Category List
Archive
2018
2019
2020
The thumbnail
shot is a look at the Capitol Building (Jefferson City being the State Capital of Missouri) and a couple of bikes.
A
bit of disappointment for the trip so far, yesterday in spite of Doris Day saying she would meet us in St Louis she failed to do so and we didnt see Dorothy anywhere in Kansas City with or without her ruby slippers...okay, probably the wrong Kansas but we were hoping!
The Governors Mansion in Jefferson City (havent got a clue really but it is near the Capitol Building and looks good enough to be that).
And a quirky building we encountered on our way out of town.
We had a hot ride today (96F) but it is officially the first day of summer, combine that with suffocating humidity and I was happy to get off the bike every time we did and have been guzzling iced water ever since and now we are chilling in our hotel room until we head out for dinner when it will hopefully be a little cooler. Actually I've been chilling, Norm has been refitting the pockets on the suitcases so they fit the sissy bars better.
The terrain has been a mix of rolling small hills and big stretches of flat land today with lush tree growth and undergrowth between and the roads we have travelled on have been a step down from the parkways we have been on up until today so we have travelled through a lot of family farm size America rather than huge commercially owned America when it comes to the farming.
We stopped briefly in Sedalia which was a snapshot of old time USA and there was something going on with streets closed and police and firefighers out in force. This is a view of one of the firefighting appliances which was huge and the wheels weren't super singles (dual wheels on the drive) but they were larger than we use in Australia. Interesting. By the way the building behind is the Sedalia Trust Building which is literally falling to bits and there is a scaffolding type arrangement covering the street......to protect passing citizens as things rust or deteriorate and drop off I guess.
The Truman Home - Harry S Truman having been the 33rd President of the USA which is literally across the street from our hotel.
Bits and Bobs:
I saw several signs today advertising the '21st Annual Testicle Festival'. I kid you not, I'm not making this up!
We came across some State Police in Sedalia who had a contraption which moved 5mph to a dead stop with people belted in with a seat belt tying to encourage people to wear them which they struggle to do apparently.
Last two night's Accomodation:
Double Tree by Hilton Jefferson City, 422 Monroe Street, Jefferson City, MO 65101
We really liked the stay last night. Room was comfortable, bed beautifully comfortable, very nice restaurant on site, comfortable lounge downstairs , free wifi and underground parking and friendly and helpful staff. Good value for money considering this wasnt a lot more expensive than where we stayed the previous 2 nights.
A shot towards the entry.
View Comments
Photo deprived today, too many other considerations which is a shame. The terrain progressed from flat broadacre farming on a large scale to gently hilly tree covered terrain and the temperature felt marginally cooler as we climbed up off the valley land though still hot and humid which is taking a bit of getting used to. We are hoping some of that is our bodies trying to acclimatise from our southern winter selves to northern visiting selves and our toleration level will improve...though we're not convinced but that said we won't be letting it spoil our enjoyment of the trip.
We headed off in reasonable time before the temperature was very high and decided to see if we could source a generic GPS holder for my GPS unit. The GPS unit I usually bring died just before we left home so bought another but between when I bought that and when I asked our bike guru over here to source a mounting bracket for it they were no longer listed as available here. As plan B we decided to ask the kids to post a bracket from home over to here and in the meantime as plan A see if we could source something which would work. The third shop we tackled before we left Springfield we got a generic holder which Norm is now in the process of fitting. I'll charge the unit up each night but it wont have access to power through the day and it remains to be seen if I can tap the screen for instructions through the plastic cover but at least if we get separated I'll be able to navigate my way to where we are going....in theory. Mmm.
By the way Graham M, this photo is for you of a Victory we saw in the shop where we found the bracket...and some mesh gloves which are much cooler
Norm is really enjoying the new bike, it gets along well, runs smoothly and is both lower and less heavy than his Triumph Rocket at home and the rear tyre is also not as wide or have it's own idea of where the bike should go so will work well to down size to that when he is ready (not yet) but having said that he is having some teething troubles which being in the trucking business we are well aware is part and parcel of new vehicles until they get a few miles on the road before they are sorted. Yesterday morning his clutch linkage dropped off, thankfully as we were leaving the car park so he braked and stalled the bike before he got on the road then re-attached it adjusting it up again a little later until he was satisfied with it.
