Another great trip ends

I'm back home!!!

I arrived yesterday at 4:25 after a 630 kilometre ride from Bradford Pennsylvania, a small city just south of the New York State border that's famous as the home of the Zippo lighter.

The day before I had ridden from Winchester Virginia; and for most of the afternoon it was in sometimes heavy rain. While my Michelin equipped BMW rides very well on wet surfaces, it's much more fun (and quicker) to ride on dry pavement.

The ride north yesterday was through some lovely countryside that my GPS chose for the most part.  At one point I passed through a large wind farm with  hundreds of towering wind turbines on either sides of the road.

The further north you go the more you see lakes and rivers; and they are blue, unlike the brown of those in the south. As the interstate highways are a way to cover a lot of distance quickly I followed I-90 and I-81 to the Thousand Islands Bridge. After having asked me how long I had been out of the country and expressing envy, the Canadian Border Services agent welcomed me back home. It was nice to be back, as it is each time I cross the border after a trip.

This year's trip was as enjoyable as the other three major road trips I've done in the past three years. The highlights are many; but the most memorable are the swing through Northern Ontario, which I had always wanted to do, and the sights around Rapid City which I've mentioned in earlier blog entries: Badlands, Rushmore, Devil's Tower, Crazy Horse. And then there's Sturgis, a small town I can't even imagine with 500,000  motorcycle enthusiasts in August each year. And what about 4 days in Nashville with Jane where we visited clubs, the Opry, Country Hall of Fame and other sights.  I must say that being based in one place and doing day trips out to sights is an interesting and somewhat less demanding way to tour that I like a lot.

The ride through the Smoky Mountains and along the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive were awesome. Having done the last two both ways, I think I preferred the south to north route.  I really enjoyed meeting and riding with Jim and Derrick in South Dakota.

There are no real negatives to speak about. Alright, there's the whole episode with Garmin, that I won't repeat here; the rain, of which there was more than I cared for at times; and the dearth of good meals, Nashville and Winchester excepted.

In conclusion, a great trip to add to the list. I've seen a lot of country, there were no nasty incidents, and my motorcycle performed beautifully.

And now, what you've all been waiting for, the numbers.

Total kilometres travelled: 9,365
Gas used: 445.9 litres  ($495.27)
Most kilometres on one day: 688 (July 2: Grand Rapids MN to Watertown SD)
Days away: 26
Days actually riding: 22
Different hotels/motels: 16
Provinces visited: 2
States visited: 14

I hope you enjoyed the reports.

Next year? Suggestions??

Smokey Mountains, Blue Rodge Parkway and Skyline Drive

I left Pigeon Forge early enough Friday morning and rode easrt through Great Smoky Mountain Park. I had my first formal encounter with the local constabulary after having been pulled over by a park ranger for driving beyond the 35 mph speed limit.  I hadn't noticed him directly behind me when I passed a slower car in front of me.  While he clocked me at 52 mph, since I had passed in a legal passing area and immediately reduced my speed to something closer to the speed limit, I was let off with a warning by the young officer who cautionned me that there were many collisions with bears in the park and that I should be very cautious.  I thanked him and continued my trip more mindful of how easy it is to go from the speed limit to much faster very quickly.


The Smoky Mountains:

The bottom of the west to east Smoky Mountain Parkway ends at the southern tip of the Blue Ridge Parkway which I turned onto. The Parkway is an amazing 469 miles that runs along the crests of the Southern Appalachians that links the Great Smoky Mountain national park at the southern end to the southern limit of the Shenanadoah National Park in Virginia. The scenery is breathtaking and those who laid out the route most assuredly were thinking of the generations of motorcycle riders who would be enchanted by the sweeps, curves, rises and dips in the road.  In addition to the landscapes on either side of the road, the parkway is often hedged by massive beds of yellow, red, pink, orange and blue wildflowers and massive rhododendron bushes that have been beatan back so that they don't completely choke off the roadway.

Because for reasons unknown the parkway was closed for a section north of Asheville, I detoured eastward a bit and ended up, after getting caught in a downpour, in Lenoir where I slept Friday evening. I'm afraid that dinner that evening at the Mayflower, a fish and seafood establishment accross the street from the Day's Inn was less than satisfying. Even the Chardonnay had a funny taste.

Saturday morning I rode from Lenoir through Blowing Rock to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and 437 kilometres later I was at a Howard Johnson in Lexington Virginia. The ride was nice, except for the heavy showers bit north of Buchanan which were so strong that I had to pull over under an overpass to let the worse go by.  I had a very nice Mexican dinner with a couple of beers in a new restaurant just accross the street from my hotel.

