| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
On The Road Again I’m sitting in a Mickey D’s in Craig Colorado, taking a break from the heat and drinking Croaka Cola ‘cause this McD’s doesn’t offer Powerade. I left Montrose this morning and rode a fascinating route (RT. 65) over Grand Mesa to I-70; then took that to Rifle, CO where Shooter’s Grill is located. I timed it almost perfectly; I arrived at Shooter’s at 11:50. As they advertise on their website, (http://www.shootersgrillofrifle.com/) the waitresses are armed. One was packing a revolver while another had a semi auto. Not being really familiar with handguns, I can’t tell you the make, model or caliber; but I can tell you that they were real and not toys. I can also tell you that both waitresses were very attractive. Anyway, I had a cheeseburger with swiss cheese, sautéed onions and sautéed mushrooms with French fries and a cup of coffee with cream to drink. The burger was good, though not as good as the burger I got at the Marysvale Diner. Still; it was not a bad burger, by any means. The restaurant is decorated with mostly gun related items. I especially liked the old double barreled shotgun with the pistol grip that was on the wall. Also, there were framed copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution side by side. The gun thing is a gimmick to bring in customers, but it’s a gimmick that I’ll support. I believe in Freedom, and I think the Right to Bear Arms helps to keep the Government from getting too controlling. After I finished eating, I headed North on Rt. 13. It’s hot out, and by the time I got to Craig, I really needed a cold drink. I spotted The big yellow M and I figured I could get a cold Powerade and cool down. I’m heading North until I get to US Rt. 2, then I’ll head east towards Rugby, North Dakota and the Geographic Center of North America. (Message edited by Crusty on June 24, 2015) | ||
| Ourdee |
What are you riding now? Hard bags or soft? Do you have a tent or staying in nice soft beds? I have to get up and go to work again tomorrow. I may get a little trip in in mid July. I got rid of my four wheeler but can't shake the house yet. You are living the dream. | ||
| Court |
Uh....... The geographic center of the USA is in Kansas. Come in from the sun son. :-) | ||
| M2owner |
Hey Crusty, If you get to Minnesota and need a place to change your oil or whatever, I'd be happy to help you out. There are several folks here in MN that would most likely want to see you too. Thanks for the great posts about your travels. | ||
| 46champ |
Come on Court even you know there is more to North America than the USA. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
Crusty, I have been enjoying your posts. Thanks for the updates. | ||
| Tootal |
My friend just got back from a trip and he went to Shooters in Rifle. He said the gal at the gas station told him the food wasn't very good but he went anyway. He said that they were packing but were not friendly at all and the food was not good. Should have listened to the gas station lady! I was planning on going there in August but have changed my mind. I love guns too but I can pack my own and eat at a better restaurant! | ||
| Crusty |
Court; The geographical Center of the 48 conterminous states is just outside Lebanon, Kansas. I stopped there in May on my way west. It was a Very Important stop for me as my friend Bill and I discussed going there numerous times over the years. (He was going to leave SoCal and I was going to leave Massachusetts and we were going to meet at the monument, then just turn around and go home. That was the joke. When we started planning the ride across the country, Lebanon, KS was the first stopping point we discussed and agreed on. Ourdee; I'm riding a 2005 Roadster with Roadgear soft bags. I'm carrying a tent, sleeping bag and 3 1/2" self inflating sleeping pad. I mostly camp, but I have stayed with a couple of friends and have gotten a motel room twice so far. Tootal, My burger was good. I have no complaints about the food at Shooters. The waitresses weren't overly friendly, but they weren't exactly cold or hostile to me, either. One was being pretty chatty with a couple of guys who rode their Harleys to Rifle from Missouri. Then again, I don't expect a young little honey with great legs and reasonably sized boobs to be overly affectionate toward a crusty old tramp who looks the part. I'd go back again. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Crusty- did you get the BBQ info you needed in the responses to your earlier post? | ||
| Crusty |
