• Bay, Lakes & Mountains Rally Day 3

    18 agosto 2022, Stati Uniti ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    Well, we got soaked this morning by about three storm cells. Worse, my heated grips stopped working again, so my hands were freezing. At least it wasn't hail though.

    Four of us rode to the dealership in Albany, then shot south to Connecticut for a picture with the covered bridge, the 50 Rides 1 Nation stop. From there, we hit a second HD before twisting up Mount Greylock for Massachusetts' 50 Rides photo. What a great road!

    Then it was down the other side and north through the corner of Vermont back into New York. After a great dinner at the local dealership, we're settled into our room and getting ready for another long day tomorrow. This is a great rally!!!

    P.S.: I'm getting a lot of ribbing about the tire I'm hauling around. I can't wait to get rid of it.

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Today's mileage: 425.2 (total 10141.5 + 10552.0 Hoka Hey + 24568.7 pre-Hoka Hey)
    HD Dealerships: 3 (total I don't know)
    National Parks: 0 (total 55 in 34 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 8 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
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  • Bay, Lakes & Mountains Rally Day 2

    17 agosto 2022, Stati Uniti ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    What a great day! We had lots of terrific swoopy back roads, one detour that was partly paved, a hail storm, a dropped bike, and a bee sting. Awesome!!! 🤣🤣🤣

    But seriously, the five of us actually had a wonderful time despite a little wet and little pain. No lasting injuries and no bike damage.

    We even stopped briefly in Seneca Falls, NY, at the Women's Rights National Historical Park, in which I could've spent all day. Really cool area!

    We had another great meal at the dealership, and now my roomie and I are about to crash because we're leaving very early tomorrow for a very long day on the bikes. It will be great!!

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Today's mileage: 270.3 (total 9716.3 + 10552.0 Hoka Hey + 24568.7 pre-Hoka Hey)
    HD Dealerships: 4 (total I don't know)
    National Parks: 1 (total 55 in 34 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 8 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
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  • Bay, Lakes & Mountains Rally Day 1

    16 agosto 2022, Stati Uniti ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    Today was the first riding day of the Bay, Lakes, and Mountains HOG Touring Rally, and it was a good one. Five of us left Waldorf, Maryland, just after 07:00 this morning and took the toll bridge over Chesapeake Bay. The sunlight was stunning as we rode over the long metal bridge.

    We finally ditched the traffic as we rode into Delaware, where we stopped at the gate for the Air Mobility Command Museum on Dover Air Force Base for a couple of folks to get their 50 Rides, 1 Nation photos.

    We stopped at Old Swedes Church in Wilmington so I could get a National Park System passport stamp for Delaware...but it was closed 😭. Oh well.

    A quick bite at Arby's and several dealerships later, we arrived at our hotel in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, then had burgers and dogs at the host HD.

    At dinner, a lady asked me to take something to Texas for her, a little frog attached to a lily pad that is a scavenger hunt of sorts in remembrance of her grandson. Read his story here: https://christopherslilypadlegacy.weebly.com/ch….

    Now, I've filled my gas tank, picked up food for breakfast, taken my shower, and am in bed ready for tomorrow's ride to New York. Yippee!

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Today's mileage: 309.5 (total 9446.0 + 10552 Hoka Hey + 24568.7 pre-Hoka Hey)
    HD Dealerships: 5 (total I don't know)
    National Parks: 0 (total 54 in 33 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 8 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
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  • Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

    4 agosto 2022, Stati Uniti ⋅ 🌙 81 °F

    I made it to Sturgis today after riding through Theodore Roosevelt National Park (north unit). Beautiful. Super hot day, though. About 100°F. 😳

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Day 144? mileage: (total 5544.3 + yesterday? + today? + 24568.7) I've lost track🤣.
    HD Dealerships: 0 (total 261)
    National Parks: 1 (total 47 in 26 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 8 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
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  • Still in Williston BUT REPAIRED!

    1 agosto 2022, Stati Uniti ⋅ 🌙 73 °F

    After a comfortable night's rest, I was at Black Magic HD 15 minutes before they opened this morning. They were able to fit me into their schedule, so I spent 6 hours hanging out goofing on my phone.

