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Jlnance
| | Posted on Sunday, September 17, 2006 - 08:04 pm: | 
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Whodom - I do love that road. Sorry I didn't get to meet you at the Gap. |
Jlnance
| | Posted on Monday, July 02, 2007 - 04:47 pm: |
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Every summer, Buells from all over the world begin their migration to East Troy, where they will spawn in the pristine waters of Wisconsin, ensuring survival of the species. The journey is perilous, and slow. But it is a true adventure. This year I decided to tag along.
Before heading out of town, I printed out the new and improved riders assistance network. Thanks Ulywife.
The ride up was uneventful. I stayed on I-40 most of the way. Lunch was at Cracker Barrel, as it always is. As I was getting off the bike, I spied a sign of summer from my childhood:
The blackberries would always come out right as school was letting out. It was a sign of my summer freedom.
The sky clouded up after lunch and it actually got cold. I switched from the mesh to the textile jacket. I almost hadn't brought it, but I'm glad I did. I was freezing by the time I got to Asheville, even with the better clothes.
I only spent 4 hours on the bike today. My mom lives in Asheville, so I'm spending the night with her. Tomorrow is my long day. I'll try and make it up to the Midwest by tomorrow night. Stay tuned... |
Blake
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 03, 2007 - 02:10 pm: |
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Godspeed Jim!  |
Jlnance
| | Posted on Sunday, July 08, 2007 - 03:40 pm: |
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Tuesday morning I was excited, so of course I woke up sometime after 4:00 am. I couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided better to ride than to toss and turn. I got up, washed up, and donned my C3 shirt.
I left Asheville at 5:15 am, before the sun was up.
I took I-40 into Tennessee. It's a great section of an otherwise boring highway. It actually has curves, and the scenery is beautiful.
I pulled into the Cracker Barrel in Newport, TN about about 6:30. It was fairly deserted, but these 3 bikes were parked out front.
I talked to the guys. They were all from PA and were driving down to Deals Gap for a few days.
After I left Newport, I got on a backroad, taking 25E up to London, TN. It was a good road. I took a couple pictures at an overlook:
I had considered taking the Cumberland Parkway across the state, but I wasn't making good time. I got on I-64 in Lexington and took it west. About 5:00 that evening I made it to East St. Louis, on the Mississippi river. They make a lot of Ethanol in Illinois, so it's in all their fuel:
I headed over the bridge into St. Louis, because I wanted to see the arch:
I had assumed that would be a fairly simple thing to do, but I was wrong. There aren't any signs for the arch, but at least it's large, so I just drove toward it. It didn't help that it was rush hour, nor that there was a Cardinals game. I got close but all the streets were blocked off. After a while, I found out that there was a fair and they had a lot of steets blocked off. Finally, I parked the bike in a parking garage and asked the attendant how to get over there. Turns out you can't drive to the arch, you have to walk. So I did:
After I left the arch, I spent about 45 minutes trying to get back out of St. Louis. It was hot, very hot, and I was stuck in traffic. I finally found a bridge back to IL. The bike pinged for a little while until it cooled back down. I rode up I-55 until it got dark, then found a little motel for the night. |
Jlnance
| | Posted on Thursday, July 12, 2007 - 07:32 pm: |
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On the 4th, I made no effort at an early start. I'm a pretty early riser anyway, so I was still up before 8:00, but I made myself some coffee, tried and failed to become interested in morning TV, and read the newspaper.
Eventually I called John (Trollhunter) in Lincoln, IL, who graciously offered to entertain me for the day, and put me up for the night. It was about a two hour ride up to Lincoln, and we arranged to meet in the middle. He took me into Lincoln over back roads, which was a nice change from the interstate. That evening, we rode over to watch the fireworks. Thanks for taking in a stranger, it was great.
The next day I set out for Wisconsin. I headed north, following the river on back roads through rural IL. I was surprised by how beautiful it was. I always associate Kansas with Midwestern states with rolling fields of corn, but IL has them too. I stopped in some tiny town for gas. I went in to pay and the cashier called me honey. Not so much different than rural North Carolina. I liked it.
Shortly after that I got on the interstate and continued to head north. Now, not only did I see corn, I saw windmills. I pulled off, and utilizing the off road capability of the Uly, rode into a complex of windmills to take a some pictures.
It's hard to appreciate the size of these things from a picture. Each blade on the windmill is 90 feet long. I saw a truck carrying one down the highway. It had one blade on it, which took up the entire length of the truck. There were several dozen windmills in this field.
I headed up into Wisconsin and turned west, getting off the interstate and onto highway 50. This took me through the town of Lake Geneva, which has a stunningly beautiful lake. Another 20 miles down the road, and I had arrived at my destination for the next two days, Kenosha, WI.
