So I don't have much in the means of transportation other than my bike, a truck that gets 8mpg and is basically used for car shows, and a car that I share with my girlfriend. So... looks like Im going to St. Joe on the Seca... The round trip time with no stops and no delays is 10 hours and 550 miles.....
So I prepared my Steed for the great adventure I was about to embark on... Most of the trip was not documented photographically so if you dont like reading sorry... lol...
For the most part the trip was uneventful and not much to report but with 550 mile and over ten hours on the road theres bound to be something.
Ill start the report 3 hours from Rolla on MO highway 65 from I-70 to Chillicothe, MO. There was a few very interesting sights along this strech that I wish I would have got a few good pictures of. First of all the terrain in Northern MO is less than to be desired for riding a motorcycle with not much in the means of physical landmarks to look at or twisty roads to keep the body entertained. In the midst of this farmer's paradise live a bunch of people that everyone knows as the Amish. I have lived near some Amish establishments before but have never been through a community of them before. Highway 65 seems to have just been placed back in time into a land of simple means and riding through this forgotten piece of american history was very interesting. There were no tractors or wood splitters as you would normally see in the barn of the farming communities of Northern MO but all is replaced with horse and hand tools. I slowed down quite a bit through this stretch of road and took in many details of simplistic lives. It was a Sunday when I rode up so I can only imagine that the huge collection of horse drawn buggies outside of a single home was a gathering taken place after church. Others were still on the road and moving at a decent pace with with raw horsepower in the most literal sense. I had to dodge the landmines placed by these modes of transportation. The winds had also just picked up and I saw women and children chasing down garments that had blown of the lines strung outside the home. And one lone horse and master were in the field pulling a disc or plow behind his steed. All of this was truly a sight to behold as you don't find yourself in that setting much anymore... Its all the hustle and bussle of the city life and trying to avoid getting squished by a big rig. The biggest hassle on this stretch is dodging slick piles of horse manure.
This is a landscape picture of the terrain of Northern MO that I snapped while putting on an extra shirt. As I was riding further along this stretch of desolate road an ominous presence lingered in the distance so I decided to stop once again... this time it was to install my rain cover for my tankbag as it looked like I was going to get wet... I have Waterproof gear from head to toe so I was planning on riding through any rain that I encountered, Later to find out it was not the rain that I had to worry about. After I turned onto MO highway 36 toward St. Joe I encountered a little rain but not enough to validate putting my rain cover on my tank bag. But the winds... OH the winds!!! There were winds in excess of 35 mph with gusts up to 50 blowing across the road in a perpendicular direction. These gusts were so bad I had to slow my pace to 40mph to maintain a safe path of travel, and even at that there were times where i felt like the bike was just going to be ripped off the road and thrown into the median!!! I was trying everything I could to keep the bike under control and at one time a gust blew me a whole lane over!! :yikes: This was scary stuff... I finally pulled off at a gas station to see another motorcyclist putts by in the opposite direction.... I waved and silently said,"I commend you sir and wish you safe travels" I can only hope he wished me the same... After far too long out on the blustery MO-HYW-36 I arrived at my destination, Drury Inn and suites were a warm shower greeted me oh so graciously
Here is a picture of the contents of the tank bag mentioned at the top: contents: toothbrush/paste, contact case and solution, Deodorant, shaving supplies, Qtips, shampoo, Dress shoes, Change of Business casual cloths that needed to be ironed, Charging cords for ( ipod, phone, and TomTom, Book for class, and last but not least Ibeprophen just in case
I wont talk too much on the trip back because it was the same route. I did have 2.5 hours of night riding and took a cool picture of a caboose in Carrolton MO. And stopped for a warm me up coffee in Jefferson City. Total trip time was 12 Hours... Phew that was a long trip...