August 1, 2003 - Sturgis, MI

Forecast: 75 degrees: afternoon severe storm warning

Road Condition: Good I-95 West into Ohio, through Cleveland and Toledo into Indiana to Sturgis Michigan

Fuel: Super Unleaded $1.68

Miles Traveled: Erie, Pennsylvania to Sturgis, Michigan: 350 (Total 8,342)

Bike Update: Running good

Road Trip Log Update: We woke up to a calm morning but we knew it wouldn’t last. The weather channel forecasted a severe storm with “monsoon moisture” in our path later today. As we ventured out onto I-90 we were joined by large groups of bikes that were Sturgis, South Dakota bound. The largest packs numbered up to 10 bikes and then, there were plenty of 2-3’s. Of course there were just as many motor homes and pickups pulling trailers. When we would stop to fuel the people pulling trailers couldn’t help but come up and ask us about traveling from Oregon. All the other bikes had East Coast plates and we were coming from the East, not the West. When we told them the path of the trip we were on they would just look at us funny and then said “How many miles?” The Ohio Turnpike took us into Maumee, Ohio to take a break at and say hello to our friends Pam and Michael who are also auctioneers who enjoy riding bikes. We had a great visit, but Michael noticed the thunder in the distance and we knew we needed to get going. The weather started to pick up as we headed West to Toledo and we were ready with raingear on. The mild rain quickly turned into sheets of sideways rain accompanied by rolling thunder and ongoing lightening that streaked across the sky. As the storm picked up momentum we found ourselves finding refuge under a few over passes during the worst parts. We were quickly loosing daylight and knew we could not ride much longer. With all the bikes headed West and the weather changing we called ahead to reserve a room and got one of the last ones but it was 120 miles down the road in …no kidding….. in Sturgis, Michigan. We booked the room and braved the storm. The winds were so strong and the rain was so intense that we had to pull over at the travel plaza 5 miles from our exit. The radio reported that tornado warnings had been issued for the area and we understood the winds we had just ridden through. The storm knocked out power and left everyone stranded since the pumps wouldn’t work. With the lights out, the evening sky put on a show. We got our bikes to a safe place under cover, and then watched the power of the storm. We couldn’t help but laugh at what we had just rode through. An hour later when the worst part was over we made a quick dash for the last 5 miles and made it to our room. The night sky continued to light up with lightening strikes, and the rain lived up to the forecast prediction of monsoon. Watching the weather channel’s forecast for the next 3 days, we have determined that we need to drop down away from Chicago and bypass going to the Harley factory in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When the forecaster uses words like “another round of wicked weather” we bring out the atlas and start re-routing. The objective is to arrive at the 4th corner of our trip, in Seattle and to be home safely by Aug. 6th.

Visiting Friends in Ohio	Under the overpass
Waiting out a storm
Click to see July 31, 2003	Click to see Aug 2, 2003