The second thing, he spent the day yesterday dealing with a slipping grip handle on the left grip as the glue to attach the grip heater didn't take. He ended up with 100mh tape on that until he can get it dried out and get some super glue on it.
The third thing, when we got in this afternoon he discovered he had no headlights or driving lights so he has been trying to sort that after a phone call to the bike shop. He now has headlights but there is a short somewhere in the driving lights and he has used the only spare fuse he had so it's off to a bike shop in the morning to get that sorted by the looks of it so I doubt we will get to see much of Jefferson City other than when we are on our way to the bike shop and heading off. Ah well, you can't see everything and we had a great ride today and in spite of forecasts didn't get wet which was good since it poured rain in Springfield overnight.
Norm sweating his butt off in the underground garage doing the autolec thing.
Yay!!! Norm has just arrived back in the room with a triumphant grin. He found the short and has taped it up but will still try and find some fuses in the morning.
Last two night's Accomodation:
The State House Inn, 101 East Adams Street, Springfield IL, 62701
An average hotel. Comfortable public areas and effective air-conditioning but the room had obviously previously had smokers using it and it still smelt strongly of that. Lovely shower and the bed (on my side) was comfortable and Norm's sagged towards the edge. Got what we paid for but it was close to the Capitol and a couple of walking distance dinner options.
Forgot to take a photo and couldn't get one from the website.
View Comments
We did a bit of exploring today and since we had come directly to here yesterday to avoid the rain we went back through Petersberg and Havana which we had missed yesterday.
Yesterday the view was largely of huge areas of broad acre farming with cropping predominantly corn which stetched for as far as the eye could see in all directions. Today the terrain was slightly more undulating than yesterday and largely smaller land holdings but still just as picturesque. I'd just been thinking there must be good access to water seeing all the extensive irrigation systems in place and then we crossed the Illinois River....and enough said. It is huge and has massive levy banks each side.
The area we explored was the area Abraham Lincoln grew up and lived in before he headed to Washington as President. Springfield is a stately city with many grand buildings, Petersburg looked a bit tired to me as did Havana. Rushville we thought was the prettiest town we ravelled through.
Not sure what the temperature got to today but it was again oppressively hot and humid and a challenge in staying hydrated on the bikes.
The ride into Lincoln's New Salem Village was reminiscent of the heavily wooded Forrests we rode through in the UK. It was magnificently lush and ultragreen. Just beautiful and probably gives a glinpse of how things looked long ago before clearing of the land for farming.
This was the home Abraham and Mary Lincoln bought in Springfield (half its size when they bought it and before their family grew) and lived in it for17 years.
A bonus for us was finding another Frank Lloyd Wright designed building (Dana-Thomas House) which we just managed to get in to see. Loved it!
On our way to dinner we decided to take a shot of one of the 2 rail lines which run through the city. Neither have fences beside them, apparently Citizens know to be responsible about where they walk. Go figure!
Night before last night's Accomodation:
Hyatt Place, 5225 South Harper Avenue,Chicago, IL 60615
A nice spot to stay, plenty of room in our suite. Staff very friendly and helpful and the bed was sublime. 24 hour cafe on site and bar as well (not sure if that was 24hour or not). Lots of places to sit and chill out and relax and breakfast to start the day.
View Comments
NB. Not happy with the f
ormatting on this post. Loaded from a different spot. Won't do that again and will c
orrect this when I get access to a computer, so probably when I get home.
The thumbnail image is the bikes parked up where we had a cuppa this arvo. The empty block where the trucks park is a dustbowl in spite of earlier rain.
We left our hotel by taxi and headed into
the train station in Chicago and for anyone who thinks we take our lives in our hands by riding motorbikes would no longer think so if they had been in the cab with us! We were well and truly focused throughout the whole ride as we darted from one lane to another at a feverish pace and just about got launched each time the brakes were applied, oh and the indicators were only used twice for the whole trip and that was to change from one road to another. But, enough of that, we got the Union Pacific train to Wheaton then another cab marginally less exciting to the bikeshop to collect the bikes and walked in a couple of minutes before the skies opened up and did it pour!
Norm getting his new bike sorted. He traded last years bike on this one.
We had looked at the forecast before leaving the hotel and there was a band of severe thunderstorms and lightening sweeping in from the north west and heading towards the south east of Chicago and on down south to where we were headed. The temperature plummeted to a tolerable level and we fiddled about and didnt head off until the rain had cleared and were accompanied by incredible black and grey storm clouds for most of the trip and lightening and pouring rain to our left, right and behind us but we got a slight sprinkle only and ended up before getting toSpringfield seeing a temperature gauge saying it was 90F so very unfriendly when stoppd at traffic lights and roadworks.
