Midwest travels

We traveled over 1600 miles on our way to the BMW rally in Sedalia, MO and saw only a handful of motorcycles along the way. Today we passed several BMW riders, and rode for an hour or so with four guys from the Chicago area. It's a small world:  one of the guys has a friend in Vermont, and he's been through Rutland just north of our home in Manchester. Another guy travels through Valpo, IN for business. I grew up in Valpo, and that's where we headed today. We had fun speeding along the flat highway among fields of corn and soy beans and through small towns with the other riders until they pulled off for breakfast, and we continued on our way.

We crossed the Mississippi River in Louisiana, MO riding over a beautiful 2-lane, 5-span truss bridge built in 1928.

Once into Illinois, we rode through more flat farmland, reminding me of my cousins' farm in NW Indiana. It's mesmorizing to watch miles of flat fields that stretch to the horizon pass by, broken periodically by a solitary farmhouse, a row of trees along a creek, or massive grain elevators. It was somewhat shocking to suddenly see hundreds of windmills - technically called  wind turbines - near Bloomington and Normal, IL. This is the largest wind farm project in Illinois, and it produces enough power for 54,000 homes each year.

As we rode closer to Chicago the traffic increased. I grew up in northwest Indiana, close to Chicago, and I always forget just how congested the roads are in this part of the country. It was stop and go the entire way on Route 30 through Chicago Heights, Dyer, and Merrillville; and there was more traffic than I remember as we neared Valpo. Every time I drive here I get confused about where I am; not really lost, but my landmarks are either gone completely or updated so they're not recognizable.

We rode through farmland and cities in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana today on our first day headed East. Four more states and a lot more miles are in front of us before we finish the trip on Tuesday.

Hot day at the BMW rally

We spent the day walking around the BMW rally at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia. On day five of our trip, the weather remained hot and sunny. The BMW planning committee did an awesome job planning for the weather, with big industrial fans placed outside at key locations, fans with a water mist system along the sidewalk where the outside vendors were located, four airconditioned buildings for the mjaority of the vendors, free water bottles, and the closing ceremonies inside another large, airconditioned stadium.

Mike's goal today was to purchase custom-molded earplugs to cut down on the noise while riding, and we also wanted to look at mesh motorcycle pants. He worked with the helpful guys at Fit-Ear and immediately noticed the lack of wind or engine noise on our ride back to the hotel. If they feel comfortable tomorrow on our 8-9 hour ride to northwest Indiana, he's hooked.

On our search for mesh pants, we ran into the guys from Celtic Rider, who were excited when they realized we have a tour booked with them starting 'Tuesday next' as they put it. The weather in Ireland is going to be a lot different than the heat and humidity we've experienced in the Midwest, and we're looking forward to cooler temperatures, lots of twisty roads, and remembering to ride on the left.

Just as I left the Celtic Rider booth, I ran into David, who rode with us into Sedalia yesterday. He spent last night camping at the Rally and was having a wonderful time meeting people and buying equipment for his extended ride out West. We were hoping to see him again before we left, and look forward to reading his blog about his trip.

Mike. Lynn and David

As we waited for our lunch order at Lefty's Countryside Diner, located in the Fairgrounds, we chatted with the two women working there. Once again we found friendly people as well as satisfying food. They work 12 hour plus days during the Rally, and yet they were happy and interested in hearing about our trip.

We tried on mesh pants from two different companies, and settled on the Recon Mesh pants from Olympia Moto Sports. Hopefully they'll feel as cool tomorrow as they did tonight on the short ride back to the hotel. Plus they have extra pockets, which always come in handy. We shipped our black motorcycle pants home since we have limited luggage space on the bike, and hope they arrive before we leave for Ireland.

We took a break mid-day at the Dairy Queen across the street from the Fairgrounds. I grew up going to the local DQ, and it's fun to stop by when we're in the Midwest. Once again, BMW riders were welcomed.

We ended the day by watching the first act of the evening's entertainment, Sh-Boom, a Missouri-based band that plays music from the '50's, '60's, and '70's. The four-part harmony of the old favorites had everyone smiling, and when one of the band dressed as Elvis for two songs, it made the evening.

