Enter The Dragon

Preparation
For several years now my friends and I have talked about making a trip out to the Smoky Mountains and run the "Tail of the Dragon" along with some other great roads over there.
Well this year is the year we did it and it was a phenomenal trip.
At the beginning of every trip there is lots of prep work that goes into it. Making packing lists for clothes, and tools, getting the bike in order for the trip which usually includes a complete fluid change, double checking torque settings on bolts, new tires if needed, pulling out maps and getting on the Internet to look up routes etc... So for several weeks up to our departure date that is what I was doing in my spare time.

The short version
This year the group of guys was pretty small which made it easy to make good time running down the road it was

• Myself
• Princess
• Sponge Bob
• Pops

The total mileage for this trip was 2843.
We had one day of rain on the way out.
Zero mechanical breakdowns and 3 beautiful days in the Smoky Mountains on some great roads.

Day 1
Myself, Sponge Bob and Princess all met at Ihop for breakfast at 6:00am and KSU was at 7:00am. When we left it was over cast and cool out and nice change from the 90+ degrees it usually is this time of year. The first leg of our trip was up to Sulphur Springs to meet up with Pops and then head on over to Little Rock. The day was uneventful and everything went smooth all the way to Little Rock.



Day 2
Rain rain go away!!!
We woke up to some serious thunder storms on Sunday. We all huddled around the TV watching the weather channel and we all had our phones out watching the radar in our area.
We saw that there was going to be a break in the weather around 9:30 so we decided to wait it out, while waiting for the rain to stop we watched the cars and 18 wheelers run down the highway and they looked like boats in the water with huge bow waves coming over their hoods and windshields. At about this time there was a lightning strike just across the highway from us followed by a deafening BOOM!!! Things were not looking good for day 2 to say the least. About 15 minutes had passed and we heard a car skid out and we all ran out to see what was happening, as we came out of the room we saw a SUV slide off the road and into the ditch. Spongie and I ran over to assist the driver and to our surprise he drove out of the ditch to the frontage road. He pulled over and we checked on him and he was fine with the exception of some spilled coffee. At this point we were all wondering if we were gonna make it to our destination. Around 9:15 or so the weather had cleared and the interstate wasn't a free flowing stream so we decided to chance it and hit the road.
It rained on us till we got to the east side of Little Rock and then it cleared and the interstate started to dry out. At this point we opened up the throttle and headed east to Memphis.
When we got to Memphis it was only a little over cast and it looked like the worst was behind us. We pulled into town filled up the gas tanks and went down to Beal street for some lunch. We ate at Boogie's Cafe home of the largest autographed collection of guitars. As luck would have it there was a music festival going on while we were there so after eating we checked out the festival for a few minutes and we even talked about finding a place to stay for the night and enjoy the activities. Then the sky started to turn black and we decided it was a better idea to stay ahead of the storm. We saddled up and jumped back on the interstate, about this time the tornado sirens started to go off!! We all started scanning the radio and weather channels. Turns out leaving was the right decision, in the very spot we were standing down on Beal street they were getting hail and a tornado was in the area. At this point is was balls out as fast as we could ride to stay ahead of the storm. We were staying ahead of the weather and it looked like we were in the clear, then another storm cell starts coming in from the north and the tornado sirens started to go off again! During all of this Princess decides he had to pull over to take a leak; WTH MAN!! While we were stopped we gassed up the bikes and right as we were leaving it started to rain on us. Again back on the interstate and road as fast as we could till we got ahead of the second storm cell.
Finally we made it to Tennessee 50 and turned south, the sky opened up and the clouds started to break apart and for me at least it seemed like the stress of the situation just melted away and we finally got to start enjoying the ride. We followed the road twisting and turning all the way to Shelbyville where we stopped for the night.

