Liz's Trip - Day 3 & 4 - 1025 Miles to Dubuque, Iowa

There was no excitement for day 3 until I got to my destination.
I was hoping to snag a first come, first served campsite at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, but no luck there.  The ranger told me that all federal and state parks in the area were filled, and directed me to a local campground/ RV park.

When I dumped the tent out of it storage bag, I realized that I had grabbed the wrong one.  Mine is a Eureka - Sam told me where the tent was stored - and I grabbed the Eureka. Unfortunately, this Eureka was Sam's old tent that probably hasn't been used in the 6 years we have been together.
The walls were mildewed, it smelled like wet dog and mildew (if you can even image what THAT smells like), the mesh was ripped, and a patch that was holding the side together was coming off. Major ick.

Hotel space was limited in the area, and what rooms were left were really expensive. It was getting to be dusk, so I didn't want to ride to the nearest town (we all know what happened the last time I tried that...), and I'd already paid for the campground - so I grumpily made the best of it.

I dosed myself up with every prescription allergy medicine I had, and took a couple Benadryl for good measure. I only put my sleeping pad and bag in the tent, because I wanted to limit what was exposed to the stench. I survived the night, and tossed the tent in the dumpster in the AM.

My first task for the morning was to get the BMW up on the center stand to check the oil. When I arrived at the campground the night before, I noticed a spot of oil on my right boot. Yeah, uh oh.
I checked it out, and there was a little leak. I looked up how to check the oil in the manual - the digital readout said the oil level was OK.

I called Ken, who assured me that the leak was not new, and that the oil level doesn't change much. He told me to check it on the center stand, using the sight glass.  I've never owned a bike with a center stand, and I knew the odds of me getting it on and off the center stand without tipping it were slim. *Very* slim.

I stopped at a local auto parts store, fortunately one of the staff rides and was willing to help me get it onto and off of the center stand. Oil was where it should be, so I will just keep monitoring it.  I have bikers in rooms on either side of me now, so I am lying in wait to see if one of them will help me this AM.

After I checked the oil, I was off to have some fun! The Dunes park had a tour of Pinhook Bog listed for that morning. I wanted to do it, but decided to check with the rangers. Good thing, because there was a misprint, the the bog tour was actually the day before. The ranger suggested that I walk the trail that runs next to the bog, so that is what I did.
(NOTE: I apologize for the poor picture layout, I can't seem to figure out how to make them appear side by side.)

Yes, that *is* a spine in the tree.

After my little hike, I saddled up and headed for the Iowa border.  Once I got past the Chicago congestion, I got off the Interstate and worked my way west.  I hit some pretty bad crosswinds in western Illinois, but other than that, the ride was unremarkable.

Once I got to the Missippi River, I headed north.  Someone who heard about my itinerary advised me that Iowa was boring, that there was nothing to see.  The eastern edge of it is beautiful - it actually reminded me a lot of Vermont, with farms built into rolling hills.  It was interesting looking at house built along the Missippi, some were on stilts, others were just normal houses.  Beautiful area!



Liz's Trip - Day 1 & 2 - My Adventure Quota Has Been Met

Thursday AM, I was ready to go!  I was riding to work, then heading off on my trip as soon as my
boss let me out.

Frosty definitely knew something was up, and was being very pathetic.

I left work around 3:30, it felt so good to be on the road.

About 30 miles from Syracuse, the bike started running badly.  When I gave it throttle, the engine would bog.  I moved out of the passing lane, just in case I needed to get to the shoulder.

Eventually the bike died. I got it onto the shoulder, and tried to start it - it would start, but die again as soon as I gave it throttle.  Eventually it stopped starting and an odd electrical tic showed up ...the tach needle would bounce up and down when I tried to start it.

Hmmm, fuel or electrical issue?

When I got off the bike, I quickly realized that the wind created by passing semis was going to push it over...and that my phone was almost dead.  I'm on the side of the road trying to keep my bike upright and rummage through my luggage for my battery pack.  Happily, my pannier lid was the perfect size to wedge against the side of the bike.  It gave it just enough support to prevent it from tipping over.

Yeah, ADVENTURE.

I couldn't call AMA for a tow until my phone charged, so I decided to drain my carb while the phone was charging. I was hoping that if there was crud in the carb causing my issue, it might get flushed out.

While I was working on the getting the drain screw loose, a car pulled onto the shoulder - it was my friend Ken! He was on his way to Buffalo and noticed a yellow KLR just like mine on the shoulder, lol.  He called AMA for me for a tow.  Unfortunately, only one company can tow off the Thruway, and they (of course) do not accept any travel club memberships.

While waiting for the tow truck, Ken offered me the use of his BMW GSA1200 for the trip.  I was astounded, excited and a wee bit scared, as I've only ever ridden KLRs, and Sam's V-Strom (twice). I didn't want to jeopardize my meeting Brenda and riding to Ketofest, so I decided to go for it.

Oh, the indignity

When the driver arrived, he asked what the issue was.  I explained the symptom, and that I expected I had crud affecting the main jet. His response was to ask whether I had gas, and whether the bike was rideable.  Really? You think I'd pay you a bunch of money to tow a rideable bike instead of limping it on the shoulder?  He also told us that he doesn't let his wife near his bike.  

Yeah, this is going to go well.

If Ken wasn't there, I'm not sure we would have been able to get the bike on the tow truck.  Even though they routinely tow bikes, there was no motorcycle dolly.  We had to stabilize the bike as the driver winched it onto the flatbed, avoiding stepping on oily areas on the already slick steel deck. (Well, Ken did the stabilizing, I steered)
The drive took the bike to the nearest exit, and unloaded it in a gas station parking lot.

AMA found and sent a company who would get us back to Rome for a reasonable price, we finally got home around midnight.

This morning, I woke up early to retrieve Ken's bike. The garage door of the facility broke the day before, so Sammy came along to lend a hand with opening and closing.  I was doubly grateful he was there, as we also needed to roll a Jeep around to make a space big enough to get the bike out.

I made it home with the Beemer, got it packed, and realized I had to RTFM to adjust the electronic suspension. (Seriously, electronic suspension).

I was back on the road a little after 10am, and made it to my first night's destination around 3pm.

Lara is my oldest (um, longest?) friend.  I've really enjoyed spending the afternoon and evening with her and Paul.  There is always stimulation conversation!

I didn't get much sleep last night, so I am heading off to bed now!

Liz's First Long Solo Trip!

This Thursday after work, I will be heading west on my first solo adventure.

Right now, the plan is to head west to Iowa, ride along the Missippi River up to Minnesota, then head to the Chicago area to meet up with a friend and continue on to New London, CT for Ketofest.
In all, it will be about 3500 miles for me and the Moose.

Brenda also rides a KLR. It isn't too often you see women on KLRs, let alone two of 'em travelling together.  I'm way more excited about it than I probably should be!
This is Brenda's first multi-day motorcycle trip, she has been planning this for months.
Her bike is in nearly pristine condition, so the only work she needed to do is to increase her comfort.

Yes, I'm scared.
I have no idea how different things may have turned out if Sam wasn't there to advocate for me when I hit the deer in South Dakota.

I'm doing things to protect myself - carrying the SPOT tracker, and I upgraded both brakes and lighting on the Moose...but still...

Patiently waiting to hit the road.