Today I completed the last section of the Blue Ridge Parkway and all of the Skyline Drive which is the road on the ridge that goes the lenght of the Shenandoah National Park. Again at the end of the afternoon dark clouds rolled in and it started to pour; so much so that I had to pull over and seek refuge under the overhang of an abandonned park cabin near one of the many overviews that you find all along the route.  Once the rain slowed down I was back on my bike and headed north. Then the sun came out and I was rewarded by the sight of brilliantly white clouds below me in green valleys on either side of the raod I was driving on.

The Blue Ridge mountains:

 And after the rain; looking down into the valley.

This evening I am in Winchester Virginia at the George Washington Hotel, an establishment I stayed at on my motorcycle trip last year.  And again like last year I had dinner on the outdoor patio at the Village Square Restaurant on Loudoun Street (like Ottawa's Sparks Street Mall but with people on it). And a fine, no better than that, an excellent meal. The daily special was a veal porterhouse grilled exactly medium rare with smooth mashed potatoes, tiny asparagus, and a perfect sauce of caramalized mushrooms and small dices of onion and carrots, garlic slivers in a herb scented veal jus reduction.

The glass of California Pinot Noir that I chose was a fine match for meal.  I enjoyed every bite.

Back on the road

Well, I'm back on thee road after ahving spent from Saturday to this morning in Nashville. 

Jane joined me on Sunday and together we did a bus tour of the sights, visited a number of sights including the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, where we saw an extremely well curated show of art deco influenced cars and motorcycles, the State Capital, the Bicentennial Park, and the Farmers Market.  We had drinks and listened to live bands at Legends, Tootsies, the Silver Dollar, and The Stage; had lunch and dinner while listening to live music at Margaritaville and BB King's respectively; and had beer and danced at the Crazy Horse. We had a nice but pricey steak dinner at Morton's, a great pulled pork plate lunch at Puckets, and a  good pasta dinner at Demo's, a family restaurant that specializes in great service, large portions and low prices.

And to cap it all we were able to get tickets to the Tuesday Night show at the Grand Ole Opry, a great experience.

We stayed at the Hilton Homewood Suites on Church Street and were very satisfied with the service which included a full buffet breakfast that changed from day to day that we took advantage of, and a free daily dinner offering with wine and beer which we did not.  I was able to park by motorcycle in an indoor lot a short walk from the hotel. Because of a small mixup with some laundry that I had brought to the desk Sunday afternoon that did not make it back to our room till Wednesday, we were not charged for either the laundry or the 4 days of parking.  Pretty sweet.  We totally enjoyed our four days in Nashville and will no doubt be back someday.

This morning Jane took a taxi to the airport and I headed east to the Appalachians. As I arrived at Pigeon Forge which is a little southeast of Knoxville the skies to the east were a threathening dark colour so I pulled into the parking lot of the Quality Inn here and took a room for the night. No sooner had I brought in my luggage that the skies openned up and the rain fell by the bucketful..

Tomorrow is another day.

Photos for last blog

The top two pictures are different views of the badlands.  the bottom one is a single flower poking out from the dry and otherwise barren soil.  Beauty in in beauty.

Today I rode south on the interstate to Topeka Kansas. And if you thought downtown Ottawa was desollate on a workday night, we've got nothing on the capital of the state of Kansas. At 8:00 pm the streets are empty as i walk to the cappital building that is being renovated.

There's a Kansas choir directors conference at the Ramada where I,m staying so I get to stand at the back of the room and listen to a  local men's group perform a few selections in front of a very knowledgeable crowd.  They are quite good and their efforts earn them a well desrved round of applause from the directors and other hangers on who have filled the hotel boardroom  The wings and beer in the bar are a nice treat after the concert and the walk.

New GPS and new friends

Yesterday as I anxiously awaited the new GPS from Garmin and went for another ride through the Badlands after a short burger break in Wall, of which I've written in an earlier post. I entered the Badlands from a different route further east than the Wall gateway. This meant that I got to see a section which I had not visited before, and also retrace the route I had taken earlier. I believe this way of going through the Badlands is better because you move from the lower elevation from which you can better appreciate the spires and mounds to the higher plains portion from which you can look into the gullies and ancient river beds. It's an amazing scenery from whichever angle you view it.








And just when you think there can't be any possible life in this barren space you find











a different form of solitary beauty.











Well, the GPS did arrive and I spent the better part of the evening, after having a delicious seafood risoto at Minervas, setting it up, and installing it on the bike. My temporary wiring arrangement isn't pretty, but it works. yeah!!


