Rain avoidance was to become as much of a planning tool as anything else for the next week or so\u2026 Dang, we all have ridden in it, and we all will again\u2026 Most of us, however, won\u2019t do it intentionally, but many of us have even done that, too. Like when we have reservations or some other deadline driving us forward.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t really have any of that going on this time, and it would have been smarter for me to have just delayed my trip a week or so and waited for the weather pattern to shift\u2026 I ain\u2019t really that smart\u2026 Plus I was in dire need of some wind therapy!<\/p>\n
I kept a sharp weather eye out as ALI and I made the turn onto AL 9. We were both eagerly anticipating the very pleasant ride that awaited us\u2026 rain notwithstanding\u2026 We didn\u2019t actually get into any to speak of, but it was certainly around, and a few sprinkles did find us along with several stretches of wet pavement. Nothing to warrant suiting up, however.<\/p>\n
Flexibility is the hallmark of my planning these days, to the extent I even do any. I seem powerless to completely avoid \u2018planning\u2019, though, as it just seems so natural to anticipate routes, weather, meals, motels, yadda, yadda\u2026 Naturally, all of this becomes infinitely more complex if another or others are involved, but that would not be the case on this adventure\u2026 for the most part\u2026 but it would for the first part\u2026 sort of\u2026<\/p>\n
I am experimenting with a new strategy now\u2026 I go ahead and let plans develop, then I change them\u2026 often\u2026 I suppose it\u2019s working marginally well. Oh darn, though, I do feel like I\u2019m betraying some sort of sacred gypsy biker code or something, but at least it does help me deal with my natural tendencies and placate them somewhat.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d already changed my \u2018plan\u2019 before I\u2019d even mounted ALI. Once aboard, I changed the \u2018plan\u2019 again within the first five miles. Within the next one hundred miles, I changed them yet again. This technique ain\u2019t exactly perfect, but it does seem to compensate sufficiently for me to overcome inertia and become mobile.<\/p>\n
One more significant change had to be made late in the afternoon, when it became obvious rain was closing in on us, and the most recent previous change if pursued would result in some undesirable level of sogginess\u2026 We stopped for the night just down the road, and we managed to beat the rain by several minutes! What a plan, huh!!!<\/p>\n
I had allotted two days for the remainder of this leg to allow for weather variables, just to be on the safe side\u2026 See what planning using the weather forecast will do to ya? I actually made the ride in one long day, but I didn\u2019t want to upset the schedule already in place\u2026 I just took the next day off and did some not really needed laundry, but what the hey, it made me feel productive.<\/p>\n
Rain on radar and in the forecast had indicated I needed to make hay will the sun shone brightly, so that\u2019s just what I had done\u2026 I reasoned it would be better to take lazy and award myself an unexpected day off than to stick to the \u2018plan\u2019 and\u2026 you know\u2026 I felt no guilt whatsoever\u2026<\/p>\n
In my postings just prior to departure, I\u2019d mentioned I was thinking of swinging by Scooter Dogs\u2026 Tracy had indicated she would not be open on the Sunday I was \u2018planning\u2019 on riding through there, but she and Don had provided a welcome for me to drop by the farm\u2026 I took them up on it. A relatively short but most pleasant day\u2019s ride to their place\u2026 but not completely without incident\u2026<\/p>\n
Don had given me precise directions to their farm, and they proved to be quite accurate\u2026 I realized that once I\u2019d back-tracked and performed my second U-turn\u2026 As a precaution, Don had ridden his four-wheeler down to the road by then, so the final quarter mile I had an escort and leader\u2026 Probably a good thing even though it was a strait shot with no turn-offs\u2026<\/p>\n
A very nice place! And, two very hospitable hosts. These are two very fascinating characters, and the stories of their lives are a genuine treat to have revealed\u2026 Each time I\u2019m around them, I learn a little more about their most circuitous routes along the journey of life; and, there is always a bonus of some special insight into life itself, and the mysteries with which we all grapple. I always leave them with the feeling I can\u2019t wait for the next time I see them\u2026 and for the next installment of their fanciful experiences and deep wisdom\u2026<\/p>\n
Don rode into town with me the next morning to see me off. And, although he is too polite to admit it, I\u2019m sure he wanted to make sure I could get on my way in the right direction\u2026 We stopped for a farewell handshake and a few parting words, then a final wave in our mirrors as we pulled out in opposite directions\u2026 Thanks, my friends, I\u2019m really glad I made this stop after all!<\/p>\n
Weather folks forecast about as accurately as I navigate\u2026 I mean, come on! A some % chance of rain? An entire state colored in green on the weather map? If it does rain, they say, \u201cWe told you it would.\u201d If it doesn\u2019t rain, they say, \u201cWe only predicted a chance of rain, we didn\u2019t say for sure it would\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
