Home again!

Where did I leave off?

Oh yeah, Indianapolis. In the rain. Somewhere in Cincinatti my boots started leaking, then holding water. Why can't it leak OUT too?

About 20 minutes before I got to Crawfordsville it stopped raining and I managed to dry out a little.

The final day took me from Crawfordsville to home. In Illinois there were lots of wildflowers along the interstate, you can see that in the photo above. Otherwise the trip to New Glarus was uneventful.

Ah, but New Glarus! Always a good place to stop for a beer. Or a six pack. And four more. And a specialty. The new brewery is located on the south side of town and I stopped in to buy a few bottles for enjoyment at home. Lunch (Wienerschitzel sandwhich and a Hop Hearty IPA) was had at the Glarner Stube. But to the north, the sky looked ominous:


But ride through I did, and it wasn't bad. The 'stich kept me dry. I wish the Joe Rocket gloves (DryTech) and Alpinestars boots (Goretex) worked as well (the boots were still wet from yesterday).

The southeastern Wisconsin terrain is called the 'driftless' area as there were no glaciers there to scrub it flat. Instead, that's where the glaciers drained through when they melted. There are interesting rock formations, lots of bluffs and many river valleys. To top it off, Wisconsin has done an admirable job of building high-quality roads there. It all adds up to a motorcyclist playground. On this particular day I explored P, 33, and 162 and can recommend all of them.

Near La Crosse I stopped at a rest area and was greeted by an old guy who mumbled something about having a 2004 FJR1300.

"Which year is this?" he asked.

"2006... aren't the 2004's silver?" I responded.

"Yeah. They fixed the heat issue on the 2006's." and then he pointed out the cooling vents in the front. "Which tires do you have?"

"Those are the Michelin Pilot Ro.." I started to respond. But before I could finish, he said:

"I have the Storms. How do you like those?"

"I've tried the Storms, and they are good, but the Michelins..."

He butts in "Where are you going?" then, before I can answer, he turns around, gets in his truck and drives off. I guess I just wasn't interesting enough to hold his attention. Oh well.

Before long I was rolling into my garage, then enjoying a strawberry shortcake with Jennifer.

Next trip: August 1st!