Day One of the Ride Home is in the logbook

Very uneventful 404 mile ride back to Yankton, SD for an overnight stay at the same KOA I stayed on the way out.  I decided to take a more southerly route while working my way down to I-80 so I can avoid Chicago area traffic as much as possible.  Plus, my memory of I-90 across southern Minnesota is that of riding my bike down the railroad tracks between the rails.  That road like to rattle all my teeth out.  According to our hosts in Sturgis there have been no repairs done to it so I'm skipping it.  Tomorrow the ride will be about 525 miles to central Illinois so that I can have a manageable 350 miles on saturday.

Speaking of our hosts in Sturgis, I'm sitting here reflecting on how gracious all of them are.  I've haven't had that much fun with people I've met for the first time in a long time.  It was like going to a family reunion with only the "good relatives" showing up.  Bob, Red and Jim (as pointed out previously) are the salt of the earth and some of the funniest people I've been around since my days of "messdeck" banter on the boats.  I wonder if the fact that both Bob and Red were in the Navy has anything to do with it.  Bob was going to charge me double for all my meals until he learned that I was a Corpsman.  He told me "Marines" pay double.  Makes me wonder if he wasn't one of the favorites of some Gate Guard back in his Navy days.

The cast of characters is too long for me to list (and I don't remember all the names) but every one of them did everything in their power to make you feel like you were lifelong friends.  It's funny how a shared experience like that brings people together.  Out of the entire group I only knew Don Gentry but after one evening around the "campfire", figuratively speaking, I felt like I have known, Bonnie, Dell, Karin, Brian and Laura most of my life.  We had some great rides, great meals and more fun than you should be allowed unless your 4 years old (which Don and I behaved like)

Here's to the Seattle Group; ride safe and check in when you get the chance.  See you in cyberspace until we can meet up and ride again.

Got to thinking it would be great if we could round up the "Ride to the Northwest" Group and convince our wives/girlfriends that we should all meet in Sturgis in 2014.  We met a bunch of Aussie riders who rented bikes in Los Angeles and rode to Sturgis so Blue doesn't have an excuse of "not having a bike".

Any takers?