My ‘No Slabs’ Motorcycle Journey, June 2009

Tom Anspach June 11 – June 23 2009



My plan for this journey: take in the Iowa BMW rally in Middle Amana IA, then up to son Bruce and Ruth’s in Bemidji MN. And to do it all without using the slab… i.e. the Interstate. I wanted to follow the ‘Blue Highways’.

And I made it, 1900 miles with no routes on the interstates. You can see my detailed route at the end of my story. My Motorcyle trip pictures are at: http://tomsjourneys.shutterfly.com/344. My Pictures at Bruce & Ruth’s are at : http://tomsjourneys.shutterfly.com/379

As I left home my rubber band theory was in full swing. My nephew David, in Flordia, had just passed away. It was very devastating. But the more I thought about it the more I needed to complete this planned opportunity to visit my son Bruce, who I had not seen in 2 years. And I knew that riding my MC a long distance was a very good way to feel David’s spirit. Read ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’ by Pirsig, the long distance motorcycle riders bible, to learn more. Then a few days later my niece’s father passed away. Lots of people and things to think about while riding.

I started off on 6/11/2009,Thursday morning in the rain, riding west to Iowa. Took my usual route to Kankakee. I use this route when going NW or W to bypass Chicago. I then followed IL17 as far west as it would go. As I got near the western side of IL it had stopped raining and the sun was out. I had not seen many MC’lsts on the road. But as I neared the Mississippi, ‘what is that up ahead?’. Playing catch-up, it was 2 BMW’s loaded with travel gear. I followed them to the end of the road at the Mississippi river to a small ‘park like’ area next to the BIG River. Several grain trucks were waiting in line for something. I learned from talking to one of the truck drivers, that this location was a grain barge loading dock and they were unloading grain to a barge which hauled it down the river. I rested a while, removed my rain gear and was ready to head out into IA. My fellow rally’rs had left sooner as they were headed for lunch.

After crossing the Big River I headed to Middle Amana and the town park where the Pure Stodge riders were having the rally. I missed a turn right after I crossed the river, but with my compass, map and 1 stop to ask for best way to get back on my road it didn’t take long to recover. The campground was a neat area with lots of grass and trees. And the beer kegs were flowing. The IA Rally is known for its beer. And the Leinenkugels Porter was good.

The Amana area (West, Middle, East, High, and just Amana) is a pretty neat historical area. Check it out at http://www.amanacolonies.com/. As I rode in, a restaurant I noticed was called “The Rose and Thorn Public House”. Of course that sounded pretty neat. Ate there twice. Lunch on Friday and Breakfast on Saturday with Dan (Racine WI) and Paul (from nearby).

Got my tent set up for 3 nights, had a few beers, cooked my dinner and had a good nights sleep. Friday I needed to get a new battery for my bike.

Late last week, I had finally taken time to figure out what was wrong with my bike electrical system. The trouble shooting zeroed in on my, just over a year old, out of warrantee, battery. I didn’t have time to get a new one as there were none locally. So I called, with a recommendation from an IA club member, Ned’s Guzzit BMW shop, in Riverside IA and they had one.

Rode over to Ned’s on Friday. About 50 miles on nice IA roads and got the battery. Installed it in their parking lot and rode the neat back roads back to Middle Amana. A different route. Still off the I State. Stopping, of course, at the Rose and Thorn Public House for lunch. On both Thursday and Friday I passed the previous IA rally site in Marengo. It was amazing to me how that whole area was flooded last year. Flooding out the rally and nearly everything else.

Friday I started meeting friends from previous gatherings and making new ones. From Canada, MN, WI, IA, IN etc. I was looking hard for my friend Jerry from Florida. Jerry is a retired fireman. He is from MN originally. Every year he goes to MN this time of year and always stops at the IA rally on his way back to FL. When I lived in FL, many years ago, he kept trying to get me to go to this rally. I have met him there several times in past years. So I knew he would be there. Although 2 years ago or so, during the fall and winter, he was very sick and nearly died. But he made the rally that spring anyway. He rides a big Harley and pulls a ‘Taj Maj Jal’ of a camping trailer (I call it). I could not find him. Then an area in the park clicked in my mind. There was a BIG motor home with a MC trailer, from Florida, with several neighbors from MN. And it seemed like I recalled from somewhere that Jerry was traveling in a motor home. So I waited until they came back and sure enough Jerry is now pulling his motorcycle with his HUGE camping accommodations rather than the other way around.

Friday afternoon it started raining, lasted all night, well into the morning, which killed the Friday night campfires. Later Saturday turned out to be an OK day… little moist but not bad. After the rally meals, drinking my share of Porter (not too much, just enough), collecting a prize of a nice pottery beer mug and waking up Sunday morning, a fogy Sunday morning, it was time to head out. . . North to Bemidji. With my map and compass and talking to some riders from MN I figured out a route to Bemidji following the blue highways. The roads led me west and north, some ‘riding with Abe’ bypassing well away from the Twin Cities.

I had wanted to stop at the state park in New Ulm MN and ‘clean up’ Dennis W’s campsite. Dennis, from Florida had stopped at our place for a couple days a few weeks before, on his trip to Utah. He had stopped at the state park in New Ulm. I figured he had probably left a mess so thought I would clean it up ;-). Just kidding Dennis. However it was only 3pm when I got there and I only had about 200+ some miles to get to Bemidji. So I decided I would rather spend the time with Bruce and Ruth. I headed north. Arrived about 7 PM. 12 hours 550 miles. Pretty much a record for me. I was glad I did. It was good to see my son and daughter in law.

I had an interesting, somewhat ‘puckering’ experience late in the trip to Bemidji. It seems every time I go to Bemidji I am riding west into the setting sun. And it is blinding on a clear day. I was riding MN200 westerly. I came to a town (don’t know the name) and was squinting into the sun, trying to figure out the mysterious road shape change ahead. All of a sudden the road is NO ROAD!!. It goes into a parking lot by a bar. I slam on the brakes. I can feel the wheels start to loose traction and I let up somewhat. And rode calmly (although I was not calm) into a dirt/gravel parking lot where a Harley rider is heading out, leaving the bar. He glanced at me kind of curious but seemed to have no idea what happened. It was obvious that I missed the left turn sign because of the sun and I was trying to figure out the change in road conditions ahead. Luck was with me… It could have easily been a problem.