Lander, Wyoming Once again, I’m sitting in a McDonald’s having a cheap Senior coffee with free refills (.71 at this location) and using their free Wi-Fi while charging up my computer’s battery for free. Where else can you get so much for so little? Anyhow, I’m in Lander, Wyoming. I camped in the City Park last night, and lucked into a bit of serendipity. The city park here has free camping for a maximum of three nights. The area for Tents is nicer than most of the pay campgrounds I’ve stayed at so far. Tall deciduous trees for shade, nicely cared for and mowed grass to pitch your tent on and a chuckling river to sooth you during the night. Other than the sounds of the river, it’s very Quiet. A true gem of a campsite. I’m tempted to stay here for another night just because it’s so nice. Even the birds are friendly. This morning, while I was having my cup of campsite Instant coffee, a robin hopped over to within five feet of me and wasn’t skittish at all; even when I moved. The only downside is that there are no showers, and I like a daily shower. Oh, well. Coming up from Craig, Colorado through Rawlins to Lander was a hot ride. I don’t think the temperature dropped below 90 F until after I had my tent set up. Once the sun set though, it cooled down nicely and was almost perfect for sleeping. The run from Rawlins to Lander was almost farther than my gas tank had fuel for. I was on reserve for almost 20 miles, and I was riding very conservatively for the last bit into Lander. My gas tank holds 3.3 gallons according to the spec sheet. That may be true, but I put 3.0 gallons into it. I think I’m going to buy a one gallon gas can even though I really didn’t want to. Carrying it will be a pain in the butt. Running out of gas miles from a gas station would be a bigger pain in the butt, though. I’m going to start looking for a 4 1/2 gallon tank though. Three gallons just isn’t enough gas. One thing that pissed me off on the ride was a Construction area where the road was down to only one lane for a mile or so. I pulled up to the automatic traffic light, and my bike wouldn’t trip the light. I had to sit and wait for 15 minutes until a truck I’d passed many miles earlier pulled up behind me and it tripped the light’s sensor. I thought about running the light while I was waiting, but I figured that if I did, I’d meet some oncoming traffic halfway and that could cause a REAL problem. Oh, well; I’d better head out. It’s about six hours travel time to tonight’s destination, the City Park in Roundup, Montana; according to Google. | ||
| Crusty |
Ruminating Over Coffee In Lewistown, MT Once more, I’m sitting in a Golden Starches having my morning coffee. And once more, there’s no service for my cell phone. I camped in Roundup, Montana last night in the Fairgrounds. It was free, and I think I overpaid at that price. While there was a restroom, there were no showers, and judging by the condition of the restroom, I probably wouldn’t have used a shower there if one was available. I didn’t use the sink; I used the outside faucet to brush my teeth this morning. The ground was pretty hard, and I had a bit of trouble getting my tent pegs driven into it. There was only one picnic table in the whole area, and it was as far from the bathroom as it could be, and the ground around it was all chewed up and not a good place to put a tent. The worst part, however was the mosquitoes. They were there in abundance. I was happy to head out of there this morning. I just spent a little bit of time plotting the route I want to take from Rugby, North Dakota to Mechanicsville, Iowa where Matthew and Lorraine live. I can get there without hitting any Interstate Highways, which is what I want. I’m really amazed that I’ve gotten into this traveling slowly so well. In the past, I was always a “Point and Shoot” kind of traveler. I wanted to get where I was going ASAP. Now, I want to see more and not push quite so much. Yesterday, I stopped at a “Museum” of Aircraft. There were a couple of B-24s that were converted for Civilian use and a couple of “Flying Boxcars” One of the Boxcars had Royal Canadian Air Force still painted on its side. Still, It was pretty neat. I haven’t seen a Flying Boxcar since I was a kid. It was worth stopping for. On my way to this McDonald’s, I passed a pretty large piece of artillery in a grassy area in the center of town. On my way back to the massive Highway (Rt.119), I’m going to stop and check it out. I’m going to buy a Gas can. The only reason I came to Lewistown was because I didn’t have enough gas to get to the next town on the route I wanted to take. There was an Ace Hardware on the way into town, so I’m going to go there and hopefully, they’ll have a container that will fit on the bike without my having to totally rearrange everything. I will be looking for a bigger gas tank this fall. Three gallon fuel tanks just suck for traveling. I have to either find a campground with a shower for tonight or get a motel room. When I’m at home, I usually take a shower every morning. It’s been hot and I’m feeling really grubby after two days without bathing. I don’t think I can go another day without a shower. I’ve done the quick wipe down with a wet cloth, but my hair is greasy and I feel like a bum. I have to get clean. I hope I get back into an area that has service for my phone soon. It seems that whenever I stop for the night, there’s no service. During the day, sometimes there’s service, but that’s been usually when the people I want to talk to aren’t available. I want to know how Murph’s doing after his surgery, and I want to talk to Ernie, as well. Hopefully, things will improve on that front soon. Time to get back out there. | ||