I know Jack
The next day we woke to beautiful sky's. We grabbed breakfast and loaded up the bikes and headed south to Lynchburg home to Mr. Jack Daniels.
I have to say that I am a huge fan of Mr. Jack's Tennessee whiskey an I enjoyed the tour around the distillery tremendously. Even if you are not a fan of the product the distillery tour is a must see for anyone traveling in the area.
Our tour guide was the best! When I hear the term "bootlegger" the image of this gentleman comes to mind. He was tall, a little round in the mid-section and wore overalls and talked slow and walked slow. He referred to oak trees as "sugar makers" since that is where Jack gets it's sweet taste from. He has been working at the distillery for 20+ years, and knows the operation like the back of his hand.
On the tour we saw how they make their infamous charcoal, we visited the cave where the source of the natural spring water that is used to make JD, the original JD office, then we visited the vats where the whiskey was fermented, the charcoal room where they filter the whiskey, then it was on to the bottling room. After the tour we went to the White Rabbit whiskey store, the only place in Lynchburg where you can purchase a bottle of the old 07. I purchased 5 collector bottles to take home with me, unfortunately only 3 made it back ;)
After our time at the distillery we walked over to the town square where we picked up some souvenirs ate lunch and then it was time for us to hit the road and head to the Iron Horse Lodge.
Our route brought us in from the north and right down the tail of the dragon. What an AWESOME way to end the ride for the day. It was crazy, just when you thought the road would straighten out it just kept on giving with more banking turns and switchbacks.
We reached the end of the Dragon and stopped off for a quick break to pick up some T's and patches and to get a good look at the tree of shame that is covered with motorcycle parts from all types of different bikes. By now the sun was fading fast and shadows from the mountains were covering the road, we didn't want to get caught out after dark so we jumped on a road called the Moonshine 28 and headed south to the Iron Horse Lodge.

Nestled in the Smokey mountains just outside of Robinsville is a beautiful camp ground called the Iron Horse Lodge. If you're ever taking a trip out in this area I HIGHLY recommend this as a place to stay or use it as a base camp to tour the area. When we arrived it was pretty late around 9:00pm and they had already shutdown the kitchen for the night. While we were checking in, the lady at the front desk asked if we had eaten and of course we had not. She had the kitchen prepare us 4 pulled pork bbq sandwiches, chips and drinks! The hospitality at the Iron Horse was phenomenal!
The staff was knowledgeable about every road in the area, each day I would talk to one of the staff and ask what a good route would be, they had ride maps on hand and would not only tell you the route, but tell you about all the "must see" things along each route, and where all the good places to eat where.
The Iron Horse has amenities for everyone; there are cabins, tent sites and RV hookups. They have a main lodge that has a projector TV the size of my house, kitchen for food, community campfire, game room with pool tables. The location is GREAT there is a stream running through the center of the property which adds to the beauty of this place.
Blue Ridge Parkway
Next day we headed out to the blue ridge parkway, let me just say that if the this was the only ride we did during our trip, it would have been totally worth it. This road is awesome, it is smooth, scenic and has nice sweeping curves on it. It also has scenic overlooks every mile or so which allows you to take your time and take in all the scenery along the way. It took us several hours to ride just a small section of the parkway once we made it to the highest point on the parkway (6053ft) we stopped for a photo op and then decided it was time to get lunch. For lunch there was only one place that everyone recommended the Pisgah Inn which sits right on the parkway. The food was good and the view was AMAZING! The dinning room has a view over the entire smokey mountains.

New Mexico 2010

Well it has been a while since I wrote about anything much less about any trips I have taken. This is a story about MEN, manly men. Men who are not afraid of anything... uhhh except maybe a 4'10" chihuahua ;)...
This year was the 3rd annual MC trip with my friends. I might add that this trip almost didn't happen. Many of the regulars were planning other trips to Sturgis, Big Bend and other destinations. It all started one afternoon when Steve'o came over to the house and said he needed to get out of town, he didn't care where just needed to get out. So I said let's go to New Mexico... That was the extent of the planning for the trip this year.

For those of you who want the short and sweet version here it is.

Total Distance: 1641

The Riders:

• Myself
• Kevin aka Pelon
• Steve H. aka Princes
• Steve W. aka Grumpy Bear (whose my grumpy bear?)
• Robert
• Jr.
• Boots
• Dad aka Pops aka Prospect

Damage Report:

• One broken power wire in the wiring harness of my bike (Bacon)
• Two dropped bikes. One was dropped over and over and over again... damn prospects!
• Two blown fuses

Memorable Quotes:

• Your phone have skype on it?
• It's gotta be the hot dogs because I just shit mustard out of my ass!!
• What color does pink and yellow make?
• That blue Hyundai should be coming along any minute...

