Feeling A Little Snakebit

I woke up this morning to the sound of thunder and it was raining outside.  Not the best of starts, but the rain was not that bad and riding in rain doesn't really bother me.  So I started off and sure enough the rain stopped within a short time.  So just as I'm thinking that things are starting to look up, here comes another adventure.  To my utter amazement, I start to feel and hear my front wheel bearings starting to grind.   I stop to check, and look for the nearest BMW dealer.  This time I only have to go 50 miles.  I turn back and go about 1/4 mile and the grinding is more than I can stand.  Realizing I dodged a bullet the last time, I pull over and get a towing service set up.  I won't go into all the details, but after getting my second set of bearings in a week installed, I am right back  where I started at this morning.  Needless to say, this experience has me thinking about the future of my bike.  I'm going to have to give this some thought.

Present location:  Elgin, Illinois
Today's mileage:  65
Total mileage:  2054

Old Home Day

I'm back on the road.  Mom and I said our goodbyes, and I took off this morning. I went to the back roads and headed to the northeast corner of Iowa.  On the way I ran into a little early morning fog.  It was really cool seeing the wind turbines just suddenly appear out of the fog.  As always, the pictures just don't show it that well.  Once I got to the Mississippi River, I started heading down The River Road.  This is a National Scenic Byway that runs the entire distance of the river.  Unfortunately, due to heavy rains in the area, there has been some wash out, so there is a lot of construction and detours at the present time. After a couple of hours of this, I opted to a different plan. I was reasonably close to where we once lived in Illinois, so I decided to go see our old homestead.  It started to rain on the way there, so that put a little damper on this side trip, but it was fun to see the old neighborhood.  What wasn't fun was how much the surrounding area has grown and all the increased traffic that came with it.  So there re a couple pi three of the river, a couple of our old house, and a shot of yard art to round it out.

Present Location:  Elgin, Illinois
Today's mileage:  442
Total mileage:  1989

A Bonus Post

I've spent the last couple of days at my Mom's so I haven't done any riding.  My Mom and I took a ride around town and around the county ( Mom wouldnt get on the motorcycle, so we took her car), to see how things have changed, see what's new, and see some things that are still familiar. I'm posting a couple of pictures from our ride.  First is something called a Freedom Rock.  Evidently, there is an artist who is trying to place a Freedom Rock (a memorial to the military) in every county in Iowa (there are 99 counties).  I have seen a couple others along the highway during my ride, this is the one for my home county.  Next are some pictures of the Grotto of the Redemption.  This is actually a somewhat famous landmark.  When I was growing up, every time some one visited us for the first time, we ended up taking them to the Grotto.  It got to be so common place for us, that I'm not sure that I ever really appreciated it.  The next picture was one I just couldn't pass up.  When you see  a sign like this, you can be assured you are in the Midwest.  The final picture is self explanatory.  Back on the road in the morning.

I should have known better

I knew I had a good ride ahead of me, so I planned out a route that mainly stayed on major highways on a fairly direct route.  I had good intentions, but after the first 30 minutes I gave up on that and went in search of some lesser traveled roads.  I had to refer to the map more than usual to make sure that I was at least heading in the right general direction. I think I added a little over a hundred miles to the distance covered, but it was a lot more fun.  The day started clear, but I ran into some low hanging clouds early on.  The visibility wasn't terrible but with no other traffic, and the limited sight lines, it really gave a sense of being somewhat isolated.  It was a little eerie and cool all at the same time.  I did run into some rain for about an hour or more, but it was mostly a misting and light sprinkle.  After yesterday's heat, I am not complaining about overcast skies and temps in the high seventies.  Passing through California (Missouri), I caught a glimpse of the front yard shown below.  It seemed so perfect, I had to go back and take another look.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  I appreciated it, but know that my yard will never look that way, because I hate messing with that sort of thing.
So now I am in Algona at my Mom's for the next few days.  No real riding planned, until I start back on Monday.

