This was the big summer trip so far, and the one we've planned for awhile. This time out, it was just Jannette and I, but we had a pretty ambitious itinerary.
Let me share the over all plan:
Fort Wayne to St. Louis.
St. Louis to Memphis, TN/Tunica, MS
Memphis, TN/Tunica, MS to Chattanooga, TN
Chattnooga, TN to Lawrenceburg, IN
Lawrenceburg, IN to Fort Wayne.
Total of 6 days, 5 riding days.
Some of the highlights we'd hoped for:
-See an old Army buddy I haven't seen in 19 years.
-See the Gateway Arch
-See the resort area of Tunica, Mississippi and explore the casinos.
-See Beale Street in Memphis.
-See Graceland.
-See "Rock City" and Lookout Mountain area of Georgia.
-See Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg.
-Make it home without mechanical or health issues.
We got to do all these, with the exception of Beale Street. Best of all we avoided the dreaded raindrops for all but 1% of our trip. On the downside, we had to deal with some serious heat and very little shade. So, it's aloe vera as I type this and lots or rehydrating.
We averaged 338 miles a day, although I'm sure Jannette would argue that they felt longer. Some of the bright spots:
Illinois 3, South, between Red Bud and Chester, IL. Nice winding road, shady spots.
The route up to Lookout Mountain and Rock City.
Alabama 40 from Scottsboro east to I-59, just prior to Georgia. Great winding road, many hills.
Unfortunately, we spent a great deal of time on the Interstate in order to save a lot of time, but all in all a great trip.
This Ride: 1,690 miles
Goal for 2012: 7,500 miles
Miles ridden so far in 2012: 3,110.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Three rides on one blog post, just a short one.
Took three rides recently, two with my lovely wife, the other one solo.
The first one, a solo trip, was just in do some more investigating about the area in which I live.
I have never headed north on Coldwater Road, and just kept going. Not anymore.
I headed up through Garrett (Home of the Railroaders!) and all the way up to Corunna. There were a few stretches of twists and hills, but nothing special. At least I can say I got the experience.
From Corunna, I headed east on US 6, across I 69 and into Waterloo. From there, I took 427 South into Auburn. I did stop for a quick break and photo op at the Auburn Cord Deusenberg Museum. I've long wanted to go in there, but I'll have to save that for another trip.
From Auburn, I continued south until I was back in the confines of Fort Wayne, down Tonkel Road and eventually back into familiar surroundings. All told this was a short trip of about 99 miles.
The first one, a solo trip, was just in do some more investigating about the area in which I live.
I have never headed north on Coldwater Road, and just kept going. Not anymore.
I headed up through Garrett (Home of the Railroaders!) and all the way up to Corunna. There were a few stretches of twists and hills, but nothing special. At least I can say I got the experience.
From Corunna, I headed east on US 6, across I 69 and into Waterloo. From there, I took 427 South into Auburn. I did stop for a quick break and photo op at the Auburn Cord Deusenberg Museum. I've long wanted to go in there, but I'll have to save that for another trip.
From Auburn, I continued south until I was back in the confines of Fort Wayne, down Tonkel Road and eventually back into familiar surroundings. All told this was a short trip of about 99 miles.
Today's Ride: 99 miles
Goal for 2012: 7,500 miles
Miles ridden so far in 2012: 1,420
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Two other jaunts recently with my lovely wife included:
A trip out to Wabash for lunch/dinner at the Market Street Grill.
Hot day, fun ride, and the best part was that it was open!
Today's Ride: 91 miles
Goal for 2012: 7,500 miles
Miles ridden so far in 2012: 1,510
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Finally (for this blog post anyway), Jannette and I decided to venture out to Salamonie Lake/Reservoir/Dam to see how low the water was. We didn't really have a route in mind and therefore we wandered all around.
Fun trip, but short.
Today's Ride: 120 miles
Goal for 2012: 7,500 miles
Miles ridden so far in 2012: 1,630
Getting things caught up a bit
I've added a few hundred more miles this year, on some easy meandering trips around the area.
I must confess a few things:
1. I have lived in Fort Wayne for a total of about 17 years now (about 14 in this current stretch), and I have never really explored the areas around the city (with a few exceptions).
2. I don't always document each trip, so I'm probably putting on a few more miles than I admit to here.
3. (and this isn't much of a confession...) When I have the option to just 'go for a ride', I rarely know my destination until I get there. That's the beauty of it. It's about the ride, not the destination.
However, as a caveat to #3, sometimes it's nice to know where you are going so you can be sure to have the fuel to get there. Otherwise you spend you time scanning for gas stations instead of enjoying the scenery!
