SteveMac's Wisconsin Trip

[SteveMac]

This past week, I had a business meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday in Milwaukee (well Brookfield to be exact) but I digress. So, I posted in the Wisconsin forum to try to hook up with some of the Wisconsin folks at the Quaker Steak and Lube in New Berlin WI, but my reputation must have preceeded me and the only reply I had was the chirping of crickets. Oh well!

So, even if I wasn't going to get to meet up with other Spyder Ryders, I decided to take a couple of vacation days to bookend the business trip and make a nice solo rYde out of it.
I normally make this trip once per quarter and usually drive a rental, but not this time!
Ryde baby Ryde! Even though it wasn't really practical.

I left home a week ago on Sunday night about 9:00 PM and rode from my hometown of Oran MO, up through Southern Illinois through Anna and picked up I57 near Vienna. I started late in the evening because I had to make sure the homestead had a freshly mown yard, so my better half wouldn't have to worry about it during the upcoming week. The deer were pretty abundant along the early part of the route through southern Illinois and even along I57. My intent was to take back roads all the way, but I wanted to get as far down the road as I could the first night, and thus the Interstate. Hadn't had a chance to eat before leaving the house, so pulled into a Sonic to grab a burger and of course had all the curious folks come over to see the RT and ask the usual questions (which I am always happy to answer!) . They told me how cool the lights looked, so I pulled over into a vacant area of the parking lot and grabbed a shot. And yes,, they do look cool if I say so myself!
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So, I after leaving Sonic, I rode until I was just too tired to run any farther (wish I had the endurance of Forrest, geez-o-pete!) and I finally stopped in Effingham around 1:30 AM. Grabbed a cheap hotel and crashed until 6:00. Got up and made my way to Paxton IL to visit my Mom's oldest living sibling. My wife and I took care of my Mom for the last 10 years of her life. She passed away on Nov 19, 2009 at 11:20 AM. Ironically, this was almost to the minute, the 30th anniversary of my bad two wheeler wreck that left me with a permanent gimp leg and a year of recovery. That happend on Nov 19, 1979 at around 11:30 AM. Odd how those things happen. Anyway, the last time I saw my Aunt was at the funeral. She just had recent heart surgery and probably won't travel to see us anymore, so I stopped by to visit her and get a big kiss! The pic isn't great, but you get the idea!
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After that short stay in Paxton, it was time to hit the road and I wasn't stopping until I hit Wisconsin.
Well, not exactly. I finally did see a Spyder. A blue RT A/C model at a Casey's General Store. I did what most Spyder Ryders do, and made a U-turn just to say HI. The folks were really nice and just out for a rYde. I asked if they visited SpyderLovers, they said "No", so I clued them in and told them that I was going on to Cherry Valley to eat at one of my favorite places. Guess what, they showed up there later and said HI back to me while we had a nice late lunch. The place I like to stop at is a really nice little place I found along this same trip several months ago. Salamones Italian Pizzaria. The food is good and I like to sit at the bar to eat and I have always found good conversation. Reminds me of Cheers on TV or something. Who can say why? Just sometimes you find those places and it clicks with you. I always stop there. I got a 12" pizza and packed the last three pieces along for a late night snack for when I arrived at the hotel later! The folks on the blue RT had never eaten there either and so I turned them on to SpyderLovers.com and also Salamones. A productive day!
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While I was sitting at Salamones waiting for my food, I had sent Len from Cowtown a couple of texts, telling him about the trip and confirming that I would stop by Cowtown on my way home to get the 6000 mile service. I told him that I hadn't seen a single Spyder on the entire trip so far. Not one! Until I met the folks on the blue RT. Now I was on Illinois back roads at this time, but still I went through a lot of small towns along the way. I was definitely taking the longer route by coming through Cherry Valley, but I avoid Chicago traffic like the plague, and I was out for the rYde, not the destination.

Oh, on the way from Paxton to Cherry Valley, I passed through Yorkville IL. Now that is a long way around and those of you familiar with the area may say "why go that way, when I could have run 51/39 up to Cherry Valley" and get there more quickly? Did I mention I was out for a long rYde? I don't know why I went that way, I just did. I was rYding along enjoying my RT time and just thinking. However, it ended up costing me a LOT more time though. There was a really BAD wreck along 47N. I sat, stopped, in traffic for 35 minutes, not moving an inch. Well, honestly did move a few times. Just often enought that I didn't shut the RT off. Finally a flatbed wrecker came by with a car smashed and burned up to the firewall. The RT didn't get too hot while sitting there, even though the ambient was over 90 degrees. I sat there as long as I could, then swung around and went back to a little place I saw a few miles back. Speaking with a lady there, she said traffic had been backed up for over an hour as far as the eye could see. I sat there for an additional 30 minutes before it started flowing, so total highway shut down for almost two hours. Not sure what happend, but if there were survivors, they were in bad shape.


More to come.