I spent a week, helping Bruce and Ruth with their remodeling project, canoeing up the Mississippi, near the headwaters, riding Bruce’s bicycle, eating, a few beers, fathers day at Ruth’s parents and relatives near Bagley, working Sudoku puzzles, talking and generally having a good relaxing time. Then it came Monday and it was time to head home.

It had been raining, starting Sunday afternoon and most of the night. Monday morning was cool, over cast, foggy, and misty. A ‘perfect’ day to start out. I had mapped out (MOL) a route home. As I rode the 1st 50 miles or so, ‘My Rubber Band Theory’ came into effect http://ansplog.blogspot.com/2008/11/my-rubber-band-theory-when-we-leave.html. Both directions, leaving a place that had a lot of meaning, and wanting to get home. The opportunity while riding, is there is time for continual thinking. Do I want to take the new blue highways route or do I want to take my known more direct, faster route… US2, US53, Interstates etc. and get home sooner and not have to study maps etc. I stayed on US2 longer than I had planned. Then in Grand Rapids I stopped, studied my maps… thought a lot…. Recited one of my favorite quotes several times, “It is good to have an END to a journey, but it is the JOURNEY that matters in the end’. Made the final decision and left US2 and headed back on my planned route. Once the decision was made, I was OK. I had snapped the rubber band. Even with the situation in the next paragraph, all was well.

As I was going merrily down MN65 through the beautiful MN countryside mixture of lakes and pine forests, I came to a sign ‘road construction ahead’. On a long journey you get to see lots of these signs. Usually they are no big deal. This one, though, when I reached the beginning of it was a ‘gripper’. The road had been stripped bare, down to the base. It was covered with a mixture of wet gravel and dirt. It was stop and go with flaggers and heavy equipment. Reminded me in some ways of a road in Montana many years ago. Although I was nervous, it was not too bad. As it was mostly hard packed with just a few soft spots and ridges. I made it though the 7 miles without mishap.

As I got about a 100 miles or so south of US2, the sky cleared, the temperature went up and it became HOT. And it kept climbing. Nearly 100 degrees as I got to the end of the day. I worked my way over to WI35 along the east side of the big River. The big River is a lot wider here than it was up by Bemidji. I had always wanted to take WI35 along the river, east side. I had been along WI35 south of La Crosse but not above La Crosse. The north section is not quite as nice as that distance just south of La Crosse. WI35 is called the ‘Great River Road’ along much of its length. It is a great road to ride. Unfortunately it took me up on the Interstate for a short distance. I did not count it.

I meandered along and got to my night destination, The Goose Island Campground, at 5 pm. Just as the lady was closing up. I managed to check in, pick up a couple cold beers to go with my camp cooked dinner and was ready to camp... This campground is a City (La Crosse) campground. I have stopped there several times going to and from Bemidji. It is reasonable cost, clean, shady, grassy and on the river. I took a couple showers to try to cool off and it worked pretty well. The campground was not crowded. One other MC there. A Goldwing, pulling a camper trailer. Talked to the man and wife a bit. They were from Ohio and on a long trip around the North Midwest. Mosquitoes were not too bad. A little spray helped. It started to cool down slightly. Enough to get a good nights sleep.

Tuesday morning I made my coffee, my breakfast porridge for eats, packed up and was on my way home. My 13th day. I followed WI35 a ways. It is a really nice road here, right along the big river. I pulled off of WI35 and headed SE on WI171. I had not been across this area of WI. I thought I was in NC or TN. Up and down, nice curves. A really good riding road. Kept heading S SE toward IL18. Even rode ‘US20 Rules’ a short distance in IL. On IL23 north of IL18 it, again, took me up on the interstate for a short distance. Again I did not count it.

I finally got to IL18 and headed east. About as near to a, MOL straight, direct line as you can find to home. IL18/IL17/IL114/IN10/IN110/IN231/IN14.

The tempeture was climbing. It had a higher starting point Tuesday compared to Monday. My bike thermometer was above 100 degrees. It was hot. It was wet scarves and T shirts time.

I made it home about 6 PM ET. About a 10 hour ride. I was tired but glad to be home. Fullfilling my goal a realtively long journey, IA BMW rally, son Bruce & daughter in law Ruth and No Interstate (I don’t count those 2 little anomalies).



Here are my route details:

Thursday 6/11:Local to, IN14 W, US231 N, IN110 W, IN10 W/\, IL114 W, IL17 W, CR14&Local N, IL92 W, IA22 W (I made a wrong turn getting to IA22, recovered after about 5 miles),IA149 N, Local V66 N (this took me through Marengo location of the flooded out 2008 rally), LocalF15 E, IA220 E, Town27th street N (to Rally campground).

Sunday 6/15: Town 27th St S, IA220W, Local F15 W, CR66 N, US30 W (Riding with Abe), US169 N, WI18 W, WI15 N, MN15 N (I decided at New Ulm to continue on to Bemidji), MN10N, US371 N,WI200 W, WI71 N, CR11 W, Bruce & Ruth.

Monday 6/22: CR11E, WI71 S, US2 E, US169 S, MN200 E, WI65 S (the WI65 road stripped bare at Lake Minnewawa), WI95 S, WI243 E, WI35 S (finally the Great River Road – to Goose Island Campground - a little piece up on the I state).

Tuesday 6/23: WI 35S, WI171 E (I thought I was in NC or TN, nice hilly curvey roads), US61 S, US18 E, WI39 S, WI23 S, WI11 E, WI78 S, US20 E (US 20 Rules), IL26 S, IL18E, IL17E, IL114E, IN10 E, IL110 E, Local E, IN143 E (I took these roads from IN110 as a short cut from IN14, saves about 5 miles or so, local county black tops, not too bad but probaby does not save any time due to limited speed), US421 S, IN14 E, local to home.





