| Author | Message | ||
     Two_seasons |
Crusty, excellent posts. You are quite the story teller. Our family just got back from PA. All back roads. Usually about a 16 hour run, took us two days to get up into coal country. Found PA225 outside of Harrisburg that was quite good over to PA61 (too much traffic). However, I do have to mention that at the intersection of PA61 North and PA487 is a little restaurant called Masser's. Our 15 year old daughter said it was the best chicken she's ever eaten (free range,fresh, never frozen). Their Italian hoagie is good too. Excellent cole slaw! And, if you ever get over to Trappe PA, (just West of Collegeville) there is an Italian place called Marzella's. Best Italian food around that area! Coming back was back roads again. We went through some of the same countryside coming back as you've been riding in MD, including US Route 1 over the Conowingo Dam. Hope that your visit with your brother is exactly what you need from it! Take care my friend...Steve (Message edited by two_seasons on August 16, 2015) | ||
| Ishai |
Crusty- what a great pleasure meeting you in person. I will be following your travels , looking forward to meeting you again somewhere, someplace.. safe travels my friend, be well Ishai | ||
| Ocbueller |
Thanks for the posts and pictures guys. Keep them coming. SteveH | ||
| Strokizator |
Singing In The Rain Last trip, my brother-in-law and I both got Marty Robbins' "El Paso" stuck in our heads for days. I'll start it out for you: Out in the West Texas town of El Paso I fell in love with a Mexican girl . . . . You're welcome | ||
| Reepicheep |
Great story! You should probably have a cheap GPS with you, just to stress less. Something that works without an internet connection, and it doesn't even need to be waterproof (you can pack it away when riding in the rain). Don't use it all the time if you don't want too, but it would be nice to have for the "I'm lost and just need to get to an address" scenario. I have a decent one I will give you if you want it. You will need to rig up some kind of mount for it though. Not waterproof, and won't let you force a particular set of turn by turn directions, but it will get you to your destination fine, and it is supposed to have free lifetime map updates. | ||
| Crusty |
Bill, Thank you for the offer. I really appreciate it. However, I think a GPS would be wasted on me. I'm a bit of a Luddite and I had a good bit of trouble just getting acclimated to a MacBook after using a PC at home for years. I'm still learning, and I'm trying to figur out the process of resizing photos on it so I can export them to Photobucket and then put them in some of my posts. I would probably short out if I had to try to figure out how to use a GPS at the present time. I remember reading about older people having trouble with new concepts (you can't teach an old dog new tricks), but I never thought it would apply to me. When it comes to these newfangled gizmos, it takes me a while to figure out how to use them. A couple of years ago, an engineer offered to give me his old Kindle which was loaded with a bunch of science fiction novels. The idea of reading a novel on a tablet kind of threw me and I passed on it; to his consternation. Please don't feel offended, but if the offer is still good after I learn how to post photos, then maybe I'll try to expand my horizons (pun intended). | ||
| Reepicheep |
No problem! If you want to try it, just let me know. No obligation to use it even if you take it. On the "appliance" to "computer" end of the spectrum, it's ***way*** on the appliance end. If you can type an address and follow an orange line it will get you there. But hooking it up is a hassle, and following it while riding is a distraction, so I totally get why you might not want it. | ||
| Crusty |
