We topped off at a nearby gas station in Hannibal, MO. Not but a few seconds of our arrival 6 other motorcycles all showed up for fuel also. This (believe it or not) is the most number of motorcycles we had seen in any one location since our departure from Virginia.
We got on US36 west and drove nearly 200 miles straight across the northern part of Missouri. MODOT is in the process of adding two more lanes to US 36. When they are done, it'll go from a 2 lane highway to a 4 lane divided highway. Construction zones went on for miles and miles. I think the first 100 miles of the road were under some kind of construction. Fortunately, since they are adding the 2 additional lanes on the other side of the median, there weren't any hold ups with traffic. We simply got to look at all the various stages of the construction project. The further away we got from Hannibal the less progress had been made. So while near Hannibal, we were riding on a two lane divided highway, by the time we had ridden 100 miles, all we saw was them clearing brush and burning it to make way for the new lanes.
Our first stop wasn't until about 200 miles from where we began. We stopped for lunch in St. Joseph just east of the Kansas/Missouri line.
We got on US36 west and drove nearly 200 miles straight across the northern part of Missouri. MODOT is in the process of adding two more lanes to US 36. When they are done, it'll go from a 2 lane highway to a 4 lane divided highway. Construction zones went on for miles and miles. I think the first 100 miles of the road were under some kind of construction. Fortunately, since they are adding the 2 additional lanes on the other side of the median, there weren't any hold ups with traffic. We simply got to look at all the various stages of the construction project. The further away we got from Hannibal the less progress had been made. So while near Hannibal, we were riding on a two lane divided highway, by the time we had ridden 100 miles, all we saw was them clearing brush and burning it to make way for the new lanes.
Our first stop wasn't until about 200 miles from where we began. We stopped for lunch in St. Joseph just east of the Kansas/Missouri line.
Tom needed fuel so we stopped off at a Shell gas station before getting back on US 36 West. Shortly after lunch, we crossed the Missouri river and entered Kansas.
North eastern Kansas was quite a bit different from the descriptions I had heard about Kansas. Instead of being flat and "boring", it was made up of rolling hills, and varied vegetation. It was quite the lovely back drop as we motored west on US 36 and then north on US 75.
After a short 60 miles, we entered Nebraska on US 75 and continued north to Rt. 2 were we turned west towards Lincoln. With about 170 miles on the clock since we last stopped for lunch in St. Joseph, MO we stopped in Lincoln, NE for our last fuel stop of the day.
We said good-bye to the highways and hello to I-80 West. Upon approaching Lincoln, the winds had begun to pickup out of the west. A quick glance at the XMWeather screen on the Wing told me that we would be approaching a strong winds area just west of Lincoln.
With the bikes unpacked, we walked across the street from some Mexican food and margaritas (yum). After dinner, I noticed the skies were darkening. We checked some radar images on the web and sure enough a string of nasty thunder storms were heading right for us. I guess Mother Nature just can't resist trying to rain on us.
Tomorrow is our last travel day to South Dakota. We'll ride from Grand Island, NE to Hot Springs, SD. Mileage should be around 388 miles. The only tricky part of tomorrows ride will be not running out of gas. I'm sure I'll be fine but Tom may have some problems if I don't remember to stop for fuel in Theodore, NE. I'll have to remember to keep a sharp eye on my mirrors to make sure Tom's headlights are still back there. ;-)North eastern Kansas was quite a bit different from the descriptions I had heard about Kansas. Instead of being flat and "boring", it was made up of rolling hills, and varied vegetation. It was quite the lovely back drop as we motored west on US 36 and then north on US 75.
After a short 60 miles, we entered Nebraska on US 75 and continued north to Rt. 2 were we turned west towards Lincoln. With about 170 miles on the clock since we last stopped for lunch in St. Joseph, MO we stopped in Lincoln, NE for our last fuel stop of the day.
We said good-bye to the highways and hello to I-80 West. Upon approaching Lincoln, the winds had begun to pickup out of the west. A quick glance at the XMWeather screen on the Wing told me that we would be approaching a strong winds area just west of Lincoln.
Sure enough, heading west on I-80, we battled a pretty stiff head wind. We estimate it at about 15-20 miles an hour. I-80 is a 75mph road so I ran the Wing up to 75 and punched in the cruise. Between the head wind the gusts and the extreme turbulence from the heavy truck traffic, our 90 mile trek west on I-80 from Lincoln to Grand Island was "intense." In fact the head wind and turbulence was so strong, Tom announced that he was nearly out of gas when we arrived at Grand Island. In 90 miles of riding, Tom had managed to burn up 3 gallons of perfectly good gasoline!! LOL I had only managed to burn up 2.5 gallons. The Wing pushes so much air that a little head wind doesn't even phase it.
We topped of the tanks at a nearby gas station and then made our way to our hotel in Grand Island. When we pulled into the hotel we saw about a dozen motorcycles in the parking lot. Now its beginning to feel like we are getting close to Sturgis!! We suspect the numbers of bikes will be rapidly increasing from here on out.
We checked into the hotel were Tom immediately broke out his laptop.We topped of the tanks at a nearby gas station and then made our way to our hotel in Grand Island. When we pulled into the hotel we saw about a dozen motorcycles in the parking lot. Now its beginning to feel like we are getting close to Sturgis!! We suspect the numbers of bikes will be rapidly increasing from here on out.
Stay tuned for a video clip of Day three's ride!
*twiddles thumbs waiting for video, days 4, 5, etc.* *then remembers the women have arrived*
ReplyDeleteWell hope you all have a great day and have fun *why am i saying that.. of course the day will be great and the scenery awesome, sighs while i look out the window at the wet VA roads*