Jun 26 – Phone Batteries & The National Motorcycle Museum

Some of you may recall my cell phone battery went south after the beating it took in New Brunswick’s crazy rain storm. Since then I’ve been asking nearly every store about replacements but until today I’d had zero luck finding one. Mac knew about an outfit by the name of BatteriesPlus not far from his home so we drove to it and they installed a new one. The sales gal said to let it charge for 8 hours or so and I’m hoping it will do the trick. As I write this it’s been on the charger for nearly 4 hours yet still displays the message that says it needs charging… Guess it’s back to the store first thing in the morning. Bummer!
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Mac had wanted me to see the National Motorcycle Museum which is close by so off we went; me with my camera in hand and Mac patiently waiting while I took shot after shot. It’s really a great place, two floors of older bikes of all types ranging in age from modern bikes to many going back to the turn of last century. There are street bikes, racing bikes, streamliners, dirt bikes, sidecar rigs, even motor scooters plus tons of collectable items like posters and clothing items. Some of the most interesting ones were celebrity bikes that were owned by Steve McQueen and Evel Knievel. Movie star bikes like the Easy Rider chopper were also present. We were there a long time but it would probably take a couple of days to see it all. If you’re ever in Anamosa, Iowa and love bikes be sure to add this place to your list of things to see.
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After we left the museum we headed over to Joe O’Conner’s for a visit. Joe had ridden with Mac when he came to meet me in Bellingham for our Alaska ride last year. He was home dog-sitting his granddaughter’s fuzzy-faced little yapper, one of those hyperactive small breeds that are a ball of energy. I liked him a lot but he made Joe nervous with his running and jumping so he ended up in his crate. Poor baby. At least the weather is still very warm but not hot like it’s been for the past couple of days and it’s a welcome change.
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I’m heading out tomorrow in a westward direction, again meandering to my next destination, North Platte, NE. A couple of years ago Linda and I listened to an audio book about the role women played in the North Platte USO during World War II. Later we watched a special presentation on TV about the very same USO organization and now I find myself directly in line with that city. At the rate I travel it will probably take me a couple of days to get there but I’m very keen on seeing it. If you’ve never heard about it here’s a link you can follow for more information. It was a wonderful group of people, both men and women who worked the train stop USO club and eventually helped thousands of servicemen feel better. http://history.sandiego.edu/GEN/WW2Timeline/canteen.html
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Lisa fixed us another tasty dinner this evening so we’re all stuffed and kicked back relaxing. The chain on El Nino has been oiled, the GPS route for tomorrow has been programmed, and things couldn’t be looking better.

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I even have new socks!

Jun 25 - The Great Hot Ride to Robins, Iowa

Knoxville is the home of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and I was a happy camper to find it was open this morning. I was the first visitor so I had the entire place to myself for a couple of hours.

I’ve only been to one World of Outlaws race but it was one of the most exciting events I’ve ever seen. The noise and speed coupled with dirt flying everywhere gets your heart pumping like no other kind of racing.

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After touring the museum I set out for Robins via as many small towns & back roads as possible. Places like Tama and Palo which barely make it onto the map offer intriguing sites and small restaurants for the casual traveler to sample. Cows were seen standing hip deep in river water in an attempt to beat the scorching sun. I wouldn’t have minded joining them. Old barns and bridges are one of my favorite subjects for photos and little towns provide lots of opportunities. Farm lands like Iowa cornfields are another. Small town main streets are always interesting too, you can’t help wondering what keeps some of them going.
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Riding out of Palo I came to a road closed sign and that really threw a wrench into Garmin’s sense of directions. After spending the better part of an hour riding in endless circles trying to find an alternate route I found myself parked in front of the road closed sign again wondering what to do. Another rider soon showed up, a local guy on a sports bike and he stopped to talk.

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We were thinking about riding around the barrier when all of a sudden a guy in a pickup drives through from the other side. He yelled at us that we could make it if we wanted to as they were only paving the road and no one was working right then. He’d no sooner left when a young gal came blazing through from the same way only instead of driving around the orange barrier she went over the top on one end, hooked up part of it on her bumper and was dragging it towards us as she sped by. We both yelled at her but she just gave us an evil look and kept going full speed ahead. Lucky for us the barrier detached itself a few feet from us. We decided it was time to make the run so off we went.