#35 In the past week, I’ve gone through Jackson, Ohio; Jackson, Kentucky and a few hours ago, Jackson, Tennessee. As I was coming into Memphis, I saw a sign for Jackson, Mississippi. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t consider taking that exit, but There’s no reason to go there unless I decided to start collecting Jacksons. Roger Hull, the editor of Road Rider magazine went to every city named Hull in the USA back in the ‘70s; maybe I should consider doing the same with Jacksons. I’ve already accumulated a few; maybe I should just hit all of them in one trip. Hmmm; I’ll have to think about that. In the meantime, I’m just east of Little Rock, Arkansas, and I’m in another motel room. I tried to camp, but first, I wasted 45 minutes trying to find a State Park that they managed to hide pretty thoroughly. Then, I decided I was going to sleep in a rest area, but the rest area was closed and there were substantial barricades across the entrance ramp. I pulled off the highway to get gas, and here was this non-chain motel with a cheap room, so I took it. At $33.00, it’s just a couple of bucks more than I paid for a camp site or two back in June. That’s just self justification, though. I was tired and just wanted a place to hole up for the night. Anyway, it rained on me for a good part of the day, today. Fortunately, I got my rain pants on before the rain got to be more than a sprinkle, so I stayed relatively dry. Kentucky and Tennessee are really beautiful. I thought about taking a swing by Graceland as I got close to Memphis. I had the Paul Simon song playing in my head for quite a while as I approached the city. As I crossed over the Mississippi River, I looked out and saw a Tow Boat pushing a tow of 25 barges. It really reminded me of when I worked on the river. It was too far away to read the name of the boat, but it would really be amazing if it was the Richard C. Young (that was the boat I worked on). Well, I really need sleep. I reset my watch when I crossed into the Central Time Zone, and it says I should have been asleep a while ago, my body is still on Eastern Time, so I’m even more tired. Uh; did that make sense? Screw it; I’m going to bed. Morning Coffee I left the Roach Palace, gassed up and rode for 20 miles until I found a McBarfills, where I’m having my morning coffee. I’m stuck under a TV that’s blaring Fox News, which is extremely annoying. Quite frankly, I don’t give a rats ass whether Hillary e-mailed classified information, and I don’t want to hear what some jackass has to spew venom about it. I don’t like overly biased news reporting (either liberal or conservative), and I don’t like most TV period. To be subjected to this aural garbage first thing in the morning gives me a royal pain in the butt. Before someone jumps in and starts calling me a Liberal, let me state that I consider NPR just as bad. I watched the Weather Channel before I left the motel and it looks like I’m going to be hitting more rain today. Oh Joy. But I should ride out of it before I get to Texas. Hey; I might luck out; I’ll keep the rain gear accessible and I’ll stop as soon as it looks like I might get wet. It’s a summer rain, and it’ll be warm, so it (hopefully) won't be too bad. Well, Westward Ho! | ||
| Bluzm2 |
John, I've not commented much on your thread here but I love hearing of your adventures. Keep em coming. As I rode home in the rain today, I got to wondering what you are packing for rain gear. My Buell rain suit does a pretty decent job but it's getting old, I need to start researching a replacement. Brad | ||
| Crusty |
But It’s A Warm Rain Yesterday, I only rode 300 miles. In spite of that, it was a grueling day. My throttle lock had quit working on my way to the Rally, and my hand was a bit sore and cramped from holding the throttle open, so I pulled into a Truck Parking Area to fix it. After discovering the problem and determining what tiny parts were needed to fix it, another problem surfaced; the front brake light switch was on constantly. I tried to fix it, and finally, when nothing was helping, I cut the hot wire to the switch. Now I only have a brake light when I step on the rear brake, but that’s better than a brake light that’s on constantly. However, I was in that Parking Area for about three hours. When I pulled in, I parked in the shade. That worked for a while, until the sun moved and the shade went away; then it got hot as hell. To make things more “interesting”, the shade was on the outer edge of the parking area. As there were no rest rooms, you can guess where the truckers relieved themselves. So, I was hot, sweaty, tired and had to mess with electrical switches in the sun for hours. The stench of old, stale urine will be in my nostrils for days, I think. Anyway, after I got back on the road, I finally made it into Oklahoma. I found the Eufaula Lake State Park and set up my tent there. It’s better than most state parks. It only cost $10.00 and the shower was free. It was hot; the temps were in the 90s and it didn’t seem to be cooling down as the evening progressed. I took my shower about half an hour before dark, and decided