| Tootal |
I don’t think I can go another day without a shower. I’ve done the quick wipe down with a wet cloth, but my hair is greasy and I feel like a bum. I have to get clean. I feel your pain, or better said, I feel your crud! My buddy and I rode up The Blue Ridge Parkway and the first two nights we spent there were at State campgrounds where there were no showers. On the third day we made it to The Big Meadows Lodge on Skyline drive. We went to the campground and asked if they had showers. They said yes, but it's a dollar for ten minutes of water. I believe that was the best two bucks I ever spent!  | ||
| Crusty |
Depressed Highways I just went 40 miles out of my way to get gas. It’s a good thing I bought that gas can yesterday, or I’d be sitting on the side of the road, hoping a kind stranger would stop and help me out. Still, that’s twice I’ve had to go out of my way because the tank on the Sportster isn’t big enough to cover a decent distance between fuel stops. I wonder what the date of the September Keene swap meet is? Gas stations are going to be few and far between if I stick to the blue highways. I’m thinking of maybe taking some Interstates, just for the ease of finding gas often enough. It’s a tough decision; take the secondary roads and see the country and probably run out of gas or take the Interstates and have gas, but miss out on seeing some really neat things. Speaking of Neat Things, I made it to Rugby, North Dakota and saw the monument at the Geographic Center of North America. It’s right at the Southeast corner of the Intersection of US Route 2 and North Dakota Route 3. It’s right in front of a Mexican restaurant so, since it was after Noon, I ate there. I got the Daily Special which was two burritos (one ground beef, one shredded chicken). It was more food than I usually eat in an entire day, but it was good. I met two Canadian travelers from British Columbia when I went over to the monument. One was riding a Ducati, the other a V-strom. They were amazed that I was riding a Sportster. They thought I needed a bigger bike to travel on. I’ve gotten that reaction from a lot of people. It just reinforces my belief that the Sportster is the most underrated motorcycle out there. I’ve seen all kinds of wildlife on this trip. Yesterday, I saw a pair of buzzards sitting on one of those 1-ton rolls of hay. A little earlier I saw an Elk run across the highway in front of the Semi I was following. I don’t know how the truck didn’t hit him. It looked like the truck was close enough to shave the elk’s butt. At one point, I was riding past a field where the farmer was cutting hay. There were about two dozen sea gulls flying around following the tractor. I don’t know what they were hoping to eat, but it was obvious that’s what was happening. The funny part of it is that that one time was the only time I saw anything like that. I’ve seen lots of farmers cutting hay, but I haven’t seen sea gulls following the tractors. For a few years now, I’ve noticed a decline in the number of ducks I’ve seen around Massachusetts coinciding with the increase in Canadian Geese. I was thinking that their numbers might be shrinking. Well, I no longer hold that opinion. Up here in North Dakota and Montana, I’ve seen thousands of ducks, and about ten times that number of ducklings. In every pond and lake, there are quite a few. I bet damn near everybody here is a duck hunter. I would be if I lived here. (If baby chickens are called chicks, why aren’t baby ducks called dicks?) I have to go find a campground for tonight. More later. ************************************************** *********** I wrote that yesterday evening. I just want to add that I just saw a Caribbean Blue S2 here in Jamestown, North Dakota. What a magnificent color for a Magnificent bike! | ||
| Etennuly |
 | ||
| 86129squids |
Thanks for the update, RoadCrust! When the time comes, IIRC it should be a simple swap to go up to the 4.5 gallon tank, but it'd be a crapshoot to get a color match... if you had the capability to post to Facebook or some kind of social media site other than BW about your need for a bigger tank, you might have a decent chance of gittin'erduuun. Of course, my $.02 might not get you too far, but I'd sure work all my angles to make that swap if I were you. Keep a cache of Powerbars stashed somewhere safe in case you do end up out of gas... | ||
| Crusty |