Current Location:  Altona, Iowa
Today's mileage:  586
Total mileage:  1576

It's All Relative

So even though I was imagining the worst, everything worked out fine with my bike at the dealership.  The part came in, there were no real surprises, my credit card cleared, and I was on my way at 9:50 am.  I,m happy to say that the bike performed normally, and I am not expecting any more problems.  So other than spending a day in a motel room, and losing a day of riding, this has turned out to be a minor adventure.  Today might have been the day I should have been in a motel room.  It was hot today.  Highest temp I saw was 98 but it was more like a constant 92/93 for most of the afternoon.  Not sure what tomorrow is going to be, but I'm hoping for something a little cooler.  With the late start today, I traveled a bit more on major highways, by still hit some nice back roads.  Actually, I wish I had a little more time to spend in southern Missouri.  Some of these roads in the Ozarks are a lot of fun.  When I left Seneca, the plan was to be at my Mom's house in time for cocktails on Friday (I realize that for some of you this means anytime after 8:00 am, but I was planning on something a little more civilized).  I still think that I can do that, but with the lost travel day, I will probably have to take a little more direct route, and leave the back roads for another time.  So one of the things I like about these roads is going thru the smaller towns and occasionally seeing an old county courthouse.  I really thought the one pictured was nice, and obviously well taken care of.
So now that I've complained about a lost day spent in a motel room, and the heat today, I think of my brother  Tim who spent seven hours yesterday having his back operated on.  It's all relative.

Current location:  Salem, Missouri
Yesterday's Mileage:  109
Today's Mileage:  411
Total Mileage:  960

It's Never Easy

I once read and totally subscribe to a saying that states any trip either good or bad is just a trip, until something goes wrong.  Then it becomes an adventure.  Based on that, I am now on an adventure.  I took off this morning, and got on the interstate because I wanted to get to the Nashville BMW Dealer early.  Things started out okay and went well for the first forty miles.  And then I was reminded of one of the reasons I so dislike riding on interstates, construction.  Things came to a halt, and then proceeded at a stop and go pace.  25 minutes and less than one mile later, the bike was close to overheating, I was close to overheating, the traffic continued to stretch out in front of me with no end in sight, and I had yet to see any construction.  I was close to an exit, so I took a chance and got off.  Although I went an extra 40 miles to get to my destination it was well worth it in my mind.
So now I am at the dealership.  When I check my front wheel, the bearing is entirely out of the wheel casing, and there is not single ball bearing to be found.  Surprisingly it didn't affect the handling as much as you might think, but if it had been that way when I checked it before starting out, I would not have ridden the bike to Nashville.  I am then pleasantly pleased to find out that the  dealer's parts department has the correct bearings and should be able to replace them in about an hour.  Unfortunately, about 45 minutes later, the adventure began.  The ruined bearing had ground a burr into the axle which prevented it from sliding out.  The only option was to cut the axle in order to remove it, and they did not have an axle in stock.  So I am now sitting in a motel room that was conveniently located across the street, waiting for overnight delivery of a new axle.  The service manager swears that they always get their parts at 9 am.  Once they have the part it is about a ten minute job to get the bike back together, so he says I should be out of there by 9:30.  I hope he's right, but things aren't always easy.

Too Early To Tell

Current location:  Pulaski, Tn.
Today's Mileage:  440 miles
Total:  440

So the plan for today was to travel thru northern Georgia and Alabama while avoiding major roads and highways.  Traveling thru Georgia was no problem, but getting thru Alabama while avoiding Huntsville was a bit of a problem.  Northern Alabama has a lot of north/south tall ridges and hills. As a result, there are plenty of north/south roads in the valleys, but nothing major that goes east/west except for one major highway.  There are however some county roads that will get you thru if you don't mind changing direction on a continuing basis.  That is what I opted for, and for the most part was successful.  I did have to back track a couple of times when my planned road suddenly dead ended, but it was never more than about a fifteen minute setback.  The good part was that it was a sunny day without being too hot, there was very little traffic, and I was out on the road again.  While traveling thru Georgia, I was going right by where we used to have a cabin on Carter's Lake.  Being so close, I decided to stop by  and see how it looks.  It shows a little age, but overall it looked good, and it has a great view.  There are a couple of pictures attached.  The other pictures are of a "Rock Zoo" that was along the side of one of the county roads in northern Alabama. I'm not sure that I could find this place again if I had to, and a never saw another car on that road, but I appreciated the talent and effort that someone put into this.
So that was the good for today.  Unfortunately, I'm having a small problem with my bike.  While riding today, I kept thinking that something wasn't quite right, but I couldn't put my finger on it.  Finally, I came to believe that one of the seals on the front wheel bearing is giving out.  I've changed my route, and backtracked to head up to Nashville, which is where the nearest BMW dealer is.  I'll be there tomorrow when they open.  I'm hoping they have the parts I will be needing, if not I guess I'll be coming up with a plan B.  Too early to tell.