Day 7 - Cheboygan to Sheboygan and Day 3 Miserable Rain

Awoke this morning to find it had rained over night. Skies looked cloudy and most likely rainy so we started out with rain pants on.  It's the best way to ward off rain, right?

After fueling and grabbing a morning monster for Torrey, we headed out on Hwy 2.  Interesting that we are riding the same road as Cami, Rick & Deb and Rudy, but from the other direction.  We took that to I-75 across the Mackinac Bridge. It is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac and connect the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan.  There are 2 lanes going in each direction.  The center lanes are made of metal mesh grating.  The outer lanes in each direction are made of concrete.  We chose to ride on the mesh.  It's cool to look down and see the water below the bike.  Here's a pic of the bridge.  It's an internet photo as I have yet to install and wear a body cam or get a Go Pro.

After we crossed into the U.P. of Michigan we continued on Hwy 2.  This is part of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour as well.  The temps were in the 70's but the swelter was increasing.  We rode this into Manistique where we stopped for fuel. It wasn't actually raining per se, but the roads were wet from the recent rain and the spray from the passing trucks.  We ended up wet from the road up as opposed to it falling from the sky. 

The roads dried out in short order after we were back out there.  I couldn't help but notice all the signs for pasties.  In this case, it's a baked good only found here in the U.P. but that's not the first reference that comes to mind each time I see a sign advertising pasties.

Next we set our sights on Marinette, WI.  Hwy 2 between Manistique and Escanaba was under significant construction and required us to follow a detour that was slow and led us through a number of Michigan backroads that might have been nice to ride, but the long line of vehicles we were in made it less enjoyable. We peeled off Hwy 2 and onto 41 and then onto 35 to arrive at Marinette for lunch and fuel.  All of this is still part of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour.  There's actually a fair number of miles that run along the Lake unlike in other areas of the tour we've been on, which were mostly wooded areas.

While in Marinette I sent a quick text to my mom to give her an update on our progress.  Being a near life long resident of Wisconsin, she began her reply by giving me the quick run down on the number of miles, length of time to travel and which exit to take.  I thanked her and then explained that we wouldn't be taking that route as we were on the Lake Michigan Circle Tour.  Her response was something along the lines of "Well check your weather, it's raining here now" and "I don't know why you would want to go 40 miles out of your way to get here."  Well, part of it is a dash of OCD in my personality.

We had shed our rain pants and a top layer before getting back on the bikes and heading down 41 towards Green Bay, the home of Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers (by far the best team in the League).  I'm sure Torrey will disagree with me on this point, but I take a little liberty as the author of the blog, even though it resides on his account. As we left Green Bay we were on 43 going toward Manitowoc.

 

 

At the Manitowoc county line we hit wet road.  Freshly wet - like we must have just missed the storm.  Again we were getting wet from the road up.  The spray coming from the trucks made passing a bit of a task.  We skipped the HD store and pressed on to Sheboygan.  This is as far as we'll get on the Lake Michigan Circle Tour.  I thought it was pretty cool to ride from Cheboygan, MI to Sheboygan, WI today.  It was here where we got on 23 and headed into Fond du Lac. 

 

En route we passed the road to go to Johnsonville.  You know Johnsonville, right?  That's where the best brats and summer sausage are made.  At least my personal favorites.  We also passed the turn offs to St Cloud and Mt Calvary which would take me to my aunts and uncles houses.  This area is also known locally as the Holyland.  We stopped for fuel on the way through town.  Immediately Torrey says to me, "Now why did we go to Manitowoc and Sheboygan instead of taking the Appleton/ Fond du Lac exit" off of 41.  When I reminded him that we were on the Circle Tour and that it was cool to ride from Cheboygan to Sheboygan, it was lost on him - just as it was my mom.  Apparently that was only cool to me.  Oh well!

 

After unloading the bikes and a quick shower, we loaded in the car for dinner at Blanck's Supper Club in Johnsburg, WI - the heart of the Holyland.  Supper clubs are non-existent out west but popular in the mid-west especially back in the day.  This particular supper club is one my grandparents went to back in the 50's when their friends Bob and Hazel Blanck opened it.  It's been a gathering place for decades for our family.  It is a treasured spot for us when we visit and tonight we went there at Torrey's request.  We started with drinks as is the tradition.  I, of course, had an Old Fashioned as is a tradition in the Holyland.  I like mine Whiskey Sweet.  While patrons sit and visit, orders are placed at the bar and groups are seated when their meals are ready to be served.  The food is delicious and affordable, representative of all that's good about the Holyland. 