Another City Park I’m in the last campsite available in the city park in Arlington, South Dakota There are some dark clouds overhead, but I’m thinking (hoping, actually) that they’ll pass by without leaving any rain behind for us to enjoy. I went about 100 miles out of my way just to say that I was in Minnesota for about 60 miles or so. I’m in no hurry at all, so I figured, “Why not?” That brings my total of states visited to 24. I’ll be hitting part of Nebraska as well as Iowa in the next couple of days, so My total by Monday will be 26. Whoopee and La-de-freakin’-da. One nice thing about this campground is that it has electricity so I can charge up the battery in my laptop. I don’t see any bathrooms, but there’s electricity. I think that it was planned for Rudabagos and Runamuccas and not for tent campers. There’s a gas station about a hundred yards away, so I’ll head over there before I retire for the night. Hopefully, my bladder will be accommodating. Why is it that when I’m riding, I can think up all kinds of things to write about, but as soon as I sit down in front of the keyboard, my mind goes blank? I had a couple of good topics lined up, and now I can’t think of what they were. I’ll keep pecking away and maybe they’ll come to me. In the meantime; the sky is looking much brighter along the horizon and the clouds don’t look like they’re dropping any rain, so I think I’m going to Luck out. Susan gave me a bottle of Avon Skin So Soft, which is a good mosquito repellent, and I put some on my arms and neck. The mosquitoes hit me on the back through my T-shirt, and I can’t rub it on my back, so I took the shirt off and sprayed it with DEET. Between the two repellents, the annoying blood sucking parasites have pretty much stopped bothering me. Wah Hoo. I think tonight’s going to b another good night for sleeping; with a cool breeze and comfortable temps in the low 60s. However, I’m going to leave the fly on the tent. It might rain (it probably will if I take the fly off and it probably won’t if I leave the fly on), Plus, I’m set up right beside a TITANIUM - Glendale RV and I don’t care for the prospect of it’s mysterious occupants (I haven’t seen them yet) being able to peek into my tent. AHA! I just remembered one topic! Lots of people find traveling through the Plains states to be boring and monotonous. The motorcycle enthusiasts mostly want more curves and corners. They’d rather trailer their bikes to the “Good” places to ride. While I’m a motorcycle enthusiast, and I enjoy going around corners (I used to road race, ya know), I still really am enjoying just riding the backroads and seeing the Heartland. There are a lot of fascinating things to see here if you look around. If I was concentrating on my cornering technique, I’d be missing all kinds of really interesting things. I’ve seen hundreds of old cars from the 60s, 50s and 40s each day I’ve been out here. I’ve seen tractors from the late 1800s or early 1900s, as well as some really modern stuff like tractors from the 30s, 40s and up. I’ve seen a bunch of old pumps from about a hundred years ago. There’s lots of old farm equipment to be seen, but I’m a City Boy, and I don’t know what most of it is or what it’s used for. Still, it’s neat to look at. I’ve watched Crop Dusters making passes just feet off the ground, them swooping in a U-turn and making the next pass.I’ve met friendly and courteous people each time I stop. When I’m riding through a town, people will look up and wave to me. The Soul of America is here, and it’s magnificent to see and experience. Strafing corners is fun, but I’m experiencing something truly Grand; and I’m having the time of my life while doing it! Well; I’d better head over to the gas station before it closes. | ||
| Figorvonbuellingham |
Be mindful of large farm equipment, sprayers etc. They don't look fir automobiles let alone motorcycles. I've had several close calls on back roads. These clowns just don't look out for anyone. | ||
| Buellish |
Your posts just make me smile.Thanks Crusty! | ||
| Two_seasons |
Thanks Crusty for the ride along  Some of the best riding I've done is slow and enjoying the people from the area I'm in. Too bad you did not get to the Corn Palace in Mitchell? | ||
| Strokizator |
As long as you're in SD, set up residence there - it only takes a few minutes plus a trip to the DMV for your driver's license. No state income tax, cheap vehicle registration fees and there are several companies doing mail forwarding for full-time RV'rs. The cost is negligible. | ||
| Gearheadgrrrl |
Last time I was through, the Subway in Arlington has free WiFi. I live 60 miles east on US 14 in Florence, MN | ||
| Buellerxt |
I'm enjoying your posts, Crusty, and I agree with you on riding the great plains and on the Sportster being under rated. I put a bit smaller sprocket on the rear of my 1996 Custom and dropped 400-500 rpm in every gear, without feeling a power loss. Ride safe and enjoy.  | ||
| Pwnzor |
Crusty the nomad... Soldier on, brother! | ||
| 86129squids |
What Vern emoted. | ||
| Tombo |
Nice to get a glimpse of your road adventure, I know you have had many over the years. | ||
| Daddio |
Crusty, sorry I missed you on your first pass through. Just last night I was telling Mommio that I need a long, slow road trip, when she said "and keep a journal, too!" but I've never been a diarist. "As long as you're in SD, set up residence there - it only takes a few minutes plus a trip to the DMV for your driver's license. No state income tax, cheap vehicle registration fees..." This was a great impetus for me moving here. However, I did have to wait for the DMV to come to a town near me, it was like one day a week in Spearfish, one day a week in Sturgis (which I avoid if I can,) and never in Deadwood (the county seat) or in Lead (my town.) Just a nice, laid-back attitude everywhere. Oh, and plenty of curves in my end of the state... | ||
