Neither of us had a good night's sleep so we were up early this morning and pulling out of the hotel parking lot by 6. There was a Waffle House across the street and since there was a dense fog advisory in effect we decided to grab some breakfast before getting on the road. Breakfast was entertaining thanks to the cook behind the counter.
After breakfast we stopped by the Wal-Mart to get some WD-40 and waterproofing spray. It seems with all the rain yesterday one of my side case locks wouldn't accept the key completely. After a quick spray though, everything was good. So we pulled out of the parking lot and headed north and I-35 through Oklahoma City on up to Wichita, Kansas. Then we picked up I-135 to Salina. Along the way we stopped for fuel and Reagan realized the screw to her backrest had come out and fallen off. So we stopped in Salina to pickup a screw and get something to drink. Upon leaving the parking lot, Reagan hit a pot hole and her $50 rear reflector/license plate light cover broke off again. If I hadn't seen it myself I would never have believed it. I picked up the cover and tossed it in the top case and then left town. It looks like I can save the reflector with a little creativity.
After Salina, we took US-81 north. About 25 miles later I started checking for gas up ahead and didn't see anything coming up along the route. But a few miles off the route was Minneapolis and a quaint little gas station. So quaint in fact that it didn't even have pay at the pump but they did turn on the pumps without requiring us to go inside first. With full tanks it was time to get back on route.
We turned left onto US 24 west and stopped in Beloitt for a bio break and then decided to detour through town to find something to eat. We found a local hamburger joint where I had a Taco Tater and Reagan had a quarter pounder with cheese.
Then we resumed our route west to US 281 N then on up to US 36 W. Everything was going as planned until I saw the construction sign saying that US-183 was closed at the Nebraska border. It seems it wouldn't be a trip this year if we didn't get sent down some construction detour. At least this one didn't get up lost. So we went up Hwy 8 to Franklin, NE and then west on US 136.
When we rolled into Alma, NE we decided to stop for gas and a quick break. While stopped we visited with some other motorcyclists headed up to the Mt. Rushmore area. Then we all got on our motorcycles and got underway. The ride up 183 was a short one and it was easy to find the Super 8 as we rode into town.
In total we rode 463 miles today. Total time from start to finish was 9 hours. It was nice to get away from the interstate finally. Tomorrow we are heading to Keystone, SD and none of it is interstate.
Oh, two things I left out. We went through Cawker City, supposedly the home of the largest ball of twine. Well either a monster cat unraveled the ball or they need to get some better signs as we never found the ball of twine. Second, when we stopped in Alma for gas we discovered Reagan's antenna had broken off. Ooops! Apparently the rear of Reagan's bike is a dangerous area.
After breakfast we stopped by the Wal-Mart to get some WD-40 and waterproofing spray. It seems with all the rain yesterday one of my side case locks wouldn't accept the key completely. After a quick spray though, everything was good. So we pulled out of the parking lot and headed north and I-35 through Oklahoma City on up to Wichita, Kansas. Then we picked up I-135 to Salina. Along the way we stopped for fuel and Reagan realized the screw to her backrest had come out and fallen off. So we stopped in Salina to pickup a screw and get something to drink. Upon leaving the parking lot, Reagan hit a pot hole and her $50 rear reflector/license plate light cover broke off again. If I hadn't seen it myself I would never have believed it. I picked up the cover and tossed it in the top case and then left town. It looks like I can save the reflector with a little creativity.
After Salina, we took US-81 north. About 25 miles later I started checking for gas up ahead and didn't see anything coming up along the route. But a few miles off the route was Minneapolis and a quaint little gas station. So quaint in fact that it didn't even have pay at the pump but they did turn on the pumps without requiring us to go inside first. With full tanks it was time to get back on route.
We turned left onto US 24 west and stopped in Beloitt for a bio break and then decided to detour through town to find something to eat. We found a local hamburger joint where I had a Taco Tater and Reagan had a quarter pounder with cheese.
Then we resumed our route west to US 281 N then on up to US 36 W. Everything was going as planned until I saw the construction sign saying that US-183 was closed at the Nebraska border. It seems it wouldn't be a trip this year if we didn't get sent down some construction detour. At least this one didn't get up lost. So we went up Hwy 8 to Franklin, NE and then west on US 136.
When we rolled into Alma, NE we decided to stop for gas and a quick break. While stopped we visited with some other motorcyclists headed up to the Mt. Rushmore area. Then we all got on our motorcycles and got underway. The ride up 183 was a short one and it was easy to find the Super 8 as we rode into town.
In total we rode 463 miles today. Total time from start to finish was 9 hours. It was nice to get away from the interstate finally. Tomorrow we are heading to Keystone, SD and none of it is interstate.
Oh, two things I left out. We went through Cawker City, supposedly the home of the largest ball of twine. Well either a monster cat unraveled the ball or they need to get some better signs as we never found the ball of twine. Second, when we stopped in Alma for gas we discovered Reagan's antenna had broken off. Ooops! Apparently the rear of Reagan's bike is a dangerous area.
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