    Here's the skinny:
    - The BCM replacement didn't fix anything, but the install didn't marry it to the bike, so they didn't charge me for the part.
    - They found a short in the USB port because of corrosion. They disconnected it, but that didn't resolve anything.
    - They discovered the BCM was killing the path from the heated grips. The wires from the controller on the left grip were pinched from the original install in December 2021 and had finally grounded. The parts were under warranty, and they had the same grips in stock, so they replaced the left grip, and "Voila!" everything is fixed.
    - 4.5 hours of labor, but they oy charges me 3 hours, so less than $400 and I was down. Whew!
    - They even washed Willie! 😱

    I hadn't had lunch, so I rolled back into town around 15:00. By the time I finished eating at Doc Holliday's Roadhouse (really cool place), I didn't feel like riding anywhere. Instead, I found a great deal on a hotel for only $50 a night for the next 3 nights. For comparison, my campground in Sturgis costs the same 😐. So I'll be in Williston for a few days.

    Great hotel room at Bakken Airport Hotel & Suites! Awesome air conditioning, two queen beds, big closet, 2 desks, fridge, microwave, HBO, really hot water, and good water pressure. Also, they have Continental breakfast, a pool table, lots of books to borrow, and a little bar. Tremendous place for so cheap! Dare I say it three days in a row? WINNING!!!!

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Day 143 mileage: not much (total 5544.3 + today + 24568.7)
    HD Dealerships: 0 (total 261)
    National Parks: 0 (total 46 in 26 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 8 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
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  • Great White Buffalo 🦬

    31 luglio 2022, Stati Uniti ⋅ 🌙 72 °F

    What a great day, about as perfect as you can get! I woke this morning around 05:00 to the big storm crashing through. I broke camp and just hung out in the silo until it passed, then loaded up and rode out about 07:30 headed west to Fargo. The roads were wet, but with so little traffic, I didn't get much road spray on me 😁. About an hour in, I began to hit some sprinkles, but there was a gas station right there with an out-of-order pump that I parked by. Grabbed a hot breakfast with hot coffee and waited it out. Perfect 😁!

    After entering North Dakota and passing through Fargo, I hit Jamestown where I stumbled upon the National Buffalo Museum. Really great place with a frontier village, real horse-drawn stagecoach, and the world's largest buffalo...statue. Definitely worth a stop!

    More info: https://www.buffalomuseum.com/

    While there I met two guys from Munich, Germany, who have come over for Sturgis Rally. Cool!

    Then I rode through cloudy but not cold weather around Bismarck and Minot before stopping here in Williston. I don't know how, but I crossed the Continental Divide three times today 🤔. Anyway, I considered camping at the dealership, good place for it, but opted for the Best Western and dinner from Walmart. Now I'm wrapped up in a soft bed watching movies. What a great day 😁! Winning again 😁😁😁!!!

    Oh! I forgot to tell you that yesterday I rode through Hayward, Wisconsin, which was hosting the World's Lumberjack Championship.

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Day 142 mileage: 538.6 (total 5544.3 + 24568.7)
    HD Dealerships: 5 (total 261)
    National Parks: 0 (total 46 in 26 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 8 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
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  • Maintenance Day...Again

    30 luglio 2022, Stati Uniti ⋅ 🌙 75 °F

    Today was pretty good. This morning I hightailed it 175 miles to Northwoods HD in Wisconsin so they could troubleshoot my electrical issue, tail light, and front brakes. They were absolutely fantastic!

    The tail light was just a loose wire under the seat; they didn't charge me separately for that.

    The front brakes, which I've had THREE dealerships look at over the past two months who all said the brakes were fine, were making noise because the pads were completely gone. Metal on rotor. Aarrrgghh! But they installed new pads and no noise now. Great!

    The accessories fault/short took them about 3 hours of labor, but they finally figured it out. The Body Control Module (BCM) is fried. It's essentially the bike's brain and does a whole gambit of things, like what I've been experiencing: ON/OFF/ACC modes; bike doesn't power on or turn off when I flip the power switch; and ABS controls (which I tried to activate today and couldn't).

