Archive for August, 2006
Day 12 – Casper Wyoming
What a Day!
We woke up early to have breakfast with “the men” of the True Family… Two brothers, fathers of 6 and 8 respectively, and accomplished business owners. We listened as they shared their new vision for business and family, it was great…
Walking to Breakfast:
“Eggintons” – Great Breakfast!
After breakfast we hurried back to the homestead to meet with each of their families so that Ethan and I could share our homeschooling stories and explain where we struggled, where we strived and the problems/ successes of our lives thus far.
We fielded questions from the children and adults for around 2 hours before we retreated to one of the homes for lunch.
“Lunch Break”
It was time to leave, so after rinsing the dust off of the bikes we said our goodbyes, collected some signatures and took off to the North and West.
And signed:
From Casper we hopped on the Interstate, nearly ran out of gas and ran at high speed until we got off on a scenic highway through the Bighorn Mountains towards Yellowstone.
The road was smooth and the scenery was incredible… I touched both of my knees down going up and down the mountain passes and we were amazed by the sudden influx of Harley’s riding over from the massive Sturgis Rally.
A scenic overlook:
After passing literally hundreds of Harleys going both East and West, we entered Shoshone Canyon… It looked like something out of a John Wayne movie. I half expected hundreds of Indians to start hurling rocks and firing arrows at us from above. That fear aside, the ride was gorgeous… The river running beside us was incredible and the rock structure is like nothing else.
I stopped beside a sign and while waiting for Ethan to catch up, I snapped this picture.
And when he pulled up:
From Shoshone Canyon, we rode into Cody… Buffalo Bill’s favorite place (and thus, named after him!). After fueling up we rolled into the downtown area and discover row upon row of parked Harleys… Probably 1,000 of them just on the main street.
The next Canyon was incredible, we passed through a couple of long tunnels and saw beautiful waterfalls and rapids from alongside steep walls that towered hundreds of feet above us. The last tunnel we passed through took us past the dam and visitors center and on to a sunset lit reservoir that was absolutely breathtaking.
Here are a couple of shots from there, MANY more images to come.
Ethan’s beautiful Silver Yamaha FZ1…
My “Manly Blue” Yamaha FZ1:
Ethan fully enjoying God’s beauty 
More Beauty… This time in Black and White:
Ethan got this one of me
And the lake itself:
From the lake, we rode another 40 miles or so to the lodge that is just before the entrance of Yellowstone…
We arrived there just after 8:00PM and were informed that there was no way to get into the park until the next day, AND that they had absolutely no vacancies… See, the road that we had to ride to get into (and through) the park is under major construction. At night, they are blasting the mountainside beside the road to make improvements, and as you can probably imagine; riding beside live dynamite without them knowing you’re coming probably isn’t the brightest idea.
We weren’t too dissapointed though, the 30 miles that we needed to ride back to the lodge we’d decided to stay the night at, were INCREDIBLY beautiful and the road was a blast… We made it back in no time and after haggling with the owner of the lodge, we settled ourselves into a neat little cabin beside a rushing river.
Our plan for the night was to sit back, maybe work a bit and definitely get some writing done for this blog… Those plans were ruined when Ethan decided that it’d be fun to try his hand at Karaoke in the lodge.
It was hilarious!
We found time to talk to a lot of the employees and guests there… Some TRULY unique characters and some that you’re never quite sure if you WANTED to meet 
We made plans to ride out at 7:30AM with a couple on a Harley and headed off to catch a few hours of sleep.
At around 9:45AM we woke up, and after doing some rolling over we headed in to breakfast… I guess we aren’t as young as we used to be!
Ethan’s side –
Today we had breakfast with the True brothers and had more excellent conversation then packed our bikes and headed north. Our goal was to hit Yellowstone national park then ride up into Montana. We rode through the dessert then through the mountains, over the river and through the woods but never made it to grandmothers house.