I’d only ridden a short distance when I became aware of a certain inability to focus and realized I was still wearing the reading glasses I’d donned to look at my map. Duh… With my sunglasses on I returned to the business of finding Robins. The GPS was still confused and I soon found myself in a huge nameless metro area. Stopping for a moment to reorganize I asked one of the locals where I was. You get some very strange looks sometimes when you ask that sort of thing. “Cedar Rapids” he said. OK I thought; I can do this so I set up a new trip on the GPS with Mac & Lisa’s address as the destination.

With only a couple of minor hitches it got me to their street but not their house. Seems that when the addresses and street names were established whoever does those things must have been in a joking mood. It’s one of those “you can’t get there from here” moments but eventually with lots of riding through different neighborhoods I found them. "You can run but you can't hide" came to mind.

Dang was I ever hot and sweaty. Dehydration is always an issue when temps run above 80 so I carry a couple of bottles of water with me. That paid double dividends today, without them I’d have really cooked.

After brief greetings I headed to the shower for a quick rinse off and then it was time for a long overdue G&T with lots of ice. Mac had been expecting me to arrive yesterday and had laid in an ample supply of all the right stuff. What a deal for me, friends like these two are the best. Lisa fixed a great dinner, pot roast, potatoes, carrots, onions, the works. This is what I call comfort food and after all the Big Macs I’d had lately it was most welcome fare. We sat around afterwards nibbling on ice cream with fresh strawberries and caught up on what we’ve been up too recently. I like these guys.

Tomorrow it’s supposed to be hot again.

Jun 24 - Missouri back roads to Knoxville, Iowa

Last night was almost too exciting for David, Noah, and I. David and I were standing in his kitchen talking and I noticed what I thought were lightning flashes going off. I mentioned it to him but he thought I was probably seeing lightning bugs which made sense at the time. A few minutes later he saw the flashes too and we stepped out onto his front porch for a look. It had started raining so hard it was difficult to see, huge torrents falling nearly straight down on his car. The lightning was distant at the moment but we could see it getting brighter. This was a little before 10:00pm and since our day had been a long one we decided to cave in and go to bed.
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David was letting me use his bedroom on the main floor and he was bunking with Noah downstairs. As I lay in bed I began to count the seconds between lightning flashes and they averaged around 2 seconds. Think about it, the lightning flashes, not the thunder. They seemed to be getting closer and more violent by the minute and before long they were hitting not far away. Just about the time I thought I might close the drapes to the patio a huge bolt hit one of the poplar trees in the backyard peeling the bark off of it from the top to the bottom. This was a substantial tree, not some little wussy thing and I was looking directly at it when it happened. Sparks of lightning went everywhere accompanied with flying bark and a small fire struggled to ignite part of it. The heavy rain prevented any real fire from starting but it was pretty scary to see.

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Both David and Noah came running upstairs to see what had happened so we all gathered at the patio door to look. The storm continued and since the tree looked like it wasn’t going to come down we went back to bed. I lay there listening and watching for awhile longer, then closed the drapes and called it a day again. Within an hour or so the storm had moved on without further damage.
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This morning David and I had breakfast at The Corner Café near his home and afterwards we said our goodbyes and I headed north towards Iowa. The sun was out and it was a gorgeous day for riding. My route took me through more back roads and small villages, avoiding the big freeways as much as possible. When I spotted something interesting or unusual I stopped for photos and I’ve posted a few of them above. The camels really caught my eye and after doing a double take I U-turned and headed back for a shot of them. It was very strange to be riding along in the northern end of Missouri and see a barnyard with camels in it.
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Lunch was at Betsy’s Café in a small town where I had their special, fried chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, corn & biscuits. It all tasted great going down but my gut was on fire a couple of hours later, too much chicken fat I think. Coffee with free refills was a mere $.61. Can you believe that?
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I continued on a zigzag pattern of small country roads for the balance of the afternoon and when I reached Knoxville, Iowa I gave it up and checked into the local Super-8 motel. It was hot as heck out and their air conditioning works like a champ so I was done for the day. Tomorrow I’ll be at Mac & Lisa’s in Robins, IA for a reunion visit. We’ve been talking a little about another ride north on our sidecars next year so who knows, maybe we’ll figure something out.