Some other statistics:

Average MPG-

Average cost of gas $/gal - $2.68

Highest gas- $2.86 Momence, IL

Lowest gas- $2.51 Taylor Falls, MN

Distance Home to Middle Amana- 380 miles

Distance Middle Amana to Bemidji- 550 miles

Distance Bemidji to Home- 864

Total Distance Rode- 1964

My Annual Guinness Ride #5

The Tradition Continues My Annual Guinness Ride #5
May 17th 2009

This is getting kind of old. Or is it? The 5th year in a row since I started this tradition after moving back to Indiana from Florida in Dec of 2001. I missed not having a St Patrick’s Day place to go where they had real Guinness, maybe some Murphy’s Stout and some Irish whiskey although I don’t often sample that. Don’t have a DD for the ride home. Corned beef and cabbage, Irish stew, Fish n chips. Not that watery Green Beer…. Ugh!!. .

As the day approached, this year the weather was amazing. It was Florida weather. Temperature supposed to get to the 70’s. My brother John was riding with me again. We left home about 10:30AM, the temps were just above 60 degrees and sunny. Wow!! Neither electric vest nor thermal underwear needed this year.

East on IN14, met John on US31 Rochester, the up to the Fiddlers Hearth in South Bend. Had a couple pints, some great corned beef and cabbage several glasses of water, a big cup of coffee. Listened and watched the Celtic band and dancers, chatted with the revelers, then our couple of hours was over and it was time to head home.

Back to the parking garage and it seemed we had exceeded our 2 hours of free parking. Cost us 5 bucks, well worth it of course. Usually we park in an end painted off area. However this time a car in the adjacent slot had it half blocked off. Fortunately there was an open slot a couple spaces down. 1st time we got marked.

Headed home via IN23, IN10, IN17. Temperature in high 70’s. Then decided on a rest stop at Cooters in Star City. Missed picking up the Star City Black top south of Kewana (I nearly always miss it) and wandered around the back roads getting over to US35. I knew what had happened when we hit a gravel road. Ah, I have done this before. After a nice stop at Cooters we headed home, me north back to Winamac, John south to Logansport.

Another nice ‘Annual Guinness Ride’ on St Patrick’s Day.

This is a stitch of 2 photos, 1 guinness hat (mine from son Jeff a few years ago)

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The RA 2009 Rally will be in the Canaan Valley State park in West Virgina on July 23 to July 26 2009. I have 'fond' memories of the RA 2004 Rally in the same place. I decided to resurrect my story. I may add some pictures later.
TomEA

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This is-

My Story about my MC trip to the
BMW RA (Riders of America) ‘Wild and Wonderful’ 2004
in the Canaan Valley Resort State Park in West Virginia.
16 - 19 September 2004

(I have since nicknamed it “Wild and Terrible Ivan”)
Tom Anspach 9/22/2004

First- this is a gorgeous place! Ski resort in the mountains . . . with a big Lodge, Lodge Rooms, Cabins (a misuse for the word cabin . . . more like ‘chalet’), RV campground . . . campground. (www.canaanresort.com)

I will write this story a little differently . . . . starting out with what I was looking forward to, what happened wx-wise while there. Then a little synopsis of the trip.

So you can readily find the place on your maps here are the directions-
From North: I- 79 South to Rt. 33 (West on). East on Rt. 33 to Harman. In Harman take Rt. 32 North to Canaan Valley. Except on the advice of the WV welcome station desk attendant I did I 79 south to I 86 east to US219 South to WV32 to Canaan Valley - great riding roads.

Here is the 10day forecast in preparation for leaving.
------
10-Day Forecast

High /Low (°F) Precip. %

Tonight Sep 13 Partly Cloudy 54° 0 %
Tue Sep 14 Mostly Cloudy 73°/53° 20 %
Wed Sep 15 Partly Cloudy 73°/56° 20 %
Thu Sep 16 Few Showers 75°/56° 30 %
Fri Sep 17 Heavy Rain 69°/58° 60 %
Sat Sep 18 Rain 71°/55° 60 %
Sun Sep 19 Showers 70°/56° 40 %
Mon Sep 20 Showers 71°/53° 30 %
Tue Sep 21 Partly Cloudy 72°/54° 0 %
Wed Sep 22 Few Showers 71°/49° 30 %
Last Updated September 13 09:3 PM EDT
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As you can see it looked like a rainy weekend ahead. and Ivan was potentially on the way. . . although drifting further to the west at that time. But what the heck. . . it might not rain much . . . and if it did, there would be hundreds of other people (riders tenters) there so wouldn’t be alone.

Lets get right to the heart of the matter, and include a couple of real-time emails that I sent out while there. (They had 3 computers hooked to the INet, so I could readily access my email via webmail, without standing in line very long ‘sometimes’). So I sent a few email/reports to the Florida contingent (and others once in a while) who could not make it due to Ivan.

Sent Wed Sept 15th.
Beautiful day here in the Canaan Valley Resort SP in WV.... how long will it last . . . . .
TomEA
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Sent Thurs Sept 16th
what can i say except. what a beautiful day. of course it is after a Jane/Mitch dinner and some micro beer from the beer garden and a little vino. we miss you all from Florida. a few up here but not enough. we are trying to cover for you. . . . the best during all the rain you have been getting. . . down there. how long will the beauty last here. only time will tell. . after all it is only thursday . . . . .

from your poverty rider reporter . . . . . Canaan valley WV....cheers..
tom anspach .. .. . have conch horn will travel. . . .
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Sent Friday Sept 17th noon
well the 'how long will it last is over' rain and wind are starting . . . . but what the heck. lots of nice people . . . . and socializing. . . . . neat place . . .

later

Tom Anspach
----
Sent Saturday morn about 9am
wowee, what a rock and role night. . . . . sitting at the campfire, light drizzle once in a while . . . calm . .looked like a nice night coming up . . then to bed . . . about midnight or so . . . . the wind shifted to the north . . . (right into the open face end of my tent where the door is zipped shut). VERY windy . . gusty . . heavy rain. . you could hear it coming roaring up the hill. MC covers, tarps, rain flys shaking and snapping like a leaves. . . LOUD leaves . . .

sometime during the night the airheads (Bones) high tech approx 10 x 20 foot 'cabin' with 2 inch steel posts blew completely away..... It was down the hill near a ditch about 1/4 mile away. Several of the 2 inch steel posts had snapped in two. How it missed hitting tents and MC's down wind we dont know (I heard later that a pole did hit a tent, punched a hole in it and broke a support . . did not injure the camper . . . don’t know any of the details). . . unless it lifted completely off the ground and flew over them . . . .WOW . . .