My bike loaded up in the workshop before we headed off.
The most impressive sights for the day:
Seeing Norms new bike a Yamaha Silverado (1700cc) which looks great
Seeing the birthday present Norm arranged for me - driving lights fitted to my bike
Jet black skies spread out as far as we could see in front of us with black columns of rain in patches and an eerire pink sky ahead of us underneath the low cloud ceiling as we headed south west and were grateful that each time it looked like we were heading right into the thick of things the road veered in a different direction so we skirted around the storms through miles and miles of undulating Illinois farmland.
At one point we stopped to put the waterproofs back on and the sky above us had rolling grey and white clouds progressing in a circular direction above us and slightly to the left. The centre of the circle looked empty to the sky above but there was no tornado tail and since there have been many destructive ones in the last few days further south we got the hell out of there. Oh yeah and did we mention there have been floods and earthquakes as well, it's all happening here!
The Illinois State Capitol Bulding in Springfild as we walked through the heat to dinner around 8pm.
Bits and Bobs:
Saw this sign at a servo where we fuelled up this arvo? The only moonshine I've heard of is the illegal stuff so this intrigued me and check out the fuel prices and that is a per gallon price obviously.
View Comments
We have spent most of the day exploring the Museum of Science and Industry which was great. From there we headed to the lakeshore for a walk through the park to Promontary seriously hoping my Iback to the hotel which is in a pretty alive community with lots of families evident and many apartment buildings.
Typical of a lot of the apartment buildings we walked past today.
A view inside a German U Boat at the museum. This was both crew quarters as well as torpedo storage and also where the front 2 torpedos were fired from. Talk about multiskilling.
Still having IT difficulties with the Samasung Galaxy and soooo will wish I'd brought my Sony Vaio, it took heaps less time to do what I'm trying to do here. Bugger!
View Comments
Well after around 22 hours from leaving Tullamarine we checked into our hotel in Chicago. The Qantas flight went well and we got a bit of sleep and napped on our way from LA to Chicago but soooo looking forward to an early dinner and off to bed.
Still having some IT issues and when sorted will load a photo at LAX which apart from being huge is also undergoing continuing major works.
A view from the American Airlines lounge where we chilled for a couple of hours after taking just over an hour to get through border control and customs.
And a shot in the lane behind our hotel.
View Comments
The thumbnail shot is me burning the midnight oil trying to learn how to drive the Samsung Galaxy which will replace the Sony Vaio notebook this year and yes that is a "not happy" look on my face!
Well I finally got my bag packed this morning much to Norm's horror and that only finished as all the family was arriving for our farewell BBQ lunch. To quote Norm on the train ride down to Melbourne "I just want to go on record to say that is way too late to be packing". I agree whole heartedly but there was just way too much going on this week and damn, forgot to pack my bathers and other unnecessary stuff so will just have to accumulate as I go.
A parting shot at the station and our train approaching behind
We stopped off at Clayton for a hot chocolate with Ashley since he was busy studying for exams. A bit blurry sorry, the cafe owner was a bit distracted with the football.
View Comments
Come and join us for the ride as we explore the country and infrastructure of the USA and Canada and like us be grateful our home will be full of people in our absence.
