Earache

The Sturgis Rally is going on, so I see loads of bikes at every stop. Even at "The World's Largest Truckstop" in Iowa ..

Up at 0300 again and ready to roll. I'm headed west to Omaha, Nebraska today and leaving early in an effort to beat the 100F+ / 39C heat

Out for beers and dinner with some of my bud's that live in Chicago. Brian, Joe and Alex - great guys that I don't get to see nearly enough....

Then into Chicago; another hotel room and another hotel bar. Why do they all look the same? And check out those pint prices!!! Getting drunk ain't cheap!

Passed through Indy again...

Next day and it's time to head west again. Raging storms across Kansas again so I plan a northernly route through Chicago and Nebraska. But first, breakfast at a truck stop ... again. There is little else to eat out here. It's either fast food or this. And this is cheap and fast ....

Rode Ohio's famed Route 555 - lots of curves, hills and blind crests. Sweet new pavement, too!

Amazing how green it is here - not brown like Colorado . Not a lot out here though - just old farms that are no longer in use.

Ohio has loads of Federal style homes built during the American Civil War (1860's) that sit empty near old farms. Would love to buy one and fix it up as I really like the style of the homes ...

Stopped at the brother in law's "farm". 200 acres and he doesn't grow anything on it. Has a nice tractor to mow with though...

Aside from the humidity, riding in Ohio isn't all that bad. Lots of abandoned buildings to see and decent roads. Plus, the weather has improved . Pretty cool old sandstone house and chimney from another house that is no longer there ...

Completed the final leg to Ohio the next day and rode some of the Devil's Highway ..

Shit day out, so I watched Clint feed dogs and played his guitars all afternoon. Not a bad day really....

I was going to ride around Indy for the day, but the rains caught up with me. So I Uber'ed over to Clint's house. His dog had just had puppies so he was on nurse duty - feedings every hour...

Made it to my hotel in Indianapolis where I'll meet up with friends Clint and Sunday. Hotel bar was packed, but I managed to get a stool at the bar and a couple of cold beers down my neck while I waited on Clint to pick me up for dinner....

Next day and I'm up early, but there is too much rain and wind to leave. Hung out at Todd's until 11:00 AM or so and then headed out with a route to go around floods in St. Louis. Gonna be a long assed day. Only the best food that money could buy for lunch. I skipped the roller food and opted for a couple of donuts and Diet Dew - which I ate in the rain next to the bike. I was too wet to stay inside, leaving puddles wherever I stood. Not unusual for me really, but this was rain water this time ...

Rode through torrential rains and a couple of tornados across Kansas - always a good time. But I made it to Todd's house 800 miles later and a warm garage...

I ate at only the best restaurants across the plains. Taco Bell ...

Had a gift for my bud in Missouri - a charcuterie board that I made for him, It was a big bastard and difficult to carry on a bike.

One of the last places you'd ever want to ride a motorcycle is Midwestern USA. Flat, hot weather, lots of bugs, high humidity - sounds like paradise eh? My wife had just purchased her bike and wanted to ride on it in Ohio. Problem is, we live about 1,400 miles west of there. She flew to Ohio for work and was going to stay over and meet me there. I had to ride, I left Colorado at 0300 and headed east with plans to stay over night in Missouri at my bud Todd's house. First stop for fuel was in eastern Colorado at sun up . Guy in the background had the right idea; bike in the back of a pickup ...

Duc pics from North Carolina are favorites as well as my buddy took them had a really nice camera / lens and could take good pics...

I have about a billion pics from over the years, but here's a few of my favorites. Sitting in the rain in the desert of Nevada waiting on a crash to clear so we can continue and a pic from my first MX race on a thumper - a converted XR400R

Have one scheduled in June with the wife on the GoldThing; Home to Lake Tahoe, San Francisco and then up the coast before heading east to Salt Lake CIty and back home. Another week long ride just around Colorado with friends Dave and Debbie (GS1200 guy) An eastern trek from here to Chicago, Indy, Ohio and then south to Tennessee and Alabama (Barber Museum) and then back home via Texas. If there's no snow and I'm able to get out, I'd like to do the MotoGP again in Austin, Texas in April. A little early to be riding around here so it'll be a last minute decision. Might try again for Jasper, Canada again in August.

5-6 most likely. I'll get back out in late April unless it snows too much. Absolutely hate this time of year and no riding. Back to looking at maps and planning rides.....

Not too bad then for a ride.