This was our first BMW Rally, but it won't be our last. Next time we'll arrive a day earlier, and hopefully the weather won't be as hot and we'll go for some group rides around the local area.

The people we meet along the road

Sometimes the ride is all about the road:  twisting through the White Mountains in New Hampshire; following winding, narrow roads along the rivers in Vermont; zooming up and down the hairpin turns in the Alps.

Other times the ride is about the scenery:  gazing from the top of the Green Mountains over the forested valleys; crossing wide rivers like the Ohio and Mississippi with their ferry and barge traffic; looking out over the brown fields that stretch unbroken to the horizon in the plains in Missouri.

Often Mike and I ride alone, but today we had fun riding with David Waldrip, a BMW rider from Georgia who is also heading to the BMW rally in Sedalia, MO. We met David last night at the hotel, shared dinner and lively conversation, and decided to ride together today.

Sharing a love of motorcycle riding seems to bring people together. We immediately have a common point to start conversation, and that flowed into talking about life, discussing books and authors, recommendations for equipment and gear, and even about our life philosophy. It seems like much of our conversation with strangers is superficial, but put everyone on a motorcycle, and conversation quickly becomes personal and interesting.

We may not talk while we're riding, but there's communication occuring. I look back to see David riding behind us, he notices when I point out a red-headed bird sitting on a fence post and later tells me it's a common buzzard. When we come to a stop sign, David pulls up next to us and we either exchange a few words about the ride or the turn coming up, or we simply exchange a thumbs-up to share enthusiasm for the twisty, curvy road. We stopped for gas in St. James where I picked up a brochure for the Vacuum Cleaner Museum - who knew someone collected 588 different vacuum cleaners beginning with the first non-electric models from the 19th century? That led to a discussion about Route 66, the historic highway that stretched from Chicago to LA and passed right through St. James. Add a third person to our conversation makes the travel and the day much more rich.

We met another wonderful person when we stopped for lunch in small and dusty St. Elizabeth, population 336. Ms. Kitty's Place looked to be the only place in town open except for the post office.

When we walked inside, we were greeted by several people seated at the round tables or at the bar. We made for a strange and interesting sight:  three hot and sweaty people wearing motorcycle pants and boots, carrying high-visibility yellow motorcycle jackets and helmets. Ms. Kitty herself waited on us, recommending either the cheeseburger or special prime rib platter as the house specialties, and proudly telling us that everything was homemade.

Ms. Kitty and her three daughters - Debbie, Becky, and Shelley - plus a grandson run the restaurant. She confirmed that she made the chunky applesauce herself, and I believed her because it tasted just like my Grandma Michael's applesauce. The sliced tomatoes in the salad and on the cheeseburger came from her garden. She not only cooked the food and waited on customers, she talked with us about riding motorcycles and her life in Missouri. The sign on the wall:  "Through these doors walk the best people in the world - our customers" and her infectious smile made us truly feel welcome.

When we reached the BMW rally at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, we found ourselves in the middle of motorcycle and BMW fever.

We chatted with the vendors, talked with people we met walking along the busy street filled with motorcycles, and stopped by the Vermont MOA camping area to share stories of our trips to Missouri, riding in Vermont, and the pros and cons of camping.

Riding a motorcycle makes us part of a community of riders.

Breakfast in Kentucky, Lunch in Illinois, Dinner in Missouri

Three meals in three different states is a fun way to spend a day. We started in Bowling Green, KY with breakfast at the Fairfield Inn. There was a long line for waffles, but no one was waiting for the individual containers of red grapefruit. I opted for the healthier food with a shorter wait and enjoyed fruit, hard-boiled eggs and a mini-bagel.

The temperature was 83 degrees when we started off at 8:30am, with more dire warnings of excessive heat and humidity speeding us on our way. We stayed off the Interstate system and rode on state highways that wound their way up and down the hills, through forests, and eventually along wide-open farmland with fields planted in corn, wheat and soybeans. Most of the time we had the road to ourselves, with very few cars except in the small towns we periodically passed. I saw churches, or signs for churches just down the road, at what seemed like every intersection. It was a lot more fun for both of us on these rural roads, and we thoroughly enjoyed the morning.