They are in the process of seeing if they can get something back together. . . . supposed to clear up today . . . with a crisp low tonight of 39 degrees . . . oh well free beer during happy hour . . even micro brew . . .

Marty headed home this AM

Your Rally Reporter

Tom Anspach
----------------------------------------------------

Now lets go back to the beginning.

I packed up my bike on Monday, left Tuesday morning about 8 EST. rode 388 miles US35 to Galveston IN local to US31 south of Kokomo to I465 to I70 to OH79 to Barkcamp State park. near Belmont OH.

Nice little park, nice night of camping. then up and left about 7 am EDT and 208 miles VIA I70, I79, I68 to US219 to WV32 to Rally site. total of 596 miles. Got there about noon.

Great riding wx and roads. Traffic OK, not heavy.

I was in a day early and the rules are to camp early you need to volunteer. So I found the first guy who looked like he was doing some rally stuff and introduced myself “Tom Reporting for duty”. It turned out to be ‘Bones’. He gave me a chair and assigned me a post at the top of a hill to help direct the vendors into the vendor area. So I moved my bike nearby and sat up on the hill for several hours, smoking my pipe, sipping my water, eating my snacks. Every once in a while when a vendor came in I would try to guide them into the vendor area. After it had dragged on long enough I gave Bones back his chair and found out where the Poverty rider camping compound was and the campground and headed there to set up camp.

It was a beautiful day, sunny with scattered clouds, mountains all around.

I set up my tent, helped the camping registration guy a little. By then some of the other Poverty riders, and neighbors (Airheads, and Chain Gang), and others on down the road started to show up. And the socializing started.
Did not start a campfire that night . . . it bothered me all night . . . the first one to a rally is always supposed to get the fire going. Made a camping dinner meal, then to bed.

Thursday was another gorgeous day. Did a short ride into a nearby town Davis to make some purchases. Some Free Beer, including microbrew . . . delicious, at the beer tent during happy hour. Got a nice campfire going this night. Then to bed. Light rain and winds started Thursday night.

Friday, it was rainy all day. Visited vendors and others . . . . kicked lies and told tires . . . . . . It was quite a hike from the camp area to the HQ at the Resort Lodge. They had a bus service running often, about every 15 to 20 minutes . . . worked very well. That evening I hiked up to the Lodge. Up a road, up a grassy hill to the tennis courts and ice skating rink, up a set of stairs and a up hill walkway into the beer tent then into the lodge.
When I came back down after dark, I took a short cut, to head for the campfire and add some more fuel. Even though I was careful and had my hiking stick (that I picked up out of WV woods) I slipped on the wet grass on a bank, bent my leg back at the knee, it was pretty sore for a couple days, and still a little. Fortunately it didn’t break.

Friday eve, at the fire, even though it would drizzle once in a while, it was calm . . . all appearances a good night. I went to bed well before midnight. Sometime after midnight the wind shifted from the SE to N right into the high profile end of my Kelty tent. And the WIND and RAIN started for GOOD. I still had my tarp up. I got up 3 or 4 times and tried to tie things down better. Blowing like hell in rolling gusts, raining hard once in a while. Finally gave up on the tarp and took it down. It was snapping a cracking like a gun. Some water was coming into the tent. It appeared to be blowing in past the zipper seal and in through the zipper. Sometime during the night the BIG walled canopy, which was about 10 feet away from my tent, lifted up, left the stakes in the ground, but broke the connectors on the guy lines, and flew and tumbled down the hill to near a ditch about a 1/4 mile away. Wow, what a rock and roll night.

Next morning, Sat, everyone one is getting up and going over and getting our stories together. Most everyone made out OK, amazing. A few people lost tent stuff. One I know of moved into the shower trailer. (There were 2 18 stall shower trailers in the campground .. . they were GREAT).

I should add that the camping area was a big grassy area, like an oval ridge. About a 1/8 mile wide and 1/2 mile long. There was a MC trail laid out in the grass along the top of the ridge with camping sites on each side. My guesstimate is that there were several hundred tents (200 or so) maybe. If the wx had been good there would have probably been a couple thousand tents.

A few of the Poverty Riders were involved in vending and had rented a cabin. At about 8 or 9 am, this Saturday morning, after the rock and roll night., some of the people who had came back from being up to the lodge, started talking about moving into the cabin. So that is what we did. Stan had his SUV there. We took down everything, dumped it into his SUV and with 2 trips moved up to Cabin 17. Overall there were about 16 people in the cabin. It was great, a great time and worked out great. This will forever be known as “Cabin 17 - Ivan”. We got our stuff dried out and packed up, slept on the floor and couches. This was a big cabin BTW. 4 bedrooms, 2 couches, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, fireplace, dishwasher, big TV, front and back porch. So that is where I stayed Saturday night. The temp got down into the high 30’s, but we were nice and cozy and comfy in ‘Ivan - Cabin 17’. Sunday Morn, I slowly got packed up and left about 1030 am.

Now the Ken C story. I had met Ken from Canfield OH near SW of Youngstown, at the MI Sturgis rally this spring. We were touching base when I was considering going to this Rally, and he was considering going. Although neither of us was sure until the last minute. ...I left on Tuesday, Ken left on Friday (working). So I was there, checking my cell phone once in a while. I did not realize Ken had to work till Friday and whether or not he was coming. So he took off Friday afternoon. Heading south into the rain. He arrived about 9PM (before the Rock and Roll), but still rain. The wed night before a guy had hit a deer and was in bad shape in a Morgantown Hosp. Ken managed to finagle a room at the lodge late Friday night. He spent all day Friday trying to find me. I had quit checking my phone after Thurs afternoon as I had given up on him, plus I was calling Patty on the hard phone. Turns out he was leaving messages on my cell phone and trying to call Patty on Friday (the few times he tried it was busy). Sat afternoon he saw my bike parked out in front of the lodge. The only time I rode my bike up there was Sat afternoon, when I decided to visit the whirlpool. . . it was great. . . just what I needed. While he was standing there waiting for me to show up a guy came up, spotted, my poverty rider sticker and stuck a dollar bill near my seat! Ken gave up. When I came back I wondered where the dollar bill came from!