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Dinner? A Big Mac of course...

Jun 23 – Hanging out in KC & El Nino gets new tires

Ten thousand miles is a fair amount of mileage for motorcycle tires and that’s what the set on El Nino was approaching. The ride to Nova Scotia had accumulated nearly 8000 so far and that doesn’t include the trip to central Oregon or the miles spent riding around prior to leaving.

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Bottom line is it was time for a new set and Kansas City was as good a place as any. David called the local Kawasaki dealer, Advantage Powersports and they had a set of Michelin Pilots which they could install today. Their price for the tires was competitive but I thought $127.00 for mounting and balancing the two tires was a bit over the top. Of course I crabbed about it and got the expected response of “Yeah, it does seem high but we can’t change it.” OK, so I’m cheap but I still think it was excessive. I guess I’m spoiled by our local Yamaha dealer at home who charges $20 per tire. Anyway, I’m happy they were available and the deed’s done so I’m ready to move on. Arrrggghhhh!

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The past couple of days I've been riding with just the Bohn armored shirt up top which is made of a loose weave material. Sort of like cheese cloth only with larger holes so now I'm sporting a very odd suntan on my arms. Like a tattoo gone bad perhaps...

We left the bike at the shop and since I was missing my McDonald's fix we stopped at the nearest one for an early lunch or extended breakfast, take your pick. Finished with that we headed back to David’s place where we spent awhile laying out tomorrow’s ride towards Robins, IA, home of my friends Mac & Lisa. Some of you will recall Mac and I rode our sidecars to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska last summer and they had invited me to stop by for a visit.

This afternoon we picked up the bike and then bought chain oil at Lowe's; not where I would expect to find it but the http://www.webbikeworld.com/ web site said so and so it was. I guess that’s why they’re one of my favorite sites, eh? Once we were home again we oiled the chain and put El Nino away for the night. The new tires are made with a softer rubber compound and really stick well; I think I’m going to like them a lot.

Dinner this evening was a real treat; we went to Arthur Bryant’s Barbecue, a place I’d seen as part of an NPR show highlighting America’s best barbecue places. The show aired several months ago and after watching it I went on line and ordered a dozen bottles of their sauce. Who would have known I’d be eating dinner in that very restaurant today? I ate way too much and drank a lot of Bud, something I’m not used to so now I’m feeling bloated. Just deserts…

After dinner David drove us around town and gave me a wonderful guided tour of Kansas City. We saw lots of the older turn of the century buildings and more modern sights like a bust of Charlie Bird, one of Kansas City’s most famous sons. It’s a great place to visit especially if you know someone like him who’s well versed in the city’s history.

I’m a lucky guy. Boy is it ever hot today. Phew...

Jun 22 – On to Kansas City - It's getting hot out there

Early morning heat was an indicator of things to come today. The sky was clear and the weather people were predicting the same all the way to Kansas City. Once the bike was loaded I didn’t waste any time getting on the road, it was the only way I was going to stay half way cool.

Not long into the ride I stopped to visit the Missouri Mines historic site. After seeing the giant elevator rig over the mine entrance I tried to imagine what it must have been like to ride that baby down into the bowels of the earth. It was depressing just thinking about it and once again I counted my blessings for the life of relative ease my career had provided. I’d worked hard to earn a living but nothing like what those miners must have faced.
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On a happier note I stopped to watch farmers in the field mowing hay. The summer smells were all around and I was transported back to a childhood when I spent summers on my Grandma’s dairy farm. At the time I didn’t particularly like it as there were no other kids to play with and I spent my days keeping an eye on a bunch of dumb cows chewing their cuds. Eventually my family moved into town and my herding days were over.
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The temperature continued to rise throughout the day and I stopped often for water and a stretch. The route I’d chosen on the map actually ran on 4-lane highways quite a bit which surprised me. When I set it up I thought it would be mostly on little 2-lane back roads but that proved not to be the case. I was riding with my visor up wearing my sunglasses and occasionally I collided with a really large juicy bug. A couple of them were especially yucky to the point I had to stop and clean things out. Ugh.

