Just got in to the Windy City...

and there are a lot of BMWs
and a very warm welcome from BMW Motorcycles of Countryside, Illinois who were hosting me for the next couple of days



Thelma soon takes her place with the other Beemers



and enjoys the company.

meanwhile I am meeting customers and talking about my travels (yes I'm the one who looks like a dwarf as I was showing them the map on my topbox with my various routes around the world)

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

I had a couple of invitations while I was in Chicago, one of them was to a meeting of Chi Vin, a group of vintage motorcycle enthusiasts. I'm not sure if Thelma was supposed to be along as well (I think she may be a bit offended to be called vintage!), and maybe it was just as well I'd left her at the dealership because the other bikes would have shown her up as they were very well maintained and shiny, they've obviously never battled through sandstorms in the Gobi, the Atacama and the Sahara Desert or been dropped in multiple rivers.


There was a Vincent amongst the many bikes in this garage.


I'd been given a lift to the meeting by Kevin, riding shotgun in his battered but classic Dodge van. In fact it was a bit of a shotgun ride as we accelerated along Chicago's freeways, with last minute turns and swerves...or maybe everyone in Chicago drives that way? To add more authenticity to the ride, Kevin even has a couple of bullet holes in his bonnet (hood) as you can see. He assured me that he was not the intended target.


Rocket Chics- a women's motorcycle group based in Chicago, were holding one of their regular meet ups at Countryside while I was there and I joined in. They ride a wide range of bikes and it was great to hear about their experiences of riding in and around Chicago. We had a workshop session with Ken, one of the mechanics, who was extremely patient with all our questions and had an encyclopaedic knowledge about all the bikes we asked about.


I'd like to say thanks to Tommy, Shy, Lynn, Barb and Jasmine for the warm welcome to their group. And hopefully I'll be able to make it to one of their Wednesday meet-ups at the fantastically named Cheeseburger Paradise.
They were interested in seeing Thelma and we had a look at her- she was in the very capable hands of Walter, here he is wondering just which bit to inspect next!


Finally I was ready to leave, I was being seen off the premises by Carey, the Events Manager



I've still got that parcel on the back seat, I'd been carrying it since Phoenix hoping to send it, but failing spectacularly to find an open Post Office anywhere in my 2000 mile ride across the country.

I said all my goodbyes, but then as I tried to go, Thelma's starter motor died, she obviously didn't want to leave. What weird but fortuitous timing that it happened at a dealership. I had to wheel her back into the workshop and unload my luggage. I was supposed to be visiting friends in Minneapolis the next day so I started to look up train and bus times for the journey to Minnesota when Countryside BMW stepped in and saved the day, they offered me an alternative vehicle to take for the journey.



Whoops wrong picture!
Actually, it was one of these



Yep, folks, an identical bike to the one I rode to Tibet last year.
It felt like old times as I sat on the yellow 1200GS and stretched down to reach the ground with my feet. Not one to to look a gift horse in the mouth, I rapidly transferred my luggage and with a cheery wave set off down the street and onto the infamous toll highways across Chicago.

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

It was time to head north. I’d seen a flyer and been invited to this event which was sort of on my way, though I have to say with my kind of route planning, just about anywhere is “on the way”. It's just the sort of event that owners of old BMWs everywhere would love...eat your heart out Mark Manley







I was a bit late getting to the small town of Pecatonica, and struggled to find the main entrance to the showground, I asked around and a lad in pick-up truck offered to lead me to it. Further conversation ensued and I realised belatedly that he was taking me to the wrong event at the ground- a full-on motocross race was taking plac, and he seemed tyo think I was there to compete on the big 1200GS! I pointed out it was a different event altogether, and as soon as I saw the large pile of BMW cables I knew I was in the right place





Things were settling down for the night, so I quickly put my tent up and joined in with the socialising. I met plenty of nice people and luckily had brought my own food as this was the food option that evening





That's Sergei, originally from Russia, in charge of the BBQ. We had quite a good conversation about the lack of vegetarianism in Siberia!

The night was very cold, apparently down to freezing, although I was warm enough





a lovely sunny start to the day.

I headed indoors in search of breakast and bargains





I got one of those small plastic covers for the swinging arm thing.


and then looked at the menu





hmm, not that many choices for me, intrigued, I asked about the Biscuits and Gravy, only to be told that there is ground meat in the gravy. They pointed me in the direction of the sweet rolls, and I've got to say, they looked great. I chose the one that looked the most healthy





I said my goodbyes and headed up along the banks of the Mississppi, briefly accosted at a garage while I was getting petrol by this bloke



He was VERY proud of his car, he'd had it since new and insisted I admire the engine



I'm not too good about car engines, but even I could read the 350 Horse Power and commented on it as well as complimenting him on what a clean engine it was!