to sleep on top of my sleeping bag in the nude so I wouldn’t soak my clean clothes with sweat. Around 4:00 AM, the rain started. The thunder woke me up, and I was just starting to fall back to sleep when the dripping began. I consoled myself with the thought that it was nowhere near the deluge I endured in Indianapolis. Finally, I got up around 6:30 when it was just starting to get light. I got dressed, packed all my soggy stuff in the rain and set out. It took me about 20 miles to find a McDonald’s and now, once I finish with this Snippet, I’ll head west toward Amarillo. I looked at the radar, and I should be out of this in a couple of hours, then, maybe I’ll dry out. Hopefully, I’ll find a campground early enough that I’ll have time to dry out my tent, sleeping bag and pad and I’ll be able to sleep comfortably tonight. Time to go; the Cadillac Ranch beckons. Brad; I'm using an Aerostich Darien Jacket, the Buell raingear pants, and Firstgear rain gloves. It's a setup that works pretty good for me. | ||
| Crusty |
38 States and Counting Well, I’ve been to the Cadillac Ranch and I had a 12 oz. Ribeye at the Big Texan. It was a pretty soggy day until I got well east of Oklahoma City. Then, the sun came out, but the temperatures stayed in the high 60s to low 70s range. I took I-40 across Oklahoma and Texas; I saw no reason to take back roads in the rain, and once the rain quit, I just wanted to get to Amarillo. I rolled into the Big Texan Steak Ranch about 5:15. As I said, I had a 12 oz. Ribeye with Cowboy Beans and Big Boy Tomatoes with onions. The steak was OK, the beans were really good and the tomatoes weren’t quite ripe. I don’t enjoy eating crunchy tomatoes. The waitress wasn’t overly friendly, either. She wasn’t rude, but she wasn’t exactly gregarious.By the time I finished eating, it was after 6:00. Then I went to the Cadillac Ranch and spent a bit of time there. You wouldn’t believe how much paint is on those old hulks. It was more than an inch thick in places. While I watched, one artist drew a one eyed Minion on the roof of one of the cars. By the time I finished there, it was getting too late to ride up to the free campground at Lake Meredith and have my gear dry out before sundown, so I found a cheap motel in Amarillo. Now, I’m sitting here in the $30.00/night Camelot Inn taking a hard look at my finances. I’m going to have to change my priorities. I don’t get my Social Security check until next week. In the meantime, I’m getting dangerously close to my limit on my credit card, and my checking account is looking pretty anemic. I think I’d better head for Cincinnati and hole up at David and Jack’s for a few days. It sure is nice to be welcome there. To be fair, there are other people who are welcoming, but Cincinnati is the closest. I’ll have to wait to get my new tent (dammit!) or to get back to Glacier Nat’l Park, but I’m already planning how I’m going to get everything accomplished. These 5 week months sure put a hurt on my finances; especially after buying tires and a drive belt last month. A question that’s been running through my head a bit today is , why do they put the rest rooms in Campgrounds nearest to the RV spots?. I mean, RVs have showers and toilets in them, and the parking spots in the campgrounds have water, electricity and sewage hookups, so being close to a bathroom is not a real priority. On the other hand, tent campers need to use the bathrooms and if they want a shower, they don’t have the option to take one in their tents (unless their tents leak as bad as mine does), so wouldn’t it make more sense to have the bathrooms/showers closer to the tent area? It does to me, but there must be a reason for the way they do it. Every State Park I’ve been to so far is set up that way. At one campground I stayed at in Colorado, it was over a mile to the nearest shower. And the RV area had flush toilets. The tent area had a smelly outhouse. I guess that tent campers are the lower class of campers and the parks treat them as such. It seems that no matter what speed I travel at, my Sportster gets the same fuel mileage; 45 MPG. It doesn’t seem to matter if I’m cruising along at 55 MPH or 75 MPH. I thought the mileage would go up if I was easier on the throttle, but that turns out not to be the case. The bike is very happy at 70 - 75 MPH, though. It may not be getting any better or worse mileage, but it just feels right at that speed. Above 80 though, it develops a weave that doesn’t get worse, but it doesn’t feel good. It did it with the Dunflop tires and it’s doing it with the Michelins. Under 80, it feels steady as a rock. Maybe it would smooth out if I changed the front forks and rear shocks. In the meantime, I’ll just make an effort to keep the speed in reasonable territory. If I forget, the weave will remind me. Well, I guess I’d better give David a call and let him know that I’ll be rolling in two or three days from now. | ||