My story and I'm sticking to it...
Thursday night in the garage I was changing oil and getting the bike loaded up for the trip and doing last minute checks on the bike and making sure I have everything packed.
Friday morning came quickly and I was up and gone by 5:15 to meet up with the rest of the crew. We all met up at the gas station and we were gone by 6:00am. It was nice to finally get on the road and enjoy the wind and sun on my face. For those that do not ride, it is one of the most relaxing and therapeutic things you can do for yourself.
You remember when I said that I was checking to make sure I packed everything... well I kept thinking that I was missing something and about 3 hours down the road I realized what it was that I forgot. I forgot my camera and my notepad for my trip notes...SONOFA!!!!
Oh well hopefully everyone else remembered to bring theirs.
The first stop on our trip was in Sweetwater to meet up with Pops and Jr and to have some breakfast. Once we got there we found out that Jr was running late due to some technical difficulties. Pops was there when we pulled up. After some brief introductions we all went inside to get some food before we headed out. Jr showed up about an hour later and we hit the road.

See, that is what happened to the aliens...
Next stop was up to Brownfield for gas and then it was on to Roswell. In between Brownfield and Roswell there is NOTHING.
Here is a brief conversation from the road...
Hey check out that over there. Check out what? That... Where? Over there. What is it? NOTHING!
It was at this point between Brownfield and Roswell that Bacon decided to give up. We were going along nice and smooth about 75 when she went dead! WTF!!! So I pull over check fuses and switch a few out and still nothing. While we were trying to figure out what went wrong with my bike Steve said he has never been drowsy or sleepy on his bike until we were on this road. He said that the aliens crashed cause they were falling asleep...
Normally when you switch on your bike (HD) you hear the fuel pump pressurize the fuel lines. This was not happening. So I pulled out the ol Cell phone and called HOG Road Side to have a wrecker come get me. Lucky for me the day before I left I noticed my road side service was expired so I had renewed it before I left. The tow truck driver said that it had saved me about $200 for the cost of the tow.

Stuck on the side of the road...
The Road side people said it would be about 45 minutes for the wrecker to show up. Steve decided to stay behind with me and we sent everyone else into town to fuel up and find a place to relax while we waited for the tow truck. With nothing better to do in the middle of the desert Steve and I pulled out our camping chairs and sat back and bs'ed for a while. We started to try and estimate distances and betting on how far it was to the next hill. Then we would time cars and try to figure out how far it was. We debated about the distance between the power poles on the side of the road. What else can you do....
When the tow truck showed up we got the bike loaded up and we were off to the dealer.

How the F!@#$ does that happen?
The beauty of HOG road side is that they had called ahead and scheduled an apt for me at the dealership in Roswell, so when we got there they immediately pulled my bike in and started to troubleshoot what was wrong with it.
About an hour after they started to look at it, I went to check and noticed there were four techs standing around my bike scratching their heads, this did not look promising. After about two hours the service guy came and found me and said we know what the issue is. He took me to the bike and I noticed that the factory wiring harness was ripped apart and there was a broken wire inside it. What happened was the main power to the ECU broke, well the ECU powers the fuel pump and fuel regulator. The guy said that vibration had caused the break. With no time to loose I had them solder it back together heat shrink it and then tuck it all back in the harness.

Onward to camp and the mayhem that follows...
After we got my bike back together it was time to get moving so we could make camp before dark. Once we got to camp and checked in Kevin and I headed for our tent site and the rest of the guys went to the cabin, except they got lost on the way and had to circle back. When that happened Pops dropped his bike on the gravel and Princess got tangled up in some sand and he went down too.
Well after we got everyone back on two wheels and our gear put up for the night we walked back down to the office to look for some food and there was none. The camp owners offered to run into town for us and pickup some pizza's and beer which was most welcome.
The rest of the night was relaxing around the fire eating pizza, drinking and telling stories and lies.

Saturday...
We were all up around 5:30 6:00 to get showered and ready for the day. Once we were all ready we saddled up and headed into Ruidoso to register for the rally there. We stopped at a little diner out side of town for some coffee and breakfast. Then we hit the rally site and registered. Found out that the vendors didn't open till 10 and it was 9. We decided to go for a ride through the mountains. It was beautiful. We stopped on the way down the mountain for some photo ops and then headed back into town to check out the rally. After a few hours of meandering around the rally we decided to go get some food. We decided on a place called Quaters which apparently was very popular. However, the service was HORRIBLE! We waited for like an hour before our food came to us and another hour before we got our check. The girl that waited on us was brand new and it was her first day. Needless to say that was the last time we went there.
After our painful lunch we split up. Couple of guys took off and went riding while the rest of us checked out downtown Ruidoso. After looking around downtown we headed up 12k feet to Ski Apache and checked out the view. It was AWESOME! The road up there was nice and twisty, love those mountain roads. After coming down the mountain it was starting to get dark and we didn't want a repeat of the previous night so we headed back to camp for another night of drinking and tall tales. If you ever wanted to know what conversations take place around the fire, you'll have to show up.

