On the road to WWR

The day finally came and today we were on our way to Richmond, KY. After picking up the motorcycles, strapping the luggage, getting gas and breakfast at facilities located on Homer Watson and 401, we were on our way shortly before 10am. We were, of course, traveling with Jim and Sandy who wanted to accompany us on our first foray into the United States. We hopped back on the 401 and then 402 to Sarnia, where we were going to cross the border. Since we had sufficient time, we wanted to avoid Detroit which can be challenging at the best of times.

We reached Sarnia just before noon and without any problems at the border, Heather and I were riding on US roads for the first time. After picking up gas shortly after crossing the border, we headed west toward Flint on I-69. Aside from a couple of slowdowns at constructions sites, the ride was pretty uneventful. After reaching Flint, we turned south on US 23 and were now heading straight for Ann Arbor and then I-75 and Richmond, KY. Again, we wouldn't reach Richmond today. Minutes outside of Flint we stopped for lunch at Ron's Diner.

Getting ready to head back on the road after lunch in Grand Blanc, MI.

Once the lunch was over, we made another gas stop as well as a stop where we rain suited up. It wasn't really raining but it was enough to make us stop. Obviously it stopped raining as soon as we put our suits on. Nevertheless, we kept them on until we reached today's pit stop which was at the Hampton Inn in Lima, OH (that's LIE-ma, not LEE-ma), over 600km from home. That distance was the longest ever we've done in one day on our motorcycles.

At the Hampton Inn parking lot in Lima, OH.

After unwinding in the room for a few minutes, we all went for supper at the adjacent Cracker Barrel. This wasn't the first time in Lima or even the Cracker Barrel for Heather and myself as we stopped here last summer on our way home from an overnight trip to Cincinnati.

Relaxing in the pool.

Following supper, we went back to the hotel and then made use of the hotel's amenities which included a pool and a hot tub. Tomorrow's trip will be much shorter but the anticipation of finally arriving at the rally will be much greater.

SEASON STATS
Today's trip: 616 km
2009 goal: 8,500 km
2009 to date: 2,133 km (25.1%)
To obtain goal: 6,367 km


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