| Bartimus |
If you roll through Albuquerque, PM me if you need a place to overnite, or just relax with a cold one... | ||
| Crusty |
Bart; thanks for the offer! I plan to stop in Albuquerque and have some good Mexican food (I had my first Mexican food in Albuquerque in 1969, and fell in love with it), but it won't be on this trip. It will probably be next month on my way back from California. I'll PM you a few days in advance. The place where I used to eat has long since gone out of business, so if you could recommend a good restaurant, I'd appreciate it. | ||
| Damnut |
Hey Crusty, just wanted you to know you ••••••• jinx me.   | ||
| Crusty |
Dorothy’s Not Here I don’t think she’s in Kansas any more, Toto; but I am. I left Amarillo and rolled up the Texas panhandle, then set a course northeast towards Dodge City. I was thinking that I would spend the night in the same rest area I slept in when I hit the road in 1977 (I slept under a picnic table in a thunderstorm). Anyway, I couldn’t find the rest area. I wandered around the area for a while and went past an enormous Cargill meat packing plant just east of Fort Dodge. There’s a feed lot across the road from the plant that held thousands of cows (steers?, bulls?) While the smell of them was present, when I went past the plant, I smelled the odor of cooked steak. It actually smelled pretty good. Finally, I gave up on finding the rest area,and decided to head north towards I 70. There used to be free campsites in the rest areas back in the ‘70s and early ‘80s, and I need to start squeezing my nickels ‘till the buffalo sh*ts. My memory didn’t fail me. The rest areas are clean and neat. I stayed at one near Ellsworth. I didn’t bother with the tent, I just slept in my bag under the the stars. It was nicer than a lot of the campgrounds I’ve stayed in. I got up just before sunrise (which is late here, almost 7:00 AM)and got back on the road. I think I’ll dive south again and take US Rt. 54 east. The Interstate is a great way to get from point A to point B, but there’s a lot more of America to see on some of the secondary highways. Kansas has a reputation for being flat and boring. The western part of the state is pretty flat, but the eastern half is fairly hilly (sp?). I bet that once I get into more rural sections, it’ll get really beautiful. One thing I forgot to mention the other day; I saw my first dead armadillo this summer in Arkansas I didn’t see another until I was in Texas. I remember seeing tons of them when I went to Louisiana back in the ‘70s. They always looked undamaged, and I came up with the theory that they came up to the side of the road, saw a car speeding past and it scared them so much they had heart attacks and keeled over. That armor of theirs must be pretty tough stuff. I hope I never hit one while I’m riding. Then again, I can’t think of any animal that I’d want to hit while riding. I wonder if there are any armadillos living near Amarillo? Amarillo armadillos; that would make a good name for a football team. Gotta go. | ||
| 86129squids |
Here ya go, Crusty! | ||
| Ourdee |
Crusty, It costs money to run plumbing. So they put the showers where the water for the RVs is at. I hit a chicken with a Kawasaki 750 once. Passed right through the forks. That wasn't bad. The feathers were rotating in opposite directions when I looked in the left and right mirrors. | ||
| Crusty |