We stopped for gas and directions in Madisonville, KY and once again met friendly people interested in our trip. Almost everyone asks us where we're from, and many of them seem to have no idea that Vermont is a state, or where it's located. I finally started explaining that 'we live north of NYC' and that seems to satisfy their curiosity.

When I plotted our route for today, I knew we'd cross the Ohio River into Illinois, but I didn't realize we'd make the trip via ferry.

Illinois was our second state for the day, and it wasn't long before we started looking for a place to eat lunch. The towns were even smaller and more empty here than earlier in the day in Missouri, but we had a run of luck in Golconda, IL, right on the Ohio River. We found one restaurant in the three blocks of the downtown area:  Sweetwater Bar with the motto 'Hunters, Boaters, Bikers all meets where the water is sweet'. We sat inside at a picnic table, enjoying the air-conditioning along with atmosphere that my father would have loved, especially the boat labeled 'Early Times' hanging from the ceiling. Mike noticed they had Jaegermeister on tap, but we skipped it in favor of water for me and RC Cola for Mike - they don't carry Pepsi or Coke. The hamburgers were delicious and the waitress friendly and efficient. Thank goodness we stopped here, because we rode for many more miles before coming to another town.

We crossed the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau, MO, catching a glimpse of the soaring spans of the bridge long before we actually rode over it.

I felt like I was baking in an oven the last two hours of today's trip as the temperature rose to 105.8 degrees at one point. The heat was bearable while we were moving, but every time we stopped at a stop light, or to wait for a car in front of us to make a left-hand turn, the heat became oppressive. When we reached our hotel in Farmington, MO and I peeled off my motorcycle gear, I really wasn't surprised to find the inside of my motorcycle pants were damp with sweat. Thank goodness I wore shorts made from technical fabric, because they were soaking wet. This part of the Midwest has been 8-15 degrees warmer than usual the past few days, with no relief in sight. An airconditioned room and cool shower made both of us feel better.

The final meal of the day was a 5-minute walk from the hotel, recommended by Brett, the friendly and helpful person working at the front desk. When we came back from dinner, there was a BMW 1200GS with Georgia license plates parked right behind us. We saw six motorcycles today, to our surprise the most that we've seen on this trip.

Tomorrow we have a 3-hour ride to Sedalia, site of the BMW rally. Let's hope my clothing and motorcycle gear dries out overnight.

Mountain tops and valleys

We slept in this morning, starting our trip to Bowling Green, KY at 9am. Mike plotted today's route, starting on Route 119 south, turning onto 23 north, and then onto 80 heading southwest. The road twisted up and down through the Allegheny Mountains. We gazed at green trees that cover every surface and incredibly steep local roads that wind in and out of the hills. Tall, rocky cliffs hugged the road and a few times we caught sight of coal mining operations.

We followed the signs for 80 off the main highway, and were treated to a narrow 2-lane road that wound along the bottom of the mountains, twisting its way through green, wet trees covered with kudzu. Every mile or so we'd pass a small group of homes and a church, but never an actual town. Finally we found a town as we turned into Hyden and ate lunch at the local Subway where the man at the counter told us the area was under a tornado watch for the rest of the day.

kudzu-covered trees and shrubs

The morning was the best part of today, as we spent the rest of the day on 4-lane parkways that took us from the steep hills of West Virginia into the open, rolling farmland of southern Kentucky. We rode through a few small rain storms, but when the sky turned black and we saw lightning, we pulled off the highway onto a side road and ended up at a family grocery store. The store was closed, but the owner let us park the bike and shelter under the awning, and even gave us a can of soda. Mike spent the time petting their cat, and after 30 minutes we were back on the road.

We rode 370 miles today, met friendly people, and missed the worst of the storms. Tomorrow we keep traveling west, toward the Mississippi.