On April 2, I took a little jaunt to explore areas I rarely visit. No disrespect meant to the little towns I visited this time, I just don't have the need to go to these places unless I'm there purely in a recreational sense.
On this Monday, I headed out of the neighborhood without a particular destination. I just knew I would head west and south to see what I had been missing all these years. I figured I'd hit Huntington and try to find some twisties.
I meandered down by FTW airport, and ended up taking back roads to Markle and then west to the southern edge of Huntington. I stopped for a break at a little gas station at the corner of W200N and State Road 9, near Transwheel Corporation.
From there, I decided I would go for Marion. Been a long time since heading down that way. Wondered what the little town had been up to. Apparently not much. But it was relatively busy at lunchtime and I got in a nice little break to watch quite a few other motorcycles enjoying the weather.
I decided I'd continue a bit more south and then head west to Kokomo. Other than that stupid song by the Beach Boys, I didn't recall ever being in Kokomo. So I took St. Road 9 down to US 35 and 'headed west, young man!'. Talk about your boring stretch of farmland. nothing but flat straight road for miles. Gave me plenty of time to work on getting the Beach Boys out of my head!
I found the city to be a bit depressing. Seems like the manufacturing industry there got up and left. But you could also tell these were a hardy people, determined to carry on with their quaint little shops and eateries.
Oh yeah, don't ask me about the obsession with water towers on this trip. I have no idea why I rooted them out to take photos of the towers. Just a goofy feeling that day, I guess.
I was at about 100 miles for the day so far here, and it was mid afternoon, so I thought I'd better head back toward home, sorta. I had a few fleeting thoughts of heading over to Lafayette, but the idea of staying on 35 wiped that put pretty quickly. I needed to be awake. So I opted for a northern route to go toward either Peru or Logansport. Since the weather was beautiful, I wasn't on a schedule, and Cheeto was wanting to run, I opted for Logansport. It just sounded cooler anyway.
I wound up being right downtown by the Cass County Sheriff office and Jail, and next to the Masonic Temple. Very cool old building. Not much traffic downtown, considering it was close to 4pm. I enjoyed a break and fought with my phone about uploading the camera shots to Facebook. The phone won the first round, I won the second.
Cheeto likes to pose for pictures too, so I took this one of my lovely, my precious:
By now, my tummy was reminding me that dinner time was quickly approaching and I was still a couple hours from home (read: free food). The rest of the ride was pretty much uneventful. Took US 24 east past Peru and Wabash, and on the outskirts of Huntington, and into the Fort on the southwest side. Grabbed Engle Road off of Jefferson and scooted home.
All told, about 188 miles on this trip, but all at a leisurely pace. Solo rides are great for clearing the mind, but I'd much rather ride with my wife and other riders.
I must confess a few things:
1. I have lived in Fort Wayne for a total of about 17 years now (about 14 in this current stretch), and I have never really explored the areas around the city (with a few exceptions).
2. I don't always document each trip, so I'm probably putting on a few more miles than I admit to here.
3. (and this isn't much of a confession...) When I have the option to just 'go for a ride', I rarely know my destination until I get there. That's the beauty of it. It's about the ride, not the destination.
However, as a caveat to #3, sometimes it's nice to know where you are going so you can be sure to have the fuel to get there. Otherwise you spend you time scanning for gas stations instead of enjoying the scenery!
On April 2, I took a little jaunt to explore areas I rarely visit. No disrespect meant to the little towns I visited this time, I just don't have the need to go to these places unless I'm there purely in a recreational sense.
On this Monday, I headed out of the neighborhood without a particular destination. I just knew I would head west and south to see what I had been missing all these years. I figured I'd hit Huntington and try to find some twisties.
I meandered down by FTW airport, and ended up taking back roads to Markle and then west to the southern edge of Huntington. I stopped for a break at a little gas station at the corner of W200N and State Road 9, near Transwheel Corporation.
From there, I decided I would go for Marion. Been a long time since heading down that way. Wondered what the little town had been up to. Apparently not much. But it was relatively busy at lunchtime and I got in a nice little break to watch quite a few other motorcycles enjoying the weather.
I decided I'd continue a bit more south and then head west to Kokomo. Other than that stupid song by the Beach Boys, I didn't recall ever being in Kokomo. So I took St. Road 9 down to US 35 and 'headed west, young man!'. Talk about your boring stretch of farmland. nothing but flat straight road for miles. Gave me plenty of time to work on getting the Beach Boys out of my head!