We made it to the park entrance at 8:30 only to discover that the road closed at 8 so we were stranded and doubled back to find a cheap hotel. The doubling back wasn’t so bad because the thirty miles before the park entrance is a beautiful winding road along a river with a full moon reflecting from it. We found a neat place but the rooms were a little on the pricey side so we walked out and met the owner of the place, after chatting for a little bit he gave us a discount and we had a place to stay for the night.
We unpacked and walked back to the bar to see what was happening and to try some Alaskan beer that we had heard about. There wasn’t much happening, some rodeo guys were playing pool and in the big room there were three people singing karaoke. We bought a six pack and turned to leave when the lure of the karaoke took over. I had had Johnny Cash in my head all day and decided to give “Jackson†a try. I had sang a few lines over the intercom at a southwest ticket counter and thought it should be to difficult. I managed to get through without sounding horrible and enjoyed being on stage so we hung out for a while and I tried my hand at the whole karaoke scene. I sang “Superstar†by the Carpenters next followed by “Thank God I’m a Country Boy†by John Denver and “Ring of Fire†by Johnny Cash. I did ok on “Ring of Fire†and the local talent got on stage for “Plaise di Amour†a la Elvis. He did a good job so I took it as a challenge and responded with “Teddy Bear†by Elvis and brought down the house. The other guy backed down after that brought an end to the Karaoke glory days. We stayed there for a while longer chatting with some cool folks then headed to bed.
Day 11 – Ranching in Casper
We were awakened early by the sound of laughter and young archers… 14 cousins were playing together in the early morning light, many of them trying their hand with one’s new bow.
We were summoned to an amazing breakfast a couple of hours later, where we met another one of our hosts families.
See, the “True” family has a “homestead” as they call it, with most of the siblings and their close family all living on property, surrounding a grass field and the big horse barn… The families have 2, 4, 6, and 8 kids respectively and they all homeschool.
Talk about a neat place!
After breakfast we were hurried along by a group of the kids, BACK to the barn where they had horses saddled, bridled and ready for us to have an adventure on “the mountain” behind their homes.
After going through a couple of sets of gates, it was immediately evident that we were REALLY in Wyoming, the sky seemed to open up as we climbed the hillside and the “homestead” shrunk beneath us. Everything is so BIG out West!
Another thing became very apparent too… These kids could ride! I grew up on and around horses, but it seems that I’ve lost a lot of it since these guys could EASILY ride circles around me, BAREBACK even though I was in a saddle.
Really cool to see actually
Here’s a shot of the whole gang, with Ethan (briefly) in the lead.
Ethan’s unique riding style of “oooooh Lordy, I’m gonna go fast!”
Though I didn’t bring any kind of telephoto lens, I was able to capture two of the MANY antelope we saw as we journeyed across their 160 acre play area.
Checking out the neighbors new place…
I handed the camera over to Ethan so he could show off my use of riding boots…. They make for unique tan lines
Hard Lean…
Perspective…
After returning, we spent the rest of the afternoon just lazing around a bit… Ethan spent the majority of it catching up with his lovely fiance on the phone.
I spent my time writing on this blog, working, and drinking far too much Arizona Green Tea (great stuff!)
In the early evening our slothfulness was interrupted by a call to help carry dinner over to the barn where most of the family would be joining us to find out who these crazy motorcyclists were.
What a dinner it was!!
There was so much steak that there was actually LEFTOVERS even with over 20 people eating. I can’t remember a time when I stuffed myself so completely, it was lovely!
The kids table (How cute are they?):
Oh man, I almost forgot to mention… Just before dinner, Ethan and I went out to the store to pick up some drinks. Rather than ride the bikes, we were told to take “The Suburban”
Something odd about that truck, isn’t there?
When we got out at the store, I turned around and started laughing… It was hanging over a parking space and a half and looking completely out of place. But hey, it has enough seats for their 6 kids!
After dinner, we headed out to one of the houses, where we sat on the front porch to watch the sun go down and discuss things like homeschooling, calvinism, family, and business… Great times!
This flag pole sits near the middle of the homestead:
We decided to meet with the two brothers in the morning, and headed off to bed.
