Wherever I May Roam: Day 22

For some reason I'm waking up before my alarm clock the last couple days, not sure how that works as it's not something that ever happens to me, ever! I guess that means I'm getting enough rest and I've needed it.

I got out of the room and on the road at 9am again this morning, but stopped for gas and breakfast only about half an hour down the road. The last few days there have been pretty meager offerings for the continental breakfasts so I haven't used them except for the morning coffee.

It was 10am by the time I got rolling again, a little late considering I wanted to put down a decent number of miles today so that I have a short ride tomorrow. I certainly want to be at the shop a little earlier than my 3pm appointment so that it will get done. I'll be a little over the recommended 8000km mark for oil change, and it will be nice to have them go over the bike to make sure it's all good.

The weather was about as perfect as could be for about 600km today. It was warm, but not too hot, the only wind was a light breeze at my back, and everything was so nice and green. I felt so blessed to have a day like this, and for the chance to even do this trip. It's been so nice to let my mind unwind and sort through a lot of things over the last few weeks. I've battled many demons over the years, some that keep coming back. After quitting smoking for a year and a half I've been smoking too much over the last couple months. It's one of the vices that's been so hard to try and stay away from, and at this point I've failed. I guess that's part of life, we all have our issues that need constant attention and work.

Last night before going to bed I checked the air in my rear suspension, and it was a little low. I was wondering if that was the case as the ride seemed to be less comfortable than I thought it should be. The bike is also pretty loaded down with gear and a very overweight rider. The boost in air pressure in the rear suspension made a world of difference on the ride today, it felt almost like a new bike in some ways. I also lowered the height on the crash bar pegs I use to stretch the legs out on the highway, and that really improved the comfort as well. Theres always small things like that that can make a big difference when riding every day.

Saw a lot of country again today as I travelled west across Wisconsin and then across a good chunk of Minnesota. I'm in Alexandria tonight at a great little mom and pop motel again, another gem of a place. It's so much more relaxing when one can find a place like this that in a nice neighborhood, clean, and in good repair. As I was stretching my legs a little after checking in I got to talking with a 72 year old man. We ended up talking for an hour and a half, mostly him talking, talking to me about all sorts of stuff. He served in the navy back in the day, and had some cool stories, though he talked mostly of other stuff.

I was on I-94 all day, except for the 694 bypass around Minneapolis-St. Paul. After the craziness yesterday and to a degree the day before, today didn't seem like interstate riding. Traffic was mostly light and moving fast, but it doesn't feel fast when there's not a crushing volume of vehicles. The only exception was the bypass, it was pretty backed up there today. My timing has been awful the last two days, hitting the afternoon rush hour in both Milwaukee and Minneapolis. Today was the last major city on the trip though, so that should mostly be the end of that. The interstates have been awesome to make good time coming back west, but I want to come back to some of these areas again and ride the smaller highways and roads, just to see more of scenery.

Here's a few stats on the trip so far:

12,240km (equal to 30.5% of the earth's circumference)

711.531L of gas (not including the last 150km today after the last fill)

48.1mpg - 5.9L/100 (40.0 US mpg)

8 provinces travlled in

9 states travelled in

I've seen a lot of country, and missed a lot as well. That's the best part, there's always another road to ride!