2011 03-24 Thursday. Home to Chester, IL 335 Miles.
All the planning and still things don't always go right. I had my Harley serviced last October and left it at the dealer for free winter storage. I picked it up a week before leaving to have time for a shake down. Sure enough the cruise control wasn't fixed. The cruise control module needed for my 2005 bike is not a typical stock item, but the dealer found one, had it shipped, but UPS didn't deliver it until 11am on the day I'm leaving.So I didn't leave until 1pm. But it was just a day to get the heck out of the colder weather and down south. 50 with gusting 50mph cross winds left me exhausted after the 335 miles to Chester. I got there at 7:30pm, just at sunset and too tired to go out to eat. It would be interesting to do the last hour of this ride again, IL-4 to IL-150 in the daylight with time to stop at the covered bridge 5 miles east of the Best Western on IL-150.
2011 03-25 Friday. Chester, IL to Jackson, MS 430 Miles.
By 10am, I was ready to leave and it wasn't going to get any warmer than the 37 and I had a lot of miles I wanted to get under my belt. I made a quick few stops to get photos of some of the Popeye characters in Chester. E.C. Segar (1894-1938) developed these characters, modeled after some of Chester's residents. So after a quick stop at the welcome center to get a photo of Popeye, it was time to cross the Mississippi River and put some miles on. I didn't have a reservation, as it's early in the season and I wanted the freedom to quit when I got tired. But my goal was Jackson, MS so I could have a relaxing ride from there. It didn't get above 40 for the next 3 hours and though south of Memphis it warmed up to 55, once you get cold to the bone, you get tired and are cold all day. I've used electric gloves and insoles and wore 3 layers of clothes. But I may buy the rest of the heated gear before my next cold weather ride.
