I had a hard time remembering it was Monday today.  Bike vacation syndrome has set in.  I love riding, it just opens the world up, and I can just think of everything and nothing while heading down a 2-lane stretch of back country Kansas.  The small towns where you have to slow down then bring you back into reality, if only for a few minutes, before cruising back on those long, strait (and surprisingly hilly) roads.

Breakfast at "Penny's Diner" was as could be be expected from such a establishment.  I had 2 eggs scrambled with has and wheat toast.  I saw a HUGE beetle crawling across the floor while waiting for my order.  Upon closer inspection, it was NOT a cockroach, but just a enormous beetle.  I crushed it and told the horrified waitress about it; she almost stepped on it.

This last 480ish miles were a easy day by comparison to the others we have ridden.  We got out around 7:30, and rode at a "Please don't arrest me" rate down US36.  I do actually slow to the shown speed limit while in the towns, but a little more out of the towns.

One exit after US36 I stopped for gas (among other places).  After getting all my gear back on, Tobi watered, etc, I was approached by a kid with a gas can.  He asked for me some gas.  Well, I stammered, I think it was the way and inflection of how he asked.  I asked him again, as I asked him he repeated and held up a little gas can.  I thought a second then said, sure.  The fellow across the stall(is that what they call them I wonder?) called the kid over, I was just going to give him $5 since I had already gassed up and such.  As I pulled out I saw the kid putting the gas into a Van that was in pretty bad shape.  Someone was loading(or unloading?) a wheelchair out of the side of the van, looked young though.  It was a bit out of place, but wasn't. It just occurred to me that this kid was driving a van that probably got 10 miles per hour, it was one of those old conversion vans with the little dome-like side window.  It very likely had a BIG V-8 in it, meaning his could of gallons of gas would get him, maybe, a few exits down the interstate.  Was this just a scam, or were they limping across the US?  I never saw the license plate so I guess it could have been a local.  All this went through my mind as I rolled down the interstate at a stately clip.

I did end up going by BMW of Denver.  Note to self: they are closed on Mondays. 

It was bloody hot in Denver/Auora, but the weather otherwise was phenomenal.  I even got my "Typical Kansas Thunderstorm" out of the way while inside my hotel room.  It was one of those things you have to experience in a wide open place like Kansas to truly appreciate.

Tomorrow my wife Christine flies in, hops on my bike; I will move Tobi's seat back to it's 3-up position tomorrow morning.

Oh, I washed my cloths in the tub/show with me using the old hotel soap to wash the body AND the clothes method tonight.  They are all drying next to me as I write this diatribe of drivel.  Hopefully they will be dry by morning, because I only brought a few changes, and these were Capital S Stinky.

Today started out a little early.  At some point my nephew Daniel snuck into my bed (his actually, he as on a mattress on the ground in the same room).  That was fine, he didn't bother me, and I didn't wake him with my snoring.  Anyway, sometime around 5-something I got up to use the toilet, and when I got back, Tobi had taken my place...  It was so cute I took a photo, and laid down on the floor and napped.  Eventually I got up and talked with my Brother who was up feeding his 6 month old daddy's girl.  I got arranged and loaded up for today's trip.  I checked the bike over, remembering I hit a pallet in the middle of the interstate outside Columbus, OH.  It was dark, but I had the reflexes to mostly avoid it.  No damage to be found thankfully.

Leaving Indy was problematic, as my GPS, which I checked before leaving, decided to re-route me via US70.  That is probably the penultimate MOST BORING road in america; and it is LONG.  Fortunatly, I caught it in time to make a 10 mile deture and got on my intided route from Indianapolis to Denver: US rt 36.  If there is no choice but to cross Kansas, then this is the road I would take.  Actually I cross half of Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri.  After getting on US36, I met with another New England Rider, who also rides a K1600 GTL, the exact same color as mine (Damask Red).  We rode the rest of the day together.

Before i even got out of Indiana, in a cute town called Danville, I passed the "Mayberry Cafe", and guess what was parked right outside: Sheriff Andy's Mayberry Police car!

Somewhere on US 36 I passed the John Deere Tractor Pulling team's 18-wheeler going the other direction.  Pretty truck!

Just outside Winchester, IL while we were heading to the town to get some gas, we were passed by an ambulance.  Now you may say "So What?"  Well, this ambulance was having a hard time accelerating up the hill, because it was PULLING A 18 FOOT JOHN BOAT, with its SIREN AND LIGHTS ON!  That was just amusing to see in the middle of nowhere.

Most of Missouri was rain, and US 36 is also Interstate 72 along here, so not much to talk about besides, well, rain, and that's boring.  I thought we'd hit real heavy stuff, but not really, not even a single lightning strike to be seen either,  I guess we lucked out in that respect.

I ended up at the Oak Tree Inn in Marysville, Kansas.  There is a full blown diner in front of the hotel (part of the same property) stainless steel outside, booths, stools, counter and fry-cook area all intact and i near pristine shape.  Dinner was good, but they are open 24 hours a day.  I will probably get a real early start tomorrow as I will not be waiting to eat breakfast as I normally would in motels like this one.

