Going to Sturgis

I went to the Motorcycle Safety Awareness day on Wednesday put on by the Kentucky State Police. It was a good event. Louisville Scooter Group folks were over two thirds of the scooterists there. I only took a half vacation day, so Kat & I left Louisville at noon. My friend Jim joined us on his red Vespa. Generally the members of LSG are pretty laid back. We tool around on the state roads and county lanes. Because we had to get to Frankfort pretty quick, I had to take the interstate. A lot of scooterist dread riding at high speeds with the wind, buffetting from tractor trailers, etc. and I had become one of them. I would plan routes in my head taking five hours to get to someplace like Cincinnati or Indianapolis. I don't know why, but I was nearly dreading getting along at 65-75 mph! Well, once I got a few miles outside Louisville I remembered how much I like the simplicity and efficiency of quick travel...which led me down a different train of thought. Last year I completed my Saddle Sore 1000 mile ride to Montgomery Alabama and back to join the Iron Butt Association. I was starting to feel it had been a one-time thing... After jogging down to Frankfort and back, I realized that this weekend would be the perfect time to do a little jaunt. I have a dog who needs taking care of and gets medication so I didn't want to be gone overnight, so I came up with a route to visit my birth state, Michigan, then swing around Chicago to Kenosha, Wisconsin, then back home. The total trip would be almost 950 miles and take me 15 hours ride time. Add to this a lunch break and gas stops and it was starting to look a little grueling. I didn't want that. I settled on a route that takes me north through a little town called Sturgis, MI, then northeast to catch back up on I-90. From there, given enough time I would swing through Muncie Indiana to pick up some BSU stickers & such, then finally home. 12-13 hours ride time would make it workable for a Saturday. I plan to leave tomorrow mo