. This stretch of road is hilly & has lots of trees, but it was hazy & hot. After passing thru Hopewell (good thought) I got gas at Bruceton Mills, WV. As I stood in the entry way of the restaurant drinking a Gatorade I was amazed at all of the people that were smoking & snuffed out their cigarettes before entering the Sandy's Restaurant. It's no wonder half of them were on oxygen. Further on down the road I passed thru Friendsville & Grantsville where it intersects with 40-National Pike, a very scenic road that heads northwest into Pennsylvania. I crossed thru the Cumberland Gap & headed for Weaver's Restaurant in Hancock, MD. Weaver's makes the best Wild Berry Pie & I had to have a piece for my lunch before I got home. I once had my 1995 Harley Davidson Dyna Super Glide breakdown in Hancock & I had the bike shipped to Frederick to be fixed. I hitch hiked home in the rain. It was a long day. Stop by Weaver's & you will see what I mean about the pie. On the way east I passed by Sleepy Creek (time for a nap) & just south of Funkstown. I was now on 70 heading toward Frederick, MD where the traffic density & speed picked up. Down 270 I flew heading home. When I got to the 495 Beltway it reminded me of LA & its race car roads. I got off at Springfield, VA to get gas & had a women pull out & almost t-bone me. Further on down Franconia Rd. I had a car pull over in my lane while they were talking on their cell phone. Welcome to the worse drivers in the US. I cut over to George Washington Parkway to finish my drive home & as soon as I turned into Villamay, my neighborhood, there was a police car sitting on the corner. Had the Bad Man from the Badlands been caught? Nope, just sitting there in the shade. I revved the engine several times coming up my street & Mischief & Tracy came out to greet me as I rolled up to our house. Tracy had prepared a welcoming sign "WELLCOME HOME". I guess she forgot to use spellcheck. It was funny. I scratched behind my dog's ears & got a hug & got off the bike done with my trip across America, but not forgotten. Lots of people ask me what my favorite part was & if I would do it again. Driving thru Montana & Wyoming,parts of California, New Mexico & Washington was great, the national parks were awesome, the bison fondue in Missoula & Whitehouse Crawford meals were excellent, just riding thru such a pretty & vast country was something I was glad to experience. Lots of people were real friendly & I especially Thank Gordon, Leslie, Scott, Sue, Lou, Carol, my brother Tony, Tracy & Mischief for helping out & inspiring me on the trip. I would do it again, but only if I'm riding with someone else. I needed somebody to talk over directions, joke with, share the ride & have a drink with at night. But I hope to go back to a number of the places I passed thru & maybe there will be a Mischief's Wild Ride Part Two to share with you. Here's to Wind In Your Face & a cool dry breeze every once in a while. The ride made me appreciate even more what we have here that can't be found anywhere else in the world. Keep the bike up & spirits high. Thanks America for the opportunity to enjoy you first hand.

The Question is-should they dredge Ohio & make it part of Lake Erie? Friday July 1

I drove 336 miles today. After some blueberry pancakes from Carol I left Lou's place & got on 94S towards Detroit. I got on 275S, passed the Tigers Co-America Ball Park & jumped on 75S thru the chemical & manufacturing areas around the city. Lots of very large car plants are closed with empty parking lots. Traffic was moving at 75-80MPH, but it was more civilized than around LA-the cars were probably 60 feet apart instead of 20 ft. I passed the familiar nuclear cooling stacks at Monroe, MI & got on 475S around Toledo, OH. At Rossford, OH I stopped at a Subway & watched a tow truck operator with the local police break into a van & haul it away & somebody in cuffs. As long as it wasn't me it was just entertainment. I passed thru Bowling Green on the way to Findlay, OH & turned east at 224. I rode thru the Ohio countryside, sort of like passing thru Arkansas, but less hills. I passed thru Greenwich, Homerville & Lodi finally entered Akron, OH. I turned south on 277 & passed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. I went east on 172 & thought it would be nice to see part of the countryside so I got on 30E. Lots of hills, forest & turns. It was very pretty, but slow going. It's the kind of road where you come to the top of the hill & you can't tell which direction the road is headed so you can't go too fast. I was sort of concerned about deer too. I pulled into a gravel parking lot in Hanoverton, OH at Pinky's Restaurant-home to "world famous fish, steak, etc., etc." & almost went in to check it out. It was starting to get late & I thought better of it. Good thing I did because I had a lot of twisty road to drive yet before I got out of the woods. I finally linked back up with 172E, passed thru Lisbon, OH & went south on 11 towards East Liverpool, OH. I, being naive, thought it would be nice to spend my last night in East Liverpool vs. going onto Pittsburgh. There was lots of road construction & when I exited the highway I had to drop off a 4" lip on the new asphalt. I stopped on a side street to check out the hotels & had another biker stop & ask if I needed directions. I told him I was looking for a hotel & he said I ought to go to West Virginia instead of staying. I decided to go to the East Liverpool Motor Lodge. Yelp gave it a 3 star rating. I guess that rating was based on Ohio standards, i.e., not very high. I put the bike under the overhang in front & got a room. I had to walk about 75 yards to get to it down a long dingy hallway. My room was OK although I was waiting for crawly things to come out of the bathroom. I went to their restaurant, T-Bone, supposedly the best in the area. Maybe it was, but my salad had spoiled lettuce in it. I almost walked out. Instead I ate my steak then asked one waitress if she would eat that mess. She said no, but didn't apologize. When my regular waitress came by I asked her why she didn't apologize & her response was "Well you didn't ask for another salad so I thought it was OK". I gave her the least amount of a tip of the whole trip. I was feeling a bit edgey so I went into the bar and had 3 Maker's Marks & coke. That settled down my nerves. I'm still going to go on Yelp & let everyone know what happened at that dump. It would not have been so bad, but it still cost me $80 for the night. I did get to play two games of pinball on the way back to the room though. Only one more day to go & I would see my dog, Mischief and Tracy.