Tobi and I played ball, he is passed out ON the bed (again).  He was quite active today, really leaning onto curves; there were a few, US 36 is a good road, at least as far as Kansas goes.

We will be heading further down US 36 tomorrow, as far as it will take us, which should be well into Colorado, where we will pick up Christine.

It was HOT today.  Humid and HOT.  Well for those who spent the day outside on a bike at least.  Tobi and I got up at 4am and finished out our Saddle Sore 1000 ride.  It was pretty cool how that ride ended up at almost exactly 1,000 miles.  I had to do a extra long way around Columbus, OH to get the 15 miles I needed to put it over the mileage.

We spent the day going to all you can eat sushi, asian market (in Indianapolis, go figure!), and hanging around his house in the A/C just talking.  We havnt had time to do that since our father passed 5 years ago or so.  Overall a great day!

Tomorrow I will probably hook up with another BMW K1600 rider from New York (who is holed up near the Speedway after deciding the heat was too much (and after going to the speedway museum).  US36 from here to Denver!

I pulled into the Motel 6 in London, Ohio.  $50 room (+$10 tax).  Its worth all of that 50, maybe.  Heck, I even had to use my phone as a hotspot, because I don't have their wifi password, and when I went to call the front desk...the phone doesn't even have a dial tone, or lights at all.  Go figure.  I did get a single motel soap bar!

Anyway, Tobi and I did the better part of a Saddle Sore 1000 today, leaving the cape at about 8am.  I have about 170 miles to go, and since its late,and we should rest...and I don't want to wander into my brothers at 1am... we will go to bed.  Tobi is playing ball... go figure.

The day was pretty uneventful.  Nothing crazy to report, I did honk at the twisted  trailer as I whizzed buy it in Connecticut.  There was a slight threat of rain, but I think I skirted past it before it go to my route.  Just as I was pulling in here I saw a flash of lightning, but no rain ... yet.  The Turkey and Ham sandwiches for lunch were good.  I need to remember to get some mayo and mustard though.  Dinner was peanut butter and jelly, it hit the spot.  Our new coolers are soo good that I had to buy water, as the water bottles in the coolers were still 90%-100%  frozen.

Well off to sleep.  I have to get up extra early so we can finish the SS1000 in the allotted 24 hours.

Late Thursday night, so this will be brief.  I;ve taken the trailer for a quick (hah!) run on the highway to make sure it is weighted properly and will not wag excessively at speed.  Tobi;s paperwork is all loaded, his dog food, and (yes, of course) extra balls.

I've been a "stasher" of cash.  I cant explain it, but I like to know there is SOMETHING I can fall back on, like a tank of gas, if need be.  So that's all set.  In the process, I found a huge void in the trailer that was perfectly sized for Christine's full helmet, so it was a big win-win for me.

I am going to tray to do a IBA SS1000 out to my (other) brother Josh's place in Indianapolis.  I think it will actually be better for Tobi if I just do one long sting to get there.  Probably something like 18 hours, but we'll see.  I don't want the trip to end prematurely because of him or I, or some "deer-in-the-headlight'.

I have lots of water in the freezer, enought ot fill both coolers, peanut butter, Ham, Turkey, Pepperjack cheese, and some great (I love that stuff) Martin's Potatoe Bread packed in the cooler.

I;ve fixed one of our Laptops (the nice XPS12 Tablet/laptop/ultrabook) so that I can use it on the road.  My HUGE XPS18 is nice, but its too darned big to fit in the bike.  I also have the camera packed, Tobi's GoPro prepped and ready, and all the electronics/chargers I like to have ready.

Rever (https://rever.co), if you have ever heard of it (new name), is made by a subsidiary of Butler Maps.  The produce a App, and a website that I love to use, as it has all the "good" riding roads on one big Google-maps integrated site.  While it real is not for long-distance ride planning, it does work well for the final map and upload to .gpx for my Garmin/aka BMW Nav 5.  I do wish someome would make a application that is as good as Microsoft Streets and Trips (that is now 3 years old, and not being continued).

Thinking of roads, I just ran out and made grabbed my EZ-Pass for the bike/trailer combo.  I actually need two separate passes, one for the bike alone, and one for the bike with trailer.  They actually charge me for a bike (2 wheels) and a trailer (2 wheels) as if I was a HUGE truck (Like a F-450) pulling the same trailer.  a Little math, that means my little bike (as compared to a F-450 behemoth) and its tiny little trailer, apparently wear the road down as much as the F450 with the same trailer.  Who said government knew how to run things better?  sheesh.

I am hoping to get out around 8am from the local gas station.  I need a receipt for my "start time" for the SS1000.  Christine will be my start witness, while Josh will be my "end time"witness.  I will actually have to collect gas station receipts and keep a log to "prove" i did 1000 miles in a 24 hour period.  Heck, I've done that so much I can't count, but it is so much work just to "prove" I did it.  Ah well. its all for fun anyway.