Riding The Storm Out I’m soaked and sitting in a gas/food joint about 60 or 70 miles west of Saint Louis waiting for the thunderstorm to pass. You know those gas stations that have a Subway sandwich shop over on one side of the convenience store? well, this place is the McDonald’s equivalent. It does have a couple of counters with stools, and I and my gear are occupying a few of them. At times like this, I really question my sanity. I think that I should sell the bike and buy a van and set it up to live out of. My needs are pretty simple, and I could stay dry in the rain and not worry about tents leaking or being hit by lightning. I could camp for free at Walmart parking lots, and I would even be warm when it’s cold out. I actually think that I could get by on the same or less money than I’m spending now. It sounds like a good idea right now, but I know that once I ride through this storm and the sun comes out and my boots and socks dry, I’ll be cruising down the highway on my bike and it’ll feel so good that I’ll think back on this and call myself a wimp for even entertaining such thoughts. A van for winter might not be such a bad idea, though. Hmmm… Naw. I think it would be better to go hang out with Ron & Melia in Australia. You know what I really don’t like? Those rolls of toilet paper that are 12 to 18 inches in diameter that have no perforations. McDonald’s tend to favor them.You pull what you think is the right amount, and when you fold it, the piece you pulled is always too long or too short. I always seem to use more than I would if the paper had perforations, but some study group did their thing and decided that no perforations would save money. There’s a bug on the outside of the window I’m sitting at that’s about the size of a B-25 Mitchell bomber. No wonder the bug splats on my bike were so big. I’m surprised that the impact didn’t cause my bike to slow down when I hit one. Speaking of bombers, I saw a B1 bomber as I rode through Oklahoma City the other day. It was on display along with a B-52, a B-47 and a bunch of other military planes. I think one was a C-130, but at 70 MPH in traffic, I couldn’t give the planes the attention they deserved. Well, the rain has almost stopped. Hopefully, it will be stopped by the time I send this out, get my gear on and put some gas in the bike. | ||
| Crusty |
Demons Yesterday, I rode through some hellacious thunderstorms. According to the Weather Channel and Intellicast, it was supposed to be a beautiful sunny day.However, coming through Saint Louis was one of the most challenging rides I’ve endured in a long time. The sky was almost night time black and the rain was so heavy that visibility was down to a couple of hundred feet at times. speeds fell to 20 MPH when there weren’t accidents to stop and crawl by. I saw six separate accidents in 20 miles. Even through my Darien jacket and Buell rain pants, I got pretty wet. I passed by one rider on a Harley dresser who was just sitting under a bridge waiting for the rain to let up, and considered doing the same, but my demons wouldn’t let me. I had stopped before St. Louis and let the thunderstorm pass by while I sat in a McDonalds, but all that did was make me have to ride through the storm again; and by that time, the storm had grown in size. If I hadn’t stopped, I might have saved myself a lot of the stress of dealing with horrendous weather that lasted longer combined with rush hour traffic. My dad was originally from North Carolina. He met my mom when he was in the Navy and his ship was stationed in Massachusetts. When they married, they settled in Waltham where my mom was from. Often, when I was young, my family would make the trek to North Carolina to visit with my dad’s family. We would usually set out at night (my parents preferred driving through the night, as the traffic was lighter) and drive straight through until we reached my Grandparents house in Fayetteville. At times, my dad’s brothers would drive up to Massachusetts. The question always asked was, “How long did it take you?” Getting from point A to point B ASAP was the norm. (I remember one time my uncle John had to sit at the toll gate for half an hour on the New Jersey Turnpike, because he had been speeding so fast. The cops made him sit until the time he would have arrived if he had been keeping to the speed limit The toll tickets had the time issued stamped on them). Anyhow, when I started traveling on my own, that was how I would travel. It was always about the destination and never the journey. I didn’t take a real Long Ride on a motorcycle until I got my Moto Guzzi V7 Sport in 1973. All my previous bikes had been older clunkers that had trouble running for more than a few miles without issues. My Sport was fast and reliable and meant to cover lots of miles at speed. My first Long Ride was from Colorado Springs to Lafayette, Louisiana; a distance of 1203 miles. I set out on Thursday morning, July 5, 1973 and 22 hours later, I was at Ron’s place in Lafayette. I stayed for one day, then turned around and rode home; arriving at Noon on Sunday. I had covered 2400 miles and was