Escaping Illinois & Visiting Old Haunts-Thursday June 30

I drove 369 hot miles today. It was hot when I left my brother's place in Antioch, IL and I crossed some side roads to get to 94S. I had to gas up & lather up with suntan lotion at an Oasis north of Chicago. I watcheda guy standing in line for McDonalds actually yell at the counter help since they messed up his order. Must have been having a bad day. Traffic was heavy & moving fast. I had to pay 4 tolls on the way to Chicago, but luckily it was only 80 cents each time (my only tolls of the trip). Stopping to pay tolls on a bike is a nuisance. I don't have a change holder on the bike so I have to dig it out of my pocket each time. Then you have to put change back in your pocket while wearing gloves, taking the bike out of gear & making sure the whole time you don't drop your money. All the while cars are zooming around and it's hot. I finally got around Chicago on 294 & headed for Indiana & east. I passed that lovely city of Gary, IN & turned north into Michigan & followed 94E. I passed Kalamazoo, Paw Paw, Texas, skirted Ann Arbor, passed Superior & hopped on 275N to 696E. Caught a big traffic jam near Ann Arbor & cooked in the sun. After getting on 94N I got off at Garfield Rd. & followed that to 19 Mile Rd. to my friends' Lou & Carol's place. The roads in Michigan seem like they've been bombed with all the holes & bumps in them. Very hard on the bike and dangerous. I parked the bike & we went out to dinner. Lou recently had shoulder surgery so we decided not to get in any fights while we were out. I had a lake perch sandwich & a Michigan Salad that included dried cherries, pineapple, mandarin orange & greens. I was ready to rest for the evening & dream of coming home.

On the Job

I drove 99 miles today and tonight. During the day I drove around with my brother in his pick up. We went to about 10 of his customers and he tried to get them to buy booze. I just went in and looked pretty. We had a great lunch at a place where his boss asked him whether it was a truck stop. I had a very healthy gyro salad. It was another beautiful day. After work we got on the bikes and went north and west on back roads into Wisconsin. Thru hill and dale and by lots of corn fields and trees. We stopped by a little bar at Eagle Spring Lake in Eagle WI and had some very good homemade chicken, corn, northern white beans and green chilis cnili. Oh, BTW also a New Glarus Spotted Cow. We took off to head back and the fire flies were out in full force. What a light show as we sped past them on our Harleys. I think they might be deaf after my brother's bike went by them though. I can't even hear my bike when he is in front of me. We then pulled into KC's so Tony could clean the bugs off his glasses. I don't know how he can ride without a shield. They have outdoor volley ball courts and people sit Round & drink and watch. We had to complete our eating for the day so we had a Chicago style hot dog and a Leinnie Shanty to wash it down. Back on the bikes we headed for home. Got to rack out now so I can help my brother go sell some more booze tomorrow. Maybe we can have some too ;)

