20140628 - MN, WI, North Shore of Lake Superior and back

Woke up without a plan today.  The weather map showed a line of thunderstorms forming to the west.  The forecast showed that they would continue marching east.  Since they stretched from Canada to Mexico, there was no chance of me avoiding them unless I settled for a "local" trip.

The plan was to not plan this ride.  I thought I'd ride into Wisconsin and keep an eye on the weather, eventually hunkering down somewhere for the evening while the downpour ensued.  Getting out of Minneapolis was a challenge and a reminder to always have a road atlas on the bike.  It seems that rt. 36 is closed at Rice st, and when I made the detour turn, my GPS kept "recalculating" and trying to route me in a circle to get back on at the same spot.  The detour button was useless since you can't choose a road to avoid, and for how far; and the zoom settings don't give me the information I need at the zoom level I want it at.  Nonetheless, I managed to get through the detour and vowed to never leave the atlas at home again.

My first stop ended up being Hudson WI.  There's nothing special about Hudson WI, except that there's gas there and I needed some right away.  I also sat down for breakfast and checked on weather.  The storms were continuing to march toward Minneapolis; but, they were a ways out, so I had time to go north or south for awhile before they would be on top of me.  I originally thought I'd head toward Madison; but, Thunder Bay seemed more apropos.  I didn't have my passport with me; but, I could at least get up to Lake Superior.  So, a left onto Rt. 53 in Eau Claire and off to Superior I went.  Wisconsin is very nice.  It's green everywhere you look.

The strangest thing happened on the way.  15 miles south of Duluth, right at the weigh station, the temperature suddenly dropped by 23 degrees!  I mean like thermocline, kind of drop.  I've never experienced that on land.  In the water, it's common; but, on land, never.  I stopped for fuel just shy of Duluth; and asked a Harley couple about that.  They said they live in the area and that is common.  The water is very cold...as in there was ice on it up until 3 weeks ago kinda cold and that wind blowing over the water causes that temperature drop.  Riders up there were still wearing chaps and several layers; and they should, since the temp hadn't broken 60 degrees yet.  The cold water also meant that when the cold air coming off the water hit the warm air around it, fog would be prevalent over the water, and it was.  I could never see more than about 50 yards into the water, and most of the time, I couldn't see past the waters edge.

Looking at the weather, there was a think line of storms, a gap and then a huge storm behind it.  I thought I'd stay out and play some more, ride through the first line and probably make it home in the evening.  If not, I'd grab a place along the way.  I was reluctant to stay in Superior because I had no idea what the lake effect would have on this storm and if things got worse, I couldn't exactly hang out for a couple days.  I had to work on Monday.  I went out on Scenic North Shore as far as two harbors and decided to turn around.  It's beautiful up there and the homes are gorgeous.  I was keenly aware that there was another trip up there in my future, so there was no need to push this further.

Going back, I knew I would turn 25,000 miles on my less than 1 year old GT.  I don't know why that excites me; but, it does.  Given that my bike has to sit through the winter months, I think 25k is a good amount of miles for a bike that is used 90% of the time for touring.

As it was, I flipped 25,000 miles somewhere around North Branch MN.  Less than 5 miles later, I was in a down pour.  Visibility dropped to 100 yards or less.  Visibility gets a little worse than this; but, here's some video:

I ended up pulling under a bridge for about 15 minutes.  The rain didn't subside much; but, visibility improved just a little bit - enough to get back on the bike and start riding.  It wasn't long before visibility crashed again; but, this time, I was able to get off the highway and into a McDonald's to wait it out.  Looking at the weather there, it appeared that I would be there an hour.  It was horrible that I only had 30 miles to go in the trip and I needed to wait there; but, I did.  The storm was violent, with high gusty winds and lots of lightning.  The rain was heavy and visibility was poor at best.  About an hour into my wait, a couple walked in with helmets.  They were riding a Gold Wing and they were soaked.  Neither had rain gear.  I didn't ask how they got this far.  It had been pouring for over an hour in this area.  Shortly after we met, the storm cleared, and I was back on my way, riding into that gap I mentioned earlier.  It was still drizzling; but, visibility was good and I was much safer having waited.

Here's the video.....


This weekends routing and bounty:

Now, I have this 7-10 split thing going on with North Dakota and Michigan, so I'll need two trips to get both of those states.  I'll need a third trip to get Kansas and Missouri, leaving Kentucky, Alaska and Hawaii.  Who knows, maybe I can get everything but Hawaii and Alaska this year!

20140620 - Minnesota to the Badlands and back (1300 miles)

Originally, this trip was planned for a run out to the Badlands, to visit the park, tour the Minuteman Missile Launch Facility, run up the boarder to North Dakota and head back.  I was planning to get 2 states on my list of states to travel in one trip.

Instead, my trip looked like this....