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

Nice - thanks T. Keep them coming.
P

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Pat
www.patonabike.blogspot.com

Not this time, they would just look at my Triumph leaking oil on their nice clean floor with distain and think I was odd for coming on it.
Now if you know of a similar event for old Brit bikes that could be really useful.

I'll keep my ears open for you Mark, in the meantime, I hope it stops raining soon over there in the Maritimes. I'm in some nice dry weather here.

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

In Minneapolis, I was taken out for a boat trip on a lake, luckily I had all my bike gear as it was a bit chilly, I'm the one who looks like Ten Ton Tessie, but you know what?? I was the only one who was feeling warm.

Moving on swiftly, I made them the national dish of Cornwall

Pasties (except that I've noticed Americans pronounce it a bit different)

Actually, I can't take all the credit for the pasties, there was some child labour involved too
and here she is in her more usual guise as a star lacrosse player

On the way back to Chicago to return the 1200, I stopped off in La Crosse, Wisconsin to meet up with a couple of other riders, this is KB, he rides a 1200GS, a red one, it looked like I'd deliberately turned up with a matching bike, although I hadn't gone as far as he does and worn a shirt that matches the bike as well.

We had a meal at a Cajun place called Buzzard Billy's, or something like that. I was fascinated by the fact that they were serving aligator meat. Don't worry folks, I stuck to the veggies.
Also meeting up with us was Ernie Bell - a BMW mechanic who also makes stainless steel tent pegs. He's assured me they will not bend, so I'm intrigued to try some. I'd met Ernie the previous weekend at the BMW meet. He rides an airhead as well.


Moving swiftly on, I had a date to keep in Boulder, Colorado, meeting up with fellow travellers.
Another overnight stop on the way with Ryan and Robin in Des Moines and an ecstatic reception from Jed the dog. What can I say Robin...your food was divine from the parmigiana for dinner to the french toast with homemade berry butter in the morning. It was difficult to drag myself away..
I'd better point out that we didn't just eat while I was there, we also did some cultural stuff It's true, Tiff did culture AND enjoyed it, take a look at these pictures
the city by night

a night tour of an unusual sculpture garden in the middle of the city, including this sinister-looking overcoat and the spiders lurking in the background

my favourite sculpture

and then I went inside and found my initials amongst the hundreds of combinations of letters that make up the structure (yep, it's THAT big)

I headed west across more states that are new to me including Nebraska, which in places was a bit dry looking

Then I reached Kansas, a lot of straight roads there as well, and are those storm clouds ahead of me?

Ignoring the clouds, I found a suitable spot to camp, it's a bit tricky in such a flat landscape trying to stealth camp, I thought that these agricultural machinery things were suitable to hide behind...others may feel differently!


Thelma and I attempting to hide behind the only structure for miles, perhaps not too successfully!

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

I had fun riding the farm tracks of Kansas

After all the flat stuff I crossed the state line into Colorado and the Rockies started looming in the distance, or at least they should have been apparently, but it started to drizzle with rain and grey clouds closed in, there was no sign of the mountains until I reached the foothills themselves. I made my way up to Boulder.
Chris Ratay, looking every bit the adventure motorcyclist!!!

He and his wife Erin were my hosts in Boulder- I'd had a long-standing invitation to visit them ever since our near-miss meeting in Brazil 10 years ago when we were all on the road at the same time. Many thanks Erin and Chris for the great hospitality

Whilst in Boulder, I also had the opportunity to meet up with and thank Shelly, the star who collected Thelma from Mexico and smuggled (ahem) "transported" her over the border back to America for me. Shelly rides a KLR and is an expert on Copper Canyon she's promised to take me for a ride round down there next time I travel through.
We had a fantastic lunch at the Dushanbe Tea House in downtown Boulder, it's an authentic teahouse transported from Tajikistan...and looking every inch the part. I kept looking around me with wide eyes, recognising different features as I sat there, enjoying the surroundings and discussing travel through Tajikistan with Shelly.
Here she is, heading off on her KLR.

My stay was all too brief, it was time to hit the road again.



I had a tight deadline to get to LA, not much time to linger but there were some impressive views to see, first of all crossing the Rockies themselves, some great twisting roads

and even the occasional snow patch

detours and road closures got me a bit off track, when I wasn't expecting to be on dirt


ski resorts were closed, I had hoped to get a snowboarding session in as I knew that often the resorts in Colorado can remain open until July. However my luck was oout and even the late opening ones were shut the first week in May.
I passed motionless chair lifts beside the highway.

