A little background - Two years ago Torrey retired from the City of Pocatello after working there for 34 years. To celebrate this milestone Torrey was gifted a 1968 Chevelle. He had one in high school and always wished he would have kept that car through the years. He was surprised when he received the gift. Why do a bring up this memory? I found this car online and bought it sight unseen, at least by me. I did ask my cousin Craig and my uncle John to go look at it in Volo, IL and they gave me the thumbs up for the purchase. Since we had a half a day on our hands, we decided to go see the Volo Auto Museum where this car had been purchased.
We left downtown Chicago and headed west on I-90, back tracking the route we came in on two days ago. It was about 80 degrees and a bit muggy. We were immediately into traffic, miserable traffic. Just as we had underestimated the traffic on Thursday evening, again we found the traffic to be heavier than we thought it would be. As we were creeping along, Torrey commented that this seemed "like the longest parade ever". I thought it was good practice for the next slow race. For those unfamiliar with the slow race, it is a motorcycle rodeo event where the winner is whoever crosses the finish line last. It is very difficult to ride very slowly without putting your feet down. Besides balance, it takes some skillful clutch work, shifting and braking. Such a slow pace also doesn't allow air to flow through the engine to keep it cool. The heat coming of the V-twin heads puts the inner thighs in a direct line of the heat. This would be a good place for the "No More Fried Thighs" website. Every time I'm in this situation I tell myself I'm going to make a purchase from them. In the 12 or so miles we traveled to the first toll booth, we saw more cars than we did in Wyoming, Nebraska, and Iowa added together. It's ridiculous really. Not that we needed a reminder, but it re-affirms that we live in an awesome place. And, then there's the toll booths! Now let me get this straight - I have to drive amongst thousands of other vehicles at such a slow pace that I have to be concerned about burning up the engine, my thighs, the clutch and all while getting my grip strength exercises in and practicing for the slow race, but then I also have to pay for the privilege of riding that short distance! Are you kidding me? I realize we pay taxes for our streets, but I think I prefer that over having to funnel through a toll gate where I then also have to find cash to pay for this as they don't accept cards.
Once we cleared the toll plaza the pace of the traffic seemed to pick up pretty quickly. We pulled off to go toward Palatine, IL to the City Limits Harley Davidson. En route to the store we passed Culver's and the flavor of the day was one of Torrey's favorites. That became our lunch stop.
With the help of some local intel from a HOG member at City Limits, we took a scenic loop to nearby Volo, IL When we pulled into the Volo Auto Museum it was apparent we did not allow enough time for this stop. There were 5 buildings of cars alone to look through. It was 3:30pm and they close at 5pm. We took a bunch of pics, a few of which are included below. If you are ever out this direction, this is a place to stop and see. Leave yourself plenty of time to go through their incredible collections.
We made the usual purchase of dealer pins and poker chips. Again with the help of local expertise, we opted to take IL-176 to Sheridan Road back to the city. While this wasn't the fastest route, it was preferred over the interstate and all of the misery that brings with it. Sheridan Road winds along Lake Michigan and through some beautiful villages and neighborhoods with large estates within them. Really, Sheridan Road gave us a jump start on the plan for tomorrow and Monday which is the Lake Michigan Circle Tour.
Total miles for us today: 103
Time to travel that distance: 7 hours
Total Cumulative Mileage for us: 1636
Now for a brief look at what Cami, Rick & Deb, and Rudy were up to on their first day out on the road. They were underway about 8am out of Pocatello. These pics were taken just as they were heading out of Pocatello.
They made several stops over the day's ride, but now that we have a photographer on board, the pics here are from the ride as opposed to the stops, like I've been sharing.
Here's a few from towards the end of the day when they were near Flathead Lake.
Cami's Cameo: We've asked Cami to provide the narrative for their ride, at least until we meet up on Wednesday and are riding together from that point. Below are Cami's comments on today's ride:
Today's the day my sister has been waiting for. The day I jump on the back of a Harley and ride like a wildman over 1500 miles just to be able to say I did it. So it only seemed fitting that I start the ride off with my, main man, Chris Stapleton bandana. You should have seen their faces when I pulled into the meeting spot this morning. Rudy's first words were "Turbo, you're gonna get us pulled over!" Rick politely made no comment as his wife Deb inquired if I truly intended to wear that. I, of course, was only wearing it for the reaction, which worked!!
By now you can guess that although I look/walk/talk a lot like our fearless author, I'm not her, I'm her little sister. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Cami. And I'll be making cameos on the Whitski Rides blog for the next 4 days as we work our way to Milwaukee on this, my maiden voyage.
Where to begin, I could take you back to the days of being shoved in the backseat of a car with my sister Kristi while Nicki drove with her friend from high school Gloria Keller all the way home from WI, only stopping for McDonald's drive thru...but why torture you?! Let's get to the good stuff.
We left Pocatello at 8:04am arriving in Idaho Falls at 8:45am. I sent a quick text in IF to let everyone know we're under way. Next stop Lima, MT. We opted to skip the "border" signs as well. We've all been through all of these states before we don't need that pic. We get off the bikes in Lima to find I've received a text back from Nicki. She just had to say..."50 miles down, 1450-ish to go". Not helpful Nicki. That's like saying, "Are we there yet?!" Quick middle finger text back to her and we were back under way!
Where to begin, I could take you back to the days of being shoved in the backseat of a car with my sister Kristi while Nicki drove with her friend from high school Gloria Keller all the way home from WI, only stopping for McDonald's drive thru...but why torture you?! Let's get to the good stuff.
We left Pocatello at 8:04am arriving in Idaho Falls at 8:45am. I sent a quick text in IF to let everyone know we're under way. Next stop Lima, MT. We opted to skip the "border" signs as well. We've all been through all of these states before we don't need that pic. We get off the bikes in Lima to find I've received a text back from Nicki. She just had to say..."50 miles down, 1450-ish to go". Not helpful Nicki. That's like saying, "Are we there yet?!" Quick middle finger text back to her and we were back under way!
Luckily the group I'm traveling with likes to stop frequently. We're off the bikes every hour-ish and my tank is only good for about 100-130 miles, so we're getting gas every 2 hours regardless.
The temps were a little chilly leaving Idaho this morning at about 51 degrees. Smoky, hazy air added to the cool autumn air until we hit Monida. Once over the pass the big skies of Big Sky Montana were clear, bright and warm. Rudy & Rick started peeling layers along the way.
Simple things to note about today. Everything went without a hitch. We followed the plan, and then realized that the plan should have been reconsidered. Back when this whole trip got planned, there were about 14 people who were going, among the places to visit was Glacier Natl Park. Well when the day comes, we're down to the 4 of us. What we quickly discovered was that as we were making our way to our hotel rooms in Kalispell.... Kalispell is west of Butte, for those of you who are not familiar with Montana. So let's get this straight, we're going west to go east to Milwaukee?! Yep, that was the plan and we followed it. But had we thought it through, we could have skipped Glacier and continued east, but nonetheless, I'm a good sheep....meaning I follow well. And maybe a little too well, as Rudy had to ask me to back off his tail end. Note to self: Allow space.
Total miles today: 488
Time to travel that distance: 11.5 hours
Total Cumulative mileage: 488
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