Today started off poorly. Dark clouds produced such a downpour as soon as I started on the highway to Sioux Falls a 350 mile journey. The rain was so strong that I pulled to the side of the road under an overpass where two other bikers, one on a Goldwing and the other on a Harley, had already sought refuge. As we waited out the rain we began to chat. As it turns out, Jim (Goldwing) Parker and Derrick (Harley) were on a second memorial of a good friend of theirs bike ride and were on the return leg of their trip. Jim who retired from what I take was a senior position at Walmart, having been there at the start of the chain, gave me some brochures of Arkansa his home state. Derrick is a chaplain with the USAF. After having given me a bunch of Arkansas motorcycle related brochures and as the clouds and the rain blew by Jim asked if I would like to ride with them, given that we were going in the same direction and all. I accepted their offer and am very glad I did. We stopped for gas a few times and enjoyed each others company over lunch. Being bikers we talked about rides and bike stuff. As it turns out Jim and I are the same age and have both taken to doing long bike rides in retirement.



I’m very happy I met these two new friends and as we split up at a gas station about 10 miles east of Sioux Falls we wished each other Godspeed; it sounded and was most appropriate.

Meals and more

Well, the moment some have been waiting for, me included.  I've managed  to have three good meals yesterday and today.  The first was an excellent breakfast bacon, sausage, eggs, hash brown potatoes, toast, jam and coffee at the Cheyenne Crossing Stage Stop Café; the name lone is worth the mention, but the meal is what is worthy of note.  on the road to theCrazy Horse Meemorial, of which more later.  Thee second is lunch today at the Loud American Roadhouse on a return visit to main Street in Sturgis. The place itself is huge, with a big stage where various acts will perform during the upcoming rally, as is the the Jack Daniels tent that has been set up in the parking lot next door. The meal was a grilled chicken breast on a bun with lettuce, tomato, and a sauce made with blue cheese dressing and tobasco sauce. It was delicious with the lemonade (a beer would have been nice but I was setting off on a particularly twisty piece of road: the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway after lunch). And to complete my trifecta of gastronomic delights, I had dinner this evening in a steak house but blocks away from the Ramada where I'm staying. Turns out that if instead of walking left out of the hotel driveway if I had gone right, over the interstate I would have discovered Minerva sooner. I had perfectly cooked New York strip steak, with silky smooth garlic mashed potatoes, and perfect little asparagus spears, accompanied by two glasses of Kenwood Pinot Noir.

And now for the more. Yesterday I rode, again on some great roads, to the Lakota Indian Crazy Horse Memorial, the world's largest mountain carving in progress located near Custer, in South Dakota's southern Blackhill's.The work was  started in June of 1948 by the sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and his wife and some of his 10 children are still involved in the project that is so massive that there is no projected completion date.

The top and bottom pictures show what has been accomplished to date, the middle one, with the mountain in the background, shows the model of what the finished sculpture will look like,  To put things in perspective, the four faces of the presidents on Mount Rushmore would fit in the space taken up by the face of the indian warrior Crazy Horse. 

I then road from this site back to Rapid City, via Mount Rushmore on Iron Mountain Road. Just when you trhink things can't possibly get more challenging, they do. In addition to narrow and short tunnels, switchbacks and hairpin turns with posted speeds as low as 15 mph, you're introduced to something called a pigtail. As the next picture shows this is a stretch of road that curves over itself like an extremely tight corkscrew.

It's an impressive piece of roadwork.

Finally today I rode north from Sturgis on the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway that follows a small river in a beautiful gorge as the next  two pictures show.

And finally in today's news, it seems that my extended Rapid City tour will soon end.  After another 45 minute call with Jennifer at garmin International it seems that we have the GPS situation sorted out (it turns out that Irwin didn't know his --- from his elbow and he'd totally screwed up the assignment) and a new unit has been shipped today and i should be receiving it by close of business tomorrow. Let's all keep our fingers crossed so that i can start the next phase of this journey, the ride to Nashville where I will be meeting Jane on Sunday.

Mount Rushmore

Today's journey was much shorter by no less exciting. The destination was Mount Rushmore, but the ride there (and as you've heard me say before: it's the journey that matters not the destination - though it this case they were both amzing) was nothing short of jaw droppingly impressive. The best part is a stretch of road called Needles Highway. The first picture below provides a clue of where it got it's name.  The others show some of the scenery along this narrow twisty stretch of asphalt ribbon.

