Scootercade – Almost

In August of 2006 we’ve owned our SilverWings since June and are ready to try our first Rally. We scheduled our vacations for this back in February and are looking forward to what had been know (up to then) as the largest scooter rally in the US. We had not ever been to a scooter rally so had no idea what to expect.

Our first day on the road started a bit chilly and there was a possibility of rain, but by the time we got through Florence, AL the rain chances had faded and the sun was peeking around some of the clouds. We rode toward Savannah, TN and were planning to cross the TN river at Pickwick Landing then head west on TN-57 into Memphis and were going to spend the night in West Memphis, AR. This was the first long trip on the SilverWings and they were more than up to the task. We are still travelling with a light load and only use a tail bag for extra storage.

After some bad news from Minnesota (Kim’s grandmother passed away) we head out for Conway, AR to spend the night with friends and try to figure out what the next move will be. Going back to Huntsville was an option, but the family back in Minnesota did not have any dates and encouraged us to stay with our plans. We spent the night in Conway with our friends and then went to church with them in the morning. From there we headed for Eureka Springs, AR for the Scootercade Rally. Had a very limited exposure to the scooter rally life and were not sure this is our thing. Lots of talking about riding, but very little actual riding – bizarre.

Checking in with the family that night they still had not gotten a firm date for visitation and they’d let us know when things changed. The next morning we packed up, checked out and headed for Minnesota.

We travelled straight up US-65 through Missouri into Iowa and around Alexandria, MN we got onto Interstate 35 for the final run through Minneapolis into North Branch, MN. Two days of 70+ mph on some of the most boring roads – In Iowa they engineer in 90 degree turns just to make sure you don’t fall asleep or to make you use your brakes, not sure which or if both.

The trip back to Huntsville, AL was a 3 day ride without using any interstate if we could avoid them. We decided to ride WI-35 south from St. Croix Falls, WI to the southern end of WI-35. We’d ridden the northern part before when we finished the Lake Superior Circle tour. WI-35 is really a nice road that rolls along the east side of the Mississippi River through lots of little towns and the ride is fairly slow, but nice. This day however will be the first time we actually have to don the rain gear and that is not much fun. We are riding in Frogg Toggs and while they are effective, they are not great for all day riding. We stay dry, but lots of flapping loose fabric. The rain quickly dims the day as a day of touring and it becomes a day of endurance. We stop for the night in Maquoketa, Iowa and have a pleasant meal in the downtown area. Several odd things happen here – I leave my keys in the trunk lock while we’re in having dinner and the bike is still there when we come back out to return to the hotel. The next morning my rear tire is really low and the tire is leaking very slowly, we make a foolish decision to limp on after airing up. This is / was the only time I’ve ever thought we should have some tools with us.

So this day turns into a 500+ mile day with many stops to check tire pressures and air up. Illinois is really flat and they raise a lot of corn in that state. I guess they can do that since it is so flat. Pretty much all I remember is that Illinois is hot in the summer and flat and somewhere in the middle of the state they raise peaches. We had some really good very juicy peaches for lunch. Then back on the bikes to ride through the corn. By the time we got down to the Cave in the Rock State Park we were tired. At least the heat was gone, although now it has started to rain. No rooms at the park, so we cross the Ohio River on a ferry and ride into Kentucky. Now we’re riding in Amish country and the black buggies at night are hard to pick up. The roads have gotten a bit more interesting and the tire is not going flat so we ride for a bit looking for a hotel. Eventually we come across a wide spot where there is what passes for a hotel, the rain convinces us that it is in fact the place to stop.

The final day we ride into Nashville and take US-31 south through Pulaski, TN to Huntsville, AL. The ride from Nashville to Columbia, TN is very nice with an intense road that curves around the hills of the Cumberland valley. This was fun and put a real punctuation mark on a fairly hum drum ride. We had planned to put a few miles on during our jaunt over to Scootercade, but ended up with a bit shy of 2,300 miles of riding over 9 days.

Today I got my Swing back together, the weather was above freezeing and I had to ride. I put in around 200 miles and everything worked great. I love the cruise control and the grip heaters. The power commander gives noticeably more power and the driving lights were great after dark. The CB was nice and I enjoyed having it on. It sure felt good to go for a ride and now I am set for a long one.

Hey you went all out and installed every thing at once . Way to go .