We did make it to Spyderfest but...

[BigGuy66]

... it took three days to get home. Normally a 9 hour ride from northern Indiana... we left on Wednesday morning April 26 headed for Spyderfest on our byke and got to Collinsville, IL when we ran into the front of the storm that took over Springfield and most of the Mississippi valley. Since we had rain and lightning, we stopped for the night and left late on Thursday morning to arrive at Pitbulls that afternoon. Already missed any rides for that day.

Rode around a bit and headed for the hotel... some rain starting. On Friday morning we headed to vendor village for Spyderpops to install a swat bar and lighted bump skid. We ran into Harvey and Terri at Steak and Shake Thursday night and she told us to get there early - first come, first served... Well we weren't early enough and ended up being there until about 3:00 before they got to us. Missed all the rides on Friday. But we did get to the Friday night food truck-music bash for a while.

Saturday kept us in at the hotel - the storm was pretty bad. They closed Branson about 6:00 because of flooding. We just stayed in - I guess we are wimps when it comes to being out in the weather when it is raining so we missed the banquet. We reserved our room for Monday night in case we couldn't get out of Springfield on Sunday.

Sunday was more promising - no rain and some sun - so we checked out to ride almost 600 miles home. When got to a point on I-44 where all traffic was diverted off the interstate into the country side. We know where Sleeper, MO is... it took us 8 hours to get to Warrenton, MO still west of St. Louis. We are both nearing 70 and we were tired so we stayed overnight in Warrenton.

Monday was not raining but it was W-I-N-D-Y and cold. My motorcycle windchill chart said that it was the equivalent of 25 degrees. We don't have heated suits, helmets, or underwear. We left and headed east. We got C-O-L-D. By the time we got to Terre Haute we had been beat about the head and body by the wind and our core temperatures felt like about 41 degrees. We called it quits - we are almost 70 remember and not wearing heated clothing - and stayed in Terre Haute.

We left Tuesday morning from Terre Haute and hoped it was our final leg home. The worst part of the ride was riding north for 45 miles through the Indiana farm land. The wind was blowing H-A-R-D from the west. We were buffeted all the way to Peru, IN. When we got home I checked the recorded wind speeds (NOAA) and they were sustained 30 mph with a few gusts at 40 mph. We were on the road in that and felt the gusts. I was very glad for three wheels and a new swaybar.

When we got home Tuesday afternoon, I turned on the electric blanket which is still on the bed because it feels like it is still winter here - I took a hot shower and went to bed and finally warmed up.

About our first Spyderfest - We met some fine people at Spyderfest and talked with some great vendors and Dominic at the BRP section. We also used their couches off and on Friday. Thanks to Joanie and the Mogang for putting the Spyderfest together. Next year it isn't going to rain.

[Mazo EMS2]

Doesn't sound like much fun....yuk. You didn't miss anything Friday, the rides were cancelled. We were fortunate enough to have trailered down, so we could at least get out and do some things.

[oldgoat]

Glad you got home safely in the end.

I'm much closer to 80 than 70 & if my core is cold I'm miserable. Many is the time I have taken a long hot shower when I got home then went to bed with the electric blanket on.


I was out on the Spyder earlier this week & if I was going north or south I got strong cross winds. Glad I had 3 wheels on the ground. It was no fun at all. I also have a BajaRon sway bar on & Elka shocks as well.

[Firefly]

Glad you made it home safe. I ran into the same diversion in Sleeper. I was in the line for quite awhile and then got talking to one of the traffic workers. He said to turn around and go all the way back to 44... then head west and then to head north on 5. Said it would be quicker.. and I guess it was. I rode all day Sunday. A usual 10 hour trip home took 19 hours. I gave up Monday morning at 3:00 am... still 2 hours from home. The weather was the worst I've ever ridden in. Windy, rain... limp modes... horrible experience all the way around.