And after a few dozen more curves, long sweepers and hairpins, now the moment you've all been waiting for. I arrive at Mount Rushmore, a stone sculpture like no other in the world. It's a magnificent  sight. From out of the southern exposure of the mountain the faces of Jefferson, Washington, Roosevelt and Lincoln look out on the thousands who visit this monument daily. In addition to the mountain there are the exhibition rooms and the theatres where you can learn a number of things about the way the sculpture came about and was executed. Again, the rangers that make the presentations are extremely well trained and are dedicated to making the visitor experience an enjoyable and rewarding one.  These bureaucrats are consumate professionals. Félicitations!

After a few hours walking around, listening and admiring I left Mount Rushmore with an appreciation of why Americans consider this site one of their national treasures.  I rode home in a heavy downpour, but it didn't matter.  This had a been a great day on, and off the bike.

Of GPS and Devil's Tower

Yesterday, another beautiful sunny day, I rode nothe from Rapid city to Sturgis. Anyone who knows anything about motorcycles has heard of Sturgis South Dakota, a small town that is invaded by an army, nearly 500,000 bikers for the last week of July and the first couple of weeks in August. This year marks the 73rd year that a rally ais held in Sturgis. It's hard to imagine how a small town can manage such an event, but it's a huge deal. More timid bikers, or those who simply want to avoid the chaos of rally days, are always welcome in a place that bills itself as: A City of Riders. This old bank building located on Main Street now houses one of the many souvenir/bike stuff shops in town.

Riding North through places like St Onge and belle Fourche one soon crosses into the State of Wyoming and the landscape changes as well. There are more mountains as one goes through a part of the Black Hills National Forest where the Bear Lodge Mountains are located. One interesting discovery is  the Fine Arts and Antiques Rogues Gallery in the very small town of Hullet. Definitely the work of a madman proprietor. How else to explain the outside jail cell and the wooden caskets that you can try on for size or the hundreds of sets of weathered deer antlers that decorate the outside porch pillars.

 But the rea reason to take this route lies 10 miles down the round, though you can see it nearly as soon as you leave the town heading south on Route 24. It,s Devil's Tower, a column of magma with a diameter of 1,000 feet at the base that stands more than 1200 above the surrounding terrain. It's awe inspiring. People have been coming to visit the Tower for ages, and climbers have been scaling the 120 routes to the top since 1893.

As a national monument the site of Devil's Tower is managed by the National Park Service, and they do an amazing job of it. The $5 entry fee is a bargain.

Driving south back towards Rapid City on a road with numerous "Careful Winding Road for the Next 3 Miles" signs that make me smile and think of my son Pierre-Alain and his wife Michèle who I am sure would take the curves at a much faster clip than I do, you drive through the town of Deadwood South Dakota, a place that's famous because it's where Wild Bill Hickok met his fate in a poker game.

About GPS', well that promised arrival of a replacement unit didn't happen; and given that I found out after five and that the service department of Garmin International doesn't operate on weekends, or holidays, I have to wait till Monday morning to find out what gives. AARRRGGHH!

.

July 4th Independence Day Special Edition from Rapid City Soth Dekota

Well it was a great day.  But before I go any further I have to say that while drafting my last blog entry I forgot to remember, or rather this morning I remmbered that I had forgot to inform those who keenly follow my gastronomic adventures about the details of yesterday's dinner. Well, it was some special treat; a personal size pizza with canadian bacon and a 24 oz can of Bud light with spiced Clamato.  Remember dear reader that this is a country where a Bloody Ceasar is a foreign concept..

And now, back to the trip. As soon as I left Pierre this morning I drove by the headquarters of the local chapter of the Varmint Hunters Association. I kid you not this association actually exists and its mission is to "To preserve our 2nd Amendment Rights by introducing individuals to the shooting sports and to provide the right tools and resources. Our magazine and events do just that!!!" They seem to be doing a fine job as I haven't seen any nasty varmints anywhere on this trip.

The landscape west of Pierre starts off looking like a pie crust with gentle rises and dips. Later cracks appear where a stream or small river snakes its way accoss the surface.  The fields where various crops are planted are huge, as much as 2 or 3 kilometres between fences.  And sometimes there will be a heard of cattle next to the highway.

Or a cluster of those grain bins I've mentionned before.

Later the rolls become more pronounced and the highway actually stops being a straight line.  This continues until you reach the Badlands which you enter just south off State Highway14 accross from the town of Wall. Wall started off as a drugstore in 1931 that has since grown into a series of linked shops that occupy all of one side of the main street in the town.  You can still get a glass of cold water for free and a whole bunch of other stuff, not for free.

The Badlands are really impressive. It's a bit like the Grand Canyon.  When you first come upon them you are riding on the top edge of large irregular shaped trenches that are hundreds of feet deep.  The stone walls are made up of layers of grey, pink, orange and beige rock.  There is little vegatation and not much wildlife.

