It was a poopy – er, Poopy’s – day…
Have you ever had one of those days that started out poorly and then got awesome? I had one today.
As you know from yesterday’s post, I was planning to run off and ride my motorcycle (which I had dragged ALL THE WAY FROM ARIZONA specifically to ride while I’m in Illinois) today. It almost didn’t happen. When I tried to start the Honda, the engine wouldn’t turn over because of a dead battery. The battery *shouldn’t* be dead because it hasn’t been that long since my last ride, but it was. I think there’s something wrong with it.
So that left me with two alternatives: Try to find a 5 mm hex wrench so I could take the seat off and use my handy-dandy fancypants self-recovery jumper kit (see my earlier post titled “Rescue Yourself”), or try to roll-start it down a hill. I opted for the hill. I tried several times to get it to kick over by getting it rolling downhill and then popping the clutch, but it didn’t catch – until the very last available try at the bottom of the hill! [Thank goodness for small favors…]
I met Char’s friend Jen, with whom I had arranged the ride, and her friend Cheri, and we rode west. I have no idea where we went, but we ended up in Savanna, IL. I was surprised by the number of motorcycles I saw on the road, until we made a left turn and rode about 100 yards down to a place called Poopy’s (http://poopys.com/). It was PACKED with motorcycles! They have a whole parking lot reserved for bikes; that was full. They have another lot for bikes and cars; it was also full – mostly with bikes. There is also an overflow lot that was filling – mostly with bikes. So that’s where we had lunch, and where we met up with Laurie (another friend of Char’s) and Paul.
After lunch, we wandered through the souvenir shop where Cheri, Jen and I bought t-shirts. Then we went over to the Iron Horse Social Club (also in Savanna). Now *there’s* a bar! Antique bar furniture, antique motorcycles, and more! My only problem with the place was the sound level from the band – it physically hurt my ears, it was so loud. Beyond that, though, it was an awesome place to have a drink and soak in some motorcycling history.
We wanted to see some other sights over by the Mississippi River, but time was running out, so Cheri, Jen and I reluctantly turned out handlebars toward Round Lake and headed home.
My butt hurts, my back is stiff, and my neck aches. But Oh, what a great day!
The Peripatetic Traveler 
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