Are you man enough for this sandwich...
Next morning we got up and headed back into town for some breakfast. We stopped at this place called the Log Cabin. Which was EXCELLENT! The service was great and the food was awesome. They had a breakfast sandwich called the Man Sandwich which consisted of toasted Hawaiian bread, cheese, ham steak, and a bacon, sausage, and cheese omelet. It was freaking amazing.

I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride...
One of the stops that I wanted to make during this trip was up to Lincoln. This is the heart of the Lincoln county wars and where Billy the Kid and sheriff Pat Garret made their mark on history. When we got to Lincoln we went to the visitor center and got the whole story of Lincoln and the Lincoln county wars. It was really neat to see the town has not changed one bit since it was established. It has been preserved very well. For people who like the legends and stories of the old west this is a must see. The original Tunstall store was still there and the original court house where Billy the Kid broke out of. The bullet holes where he had shot his way out were still in the wall. As you walked down main street it was like walking back in time.

Look Sand...
After spending some time in Lincoln we saddled up and headed down to the White Sands national park. It is basically a big pile of sand in the middle of the desert. Not a whole lot there but we drove into the dunes and checked out the dunes and all the weird wild life that lives out there. After leaving the dunes we headed back to Alamogordo for fuel for the bikes and water for us. We decided to head up hwy 54 to check out another town Carrizozo. We started heading up the road and noticed that we were getting passed by lots of emergency vehicles and then a life flight helicopter flew by. About 40 miles up the road we came to a stop, there was a head on collision between two cars. It was a nasty horrible mess.
After waiting around for about 30 minutes we decided to turn around and head back to Ruidoso for dinner. After dinner we made a quick pit-stop for gas and some snacks and drinks and it was back to camp. When we were at camp it was obvious that everyone was tired. It was much quieter than the previous night. Although that didn't stop everyone from giving the prospect a hard time.

Headed home...
Next morning we broke camp got food and hit the road. We went back the same way. It was a long ride but everyone made it home safely. It was kind of funny Steve and I talked when we got to the house and we were ready to saddle up again. Just needed time to do laundry and pack up the bikes again. Here are more pics of the trip and until next time keep the rubber side down..

Gobble Gobble...

Well it's that time of year again, time to get together with the family and eat way too much and then eat too much again. This year for Thanksgiving I went up to my parents house for the holiday. I headed up there on Wed and stayed till Friday. The time I spent at my parents consisted of drinking, eating and then drinking heavily. One tradition we have is to watch Christmas Story, the epic story of Ralphie and his quest for the Red Rider BB gun, what a classic movie. I think the only other movie that is just as good to watch over and over again is Christmas Vacation, I love that movie.
While I was at my parents I convinced my Dad to ride back with me to Austin and then go riding in the Hill Country and really put some miles on his bike. Back on Memorial day my Dad finally decided on which bike to get and since has only put like 1200 miles on it. Well I was hoping to change that this past weekend and I did.
Myself, the Ol' Man and a bunch of my friends went out on our typical Hill country ride, out the twisty 1431 picked up 29 to Llano, stopped at coopers for BBQ, then down 16 passed Enchanted rock and then hit Luchenbach for some beers and good conversation and then headed back home. It was a typical ride, nothing out of the ordinary but the point was to get my Dad out on some good twisty roads so he could enjoy the ride, cause lets face it DFW SUCKS for riding. There is nothing good about riding up in that area. You have to drive 50 miles just to get out of town and then, there aren't that many good rides up there.
All in all it was a GREAT weekend riding around and hanging out with friends, I think we put around 700 miles on the ol' mans bike. Pics can be found here
Till next time keep the rubber side down!

Bike Night...