really proud of that fact. Over the next few years, I rode equal distances the same way. I made the run to Lafayette a couple more times, I rode from Louisville, Kentucky to Daytona Beach the same way and I also rode from Louisville to Colorado Springs non stop. It didn’t matter if I was driving a car, pickup truck or box truck. I would drive until I absolutely had to sleep, then I’d just sleep on the front seat, or under a bridge if I was on my bike. Over the years, I learned to temper those habits. I slowed down to a more reasonable pace, but those demons were always still in the background. When I set out this summer, I intentionally tried to banish those demons. The idea was to enjoy the journey. I made it a point to take secondary routes and see the country. For the most part, I’ve been successful, but those demons are still there and it doesn’t take a whole lot to bring them to the fore. They jump up at any and every opportunity. When I was telling David about the storm in Saint Louis, he asked why didn’t I just stop and wait it out? I said that I probably would have had to wait for hours, and I wouldn’t have arrived here for another day. He replied, “What difference would that make?” He was right. The storm brought out the demons and all I could see was, “I have to get to Cincinnati tonight!” I have to sit back and take a deep breath and push those demons back where they belong. This trip is not about destinations. It’s about the journey. I’m riding to see America, not to blaze through it. I passed by the World’s biggest Wind Chime and the World’s Biggest Golf Tee without investigating. I missed seeing something. All because I had to get there ASAP. Time to regroup and reestablish my priorities. | ||
| Crusty |
The Pause That Refreshes I got my new tent yesterday. David had it sent to his shop (Rockin’ Rooster Comics). I went over, picked it up and brought it back to the house and set it up in the back yard. It’s definitely heavier duty than my REI tent, and while it’s a little more involved in setting it up, I don’t think I’ll have any trouble with it. The rain fly can be used with either side facing outward. One side is a straight desert tan, while the other is a woodland camo pattern. Although Arvada’s site said no tent pegs were included, there were three six packs of steel pegs in with the tent. Personally, I prefer the aluminum pegs that I’ve been using with the REI tent, but I’ll keep the new pegs in the bag for now along with the aluminum pegs. The bag the tent comes in is big and it’s waterproof, which is nice. It doesn’t have a drawstring closure; you have to roll the top down, then wrap a shoelace type of string around the folded end. It’s simple and effective, but it’ll (once again) take a little getting used to. All in all, I like it, and I’m looking forward to trying it out next week when I head out for Springfield (Illinois) to see the Mile. I’m still trying to decide where I’m going after the Mile. I think I should head south and pick up a few southern states. Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, etc. and ease my way back to the East Coast. I had wanted to go out to California and see my brother Tony, but I don’t think I have either the available cash or time. The Mile is on September 6 and I have to be back in Massachusetts on the 22nd for a doctor’s appointment and I don’t think I can make it out there, spend a reasonable amount of time with Tony and be back in Mass in two weeks. What I’m thinking now is that when I head out for Australia, I could route my flight through San Francisco and lay over for a few days. I’ll have to call Tony and discuss it with him. While this tramping around can seem pretty romantic from the outside, from my side it can sometimes be pretty frustrating. Living on short money is never easy and being alone most of the time does wear on my psyche at times. I enjoy solitude, but I’m also human and humans are social animals. This is the life I’ve chosen, but every silver lining has its dark cloud. The traveling is fun and interesting, but it can be pretty lonely at times. However, when I look at everything that’s happened over this summer, I can see that in reality, I’m really a fortunate guy. I’ve gotten to see and visit so many beautiful and wondrous places and I’ve learned so much that I doubt I could adequately put it into words. I’ve spent time with some really good people and had some pretty positive experiences. The negative experiences have