Day 1 - Short trip to Murfreesboro, TN . 

 

 

 

The adrenaline was running high for the ride out of town.  We were going to leave early AM on Wed, but George convinced me that leaving in the late afternoon was a better idea.. Heck it’s a two man trip. He wins this one.

 

We met up 75 in Cartersville, George rode up about 4:30PM or so with a grin from ear to ear..This was our moment.. It had finally come.. Were on our way.  Rode to Chattanooga got thru town with less traffic than expected and fueled up.

 

Just as we left Chattanooga we hit a few sprinkles north of Chattanooga.  Then all hell broke loose.  It poured so hard the road was a small river.  George was leading.  It didn't slow him down a bit. Onward..  Onward.  I guess the adrenaline was really pumping this afternoon.  After an hour of this hard rain, it stopped and we rode into clear and hot weather again.  We were dry in 15 minute and ready to get to Murfreesboro nice and dry.  Or so we thought..............

 

 

 

About 50 miles or so up the road it rained even harder.  Oh yea. We didn't stop for rain suits.  The rain actually felt good. This as it turned out was just the start of some really hot weather ahead We were again dry in 15 minutes after the end of the rain and cruised on into Murfreesboro, then Outback for some start of the trip steaks

 

 Day 2 - We meet Illinois Finest.

 

 We Left Murfreesboro at 5:20 AM so we could get thru Nashville without getting stuck in rush hour.  I promised George we would stop at Cracker Barrel about 60 miles up the road.  (If you know George, food is a big motivator).

 

Traffic going into Nashville was really not bad but heavier than you would think for that time in the morning.  We came around one bend and traffic was just about stopped, a slow truck was almost causing accidents.

 

 

 

After eating a big breakfast at the Cracker Barrel, George and I were wide awake and ready to continue on.  Heck, since we left earlier than planned our trip was only going to be in the 450 mile range.. We had plenty of time to get where we were going.  And it was a hot one already.

 

 

 

George came up with a plan to get off of I- 24 before Paducah, KY at Cadiz, KY onto Hwy 68.  This was going to take us thru an area called “Land Between the Lakes”.  The scenery was beautiful, and it was a good change of pace from the interstate.  We saw Barges and boats and just a nice drive.   We finally were back onto 24 at Paducah and cruised onto I-57 on our way to Champaign, IL.

 

I have never seen so many cornfields in my life.  Little did I know that this was only the beginning of corn and wheat fields. Traffic was pretty sparse and it was an easy ride all day long. (Except for the heat)

 

George and I also had to come to our trip wreck. We had seen the smoke for about 8 miles. And there it was, a truck on fire. It was only about 200 yards up the road.

 

Being the curious guy I am I led us onto the shoulder to get closer.   That's when Illinois finest decides to arrive at the scene. Flying up the same shoulder as George and I.

 

Wellllllll...I thought for sure it was ticket time but since there was a fire and he was the only trooper around...He decided that a stern "Keep off the shoulder" was enough.  Why did he yell at me and not George?   Oh yea. I'm the leader.

 

We arrived in Champaign, hot and thirsty but the adrenaline was still running.  It was time for drinks and some food.   Were heading about 500 miles tomorrow.  And we’re hearing there might be storms.

 

 

 

 

Truck Fire along interstate 57.."Stay off the shoulder"

 

 

 

Day 3 ....Who Says I’m lost..???

 

 

 

Champaign, I'll to Albert Lea, Minnesota.

 

We left Champaign with Dark overcast skies. We had only gone 40 or 50 miles and hit some hard drizzle, which cleared up in a matter of minutes.  The further we went the worse things got, however it was as if the biker Gods (probably the Great Tatanka) was looking after us.  There were hard showers to our left just streaming down in sheets, on our right black skies and lots of lightning. Our highway was damp but the air was dry.

 

That was until we got to Peoria, Illinois.  Then all hell broke loose. We rode about 10 miles and decided it was time for the rain suits.

 

George and I got off the highway and donned our trusty rain suits and were ready to brave the elements.   That's when we finally saw the first really hot chick of the entire trip to date.  George wanted to tell her about the Great Tatanka Tour and invite her along. I suggested she looked more like a former cheerleader and convinced him she would not ride in the rain. ( But I transgress, Sorry)

 

We take off again on the road Thunder and lightning and a torrential downpour.  We get onto the highway and I am leading the blind. My goggles were useless, the rain had coated them and the windshield and I could barely see 100 feet ahead! But it seemed the further we went the more it didn't seem to matter.  As you can see by reading this we made it thru the rain fine and about 3 hours later we were cruising thru the front and back into clearing skies.

 

 

 

The skies were now clear and we we're cruising towards Cedar Rapids, IA.  Just short of Cedar Rapids, I saw Hwy 218/30, and off we go.

 

Now some people might say that just because I missed the 218 turnoff, I was lost and had made a mistake. But this road ended up being one of the most scenic roads we had driven on the trip.  The beauty of rural Iowa awed us.  It is hard to describe it, but it was like looking in a magazine. It was all beautiful.

 

We also found out something else about rural Iowa..........

 

THERE ARE NO FRIGGIN GAS STATIONS OUT THERE....

 

 

 

George is getting 40 miles per gallon...I am getting 32 miles per gallon.  My low fuel light went on and I started getting a bit concerned.  There was a town 35 miles ahead according to the signs.  20 miles, 15 miles. 5 miles....George pulls along side of me and asks if I am feeling lucky... 1 mile later I hear a backfire and the engine dies.

 

Yep, I'm in the middle of nowhere on the side of the road.

 

George my hero, takes his luggage off his bike and is ready to go out into the unknown to seek gas.

 

Before he leaves he says "what are you going to do if some bad asses come by?"

 

 

 

Well I pull out my Harley Switchblade and put in on my belt and tell him I'm prepared to fight to the death, (WRONG MOVE AGAIN).

 

I decided this would be a good time to take some pictures, take in the sights and make a few phone calls.  I reach over to get the phone on my hip and I feel pain, this didn't stop me so I reach again (not knowing the knife had opened when I put it on my belt). So I get my phone and am wondering why the phone is sticky...Hey where did this blood come from.

 

 Being prepared I super glued the cut and put on my Band-Aid.  Called everyone to tell them how nice a place it is to be out of gas...Then a good Samaritan stops by and offers to help me.  I explain to her how George is en-route with gas but that it was really great of her to stop and offer assistance… life was good.  It was actually a fun experience, if you can believe it.  It was nice just sitting around looking at the scenery.

 

George arrived with a gallon of gas… I was less than 5 miles from the gas station. We drove thru yet another 200 miles of cornfields and arrived in Albert Lea, MN with smiles on our faces.

 

It was hot. so we went to the closest bar after checking in and cooled off for a few hours.

 

 

 

 

Friar Johns Harley....Out of Gas in Iowa