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| My instrument panel after hitting that trench near Gary IN. |
Day two was going to be another day with few pictures. On days like this I am simply trying to get beyond the large metropolitan areas so there are stops for only necessary things. My goal this day was to get to Eau Claire WI, right around 600 miles from Fremont IN. I would have to navigate around Chicago. This meant a lot of interstate riding, with only the break for lunch…and then Mother Nature had her say!
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| Charles standing near my bike. What an exceptional person. |
I had a good nights sleep, probably because I was tired from Day 1. I got up, got dressed and took some stuff out to load on the bike before breakfast. As I was doing this a gentleman named Charles was having a cigarette at the designated smoking place. We got into a wide ranging conversation about many topics, sometimes on motorcycles, our families, and even on the Constitution! It turns out Charles had taught a class on the Constitution. In addition he was a veteran of the first Iraq war. We spoke for about 45 minutes. Once again what makes these trips so special are the people you meet.
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| The view out of my motel window. BOY was I glad to be off of the road! |
In the course of our conversation Charles mentioned that I was heading in the direction of some severe weather. I had looked at the weather but I was hoping to get up above the weather. It ended up that I didn’t get on the road until 10 am. Eau Claire WI was about 600 hundred miles from Fremont IN, and in between was Chicago and its metropolitan area. I put my destination in my phone and headed out.
It was dry as I rode towards Joliet and Chicago. My GPS gave me the option of saving time by using some side roads to get around a massive problem on I 80 in Joliet. I got off by Gary IN and rode on some side roads around the problem. These roads were HORRIBLE! I hit one “trench” ( too big to be a pot hole, it impacted BOTH front wheels! ). This impact was so severe it knocked my instrument panel loose from the fairing! It is working properly so I hope I don’t have to deal with this until I get home.
Another issue I was concerned about was that the impact was so severe it might have damaged the front end and/or flattened the front tires. As I rode I kept my eye on the tires, and they seemed fine. In addition when I took my hands off of the handle bars the bike tracked straight and true. Lucky!
As I continued west below Chicago I rode in and out of some showers. When I made the turn north on I 39 off of I 80 I hit heavier rain. It reached the point that it was a steady, heavy rain. I still had over 250 miles to my destination and it was raining heavily. I decided it would be foolish to continue on. I was near Rockford IL so I got off and found a hotel. I was soaked so it felt great to get inside and get dry. I called for a pizza delivery and settled in for the evening. I would need to think about my strategy for tomorrow.
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