I arrived at my friend David Hutson’s house in Kansas City in late afternoon, hot and dry and ready for a cool G&T. I finally got to meet his son Noah, an up and coming Kart racer who’s been winning most of his races lately. I like him, he’s a nice kid and I think a lot of that is due to the special relationship he has with his dad. Later David cooked up some really great steaks on the barbeque and we had a super dinner accompanied with appetizers, salad, and a nice red wine.

Not a bad way to finish the day.

Jun 21 – Happy Fathers Day Dudes!

I started the morning with my Nike T-shirt on inside-out. Izzat cool or what? A nice lady from Scotland pointed it out to me while I was wolfing down my Raisin Bran in the motel breakfast room. I guess the other people liked it, maybe viewed it as a fashion statement? Us guys from Oregon are so hip, eh? So why does Nike make their logo the same on both sides of their dang T-shirts?

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The talking heads on TV said the local temp was 80 degrees at 6:00am, high expected to be 92+ which sounded like a really good reason to get the heck out of the area. As soon as I finished eating I packed it up and headed out. My general direction was towards Kansas City, MO where I expect to hook up with a bud and lay low for a day or so.

Since it’s so hot I’m carrying 2 water bottles instead of 1 and I’m riding a lot slower so the bike doesn’t have to work as hard. Today I wore just the Bohn armor shirt by itself and the pants underneath my Levis. It’s not the best setup for protective gear but it’s better than plain old T-shirts like the locals seem to favor. I doubt any of them have had the pleasure of an unscheduled dismount yet. As soon as they do they’ll be wearing all the gear just like me. Or maybe not riding at all?

I still haven’t found a new battery for my cell phone but it seems to work when it’s plugged in. That’s the pits but maybe I’ll find one in Kansas City tomorrow. Speaking of which today’s ride was not all that long, something on the order of 240 miles so I’m still 348 from Kansas City. In this heat I may not ride that far so it may be Tuesday before I get there. No big deal, my schedule is open, eh?

Hey, how about the food report! Breakfast was at the motel which I’ve already touched on. Raisin Bran & fat city mini-pastries, etc. Lunch was another matter. There’s a restaurant chain in the south called The Waffle House that I sort of got addicted to during my working years when I spent a lot of time in Atlanta. Today I figured I’d hook up with one of them for lunch so when I spotted one I pulled in, parked, took a photo just to prove they really exist, and waltzed in for a waffle fix. After waiting 30 minutes for my waffle to arrive and watching the only two cooks leave the work area for their “lunch break” I decided I could wait until another time for my waffle. What a bunch of clods those idiots were, but hey, that’s their prerogative, maybe they already have all the business they need. I cancelled my order, paid for the milk I’d drunk and moved along to the next available lunch source, the one with the big yellow arches. Mmm… No waiting in their places.

The balance of the day’s ride was evenly divided between back roads and the slab. One thing I noticed about Illinois was the lack of appropriate facilities at their rest stops. Maybe the presence of large trees precluded the necessity for anything else? Hey, it worked for me, I’m accustomed to stepping behind a large tree and the one I used today was very large indeed.

Moving along towards Missouri I spotted a truly elaborate sign beckoning the weary traveler to stop for a moment of relaxation. The part I liked best was the “’Who’s Ur Daddy” I'm so easily entertained... Unfortunately I was on the wrong side of the road so all I could do was photograph the sign and move along.

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I arrived in the city of Farmington, MO in late afternoon and decided this was as good a place as any to spend the night. The monster Super 8 sign was 10 feet higher than anyone else’s so I opted for their place. Hey, it pays to advertise. Besides I hadn’t stayed at one of their places for awhile and their prices are low, low, low.

I checked in, unloaded El Nino, oiled the chain and put her to bed for the night. Email was the next item on my to-do list and then it was dinner time. An Italian restaurant was conveniently located within easy walking distance so the choice was simple. My meal was OK but not memorable, probably due to the huge quantity of steamed broccoli that accompanied the chicken breast. I mean, how much broccoli can one person consume in a lifetime? Assuming you’re not a goat? Think about it.