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

                                                        SUMMER TRIP 2023

Another day riding in the heartland of America.

       The third day on the trip was planned to be the third 500 mile day in a row. I do this so that I can “get out there” away from population centers. My goal was to make it to Watertown SD where I had already reserved a room. The route I chose was IA 3 west until it met SD 75 north. Then north on SD 75 until it ran into US 212 west. Then US 212 west to Watertown SD. As I look at it now this was overly optimistic.

IA 3 west. Notice how much traffic there is!

        The day started out fine. The bike was, of course, running great. The thing about a Goldwing you simply get on the road, set the cruise control, play the music you prefer and enjoy. The bike is EXTREMELY comfortable. Miles simply melt away. However….when you’ve got 500 miles to do you really have to spend part of the day rolling at 70 mph or above. Clearly the route I chose ignored this! 

I simply HAD to take a picture of this sign. I wonder if the “old GRUMP” is a distant relative?

        The ride was really good out of Dubuque. IA 3 west is a very nice road, and the land consists of rolling land with some curves thrown in for fun. As the day went on the roads became straighter, but generally remained hilly for most of the day. 

LOTS of windmills as you ride across Iowa.

        I stopped for lunch in Cherokee IA. As I looked at the day I had only covered 200 miles. This may sound like a lot, but my preference is to get 300 miles in by lunch ( by riding on interstates ). This way when it is hottest, and you get tired, you are much further than 1/2 way. Looking at a map I decided to get up to I 90, take that west to Sioux City where I would pick up I 29 north to Watertown SD. Simple. 

This is in southern Minnesota. Looks a lot like what I rode through yesterday.

        I decide to use GPS. It makes the ride easier. I got to I 90, took it west and was making good time. THEN…the GPS told me to get off  I 90 to save time. Should I listen or not? I decided to follow the GPS, so I got off I 90. BIG mistake. The next several  hours saw me wander around norther Iowa, and southern Minnesota. Ultimately the GPS simply stopped navigating, leaving me in the “middle of nowhere.” In this area it may be 24 or 30 miles between towns, and gas stations. This could be a problem.

I had to take this picture to show there are indeed people “in the middle of nowhere.”

        Ultimately I simply stopped, look at a map, and came up with a route that would get me to I 29 and then on up to Watertown SD. Simply to make things more complicated it was clear there were rain showers in the area. I did ride on some wet roads, there were times that there were raindrops on the windshield, wet roads, and cooler air. In the end I was lucky. I could see showers around me but, with the protection of the large windshield of the Goldwing, I never got wet. I got to the hotel an hour later than I should have, but no harm done. Tomorrow starts the fun part of the trip. Only 360 miles to do. I will have over 1/2 done by lunch, will be able to stop several times and simply enjoy the day. Looking forward to it.