Thursday June 20th - Missoula, MT to home – 498 miles

I think Mother Nature had decided enough of that warm sunshine for you my son. Cop hold of this. Although it wasn’t raining when I left the motel about 6AM, it wasn’t sunshine either. I actually had a dry road at times, with just a few sprinkles the first 50 miles, and then it all changed as I hit the mountains. And I was thinking I might have a decent run home. As well as rain, it became very cold. Waterproof my new super duper gloves might be, warm they ain’t.  I had checked the web weather for waypoints on the way home, and light showers, with really cool temperatures was the theme. So I dressed accordingly, which was smart as crossing over Lookout Pass into Idaho  I wouldn’t have been surprised to see snow. One good thing was that traffic was light, and the road work crews hadn’t started up, so it was a fairly reasonable ride to Coeur d’Alene. That road has some serious twisties, so caution and focus was the play of the day. Traffic picked up near the city, as did the spray, and I wasn’t aware I had crossed into Washington until I realized I was passing through Spokane.

The rain continued, with added wind gusts, until after Moses Lake, where the road became dry, and it looked a decent day. Then at Easton, it changed again, heavy rain and cool over Snoqualmie Pass, and rain all the way home. One good thing was that apart from the works near Keechelus Dam, there were no hold ups in Washington. Which is more than can be said for those heading east. There was a huge backup near Cle Elum, and it would get worse as there seemed to be a large amount of traffic heading that way, and in convoys. I was lucky, as about an hour after I arrived home, the heavens opened, and it has poured since. I have to admit, to-day was the wettest and coldest ride I have ever experienced, period.

So my summer ride for 2013 has come to an end. New experiences and some new places seen. The master plan did not work out as originally defined, but that is life. We move on, and who knows what will be the theme for 2014. A short trip this year, out and home, 6938 miles.

Once again, thanks for listening. I’ll get the missing write ups and photos posted asap.

Wednesday June 19th – Bismarck, ND to Missoula, Montana – 781 miles

A day of two different weather systems. A nice sunrise, cool with high clouds to start, but by Montana it was blue skies, and warming nicely. There were dark rain clouds to the north, but I was heading west. Traffic was extremely light, with very few road works, so I made really good time to Billings. There one could get a glimpse of the mountains, those with snow and no trees on top. It made one feel that I was actually back in the west.

Sunrise at Bismarck:

It never fails to amaze me as to how suddenly and dramatically the landscape changes riding through the Dakotas and into Montana. One minute it is flat farmland, then over a rise and suddenly there are the rocky hills and gullies formed millions of years ago. It is the same going from east to west Montana. You suddenly are confronted with evergreens, then the mountains.

The west is here:

Summer must be rapidly approaching as there were more RVs and trailers on the road now, plus loads of loaded bikes all heading east. I did meet up with a rider from Indiana, heading to visit his sister in Seattle. We met again sheltering from the rain at a gas station in Missoula. I hope he makes it OK.

As the going was great, I pushed on towards Butte, and as I rode over the divide (6300 feet) into Butte, it was like arriving on another planet. Dark black clouds were everywhere, and with a bitterly cold strong wind the temperature must have dropped 30-40 degrees. As I headed west of Butte it was obvious I was going to get wet, so I gassed up, and battened down, even putting on a jacket under my riding suit as it was so cold. About 30 miles from Missoula, the rain really started, so I decided I would see what it was like in Missoula, and if still raining hard would call it a day. Gassing up in Missoula, there was a motel opposite, so that was the place. There were a load of different bikes already parked at the motel, some riders from Alberta, one from Oregon, and one from BC. Quite a varied collection. All the others had had rain most of the day, so I was lucky. Apparently it was clear in Idaho, so the cold rain was focused here.

Tomorrow I will be home. Hopefully the rain will have run its course overnight, but if not then heading west I may hit better weather.

Tuesday June 18th - Madison, WI to Bismarck, North Dakota – 710 miles

Nothing spectacular to-day, just a riding day heading for home. It started off cloudy and very cold, the coldest day by far since leaving home. It must have been at least 30 degrees below yesterday afternoon. However, the sky cleared early afternoon, and it became sunny but not hot, just right for riding.

Once clear of Madison, the traffic thinned out, and continued to do so as I headed north on I90/94. As the weather forecasters were indicating more storms coming from the south, I decided to travel further north through North Dakota. This meant hitting the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, but I reckoned I would be there after the main rush. At least to-day would be free of the toll bandits. Man, those eastern states really milk the tolls, and the condition of the freeways needs some work with our tax payers’ money.

June is road construction month, and there was substantial road work throughout Wisconsin. Not just relaying the road, but new bridges. They must be flush with money. As traffic was light, there were no delays. I decided to take the bypass around Minneapolis/St. Paul, and it worked fine until I had major road works before rejoining I94. It was a fairly short delay and nothing after that through Minnesota and North Dakota, with traffic thinning out all the time.

Not much in the way of scenery. Wisconsin and Minnesota are similar in many ways, very agricultural, with probably more woods in the former. One thing is that everything is very green, even in North Dakota. No drought so far this year.

One interesting thing regarding my GPS. I have some set waypoints that are permanent, and used the Mill Creek one to direct me around Minneapolis. Once clear of the city, it suddenly gave me my next checkpoint as 1617 miles, Exit 10 on I405 North. Man, that is some checkpoint distance.

So Bismarck is the overnight stop, and onto Montana tomorrow.

Monday June 17th - Waterdown, Ont. to Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Harley Davidson Museum) to Madison, Wisconsin – 659 miles

A perfect riding morning, cool and clear, although the afternoon became hot and a bit humid. Leaving about 6AM, I headed to the border crossing at Windsor via the 403 and 401. Traffic was fairly light, so I made good time. The delay at the border was minimal, so it was through Detroit via I96W and M14, eventually picking up I94 heading for Chicago. I elected to use the toll and Skyway through Chicago. Traffic was light until I hit the downtown area, but it didn’t last long, and I reached the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee about 2PM. Rather than find a motel then visit, I decided to check out the museum, and if more time was needed to come back tomorrow. I spent about 2 hours then, then decided to move on, and reached Madison for the night. 

Harley Museum Building

Whilst at the museum, I did find our individual rivet in the wall, courtesy of a row/column coordinate of I/118. I have inserted some pics. The wall has a few vacancies, some obviously awaiting additional rivets.

Individual Rivets

Some bike photos