Still Wandering

Spent a couple of days in Hobart Indiana mooching from my brother in-law Al and his wife Janice.Visited with our nieces Jenni (who was so excited to see me she broke her ankle in a couple of places!) Michelle and their daughters Katie and Megan. We then headed to Minneapolis for a visit with our neice Lisa. A nice dinner, a death march down town in the incredible heat and humidity, then a tour of the Walker exhibit. Betty and I hopped on the Harley and rode 40 or 50 miles to find the dealer closed for the weekend.

Monday am we headed north through the kazillion lakes up to US route 2 and on to devils Lake. Big suprise, the flooding is still going on causing a detour south on 25 miles of mud where there was a highway to Jamestown, ND aka Buffalo city. This am we broke out the bike for some touring, then loaded up and headed for Bismarck to set up our tent, We toured the river Missiouri River area and found more flooding. On to Miles City Mt tomorrow.

Wandering west

Betty and I have putted along on back roads from Hampstead, NC to Boone NC for a short visit and to spend the night. Next day we continued on US 421 retracing my trip with my buddies to Shady Valley and the infamous "Snake". The snake is one of my favorite ride I have made, even in my truck! We continued on secondary roads through Tennessee and Kentucky with a stop and a hike up to the Natural bridge. We spent a night in Frankfort, Kentucky, then on to mooch off our great brother and sister in laws Jan and Al in Hobart Indiana. We broke out the bike for a nice afternoon ride and visited with our nieces Jeni, Michelle, Megan and Kati.

Heading out on US 30 W we tried to bypass the horrible traffic and construction around Chicago with only partial success. We had a nice dinner in Minneapolis with our niece Lisa who has just opened her own Law firm. Today we will hike in the am then ride the bike this afternoon.

Heading Back to Montana and Wyoming

Last years trip though Montana and Wyoming did not allow time to explore. Loaded up and headed back in the morning.

On the road again!

Heading for the Caribbean probably Wednesday the 26th of December.

New Blog has been set up at caribbeancruzin.blogspot.com

Lots of time at sea between posts and internet access!

Final Map

This is the final map of my 15,821 mile trip to Alaska and back.

Close Encounters with a Canteloupe

Sunrise

Yep sunrise found me on the road again! Starting an 5 AM, I headed east on a Bunburner/Saddlesore 1,000 mile/1,500 rides. The first one in 24 hours, the second in 36 hours.

I left Presho, South Dakota and swung south into Iowa and Nebraska. Large thunder storm cells moved from the west to east, cleaning a lot of the bugs my bike and rain gear had accumulated. At least it was cool. I headed down to Kansas City, then on to Saint Lewis. Crossing the Mississippi, I rode across Illinois and Indiana.

This was looking over my shoulder in Indiana as it set. The ride through Kentucky to Frankfort was great until I stopped to look for a room. I covered about 40 miles then gave up and slept for an hour and a half or so at my bike. Hitting the road again, I started hitting increasingly heavier fog. Driving on I saw an orange light ahead. It kept getting bigger and coming over one hill, I broke through the fog and found that the weird light was actually the moon coming up. It hung just above the mountains and looked unreal, like someone had hung a canteloupe in the sky.

I dropped back down in the fog and rode until I couldn't see the road. After another nap in a rest area, I headed into Charleston, West Virgina and stopped for breakfast. Following that, a sprint over the mountains and down to the beach and Home! This ride was 1,793.5 miles in 31 and a half hours. My total mileage was 15,894 for the 48 days. A disappointment at the end was my good buddy Dave was following me on spot and headed up to meet me with a cold beer. Spot can be delayed up to 20 minutes so he missed me. I went and collected this morning. Great trip, I'm planning another trip to Sturgis and the area around it for next year.

This Blog is now complete.

Ron

Sturgis and Mt Rushmore

I finally left Wyoming and headed to South Dakota. More than 350 vendors were set up in Sturgis and the early arriving bikers were everywhere. Workers were preparing for the 800,000 plus riders expected. One bar has 400 waitresses working at a time. They make $800-$1200 each for a four hour shift. I asked the Organizers what were the dates of the event? They responded it actually starts the first of August with the official kick-off the first full weekend.

Betty and I are considering visiting next year. This rally has not only incredible entertainment, huge bars to enjoy a few while people watching, but numerous incomparable rides, guided fishing trips, Yellowstone, the Bad Lands Mt Rushmore and the Devil Tower to visit. The is by far the best biker rally to attend.
While walking down the street viewing activities, I ran into my friends from Wilminton. We walked for a while then had a token beer before we split up.