Blowin' in the Wind!

The lovely wife and I decided to take advantage of unseasonably warm weather today (highs in the low 80's in mid-April). Again, we didn't really have a specific destination in mind, but we kinda did at the same time.

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