Later in the beer hall during happy hour. Ken finally spots me and I him. He had been looking at all the gray beards without any luck. He had earlier, accidentally find out I was in a cabin from Carol one of the original cabin residents. They had, coincidentally sat at the same table when he was asking about me. And she knew I had moved up to Cabin 17. A monumental coincident with all those people milling around around. So we got together, he came up to Cabin 17 for a while, was inducted into the Poverty Riders. And we had to push his bike to get it started. . . low battery.

Saturday night, Ken had asked me to stop by their place in Canfield OH on Sunday night on my way home. I accepted. Sunday about 11 we met up at the lodge. Pushed his bike again to get it started and headed for Canfield Ohio, via WV32, US219, I68, I79, and US224 (MOL). We were going to ride some back roads, but with Kens battery giving problems decided to head straight back. After a good charging run. . . it seemed to be OK.

After 268 miles we got to his place. He and his wife Lisa, fixed a great meal, finished up the wine I had left over, had a lot of good conversation. I went to bed and slept like a rock. They had to get to work early Monday (left about 6 am EDT). I finally got up about 7:30 AM EDT, closed things up and headed out. Ken had given me directions to a neat old breakfast place a couple miles from their house. Unfortunately I did not spot it. I got on US224 and headed west.

Finally stopped for a breakfast at Travel America. They had Biscuits and Gravel and the coffee was good. What more could you ask for!

I experienced the importance of having headlights ON during daytime. While 224 was still in heavy shade from trees . . . I had a clear stretch (had been studying it for a while . . . .because of the shadows), so I pulled out to pass a semi. I just got out at his left rear corner and low and behold a dark car burst out of the shadows into a sunny spot. I got back in with a second or so to spare. . . . . the car got excited and moved half to the shoulder . . . so we would have been all right,. .had I not been able to get back behind the semi, I could have squeezed between the semi and oncoming car. . . . Had he had his lights on . . . I would seen him clearly.

A nice ride home. US224 overall was good. Few spots of trucks but traffic light enough to get around them. Brother John met me East of Peru. We rode into Peru and stopped for an ice cream cone. Then on home after 353 miles, via US24, US35. For a total trip of 1248 miles, 7 days 6 nights.

According to the closing ceremonies there were about 2100 MOL, registered. There were a little over 200 no shows. Thus there were about 1900 MOL (My memory is not good on the actual numbers) registered attendees.

Another great MC trip, with many memorable experiences.


Here is the story about the ‘pole throgh the tent’ from Jane.
From: JaneDate: Wed Sep 22, 2004 17:33:31 US/EasternTo: coonbottom@hcsmail.comSubject: Re: RA rallyOne of the poles went through a couple's tent at about 3 am -- ripped the tent, broke 3 of their 5 support poles and surely scared the sh*t out of them. It also scraped Stan's bike on the way over their tents. All in all, we survived, thanks to the PRI that shared the cabin.

Mo Bottom 2008 - A short motorcycle trip story

Mo Bottom 2008 - A short motorcycle trip story
Tom Anspach 11/17/08

I wanted to go to Mo Bottom 2008, northern outskirts of Tallahassee. I tried, but I could not get the rubber band stretched enough to break. (For an explanation of my Rubber Band Theory go to: http://ansplog.blogspot.com/ Monday, November 17, 2008 My Rubber Band Theory) So I did not make it. Here is the story.


I wanted to see and rally with my ol' MC friends from Florida and elsewhere. The weekend before Thanksgiving. I always want to go. Mo Bottom- the sequel to Coonbottom then Beach Bottom, has always been one of my 2 favorite rallies. Had not been since 2000 when we lived in Florida. .The other being Rolling Broccoli.

I started tracking wx and home ‘obligations’ a week or so ago. Things did not look too bad. Of most concern was my aching jaw, therefore a dental appointment Monday morning November 17th. And of course the other major concern leaving Patty alone with all the ‘animals’ for 10 days or so, in snowy, freezing weather. Coupled with, risk of not being back in time for Thanksgiving. I started packing. Did a test ride in windy cold rainy wx, last Saturday. Dug all my camping stuff out of their spots and checked it all out and repacked. Started loading the bike. Kept waffling about a final decision to go or not to go. Driving Patty crazy. And me also. This morning, Monday, the Dentist prognosis was pretty good. He filled 1 tooth that had bad decay and we scheduled follow-up cleanings. So that was out of the way.

Back home by 10 AM. Did some odds and ends. Would need to get going by Noon or shortly thereafter. I wanted to be down there by Tuesday eve or Wednesday day to get the full benefit and enjoyment of Mo Bottom. I made several I am going, no I am not going ‘final’ decisions. Patty astutely commented, “If you are having such a hard time making a decision to go, that means you shouldn’t go”.

Finally, the last decision, finished packing the bike, got bundled up and headed out. About 1:30. Temp in the high 30’s. Wind blowing like hell out of the WNW. Overcast. No snow but predicted on the way. I started heading South. It was good to be on the bike.

As you can imagine, I was thinking in overtime. You get to think a lot while riding. Especially without a radio or other distractions. If you have read ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’ by Robert Pirsig, you know exactly what I am talking about. The rubber band was stretching. Could I get it to break. Would I, could I, get into the mode of one of my favorite quotes: “It is good to have an END to journey toward, but it is the JOURNEY that matters in the end. / Ursula Le Guin. On my motorcycle trips I like to enjoy the JOURNEY not just the ends.

The question that came to my mind, after about an hour or so: “Would I rather spend 4 to 5 days out of the next 8 or so on the road, or would I rather spend the next 4 to 5 days at home?” Discounting, for the moment, being at the rally when the road would be mostly forgotten. The answer kept coming back- I would rather spend them at home. The rubber band wasn’t breaking. I wasn’t getting into the Journey. Although not needed badly, I stopped for gas at 50 miles out. It was convenient. Michigantown IN, 800 miles to go. Filled up. Pulled out of the gas station and headed North. The FINAL decision had been made.