Na,Na Rain You Can't get Me, Mystery of the Four Spots & the Shiny Rivet

I drove 261 miles today. I left La Crosse under very dark skies. I got on 90E and tried to put some miles under me before the rain came. They were predicting severe thunderstorms with hail and about 1 to 4 inches of rain. I drove and it got warmer. I finally had to take off the rain gear at a Dairy Queen. I've got to tell you I am mystified as to who trains the youth of today to work in establishments where a friendly greeting and a Thank You goes a long way towards repeat business. It's almost like your bothering some of these kids. Heaven forbid you make them actually work. I guess alot of that can be attributed to the poor job parents do teaching their kids proper manners too. I kept going making good time & decided to go onto Kenosha WI to Uke's Harley dealer to get my oil changed. I could hear the t-shirt snickering "Wimpy bike I haven't had to freshen up yet"). I did catch about 10 drops of rain, but nothing approximating a shower. I then headed back roads to Antioch IL where my brother lives. The one that took a job rather than come on the trip with me. When my brother got home we went out to Ruggan's Bar with his girlfriend & roommate to have a few beers & tapas. The night turned out beautiful & I'm still dry. Everyone looks at the back of my hands & sees 4 round tan spots. They come from the fingerless gloves my brother gave me. It's my tan lines from the 4 holes in each glove. Finally my left hiking boot has one shiny rivet on it because that is where the shift for my bike comes in contact with my boot when shifting gears.

So Dry! Blue Earth, Spam & Please La Crosse Me

I drove 313 miles today. I was on 90E all day. I dressed for it, I waited for it, I was ready, but I am still dry. Maybe tomorrow-they are predicting rain everywhere. No escape :( Don't worry the t-shirt is not sweating it. I got smacked hard in the ear today by a big bug. No slime so I'm not sure what it was but it hurt. I stopped in Blue Earth, seriously, to see the 60 foot high Jolly Green Giant. It's called Blue Earth because the soil is supposedly so rich. I couldn't resist-I saw the sign to visit the Spam Museum in Austin MN.

It was great & I got 3 free samples fresh off the grill-hickory smoked, garlic & Hot & Spicy! They had great displays, a movie & trivia studio about Spam & I got to put on an actual official Hormel uniform. And best of all-it was free! Did you know they make 44,000 cans of Spam an hour! Hawaii eats the most Spam of any state. Spam is real big in Korea & Japan.

After my snack, movie & totally enjoyable museum tour I headed for La Crosse WI. I crossed the Mississippi River & out of Minnesota to La Crosse.

I walked downtown to Fayzes & ate-guess what? Another walleye dinner. This was the best yet. I walked down to the river after dinner by the many bars (La Crosse was in the Guiness World Book of records as the highest bar per capita ratio in the world). I finally settled in at the Bodega Brew Pub, home of 400+ beers. I had several including a New Glarus Fat Squirrel Brown. I traded jokes with the bartender & then headed back to my room to put the T-shirt down for the evening. Tomorrow watch for Wet & Wild in Wisconsin.

Ducks, Nervous Nellies & Fish(ing) on My Mind

I drove 305 miles today. As I was about to load the bike this morning a brief sheer came thru. I didn't want to get down the road & get caught so I started out w/my rain gear on. I took 73S to 44E & before I got to White River I was out of my rain gear. The ride was fast & the scenery was mostly of open range with lots of cattle & horses. All the rivers & streams I passed were muddy & many over their normal banks. I took 83S at White River & then 18W at Mission. I tried to get something to eat there, but I couldn't bring myself to eat anything I saw. What do these people eat? I kept going east at Winner the "Pheasant Capital of the World" on 44E again.

There were ponds all along the road & lots of ducks. I came down a steep hill & passed over the Very wide & swollen Missouri & entered Platte SD.

Apparently they are catching some big walleye now. I wanted to go fishing, but I had to ride. Only light clouds up to this point. I must of passed. by 200 bikes thru this stretch since this was the best weather they've had this season. I stopped to take photos of some horses, but they were leary & curious about me at the same time. They shook their heads & pranced.

I took 19N at Parker to 42E to Sioux Falls SD. I asked the desk clerk at Red Roof Inn if he knew of a place that had fresh walleye (fish were still on my mind).

He told me to go to Wild Sage, which I did. The walleye was great, the sweet potato fries & the pear marinated in reisling trifle were scrumpous & I topped it off w/a Minnesota Grainbelt Premium brew.

All ends well that rides straight & doesn't fall over.

More on the Bad Man in the Badlands-Friday June 24, 2011

I drove up to the toll attendant & told him I couldn't get a ticket & asked him about the weather in the Badlands. He said the area was under a storm watch & he wouldn't go out there on a bike as there is no protection. He let me drive around the gate to get out. This made me think a bit & then I decided to run like a bad man in the Badlands. I was going to outrun those storm clouds. What the heck Scenic SD was only an hour away & I could hold up there if necessary. The clouds were mean & threatening to the north & south & behind me. After an hour I got to Scenic & it wasn't there. No buildings, nada. I knew I better run fast cuz the punishment was bearing down on me. I entered Badlands National Park & left it 5 minutes later. Then I saw the loop road thru the park, but it was 25 miles of gravel. Maybe next time.

