Earache

As per usual, up at 0300 and out the door. Wanna know what goes on in Omaha at 3:00 AM? Nuthin'! But it is about 30 degrees cooler,...

Back to the road - gotta get thee to Omaha tonight. Hot as fook out here but the a/c in the room felt great. Skipped dinner tonight as the hotel didn't have a restaurant or bar and I wasn't going back out in that heat.

I was gonna buy it, but was a couple of bucks short on cash...

Walking back out through the parts dept was amazing too. Loads of pistons, cranks and other crap for vintage restorations.

Mas scooters ...

"Yeah, but do you have any extra fuel tanks for my old bike?" I ask. "A few... look up"

"But where's all the cool shit?" I ask. "Down the the hall. through the parts bins and open the wooden door" comes the reply

So why did I even go to Iowa? Baxter's Cycle Shop in Marne, Iowa, that's why. "Your British Bike Superstore" I dunno about the "superstore" portion of their claim, but they have tons of cool shit. Mostly used, vintage and refurbished bikes...

Every 250 miles - yet another truckstop. The riding in Iowa kinda sucks...

The Sturgis Rally is going on, so I see loads of bikes at every stop. Even at "The World's Largest Truckstop" in Iowa ..

Up at 0300 again and ready to roll. I'm headed west to Omaha, Nebraska today and leaving early in an effort to beat the 100F+ / 39C heat

Out for beers and dinner with some of my bud's that live in Chicago. Brian, Joe and Alex - great guys that I don't get to see nearly enough....

Then into Chicago; another hotel room and another hotel bar. Why do they all look the same? And check out those pint prices!!! Getting drunk ain't cheap!

Passed through Indy again...

Next day and it's time to head west again. Raging storms across Kansas again so I plan a northernly route through Chicago and Nebraska. But first, breakfast at a truck stop ... again. There is little else to eat out here. It's either fast food or this. And this is cheap and fast ....

Rode Ohio's famed Route 555 - lots of curves, hills and blind crests. Sweet new pavement, too!

Amazing how green it is here - not brown like Colorado . Not a lot out here though - just old farms that are no longer in use.

Ohio has loads of Federal style homes built during the American Civil War (1860's) that sit empty near old farms. Would love to buy one and fix it up as I really like the style of the homes ...

Stopped at the brother in law's "farm". 200 acres and he doesn't grow anything on it. Has a nice tractor to mow with though...

Aside from the humidity, riding in Ohio isn't all that bad. Lots of abandoned buildings to see and decent roads. Plus, the weather has improved . Pretty cool old sandstone house and chimney from another house that is no longer there ...

Completed the final leg to Ohio the next day and rode some of the Devil's Highway ..

Shit day out, so I watched Clint feed dogs and played his guitars all afternoon. Not a bad day really....

I was going to ride around Indy for the day, but the rains caught up with me. So I Uber'ed over to Clint's house. His dog had just had puppies so he was on nurse duty - feedings every hour...

Made it to my hotel in Indianapolis where I'll meet up with friends Clint and Sunday. Hotel bar was packed, but I managed to get a stool at the bar and a couple of cold beers down my neck while I waited on Clint to pick me up for dinner....

Next day and I'm up early, but there is too much rain and wind to leave. Hung out at Todd's until 11:00 AM or so and then headed out with a route to go around floods in St. Louis. Gonna be a long assed day. Only the best food that money could buy for lunch. I skipped the roller food and opted for a couple of donuts and Diet Dew - which I ate in the rain next to the bike. I was too wet to stay inside, leaving puddles wherever I stood. Not unusual for me really, but this was rain water this time ...