[Chupaca]

Glad you made it home safe and sound though wet and minutes, hours and days later...🚧🌧🌩

[youngers]

that has too be the longest ride too get from top of Indiana too the middle of Indiana that I have heard of in a while ... { did you happen too buy a lotto ticket in the upper corners of Indiana ? the way it seems too have been going , you might have hit some money in the lotto }

[AY4B]

This was my second Spyderfest and I really am tyard of all the hype only to have most of the ryding washed away. In September I will be attending Lamonsters Spyders in the Ozarks and if the weather is good, this may be the big event for me to start to go to instead of Spyderfest. I did get to go ryding on Friday only because our group got together and went,and saturday I went home (south threw Little Rock) due to the storm front approaching. I went the long way home to keep from going threw the big storms but once I got close to home, I was right in the path of that Canton tornado. We discussed the weather situation on friday night and I decided to go home early because id rather get a little wet than cold and wet. The forecast for a 41 degree Sunday morning had been there for awhile.

[Buckeye Bleau]

The stories coming from the hardy folks in Ohio, Indiana and TSUN, I suppose that I should feel fortunate that fateful events forced me to cancel my reservations.

All I can say is that the intestinal fortitude that all of you exhibited is quite admirable. The Mahoning Valley Ryders had similar experiences as told here, and I applaud all of you for your strength, good judgement, knowledge and recognition of your limits that combined to your safe returns.



Joe

[irvin48]

This was my second Spyderfest and I really am tyard of all the hype only to have most of the ryding washed away. In September I will be attending Lamonsters Spyders in the Ozarks and if the weather is good, this may be the big event for me to start to go to instead of Spyderfest. I did get to go ryding on Friday only because our group got together and went,and saturday I went home (south threw Little Rock) due to the storm front approaching. I went the long way home to keep from going threw the big storms but once I got close to home, I was right in the path of that Canton tornado. We discussed the weather situation on friday night and I decided to go home early because id rather get a little wet than cold and wet. The forecast for a 41 degree Sunday morning had been there for awhile.

we are thinking about the sept meet also. we wimped out of spyderfest. maybe God
was watching over us. money we saved can be used later. will go to johnson creek in aug.
we are definitely not hard core or rain riders.

[Bob Denman]

Glad to hear that you made it home!
But you've got to admit: adversity often creates some pretty memorable stories!

[rogerb]

This was my eighth Spyderfest and my last. The weather is too unpredictable plus I'm getting too old. The biggest problem with I-44 is that there is no alternate route available.

[Bob Denman]

Roger,
Actually; there is!
We took the Southerly route last year through West Virginia, Kentucky, and then into Missouri.
There was only about a 100 mile difference between the two routes.

[BigGuy66]

Glad to hear that you made it home!
But you've got to admit: adversity often creates some pretty memorable stories!

...and someday we'll look back and laugh!

[trikermutha]

Have to ask why is this fest put on so early in the riding season?

[Bob Denman]

It's a pretty common tactic: it's done to extend the Tourist Season a little bit.
If you tried to have this event later in the Season; you'd never be able to get the Hotel rooms at a reasonable price.

[Bob Denman]

...and someday we'll look back and laugh!

SpyderFest 2013 was also held in reak "Toad-Strangling" conditions...
Three of our four traveling days were spend in what seemed like Monsoon Conditions...
You prepare for it as best you can, and tough it out!

[trikermutha]

Pushing the date back a few weeks or a month shouldn't really be that much of an impact on costs. On the plus side the weather can be more tolerable

[Bob Denman]

It absolutely does!
Once the visitors already start showing up: the Hotels have no incentive to work with anybody on the pricing...
This is why the Americade convention in Lake George originally started in mid-May. (As the Aspencade Convention) It was only when they decided that it still snows in May, that they were forced to move it to early June...
And THAT created all sorts of fun negotiations!
(At the time: they were drawing over 20,000 bikes to Lake George!)

[PrairieSpyder]

... it took three days to get home. Normally a 9 hour ride from northern Indiana... we left on Wednesday morning April 26 headed for Spyderfest on our byke and got to Collinsville, IL when we ran into the front of the storm that took over Springfield and most of the Mississippi valley. Since we had rain and lightning, we stopped for the night and left late on Thursday morning to arrive at Pitbulls that afternoon. Already missed any rides for that day.

Rode around a bit and headed for the hotel... some rain starting. On Friday morning we headed to vendor village for Spyderpops to install a swat bar and lighted bump skid. We ran into Harvey and Terri at Steak and Shake Thursday night and she told us to get there early - first come, first served... Well we weren't early enough and ended up being there until about 3:00 before they got to us. Missed all the rides on Friday. But we did get to the Friday night food truck-music bash for a while.

