“....it’s about the journey, not the destination...”

US 59 south going towards US 34 that would take me east. Notice the clouds!

     Sometimes you can’t help what you can’t help. When the mechanic at BMW Motorcycles of Omaha was putting the new tires on my bike he found several other problems. As a result I didn’t leave Omaha until 12:30. This meant that I would have to ride through the worst of the heat in the afternoon. One of the big incentives for me to get going was that from 2pm on there was a severe thunderstorm watch for Omaha. I wanted to get east and see if I could get beyond the storms. 

The "main street" of the town of Hancock Iowa an a hot June day.

     One of the strategies that I learned to deal with extreme heat was in Rider Magazine, in my opinion the best magazine for the touring motorcyclist, a number of years ago. The author was an assistant editor of the magazine I think. Anyway, he lived in Arizona and what riders there did in the extreme heat was to carry a water bottle or canteen with them. As they rode, when they got too hot they would douse themselves with water. This would cool them off temporarily. What I did today was to buy two water bottles when I filled up with gas. Then I drank one bottle, the other was for my shirt. I took my shirt off, laid it on the cement, then poured the other bottle of water all over my shirt. Then I put the soaking wet shirt on and started to ride. Very refreshing! My wife could tell you a story about a ride we took to Ocean City New Jersey and how I got her to try this technique on the very hot ride home. As  gentleman I won't go into any details!

Late in the afternoon on US 34 riding east. Notice the clouds are broken up. I had ridden beyond the thunderstorms. 

     Although I wanted to get to the motel to get out of the heat today was still about the journey. The heat, and thunderstorms, are part of the journey. They have a HUGE impact on the journey. I pushed it; no stopping to read along the way. By the time I reached Mound Pleasant Iowa it was 6:30pm. I checked into the motel (aaaahhhhh air conditioning!!!!) 

Suzzie bartender at Keo's in Mount Pleasant Iowa.

     I looked on my phone for restaurants where I could get a steak and found Keo's Grill and Back Bar on Jefferson Street in Mount Pleasant. A 6 minute ride later I was parking right near a beautiful park in the middle of Mount Pleasant, and just down the street was Keo's. I went in and was told I could seat myself. I sat in the back, ordered a very nice NY steak dinner with a tossed salad and grilled asparagus. The woman who waited on me was named Suzzie. Once again what makes this traveling so great is the people you meet. Suzzie and I talked off and on for probably 45 minutes. She has three children, two daughters and a son. I told her about my daughters and we generally had a very nice conversation. She is one of the nicest, most genuine people I've met on the trip.

     After dinner I got to ride back to the motel in the dark for the first time on the trip. I actually enjoyed it. I finished up my entry into the blog for today and posted it. Tomorrow Logansport Indiana. To be honest I'm really getting excited about getting home!