Here's my mom, Torrey, my step-dad Don, and my Uncle Bill

 

Total miles traveled today: 382

Time to travel that distance: 8 hours (7 hours with the help of the time change)

Cumulative miles: 2472

 

 And now for the Cami-O:

 

Be careful what you wish for! When asking for a bike wash yesterday, I did not intend for God to provide us with showers for the whole next day!

 

 Question: Do you know how many miles wide Montana is on Highway 2 on your way in to Williston, North Dakota? I do. It's 667 miles. I saw that sign today. Interesting fact: there's not a milepost one mile previous to that, but there is a milepost 2 miles previous at 665.

 

How is it I got to see this sign?
We should take the Harleys to Milwaukee, they said.
We should take Highway 2 through Montana and North Dakota, they said.
It will be fun!, they said.
Will someone please figure out who "they" are, and let them know "they" were wrong again today?! Lol! 

 Now that I have that out of my system, let's talk about the good things about today.

 1. God. God is good, everyday! He and I had many conversations today. Thankfully, He was good to us and kept us safe. Others were not as fortunate today as we drove past a scene that included two motorcycles off the road. We rolled up just as the ambulance rolled away. And separately a mile down the road a truck that had rolled after having rear-ended an SUV. Both vehicles were pretty tore up.
 

2. People are good. Rudy, Rick and Deb are among THE BEST. No one should ride in the rain we withstood today for as many miles as we did today.

3. Williston, ND is good. The Harley store is gigantic and Doc Holliday's has the best BBQ I've eaten in a long time...possibly ever.  Probably should have stayed there.

 

 4. Experiences are good. They build character. If yesterday's "Mud on the Tires" was just a challenge as indicated by Rudy, today was a true test of any biker's metal. We rode from Williston to Rugby (187 miles) in the worst rain storm I've ever been in, which made the shortest mileage day of the trip the biggest adventure of my life, next to China.
 

Speaking of China, this may be the summer of vacations that initially sound like a great idea, but in the end, I may choose differently when approached with these great ideas again in the future.

 5. Beer. Beer is good! Enough said.

 

 

 

Total miles today: 334
Time to travel that distance: 9.25 hours and we lost an hour due to time zone change.
Total Cumulative mileage: 1236



Day 6 - Lake Michigan Circle Tour and Day 2 Montana Jaunt

This morning we loaded the gear on the bikes and set a goal to make Cheboygan, MI by day's end.  A fairly aggressive goal given the permitted speeds of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour.

It was stuffy (hot and muggy) in the bottom of the underground parking garage under Saks Fifth Avenue.  The fresh air (not sure how fresh it actually is - doesn't seem like the clean mountain air we are accustomed to at home) was welcomed when the garage doors opened and we rode out into the streets.  It was 77 degrees and 88% humidity.  I call that early morning swelter. We're southbound on Michigan Ave (The Magnificent Mile) until we cleared the triathlon that was happening on Lake Shore Drive (Hwy 41) this morning.  Roosevelt St. connected us to Lake Shore Dr. (Hwy 41) and we rode that out of Chicago.  We passed by famous landmarks such as Navy Pier, Soldier Field, Lincoln Park Zoo and Calumet Park.  By the time we reached Soldier Field we had open road without much traffic.

Our first Monster/fuel stop was just over the Indiana state line.  I found it interesting that we passed through East Chicago, IN on the way in and on the way out it was Michigan City, IN.  How nice of them to name their border towns after their neighbors. Hwy 12 is also known as Dunes Highway, the best of which is represented by the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, which is actually a national park.  The lane created by the trees on both side of the road was pretty to ride through and an improvement over the industrial landscape of Gary, IN.  Near the end of the Dunes Lakeshore we passed Mount Baldy (600ft). That made me laugh, 600 feet!  We had plans to stop at the HD store in Chesterton, but it's closed on Sunday.  Our maiden voyage of riding in Indiana lasted all of 15 total miles. And, we have no HD pin to show for it.