The trip started with low overcast skies; but, no rain.  It appeared that as I got further West, I'd get through the frontal boundary and be greeted by clear skies.  Minnesota is a flood plain; but, they say the amount of rain they've had recently is unprecedented.  There was water encroaching on the roadways pretty much everywhere I traveled in Mn.  On Rt. 14, I came across a road that was partially flooded out:

When I stopped for breakfast and while taking a restroom break, I ripped the zipper off my touring pants.  I wasn't prepared to sew in a new zipper, so it looked like I was going to be riding with the castle gate open for the remainder of this trip.

Then, about mid way between Huron SD and Pierre SD, somebody wrecked their SUV about a mile or so in front of me.  I didn't see it happen but, saw cars start heading for both shoulders.  When I got there, I parked my bike and headed over to see if I could help.  There vehicle was over turned, no fluids on the ground, with 2 people and one dog inside.  One person was laying on the roof and the other was still belted in.  The dog was pinned between the head rest and the roof, which was now crushed in.  I asked the folks to stop trying to free the belted in person as they could hurt him worse.  Fire/Rescue was on their way and only 10 minutes out.  I didn't see any danger of fire.  In fact, I put the car in park, turned off the car and removed the keys.  After getting good assessments for the incoming medics and while evaluating level of consciousness, I asked if the passengers remembered the accident and one told me the dog jumped on her lap and startled her, causing the accident.  Note to self:  Always have the animals restrained in the back.  Once fire/rescue got there, I went on my way; but, not after reclaiming my helmet from the Highway Patrol who was happy to secure it for me since it was sitting outside the car.

Even with the 45 minute delay, I was still making good time.  It was early and I was in the Badlands.  I looked up lodging and my GPS pointed me inside the park.  I got to use my National Park Pass again!  Looking up food, there were fewer options; but, one of the locals told me that Ms. Sue cooks on Friday and Saturday evenings at Cowboy Corner.  So over to Cowboy Corner I went.  Friday is for chicken fried steak and Saturday is Prime Rib.  Damn.  OK, Chicken Fried steak is it...either that, or I was eating gas station fair for dinner.  Ms. Sue makes a mean chicken fried steak.  Seriously.  It was deep fried and swimming in gravy and onions.  It was good though.  I was pretty certain after eating it that I'd live forever.  If that didn't stop my heart on the spot, nothing will.

Lodging was courtesy of the KOA campground, just outside the park.  It was hot; but, I was able get my tent set up before the mosquito's started eating everything in site.  All is well.

On Saturday morning, I went to the Minuteman National Park first.  I thought I would get on an early tour, come back, ride the park and head off to ND.  That didn't happen.  The ranger said the first tour was at 1pm.  He asked if I could climb two 15 foot ladders if I had to. I said yes and he handed me a ticket.  Now the plan was to ride the park and come back for the tour.  I'd be leaving much later than I though though.  I knew this would put ND in jeopardy; but, it's not about riding states just to ride states.  It's about enjoying the experience.




 

After visiting the launch center, I started traveling Eest on I-90 when I saw a thunderhead building over Rapid City.  It was clear I was going to have to go through it; but, what was truly alarming was the explosive rate of vertical growth that I was seeing.  I didn't need to kick some gravel and throw some grass in the air (Bill Harding - Twister reference) to know this was trouble.  I decided that instead, I would tuck tail and run!  I grabbed the next exit and started going East.  The new and improved plan called for me to get 50+ miles away from that storm, check the weather and see if I could go North into North Dakota.  The issue was that if I had to be at work for Monday and couldn't wait it out where I was, get behind it and continue.  I decided if ND was to be an option at all, I'd have to try to access it from the middle of the state or further.

That storm was building at an incredible rate and covering a bigger and bigger area by the minute.  When I stopped and checked weather, I saw that the storm was covering an area about as long as the state is tall.  Plan B, now in the toilet, I decided to head for Sioux Falls, where 90 and 29 meet.  This was plenty far East and I could sit the storm out over night and if the weather in the morning was OK, head up to Fargo.  Incidentally,  another thunderstorm was coming out of Billings ND and headed for my location.  I was now outrunning a storm behind me and one trying to flank me from the North.

When I settled into my hotel room in Sioux Falls, the weather picture looked like this.  The weather channels said this storm system was bad news.  There wasn't a  tornado in the future; but, lots of hail.  I put my bike under the hotel overhang for the evening!

Sunday morning, I awoke to find this:

Hmph.  Well, the path to Fargo was clear; but, Weather in Motion showed this storm moving into the Minneapolis area after 12:45pm.  That would mean I'd make Fargo just fine; but, I might come back into this nastyness later in the afternoon.  It was at that point I decided to chart a course for Montevideo, MN to get North a bit and then ride due East back to Minnetonka.  Weather in motion also showed this storm continuing to impact a route home by interstate, so it was important for me to get North.

I arrived to choppy skies and building cumulonimbus clouds.  I was dry and not hailed upon.  Another successful trip!

NJ - MN - Reunited with the bike

Well, it worked out that I had to leave immediately after returning from my last trip for Minnesota for a contract.  I had to leave the bike behind!  Weekend #1 was spent getting some digs for the next 6 months.  Along the way, I tried several to get the bike shipped to me so I would have it to ride this weekend.  As it worked out, I couldn't get a reputable shipper to get me my bike for this weekend.  Unwilling to wait, I booked a flight and flew home to get it.  It works out well that I'm working 4 days a week and was able to fly Friday morning.