I guess this is one of the reasons they call them the Badlands!

While there were some threatenning clouds I managed to escape all but one short shower that cooled me and the air down a bit.  About one hour west of the Badlands is Rapid City where I'm going to be camping out (The Ramada) for the next few days and from where I will be doing a series of day trips.
Well it's time to wrap it up and check the scores of the Alouettes football game. Go Als Go!

From Grand rapids MN to Pierre South Dakota in two days

Yesterday was the longest single-day ride so far. I covered 688 kilometres from Grand Rapids to Watertoen South Dakota; about 80 kilometres was a a result of a detour in southwest Minnesota. At one point I passed a farm where a tornado surely had touched down. There were large pieces of twisted silver coloured galvanized steel that at some point been a grain storage bin, of which there are many in this predominantly large farm country. The roads are in really good shape and they go on for long, long (did I say LONG) straight stretches. you can really see for miles and miles and miles. I stayed at another Country Inn and Suites on the outskirts of Watertown SD last night, which meant that dinner was a Quarter Pounder with cheese from the nearby McDonalds and the rest of my lunchtime Subway sandwich I had picked up in Breckenridge MN.



This morning after a nice waffle with fruit and a coffee, and a one-hour conversation/negotiation with a service representative from Garmin Industries about my defunct GPS, I set off for Pierre SD. À propos the GPS, it decided it simply wasn't going to put up with my finger pointing (jabbing at the screen) any longer, so it died. No amount of technical support could resuscitate the beast. So Irwin (of Garmin, I'm sure you guessed) and I worked out a plan whereby he would send me a newer (and more expensive) model to Rapid City by Friday at 3:00, where, with any luck I will be able to find a shop to install it on my bike. And here's the kicker; if I send them back the busted unit, I get a refund of half the price they will have charged me for the new super dooper whiz bang model that comes with a bonus offer of map updates for life. Now there's the kind of deal you want when you're 20; though it's nice to get it however old you are. Now you probably understand why the call lasted nearly an hour.


Back to the ride to Pierre. Well there's not much to say really. The US midwest is like the prairies, flat with fields of corn, wheat and other grains I can't identtify that stretch on for miles on both sides of the road. The monotony is broken up by the occasional herd of cattle next to a watering hole or small creek, and various groupings of different size metal grain storage bins and elevators that you can see from a fair distance, the land being so flat and all.


Pierre, the South Dakota is a bit like Regina. It has a beautiful state capital building constructed between 1905 and 1910, which I visited, and a man-made lake, Capital Lake, next door to it. Except for a family of four, I was the only other visitor in the building, so I self-guided myself into the visitors galleries of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and along the corridors of power on the four flours of the building. And for your added enjoyment you can view the paintings and pictures of the justices of the South Dakota Supreme Court which holds its sessions on the second floor of the East Wing of the Capital Building.


That's pretty much it for Pierre; a 2 hour walk in 92 degree heat did not reveal any other noteworthy sights, though I'm sure they're there somewhere. The greatest disapointment was the inability to find a place to have a cold beer.


The capital building in Pierre South Dakota

The big sky in South Dakota

The Senate chamber:

Nipigon to Grand Rapids MN -Canada Day 2013

Started off from the Tim Hortons in Nipigon this morning at 8:00 and rode by Thunder Bay, stopping at the Terry Fox memorial which I had last seen on my first retirement ride in the summer of 2010, then off along the northern shore of Lake Superior, through Duluth and into Grand Rapids where I was able to find a very nice room, at a discounted seniors rate, at the Country Inns and Suites.  The road along the lakeshore is very impressive and there are a number of spots where one can stop to look out onto the lake. After breakfast at the Blue Water Café in Grand Marais I stopped look at a lighthouse that was built in ther 1920's after many ships had run into shoals along the shore, and which became a big tourist attraction afterr the road I'm now on was put in.  The second stop was at a parc where trails have been built for visitors to walk along the shore of a river and admire a series of lovely falls.

In the category of "how do they do this" is this story about my dinner.  It starts with the chit for a free drink at the Cedars Dining Room in the establishment next door to the Country Inns and Suites. I order a Bloody Mary; it comes well spiced in a large salt-rimmed water glass with a chunk of celery and a huge olive, and a side of beer. Yes, that's right a 6 ounce glass of beer to drink before, with or after your drink; an appéritif, a contorni, or a digestif.  The dinner, salad, an 8 (but no one was counting) ounce cut of delicious medium rare prime rib roast au jus, baked potato with the fixins, fresh buns, and a hot bread pudding dessert, with a glass of California Pinot Noir and a $5 tip, comes in at $27.48.

Happy Canada Day to all!!