Our Itinerary
Monday 16th June 2014
Depart Melbourne Tullamarine
Arrive in Los Angeles
Depart Los Angeles
Arrive in Chicago Ohare
Wednesday 18th June 2014 - Pick-up the bikes today
Thursday 19th June 2014 - Free day to explore
Friday 20th June 2014
Saturday 21st June 2014
Sunday 22nd June 2014 - Free day to explore
Monday 23rd June 2014
Tuesday 24th June 2014
Wednesday 25th June 2014
Thursday 26th June 2014
Friday 27th June 2014
Saturday 28th June 2014
Sunday 29th June 2014
Monday 30th June 2014
Tuesday 1st July 2014 – Free day to explore
Wednesday 2nd July 2014
Thursday 3rd July 2014
Friday 4th July 2014
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 82190
Saturday 5th July 2014 – Free day to explore
Sunday 6th July 2014
Monday 7th July 2014
Tuesday 8th July 2014
Wednesday 9th July 2014 – Free day to explore
Thursday 10th July 2014
Friday 11th July 2014
Saturday 12th July 2014
Sunday 13th July 2014
Monday 14th July 2014
Tuesday 15th July 2014 - Free day to explore
Wednesday 16th July 2014
Thursday 17th July 2014
Take the ferry from Port Angeles, WA
British Columbia V8W 1N8
Friday 18th July 2014 - Free day to explore
Saturday 19th July 2014
Take the BC Ferry from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen, BC
Sunday 20th July 2014 - Free day to explore
Monday 21st July 2014
Tuesday 22nd July 2014
Wednesday 23rd July 2014
Thursday 24th July 2014 - Free day to explore
Friday 25th July 2014
Saturday 26th July 2014
Sunday 27th July 2014 - Free day to explore
Monday 28th July 2014
Tuesday 29th July 2014
Waterton Lakes National Park, AB T0K 2M0 Canada
Wednesday 30th July 2014
Thursday 31st July 2014
Friday 1st August 2014
Saturday 2nd August 2014
Medora, Theodore Roosevelt National Park,ND
Sunday 3rd August 2014 - Free day to explore
Monday 4th August 2014
Tuesday 5th August 2014
Wednesday 6th August 2014
Thursday 7th August 2014
Friday 8th August 2014 - Free day to explore
Saturday 9th August 2014
Sunday 10th August 2014
Monday 11th August 2014
Tuesday 12th August 2014 - Return the bikes today
Depart Chicago Ohare
Arrive in Los Angeles
Depart Los Angeles
Thursday 14th August 2014
Arrive in Melbourne
View Comments
Another visit to Bright and the Victorian High Country - always a treat! The thumbnail pic is of the Chinese bridge on the site of the gold diggings at Wandiligong.
We had our annual weekend away with friends who are mostly retired and as we tell our children it takes retired people 5 days to have a weekend which is always a bonus for us and travelling through some of the Victorian high country was the bonus it always is.
A bit of excitement on the way through, an outbreak of fire at Healsville.
A tranquil view of the Yarra River at Bright
Loved this old shed at Wandiligong.
A sneak peek from the top of Mount Buffalo.
An example of some old tobacco drying kilns near Smoko......yes that really is the name of the locality.
Tips to remember for the roads we covered:
The roads while sealed have varying surface integrity. From Mt Hotham down the mountain to Omeo and beyond the road alignment camber and surface is generally pretty good but from Mt Hotham down to Harrietville the road is much more challenging and the surface goes from ordinary to awful with little notice. Some of the surface is really rugged so you need to be aware. It is all reasonably well signed but travel on this second stretch will be slower and more tedious especially within slow moving traffic. Unfortunately many of the roads we travelled on appear a few years behind with maintenance programs and are rough and pot holed so exercise caution.
Services available:
Check previous listings for these localities.
View Comments
The thumbnail pic is a shot of the Princess of Tasmania before we boarded to come back home.
Check out the Group ride to Tasmania which was an absolute blast from start to finish!
Here is the crew as we waited at Devenport to get back on the Spirit of Tasmania to come home. A lot of happy faces.
We had a thoroughly enjoyable trip with 8 others from our club and loved exploring Tasmania again on bikes and sharing some of our favourite spots with people who hadn’t seen them before.
The scenery as always was spectacular and the weather much more stable than when we had last ridden over here with warm humid weather initially and colder weather as we progressed but very little rain to speak of and it wasn’t a hindrance to the experience.The bikes at the Beaconsfiek
The bikes at the Beaconsfield Mine.
The Gorge at Launceston
We tried to entice Priscilla the pig out of her house to no avail at the Pub in the Paddock at Pyagena
The oldest surviving bridge in Australia at Richmond.
Ii
Picturesque Strahan
Getting the gear off at Ross so we can explore a little and have some lunch.
Tips to remember for the roads we covered:
The roads we travelled on were all sealed and overall well aligned with good camber. The surface was well maintained and given the wet areas we travelled through there was good stone coverage so nothing too slippery, the only exception being roadwork areas which you would expect. The roads were well signed and mostly traffic stuck to their own side of the road but given many of the country roads are narrow and used by log trucks and those servicing farming areas you need to be aware that there is likely large traffic approaching around any corner.
Services available:
Check previous listings for these localities.
View Comments