I found the city to be a bit depressing. Seems like the manufacturing industry there got up and left. But you could also tell these were a hardy people, determined to carry on with their quaint little shops and eateries.
Oh yeah, don't ask me about the obsession with water towers on this trip. I have no idea why I rooted them out to take photos of the towers. Just a goofy feeling that day, I guess.
I was at about 100 miles for the day so far here, and it was mid afternoon, so I thought I'd better head back toward home, sorta. I had a few fleeting thoughts of heading over to Lafayette, but the idea of staying on 35 wiped that put pretty quickly. I needed to be awake. So I opted for a northern route to go toward either Peru or Logansport. Since the weather was beautiful, I wasn't on a schedule, and Cheeto was wanting to run, I opted for Logansport. It just sounded cooler anyway.
I wound up being right downtown by the Cass County Sheriff office and Jail, and next to the Masonic Temple. Very cool old building. Not much traffic downtown, considering it was close to 4pm. I enjoyed a break and fought with my phone about uploading the camera shots to Facebook. The phone won the first round, I won the second.
Cheeto likes to pose for pictures too, so I took this one of my lovely, my precious:
By now, my tummy was reminding me that dinner time was quickly approaching and I was still a couple hours from home (read: free food). The rest of the ride was pretty much uneventful. Took US 24 east past Peru and Wabash, and on the outskirts of Huntington, and into the Fort on the southwest side. Grabbed Engle Road off of Jefferson and scooted home.
All told, about 188 miles on this trip, but all at a leisurely pace. Solo rides are great for clearing the mind, but I'd much rather ride with my wife and other riders.
Today's Ride: 188 miles
Goal for 2012: 7,500 miles
Previous rides: 1,133 miles
Miles ridden so far in 2012: 1,321
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Blowin' in the Wind!
We both love going to casinos, even though my previous posts prove we don't gamble a whole lot. We do enjoy the exciting noises, and the whirl of activity. I think we have a touch of the ADD anyway so this helps -SQUIRREL!- feed that need.But since this is about rides and not slot machines, let's get to that.
We headed out of Fort Wayne down IN-1 and made our way to Bluffton and then down to Redkey before turning west and heading for Anderson. Yes, Anderson. Home of Hoosier Park Raceway and Casino.
The big story today was the wind. Boy Howdy! There was some serious wind out there today. It had us leaning quite a bit as we passed the open farm fields that had nothing in the way of natural boundaries blocking some of the constant strong wind.
In case you haven't ridden a lot in strong winds, you should know it's a lot harder than it seems. The wind will buffet you all over your lane so you end up riding dead center, instead of the usual left or right tire lane. This keeps you from blowing across the center line and into the path of the 18-wheeler headed in the direction you just left. It also keeps you from blowing off to the side of the road and into whatever culvert or ditch happens to be calling your name.
We pulled in to the casino for an excitement break and a break from the wind. After a little while (and a lot of fun, including my winning something on the 5-cent slots that took me at least 4 minutes to try and figure out what I won while the machine kept making noise and adding more money to my total), we basically shot through the winnings and walked out 28 cents ahead of where we came in.
The ride home was north and slightly east, and that put the wind at our back. We opted for a quicker route home, so we took I-69 to IN-26 and Hartford City. Then east back to IN-1 and north to Bluffton.
A rather quick stop at Coco China Buffet satisfied our stomachs and gave us another quick breather between wind gusts.
We pulled into the driveway (hitting the button on my newly installed garage door opener on Cheeto's fairing dash), and put the kickstand down at exactly 190 miles total for the day.
No rain, just a few bugs, and some cloud cover made for a rather pleasant day, despite the wind.
And when you return safe and sound, with your lovely bride smiling from ear to ear as she dismounts, it's always a good day!
Today's Ride: 190 miles
Goal for 2012: 7,500 miles
Previous rides: 943 miles
Miles ridden so far in 2012: 1,133
Sunday, April 8, 2012
No gamble on the weather on this trip, it was excellent!
On the Saturday before Easter this year, Jannette and I decided to take a quick trip down to southern Indiana. Originally, we planned to take Indiana 135 from Gnaw Bone (no, I'm not making that up, it's really the name). Anyway, that's west of Columbus, Indiana, and taking that down to Mauckport, Indiana on the Ohio River. Just that portion is about 100 miles and I'm told it's excellent for motorcycles.
The problem for us was one of timing. We really couldn't do an 'overnight' trip because of Easter Sunday, and just one way on this is 5.5 hours and 270 miles. That makes going down and coming back all the same day about an 11 hours riding day (with only short breaks) and while that's probably still doable by me, it's certainly not how you'd describe a great day of riding to Jannette.
