This journey was long in the planning and greatly anticipated, as I had been on no motorcycle trips since riding in Texas in March of 2010, to Big Bend National Park. So when friend Barry suggested meeting he and other Texans in the Black Hills of South Dakota in September, and heading further west from there, I eagerly agreed. As the months passed we discussed the particulars of the trip, and the length, route, and likely participants changed a number of times, as such things are wont to do.
In preparation for what I estimated would be a 6000-mile journey, I changed oil and filter on Hi-Ho Silver, my 2003 V-Strom 1000. I also installed a new rear tire, as the one on the bike had only about 1000 miles of tread left and I didn't wish to source/install a tire during the trip. I chose to use soft saddlebags instead of the Givi hard cases because I would be staying in motels instead of camping. Upon departure the bike had 90,000 on the clock.
I rode in rain for a while, then was lucky enough to dodge between two big nasty storm cells as I headed west on I-90. Crossing the Mississippi River at La Crosse, I bid farewell to Wisconsin and the land proceeded to flatten out. The farm fields of Minnesota rolled by as I let Hi-Ho Silver stretch his legs, and listening to the wide variety of music I had loaded onto my Zumo GPS made traversing this familiar territory somewhat more pleasant. I've crossed the prairies so many times that it has unfortunately become a chore. But I consoled myself with the knowledge that the landscape would be getting 'bumpier' before the sun set the next day. ;-)