Thursday night, bike night, noche del motos, Guys night out, noche de los hombres... Whatever you want to call it, in my opinion it is the BEST night of the week. It is the time when myself and all my friends get to go out and laugh, tell stories, joke around and in general have a great time enjoying each others company. Last night was no exception, I headed up to one of our local watering holes to meet the boys and when I took the exit off the highway the sky's opened up and I got soaked for the last mile of my ride. I am usually not the first person that show's up so it was very surprising to me that I got there before everyone else. I figured they chickened out cause of the rain and when I pulled up and noticed no one else was there I yelled some profanity to myself which caught the attention of everyone on the patio... whoops....
I went in and ordered a drink and visited with some of the regulars there at the bar and waited for everyone to show.
Everyone showed up and there were shots, drinks, wings, good lies and great stories. Once the last call happened it was time to be moving on. A smaller group of more rambunctious individuals decided to head south into Austin to hit another bar. When we got there one of my brothers ROBERT CONTRERAS :) had the unfortunate luck of dropping his bike and of course us being the great friends we are took pictures so we can tease him about from now until he dies. Note: I can do this cause I dropped my bike and told on myself when we took our trip to Arkansas see here
Anyway, the bike was fine and more importantly Robert was fine.
We hung out at this bar for like an hour or so watching the locals interact with each other. It is so much fun to people watch. After a while we started getting pretty board so it was time to leave. We all decided that after the holiday's we will be going to downtown Austin for the after party cause it is way more interesting. Apparently last time when I missed the after party there were fights, arrests and public intoxication downtown...what a great time!
Next was breakfast at I-hop and then it was time to head home. I ended up riding the last 15 miles of my trip home in the rain... But I wouldn't have change a thing.
I love bike night... I love my friends, they are my rock.
There are more pics here.
Till next time, keep the rubbers on the road.

My Mom....

For the past three years my family has participated in the Susan G. Komen 3 day breast cancer walk. This is the first year I have had the privileged to attend and witness this event first hand. Let me start off by saying it was AWESOME and one of the most emotional events I have attended in my life, mainly cause of my Mom. To know all that she went through and how hard she fought and to now see her walk 60 miles to bring inspiration to others... she absolutely inspires me. The sheer magnitude of this event and the amount of work that goes into this is phenomenal. I was able to get up to Dallas on Friday and my sister and I found them on the route and cheered them on!
After seeing them for a few minutes Erin (my sister) and I headed over to grab some food for them and then met them at the camp to help them get settled in and say good night. The next day me and my older sister (kelly) headed over to the walk to find my parents and again cheer on all the walkers. This time we took my bike (bacon) and drove along the route playing music and cheering everyone on. We found my parents and visited with them for a few minutes and then headed over to the lunch station to meet them for lunch.
When we got to the lunch station the first 30 or so miles were starting to take a tole on my parents. Dad had to get his ankle tapped and my Mom had to have the chiropractor pop her ribs back into place, go ahead ask why.
Cancer is a horrible disease, not just breast cancer but all types of cancer. If cancer doesn't kill you, the treatment will come close. When she was getting chemo and radiation it caused her bones and joints to become brittle and now every once in a while her ribs just pop out of place if she moves wrong.
After a brief visit to the medical tent and getting everything popped and tapped they grabbed their lunch and we found a nice spot in the shade and they enjoyed a much deserved break from the walk.
Next day was the closing ceremony which in my opinion was the best part of the whole event. All the survivors are honored by the walkers with a shoe ceremony where all the walkers raise their shoes and pay tribute to the survivors, even now as I write this the emotion starts to well up inside...
My Mom is the strongest person I know and I am so proud and inspired by her courage and determination.
Pics from the 3day

Dinosaur Valley

It has been a long time since I have been able to get outta town and go for a decent ride. Main contributing factor to this was the fact that I just got divorced and have been dealing with that but that is another topic all together. This past weekend was too PERFECT! It all started on Friday when I went by my friend Mike's house to visit and found out that he and his ol' lady canceled their trip to the coast due to heavy rain fall, so we made plans to head out in the morning to make a run up to Glen Rose and see Dinosaur Valley state park. We all met around 8:00 and by 8:30 or so we were on the road. Our plan was to take the direct route straight up to the park and then in the afternoon take the twisty back roads home. When we met the temperature gauge was reading 42 degree's so needless to say it was a tad bit chilly when we hit the road. We got on the road and headed north about 20 miles into the trip I pulled up to Tanya and basically was distracting her telling her it was coooold which caused her to drift over to the shoulder of the road and almost lose control. I was FREAKING out but being the good rider that she is, she was able to save it. It was defiantly a pucker moment for everyone. After that the rest of the trip was uneventful and went smoothly all the way to the park. When we got to the park we found out that the tracks were not visible due to the recent rain that we've been having. A little disappointed we went into the park got a ride patch took a few photo's and when hiking on some of the trails. About this time we were all starting to get a little hungry so we found a place in Glen Rose to eat. After that Mike took us down some of the twisty back roads on the way home. The weather was absolutely perfect for a ride, it warmed up to mid 70's and sunshine. What a great day to be riding...