just accentuated the positive. Like the chigger bites I got from sleeping on the grass in Kansas. I’ll remember them for a long time and I won’t forget what it was like sleeping in that rest area under the stars. The thunderstorms in Arizona and Utah made me stop and see the Glen Canyon Dam, and made that portion of the ride memorable. And the thunderstorm in Indianapolis is one I don’t think I’ll ever forget. Nor will I forget the storm at rush hour coming through St. Louis. These will be highlights when I talk about this ride years from now. And I can’t forget the people I’ve spent time with. Riding to Myrtle Beach with Steve and Grace, staying at David and Jack’s place in Cincinnati and watching episodes of Heros (a really addictive show that was on TV ten years ago), visiting with Sue in Colorado and riding through some spectacular country, visiting with Matt and Lorraine and discovering what life in Iowa is like, while Matt took me around and introduced me to everyone and showing me the flood damage from the big flood a few years ago, finally getting to the West Virginia Rally and seeing Mark, Vern, Froggy, Jim and all the other rally attendees and especially getting to meet Judy and Jack. And I can't forget to mention my friends in Massachusetts Tammy, who puts me up and puts up with me, Dondi, who is a true friend and ran me around when my drive belt broke, Ernie, my oldest friend, and everybody at The Shop (GP Motorcycle Supply) Guido, Jimmy, Guy, Sandra and the whole cast of characters who frequent the shop. They are my unofficial Sponsors of my trip into this homeless insanity. They've been there for me since I first discovered Mack's Motors back in 1972. Overall, I think I’m a pretty lucky guy who’s getting to live my dream. | ||
| Two_seasons |
Dream on brother. You are blessed. | ||
| Ourdee |
We all fight our demons. I still have trouble slowing down. That destination thing can ruin an adventure. Thanks once again Crusty! | ||
| Ourdee |
| ||
| Crusty |
Anticipation; or Something I’m preparing to head out to Springfield (IL) to see the Mile this weekend. I won’t actually head out until Thursday morning, but I’m getting everything ready to go; so on Thursday, all I have to do is get on my bike and go. I changed the engine and transmission oil yesterday; today, I have all my laundry (Including my watch band) in the washer. I would have waited until tomorrow to do the laundry, but I ran out of clean clothes. My watchband is nylon, and after a few weeks, it picks up enough sweat that the bacteria in it really start to create a strong, nasty smell. Throwing it in with my clothes get the stench out. Tonight, or tomorrow, I’ll start repacking my bags. I had to empty them and let everything dry out when I arrived here after riding through that deluge in St. Louis. I wouldn’t really mind so much, but I didn’t have my tools in ziplock bags, and now there’s rust on some of them. They’ll be in ziplocks from now on. I’ve been using ziplocks for most everything else, but it never occurred to me to put the tools in them. Live and Learn. I’m looking forward to watching a weekend of racing. On Saturday night, there’s a Short track race in the Fairgrounds Arena. It used to be a National event, but I guess that there weren’t enough people in the stands, and the Promoters decided to downgrade the race (and also lowered the purse for the racers). Still, most of the Experts who’ll be racing on the Mile will be there, and the racing is always close, with a lot of bumping and hard riding. I’ll be in a front row seat, as usual. I’m supposed to meet up with some folks from Wild Guzzi. There are a lot of good people on the Guzzi forum, and it’ll be nice to put faces to some of the forum names and to make new friends. I’m hoping to stay in the campground in the Fairgrounds. I don’t really care for the Riverside Park campground a couple of miles away, and I’m hoping the Campground in the fairground will be a bit nicer. Riverside Park isn’t the worst campground I’ve stayed in this summer, but I just don’t care for it a lot. David has a cat named Polar, and she likes to tap me on the leg so that I’ll pet her. She learned pretty quickly that I’m an easy mark and she constantly interrupts me when I’m at my laptop. After all, she’s the cat and it’s my duty to pet her whenever she thinks I should. At least in her mind that’s true. David’s other cat, Phoenix, is pretty paranoid. He likes to sleep on my bed during the day, but bolts