Tuesday, August 13

The sum total of this blog.  I thought I was going to beat the storm cells.  I was so confident that I didn’t even weather up.  Hah. 30-40 miles of mist, fog, nothing big.  US Rte 2 is a nice road.  4 lane divided. Good pavement.  Good shoulders.  70mph through North Dakota.  Then the rains came.  Finally I pulled over in a rest stop and put on my rain pants.  It was nice to go inside with heat and a place to sit while gearing up.  Jeans were soaked from the knees down.  Where the spray hits. My only concern was the electronics but most was bagged with ziplock stuff.  Clothes, well never mind. Too late, I forgo-ed the luggage covers.

Rain was on and off all day.  That’s 3 days in a row of riding in the rain.  Ya know, its all part of the experience.  You can’t ride in the sun all the time.  I am at a point, I actually enjoy the weather.  It makes me a better rider.

Beautiful country.  What I could see of it.  Traffic was fairly light.  Trucks, a few.  I kept speed up.  Fuel is available but not always when you need it.  The bike ran out of fuel and I had to go to reserve again.  I was passing a semi,the bike was faltering and he saw me reaching under my tank and gave me space.  Back at speed I was screwing around with the GPS looking for nearest fuel.  Got off Rt 2, headed south for a few miles and pulled into a little community.  Fueled up, back on the highway.  Passed into Grand Forks.  ND / MN state line. Still raining.  Saw a Burger King and took a break.  Check Wx, Google maps looking for that heavenly reprise.  None.

Blasted through MN.  Fuel stops every 75-100 miles.  Mostly for the breaks.  Standing in the rain, fueling.  Not everyone has those fancy canopies over the pumps ya know.  I was getting tired.  Almost falling asleep on the bike. Had to pull over to stop for a few minutes a couple of times.  Rain is monotonous.  Kept looking at mileage left. Hoping. It was not changing too fast.

East of Bemidji, MN the rain stopped.  Skies still overcast.  Wx app showed more just to the south.  Pretty country.  Much like MI.  Trees.  Lakes.  Rivers / streams.  Running out of fuel again.  Pulled into Deer Creek to gas up.  Started the dialing for hotel rooms thing.  Found one.  15 miles away in Grand Rapids.  I was on my way.  I’ll be there in 15 minutes.

My nest for the evening is the Forest Lake Motel. Of all the places on this trip, it has the least amount of stars.  At this point I don’t care..  🙂   It seems Grand Rapids has the notoriety of  being located on the headwaters of the Mississippi River.  There ya go!

Unloaded, took a shower and anxiety dissipates.

So no real pics. A couple of the facility and the small lake at the back it is named for.  My neighbors in this little mom and pop establishment are of dubious character.  Not that I make instant judgements. I have been known to.  This is one of those times.  I am at peace.

I parked my bike.  After unloading I noticed that the kickstand had sunk into the asphalt a good 2 inches.  I pulled the bike forward a couple of inches and put a kickstand plate out I carry with just for this.  Only reason I mention is that  this section of the motel seems newly repaved.  It also seems that it was done by Daryl, his brother Daryl, and his other brother Daryl.  It seems the kickstand plate is sinking as well.  I already moved it again once.  Once more before I go to sleep.

Now look at the cracker jack wiring done on some of the units.  Don’t turn on all the hot plates at once..   Building codes.  Are you for or against?

360 miles today.  Tomorrow heading east again.  100 or so miles to Duluth and hopefully through Wisconsin into western Upper Michigan.  Still almost 900 miles.  It is a calm beautiful night.  Overcast but not raining.  My peeps in the neighboring bungalows are quiet.  I am listening to Piano Guys on Pandora with a scotch and cigar.

Rain or shine.  Life really is good.