The Road Home

Today's Mileage: 342 Loop Mileage: 9371 Quest Total: 14861 State Total:36 Current Location: Home

I left out of Princeton and headed into Virginia.  Got off the interstate pretty quickly and got onto some back roads.  It was a pleasant ride initially, and great weather.  I was surprised at all the Christmas tree farms that were in the area.  At times it looked like any plot of ground that wasn't covered by rocks, was covered by a tree.  Generally, another pretty area.  When I turned west, I got on a really twisty road that took me over the highest peak in Virginia.  There's never much traffic on these roads,  and I always wonder what the locals do when it snows or freezes.  I know I wouldn't be driving them under adverse conditions.  There must be great bicycle trail riding in the area, because when I was coming back down the other side, I saw a lot of vans trailering bikes, taking people up the mountain.  When I entered the nearest town, there were at least 8  locations for renting bikes and shuttling up the mountain.  Got on the interstate near the state border and headed for home.  I'm obviously not a fan of riding the interstates in general, but I must admit, when you are coming down I-26, there are some  very  pretty views.; Pulled into the garage around 2:30 pm and that was the end of Loop Four.&; That leaves me with the Northeast part of the country in order to finish up.&; The plan right now, is to wait until early September to do that, but as always the plan is subject to change.&; Right now, it feels really good to be home.&; One of the things about writing a blog, is that I really don't know who is reading it.&; I'll send out another notice, when I start up again, and you can either follow along&; or ignore the notice as you please.&; Until then, enjoy your summer.

I still don't know what causes all the miscellaneous items to show up.

A Good Day

Today's  Mileage:  469
Loop Mileage:  9029
Quest Total:  14519
State Total:  35
Current Location:  Princeton, West Virginia

The initial plan for this loop was to head straight home after completing Ohio.  But after thinking about it, and looking at the map, I decided to cover WV and Virginia.  I could have made it home today, but it would have been 12 hours of interstate riding, and I really didn't want to do that.  So instead, I jumped on the interstates for a couple of hours in order to get to some roads in Ohio that looked interesting on the map.  They turned out to be as good as they looked.  Additionally, when i got to the Ohio river, I had to take a ferry to get to West Virginia.  I hadn't realized that there would be a ferry, so that was a bonus.  Traveling thru WV was a treat.  The temps were in the 70's, puffy skies, and lot's of sunshine.  The scenery was beautiful, and I'm sure it would be spectacular in the fall.  The road was a little rough in places, but it really didn't matter to me.  After about four hours of this, I realized that i was having a good time, but wasn't making much headway in getting home.  So i headed back on the interstate, went to Charleston(which probably has the prettiest capitol dome in the country), and then headed south on I-77.  I was making good time, but it was just too good of a day to stay on the interstate, besides, this part of I-77 is a toll road, and I was getting tired of paying two bucks every twenty miles just to fight with the semis.  So I got off at beckly and rode the Heritage Coal Trail Byway.  This was an outstanding ride with some really pretty country.  The towns reminded me very much of the Mill Towns in the South.  At one time, these were definitely "Company Towns".   I doubt that it made up for the rough life, but it was really pretty.  There were no motels along the byway, so I had to cut back to the interstate to find a room.  I took hwy 10 to get back to Princeton, and it turned out to be a really fun road to ride.  Again, not a road I want to drive in a car, but it sure was fun on the bike.  So in the end, I got some great riding in, with beautiful views, and I made some pretty decent distance from my start point.  Plan for tomorrow is to ride some back roads in Virginia, and then head for home.  I plan on being there in time for cocktail hour.

Kinda Strange

Today's Mileage:  511
Loop Mileage:  8560
Quest Total:  14050
State Total:  34
Current Location:  Medina, Ohio

The plan for michigan was always to do the UP, on the two lane highways, and then to just ride the interstate down thru the rest of the state.  I did think about changing, and sticking with secondary roads, but once you make that turn towards home, you seem to just naturally pick up your pace.  When I was working, we called it GHP, which meant Go Home Power.   Additionally, I knew that if i pushed it a bit today, I could see and stay with our friends  Bob and Mona.  So that is why I did about 400 miles of interstate today.  The very first portion was riding the Makinac Bridge over the straits.  It was a little bit weird doing this on a bike.  It's not so bad when you look at the oncoming traffic lanes, but when you look out over the bridge supports, and all you see is sky and water, you can feel a liitle disoriented, as if you are just suspended there.  Anyway, after the bridge and interstate, I turned left and headed for Medina, Ohio.  Tomorrow I'll head southeast and try to cover West Virginia.