whenever I walk into the room. He’s not quite as bad as when I first arrived; at least now, he occasionally lets me pet him. When I first got here, he would run and hide every time I caught sight of him. I need to get a new pair of boots. I was going to get a cheap pair of “waterproof” boots that are on sale from Competition Accessories, but even though their website says they’re “In stock” when I called, the guy on the other end of the phone told me it would be 6 to 8 Business days before I got them. Since I don’t know where I’ll be at that time, I had to give them a miss. However, my twisted mind is telling me that since David got me the tent for my birthday, I should take the money I would have spent on it and add it to the money the cheap Chinese boots would have cost then go to Walter Dyer Leather in Framingfish, when I get back to Taxachusetts and buy the Chippewa Rally boots that I’ve been lusting after for years. Not only are they made in the USA, but they’re supposed to be first class in quality. I won’t buy a pair until I get measured and try them on, though. I’ve wasted too much money on boots I got online that don’t fit. I was willing to gamble with $50.00 boots from Comp Accessories, but really good boots are something I want to fit right and last a long time. Well, I think I’ll get out into this beautiful day and do something. | ||
| Ourdee |
When you head for the desert, ditch the nylon watch band. I wore on in the desert till one day I trapped sand and sweat in between it and my skin. Wore a hole in me. | ||
| Tootal |
Hey Crusty! If you're heading South after the mile races I have a couple of options you could consider. When you leave Springfield take Illinois 4 South. This is the original Rt. 66. There will be sections off of 4 that take you through corn fields, make a 90 degree and go back to 4 or across 4 to another corn field. The roads through the fields are the original concrete. They are really neat to ride a few of them just to see how roads went around property lines back in the day. When you get down to Interstate 270 you are just five to ten minutes from my house. If you would like to rest a bit you're more than welcome. I'm laid up with this fractured heel so I'm not working but I can get around enough to take you to some excellent and authentic Mexican food! I have a fold out couch, garage and plenty of beer. PM me if interested. I'll just be here with my foot in the air, doing nothing!  | ||
| Crusty |
Mexican Weather Forecast Last night we went out for dinner. I had Cincinnati Style Chili, which is nothing like what everybody in the rest of the country thinks Chili is. What everybody outside this area calls chili is known as Texas Chili here. Here, there are restaurants dedicated to Cincinnati Style Chili. The two bigger chains are Skyline Chili and Gold Star Chili, and both have numerous locations around the area. There are a number of smaller, non chain restaurants as well, though many of them serve other items as well. We went to a “Mom and Pop” local place that served other items, as well. David wanted a breakfast. He got Ham and eggs, a mountain of home fries and toast, while Jack got a double decker sandwich that was so thick, he ordered a take out box for half of it when he ordered. He’s eaten there before and knew what was coming. Cincinnati Chili comes as a Three way, Four way or Five way. Chili here is served on a bed of spaghetti, and there are no beans in it. A Three way has a mound of shredded cheese on top of the chili. A Four way has either chopped onions or kidney beans (you specify which when you order) and a Five way has all of the above. If you get the beans, they’re not cooked in with the chili, but added on top as a garnish. The flavor of the chili itself is nothing at all like the flavor of Texas Chili. It does have chili powder in it, but it’s not hot at all. After hearing about it, I had to check it out. It’s really tame compared to Texas style Chili, and the idea of eating chili over spaghetti seems strange, but it’s a combination that works well. I liked it. If you ever get to Cincinnati, make it a point to try some. | ||
| Chauly |
Cinnamon & chocolate | ||
| Crusty |
Cinnamon & chocolate and allspice, cloves, cumin, chili, onions, and a whole lot more. I just looked up the recipe. Like I said, it's good, but very different from any chili I've had in the past. | ||
| Chauly |
We did a variation of it for hot dog chili at Franks for the Memories... |