Going northerly, heading more into the stiff wind. It was definitely cooler. The big trucks heading south threw up quite a wind blast. The parrabellum windshield that I have had on the bike since on my way to a Georgia Mountain Rally, from Odessa Florida, many years ago, rolled right through them. The northerly ride was, probably, similar to what I would have experienced on my return trip on about the 25th of November, 8 days later. Except there may have been snow on the ground.

I rolled back into the garage at about 4 pm. A 2 ½ hour, 100 mile MC trip, fully packed for camping. I was glad I had taken this short ride. I had demonstrated to myself that I could have made it, if I had broken the rubber band. I came in the house and Patty said “I knew you would be back today.’ She was right. . . again. I was glad to be home. A week early.

My Rubber Band Theory
(1st written in about 1995)

When we leave some place that has lots of meaning, family, close friends, a family reunion, a neat gathering (i.e. a special MC rally e.g. BMW), or when they leave us, there is a rubber band between ‘us’ and ‘them’. As we (or they) leave, the rubber band starts stretching, wanting to pull us all back together. We have a feeling of depression, lonesomeness, missing the friends, the family, etc. . . . wanting to go back. But we must keep going.

We may think the rubber band will never break, but after a period of time and/or distance the rubber band snaps! The time/distance varies, sometimes long sometimes short. After the snap we realize we are back to normal. The great memories remain, the NOW and the FUTURE comes back into focus. And we are OK again. We are on the journey to a new end.

That is my rubber band theory.
Tom Anspach

My Beemers and Brats Story

My Beemers and Brats Story

Tom Anspach (9/29/2008)

Since this is probably my last camping trip of 2008 I thought I would write up a little story about it.

This year the Beemers and Brats rally, Rockport IN, down as far as you can go on US231 in Indiana before you hit the Ohio River, had been delayed such that it fell on the same weekend as the Hoosier Beemer rally in North Vernon IN. I had been to the Hoosier Beemer Rally several times and enjoyed it. It is at a neat County Park. The Muskatatuk, named after the river that flows through it. I had never been in the particular area of Rockport, East of Evansville a ways. So finally decided to give it a go.
The Bemmers and Brats was a little pricey $25 rally fee, plus $15 per night per tent directly to the Oakridge Campground, for a total of $55. Quite a bit higher than normal for a weekend ‘small, local’ rally. The Hoosier rally was $15 for the weekend, including camping, for example. However since the Beemers & Brats included all the food you could eat over the weekend, maybe not too bad.

I packed up my bike Thursday eve and was ready to go.
I, messed around with odd’s and ends and did not leave Winamac, home, till about 10 AM Friday. I followed IN14, west; US231, south; IN66, west; for 278 miles arriving about 5PM. Was a little warm at spots, temp on my bike thermometer even approached 95 degrees at times. I missed my US231 sign in Lafayette around Purdue and wandered around the Purdue campus/housing area for a while before I figured out how to get back to US231. College students seem to get younger as each year passes. And I discovered something new to me, Purdue has its own airport.

I managed to find fellow riders Dick, Doug, Glenn & Linda from the Michiana BMW club and set up my tent nearby, so I could share their picnic table. I had picked up a bottle of Merlot (1.5 L) in Rockport. $8, cheapest I have seen for a while. Didn’t investigate the vintage much, but it tasted OK. Turns out the Bovarak Club had a keg on tap, donations accepted. So we were all set for the weekend.

Friday night we dined on Brats with all the trimmings. They were good. Saturday morning it was Biscuits and Gravy with coffee and extras. There was continuous coffee, tea, cold drinks, water etc all day. Saturday lunch was left over brats, sausage and hot dogs. Saturday night was BBQ with all the sides. It was very good. Sunday morning as we prepared to leave it was B&G, sausage, pancakes, sweet rolls. Plenty to eat.

It was a pretty small rally, with about 100 people or so, including the local club. Met a few other people who I had met over the years and forgotten their names. Much talking around the campfire. Only wandering into politics once in a while and did not last long. I think, people wanted to take a break from politics.

The campground was OK. The big RV’s were in sight but pretty much out of the way. Lots of trees, grass and a small pond. The HQ building had plenty of room, tables, kitchen, rest rooms and showers. Augmented by the standard portelets.

Saturday was a nice day of ‘kicking lies and telling tires’ as the saying goes. While Doug was reviewing the status of my bike he noticed the bolts on my front axle pinch clamp had threads showing and were finger loose. WOW, how in the heck had that happened. I know I torqued them to spec when I changed my tire a couple thousand miles ago. Or did I? Got out my tool kit and tightened them up. Re-torqued them when I get home.

There was an organized ride which I did not go on. But I did take a short ride across the new US231 Ohio River Bridge into Kentucky then west to Owensboro and back across the old US231 Bridge to IN161. I stopped at the neat River Park in Owensboro. They had several story board signs that covered the interesting history of the city originally named Yellow Bluff because of the foliage and the high bluff. There were pictures of the 1937 flood where water was standing in the street. All of the lower lying surraounding areas were totally flooded. There was a neat story about the start of the school system by a young lady (Aunt Sukey’s School) who had washed ashore on a plank from a wrecked Steamboat, in the early 1800’s.

Saturday night I managed to walk away with the ‘mature’ rider award. No luck on door prizes though. My luck had been used up at the Beemers in Bluegrass rally a couple weeks before where I won 2 door prizes.
In Rockport there was still a LOT of cleanup going on, cutting up trees, piles of brush, hauling brush, as a result of the very high winds, no rain, that came through 2 weeks before. There were lots of corn fields where the standing corn been been blown flat. It turns out the rally delay, for other reasons, was good. Had it been at the scheduled time, all the tents would have been blown away. There is also a neat little park in Rockport right along the Ohio river with a sheer rock wall on the opposite side of the narrow road. It was 1st gear climbing back up to the streets.