New Buffalo welcomed us to Michigan and Hwy 12 joined up with I-94 through the towns of Benton, Harbor and St. Joseph. We grabbed lunch in South Haven and fueled in Holland where the Circle tour takes up Hwy 31.  We continued up through Grand Haven and Muskegon, where the other HD store we planned to stop at was also closed.  It's at this point where the Harley atlas indicates it's about to get scenic. 

Up to this point there wasn't much to see of the Lake after leaving the Chicago area.  I've learned to trust that atlas and it did not fail us.  The area was winding and tree lined forest on both sides of the road in between the little towns and villages that dotted the route.  Ludington, which marks the rough half-way point, and Manistee closed out Hwy 31.  From there we took off down M-22 into Empire.  This was fairly slow riding through twisties and resort-y lake towns.  As it was getting late into the afternoon, we turned off the Circle tour route for a slightly quicker jaunt across M-72 to Traverse City where we could re-join the Circle tour.  Traverse City is the cherry capital of the US and boasts the World's largest cherry pie.  It was about this time that I realized despite overcast skies and mild swelter my tan lines are coming along nicely.

From there we continued north (back on Hwy 31) along Traverse Bay and into Charlevoix.  A quick call to my cousin Brad confirmed we were still on to meet up for dinner.  Then on through Petoskey, where the downtown overlooks Lake Michigan and we could again see the water.  When we came upon Pellston, we turned onto Mills St/Robinson Rd/Riggsville Rd (aka Michigan backroads) and that took us right into Cheboygen, Michigan.   We met Brad for dinner at a throwback restaurant that Brad was pretty sure he'd never been to one before (he's mid-30's).  Any guesses?

Total miles today: 454 miles
Time to travel that distance: 10 hours (11 hours with the time change)
Total Cumulative mileage: 2090 miles
Tomorrow: Circle Tour south to FDL

Now for Cami's Cameo:

Wide Open Spaces and Mud on the Tires!
This morning's breakfast was agreed upon to be 7am with KSU at 8am. The one lesson I've learned from Nicki before embarking once on a Disney death march with her was this...

 Early is on time,
On time is late, and
Late is left behind. 

 For the record, I was at breakfast at 6:58am this morning by which time Rick and Rudy had already finished eating and headed for the bags. Wtf?! Here I'm thinking I'm on time, which according to the definition above means I'm late. I am not sure Chopski-time is going fare well with these military guys. 

 Rudy scared me into wearing almost all the layers I had with me this morning. We were headed over Glacier pass and it was a balmy 56 degrees at 8 o'clock and had just finished raining. Road construction on the way up the pass included loose gravel which was mud at this point and by the time we got to the top of the pass the bikes were a muddy mess and it was a whopping 38 degrees. We pulled over to warm up, then jumped back on and headed for East Glacier. Never have I ever been so grateful for heeding Rudy's advice. Whoever decided Glacier was a good idea was wrong today!! Thankfully I had also listened when my sister told me to pack two pairs of blue jeans. As soon as we arrived in East Glacier the roads were dry and soon after changing in to my second pair of jeans so was I.

 About an hour down the road we pull over for lunch in Shelby where the soup was on at Subway. I was grateful to have it warm me up on inside.

So I'm thinking I'm dry, warm and fed, this should be a pretty good afternoon. Well that's where the fun continues!! About 8 miles outside of Shelby there was this giant road construction billboard and on it in big bold letters it clearly reads, "Road construction ahead. 9 miles. Motorcycles should consider alternate route." I see it and wonder if our fearless leader, Rudy, did also. I resign in the thought that surely Rick & Deb saw it so we'll be pulling over soon to reroute. Well there's where I was wrong. We barrel on ahead right into the construction. Next sign says, "Slow. Loose gravel." By now I'm sure they know they've got a newbie (me) with them and we'll be turning around soon. Nope, wrong again. On we go, right past the Pavement Ends sign. Luckily, the bike I'm on is affectionately known in our family as the Rodeo Bike or the Dirt Bike, because today was my turn to take it off-roading.  l only launched it in the air once and landed it with a simple fish-tail style landing. I threw my hand back to be sure my pack was to along for the ride and kept going. The Rodeo Crew would be so proud of me! Nine miles later we found the nicest smoothest newly constructed road I've seen...and was I glad to be seeing it! 

