ROD'S POWER SPORTS

Day 5, Thursday, May 4, 2017

My alarm was set for 6:30 AM.  I woke up at 6:25 AM and turned the alarm off.  I got up and got dressed.  As I was fully dressed, Chuck woke up.  I packed my bags and headed out to my Motor.  As I walked out of my room, everyone else was already up and walking to their Motors.  It was dry, partly cloudy and there was a little chill in the air.  We all packed our Motors and got them prepared for today’s ride.  We went back inside and had breakfast.  There was one big, round table in the lounge and we all sat there and ate.  We knew that we were going to a town named Roca about 30 miles north of us.  There is a large Honda Dealership named, Rod’s Power Sports.  We were all packed and checked out and we left at 8:50 AM.

J.B. led the Group, followed by Ken, C.E., Jake, Chuck, Me and Jan.  We rode up US 77.  We rode for 30 miles and stopped at the red light at Saltillo.  At the NEC was the large Honda Shop, Rod’s Power Sports.  We rode in at 9:18 AM with C.E. riding straight into the Service Area and the rest parked by the side door.  We all walked in and looked at all of the “TOYS.”  It seemed like everyone went their own separate way looking at all of the Motorcycles, Side by Sides, Parts, Accessories and clothing.  Everyone bought something from the store, whether it was flannel lined jeans, waterproof gloves or neck warmers.  There was also coffee available.  We were there for quite some time before C.E. came out and told us what was found wrong with his Trike.  Apparently a major component of his rear suspension was in need of replacement.  The store didn’t have one in stock and they were going to “overnight” the part from California.  The Trike would not be fixed until tomorrow.  While waiting for the part to arrive, they were going to work on the electrical problem.  C.E. told us to continue on the ride and that he would stay and wait for it to be completed.  He would then head for home.  We all sat down and spoke with C.E. and assured him that we would NOT allow him to ride all the way home by himself.  We told C.E. that we would leave him there to tend to the repair to his Motor and that the rest of us would ride to the east side of Iowa to Anamosa, Iowa.  There is the Nationsl Motorcycle Museum that a few of the guys want to go see.  We told C.E. that when the Motor is fixed, he can call us and we could set up a “meet” and we ALL can continue with the ride.  C.E. was good with that.  And with that, we left at 11:30 AM.

J.B. was still in the lead.  Ken was next, then Chuck, Jake, Me and Jan.  We rode north on US 77 until we arrived to US 80 and we rode eastbound.  The speed limit was 75 mph and we rode at 80 mph.  About 20 minutes into the ride (11:50 AM), Jake slowed to the point that Chuck and the other two were pulling away.  As the three of us rode and the others pulled away, I slowly caught up with Jake in hopes that he would get the hint and speed up to join the front part of the Group.  Jake didn’t speed up, so I did.  I sped up and caught up with Chuck and the other two.  Jake and Jan were left behind and we pulled away.  We got to the point that when I looked in the rear view mirror, I could not see Jake and Jan.  About 5 minutes later (11:55 AM), I saw a Motorcycle headlight gaining on us.  It was Jan and Jake was still not in sight.  We continued east.  At 12:12 PM, Jake finally caught up to us as we were getting off of the Interstate to stop for lunch at, you guessed it, Subway.  We had ridden for 56 miles and arrived at 12:16 PM in OMAHA, OMAHA!  Does this sound familiar?  We were hoping to see Payton Manning!  We were at the Sapp Bros. Truck Stop.  This place had many different stores.  We parked our Motors and went in and ate.  When we were done, we got on our Motors and rode to the gas pumps to fill up.  We left at 1:07 PM with full tanks and full bellies.

It was Ken’s turn to lead.  I was behind Ken, then Jan, Jake, Chuck and J.B.  As Ken led us eastbound on Interstate 80, it was windy!  At 1:23 PM, we crossed over the bridge of the Missouri River and the border into Iowa.  The wind was affecting our riding.  It was pushing us into a different part of our lane.  We battled the wind AND the large amount of tractor trailer rigs for another 99 miles and at 2:30 PM, Ken pulled into a Roadside Rest Area in Casey, Iowa.  It was good to take this break.  We were going to ride for another 200 + miles to try to get to Iowa City, just south of Anamosa.  We were going to stay at a hotel and ride tomorrow morning to the Museum.  When we left the Road Side Rest area at 2:47 PM, we noticed that the wind was not as strong as it was before we stopped. 

Ken continued to lead the Group.  His intention was to ride for another 100 miles and then stop for gas.  We rode for 66 miles and stopped at 3:46 PM in Altoona, Iowa at a Casey’s General Store.  We filled up our tanks and went in and took a pit stop.   As we were taking a break, we discussed our options.  We thought about going to dinner in Altoona and continuing the ride to Iowa City.  We looked across the street and saw a Holiday Inn Express and a Hampton Inn.  We discussed staying here in one of these hotels.  We had several discussions about our options.  We decided to ride across the street and check out the Holiday Inn Express.  We all stopped at the hotel and Chuck went in to “make the deal.”  Chuck came out and told us the price, which was acceptable, and that the hotel had a hot tub.  We decided to stay and Chuck gave us our roommate assignments: Jan and Jake, Chuck and J.B.  and Ken and Me.  We checked in and unloaded our bags and took them to the rooms.  Soon after, we rode to Jethro’s BBQ for dinner.  After dinner we returned and everyone, except me, went into the hot tub.  I took my computer into the breakfast area, served myself some coffee and worked on the Blog.

Today was a short day for riding.  We did get C.E. to a Honda Dealer to get his Motor fixed.  We hope that it will get fixed by tomorrow so that he can rejoin us and we can continue the ride.  We ended up riding 258 miles.  As you read, our plans are NOT set in stone.  We often fly by the seat of our pants.  We like it that way and it works for us.  It make the trip more interesting.

Tomorrow, we will ride to Anamosa to go and tour the National Motorcycle Museum.  We are hoping that C.E.’s parts will come in by noon, take one hour to put the Motor together and we will get a call from him and meet him half way.  We shall see…