Ethan’s side –
As a kid I enjoyed watching old western TV shows like Bonanza. Good cowboys, cattle, horses, barns, steak and good people. The True family and their ranch are very similar to the Cartwright’s ranch. I woke up in a large, finished room replete with Fireplace, grill, couches and tables all above a functioning horse barn.
I heard a faint whistling down below and went down to investigate. I answered with my own whistle and kept following the responding whistle. It was one of the kids, he gave me a tour of the garden and I started my day with a breakfast of fresh green beans and strawberries. His sister and brother joined us and we shot some arrows at a deer target in the yard. Soon a multitude of children filled the yard, running around and filling the air with a cheerful tumult.
A brunch was served to us at the Kip True homestead and by brunch I mean a true western brunch (pun intended). After riding a motorcycle through a storm, cheesy eggs, homemade pancakes with fresh blueberries and strawberries, bacon and toast a piece of heaven on earth. With a full stomach we chatted around the breakfast table then went out with the kids for a horseback tour of the “homestead†as they called it. They gave me a horse named “Preacher†which at first sounds like a nice horse but they didn’t tell me the denomination A better name would be Fundamentalist Baptist preacher from the hills TN. He had a mind of his own and was a little ornery to boot. But like a good baptist once you get to know them they are good people. We rode all through the fields and hills seeing antelope and deer. I had fun cantering around chasing the dogs that were chasing the deer. A horse is an old fashioned motorcycle I thought while musing in the saddle. And the modern day biker is like the old time cowboy and drifter. Everything you need is strapped to the saddle and you have the freedom to go anywhere.
We got back from the horse tour and relaxed siesta style for a little while and I took the opportunity to chat with my future wife on the phone For dinner the four families came up to the top floor of the barn and we had a feast. But first Eric and I drove into town in the stretch suburban to buy some tasty beers because the unenlightened only had coors light in the fridge 
Driving in the stretch suburban I felt like a rapper on MTV except I was in the middle of Wyoming. It was a strange feeling. The feast we had was awe inspiring. Large tasty cuts of marinated steak grilled to perfection, corn on the cob, salad, rolls and good beer. It was a feast of epic proportions. After the feasting had ended we sat outside and enjoyed good conversation as the kids played in the yard. Food Family and Fun equal Fellowship. And that is what we experienced with the hospitable True family.
That night I climbed the ladder to the very top of the barn and slept in a small 7×7x7 screened in room and fell asleep to the wind howling and the moon in the distance casting an eery glow over the mountains.
Day 10 – Colorado to Wyoming
I left you last as we were departing Colorado Springs on Day 10 of this grand adventure…
After doing a brilliant job of leading us around in a huge circle, we successfuly merged on to the interstate, and headed North. Of course, as luck would have it, we made it North about a mile before the traffic slowed to a stop and I jumped into the Exit lane (beside the giant Focus on the Family Center) to follow some back roads toward Denver.
Of course, I succeeded in getting us turned around once more before getting BACK on the (now moving) Interstate and riding on.
Our destination for the night was planned to be Casper, Wyoming where we’d be staying with the True family… It wasn’t supposed to be a hard ride at all, fairly clear weather, less than 400 miles and beautiful countryside to ride through. Ahhh, but as you well know, things aren’t always what they seem.
We turned off the Interstate just South of Denver and rode up into the Rocky Mountains. It was glorious! I can’t express the beauty in those mountains… Sure, the yuppies abound, the elk show rarely themselves, and there are cops hidden in bushes, but it REALLY is beautiful!
In the distance, we spotted some massive red rocks jutting out of the ground and then soon after, a sign for “Red Rocks State Park” I took the turn, rode in a few hundred yards and stopped for the obvious photo op… Massive pebbles 100+ feet tall rose above us on both sides, it was amazing!
As I stood in the middle of the road, conspicuously taking photos I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye. A moment later, a bicyclist swiftly passed us with a smile and a wave.
We followed him up to the top of the park where there was a beautiful view (Including downtown Denver!).
After a brief interrogation, it came to light that “Sifredo” the bicyclist was a grandfather with a mission, a mission to cycle as much of the world as possible. In recent years, he’s ridden from Denver to the Artic Circle, from San Diego to Miami, and much more… He’s currently training for a ride to Southern New Mexico with his Grandson!