I stopped by a pond to put on my rain gear & one duck in particular was none too happy about it & quacked at me the whole time I was there. The sky was very dramatic behind me. I passed Interior SD at Cowboy Corner store to stretch. There was a sign for a local bar that said "All Bikers Must Stop". I got into Wall SD & re-entered the park. It started to sprinkle. Maybe I was going to get wet. At one view point a lady with a pair of binoculars near me said she thought she saw 3 Big Horn sheep.

She was correct. I left the park, got to Kodoka SD & found a hotel. The sky was really dark by now.

I ate at the Happy Chef (not) & the wind, lightening & rain came violently. But my bike was safe under the overhang at the hotel. This bad man lives to see another day.

What a Rush (more) & a Bad Man In the Badlands

I drove 258 miles today. I left Sundance with the sun shining down on me. I got on 14E towards Spearfish SD and got off to see the sights, I thought. They were digging up main street & the gas attendant told me on the other side of main I'd find the historical district. I drove it & it wasn't there. Nothing old, nothing historic. I got back on 14E & drove to Sturgis SD. First I stopped at the Harley dealer & made my first t-shirt purchase of the trip.

I drove thru the streets of this storied town & then headed out on a recommended ride from the Harley dealer. It was alternatively sunny & overcast & I thought it would rain, but not yet it didn't. I took 170/135/26S to Nemo, Nemo Rd. to 173 to 44W to 385S to 16A to Mt. Rushmore. You ride thru the little town of Keystone which is full of tourist trap places. As you approach the site it looms out of nowhere to tantalize you with it's image. Parking is $11 but hey you don't have a choice if you want to see it relatively close. The four presidents are magnificent.

Lots of people but not too bad. I left after an hour & took 16 back to Rapid City & then 44E. The skies looked real mean to the north. I was undecided whether I should head for the Badlands or not. I stopped in the Rapid City Airport to check out the weather. I figured who better than the airport to know the weather. Well the guy at the United counter said there wasn't any severe weather warnings. I was unable to get the toll gate to trigger for my Harley so I didn't have a ticket to get out. The first 20 minutes were free anyway. More on the next post.

Road Work, Antelope & another great ride

I drove 350 miles today. And I had to waited 4 times for road construction today. It is no fun riding on a road that has just been stripped so it can be resurfaced. It's like driving in snow. I have had to stop about 20 times on this trip so far. I hope those stimulus dollars are helping. I took 16/14/20E out of Cody until Greybull WY where a highway sign said 14 on the way to Sheridan WY was closed in 30 miles in both directions because of a landslide. I headed south on 16/20 to Worland WY and then 16E towards Buffalo WY. I continued east on 16 passing thru the well known town of Ten Sleep WY. There were stretches of road where there were no services for 78 miles. This strip turned out to be a Wild Tour Loop-meaning lots of wild animals. I stopped to take pictures of some Prong Horn Antelope. They were right alongside the road. Soon I started seeing small herds of them numbering 10 to 15. I must of seen well over 100 during the day. Amazingly pretty and very skittish. at Buffalo WY I got on 16/90E towards Gillette WY. There were Prong Horn all over the place. I finally worked my way to Sundance WY and called it an evening. Today was another beautiful warm day. I had to get down to the t-shirt for most of the day. Loads of bugs too. Tomorrow I head for Rapid City SD and onto Mt. Rushmore. They're predicting thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow.

Wednesday June 22 continued

I finally got to the western part of Cody and pulled into the Big Bear Motel. I negotiated my rate. I have found out on this trip if a hotel is not full you can negotiate a lower rate by just asking. I have been able to lower the rates by up to $20 a night. I asked for a dining recommendation & they sent me to Cassie's. I had 2 Moose Drool Browns and a 16 ounce Bison t-bone for dinner. I traded jokes with two guys at the bar & the bartender, Ruth. I was told that a combination out of state hunting license in Montana for white tail deer/mule deer/moose/antelope/elk costs $1000. It will cost another $3000 for 4 to 6 days of hunting. Wow. In 1987 I took my Dad to Wyoming for 10 days of elk hunting on horse back and it cost $2500 for both of us. They had live music at Cassie's while there was a band at the Buffalo Bar next door. The cowboys like to have a good time. I didn't realize it until it was too late but they have a rodeo everynnight in Cody from June 4th until August. If I'd known that I would have gone. I must say each day riding thru the west makes me realize how beautiful a country we have and that we should enjoy. I did some wash tonight but the t-shirt was having none of it. It actually smells mountain fresh. Tomorrow I head towards Rapid City SD to go see Mt. Rushmore. Sweet dreams t-shirt.