A friend of mine in Florida once told me, \u201cIf I paid attention to that stuff, I\u2019d never leave the house!\u201d Sometimes you just have to roll the dice and take your chances\u2026 But then, motorcycling, even life itself, is like that too, isn\u2019t it\u2026?<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve found my best results come from looking at the radar myself, either on TV or on my phone, then making my own guesstimate. I\u2019ve done a lot of that on this trip so far, and it\u2019s working reasonably well\u2026 That, plus the fact destiny seems to still be on my side!<\/p>\n
Still, you can\u2019t afford to totally ignore the weather forecasters\u2026 sometimes they actually do get it right on the money! Accordingly, I\u2019ve been watching them as I always do\u2026 but I\u2019ve also made my own calls as I always do, based upon my own judgements and assessments\u2026 Apparently I\u2019m a bit better at this than I am at navigating\u2026 An example\u2026<\/p>\n
I was in a motel just west of St. Cloud, Minnesota, the other day, and rain had been in the forecast for that location that evening\u2026 and for the following two days. Well, some percentage or other had been called for\u2026 but it didn\u2019t actually rain that afternoon\u2026 That\u2019s the reason I\u2019d made it that far in the first place\u2026 I was thinking we\u2019d need to hole-up sooner based upon the forecast, but the opportunity was there to ride some more, so we did\u2026<\/p>\n
I\u2019d already ruled out a ride through the north woods of Minnesota northeast of Duluth along the shore of Lake Superior then westward through some scenic back country. TP and Nancy had told JP and me about that special excursion, so we\u2019d planned to ride it a couple months ago on our way to Montana\u2026 The forecast had dissuaded us then, and it had done so to me again! I do want to ride that route one of these days, though\u2026<\/p>\n
The next morning rain was forecast for that morning, evening, and all the following day, and for the area west of us where we were going! Radar showed the significant wet mass to be just southwest of us and barreling down on I-94 all the way to Fargo! However, the rain was not one monolithic blob, and there \u2018appeared\u2019 to be a window where we were that would be opening up along our route\u2026 as we rode\u2026 then closing behind us. A daring gamble, I thought to myself, but if we\u2019re going to go for it, it has to be right now\u2026 We went\u2026 This was about 6am.<\/p>\n
We rode about fifty miles with wet roads the entire way plus a couple of almost unnoticeable sprinkles. Then, rain could clearly be seen well up ahead along our route\u2026 I pulled in for a break. A cup of coffee and a smoke, and a quick check of the radar on my phone\u2026 Rain had enveloped the town where we\u2019d stayed the night before and it was dumping on Fargo\u2026 but up ahead an interlude was coming up soon\u2026 We darted forth and resumed the trek\u2026<\/p>\n
Another fifty miles or so and rain again appeared just up ahead and off in the distance to our southwest. ALI was on reserve by then because I hadn\u2019t topped off the evening before, so we pulled off again\u2026 I topped her off, then pulled up to the Big Chief Restaurant at this truck stop, and I had myself a most satisfying breakfast!<\/p>\n
WOW! I ate more than I should have, but\u2026 it was so doggone good, and I was feeling like rewarding myself\u2026 A mound of delicious hash brown taters (no grits available), a couple of fried eggs cooked just right, and several slices of fabulous, thick, apple-wood bacon\u2026 only half of a slice of uneaten sour dough toast remained when I paid the check\u2026 the coffee was good, too\u2026<\/p>\n
A check of the radar once again revealed our \u2018window\u2019 had reopened but haste would be necessary\u2026 We made haste in a hurry! More wet pavement, several dicey looking clouds, and some rain just off to our northeast and southwest all confirmed that our guesstimate plan was working to perfection\u2026 so far.<\/p>\n
One more stop to let our \u2018weather window\u2019 adjust and to have a cup of hot chocolate this time, then we were back at it\u2026 Fifty miles or so west of Fargo, my thoughts abruptly shifted from dodging rain showers to the need for some 50 SPF for my face! We\u2019d made it!!! We\u2019d gambled and run the gauntlet, and we didn\u2019t have a single boo-boo or misfire the entire way. Dang, I\u2019d for sure rather be lucky than good!<\/p>\n
About this time, I realized that I had re-found my groove\u2026 and that my rut days were again behind me. Yep, a big ol\u2019 goober grin was plastered all over my face, and I was yodeling at the top of my lungs! I\u2019ve been known to sing sometimes, but as near as I can recollect this is my first time yodeling\u2026 I\u2019m not sure what that might mean, but\u2026 there it is. Any of y\u2019all ever yodel?<\/p>\n
No matter what may happen down the road, I\u2019m a mighty happy rider just now! And, I\u2019m sure happy to see destiny is still looking out for me\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rain avoidance was to become as much of a planning tool as anything else for the next week or so\u2026 Dang, we all have ridden in it, and we all will again\u2026 Most of us, however, won\u2019t do it intentionally, …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-meanderings-by-ddt-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=601"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":602,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601\/revisions\/602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}