Saturday kept us in at the hotel - the storm was pretty bad. They closed Branson about 6:00 because of flooding. We just stayed in - I guess we are wimps when it comes to being out in the weather when it is raining so we missed the banquet. We reserved our room for Monday night in case we couldn't get out of Springfield on Sunday.

Sunday was more promising - no rain and some sun - so we checked out to ride almost 600 miles home. When got to a point on I-44 where all traffic was diverted off the interstate into the country side. We know where Sleeper, MO is... it took us 8 hours to get to Warrenton, MO still west of St. Louis. We are both nearing 70 and we were tired so we stayed overnight in Warrenton.

Monday was not raining but it was W-I-N-D-Y and cold. My motorcycle windchill chart said that it was the equivalent of 25 degrees. We don't have heated suits, helmets, or underwear. We left and headed east. We got C-O-L-D. By the time we got to Terre Haute we had been beat about the head and body by the wind and our core temperatures felt like about 41 degrees. We called it quits - we are almost 70 remember and not wearing heated clothing - and stayed in Terre Haute.

We left Tuesday morning from Terre Haute and hoped it was our final leg home. The worst part of the ride was riding north for 45 miles through the Indiana farm land. The wind was blowing H-A-R-D from the west. We were buffeted all the way to Peru, IN. When we got home I checked the recorded wind speeds (NOAA) and they were sustained 30 mph with a few gusts at 40 mph. We were on the road in that and felt the gusts. I was very glad for three wheels and a new swaybar.

When we got home Tuesday afternoon, I turned on the electric blanket which is still on the bed because it feels like it is still winter here - I took a hot shower and went to bed and finally warmed up.

About our first Spyderfest - We met some fine people at Spyderfest and talked with some great vendors and Dominic at the BRP section. We also used their couches off and on Friday. Thanks to Joanie and the Mogang for putting the Spyderfest together. Next year it isn't going to rain.

Wow! What an adventure!

[easysuper]

That's why we opt out of Spyderfest, the weather, I hear all kinds of comments about toughing it out, keep in mind that where we live in Oregon we get 43" of rain a year so we know all about riding in the rain, thats one of the reasons we went to the spyders to extend our riding season. But when heading to Spyderfest we have to cross the Rockies , Twice and spyders just don't do well in snow.
I wish they would push it out a little I would pay the extra for a room.

[Machinegunner]

And to think we were picked on by rider from Ohio that didn't even attend the rally. I stand by my decision to leave with our group on Friday. We had some bad riding, but nothing compared to the people who left on Sunday.

[Road-Kill]

I have never been to Spyderfest and will not only because they hold during the cold rainy season. I'm not going to ride 1,150 miles in freezing rain to sit on a couch and "talk" while spending $$.$$$. They need to move it to the summer months like Americade did and it worked, I should know, I've been doing Americade for more than 20 years. I feel sorry for all the people that traveled in that muck but I have my fair share of that as well.

Its the sport we chose after all.

[Firefly]

I will say that on my way back to Michigan Sunday evening in Lexington, IL I had a nice encounter.

The rain was absolutely dumping and the wind was strong. I pulled into a gas station to get some cover and check my phone for hotels nearby. An SUV pulls up next to me with a mother and daughter in it. The mother asked how much further I had to go. I told her about 4 hours.

She said they were bikers and to follow her home. She said I can at least warm up and wait for the storm to pass and that they could make a bed for me if I wanted to stay over. She called her husband and told him she was brining a strange man home from the gas station... .

I followed them to their home, which was a cool old fire station that was also a flower business.
Went inside and warmed up with some hot tea and waited for a break in the weather.
I thanked them for their hospitality and headed out once the weather broke. When it finally hit 3:00 am and I was still 2 hours from home I called it quits.

Very cool to find nice people on the road.. bikers are usually the best!

[Firefly]

I will also say that I mainly go to Spyderfest for the people, not the riding. The riding is okay, but if you really want great riding then the Maggie Valley area is the best around... will be going in the fall for that reason!

[Bob Denman]

Dan,
What a GREAT story!

It's about the people...