BigTrip2011 - Day 16 - Chicago to Minneapolis

I was shocked to realize I hadn’t written this post yet. The final day of my “BigTrip” from earlier this year – Chicago to Minneapolis: August 13, 2011. My original plan was to ride from Chicago to Milwaukee along Lake Michigan like I did in 2010, but I received a call from my wife and changed my plans.

She made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse, so I loaded up the SV650 and the destination as “home” on the GPS. For the first time on the trip, I also selected “fastest route” which included tolls and interstates. bleh.

Chicago’s infamous traffic didn’t disappoint and soon I was slowly crawling along admiring the blue sky thinking the weather guessers were wrong.

Nope, I was wrong. The further north and west I rode the darker the sky became. I was heading right for a large storm system. A quick check of the weather radar with my phone sealed my fate. There wasn’t an easy way around it.

There was only through it. Once I got close enough to see the impending rain, I pulled over and put on my rain suit. It was hot and sticky. I immediately started to sweat.

I didn’t have to wait long to cool off as I entered the storm a few minutes later. It was a strong one, but nothing like the one I rode in last year or even on the way to Jack’s house.

The best part of riding through a massive storm like that one is coming out the other side. The camera hardly did it justice how beautiful it was.

I saw this guy at a gas-stop in Wisconsin. It made me think of FuzzyGalore and her love of roadside wonders.

The rest of the ride through Wisconsin was pleasant and I made great time until I was about 20 miles from Minnesota. The traffic just stopped. We sat there for so long, I just turned the bike off. Most of the cars did as well.

Eventually, we crawled forward and a mile later I could see the blinky lights.

Then the rolled SUV. There were no other vehicles. Did they get towed away or did this one manage to crash on a straight road all by themselves?

I made it home for dinner with my wife. It was a nice end to a great trip.

 

About 400 miles IL, WI, and MN.

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Related Posts:

• BigTrip2011 - Day 15 - The Windy City
• BigTrip2011 - Day 14 - Motorcycles and Gold
• BigTrip2011 - Day 13 - Riding West
• BigTrip2011 - Day 12 - Jack’s Obstacle Course
• BigTrip2011 – Day 11–A Trip to the Beach is the Cure
• BigTrip2011 – Day 10– Gold at the End of the Slab
• BigTrip2011 – Day9 – WWI Military Expo Video
• BigTrip2011 – Day8 – Raingear to the Rescue
• BigTrip2011 – Day7 – Mountains and Rainstorms
• BigTrip2011 – Day6 – NY & VT – Adirondacks and a Ferry
• BigTrip2011 – Day5 – Buffalo, NY to Watertown, NY
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• BigTrip2011 – Day3&5 Videos
• BigTrip2011 – Day3 – OH, PA, NY – Lake Erie and Niagara Falls
• BigTrip2011 – Day2 – Indiana to Ohio – MotoVlogger Meetup
• BigTrip2011 – Day1 – Minnesota to Indiana
• Trip Starts After More Delays!
• Announcement: Big Trip of 2011!