| Name: | 4-30 Bismarck, ND to Menomonie, WI pt2.gpx | 
|
| Daily Log | OK... let's just say that the weather has changed. My first real clue to this change was the fact that my bike has been in the same position all day today. Stopped or in motion, my bike has been at pretty much the same angle all day long. My goodness it's windy here! Honestly, I've ridden in lots of wind before. For anyone who has ever been through Wyoming on a bike, in a car, or basically anything that moves you donw the road, you know it's nightmare. Unlike Wyoming, this wind is constant. At first, I thought this would be better than the bashing I usually receive when going to Colorado through Wyoming. However, it's equally tiring to sit on the bike at one angle and just force it to go in a straight line for hours on end. It's such a relief to have to stop and get gas! No let's move on to the rain. In reality, I don't mind the rain at all. I prefer to ride in overcast weather and don't mind if there's a few sprinkles. Well, I stopped at a rest stop this morning before the wind started and saw what can only be described as a black wall of clouds about 10 miles ahead. My first opportunity to use my new rainsuit! Excitement!!! OK, first, I love the British. Great bikes, love the people, awesome tea... etc. However, who on Earth designed the Triumph rainsuit zippers? You have to start the zipper at your neck and zip down to your left foot to close the suit!! ?? My Fieldsheer one piece motorcycle suit zips from the bottom up to close it (like most everything else on the planet). Obviously, when I bought the suit, I noticed this odd design but really never thought about it much. Well, I started noticing today when I had to use the facilities at various rest areas and gas stations! Bending over to unzip the rainsuit from the left foot ALL the way up to the neck, then zipping my motorcycle suit down from the neck to below the waist got old quick! Glad I only have three weeks of this left! :) Sarcasm doesn't come through well in plaing text but believe me, it's there! Back to the rain. My first sight of those clouds was very disheartening... and exhilarating at the same time. I couldn't wait to really test myself in terms of what I was going to be able to put up with. Growing up in Denver, I could tell these clouds looked like they could be hiding hail. Luckily, I didn't get tested with hail but WOW what rain. The pictures below don't do it justice since I was well past the intense rains from earlier in the day but the combination of rain and wind was more than enough of a test. And guess what?... I loved every minute of it! I truly love this motorcycle and how incredibly blessed I am to be here on this journey. |
|
| Date/Time: | Sun Apr 30 21:16:47 2006 | |
| ||
| ||
| Total Distance: | 248.65 miles (400.17 km) |
| Total Trip Time: | 5:14:35 (3:54:14 moving time) |
| Total Climbing: | 17646 feet (5379 m) |
| Total Descending: | 18148 feet (5531 m) |
| Average Speed: | 63.69 mph (102.51 kph) |
 4ACX2378.jpg |
 4ACX2381.jpg |
 4ACX2382.jpg |