Weather on Friday was rotten in NJ and PA.  I could have left; but, I would have been a drown rat in no time.  I elected to take my contingency time up front and spend the day with my father.

Saturday, I got an early start..a little later than I wanted; but, my kickstand was up at 5:15am.  The idea was to maximize the amount of daylight available and get as far as I could.  I had my sights set on Waterloo IA by way of Dayton OH, where I would meet with an old friend for lunch.

The first half of the ride didn't go exactly as planned.  I seem to watch the arrival time on the GPS and try to battle it backward enough to account for my fuel times, giving me an actual arrival time that is spot on with the GPS.  Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't.  I'm very cautious to not get too far over the speed limit and get a roadside speed certificate from Barney Fife.  Everything was fine, right up until I got off I-70 onto I-75 to meet my friend Scot.  The exit was closed to get me to the restaurant and GPS re-routed me...right into some development.  I was 10 minutes away.  Scot, was able to find me and came to get me.  Instead of a 30 minute lunch, we were there for 2 hours!  I don't regret a minute of it.  Scot is a great friend, interesting guy and it was great catching up with him after many years.  That said, I was headed for trouble.

My mom called while I was enroute and warned of a severe line of thunderstorms out west.  They were in Iowa and stretched down to Texas.  Hrmph!  It was questionable how far I would get.  At some point Bill, my step-dad  was able to tell me that the line was only a few miles east of I-35.  This was great news because I would likely make it through Illinois and into Iowa before I had to stop.  The sooner I stopped, the more I had to ride on Sunday and the more likely weather would impact my arrival.  Lots-o-rain was forecast for Sunday.

I was still in Illinois when the sun dipped below the horizon.  I was headed north on I-74 and 50 miles from the turn to I-80 in Davenport IA.  I knew I had about a half hour of twilight.  I don't really like riding at night when I've been riding a full day.  I tend to get tired quick.  Interestingly enough, I was full of energy though.  I have to attribute that to having a long break right in the middle of my ride.  I checked the weather in Davenport and saw that rain was closing in on Cedar Rapids.  The question was which of us would get there first.  It wasn't possible to see the clouds any longer, so my first sign of trouble would be rain.  I felt pretty comfortable with that since the more severe weather was further north and what was in front of me was rain only.

As it worked out, I made it past Cedar Rapids a little and ended up pulling in to Urbana Inn and Suites at 11pm on the nose.  There were two Harley riders sitting there by their bikes talking.  I got my room and joined them.  I had stopped down the street for dinner.  Yes, I know it was late and yes, I know fried chicken isn't good for you...ever; but, it was great at 11pm after not having had anything for the last 7 hours.  These guys were riding out of Minneapolis/St. Paul and headed to Louisiana for some vacation.  I looked outside while I was getting my room and they were checking out my ride.  They were very impressed and, in breaking with Hog etiquette told me they really liked it.  I was impressed.  It wasn't long before one of them asked me where I was coming from and going.  When I told him I left NJ at 5am, he asked me what took me so long.  I answered with "a 2 hour lunch."  We had a great laugh about that.  After talking about riding adventures for nearly an hour, it was time to say good night and get out of my riding gear.  I did a quick check of the weather, which indicated I was screwed for tomorrow; and with that, I went to bed.

I woke up at 6.  I didn't want to wake up at 6; but, I did and couldn't go back to sleep.  Looking at the weather again, there was a thunderstorm nearly on top of us and a line of thunderstorms between me and my destination.  Weather in motion went out as far as 12:45 and showed that at 12:45, there entire route was clear.  That said, I packed the bike and cleaned a billion bug guts off my windshield.  Bike prepped and breakfast eaten, I decided to look at the weather again.  This time, weather in motion showed fresh thunderstorms moving into Cedar Rapids at 1pm.  Motion also showed that if I left now, I would probably be behind the storms as they advanced east.  I geared up for rain and planned to ride in rain at least half the time.  At this point Cedar Rapids was showing beautiful blue skies with puffy white clouds scattered about and very gusty winds out of the south.  The question was how far it would last.  The answer was 100 miles.  I didn't hit clouds for 100 miles.  When I did, they were low with ragged bottoms; but, not terribly dark.  Looking around, I could see blue skies to the west; but more clouds north.  As time marched on, and heat started to build, the clouds got lighter and started to break up.  By the time I was 50 miles out of Minneapolis, the skies were a beautiful blue with white puffy clouds, just like in Cedar Rapids.  Just a few hours ago, there were horrible thunderstorms here.  In fact, last night, they shut the airport down.  I managed to make the entire route without rain.  In fact, I had 1,000 more bug guts on my bike than drops of water from the sky.

The 1400 mile trip:

 

netted me one state that I haven't traveled to yet; but, reunited me with my bike so I can go on and get more!

Sorry, no video for this run, or Spot tracker for that matter.  I left both in my truck!