USA 2025 - 30 April

The overnight storm with heavy rain and thunder and lightening was impressive from my room.
This morning started as yesterday finished: tipping it down with rain. I made steady progress and tried avoiding the Interstates but then you end up going through busy towns.. ah well. After reaching Springfield, I ended up on some country roads and could see the results of a recent tornado/storm - very tragic.
As I approached Joplin (my destination for today) - yes you guessed it yet another storm - bugger I thought. I got the the campsite very wet and weary. The owner took pity on me and gave me a "veterans" discount for a cabin.!!! Yippee. I was not looking forward to putting up the tent in the middle of a downpour. Let see what the weather holds for tomorrow ???   Heading for Oklahoma .

USA 2025 - 29 April

Good evening,
I got caught out by the time changes - so I ended up leaving Bowling Green at 7:15 am.
I stopped to take some photos of some aircraft by the side of the road - including an ex Presidential Helicopter !!

It was pleasant ride until I crossed over the great Mississippi into Missouri - the wind whipped across the vast fields - oh I hate cross winds. As I approached the town of Poplar Bluff dark clouds started to roll towards me - then boom, down it came - a nightmare of a storm. I managed to pull into a property with a large portico and the chap allowed me to shelter whilst putting on my waterproofs !!! Bugger this for a lark so I'm now sitting in a humid motel room trying to dry out - again.

USA 2025 - 28 April

Good evening from Bowling Green Kentucky.
I have a very good pizza last night before an early night - the gravel pitch did not help.

Following a shower this morning it just started to rain, so I packed up in double time - it's a pain packing up in the rain and packing away a wet tent..

It was a steady ride over on son some quiet roads - I was aiming for the Yamaha dealership in Bowling Green to get a spare rear inner tube !! Once punctured, twice shy!! I managed to get one but they didn't have any puncture repair kits or brake pads …. Some dealership!!

The next camp site was close by and I'm all set up - showered and sitting in the shade waiting for my laundry to finish tumble drying. Tomorrow I head for Missouri…

Good night.

USA 2025 - 26 April

Sitting the veranda of the main building, supper finished - most people inside watching the latest presentation. I have Red Kites overhead, swifts nesting above me and a couple of Humming Birds feeding from the sugar water feeder.

The sun has just about down behind the trees and it's very quiet here. I am planning to leave at about 9:30 and head west. I have located a Yamaha dealership along the route and will call in for a spare inner tube and some rear brake pads (just in case) !

Good night

USA 2025 - 25 April

This photo is of the early morning “farkle walk”.  So much talk about the set up of peoples bikes…

 I had a quiet day watching presentations, chatting, drinking tea and viewing bikes.   Then at  3pm down came the rain that they promised.

I have manage to make peace with the Garmin and have sorted out routes to the West for Sunday and Monday.   I think I’ll head for a 2 day ride to Bowling Green in Kentucky .   Fingers crossed !!

USA 2025 - 24 April

Good afternoon dear reader,

Well what a 24 hours that was…. Greg and Mel arrived at the roadside at about 8:30 pm and it was very dark out there in the boonies….

We managed to load the bike on the back of the truck and headed for the campsite. We arrived at just after midnight, and put up my tent in the dark - knackered.

This morning we drove up to a motorcycle repair shop just 30 minutes away, and hey presto they had a new inner tube fitted within 1.5 hours, and I rode it home to the campsite.
All sorted thanks to Greg and Mel. People have started to arrived and register for the event and the sun is still shining.

I have just to sort out a route for Sunday and Monday next week - but that will have to wait until tomorrow and me as Gertie Garmin are still not talking !!

USA 2025 - 23 April

Today started off so well - after a quiet night in a strange motel - I watched "The Fastest Indian before setting off - I found a great diner for breakfast - they even had proper tea!

I set off on the slow route along the Blue Ridge Pathway - but again a number of the roads were shut due to flooding etc.

I stopped for lunch and then things started to go a little pear shaped - The Garmin had totally lost its mind - and sent me all over the place … I tried to get back on the route by taking a short cut and managed to get a nail in the rear tyre - bugger.