Amazing guy, really.
And Signature:
From the Red Rocks, we headed due North towards Evergreen and I drug my first knee in Colorado, shortly before we came around a turn where the CHP had pulled over nearly a dozen riders. We continued on through some of my favorite places in the US until we finally stopped for a tasty (but greasy) lunch at Burger King.
After some more mapping, we rode off towards Wyoming, through Golden, CO and into the rain…. It rained for hours as we rode through the Rocky Mountains, barely puttering along for fear of losing traction and sliding off of an un-guarded cliff. Finally, we turned away from Estes Park and towards the lighter end of the storm, and the city of Boulder.
The rain stopped as we passed through Boulder and clear skies awaited us, along with long empty roads as we made our way towards Wyoming.
As the day wore on, it became increasingly aparent that we wouldn’t make it into Casper until late that evening… So, as the roads became flatter and longer we rolled on the throttle, made great time and saw the most breathtaking sunset of my entire life… I don’t think that pictures could even do it justice, it was amazing.
We stopped for fuel in “Historic Medicine Bow, Wyoming” grabbed a wrinkly hot dog and watched with amazement as massive lightning storms grew to our East and West… Somehow, it didn’t sink in fully that we were turning East, until we finally made the turn.
… I put on my right blinker with a mind full of worried thoughts and hasty prayers. Within minutes of leaving Medicine Bow we were surrounded by the most INCREDIBLE lightning either of us have ever seen.
It was striking all around us, but seemingly never TOO close. As the rain began to fall, the road turned a few degrees to the left, and directly into the middle of the storm. I began reciting the 23rd Psalm and scanning the road ahead for deer and antelope.
What I SHOULD have been watching for was jack rabbits… Because, even though there were literally dozens of deer visible beside the road, the only thing that stood in our path was nothing more than a wee little jack rabbit.
Now mind you, in Wyoming they make some BIG rabbits!
This thing stood around 2 feet tall and seemed to hop all over, trying to hit me and my bike… I narrowly avoided it, as did Ethan and we continued our way into the blackness of the storm.
Now, when I say blackness I MEAN BLACKNESS… It was incredible! As the rain got harder and it became nearly impossible to see, I half jokingly Prayed that God would send a car or something for us to follow so that we wouldn’t have to be so afraid of the animals in our path. I say “jokingly” because we hadn’t seen another vehicle in around 20 miles, this is some seriously desolate area.
But, to my surprise… No more than a minute later a car roared around us and we quickly worked to keep up with it as it led us through the worst of the storm.
As time marched on and the miles rolled by, the car gradually pulled away from us and we saw the glare of lights on the horizon. “Rest Area” a faded blue sign said, as we pulled into the parking lot.
There was only one car there, and as “coincidence” would have it, it was the car that had led us through the storm.
And as a few more “minor” coincidences, the couple driving it just happened to be not just motorcyclists, but the regional LEADERS of the Christian Motorcyclists group.
After an excited conversation, they signed Ethan’s tail bag, prayed for us and took off.
Less than an hour later, we pulled in to Casper, Wyoming where our host was awaiting us with his oddly shaped Suburban, to lead us to the barn where we’d be staying the night.
Well, when promised a barn to sleep in, one can only think “Barn… Cool!” It’s a rare occasion when you’re able to think “Barn… GORGEOUS!”.
This was one of those occasions.
We rode our bikes into the hall downstairs, beside the 17 horses stall’s and tack rooms, grabbed our luggage and were led upstairs to the “dining hall” where they’d recently entertained the State of Wyoming’s entire Republican party.
(Pictures to come)
It was gorgeous! Hardwoods from floor to ceiling, round tables, refrigerators stocked with drinks, and comfortable couches… Oh, and WiFi!
We were in heaven, and soon after… In bed!