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

Leaving the Rockies, I had lots of downhill and then out into the arid landscape of Utah

I met some riders from Tennessee who were horrified by the fact I was going to be camping rough that night- and even more concerned that I didn't have a gun

loving the landscapes and taking selfy pics as I ride - that's my Tiff patent sunshade made from a piece of card and sellotape

Each evening I was following the gravel tracks to find somewhere for my tent

finally finding a good place and having a humming bird dive bomb me as I put up the tent, time for a sunset portrait of me and Thelma

Hmm, a bit of a bad hair day I think.


I go to the best places for lunch, here I am in the shade around the side of the petrol station, eating junk food and fruit. Happy to be out of the sun and away from the worst of the desert winds. I was entertaining the garage cashiers (as they came out for their fag breaks) with tales of my travels, although they were relating more to the minimum wage deals in the UK vs US and the cost of renting in Cornwall compared to Nevada- much cheaper in US they reckon.

I may be looking like I've got a Bobby Charlton combe-over but actually it's just a bit of a windswept look. In the background is the landscape that is quite typical of this part of the world.
From quiet empty highways

to the chaos of Vegas, where I barely managed to grab some shots as I rode through- on my own I didn't really fancy stopping, maybe next time

Time to turn towards LA


I considered putting one of my stickers on the sign (like others have done) but didn't want to get accused of being a vandal as the police were hanging around. Sowere some of the Highway Hounds

The world's biggest caravan, actually I was going to try and get a picture so that it looked as if Thelma was towing it, but the State Troopers came over for a glare at me so I made a hasty exit.

Trying to be discreet with Thelma in the Mojave

I must have got far enough off the beaten track because our only company was Eddie, who I think must be a wild mule (do you have those in the Mojave?)- he was pretty frightened and wouldn't come any closer than this...yep look closely enough and you will see him peering out.

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

Another beautiful camp spot, just me, Thelma and the animals lurking in the bushes.

a bit off putting to find this on the ground next to my tent in the morning,

and then later having to confess to carrying a bullet...is there a law against carrying concealed ammunition? is it even safe? I didn't want to leave it just lying there in case some children found it.
trying to get out of the arroyo (dry river bed) taht I had camped in was harder than getting in

the sand seemed to get softer

the another cute highway hound.

I splashed out and had breakfast, a few miles down the road at Peggy Sue's Diner, which appears to be a bit of an institution in this part of the Calfornian desert. YES!! they serve tea, although I have learnt the hard way that I need to ask for HOT tea- otherwise it's a cold, sweet drink which bears no resemblance to real tea.
The waitress was dressed for the part as a diner waitress from the 50's.

Then it was back onto Thelma for more of the highway and the heat. I'm not sure what happens in some parts of America, do they just run out of names and inspiration for things to call places..this is a classic one

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

had ridden two thirds of the way across North America and finally reached Los Angeles, the sun was shining and friends were there to greet me. No time for the tourist traps of the bus tours past celebrity houses. My friends gave me a cold and dressed me up like Austin Vince and if you don't know who Austin is, just google images of him to see what I mean.
Thelma needed some serious TLC and I needed the right outfit for the job.
Enter stage left

The work was being led by Joe (who is in Moto Enduro/Terra Circa)
He started by taking a long look at Thelma from various angles, whilst I warned him about the "Pandora's Box" effect that always seems to happen when people do any work on her



Joe was ruthless and dived straight in

After perusing the protective clothing available and taking my pick

I was put on scrubbing duty

I'm doing the Debbie Magee role here, directing the hose pipe while Paul Daniels takes the lead (cultural reference possibly over the heads of Yanks)

I was even let loose with an aerosol can

Friends came round to assist

you can always spot the arty types by the way they wield a spray can

sparks were flying

I got on with some engine stuff

and valve clearance

always tricky getting Thelma's rocker covers on and off due to the somewhat distorted crash bars (not sure quite how they ended up like that)

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

looks like Thelma is getting some well deserved attention...

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R90S, R80G/S PD

Another good report Tiff, noticed your left indicator hanging lol

BTW what Tent are you using?

The Ammo (Round you picked up) is a 5.56 round or for civvies's, (bullet), all rounds are harmless unless in a weapon look at the blunt end, center if there is a dent (it has been fired, but not gone off, faulty) if intact never fired.
Rounds hold black powder proppelant for the lead to leave the weapon, hope that helps.

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We are the Pilgrims, Master, we shall go Always a little further: it may be beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow, Across that angry or that glimmering sea.

So the secret is out Tiffany, you DO know one end of a spanner from the other, I will remember that the next time Thelma rolls into Kilmington feeling sorry for herself

Actually Mark, your experience, knowedge and skills (not mention toolbox) are far greater than mine. A fact that I much appreciate when things go wrong with Thelma.

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo