On A Gold Wing and a Prayer: June 2014

Monday, June 30, 2014

Day 12 Monday June 30, 2014

We got off to an early start today with sunny skies. Although the winds were pretty strong they weren't as bad as yesterday, or so we thought. We opted to forego breakfast and get as many miles in before lunch. After we left North Dakota and crossed the Red River into Minnesota the winds picked up. Once again we were battered by the winds. After 200 miles we stopped for lunch in Grand Rapids, MN. Following lunch we approached the Duluth Lake Superior area and the winds became ridiculous. We thought yesterday's winds were bad, today's were off the hook. The winds were so strong and unpredictable we got bounced around for several hours. After crossing over Lake Superior we stopped for a few photos. Notice how strong the wind is on the white caps on the lake and the muddy water. We left Lake Superior and highway 2 and entered Wisconsin as we turned south on highway 53. There was no "Welcome to Wisconsin" sign on the route we took (or we missed it). We were soon travelling thru the beautiful farmlands of Wisconsin. When I say beautiful I mean beautiful! The rolling green hills of crops were surrounded with forest lands and the quintessential red barns with silos and brick farmhouses with white picket fences all completed the painting. Due to the highway traffic and strong winds we couldn't find a safe place to pull over and take pictures. Maybe tomorrow we will find a photo opportunity. We completed our days ride at a hotel in Eau Claire, WI. Today we rode 447 miles, total for the trip 3748.

Forest Lake Restaurant

This bear was next to our table

Lake Superior

Dave was getting wet on the dock

Notice the swell

I almost lost my hat I also got splashed by waves and my pants were wet

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Sunday, June 29, 2014

Day 11: Sunday June 29, 2014

After a good nights sleep we loaded up the bikes and continued east on highway 2. As extreme as the rains were yesterday, today we had winds that would knock you over if standing still. Not sure what is more challenging, the heavy rains or the incredible winds. The winds were so strong that at times we road at a 20-30 degree lean, then the gust subsides and the next gust hits you in the side of the helmet causing whiplash. The beating we took for the entire ride today was exhausting. In fact we didn't even stop for lunch today as we wanted to get to our destination ASAP. We did stop at a rest area and put our rain gear on as the skies were getting darker. Dave put his rain gear on this time! We did get some rain but not near as bad as yesterday. We arrived in Grand Forks North Dakota and rode around until we found a suitable hotel. In fact we stopped at one hotel, registered, got to our room and immediately walked out and cancelled the room and moved on to another hotel. It was disgusting. We found a Hilton Garden Inn and paid $5 more for a clean upscale hotel room then the dirt bag hotel we initially checked into. Kate the manager of the hotel recommended a restaurant in Minnesota for dinner. So after checking into our room we crossed the border for an early dinner in East Grand Forks, Minnesota. We ate at the "Blue Moose" along the Red River. I had Walleye for the first time, I liked the restaurant so much I even bought the T-shirt. Today we rode 343 miles, total for the trip 3301.

Skies from the rest stop

Dave putting on his gear

Hard to tell the wind in this picture but believe me it was strong

I had to stop and change my gloves, it started to warm up and my hands were boiling.

Dinner at Blue Moose

My new t-shirt

The rising Red River

Red River

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Saturday, June 28, 2014

Day 10 Saturday June 28, 2014

We woke to partly sunny skies, had breakfast in the hotel and rode next door to get gas at $3.58 per gallon. About one mile from the hotel we encountered road construction and for the next 3 miles we were riding on dirt and gravel then the water truck came by and watered down the road creating a muddy mess! Once thru the construction we were on wide open roads travelling by pastures and acres of farm land. We never stopped for pictures as we were going to push our ride today and put on a few extra miles. We stopped in Glasgow for lunch at a deli called "Soma-Dis". The building the deli was located in is one of the oldest in the county.

Building the deli was located

Inside Soma-Dis deli

We left Glasgow on our way to North Dakota. The skies were dark to the east (where we are going) so we stopped in Wolf Point to put on our rain gear. Well, I put on my rain gear. We got back on the road and after about a half hour we stopped in Poplar under the awning of an abandoned gas station to wait out a thunderstorm. We can ride in the rain but the lightening we have to avoid. After things settled down we got back on the road but soon the skies opened up again. We then ran into another construction zone and we had to stop on the highway and wait for the pilot car. We took advantage of the time for a photo opportunity. Once the pilot car arrived and we started riding again we got slammed with the heaviest constant rains I had every been in either looking out the window of my house or a vehicle. The rain drops were so large and hard we thought we were in a hail storm! We were in this downpour for several miles until we arrived in Culbertson MT were we took shelter in the car port at a coin operated car wash. Dave was drenched and had to remove his clothes and put dry clothes on and warm up. Remember he chose not to put on rain gear when I did. I who had rain gear on got wet also. My "waterproof" boots and gloves were drenched. I guess the waterproof means California rains and not Montana downpours. Because the rains were wind driven rain got into our helmets too. After waiting about a half hour at the car wash we ventured back on the road and made it to Williston, North Dakota for the night. We were not aware we crossed another time zone so when we got to our room we noticed the clock displayed 7:00pm...we lost an hour. We road only 316 miles today. Total of 2958 miles.

Poplar where I put on rain gear

Let the fun begin

Waiting for the pilot car

Dave's not too wet...yet!

Dave getting naked

Unfortunately the size of the rain drops don't show up

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Friday, June 27, 2014

Day 9: Friday June 27, 2014

We awoke this morning to rain. The mountains that were in view of the hotel yesterday were completely shrouded in clouds today. We put on our rain gear and headed east on highway 2 toward Glacier National Park. Not far up the highway we ran into road construction. The road was muddy and challenging to cross with our bikes but we made it thru there and were able to stop along the road to take some pictures of the area. Because of the rains there was snow in the higher elevation and The Road To The Sun was closed. We were bummed as that was one of the goals of this trip. Maybe on the return trip... Even with the rain and road work the ride thru the forest was beautiful. God created an amazing color palate and I think green is his favorite color, there were so many shades of green in the park.

The first construction site

Count the shades of green

Nature was calling us

Reflective lake

One of the many lakes

We came upon another traffic delay due to road construction that was wet with mud and gravel. The bikes were trashed with mud after getting thru the construction sites. Fortunately the rains came down harder and washed away a lot of the grime. We stopped and got a few more pictures before getting out of the park and onto the flat land. While driving away I noticed in my rear view mirror the mountains rising up from the planes and we stopped for a photo. We had lunch in Browning at the casino (not too much there) but we wanted to get out of our rain gear and it was 2pm. As we were crossing the plains of Montana we realized why it's called Big Sky Country because for as far as you can see it is prairie and farm land meeting the sky.