    Unfortunately, they didn't have the BCM in stock, but they tracked one down for me at Black Magic HD in North Dakota 😁. So, after $500 and borrowing the service truck to grab lunch*, I packed up and headed towards Fargo, ND.

    * The service manager who loaned me the truck said he would loan me a bike but he was afraid I'd put 2,000 miles on it before I came back, so I got the truck 🤣🤣🤣. They were pretty impressed with my >120,000 mileage on a Street Bob 🤣.

    What a huge difference in the weather! I started in my heated gear and gloves in about 50°F and damp. By the time I left Northwoods HD, I could've gone in just a t-shirt and jeans. Even right now it's 73°F!

    I'm only about 85 miles from the Fargo HD, where I planned to spend the night, but there's a decent storm rolling straight at me. So, I decided to stop early and set up before the rain hit. I found a really cool rest area (I guess it is anyway), and I hope no one runs me off. My tent is way better than $80 in a 1-star fleabag motel down the street! Winning!!

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Day 141 mileage: 488.7 (total 5005.7 + 24568.7)
    HD Dealerships: 1 (total 256)
    National Parks: 0 (total 46 in 26 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 8 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
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  • Lake Superior HOG Touring Rally Day 4

    29 luglio 2022, Stati Uniti ⋅ 🌙 59 °F

    Today was the last day of the rally ☹️. I decided not to sightsee ride with anyone and to come directly back to Marquette from Duluth. I left the hotel at 06:30 and, even with the time change back to Eastern, I got to the campground by noon. I set up camp, then took my laptop to the dealership to use their wifi. I got my GPS tracks downloaded and tomorrow's route uploaded and even worked on my route to Maryland after Sturgis.

    The rally folks started rolling in before 17:00, and we had another great dinner together, chatting and cutting up as we traded contact information and said see ya to all our new friends.

    This was an odd rally for me. I only rode with people the first day, I didn't do the route, and I used campgrounds instead of hotels (mostly). I almost didn't come up here, and I almost feel like I didn't. Except I'm cold 🤣. I would really like to do the actual Circle Tour some day. Maybe in the RV. It's really cold up here 😁.

    More info: https://lakesuperiorcircletour.info/

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Day 140 mileage: 269.0 (total 4517.0 + 24568.7)
    HD Dealerships: 0 (total 255)
    National Parks: 0 (total 46 in 26 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 8 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
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  • Lake Superior HOG Touring Rally Day 3

    28 luglio 2022, Stati Uniti ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

    Despite horrible looking skies, my ride to Bemidji and the eighth 10 Rides for 2022 photo was fairly uneventful. I say fairly because I got pulled over for speeding a couple of miles west of Deer River. I must've been daydreaming because I thought I was going about 5 mph over, but was actually 12 or 13. He ran my license and tag, and with no issues on either, said have a nice day. No citation. Cool.

    When I got back to Duluth about 13:30, I went straight to the dealership. My shifter peg started spinning and I don't have tools with me this time. Plus, my rear left tail light isn't working...then it is...then it isn't.... They tightened the peg (I thought it might be stripped, but nope), but they think the light has something to do with my ACC short/fault because the LED bulb was working for them. I have another HD lined up to troubleshoot all of that Saturday.

    The rest of the rally rolled in about 16:00-17:00 and we had another nice meal and conversation. They were in probably more rain than I was yesterday and some even hit hail, which I thankfully didn't. But everyone made it unscathed.

    I raced back to the hotel about 7 miles away to beat a nasty downpour I really didn't want to get caught in. I dodged rain all day today, hitting some but not for long and not very heavy. Just enough to get you damp, but not enough to mess with my heated gear. Yes, it was 55 when I left the hotel at 07:30 and I don't think it got over 65 all day. The wind chill was cold. Anyway, I made it back and parked under the overhang just in time.

    Now, I'm kicking back in the air conditioning because I can't open the window (12th floor). Not a terrible day after all.

