Day 23 - North Dakota is windy and MN drivers like the left lane only

So it rained last night and looks like rain as I leave Bismarck, ND this morning.  It's a bit cold and me and Red Velvet are in a bit of a haze.  We geared up and took off pointed towards Minnesota. I decided to put some Steely Dan and then Pink Floyd on the turntable and it worked me through the morning.  So we stopped at a roadside rest to make a few adjustments due to the strong wind coming from the south (right to left), which is annoying.  The flags in the picture tell the story.  It was time for Green Day, simple but interesting music.

I noticed a guy checking out Red Velvet and he asked if it was mine.  I confirmed and he said he really liked it and said it looked like something from a Mad Max movie.  I liked that and said thanks but Red Velvet was a little offended.  The morning ride was for the most part in uneventful, except for the wind.

This guys trailer is for a motorcycle but it must have been too windy for him to ride.

I stopped in Fergus Falls, MN for gas and lunch.  I also wanted to take off my rain gear, so that it would rain later...and sat next to Red Velvet to take off my boots to remove my pants and the rain liner...this is what you do as an adventure rider, change clothes in the parking lot.  I noticed some wings hanging low on Red Velvets left side and attached to the wings was the rest of the bird.  I don't recall hitting it but since it is close to the exhaust header, it should be done by dinner.  

So I passed through St. Cloud, MN and thought of John Sauer, who retired from AHM and someone I worked with for many years.  He lives and commuted from St. Cloud which is a haul!  I remember telling him about my dream to ride to Alaska and he always asked about it.  Seems appropriate that the clouds were so beautiful when I traveled through St. Cloud!

I hope somehow he knows my dream came true.  I also thought of all the AHM and now MCM people I have worked with as I went through Minneapolis.    Folks like Deb Lindbo, Mary Sieracki, Ann Shaw, Gary Dressel, Betty Raasch, Karen Gmiterko, Russ Gavin and all the others.  Good people and I enjoyed working with them all.  My music choice was Prince and then Dylan, both from MN.

So my friend Brian Erwin (married to Sara) texted me and suggested a great way to avoid traveling through or near Chicago.  I like Chicago, but not the traffic, the politics and their ban on guns all the while as many people are murdered there everyday.  Sorry for the political statement, but I thought Brian's idea of passing thru the quad cities in Iowa was great and it changed my itinerary and I set course for south out of Minneapolis and I took Rt. 35 and then followed Google maps, which is awesome. I reserved a room in Iowa City.  

I put on some Rush for the afternoon, at the suggestion of Duane "Ghost Rider" Graham, a fellow hardcore rider.  Rush always gets me going.  Here are some random pictures while on the road. This is in Iowa, notice the wind turbines.  Good stuff!

My office this afternoon.  I miss my real office at work and all my coworkers. 

Cool looking clouds.

Nice corn fields..

Beauty sunset in Iowa...bad picture of it...it was spectacular for 30 minutes or so.

My office at night.  I put on one of my favorite albums, Santana's "Zebob"...don't know it?  Download it and thank me later.  Tonight was the first real ride at night for about 1.5 hours and I was spooked by the thought of animals on the road.  I saw several deer at dusk.  Plus my helmet visor is tinted for sunlight...so it was just glasses keeping the bugs out of my eyes.

So....I left Bismarck at 8 AM and arrived in Iowa City at 10 PM.  A long day of riding, for a total of 729.6 miles, my longest amount so far for one day on this trip.  I also passed 10,000 miles for the trip so far.  I have about 500 miles to get home tomorrow...hopefully the weather and traffic make it painless!  Have a great day!