-Eric
Ethan’s Side
A whole lot happens today
After a day of leisure I was ready to hit the road. We finally left at noon and once we made it to the interstate it was bumper to bumper traffic. After a few back roads we made our way up into the Rockies. Riding down the road we saw some huge red rocks sticking up in the distance. It was a park with red rocks, so we rode up the twisty roads, through the canyons with Eric stopping frequently to take pictures. At one of the kodak moments a bicyclist we had passed stopped and told us where the good picture spots were. His name was Sifredo Martinez and at the age of 75 he is training to ride from Denver CO, to Phoenix AZ, with his grandson. I thought that was pretty impressive but then he said that he had peddled to the Arctic circle, to mt Rushmore and from San Diego to Miami. After hearing his story, riding my motorcycle from Tennessee to Alaska and back didn’t seem like such a great feat
We kept riding further into the Rockies and the further we got the better the view. Each canyon opened up in the a picturesque view of Mountains, streams, rocks and pine trees. The roads were fun as well. Smooth with lots of twisties. Coming around one corner we slowed as we passed about 10 Harleys all pulled over by the cops, it seems they like the twisty roads as much as we did. We took it slower after that and headed further up into the mountains. It rained on and off high up in the mountains which made for slow going around all the tight curves but we made it safely out of the mountains and into Boulder where the rain started to taper off. After Boulder it was smooth sailing all the way up into Wyoming.
We stopped at Medicine bow right in between two huge storms. Looking on either side I could see lightning flashing. We geared up and headed straight for the center of the biggest darkest storm. For the first 70 miles it was just dark and I saw about 30 deer alongside the road but thankfully they stayed there, the only thing to venture into our path were two jackrabbits, but since we were in Wyoming they were quite big and fast to they made it safely across the road. For the next 30 miles it rained. Heavy pelting rain with gusting strong winds. Needless to say we slowed down and chugged our way along. Half way through the soup a car passed us and lit our way for a little while. We stopped at the rest area halfway between Medicine Bow and Casper and me the people driving the car. “Coincidentally†they were Richard and Sherri Heid the regional leaders of the C.M.A. The Christian Motorcyclist Association. We talked bikes for a while and they told us they had been praying for us as they passed. They were a neat couple and they prayed with us and we headed out. I thought it was awesome that the only car to pass us on that road, or that we pass happens to be the leaders of the CMA. Cool stuff. We made it the rest of the way safely to Casper and stayed the night in the True’s barn.
Day 8 & 9 – Nebraska to the Rockies
Looooong Straight Roads, High Winds and Tap Dancing in the Street….
Day Eight started off with me passing out on the couch in mid conversation with our hosts in Nebraska… After 20 minutes (+) of cat napping in public, I excused myself and went off to a much more comfortable bed.
The next morning we awoke to delicious smoothies and some fun conversation, before plugging in to the internet and taking care of some business/ blogging. As the morning progressed, I shot a couple of photos of the Crothers and their Math-U-See operation, ate some tasty Mexican food and then took off for Colorado.
“In the Office”
And our new tradition of bag signing was fulfilled of course:
Because of our busy morning, we weren’t able to leave until a bit later than planned. Once we hit the open road (and I mean OPEN! Nothing for miles, and miles) we decided to make up for it.
That’s when we truly discovered how much of a hit our gas milage takes when we kick our speed up a notch (or two )… The miles slid by beneath us like nothing I’d ever seen, just a short while outside of McCook we passed into Mountain Time Zone… Another big accomplishment for us.
The fun almost ended shortly thereafter though… Shortly after passing into the new time zone, we started watching our fuel gauges like hawks as they ventured into, and below the “E” portion of the gauge.
“Not to worry” we thought, “There’s a town 13 miles ahead”.
Well, I don’t know what they call a town in Kansas, but this surely wasn’t much of one! After driving through it twice (in about a minute and a half) we spotted a couple of people who after giving our “new fangled machinery” some inquisitive stares, told us where we “might could” get some fuel as long as we had cash.
Of course we DID have cash… $6.00 whole dollars worth!
But, that was enough to get us to the next town, and out of the beautiful wasteland where we were nearly stranded.
Ethan, wondering “What do I do!?!?”
