6/2/11
400 miles

Today started out chilly but sunny in Muskegon MI. The scenery in MI is very different than what we have been riding through. My first thought as we were riding through MI was “Michigan smells so good!” My second thought was “Maybe Michigan doesn’t smell GOOD, it just doesn’t smell like cow dung like Oklahoma, Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin did.” The weather (specifically the lack of wind) and smells continued to be pleasant as we made our way into Ashtabula OH. As you might have guessed, Ashtabula is the home of the longest covered road bridge in the United States. We rode over the bridge and to be honest I was a little disappointed. It was not as long as I thought it was going to be. So, if there is anyone out there that wants to break a record, building a LONGER covered bridge could be the ticket.

The motel in Ashtabula was classic. I mean 1960's classic. It is owned by an older couple that moved from California. Therefore the motel could only be named the Hollywood Motel. Not having internet was kind of nice for the evening, however we did blow a fuse trying to plug in the computer.

(Thanks BMWPop for making me look directly into the sun)

Additionally, we found a dog toy under the bed!

We have mentioned the ridiculously strong winds in previous entries. Below is an example of how crazy strong the winds were in Green Bay Wisconsin. Yes, that is a picture of my broken turn signal. How did it break you ask? Well the wind blew it over while it was parked outside our hotel. Let me repeat... The wind blew over my 500lbs bike while it was parked, sitting on the kickstand! I hated riding in the wind and I hated stopping in it even more.

The worst part? I had JUST fixed that turn signal a few days before we left… Grrrrrr. My handlebar end was also bent to the point that it was catching my throttle and holding it open. Not good. I managed to bend it back enough so that I could still ride it, but I had also just fixed the handlebar end before we left… Grrrrr

Tomorrow we are off to Niagara Falls!