From there we had dry roads and reasonable temperatures for most of the way. We chased trains across the wide open plains of Montana the rest of the day. First it was Amtrak passenger trains, then it was BNSF freight trains (for the train enthusiasts among us). Occasionally the engineer, or maybe it was the conductor, would give us a little toot of the whistle on the way by.

 About an hour out of Glasgow, our final stop for the night, the skies got dark, and all I could think was I only have one layer left. Just then Rudy's blinker starts flashing. We're pulling off. He saw what we all saw. Rain. So out comes the rain gear which will now become my sixth layer on the top half of my body. But I guess I'd rather put it on than have both pairs of jeans wet in the same day. After we donned our last layer, we head into the storm, and surprisingly, whether it was my mother's prayers or the fact that we put on the rain gear, we hardly even got wet. Pulled into the hotel in Glasgow pretty well dry. Another successful, albeit, adventurous day!

Notes to self: Always pack 2 pairs of blue jeans.
Heed the advice of others as well as road construction signs. They're not kidding.
Total miles today: 414
Time to travel that distance: 9.5 hous
Total Cumulative mileage: 902

Day 5 - Day Ride for us and Day 1 for the Rest

The plan for the day was to attend a half-day meeting and then head out on a day ride in the area.  The meeting that was scheduled for this morning was cancelled.  That made today a sleep in day!  We hit the gym before jumping on the bikes for our day ride. 

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 stayed until they closed.  From there a quick check of the map, showed we had just enough time to hit one more nearby Harley store before we head back down town.  With that we were off to Lake Shore HD in Libertyville, IL. 

 

 

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! 

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

 



Day 4 - The Business Meeting

Today was a "off the bikes" day.  I attended the meeting as planned and Torrey had a restful day of recovery.  While I was off doing my pharmacy thing, Torrey hit the gym and then the hot tub.  It was a pretty chill day.

Since that's not much to blog about, I thought I'd take a minute and share some information on those who are on the ride with us (as of tomorrow when they get on the road from Pocatello).

Cami, my youngest sister, is making her maiden voyage riding to Milwaukee on a 2003 Dyna Lowrider.  Cami has been riding for several years, most of which were spent on the back of a GSXR. This spring she decided she wanted to do more touring and her sport bike wasn't the most comfortable for longer rides.  Thus she started riding the Lowrider. After riding this bike all summer she's ready to give a long road trip a go. She'll be making appearances in this blog as they make their way across country.

Rick and Deb, long time friends of ours, are making the journey again to celebrate Harley Davidson's birthday with us.  They're on their 2008 CVO Road King.  We've been friends and riding together for a dozen years. We are grateful to again have an opportunity to ride with them.  Deb, as our lone passenger, has graciously agreed to be our official photographer.

 

Rudy, a friend of ours who now lives in Utah, is also again joining in on the fun of the 115th Anniversary of Harley Davidson.  Five years ago Rudy made his first big road trip when we rode together to Harley's 110th Anniversary. His sweet ride is a beautiful red Road Glide that recently had some awesome graphics added to it. 

 

Here's a pic of some pre-game planning that was happening in July in anticipation of tomorrow, when their ride gets underway.

 

These four will get started by riding to Kalispell, MT tomorrow.  The next day they'll ride through beautiful Glacier Park and Going to the Sun Road and will overnight in Glasgow, MT.  From there they will enjoy Hwy 2 as it leads them into Rugby, ND which is the geographical center point of the continent. Tuesday they'll make their way to Superior, WI before arriving in Milwaukee the next day.  We will join them in Milwaukee and may even ride out to greet them as they are coming in from Superior.  Safe travels my friends.  We'll see you in a few days.

Day 3 - The Final Push for Chi Town

This morning when I woke Torrey, he said but it's an hour earlier at home, right?  Yep, but it's still time to get to it here/now. The bikes were packed in short order as it gets easier with a few days of practice and figuring out where each piece of gear rides best on the bikes. The goal today is to make it to Chicago.

As can be seen in the pic above skies are again hazy, essentially blocking out the sun.  Preparing to ride feels a little bit like ground hog day, still wearing layers with full chaps and leather jackets.
We found our now familiar friend, Hwy 20 East and headed out.  What Nebraska has given up in corn along this road, Iowa is making up for it. 