Come Sunday morning it was packing up, eating breakfast- more biscuits and gravey, sausage, pancakes, etc.- saying goodbyes and heading home. The dew was heavy Saturday night so the outside of the tents were dripping wet.

Taking some different roads to home, I left about 9:55AM, followed- IN66,west; IN161, north; IN62, west, IN61, north; IN57, north; US231, north; IN25, north; IN421, north; IN39, north; IN119, north; US35, north; IN14, east; home at about 4:40PM. Being from the rolling flat land of Northern Indiana makes me feel like I am in another state when riding the roads in lower (Southern) Indiana. The traffic was very light starting out, a very nice ride.

Just north of Greencastle there was a lot of activity going on, digging a long, deep trench and installing huge pipes (42 inch diamter, I found out later). Turns out it is a natural gas pipe line from Missouri to Ohio. It will carry about 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas/day from the western wells to the east and Midwest markets. Natural gas prices should go down?? What do you think??

Going home I wanted to find a little roadside rest park so I could stop and eat my left over brat sandwich for ‘lunch’. But could not find one. Finally stopped at a Dairy Queen in Lafayette, that had outside tables. So had an ice cream cone, a cup of coffee, some of my snacks and my left over brat sandwich, and watched the traffic go by.

Why doesn’t Indiana have roadside rest parks along non I State highways, like many other states do? Like the rest park along US35 in Thornhope, which I have heard that INDOT wants to get rid of.

The weather was great all weekend.

Statistics- Miles down-285, average MPH- 41, Miles back- 281, average MPH- 42, overall average MPG- 39.5, Total miles- 606.

My Kill Switch (Bike Broke) Story

My Kill Switch Story (August 20 2008)

The Kill Switch thread (or close to it) resurfaced on the Internet BMW Riders list today. I decided to go back and find my story and put it on my Blog. It took me a while to find it as I could not remember exactly when it was. I searched my computer files without luck. Finally I went to the IBMWR archives and searched. I quickly found it, thank you. It is hard to believe it was almost 5 years ago. It seems like it happened yesterday.
Here is ‘My Bike Broke' aka ‘My Kill Switch Story’.(edited from Friday 9/26/2003)


On Tuesday (Sep 23 2003) about noon I started up the trusty BMW and rode up to Valporaso, about 60 miles. It was a nice riding day. Bike started and ran great.

I wanted to go to Menards to check out the prices for 250 feet of black plastic pipe and 10 gage 3 conductor w/ground underground electrical cable for my 'water and electric to the chicken house/sheep shed' project. But first I went to K mart to check out their sale on the Coleman Ascension tent and a new sleeping bag.

I parked up on the K mart sidewalk by the kiddy merry go-round and went into the store. It took me a while to analyze the tent and sleeping bag information and visit the rest room. I bought the new sleeping bag to replace my old thread bare 10 year old one. I came back out and strapped the SB on my bike.

Put my gloves and helmet on,
turned on the key
and ......
..... NOTHING.

Uh oh what happened? All was well when I parked and shut it down.

I started checking things with an appropriate puzzled expression.

1 Lights came on OK
2 No indicator lights
3 No starting sound
4 No fuel pump sound
5 Got out voltmeter
6 Got out schematic
7 Checked battery voltage - good
8 Checked fuses good
9 Checked for loose wires
10 It seemed like, maybe a wire had come loose
11 By then it was getting on towards late afternoon
12 I figured I had better get my options started
13 I called a BMW guy in my anonymous book.
14 He wanted to come over and did come over a little later
but did not have a trailer.
15 I called my wife to come and get me.
16 I called my towing service - too far away
17 I called a local Honda shop - could leave the bike there
but they did not have time to come and pick it up - they recommended a local towing service
18 I called the service
19 A Harley rider stopped by and consoled me for a while
20 The BMW guy came over and helped me. I used his cell phone for some phone calls and we looked things over.
21 Could not find anything wrong.
22 The Towing truck came over, we loaded the bike (the service was good - the operator knew what he was doing)
23 We unloaded the bike at the towing service garage (by then the Honda shop was closed) and stored it under cover.
24 My wife picked me up, from the towing company garage.
25 My plan was to borrow my neighbors trailer and go and pick it up Wednesday.
26 I wanted to go to the local theater to see "Open Range" it was the last showing of 4, my wife talked me into going anyway, even with this bike problem, so I did. (Great movie BTW).
27 Got home late, had a sandwich and went to bed.
28 As I lay thinking about what could be wrong, --

***At this point I suggest that many of you (MC'st in particular) would have had the answer to the problem at about number 2 or 3 no later than 10, if not go back and take another look)***

29 --Suddenly it hit me - - - - - - "KILL SWITCH"

Somehow I had forgotten the first thing to look at.

Next morning I called the storage service and asked them to check the position of the kill switch.

Sure enough it was in the KILL position. The counter guy flipped it on and it started right up purring like a kitten.

I mush have accidently hit it when parking (or some kid from the merry go round turned it?????)

It was a rainy morning, They said 'chuckling' they would not charge me extra storage, so I said I would pick it up Thursday.

The guy on the phone consoled me with a story about being out on the lake with his boat and it died. He troll motored in, loaded it went home and later discovered he had accidentally pulled out the kill switch, "So don't feel too bad." Thanks

I have tried to get in the habit, as recommended by some riding instructions, to shut the bike off 1st with the kill switch so you get used to knowing where it is. I have never gotten into the habit even though I have tried several times. I had accidentally hit it, turning it off, a few times in the 150,000 miles I have ridden it. But managed to come to my senses, with varying reasonable delays to check it and turn it back on.

Now a list of possible excuses, that go through my mind as to what happened….-
- -Heavy Ion through the brain
- -Senior moment
- -Brain fahrt
- -I was focused on the Tent/Sleeping bag analysis that I had just been through
- -I was thinking of the first use of my new sleeping bag
- -I was focused on the next stop, Menards
- -I was focused on what a nice day it was for riding
- -I wanted to do some electrical trouble shooting
- -I wanted people to see me there with my tools and schematic
out working on my bike on the K Mart sidewalk, maybe meet new people.
- -I wanted to see if I could figure out how to recover from a broken bike while away from home. (even though I had just been through that experience with my cracked sparkplug up at the Wisconsin Dells Rally).
- -Dumb Ass
- -Stupid
- -Just needed more experience in the trials and tribulations of life.