| Blake |
Thanks for sharing your ride old friend. I enjoy reading everything you write. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Thanks for sharing your ride old friend. I enjoy reading everything you write. I echo that sentiment & I'm sure many others do too. I hope you've got a publisher lined up, I want a signed first edition of the collected works please. | ||
| Crusty |
Is This Heaven? No, it’s Iowa I’m beginning to develop a strong dislike for freight trains. It’s not the train’s fault; I know that it’s a law that they have to blow their horns at crossings, but after camping near main lines for a few nights (the City Park in Columbus, IA was about 100 yards away from the tracks) I’m really getting tired of hearing Beeeep, Beeeep, Beep, Beeeep; dimly in the distance at first, but then getting louder as the train approached my campground at multiple crossings four or five times an hour all night long. It seemed that all I was hearing was train horns. It doesn’t make for a good night’s sleep. I’d better find campgrounds farther away from railroad crossings. Anyhow; I got to Matthew and Lorraine’s around 4:30 on Monday afternoon. I met them at the Guzzi National in Elkader, IA in 2011, and Matthew and I kept in contact through the Wild Guzzi forum. The first thing they did was take me out to dinner at an Italian restaurant in Cedar Rapids. Now, I wasn’t really expecting much, as my experience with Italian food in the midwest has been less than impressive in the past, but this time that changed. The food was superb. I had Sausage Parm. and it was both well prepared and quite tasty. After we ate, Matthew introduced me to the owner and I got to tell him how much I enjoyed the meal. As I discovered the next day, Matthew likes to introduce me to everyone as, “Crusty, who’s visiting from Boston”. He gave me “a Dollar’s worth of the Nickel Tour” both Monday night and Tuesday afternoon. I learned about the flooding that occurred in 2008, and how high the water got and how many areas of the city were wiped out or just damaged by the flooding, and the efforts everybody put in trying to keep the water from getting into places like Nursing Homes and Hospitals. It was a once in a 1,000 years type of event, and seeing the high water marks still on some buildings really drove home the point that Nature can be really tough to fight sometimes. For Lunch, we went to a Czech restaurant and Matthew’s son joined us. He was working, (he’s an EMT) but was able to meet us I’ve never had Czech food before, and when we got to the restaurant, I didn’t know what to order; so I asked the waitress to order for me. I got a meal that was a couple of different kinds of sausage with Czech potato salad and candied cabbage. Everything was delicious. The potato salad was nothing like I was expecting. It was thinly sliced boiled potatoes that were seasoned with unfamiliar spices. The candied cabbage was a purplish red color and was like nothing I’d ever tasted before. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. After the meal, Matthew introduced me to the owner and we had a pleasant discussion. When she saw Matthew’s son, she commented that our waitress could have used him the previous Saturday. The Waitress had fallen and injured her coccyx. Matthew told her that I would be happy to rub it for her. I didn’t hear the comment, and when I saw them both looking at me, I said, “OK, what did I miss?” Matthew repeated what he’d said, and I replied, without thinking, “I’d love to!” That earned me a very nice smile and a stroke across my cheek. I was kind of taken by her, and that made my day. We also visited a few businesses (a great bread shop, a cigar store and a hardware store) and I was introduced to the owners at all of them. Matthew has a garage full of motorcycles; a bunch of Guzzis (I think six), plus his sons bikes (A Victory and a Kawasaki Vulcan) We managed, in spite of the lunch, tour of Cedar Rapids and and visits to numerous businesses, to assemble a lot of the bodywork on Matthew’s Norge. He’d replaced an oil pressure sensor that had been leaking, and we got to have fun putting all the plastic back on the bike. Since I’d had the plastic off my Norge a couple of times, I was able to be a help, and we had everything back together by day’s end. Matthew and Lorraine fixed charcoal grilled T-bone steaks with salad, Twice baked potatoes and watermelon for dinner. The steaks were enormous, and I had a lot of trouble finishing mine, but I hunkered down and applied myself and in the end, I was victorious. Or somethin’. I certainly was stuffed. Matthew had to be at work this morning at 4:00 AM to haul a load to someplace in Illinois, so I said my goodbye to him last night. I got up this morning and thanked Lorraine for all their hospitality, and left. I’m now sitting in a McDonald’s in Clinton, IA, waiting for the fog to lift and drinking lots of coffee. My next stop; Du Quoin, Illinois to see a Mile this Saturday! (Message edited by Crusty on July 01, 2015) | ||
| 46champ |
You know Crusty you kind of have a gift of the pen. Very enjoyable read. |