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Day 139 mileage: 313.1 (total 4248.0 + 24568.7)
    HD Dealerships: 0 (total 255)
    National Parks: 0 (total 46 in 26 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 1 (total 8 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
    Leggi altro

  • Lake Superior HOG Touring Rally Day 2

    27 luglio 2022, Stati Uniti ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

    I'm off the rally route because I didn't go into Canada over the top of Lake Superior. Instead, I rode from Sault Ste Marie to Duluth today. It was a horrible start with the rain, but by lunch it cleared up. Except it didn't really. As soon as I hit the border of Wisconsin, a heavy rain storm hit me...and I had already take off my rain gear ☹️. I was soaked all the way through, and the temperature wasn't warm enough to dry me off (only 71°F and the wind was cooold!). I still stopped to get my Wisconsin park stamp, but didn't even look around the visitor center. 100 miles later and I still hadn't dried completely when I arrived at the Duluth campground...that I forgot to make a reservation at 🤦. So I wound up at the Radisson via HotWire. Oh well. The ground is soaked, it's way too cold to sleep at night, and there didn't appear to be a laundry room I could sleep in, so I'm better off in a hotel.

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Day 138 mileage: 506.0 (total 3934.9 + 24568.7)
    HD Dealerships: 0 (total 255)
    National Parks: 2 (total 46 in 26 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 7 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
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  • Lake Superior HOG Touring Rally Day 1

    26 luglio 2022, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    What a great day for a rally ride!! The 4 of us--me, Pablo, Dale, and Chad--left Marquette and headed to Munising where we grabbed a dealership photo, then Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Visitor Center for my passport stamp, and finally Grand Marais with its beautiful sandy beach along Lake Superior.

    After a cup of coffee, we headed south until we hit Lake Michigan, took the Mackinac Bridge to the Mitten*, and had lunch in Mackinaw City. [Why the bridge's name ends with a "c" instead of a "w" or vice versa, I have no clue.]

    After a nice lunch, we headed for Legs Inn and the Tunnel of Trees so the guys could get the Michigan 50 Rides 1 Nation photo. I did this loop last year, but it's so worth doing more than once. Legs Inn is so named because of the stove legs used to trim its roofline. (More info: http://www.legsinn.com/#modern-organic-thai)

    We ended the loop back in Mackinaw City at the HD, then the guys took the lead to head north on I-75. They're going into Canada with the rally over the top of Lake Superior, but I'm not, so I broke off for my hotel.

    After having gotten up at 05:30 this morning, I'm beat and already in bed. Tomorrow I head to Duluth where I'll meet up with the rally in two days. Unfortunately, tomorrow I'll probably be riding in the rain for a while ☹️.

    * Michigan has two parts called the Mitten--the largest chunk of the state that looks like a mitten, a.k.a. Lower Michigan--and the Upper Peninsula--the U.P. or Da Yoop, the part on top of Wisconsin. There's actually a third part, a little dangly bit above Lake Superior that looks like it should be part of Canada, but I haven't been there.

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Day 137 mileage: 364.4 (total 3428.9 + 24568.7)
    HD Dealerships: 2 (total 255)
    National Parks: 1 (total 45 in 25 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 7 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
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  • Another $1000 Spent at HD 😭

    25 luglio 2022, Stati Uniti ⋅ 🌙 63 °F

    I dropped another grand at the dealership today on a new shock and the 120,000-mile service (like a 5k) 😳. Because I was at the dealership by noon, I had lots of time to chat with anyone who sat down by me 🤣. I saw several familiar faces coming in to check in for the Lake Superior HOG Touring Rally, which is always really nice.

    We had a catered pasta dinner around 17:30 (my bike still wasn't done 🤣) and a really nice evening chatting.

    I was able to get my bike afterwards, but they didn't fix the ACC fault/short that makes my USB port, cigarette lighter, and--say it ain't so!--my heated grips not work 😭. What this means is cold hands and dead phone. I have a huge battery pack that can charge everything, but it needs to recharge, too, and I don't have any electricity at this camp site. Hopefully I can get fully recharged in the hotel tomorrow.

    I'm up early to meet three guys at their hotel, so I'll cut this off.

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Day 136 mileage: 9.5 (total 3064.5 + 24568.7)
    HD Dealerships: 0 (total 253)
    National Parks: 0 (total 44 in 24 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 7 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
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