I took to wheel off and even manage to break the bead but the inner tube is knackered….. Greg and Mel are a few hours away and they are coming to rescue me with their pickup truck…. Heroes don't always wear capes…

So I'm sitting at the roadside tapping away at my phone - an old chap and his son did stop and tried to get some assistance from a neighbour but to no avail. Lots of people passing by but not stopping !!! The light is fading now - I hope they get here before it gets dark !!!

USA 2025 - 22 Apr

After a peaceful sleep - it was so quiet at the camp site - the rain started around midnight and it was still raining in the morning. If fact it has rained all day!!! Bugger. Packed up in the wet and visited town for breakfast and called in to a Walmart for some chain oil - the store was vast - probably larger than a full size football pitch…

The ride up towards Asheville was extremely wet and I got soaked. Then I followed Blue Ridge Parkway but saw bugger-all through the rain and cloud. I could see vast amounts of damage caused by flooding on the way and quite a few roads totally closed. Gertie Garmin was having a hard time re-routing around Grandfather Mountain.

I finally got to the planned campsite which was closed until 1 May ! Sod this I thought - I'm soaking wet, cold and I need dry place to sleep - "Gertie find me a motel"… now sorted. Nothing fancy, in fact it's very grubby. Tomorrow I head for a campsite just up the road from the event that starts on Thursday….

USA 2025 - 21 April

I spent the last few days at Greg & Mel's house in the woods (aka Gypsies Retreat). I arrived about noon on Saturday just ahead of Mark & Gina Marie who I first met and stayed with in 2016. We all jumped into Gregs truck and headed off the meet Doug at his shop/garage - a fascinating place… just hard to describe really - so many bike and tons of associated memorabilia.

After that we withdrew the a wonderful "beer hall" named the Dirty Pig (I think). They had live music and the chap was brilliant. The food was good too.

With a heavy head we drove back to Greg's and it wasn't long before I was fast asleep..

On the Sunday we basically lounged around, drank proper tea and sorted our kit out as we are both travelling up to HU Virginia on Monday morning, Greg is taking his bike in the truck and towing a caravan.

And as usual I forget to take photos!!

We left this morning about 9 o'clock and I headed in the general direction of Atlanta Georgia and Gertie Garmin directed me around the Atlanta bypass - I think it was 8 lanes wide at some point…

It's now 5:30pm North Carolina time - suppers cooked and laundry done…. Just going to finish this blog, attach some photos and finish my cuppa…. Tomorrow I'm heading towards Ashville…. Nite nite

USA 2025 - Friday 18th April

Sitting in the shade - it's 30 degrees here today!  It's a tough life but someone has to do it.   It's very quiet except for the Interstate about 200 yds away!!! and it runs all night !!

So this morning I had a go at finding all the stuff in my panniers that's not needed…. Very little success there I'm afraid.   I'll have another go later. 

Tomorrow will be a slow start and head for Greg & Mel's in Alabama.   Then Monday it's start to head up to the HU Event in Virginia  - I am hoping to visit the Berber Motorcycle Museum on the way.

https://www.barbermuseum.org/

USA 2025 - Thu 17 April

Good morning,

I received the clearance for the bike from US Customs at 6pm last night ! Too late to do anything really - I didn't fancy un-crating the bike on the dark.

It looks like another warm day. Then it's a slow ride over to friends in Alabama via a mid way stop to sort out kit etc.

USA 2025 - Day 2

Standards

I have arrived, and I have managed to clear through immigration at Orlando reasonably trouble free - apart from the luggage conveyor system breaking down.

After some running around I even managed to get to the hotel unscathed.

Now I can forgive Americans for a lot of things like peanut butter, jelly instead of jam, television news channels 24/7 (in every room), BUT I can’t forgive plastic cutlery in a hotel dining room with plastic cups and frozen cubes of butter..  

Standards America, standards!!

I am now awaiting details of where and when I can free my bike from the shipping system.