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The drive to Madison went well and it was a beautiful day. Plenty of corn and bean fields along the way and plenty of traffic on 90/94. At Madison I took 94 towards Milwaukee and exited from the freeway and began the trek on smaller roads. From Delafield I took 83 south to Waterford and Rochester and then took 20 East towards the lake and back onto 94. I wanted to see some countryside and leave the freeway behind and I definitely got my wish. The drive on 83 was through farm country and again lots of corn and bean fields along with small towns along the way. 2-lane roads are the best on a motorcycle and these were exceptional.
At 20 and 94 there is a little place called Spokes where I stopped for a beer. It is a great place with many vintage bikes displayed all over the place, and some of the coldest beer I have ever drank. The owner apparently is a biker himself and the bikes on display come from his personal collection. He is also apparently a butcher by trade and the place has a meat shop and deli as well. And around the west side of the building they have motorcycle parking and sort of a "Beer Garden" which is great as well. Nice folks - I recommend the place.
Onward south on 94 and I exited a few miles short of the state line and worked my way over to Sheridan road, which runs right into the heart of Chicago. This is a hell of a drive as there are some of the most grand houses along Sheridan that you have ever seen once you get closer to Chicago. I did run into some construction and had a few detours, but eventually I found myself driving within about a block of Wrigley field. What a thrill to be driving through this enormous city, and if felt very normal. And I got alot of waves from folks along the way like they were cheering me on or something.I stopped for gas on the north side of Chicago, and paid 4.349 per gallon for 93 octane - what a ripoff. That is easily the most I paid for gas along the trip - by at least 20 cents. I asked a local for directions to get to Lakeshore as I was off course from the construction, and he had no idea. I consulted my maps a bit and tried to get there the best I could. I mean - I knew where it was and I could see it several times, but I'll be damned if I could get there. Traffic was awful through much of this portion of the drive, and Lakeshore drive is like a highway at this part, so I needed to find an exit. I finally found one but with the traffic it would take me 20 minutes to get on. I decided to move south further in the city as my bike was getting really hot and starting to burn oil. I finally found an entrance to Lakeshore that wasn't overcrowded and I was finally moving in the wind again. Looking at maps I think it was Belmont where I got on, but I am not 100% sure.
Moving south I stopped along Lakeshore and swapped maps. I had a great view of the city and wanted to stop and take some photo's, but I was way behind schedule as the traffic had been bad through the city, so I decided to keep moving. I wanted to get to West Lafayette with some light left so I didn't have to setup my tent in the dark.
South Lakeshore Drive is very different than the North part. It isn't a highway and meanders through some rough looking neighborhoods, but luckily there was traffic to move with so I didn't feel alone. There were some beautiful sights along the way including several harbors full of sailboats, and some beach parks that looked like they would be a great place to spend a hot afternoon.
Once through the south side of Chicago I ended up back on 90 and had to pay the one toll to cross into Indiana. It was the only toll I paid on the entire trip. There was more construction ahead so I got routed around that and then ended up on 65 towards Indianapolis. Driving through northern Indiana along 90 you end up driving past steel mills including US Steel, and it is an impressive sight. I am a farm kid from North Dakota so I am used to seeing miles of Nothing, but to see miles of steel plant was quite a sight. It was beautiful and ugly at the same time, and I couldn't help wonder what they did in all of those buildings.
Once you get free of 90 and Gary you end up in corn and bean country again - mostly corn. The drive to West Lafayette from here was about 80 miles or so, and I got into the campground about 8:30 or so that evening - the sun was already down in any case. I setup camp in the semi-dark and using my flashlight and proceeded to go back up to the camp office where they served food. I had only eaten breakfast, and couple of candy bars, and a triangle ham-n-cheese, so I was hungry. I would have looked for a restaurant, but the campground was about 10 miles off the main road and nothing else was around. I was tired so I settled for what they had. I ended up with 2 corn dogs, onion rings, and a diet Pepsi for a grand total of $5.25. At least the price was right and the food hit the spot.
This campground is right along the Wabash river, and I was able to get a fairly private spot along the banks. There were a few fishing boats at the campsite and a launch, so fishing was definitely on some minds at this campsite. Lots of families and luckily little noise or activity after about 11pm, so I got a great night's sleep.
The tent was a bit cramped with all of my gear inside, but the sleeping bag and mattress and pillow were very comfortable, and I have no complaints. It was warm when I went to sleep, but by morning it was in the 50's, so it cooled off quite a bit. My sleeping bag was great though, and I never got cold.All told today I did a total of 360.9 miles - the most so far on this trip. My butt was definitely feeling the pain and I was looking forward to tomorrow with less riding and a baseball game in my future.
More tomorrow.
Craig.
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