Ok, back to the list: I have the tent packed at the top with the gargantuan sleeping bag.  The Kelty Tarp is also packed at the front with stakes, and the adjustable poles should be available.  I need all this so I can camp on the fly, when needed.  That'll keep costs down if I cannot find a cheap motel that is clean enough to stay a few hours overnight in.  If I had all the time in the world, I'd probably camp every night.  There is something about being outdoors that can feed the soul.

Its off to bed now.  I'll blog again either when I finish the SS1000 or somewhere in PA if I decide to just stop for the night instead.

I figure I'll go through my mental checklist today, on paper, so I guess its not a mental checklist any longer....
I'll start with the fact that I just called No-Mar in Missouri to reserve a new rear tire for the K1600 in Billings.  My current tire might have a few hundred miles on it at best, but if this trip is anything like last year's trip (and this one will be HOTTER) I'll need a new tire during the trip.  I'll just keep my current tire and strap it to the top of the trailer where I sometimes strap down the EZ-Up for local rallies:

I still need to remember a block of wood or such for trailer tire changes, I always seem to go through a set of those when on the long hot roads for an extended time.

I got Tobi's paperwork all in order, AKC papers, Rabies and other shot paperwork, Service dog certificates, training certificates, etc.  Oh, and balls, definitly need balls.  I should probably pack extra, he has a nasty habit of loosing them.

I am still having a packing issue with Christine's helmet.  Even if I have her wear her jacket on her flight to Denver, It doesn't really free up the right sized space for a full helmet.  I may have to bite the bullet and only bring one of my two helmets.  I really like the lightness of my Bell Sena 3/4 helmet.  I wear it without the face screen, so it has a open airy feeling while still providing a modicum of protection (and a built in spot for my Sena-10).  My Shark Evoline is a good do-everything helmet but it is heavy and a bit back heavy when I have it in its 3/4 configuration.  I use it mainly for cold, windy, rainy, or technical riding.

Christine has just about decided on trading over to a R1200RT from her Harley (2014 Street Glide Special), but due to lack of inventory of the local dealers (and time on our part) there are none to test-ride.  She wants to rent one for a few days (but no more, too expensive) out west, but that could be difficult considering the location of the rally and our stay at Yellowstone afterwards.  On the upside the entire BMW demo fleet is supposedly going to be at Billings so she can have her run at the GSA and S1000XS as well.  ... If only ... she had kept the K1600 she already had... ah well.

We had a very heavy rain here today and the trailer performed as it has previously.  Small drip-leaks from the door seals at front and back, but overall pretty dry,  I still like to put everything in trash bags for that little extra dryness/mildew/mold protection.

I verified with my brother Josh who lives in Indianapolis (as opposed to my brother Josh who lives in Providence) that I may be arriving a LOT earlier that I originally thought which brings me to:

I am seriously thinking about doing a Iron Butt run Saddle Sore 1000 from home to his house as my first leg on Friday.  The only complication is that I would not qualify for the "Big Sky SS1000" as I would leave a day earlier.  I sent out a email to the official in charge to see if I could still get the Big Sky designation while on the way there if I didn't actually finish in Billings.   No reply for a couple of days so I am guessing the answer is No,

The next couple of days will be mostly about wrapping things up at work for my 25 days away, so I doubt I'll blog much if anything until Thursday night.

Well, I have most everything wrapped (and packed) for the trip.  It finally hit me how long I will be away today while I was counting out all my Blood pressure meds I will need for the trip.

Tobi's Cool coat arrived today, its made by a great swedish company called Hurrta.  It is very similar to the cool coats Christine and I now have, as of yesterday's Amazon Sunday delivery (who knew?)

Lets see:  We have a "Queen" size sleeping bag that is good to 20f, and I believe it after unpacking it and repacking it in its stuff sack.  Even in the sack it is huge.
We bought a new tent.  It is still a instant tent, just a little smaller tghat our older one.  Packing wise it is a full 50% smaller in the trailer.  We also received our new backpack/camping cook set (quite nice), Folding cups and mugs, and a second folding Dog bowl for Tobi.

We bought a pair of coolers to replace our one larger cooler, it is easier to move them around inside the trailer.  Christine washed all our bedding and utensiles so I could pack them nicely in their appropriate places.  The trailer is truly PACKED.  In fact I think I'll have to have Christine wear her riding jacket on the plane to denver; either that or her helmet, I assume she'l opt for the jacket on the plane.

I modified Tobi's gopro on his seat to get a little wider angle without as much of his head in the video.  This took a bit of working, as it sits out on the end of a lightweight aluminum arm.  The arm can vibrate wildly, so I had to create a little truss to stiffen it up.  I honestly dont know how much actual footage I'll get from it, but if my experience with hosting/producing a TV show still holds true, I need a LOT of live footage to get even a couple of minutes of edited clips.

I replaced the front tire on my bike.  It was tough, and could have been literally 50% easier, had I noticed I put it on backwards the first time.

I am real happy with the running and turn/stop lights I added to my saddle bags.  I will be a lot more conspicuous, especially at night now.

All I really need to do now is take the entire rig for a highway speed shake down to make sure the trailer is weighted properly and will not 'wag' at my expected "speeds".

More to come....  Oh and I will have some type of tracking set up for the trip so friends/family can track our progress,