Coast2Coast Day 5 - A Great Day On the Bike

Fortune shines upon me. A motorcycle shop in Boulder had the tire I needed. And amazingly they were open! Lucky for me, because as of next week, they'll be closed on mondays! Stoked!

While at the bike shop I picked up a wrist rest for my throttle. I did 400 miles today and it made a HUGE difference. My feeling in my finger is starting to come back. So that's great news.

But the big news today was the weather forecast. Severe thunder storms. But the skies were mostly clear all morning. With the new tire, some piece of mind, and a better attitude I headed north through Cheyenne Wyoming, the to Kimball Nebraska.

I've been trying to find "America" on this trip. Not Starbucks America, or McDonalds America, or Best Buy America. But real America. And I found it in Kimball NE. No chain stores, a real small town. It was beautiful, as was every city for the remainder of the day.

I'm so tired of hearing how crappy the midwest is. Nebraska is beautiful! Vast verdant fields of wheat and grains give way to crested buttes.

One of the things I wanted to do most is see Car Henge. It's a Stone Henge made from old cars. Of course I managed to drive past it on the wrong road! DOH!!!

Fuck. I really wanted to see it.

As the afternoon progressed the thunder storm development increase. I passed under a developing thunder cloud. Small at first. But it grew and grew. I was blasting along north at 80mph and the clouds were chasing me down! Ahead was blue skies, I needed to jam!

Then another HUGE thunder storm cell developed in front of me. I was probably 50 miles across. But on my GPS I could see that my highway would pass behind the cell. I managed to stay dry again. Threading the needle between two cells.

Then two more cells developed and basically enveloped me as I entered the black hills. So now the time bomb was ticking. Could I make it to a city with hotels before the shit hit the fan?

It was going pretty good until I drove into a herd of buffalo on the road!! I got stuck in the middle of the herd. Now, in a car, that's no big deal. But on a bike, you're out there. Like... really out there. My motor spooked a few buffalos, the a GIANT bull turned and started snorting at me.

Duuuuuuude!! I got the hell out of there so fast.

Again, using my trusty GPS, I managed to make it to Custer, South Dakota about 5 minutes before the storm cell. I unpacked the bike quickly and got everything in the room. My neighbor mentioned that it would probably hail. So I grabbed my bike and hid it under the stairs of the hotel.

All the other bikes in the parking lot got a nice dusting of hail.

Score one for me!! Nice and dry baby... with no paint dings.

Got the laundry done tonight then headed out for the best Prime Rib I've ever had.

Tomorrow is supposed to be clear and dry. My finger and arse are feeling great. The bike is running flawlessly, and Mr. Rushmore is 10 miles up the road!

Stay tuned.

By the numbers:
States today: 4! CO, WY, NE, & SD
Miles today: 406.5
Miles total: 1702.3


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