Holiday Road

A few months back my sister-in-law Sandy made a suggestion about running up to Milwaukee and see the new HD museum, mainly cause she got a free ticket to the museum, plus why the hell not...
Over the past few months we plotted and schemed about the agenda of the trip. We were going to drive as fast as we could to get out of Texas and over to Hot Springs, AR. Once there we were going to shoot up Hwy 7 through Branson then I-44 over to St. Louis then finally push on to Milwaukee. The trip up was planned for 3 days. Take a few days in Milwaukee see the museum, factory, and corp HQ of HD. Then from Milwaukee we would do the Lake Michigan tour from Wisconsin to Michigan and take the car ferry back to Wisconsin.

View Larger Map

Here is a quick Summery of the trip.
Total Mileage - 3368 honestly I thought it would be longer
Damage: one lost exhaust nut from my bike, one lost seat bolt from Sandy's bike, loose bolt on my saddle bag mount, lost rain cover that flew off somewhere in Illinois.
301 pictures taken
7 states
1 bald rear tire
and lots of great memories...

Pre-ride...
After trying to figure out the best way to pack all of our stuff on the bike and have the versatility and use of the trunk I decided to get the T-bag Dekker for the top of the tour pack. This is a bag that has stiff sides and straps to secure it to the trunk lid mounted on the side of the bag. We could essentially use this bag as the trunk while we stuffed the actual trunk full of everything that would fit in it.
Pros: Lots of extra space and you can get in and out of it easily.
Cons: Puts more weight on the bike and going down the road it gets a little squirrelly.
Next time I do a long trip with the ol' lady I will have a trailer to take the load off the bike. We had so much stuff packed in and on the bike I believe that we were on the border of unsafe.
Two days before we left Sandy showed up at the house, turns out we had bike night that night up at our local HD shop. This bike night was not the normal boring night out at the bar, it was the big bike night that only happens when the ROT rally is happening. This year was the 15th annual ROT (Republic of Texas) Rally. It is one of the biggest rallies in the region however the promoters bill it as one of the larges in the country. Anyways when we went to BN we picked up some oil for Sandy's bike and then were informed there was a tornado north of us moving south. We promptly jumped on our bikes and drove as fast as we could back to our house to beat the rain and the storm. We made it just in time, when I pulled in the garage it had just started to sprinkle and the wind was blowing pretty hard.
Next day I changed the oil and checked out Sandy's bike for the trip. We noticed that her rear tire was getting pretty bald, so we ran up to the dealer to have a new one put on, which turned out to be great! They were serving BBQ and beer (due to the ROT) and we hung out and visited with all the people coming in from out of town. Best time I've had at the dealer waiting on a bike :) The rest of the day was spent packing and repacking to get everything to fit.

Day 1:
We were up with the chickens and on the road around 6:00am destination was Hot Springs AR. The day was pretty uneventful for the most part, only stopping for gas until we got to Texarkana. We stopped there for some lunch and a break at the local dealer to get out of the heat for a while. After Texarkana it was more boring interstate riding till we hit hwy 7 in Arkansas which was the only interesting part of the ride. Interstates are good for trucks, cars, cause you can get to where your going fairly quickly, however for bikers that are out for a ride they are painful but a necessary evil sometimes.