Then my buddies Matt & Lorraine suggested that we meet up with them for a ride on Saturday, since the weather would be nice. One thing led to another and we couldn't get our schedules worked out. Plus, it was still quite cold here at 8am, which would have been prime time to leave and give ourselves plenty of daylight.
Instead we ended up leaving here at about 11:30 and heading for Rising Sun, Indiana to visit a casino there. Should have been about 162 miles and about 3.5 hours each way. We knew that leaving at 11:30 would mean a very short visit to the actual casino, but this was a scouting expedition and more about the ride than the destination. So we figured we'd be down there by 3pm, leave around 4pm and be back home by 7:30p. Not so much.
The ride itself was pretty decent. A bit chilly of a start, with both of us wearing winter riding gloves, and multiple layers. We wore chaps too, for warmth and added 'just in case' protection. The sun was out for nearly the entire day, which made for a beautiful ride. Took 27 down through Decatur, Berne, Geneva, Portland, Winchester, Richmond and that's where things got hairy. There was a detour set up because 27 was closed in Liberty, Indiana. We should have plowed on through and found a local way around it, but instead followed the Detour 27 signs, instead of our better sense and Garmina - who kept blabbering about with urgent proddings to 'turn right', 'turn right', and 'turn right'.
We ended up outside Cincinnati, in a town called "Northgate" which is about 20 miles east of the Indiana border. Other than the fact it was rather packed with traffic, it was a nice place to see, and certainly far different from the manured-aroma of the farm fields we had been traveling past all day. We quickly jumped on 275, then US 50, and found ourselves approaching Lawrenceberg, Indiana. As we got within a half mile of the entrance to Hollywood Casino, I asked Jannette if she'd rather try this one instead of Rising Sun (about 12 miles more down the road), she said "Sure!" and we swerved off to the left hand turn lanes to make it happen.
As this isn't a casino review site, I won't go into a lot of detail, but Hollywood Casino is pretty nice, as far as Indiana casinos go. We were impressed with the cleanliness and the hospitality of the folks working there. All very nice. Not a great place to win money, but we never risk very much either.
The trip back got started about 5:00pm and this time we listened to Garmina completely. We took IN-1 from Lawrenceberg to Brookville, then 101 to US-27 and that caused us to backtrack from earlier in the day, which is something I hate to do, but in the interest of time and weather (and darkness) we decided on a more familiar route, with more traffic (to scare off Bambi) to get home. We had a brief dinner break in Portland at a place called Margarita's Grill (formerly Bandidos) then headed home and pulled in about 9:00pm.
Total this ride: 313 miles.
Goal for 2012: 7,500 miles
Previous rides: 650 miles.
Miles ridden total so far: 943.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Spring Warm ups for a great 2012 summer!
Today and yesterday, I took advantage of some nice sunny weather and the fact that I had a 4 day weekend with no pressing events that needed my time.
C'mon summer, bring on the riding weather!
Let's start with yesterday...
Jannette and I decided to take advantage of the weather and did a little 5.5 hour and 206 mile journey around northeastern Indiana. About midway through the trip, we decided to hit Pioneer, Ohio and see if there was anything on the shelf calling our name at Hudson Leather Company.
Aside from a bit of a chill, and about 7 million bugs, it was a great ride. Intermittent clouds and sunshine and temps around 72 kept us attentive. We made a huge circle around Fort Wayne, by way of Huntington, Albion, Kendallville, Hudson, and Pioneer, Ohio. Only one bit of Interstate, and that was just to get us home a little more quickly. After all, she had purchased a new riding jacket (and of course we had to see how it held up at high speed), and I had purchased some new luggage for shorter trips. (Let's see how canvas holds up to the elements).
No sooner did I get all the bugs cleaned off, than I decided to take a solo jaunt today. Like some of the best rides you'll ever take, this one didn't have a destination in mind as I left the driveway. It was literally a last minute decision as I approached the end of the driveway. Left, and I go east-ish. Right, and I go west-ish. I went right.
This was a lot of fun because I didn't really know until my first stop where I was going to end up. I started at the south side of Huntington and took IN-9 down to Marion. Then to Kokomo, Logansport, Peru, Wabash and then back home. Just 191 miles today over about 5.5 hours.
Clearly, I'm not hitting superslab and high speeds. I'll leave that for some of the longer trips this summer.
Goal for 2012 is about 7,500 miles, and with these two trips, along with a few short earlier trips, I'm now at about 650 miles. That means 6,850 to go.
C'mon summer, bring on the riding weather!
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