Pines, Ponds, and a Big One

Today's Mileage:  437
Loop Mileage:  8049
Quest Total:  13539
State Total:  33
Current Location:  St. Ignace, Michigan

I know that MN is the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but Wisconsin has it's fair share of bodies of water also.  I started out east on hwy 8.  It must be somewhat of an east/west artery, because it had way more traffic than I had expected.  After about 45 minutes, I headed north and got on another eastbound hwy.  This hwy was much more to my liking, and eventually ended up at about the same area to enter MI.  As mentioned, there were quite a few lakes, ponds, and rivers along the way.  I entered Michigan at Iron City and rode along the shore of Lake Michigan in the Upper Peninsula.  I made a couple of stops along the shoreline.  I kept telling myself that it really is a lake, but it sure seems like an ocean when you can't see the other side.  In Wisconsin, I saw a couple of park areas with numerous wood carvings.  Not really sure of the significance, other than it tells you they are pretty good with a chainsaw.  The big miner was at a coal mine attraction.  I passed on the attraction, but thought the miner was unique, until I saw the big concrete bear across the street.  Not sure what it had to do with the Mexican Restaurant it was by, but I liked the bear.

On The Road Again

Today's Mileage:  340
Loop Mileage:  7612
Quest Total:  13102
State Total:  32
Current Location:  Barron, Wisconsin

Started off today heading east.  Wanted to get over to see Diana's Uncle, before I headed up into Minnesota.  Her Uncle lives in an area of a wind farm.  Iowa is second only to Texas in the number of wind powered generators in the state.  After a quick visit, I headed north into MN.  Was a rather short leg in MN. and I crossed into Wisconsin at Red Wing, MN.  This is where they make the work boots of the same name.  This was my sixth and final time to cross the Mississippi on this quest.  The river is definitely narrower here but it is still pretty hefty.  As I was riding along, I passed a Harley/Ural motorcycle dealer.  I had to go back, so that I could take a look at the Urals.  I had heard of the bike, but never actually seen one, and there really aren't very many dealers.  They come from Russia, and basically haven't changed looks since the original concept in WWII.  Was kind of interesting, but I'm thinking getting spare parts could be an issue (I don't care what the salesman claims).  Tomorrow it is east across WI., and then into the UP of Michigan.

Up And Running

Current Location:  Algona,  Iowa

The bike is back together and up and running.  I'm off tomorrow morning.  Can't leave though, without a big thank you to my friends Randy and Colleen.  Their help and support made this ordeal a much easier thing to overcome.  And how can I leave without introducing you all to my Mom and my brother and sister-in-law.  Certainly could have done without the maintenance issue, but even with it, it was a good break.

Down For The Count

Current Location:  My Mom's House

So what didn't get mentioned yesterday, is that I had a pretty major mechanical problem with my bike yesterday.  I knew that i had a problem, and I was trying to nurse it along to get to Algona (my home town), but I had to stop about 30 miles out.  You really don't want to have a problem like this, but if it had to happen, I couldn't have been luckier.  The u-joint on my drive shaft came apart.  I called an old high school friend, who brought a trailer and picked me and the bike up and towed it to his place.  I ordered the part I needed with overnight delivery, and it showed up today.  I spent my day in Randy's garage, used his tools and his help, to tear the bike down and replace the part.  It's not totally done, but it will be by tomorrow afternoon.  So I should be back on the road tomorrow. 

Eye Of The Beholder

Today's Mileage:  248
Loop Mileage:  7272
Quest Total:  12762
State Total:  30
Current Location:  Algona, Iowa

So I started out today with the main objective to get to my home town of Algona,  Iowa.  It really wasn't that far to go and the weather was pretty decent.  I have to admit, that the scenery in Iowa really can't compare to what I had seen out west.  But as i was riding thru the state, I realized that this is what I grew up around, and there was a real sense of familiarity to it, that made it look pretty good to me.  I will also admit, that i probably appreciate it more now than when i was growing up.  So i am now at my Mom's house, and will stay here for a few days, do some maintenance on my bike and then move on.  So I hope everyone has a great weekend, and I'll get back to you later.