The road itself continues to impress us.  It has fun features like the turn off to the World's Largest Popcorn Ball.  It is smooth, and tranquil.  After several miles on the road it occurred to me that there was something missing.  Billboards!  There simply aren't any and I didn't miss them.  Except to notice their absence, I actually appreciated not have the constant interruption.  It's the physical manifestation as unplugging from the phone or outside distractions.  It really provides for an opportunity to take it all in.

Our first fuel stop/Monster stop was in Fort Dodge. In an effort to include more pics, I grabbed a quick one of the water tower.  Most people are probably familiar with these as they are quite prevalent in the mid-west, but for those that haven't travel outside of Idaho, this is for you benefit.  In addition this pic shows that haze gave way to a sky full of clouds.  While we munched our snacks, we were treated to the high school band practicing in the field across the street.  They sound prepared as the perfected the National Anthem, probably in preparation for Friday night's game.  As we rolled out of town, I noticed the bank clock had the temp at 71 degrees.

 

We finally got some of the retail therapy that typically accompanies a trip like this when we stopped by Silver Eagle Harley Davidson in Waterloo.  After finding a shirt and the always needed dealer pins and poker chips, we grabbed a quick bite to it.  We also got a tip from Steve at Silver Eagle about a great place to eat in Wisconsin when we get there. We visited with a few riders from Minnesota before getting back to it. It was warm enough to switch from full chaps to half chaps, to fingerless gloves and ditch the sweatshirt under the leather jacket.

On our way to Dubuque, we rode past the National Farm Toy Museum in Dyersville.  While we didn't have time to stop, it certainly looked like an interesting place.  McGrath Harley Davidson made for our second round of retail therapy today.  Shane was working pretty hard at getting us to consider a new bike purchase on the trip.  As odd as that might sound, we have a least a handful of friends that have actually purchased a new bike on a trip like this.  We were able to strip down a little further, now in t-shirt sleeves with denim vests and no jackets, before departing from Dubuque. 

Crossing over the Mississippi River puts one in Illinois.  Here Hwy 20 is known as the Great River Road.  The first town of any real consequence is Galena,  the home town of Ulysses S. Grant. The town has a lot of character and looks to be a fun place to further explore.  In Illinois, Hwy 20 is hilly.  It was a bit of treat to ride the peaks and valleys which feel a bit like a rollercoaster. When on hilltops, there are scenic overlooks of the farm land valleys.  This however was also the slowest portion of US 20 we've ridden.  Thus far, we've been able to cruise at near interstate speeds without much in the way of obstacles.  Not the case here, but that could have been in part because we're close to the point where we are just ready to get there.

Rockford was intended to be our third HD store of the day, but they were closed before we were able to get there.  Next time!  Not too far out of Rockford, we said goodbye to our now good buddy Hwy 20.  It has serve us well and we both highly recommend it as a preferred option over the interstate. We joined I-90 and just like our experience last night, it was only for 80 ish miles and we were ready for the quicker pace.

What we were not ready for was the tolls.  Yes, there were signs to warn us.  No that did not help us to be prepared.  When we rolled into that first toll booth, we must have seemed like aliens.  Other drivers quickly became frustrated with us when we were scolded for trying to pay and cross through together. And when we had to dismount the bikes and start digging for cash, the other drivers couldn't take it.  Where did I put my cash? Which bag? Which pocket?  As I watched cars select reverse and switch lanes to go around us, I found it.  Luckily I was smart enough to break a $20 so I'd have better luck at the next two toll gates.

We were late enough in the day I felt pretty good about missing the traffic going into Chicago.  The hotel where the meeting is held is downtown. I mean, all the way down town on the Miracle Mile, downtown.  Turns out that even at 8pm there is traffic.  So shortly after we cleared the third toll booth, which went much smoother than the first two, we found ourselves doing 80 + mph down I-90 thru 6 lanes of traffic with the sun setting in our mirrors.  With about 25 miles to go, traffic was getting more congested and had slowed to stop and go at a few points.  When we finally found our exit, we were amongst the sky scrapers.  We found our hotel and were able to park in the garage across the street. 

Tomorrow is the all day meeting for me.  I'm not sure what Torrey will do, but the spa/gym and sun patio are sure to be a part of it.

Total miles today: 491
Time to travel that distance: 13.25 hours (Good Retail therapy takes time)   
Total Cumulative mileage: 1533