Thursday, June 19, 2014

completed route and pictures


  • 23 days
  • 4,516 miles
  • 2 countries
  • 13 states
  • 44.6 mpg
Trip Photo Archive

day 23

I spent some time visiting with my parents over breakfast before starting out on the last leg of my trip.  I have traveled between Mishawaka and Chicago so many times and I really wanted to get home, so I didn't really feel like taking the scenic route.  As I stopped on the toll road for my last fill up, I checked the traffic in Chicago.  Thankfully the morning rush was starting to clear up for my arrival.

As I pulled out of the last toll booth in Indiana, I could see the top of the Sears Tower popping out of the horizon.  After a few minutes of slow traffic near downtown, I was pulling into home.  I was expecting Seamus to be the happiest to see me, but it was Blanca who was jumping all over me.  Alex was pretty happy to see me, as well.

This was the first time I arrived somewhere and still had time to go out for a morning coffee and bagel (at least whatever the dogs didn't get).

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

day 22

All of the highways that I thought of taking from Cleveland to Mishawaka were all merged just west of Cleveland, so I ended up riding on an interstate for the first hour or so.  Since I hadn't been riding on this type of highway, where the speed limit was 70 mph, for much of the trip, I forgot how it could be a bit monotonous.  Luckily, highways 2 and 20, and a few intermediate county roads, eventually split off from the interstate.

The hilly terrain around Cleveland eventually gave way to flatter farmland.  The horizon went from being the next hilltop to being miles and miles of cornfields.  After crossing into Indiana, it became slightly more hilly, but the roads were just long and straight.

Since it was Sunday, I passed many Amish farms with 20 to 30 horse drawn buggies parked in the yards with their passengers congregated near the farmhouses.

The timing of my trip worked out well as I ended up arriving at my parent's place on Father's day.  My dad took a break from the yard work as I pulled up the driveway.  We spent to rest of the afternoon visiting and watching the end of the US Open.  My younger brother Stephen was in a good mood, as the Cubs won.

Saturday, June 14, 2014

day 21

No motorcycle riding today, but I did go mountain biking with Chris on a 5 mile circuit just south of Cleveland.  The last time I had gone mountain biking was almost 20 years ago in Springfield, IL, but there weren't many mountains there.  It was definitely a different experience compared to riding in the city.  I only ended up with a scraped ankle from one of the pedals, but will likely be sore tomorrow.  As Chris rode one of the other circuits and I called it a day, a small leafhopper with interesting markings landed on my hand.
Later that day, my nephew Will, who is normally smiling or giggling most of the time, decided he didn't like wearing my baseball cap.
At least he was smiling later when his sisters were around.

day 20

After deciding to take the 407 ETR (Electronic Toll Route) out of Toronto this morning, I began to get a little nervous.  I saw no fewer than five motorcyclists pulled over to the side of the road, apparently having issues with their bikes.  I wondered if I should pull over and offer to help, but it was a little difficult to do so when going 70 mph on an expressway.  Thankfully I made it without any issues.

Today was my sixth and last border crossing of the trip, and the first one where I had to wait for more than one car in front of me.  After about 25 minutes of waiting, it was finally my turn.  After answering the same typical questions, the border patrol agent's ears perked up when I told him I lived in Chicago.  He quickly stated how much he liked going there for the Lalapalooza and Pitchfork music festivals, to which I stated that I lived about three blocks from where they hold Pitchfork.  He then asked me if I knew this cool Mexican restaurant, but he could only remember the last part of the name -- "star", to which I replied "Big Star".  After this, I think he knew I wasn't making up any of my answers.  When I was finally done with all of the questioning, I asked him if there was somewhere I could pull over to put my helmet and other gear back on.  He said to just do it right where I was, even though there were about 30 cars in line behind me, so I did.

So after almost 4,000 miles, I have finally seen the fifth and final of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie.
It felt like a minor accomplishment and I knew I was finally nearing the end of my trip.  Before that, though, I still had some riding to do through many New York vineyards and deal with some more annoying intermittent rain showers.


As I approached Cleveland and passed the 4,000 mile mark for the trip, the weather finally cleared and the sun came out.  I continued on past many large lakefront houses on my way to my brother Chris's home.  I had never been to his new house, nor met my new nephew Will.  After everyone arrived home, we had a nice dinner on the back porch then went to the beach to see the sun set over Lake Erie with some ice cream.