Day 2:
We woke up to the sound of thunder and rain, sounds that are not inviting to bikers on the road. We reluctantly got up, loaded the bikes up and put on the rain gear. We stopped for some coffee and to let the rain pass a little. Today's route was gonna take us up hwy 7 then cut over to Clinton and pick up 65 from there. Fortunately we were heading north and the rain was heading west so we missed the majority of the rain. The roads on this particular stretch were nice and twisty and fairly dry for the most part.
tick tick tick tick... When we came into Hot springs the day before I had noticed a ticking noise coming from my engine, I originally thought it was just cause the engine was so hot that it was pinging. I figured once it cooled off it would be ok. Unfortunately it wasn't that simple, when we headed out in the morning I heard that same ticking noise, it was worse when I would accelerated and it was pretty loud. Once the bike warmed up the ticking started to quiet down. That is when I realized that I had an exhaust leak, and figured I cracked the exhaust gasket. When we were on our way to Clinton we got just south of Russellville and pulled over for a break at a rest area in the Ozarks. That is when I discovered the source of my noise. I had lost an exhaust nut from my front header... AUUGGGHH!!! Next town we found I pulled into an auto parts store and found a nut that would fit and a lock washer. Good news is that I had the tools to fix it, better news is that it was on the front header where I could get to the nuts and tighten them down.
Next stop was Clinton where we took a short break for some lunch and gas. From there we headed up 65 and the rain started again. We road in the rain for about 30 minutes or so. Once we got north of Harrison the sky's turned blue and we had made it passed the frontal system that was moving through the region. We pushed on to Branson where we pulled off for a break and to check out the HD boutique on the river. This area in Branson was great! Lots of stuff to see and we were able to walk around for a while and stretch our legs. Next leg of the day was to St. Louis to see the arches and then spend the night. Unfortunately I didn't time this right and we got to St. Louis pretty late and didn't get to see the arches so we just snapped some pictures as we drove through.
I am sure we'll make it up that way again. I was told by a local biker that they had some of the best riding around in the St. Louis area so maybe my next trip will be up to that area to check out the sites and do some riding.



Day 3 Destination Milwaukee:
OMG!!! Illinois is sooooooo boring, not sure what is worse, driving through Illinois or a sharp stick in my eye. But, to make the best of the situation I discovered that in Lincoln Illinois there was the worlds largest covered wagon with ol Abe Lincoln himself sitting on top of it. For several month now I have been looking for a trailer to pull behind the bike and I finally found one that was big enough to fit all my stuff, only problem is that it takes two bikes to pull it. I guess I will still need to keep on looking. We filled up and continued north, the rest of the day was pretty boring till we hit Milwaukee and then there was 30 minutes of white knuckle riding through traffic and ended up in downtown lost without a clue. I quickly pulled out the ol' google maps from my phone and got directions over to the Museum so we could get recommendations for a hotel in the area.
Once again fortune had smiled on my lucky Irish ass and we got a room in a hotel one block from the museum! We stayed at the Iron Horse Inn. This is a great hotel, it had covered bike parking and a bike wash. After getting checked in and and unloaded the bikes I proceeded to wash the bike and visit with my buddy Jack the rest of the night. While Sandy and I were at the bar we met some guys who were on their "mancation" from Pennsylvania. The night was filled with road stories, tall tails, brats and Jack. It was a great first night in Milwaukee.

Harley Davidson Museum and other local Harley land marks...
I woke to a pounding in my skull, at first I thought it was my ol' lady beating on me, but then I realized it was just Jack. After we got ourselves together we walked over to the HD museum. This place is incredible, even if your not a fan of Harley Davidson the museum is a very neat place to tour. We spent 4 hours (could have spent more) walking around and looking at engines, bikes, reading about the company, looking at pictures and watching short video's. They had rooms dedicated to the history of the HD engine, the company, the bikes, racing, and the culture of bikers.
In the engine room they had every engine model that HD produced and you could select each one from a touch screen and hear what it sounded like, get the specifications and the years the engine was in service. They had cut aways of the engines and working models of them and you could see how all the insides work together.
The history of the Moco was great, it talked about how they started in a shed and then went public, then combined with AMF and finally the "Eagle Sores Alone" campaign they had in the early 80's. In the custom culture room they had a section dedicated to the Booze Fighters MC, the original Wild Ones. Rhine stone bike, the bikes from Easy Rider and they even had a 100th anniversary FLHTCUSE with a side car on display that had over 6500 employee signatures on it. It was bikes, bikes and more bikes. Then we went to the Archives, this is a whole building dedicated for storing HD memorabilia and every bike they have built since the beginning, a complete history of Harley Davidson. The museum is truly a historical archive of not only the bikes Harley Davidson made, but lives of the people who built and used them and how they influenced the culture of the time. From delivery trikes to the WWII messenger brigade. This was one of the neatest things I have seen.
Next on the Agenda was to run out to the factory there in Milwaukee and see how they build the engines for the Sportster's. It was quit interesting, one thing I didn't know is that Harley machines all their parts, every gear, shaft, rod are all machined right there in the plant which was a big surprise to me. I thought they ordered all that stuff and just put the engines together, but they build everything. They test 100% of the staters, and hot start every engine, run it through all gears in the transmission before loading it on a truck for Kansas City where the bikes get assembled.
After we finished our tour of the factory we ran over to Juneau Ave where the Harley Davidson HQ is. It was neat to be there knowing that back in 1903 there was just a tiny shack at that location where they built the first Harley Davidson motorcycle. Not much to see there but you can't be a Harley owner, go all the way to Milwaukee and not stop and pay homage to the HQ.
Next on the agenda was to find a HD dealer to get a bolt for Sandy's seat. Somehow, somewhere along the way she lost the screw that holds her seat on.
After that we headed back to the hotel for dinner and rest...

