Great River Road

ajayhawkfan · Post by **ajayhawkfan** » 28 Jun 2007 19:10

My bag is packed, valves adjusted, oil changed, tires checked, tools packed, route planned (including geocaches), I can't wait to go and tomorrow I am leaving around noon. I am riding to Grafton, IL and then up the Great River Road to the headwaters. My route along the river is about 50/50 gravel/asphalt. I hope to make it all the way to the headwaters but there are so may interesting roads I could easily be distracted along the way.

This is the longest trip I have ever planned on a bike (2300 miles). Does anyone have any last minute advice?

Hayden · Post by **Hayden** » 28 Jun 2007 19:25

Be flexable with your time and enjoy. If you have the bags packed and the bike sorted, you should have a good time. OH, talk to people. I have met some of the most interesting people out touring on my bike. Will never forget a guy I talked to in Glacier National Park at 5:30 am watching the sun come up. Double rainbow at 6:30 and some of the neatest converstation I have ever had. Or the cute 20 something girl I had breakfast with in Glacier the next day that was from Iowa. Shaved head and tattooed working at a little bakery on the dirt road up the west side of the park. I could have talked to her for days. You just never know who you will run into.

Have fun!!

Hayden

Stu · Post by **Stu** » 29 Jun 2007 09:21

Don't forget your camera! We expect lots of posts and pix! Have fun!

Stu

ajayhawkfan · Post by **ajayhawkfan** » 29 Jun 2007 09:58

I'm leaving in about 2 hours and it look like rain from KC to Grafton.

That is not how I had it planned.

Post by **troy** » 29 Jun 2007 09:59

First, Eddie--have a GREAT ride. You have quickly become a seasoned pro on that fine machine. I'm sure you'll have a great time.

And now for a slight thread hijack...Hayden mentions talking to people...man, I could not agree more. However, in my experience, this is very hard to do when in a group of riders---even a small group. When you are solo, you can be completely spontaneous. The people you meet, the stories you hear, and the unplanned branches can be the best part of a journey. I enjoy riding in groups and solo.....both have their advantages.

safiri · Post by **safiri** » 29 Jun 2007 11:21

troy wrote:First, Eddie--have a GREAT ride. You have quickly become a seasoned pro on that fine machine. I'm sure you'll have a great time.

And now for a slight thread hijack...Hayden mentions talking to people...man, I could not agree more. However, in my experience, this is very hard to do when in a group of riders---even a small group. When you are solo, you can be completely spontaneous. The people you meet, the stories you hear, and the unplanned branches can be the best part of a journey. I enjoy riding in groups and solo.....both have their advantages.

Agree with all!

Be safe, keep the rubber side down, take pictures, be spontaneous, find the local "color" (like Troy did in Wathena many moons ago), etc.

Hank Moody · Post by **Hank Moody** » 29 Jun 2007 11:23

Keep it out of the ditches, take pictures and spread the Jayhawk nation!

Post by **troy** » 29 Jun 2007 11:52

safiri wrote:...find the local "color" (like Troy did in Wathena many moons ago), etc.

Ah, Kware's girlfriend. She was lovely.

ajayhawkfan · Post by **ajayhawkfan** » 29 Jun 2007 23:41

I embarrassed myself. I rode in the rain, and iit sucked but not as bad as I do. I rode to the mississippi river, got on a ferry, and as everyone started to leave I jumped on my piq to leave however my pig wanted to lay down on the damp and cool steel deck. of course I was at the front of the line.

the trip has to get better.

safiri · Post by **safiri** » 30 Jun 2007 08:05

ajayhawkfan wrote:I embarrassed myself. I rode in the rain, and iit sucked but not as bad as I do. I rode to the mississippi river, got on a ferry, and as everyone started to leave I jumped on my piq to leave however my pig wanted to lay down on the damp and cool steel deck. of course I was at the front of the line.

the trip has to get better.

If this was ADVRider, all would have wanted you to have gotten a picture before picking up the bike ... Did you?

Did it rain the entire trip across MO? It rained in KC all day, all night, and is still raining this morning. Not hard rain, but more than a sprinkle.

Keep us posted, of the good

, the bad

, and the ugly

.

ajayhawkfan · Post by **ajayhawkfan** » 01 Jul 2007 22:06

After riding most of Friday in the rain and then dropping my pig things have turned around. The weather has been incredible and the scenery better then I expected. The only draw back is I am not on as many gravel roads as I expected. I am trying to keep sight of the river as much as possible and that has me mostly on blacktop. When I do get off the blacktop to explore I loose track of time because I am having so much fun and not proceeding up the river. There are so may great roads to ride every where I look.

The historic river towns are also worth seeing. I am also surprised by then number of bikes riding the Great River Road and stopped at every pub along the way. Most are hogs, I have seen two GS and only 3 other dual sport bikes out of 1000's.

The first day I road from KC to Grafton, IL. Saturday I road from Grafton to Clinton, IA, approximatively 325 miles. Today another 300 miles to Red Wing, MN. Tomorrow, I am not going to push it. I'm going to Stillwater, MN about 40 miles from and staying the night. I think I will do a little riding and caching up the St. Croix river to Taylors Falls.

Here are some pictures if anyone has an interest. http://picasaweb.google.com/ajayhawkfan ... Trip629To7

Post by **troy** » 02 Jul 2007 06:54

Sounds great! Love the pictures--thanks for taking them and sharing. The scenery looks great--better than I would have anticipated as well.

Hank Moody · Post by **Hank Moody** » 02 Jul 2007 07:15

Dang that sure looks fun, even in the rain. Great report please keep the pictures coming.

ajayhawkfan · Post by **ajayhawkfan** » 04 Jul 2007 23:28

I made it to the headwaters of the Great River. I wish I had time to ride back down the river now. The scenery the entire trip was wonderful. I enjoyed seeing how the river changed from a working river in the south to motorized recreational crafts to only canoes at the beginning.

The northern parts of the river does not have the cliffs that the south does but it flow into and the drains some incredibly beautifully lakes that are surrounded by dense forests. You really get a feeling of being remote here.

The wildlife is abundant, I saw a number of bald eagles, lots of deer, ducks, geese and birds of all kinds, a couple of foxes, pheasant and turkeys.

Tomorrow I will be working my way home.

I have added some pictures.

Bones · Post by **Bones** » 05 Jul 2007 15:41

Good ride! I plan to run this from around Davenport, IA to the MN border quite a bit now that I am back in Iowa. Lovely scenery up there in NE Iowa.

ajayhawkfan · Post by **ajayhawkfan** » 08 Jul 2007 16:51

I made it home!!! It was quite a trip. The total trip was a little over 2250 miles through parts of 9 states (MO, IL, IA, WI, MN, ND, SD, NE, KS). I road along river most of the trip. The Mississippi River to the Headwaters in MN. Then went west to the Red River at Fargo, ND. I followed that South to its headwaters and then picked up the Minnesota River at is headwaters and followed it south for about 50 miles. At that point I went overland to the Big Sioux River and road along that river to the Missouri and then the Missouri home.

The scenery was incredible the entire way. I enjoyed the historic town and locations throughout the trip. I would recommend the ride to anyone. I want to do it again in the opposite direction now.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ajayhawkfan ... p629To7707

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