I had a message on my phone from Brankin, a friend of mine who was also up for Homecoming. Having grown up in the area, Brankin new where things were, and offered to show me around. He also had a friend who had flown from Germany to Minnesota, then ridden a Blast to New Berlin, WI. We picked him up at the Harley dealership and headed to Milwaukee to a fun and strange spy themed bar that Brankin was familiar with.
I had a great time at dinner that night. We left the bar at about 10:00 pm. There was some homecoming stuff going on at another bar in Racine, but I decided I was too tired, and headed back to my hotel.
The next morning I rode up to East Troy, which is about an hour away from Kenosha. As I got close, I saw a small Buell Blimp flying in the sky. I pulled into the parking lot, which was full of bikes. It's difficult to describe what it's like to pull into a parking lot full of Buells. They are fairly uncommon bikes. I can ride for a month and not see another one on the road. Pulling into a parking lot with 100 Buells feels like a family reunion.
I thought I had the only Red Uly before I saw the pictures of this bike on Badweb. It looks even better in person. He had the seat tailored in red fabric to match the plastics, and dyed the luggage. It looks great.
I learned to ride on a Blast, so it will always have a soft spot in my heart.
I still own and ride one.
This guys paint job was stunning.
All are welcome. Of course you might get picked on a little. ;)
I got it signed by the man.
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Jlnance
| | Posted on Friday, July 13, 2007 - 06:36 pm: |
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After the bike signing, there was a factory tour, which I thought was pretty neat. I saw the 08 models a day before they were reviled to the rest of the world. Well, I saw all the 08s except the 1125r. There were keeping a tight lid on that, though there were plenty of rumors.
Following the tour was lunch. Then there were some seminars and a group ride down to Ukes HD/Buell, which was across the street from my hotel. I wasn't interested in the seminar, and the parking lot was getting hot. I left before the group ride and went back to Kenosha to chill out for an hour.
Dinner that evening was at Ukes, followed by a stunt show by Bubba Blackwell. I've seen him three times. He has the prefect personality for the job. He wears a wireless mike and talks to you while he does the show.
After the events at Ukes were over, a few of us went into Racine. We ended up at the Boiler room, so I did get eventually get to see the place. They didn't kick us out, so the prior evenings events must have gone well.
The next morning I got up at 5:00, checked out of my hotel, and headed south. A few miles later, I was in Illinois, which I soon discovered to be the land of toll roads. The would stop me ever few miles around Chicago and charge me $0.80. Dealing with tolls on a bike sucks. I'm sure I paid more in tolls than I did for gas while I was in that state.
South of Chicago I pushed on. 18 hours later I pulled into Raleigh, NC.
I was 60 miles short of an iron butt. I could have ridden around the beltline a couple times, but I was in pain and it didn't seem like a good way to spend the next hour. Instead, I went home, kissed my girl friend, and went to bed. |
Rotzaruck
| | Posted on Saturday, July 14, 2007 - 10:36 am: |
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Jim
I would like to announce I have finally got caught up and current with this thread, and enjoyed it all. I don't know if I'll ever catch up in all of them, there's so much here.
Thanks, and keep it up.
Ed |
Jlnance
| | Posted on Saturday, July 14, 2007 - 04:44 pm: |
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lol - Ed, you may be the only one who reads this thread. But I'm glad you liked it!  |
Nutsosane
| | Posted on Sunday, July 15, 2007 - 08:20 am: |
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Not true Jim. I'm always on the lookout for Jinance. That fella sure does get around! NUTS |
Jlnance
| | Posted on Sunday, July 15, 2007 - 03:01 pm: |
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wow, I've got fans. |
Rotzaruck
| | Posted on Sunday, July 15, 2007 - 03:52 pm: |
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Considering the high quality of your fans, just one more and you'll be famous. |
Road_thing
| | Posted on Sunday, July 15, 2007 - 09:42 pm: |
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Great pix, Jim! Wish I could've made it this year.
Was there any okra?
rt |
Jlnance
| | Posted on Sunday, July 15, 2007 - 09:45 pm: |
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I'm from the land of Okra. I didn't see any in Wisconsin though. |
Jimduncan69
| | Posted on Monday, July 16, 2007 - 12:31 pm: |
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Jlnance. i enjoy reading about your adventures as well. plus it was nice to see you again at homecoming.
mmmmm yummy okra! |
Jlnance
| | Posted on Monday, July 16, 2007 - 07:39 pm: |
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It was good Gary. It's easy to recognize your bike. You on the other hand have changed since I last saw you.
I love okra. Even the slimy boiled stuff. I put it in my soups when I make them. There seems to be some bias against the plant here on Badweb though. |
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