BITE Rally - Day 3
Day 3 - Streetsboro OH to St Cloud MN, 977 Miles
States Visited: OH, IN, IL, WI, MN
Today was Wednesday, July 4th. With the destination for this westward leg being Donahue Harley-Davidson in St. Cloud MN, and it being closed for the July 4th holiday, there was no pressing need to get to MN by a certain time schedule. I used my initial time in the hotel to get caught up on rest, and with that out of the way it was time to plan out the rest of my ride.
With the run out to Minnesota, my calculations showed me having realistically 4 possible bonus stops: Cairo IN, Sauk Rapids MN, Hohenwald TN, and Alton IL. Streets and Trips was showing benefit by grabbing the Cairo stop on the way to Minnesota, which sounded like a plan since there wasn't a time crunch today ... and anything snagged today would be one more thing I wouldn't have to pick up Thursday/Friday.
Today's route would be predominately Interstate, with the exception of the roughly dozen miles needed to deviate from the Interstate across farm roads to the Cairo stop. The stop in Cairo Indiana was a historical marker honoring the Skywatch Tower, built in 1952 at the start of the Cold War against Russia, and the escalation of the Korean War. This tower pre-dated any kind of national radar system, and was manned by volunteers 24 hours a day. The civilian volunteers monitored the skies looking for enemy planes. This site seemed like a fitting bonus location given the date ... July 4th.
I was expecting a larger tower, or at least something fairly sturdy if built by military standards, but instead found a aging, rotting, wood structure.
With my one bonus for the day behind me, it was time to head for Chicago and holiday rush hour traffic. Having avoided Chicago on my previous trips up north, I wasn't sure what to expect, and was somewhat disappointed when Garmin routed me right into the tollroads around Chicago during rush hour. The Chicago metro area had for me the worst drivers encountered in the rally. It seemed like I was always having my lane encroached on by other drivers, or being cut off. The Chicago tollways also had gates on several of the lanes, and this is where I found my EZ-Pass really didn't want to work with how I had it mounted. After getting manually charged at the first two tollbooths, I decided just to pay cash for the remaining booths.
After finally making my way through the Chicago traffic, I decided to stop for a dinner break. This would be my last break, save for fuel stops, until I hit the hotel in St. Cloud MN.
Just as I crossed over the IL/WI border, I was met with some light rain showers which helped cool down the temps, and cooled down my Stich. The sun wouldn't set until well into Wisconsin, and I would again be entertained by various fireworks shows. I was also greeted with a greater police presence in Wisconsin than almost anywhere else, save for Ohio which had gone overboard with the police patrols. After the initial rain showers, the weather would be very pleasant for the rest of the evening. One more fuel stop before leaving Wisconsin, and I could only find pay-at-the-pump stations where the station itself was closed, so I fueled up in the dark.
The cross into Minnesota from Wisconsin would be uneventful, with enough fuel onboard to make it to the hotel without the need for another stop. Traffic was surprisingly light, and so I'd make good time to the hotel. Garmin was indicating that there was a Days Inn near Donahue's, but as I got to the neighborhood, I could only find a Best Western where the Days Inn was supposed to be. Best Western works just as well for me, so I went in to secure a room. My first bit of good luck ... since it was after 02:00 when I got there, the gal at the desk felt bad for me and so discounted the room half price. As it was, I was only 2 miles from Donahue's, so the plan was to grab some sleep, up in the morning for breakfast and to re-check route plans, then to be at the dealership by the time they opened at 09:00.
Today was a relaxing day, no incidents, and no real pressure.
States Visited: OH, IN, IL, WI, MN
Today was Wednesday, July 4th. With the destination for this westward leg being Donahue Harley-Davidson in St. Cloud MN, and it being closed for the July 4th holiday, there was no pressing need to get to MN by a certain time schedule. I used my initial time in the hotel to get caught up on rest, and with that out of the way it was time to plan out the rest of my ride.
With the run out to Minnesota, my calculations showed me having realistically 4 possible bonus stops: Cairo IN, Sauk Rapids MN, Hohenwald TN, and Alton IL. Streets and Trips was showing benefit by grabbing the Cairo stop on the way to Minnesota, which sounded like a plan since there wasn't a time crunch today ... and anything snagged today would be one more thing I wouldn't have to pick up Thursday/Friday.
Today's route would be predominately Interstate, with the exception of the roughly dozen miles needed to deviate from the Interstate across farm roads to the Cairo stop. The stop in Cairo Indiana was a historical marker honoring the Skywatch Tower, built in 1952 at the start of the Cold War against Russia, and the escalation of the Korean War. This tower pre-dated any kind of national radar system, and was manned by volunteers 24 hours a day. The civilian volunteers monitored the skies looking for enemy planes. This site seemed like a fitting bonus location given the date ... July 4th.
I was expecting a larger tower, or at least something fairly sturdy if built by military standards, but instead found a aging, rotting, wood structure.
With my one bonus for the day behind me, it was time to head for Chicago and holiday rush hour traffic. Having avoided Chicago on my previous trips up north, I wasn't sure what to expect, and was somewhat disappointed when Garmin routed me right into the tollroads around Chicago during rush hour. The Chicago metro area had for me the worst drivers encountered in the rally. It seemed like I was always having my lane encroached on by other drivers, or being cut off. The Chicago tollways also had gates on several of the lanes, and this is where I found my EZ-Pass really didn't want to work with how I had it mounted. After getting manually charged at the first two tollbooths, I decided just to pay cash for the remaining booths.
After finally making my way through the Chicago traffic, I decided to stop for a dinner break. This would be my last break, save for fuel stops, until I hit the hotel in St. Cloud MN.
Just as I crossed over the IL/WI border, I was met with some light rain showers which helped cool down the temps, and cooled down my Stich. The sun wouldn't set until well into Wisconsin, and I would again be entertained by various fireworks shows. I was also greeted with a greater police presence in Wisconsin than almost anywhere else, save for Ohio which had gone overboard with the police patrols. After the initial rain showers, the weather would be very pleasant for the rest of the evening. One more fuel stop before leaving Wisconsin, and I could only find pay-at-the-pump stations where the station itself was closed, so I fueled up in the dark.
The cross into Minnesota from Wisconsin would be uneventful, with enough fuel onboard to make it to the hotel without the need for another stop. Traffic was surprisingly light, and so I'd make good time to the hotel. Garmin was indicating that there was a Days Inn near Donahue's, but as I got to the neighborhood, I could only find a Best Western where the Days Inn was supposed to be. Best Western works just as well for me, so I went in to secure a room. My first bit of good luck ... since it was after 02:00 when I got there, the gal at the desk felt bad for me and so discounted the room half price. As it was, I was only 2 miles from Donahue's, so the plan was to grab some sleep, up in the morning for breakfast and to re-check route plans, then to be at the dealership by the time they opened at 09:00.
Today was a relaxing day, no incidents, and no real pressure.
posted by Charlie at
6:04 PM
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