Around Lake Michigan and back...
Rain rain go away, next morning we awoke to the pitter patter of the rain. Sandy and I grabbed the rain gear and started heading north around Lake Michigan, we rode for about 30 miles and then the rain quit. The plan was to run I-43 to Green Bay and then pick up 41 to 35 then take M2 across the top of Lake Michigan, then cross the Mackinaw bridge and follow 31 and 22 down the Michigan side. Let me say this is one beautiful drive! It is interesting how cool the lake keeps it up there, the road runs right along the cost and keeps it around 60 degree's. When we crossed the Mackinaw bridge the temp had to have dropped at least 20 degree's.
Before we left Wisconsin we stopped at a road side cheese stop and picked up some cheese for the road :). Along this route you are literally riding right on the coast of the lake and the scenery is great! The entire route was great lots to see, and plenty of places to stop for photo ops. The towns reminded me of that little town in Jaws, Amity. There were a bunch of summer beach towns with boat docks, coves and light houses. There was a quaint touristy feel to all the places along the way. Everyone we stopped to talk with was real friendly and most of them were up there visiting for the summer. Very few people we met were local.
When we got to the Mackinaw bridge we stopped for a photo op and then we proceeded to cross. Let me state for the record steel grated bridges suck on a bike, and the entire bridge was steel grated. I looked down through the grates once and all I saw was water. After we got across the bridge it was time for some din din. We finally found a small little diner in Alanson called Pauly's. This was some good grubbing! The food was cooked fresh and it was delicious. It was a typical small town diner and all the locals were interested in what we were doing there and where we were headed. One of the best things about going on these trips is to meet the local people and hear about them. It is a great side effect of touring on the bike. It was funny when they heard we rode all the way there from Texas, their jaws dropped to the ground.
While we were eating I made a call to the SS Badger which is a car ferry that will take you across the lake. When I called I originally thought that the boat left at 8:00am and then again at 1:00pm, they told me it leaves the Wisconsin side at 1:00pm and only leaves the Michigan side at 8:00am and 8:00pm. We wanted to make it back the next day in time to go to bike night at the museum so we made the decision to drive all the way to Lundington so we could make the 8am ferry crossing. Only bad thing is that we had to cut some of the ride out to make it back in time.

SS Badger...
Next morning we got up and headed over to the dock to catch a ride on the SS Badger, which is a car ferry that runs from Ludington MI. to Manatowoc WI. The boat ride cost around $100 for you and your bike and takes 4 hours. It is way better than the alternative which is to continue around the lake and go through Chicago, no thanks.
The boat is like a mini cruise ship. They had food, movies, gift shop, games and various TV rooms to relax in. Before we set sail we stayed outside on the deck looking around and taking pics. Once we were on the lake we ate some breakfast and then explored the inside of the ship. After that we found a comfy chair and I proceeded to fall asleep for an hour or so. When we got to the other side of the lake we headed south to Milwaukee. When we got back Sandy went back over to the museum to look around some more and Nez and I went downtown to explore Milwaukee a bit.
We all met back at the hotel and Sandy and I went over to the museum for bike night. This was truly a neat experience. Bike night up here seemed very different than the bike nights down in Texas. Maybe it was cause it was at a different location or the people, but it seemed that bike night was about the bikes up here vs in Texas it's more of a social gathering. There were so many classic bikes 47 pan head, 66 bmw with side car, 30th anniversary Electric Glide etc... Guys up here are serious about their vintage bikes, and they are all in MINT condition. While we were there I had me a basket of fried cheese curd, and a brat grilled cheese sandwich, about as Wisconsin as it gets. It was fitting to end the trip with bike night there at the museum, since we started our vacation with bike night here in Austin.
Next two days were long in the saddle getting back home, once we got to Texas we were welcomed with typical pounding Texas heat.
It was a great trip and I would recommend it for everyone. More pics of the trip are located here. Till next time keep the rubber side down.