And a quick shot, looking away from the pumps… BIG sky out here folks (and not much else!)
It didn’t take us much more than an hour before we were settled on a course to see my “family” in Colorado Springs, CO. As the countryside rolled it’s way underneath our tires and we continued Westward, we kept seeing an ever increasing number of Harley’s enroute to Sturgis, SD for their notorious annual rally.
Our last stop for fuel on Day 8 was at an ancient Flying J. That’s where Ethan spotted this “Homeland Security – Warning Level” sign in the window which we both thought was pretty odd.
According to our map, we had less than 2 hours to go to the Springs, and we were definitely ready to see some big mountains.
And did we ever!!
40 minutes outside of the city, I couldn’t take it any more… Between the 4 liters of water I’d had to drink, the beauty of the sky, mountains and our pressing need for detailed directions, I turned off the main road and we quickly found ourselves beside a tiny airstrip with an amazing view of the Rocky Mountains.
We were literally slap happy, and after we took care of our other “pressing” needs, we had a miniature photo shoot with the dark clouds and the mountains as a backdrop. I haven’t had that much fun in a terribly long time.
From our most recent conversations, Ethan’s REALLY glad that he didn’t choose to criss-cross the country THIS way (though he might try it someday).
Me… Acting like… Well, Me.
Ethan’s soon to be new profile picture (I think).
My new profile picture
(Great angle Ethan, Thanks!)
And to the tune of one of our favorites, Ethan “Walks the Line”
Too much fun, seriously.
The next two days were full of wonderful times with some of my all time favorite people, in one of my all time favorite places. The Ewings are LONG time family friends, to the point where I’ve only ever known them as family themselves.
Colorado Springs is also near and dear to my heart from the many trips we’ve made to visit “Uncle Ken and Aunt Jan”… Plus, it’s gorgeous!
As Ethan mentioned in his post, we were blessed to have Wireless network access, there were about 10 networks near by, but the nest one to use seemed to be “Lesbians Rock” and it had only had a working signal if you were sitting on the back porch.
It’s a pity they had such a terrible view
After two days there, we had to make fast time to Wyoming for our next stop, so we packed up the bikes, said our goodbyes and headed North.
But, before I go tonight, here’s a picture of Wyatt on my fully loaded bike (He’ll grow into it, right?) and of course, our “signing picture”.
“I’m almost big enough!”
Uncle Ken Signing Ethan’s Givi for his family:
Signed!
I’m off to bed folks… Keep us in a lot of Prayer, especially the next few days of our journey.
From Mile Zero of the Alaskan Highway (only 1,500 miles to go!)
Ethan’s Side – Kansas, Colorado and the Rockies
Awoke from slumber, ate a wonderful breakfast of juice smoothies filled with herbal goodness Toured the Math-U-See operation, took some pictures and left at noon.
We headed west southwest through more farmland. The farmland gradually receded and cattle farms and large open spaces took their place. We came upon a small town as my fuel gauge light came on and went in search of gasoline. We drove through the town and didn’t see a gas station and I started feeling like “Mad Max†in search of petrol we asked the locals and learned that they had a gas co-op but you had to be a member to use it. I had six dollars in cash which bought enough to get to the next town where they had the newfangled gas stations that accepted credit cards
After a fuel/Ice cream stop we headed out to Colorado Springs to the Irwin’s house. And yes they are relations of Jim Irwin the guy who landed on the moon. We ate a lovely dinner of Elk and Bison then got online, leaching internet from a neighbor who’s network name is “lesbians rock†gotta love Colorado Springs.
Day 6 & 7 – Iowa to Nebraska
I have but one thing to add about day 6… GREAT coffee and more at the coffee shop where Emily works.
Day Seven (Yup a whole week into the trip!)
_________________________________
It’s true, we woke up faaaaar too early…
After repacking, saying goodbye and airing up my tire, we hopped on the highway for a few miles to the Yamaha dealership to get our oil changed and my tire repaired… A seemingly common trait for Yamaha dealerships (I’m writing this in one now… In Montana!) is that they have wireless internet available… So, while we waited for the maintenance to be completed, Ethan and I got some work done, and I took some cool pictures of the latest in the Yamaha lineup.