Take your pick.

Thursday, $70 later (the $50 towing was picked up by my towing company), was a beautiful riding day for the ride back home.

For all you Motorcycle Riders (BMW included) the moral of this story is obvious.

I give my wife LOTS of credit. Not once during the trip back home after picking me up, at home, or bringing me back up to pick up my bike did she say any thing nasty, that could have been easily said with regards to my stupidity.

2008 Anspach Family Reunion - the 13th”

A summary of A8R the “2008 Anspach Family Reunion - the 13th”

7/14/08 Tom E Anspach

A story for those who were not able to make it and encouragement for those who were there to write their story. .

(I will place a copy in the log book and post it on the ‘2008 Reunion is over’ anspachs.com web site page . . . eventually)

For me it started early in the morning of Saturday July 5th ,, disregarding packing, as I boarded Patty’s little Ford Escort and headed to Townsend TN. This, after making the crucial decision of not riding my MC and deciding to move in with Earl and Carl in the ‘Taj Ma Hal’ – the KOA River Lodge. I placed Patty’s Audio Book “The Last Juror by John Grisham” in the tape deck and I was on my way.

The River Lodges were brand new. Sleeps 6, would be a little crowded but 6 could make it. For us it was 3 and each had our own room, MOL. Facing the Little River. Ours was the side door model. The others, Gene Rena, Josh Ashley, were the front door models. . . with a perfect view of the River. It worked out well, even with the finicky gas hot water heater, which worked some of the time. The campground was pretty typical. Not my favorite type of campground. But I will have to admit, even with all the RV’s, campers, River Lodges and cabins it turned out OK. I suspect that the Anspach Family Environment had a lot to do with it being OK. It was packed solid on July 4th weekend. It cleared out somewhat during the following week, and filling up again for the July 11th weekend.

The only tent campers were Nephew Jim and Barbra. Jerry, Becky, Drew, Jeff Calvin were in cabins. Tom Susan (Jeff Linda also) in their RV. The rest, Doug Kerry, John Diane, Kevin, Ken Judy, David Tammy, Mathew Charla, Scott Kelly, were off base, in Cabins, Becky G stayed wherever she happened to be when the lights went out. The term ‘cabin’ is a misnomer as they were pretty neat full featured ‘houses’ with multiple bedrooms, several bath’s, hot tubs, fireplaces, grand views and hilly curvy mountainy, sometimes gravel, roads leading to and from.

We ALL went up to Doug and Kerry’s place 1 night, after dinner. And it was pretty neat, lots of room, with a hot tub. We had a great time playing cards, talking and socializing. All the kids had a great time too, you could tell by the ‘noise’ and activity. . ahh. . . only to the have the energy of youth. Must have taken Doug and Carry many hours of clean up after we left. There should be some great pictures of this gathering.

The pavilion worked out great. KOA brought the brand new grill down from our Lodge #5 for our use at the Pavilion the entire week. The KOA staff were extremely accommodating and continually asking us if we needed anything. There were several scheduled activities at or near the Pavilion. The kids were invited to participate in many of them. They were not bashful and joined right in with the local kids. There were open grassy areas (only a little muddy after the rains) around 2 sides for the lawn games (corn hole and ladder golf), and the kids to play. A fire ring off to 1 side, around which we spent several late nights.

At the peak there were 50 people in attendance. All there for the evening meal. The rest of the time people were in and out with many varied activities - Bike riding, Local River rafting, Upper Rapids Rafting, Lower River Rafting, Cades Cove, Splash World (at Pigeon Forge Dollyworld), hiking, KOA swimming pool, Ripley’s Aquarium, River Tubing (several times), Laurel Falls, Tuckaleechee Caverns, Golf, Smoky Mountain Helicopter Ride, Previous Reunion Photo Album/Log book reviews and discussions, Checking the genealogy chart and the 300th John George Anspach (older brother of our Ancestor Johannes Anspach ) birthday reunion planning near Quad Cities in 2010, Socializing, Shopping, cooking, cleaning up, chasing after the kids, reading, some even working on their laptops using local WiFi hot spot connection, route planning using maps, Riding US119 in both directions, known the Motorcycle world over as Deal’s gap (Jerry A the only 1 to ride his MC down), etc.

It was great seeing all of the little kids getting to know each other. They certainly seemed to have a lot of fun. Most had seen each other 4 long years ago, and some weren’t around 4 years ago. I hope I didn’t teach them too many bad habits by blowing spit balls in the restaurant as we waited for our Friday night meal. And, unfortunately, or fortunately, I forgot to get the ‘spoon in the glass’ challenge going.

The wx was about as perfect as you can get in July. Maybe a little warm during some of the days, but not bad. Rained off and on a couple days, and couple times at night. The rest of the days were rain free.

And of course there were the GRAND evening meals. Prepared by the, by now world renown, Anspach chef’s. Followed by the usual boisturess Horse uchre games. We were only chastised by the campground management once for not observing the 10PM quiet hours. As I recall it was from Monday night. Usual shutdown time was around midnight or so. All though I heard there was 1 session lasting until the wee hours of the night, or is that morning. There appeared to be several empty bottles of red wine lying around in the morning. Apparently an attempt to keep the cholesterol lowered. And Alan where were you? . . The bottle of Yukon Jack lasted all week. The last sip taken on Friday Eve.

As most of us did I am sure, we looked at this new trend of reunion in an unknown location away from the historical known location of Winamac with uncertainty. For myself I was sure that once we all got going, it would work out. And of course it did. Maybe with a few small items for learning. And as usual, it seemed to go by too quickly, with that resulting exhausted feeling, missing those who were unable to make it, enjoying those who where there, leave with many memories, looking toward the next one, in 2012.

At some time I will convert the Anspach 2008 pages on Anspachs.com to past history. Some place we will have storage for digital photo’s from the reunion.

I finished listening to the audio book as I headed up the gravel road, ….and I was home. I had to drive pretty slow the last couple miles to hear the end of the book.

The 2008 Anspach Family Reunion was over; a great time.