Long distance relationships

I left Bentonville Arkansas this morning after enjoying a great evening with Brandon, Tracey and the kids.  It's unfortunate that life tends to put so many miles between such great friends.  It was a great day of riding north, only traffic of much note was when I passed through Kansas City, about the same time I got included in a rapid fire group text, my helmet whistling with each new message. Normally on open road I can hit cruise, pull out my phone and scroll through what's going on (dont judge, most of you do it in a car). For now I just had to use my imagination as to what the conversation could be.

 Crossing State lines brings a slight sense of accomplishment, and in the case of South Dakota, 80mph speed limits!  Time to let the big bike eat!   My body is becoming more accustomed to the bike again, but there are still times of standing up, doing calf stretches and raises, and some squats to get the blood flowing again. I sometimes wonder what the drivers behind me are thinking when they see this, but I didn't really care that much.  

This cloud formation was looking pretty cool, but it also had the potential to become very uncool since it was on an intersecting path with my route.  Feeding more fuel to the bike seemed like the best option, and I skirted the worst of the storm with only minimal rain.  

The day ended in Mitchell, South Dakota after about 650 fairly warm miles.  My first, and hopefully only hotel room of the trip is far from glamorous, but I've stayed in worse, much worse.  A short walk to a local chain restaurant rewarded me with a salad bar and a steak, and a very good conversation with Brad, a technician trainer for John Deere Ag. Combines, tractors and crops were all discussed in detail.  

After returning to my room, and being greeted by the smell of sweat soaked riding gear hanging on any available piece of furniture, I decided a shower and sleep was probably the best option.  Tomorrow is going to be an early start, there are about 750 miles between me and one of my best friends while growing up. (Not that I ever grew up, but that's a whole nother story) 

So I guess the keywords of today are miles, friends, and motorcycles. It works. 

KS