The Intensely odd exhaust of the New, ‘06 R6
Ethan “Working” from the seat of a Jet-Ski:
And now, it’s time to introduce a new tradition… Since we’d left, I told Ethan that we should pick up some Sharpie markers and collect the signatures of cool people we met along the way… So, a week into it we finally did! Our mechanic was extremely helpful and cut us a break on the cost so I thought he’d be a great first signature.
And the results:
A mere 50 miles after pulling out of Hawkeye Yamaha (and one delicious Subway sandwich later) Ethan zipped past me, gesturing wildly at my rear tire…
Then I felt it.
A frightening rolling sensation from the back of the bike, I quickly threw on my right blinker and pulled across the front of a semi as I made my way over the the shoulder. Once safely stopped, Ethan pulled out the patch kit and we started laughing at the hilarious directions on the package… “Step 1, ream out the hole in tire to place plug in”. It may not be as funny now, but we we’re rolling on the side of the Iowa Interstate.
“Plug Complete”
The sad thing?
We’d discovered at the dealership, that the entire tire trouble had been started by a STAPLE of all things, this little tiny shard of steel created that slow leak that nearly left me stranded!
After stopping briefly at a gas station to top off the air in the tire and fuel up, we hurried along our way towards the South West corner of Nebraska, where our next stop was scheduled.
After a couple of bouts with rain, we stopped to put on our rain gear and continue on our way.
As things dried, the most odd thing happened…
We were passed, by a HARLEY!!
As I watched my mirrors, I saw a cruiser rapidly gaining on us as we cruised down the interstate at 85-90mph, a few moments later and an older guy from Ontario, CA pulled up beside me. He waved, grinned and then with his exhaust pipes roaring and his entire bike shaking, he pulled away.
Ethan and I rode behind him for a while but then after a while of laughing at his swaying bike, good sense over came our humor and we backed off of his 110 mph+ pace… Still though, it was HILARIOUS to see someone riding a Harley that hard!
Just a few miles later, and I hopped off on an exit that would lead us South, before our turn West and into McCook, Nebraska. It was close to sunset, so after a few miles of straight, empty road I waved Ethan over to take a few quick pictures of the desolate beauty that is Nebraska.
This one may not be so beautiful, but it tells quite the story of Ethan’s issues with his FZ1’s seat… lol
And then a few miles further down the road…
And the Grainery itself:
From there, we rode the last couple of hundred miles in a hurry… There was absolutely nothing but desolate farm land between towns and it seemed to simply flash by, until we pulled into our destination town, had a bite to eat and rode all over the city, in search of our host family.
From Calgary, day 8 and more will be posted tomorrow!
Ethan’s Side –
Day 6 – Not much happens today
Slept in till noon then went into town to get coffee and look for a charger for my camera that I had left back in TN. We got some work done then ate dinner with the Sorenson’s house a the Machine Shed. The Machine Shed is like Cracker Barrel but with better food and nicer decorations.
Day 7 – Tires, Nebraska and lots more Nebraska
We woke up early and went to the local Yamaha dealer to get the oil changed and Eric’s tire fixed which had a slow leak. Luckily for us the dealership had wireless internet so we were able to work while they fixed the bikes. I also bought a mesh jacket to save myself from the heat. We left around 1pm and headed due west into Nebraska.
After an hour or so of riding I noticed that Eric’s tire was almost flat so I waved him over to the side. As soon as we got stopped the tire went completely flat. The plug from the dealership had fallen out leaving a nice round hole. Thankfully we had a tire repair kit, so we fixed our first flat tire on the side of the road and kept going. We spent the rest of the afternoon riding, riding along corn fields, riding along soy fields, etc. At 10 pm we pulled into McCook Nebraska, the biggest town in the middle of nowhere, they actually have a Wal-Mart! We spent the night with the Crothers, friends of mine and the Math-U-See reps for Nebraska, Montana, South Dakota and Iowa.