Thursday 30th May, 2013 – Rochelle, IL to Macedon, New York – 808 miles

Sun glasses on from the get go. A nice change. It turned out to be the warmest and sunniest day so far. I saw a 90* sign in Cleveland. Nothing much to see but traffic, convoys of trucks, and roadworks, certainly the scenery was really nothing to write home about. Pretty windy through Illinois and Indiana. Oh, and toll roads. A major difference between the east and west is regarding Interstate usage. Once you reach the Chicago area, I80 and I90 are basically toll roads to the east coast. I am always amazed at the difference in the price of gas in different States. Using premium, it is pricey anyway, but for two consecutive fills up in two adjacent States, the price per gallon was $4.69 and $3.69.  Gas tax will do that.

One thing for all you Garmin GPS users. I have found this on previous occasions, but had another instance to-day. I knew my route was basically I80/I90 all the way to Rochester, but use the GPS from there to Macedon. So out of interest I turned it on at Rochelle to compare the route. It had me traveling I94 east towards Detroit, a bit out of the way, but then wanted me to head north on I69 to Flint with the obvious intention of crossing into Canada at Sarnia, across Ontario, then back into the USA at probably Niagara. Huh?. It may be shorter mileage wise, but certainly not regarding time. 

So here in Macedon I will be visiting with friends for a couple of days, a wash and clean for the bike (it really is filthy,  wet roads and road works will do that), to Americade on Sunday until Friday, and then into Ontario to visit family and friends. I’ll try and do some posts from Americade. It should be an interesting experience, looking forward to it.

Wednesday 29th May, 2013 – Chamberlain, SD - to Rochelle, Illinois 680 miles

Rather a mixed bag type of day. Mother Nature gave me a reveille call with thunder and pouring rain, as a storm front came through.  As that delayed my departure, I used the time to have my “free” breakfast, and also check out some weather web sites to see what was going on in the mid-west, specifically along the I90 east corridor, and Chicago.  There had been all kinds of warnings regarding severe storms, and reports seemed to differ in places. Using the Doppler Radar presentations gave a better idea, and it looked like my storm was heading NE, and the area to the east, including Chicago, would be OK during the afternoon and early evening. I had earlier considered riding the northern route on I94, but made the decision at break point after Billings to ride I90. If the storms were going to persist, I could still head towards Fargo, Duluth and cross into Michigan from the north. A long detour. The rain ended, so I hit the road about 7AM, heading east for Sioux Falls. It was foggy all the way, but not a big issue. Once there I made the decision to just continue on I90. If fog and rain were it, then it would be OK. Actually after leaving South Dakota it was just cloudy, and the roads dried out. During the afternoon through Minnesota and Wisconsin it was warm and sunny. In fact on stopping in Rochelle, I saw one place registering 87*. Quite humid as well.

Not much in the way of scenery for today. Mostly flat, agriculture with ploughed fields, corn I think, and everything bright green. Crossing the Mississippi from Minnesota into Wisconsin at La Crosse was quite spectacular.   Even this far inland it is an impressive river. One thing I noticed in Minnesota was the very large number of windmills, all along I90 on both sides. As it is flat, and very windy, they obviously do the job.

Traffic was again very light, until I94 joined the party, and boy did it change. No more idling along on cruise control. The increase in the number of rigs was amazing, and from then on traffic was basically follow my leader. Some roadworks were around; I90 is obviously having a few dollars spent on it.

I had already decided to by-pass Chicago and use I39 south, then pick up I80 to continue east. So here I am in Rochelle, IL. for the night. Tomorrow is very much weather dependent, so we will see.

Tuesday 28th May, 2013 – Bozeman, MT to Chamberlain, South Dakota - 741 miles

Left about 6AM, continuing east on I90. It was cloudy with rain belts in the offing. I had a few until Billings, where they eased off. Nothing major that caused a slow down, and as the traffic was very light, no spray. I layered up before leaving this time, so kept the warmth in. It was cloudy until about Rapid City, then the blue sky and sun appeared to give a pleasant riding afternoon. Roads works were in abundance, mostly not just paving, but completely rebuilding the eastbound lanes.

The scenery through Montana and Wyoming was great, especially as distinct from last time I passed through those States, it was bright green. Obviously it was now earlier in the year, and I think they had had a fair amount of snow during the winter. Certainly the mountains still had a lot of snow on them.

Photos taken near Buffalo, Wyoming with the Bighorn Mountains in the background.

So on into South Dakota, and the prairies. As I was passing by Sturgis, I decided to have a look at the town in May. It was decidedly different than it will be in two months time, extremely quiet would be an apt description. I think most people there were tourists checking out the place. I took some photos of Main Street whilst standing in the middle of the road.

The calm before the storm.

It was then east on I90, until reaching Chamberlain where I decided to bed for the night. A couple of bridges connect the two parts of the town straddling the Missouri River.

Crossing the Missouri River.

Tomorrow it is much the same, east on I90 until I39 where I will head south for I80 to bypass Chicago.

Monday 27th May, 2013 – Home to Bozeman, Montana - 704 miles

Headed out before sunrise, although I didn’t see it. Hitting I90, it was cool and clear until Issaquah, when thick cold fog and low cloud descended. It was definitely Gerbing weather, the trouble was I didn’t have mine on board. It persisted cold and damp until Cle Elum, but never really warmed up until Missoula Montana. After that the clouds cleared and it was a warm sunny evening in Bozeman. I had unpacked some layers at my first gas stop, and wore them all day. Stopping for gas, the sun was warm, but moving it was a cool wind. I had hoped to get over the mountains towards Billings, but decided to bag it at Bozeman.

So apart from the miles between Ellensburg and Spokane, it was riding through the mountain ranges viewing evergreen trees. I was surprised how little traffic was on the road, even heading west seemed light. It thickened a bit through Spokane, but once into Idaho thinned right out. The other good news was that seeing as it was a holiday; the road works were shut down.

The first day on a road trip is usually shaking out the kinks, especially the body. It seems there are more of those each year. Maybe the cold amplified those this time.

So onward tomorrow continuing east on I90. Hopefully my weather luck will hold, although the forecast shows rain.

Summer road trip 2013 - overview

It is “ride about time” or “hit the road Derek”. One event I have wanted to attend is “Americade”, a large bike gathering at Lake George in New York State. As it takes place early June, it means leaving home the end of May, earlier than usual. As the ultimate destination is family and friends in Ontario, the plan is to visit friends near Rochester NY, then head for Americade with a riding buddy for a few days, then on to Ontario.

If anyone wishes to find out about Americade, all the details are here: http://www.americade.com/. Like Sturgis it has many events, although most likely a little less ‘over the top’.

My planned route is pretty straight forward this year, more or less ‘out and home’. Just head east, mainly I90, as I will have very little time for sightseeing. A bit boring, especially once over the Rockies, and most likely with very few stops for photographs unless I see something really different. Even though I have ridden segments of the route at various times, it will still be riding.

As for the trip home, depending on family visiting us, it will most likely be a quick ride back. Like I said “out and home”. One thing I hadn’t realized until recently is that my planned departure is on Memorial Day. Hopefully traffic will not be too bad

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