The Lindbergh Ride, 2022

[gharper]

Yet another great day of riding without rain, 230 miles! We left Dixon TN this morning after saying godbye to friends from the Music City Chapter road run. We didn't make 4 miles before we had a big surprise!

At a quick stop, Alex scooted past me because he couldn't stop! After he pulled over, he said his brake wasn't working. Closer inspection revealed something jammed behind the generator belt guard which was limiting the travel of the brake cross over lever. We used a magnet to extract it and all had a huge laugh.

5 days ago, just before pulling into the hotel in Lake city, Hans lost a threaded stud that the hand clutch control lever pivoted on. It screws into a small boss on the left dime of the steering head. At the time, Alex said he felt something hit his leg and there was discussion about going back to find it but it was decided it would be useless. Well, that stud was lodged in Alex's bike and had traveled over 500 miles before it was found. In fact, the lock washer was still in place on the stud! We were amazed!
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We jogged around all day avoiding heavy traffic on Hwy 41, which was Lindberghs orohonal route. For a short while we were on his original route, Old Hwy 41.

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Lots of jogging to avoid traffic and the afternoon got complicated due to construction and Garmin quirks. We arrived at our hotel in Vincennes IN and serviced the bikes under the watchful eye of a group of riders from the Rolling Thunder motorcycle club, a veterans group, great folks. Thanks for watching our gear and bikes while we ran off to get a bite to eat.

Today we also held our speed back to about 45 mph most of the time, which was tough to do. Seems these X motors want to run fast, but at 49-50 mph where we had been running, other things were taking a beating, primary chains especially. I replaced mine last night. First chain lasted about 1500 miles, second one barely 1100 miles, even with spray chain lube at every gas stop. These chains are vshort and not well libticated. 45 is a great pace for longevity, but it feels like trying to hold a horse back from running as fast as it wants to. It sure makes a difference though, things don't seem to be getting beat up so much.

Ride to Pontiac IL tomorrow, back to the flat farm lands!

[jolsen]

My first try to load a video here. Hope it works. It's just a few snips from the first half of the trip.

[gharper]

Great videos John, thanks fof posting them!! We miss having you along with us! I hope your travels home ere safe!!

[gharper]

One more great day today! 220 miles. VINCENNES iN to Pontic IL. No rain today but id get hot by afternoon.. Quite brisk in tth3 early morning, in fact Hans and I needed to layer up j under our vented summer riding jackets.

We connected again with Lindberghs route this morning when we crossed into Illinois and rode north on Hwy 1 for about 100 miles before heading west. We're detouring into NW Iowa for a visit tobthe Nationsl Motorcycle museum in Anamosa, then arrest daynin Anamosa and catching up with family there.

We detoured a bit today into Danville IL.for a quick visit with Bill's mom. Ester. She is in a rehab facility recovering from a broken hip. She was as delighted to see us as we were to see her! At 97 she is as sharp as ever and very spunky! It was a great visit and she hotnoutside for a bit of sun. She told us about how as a kid she admired Charles Lindberghvdo much. Shecwasvthrilled to see the bikes, hear our story and see the bikes run. She is looking forward to getting back home soon and we wish her all the best!
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The bikesxsrevrunning great! Thev45 mph pacebis so hard to keep, my bike wants to go faster. All the time! 3 Sets of plugs from 3 motors. We all have one ieaner running cylinder, which is he norm.
20220918_150847.jpg For Hans snd I its the front, for Alex its the rear. Afternoon maintenance didn't reveal any issues, so we got done early and had s great meal at Bernardies, a wonderful Italian restaurant in town.

Le Claire Iowa today, via the Rock Island Arsenal Bridge with a stop at the Mississippi River visitors center.

[Skirted]

Saw the Excelsior trio rolling into the hotel in Dickson Friday evening! Nice to finally meet you Gene! Even after after riding all day, Gene was patient in answering questions from the group and explaining all the details of what they are experiencing.
Glad to hear the bikes are still running well.
This has been quite a history lesson and teachable moment for us. When I tell people about this adventure, most often they know the name but ask - "what was Lindbergh famous for again?" This current day journey offers up little more realistic vison of what Lindbergh must have went through. Thanks for the continued updates Gene. You're on the home stretch! 3 more riding/wrenching days after today.
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[woodys garage]

That lost bolt story was the best, but also a great read overall. Details and thought were well founded. Nice job gentlemen!’

[gharper]

Today was a short day, about 153 miles from Pontiac IL to LeClaire IA. Lindbergh made a number of trips from Little Falls MN to Madison WI. Looking at his map its impossible to know which route he took on this trip. One route was through the NW corner of Iowa, so I decided we would do that, with a detour to the museum in Anamosa.

I have to admit, the riding is getting a bit boring in the farm country of Indiana and Illinois. Mostly straight roads with views of corn and soybeans from horizon to horizon. We're on back roads a lot and some of them are extremely rough! I bottomed out the fork springs more than once! Guess the reproducd springs are holding up well! The joints in the road have been repaired but continue to deteriorate and heave. Seems like every 100 yards or so a huge bump slams the bike, OUCH@!!

The bikes are really settling in, running exceptionally well! Hans and I did a quick bike swap this morning for a few miles. It was amazing that 2 motorcycles of the same model were so completely different. We decided that despite the difference in control adjustments, brakes and seats, the motors are extremely close to the same. We were looking for the sweet spots which both seem to be in thec45 - 48 mph range.

First gas stop was in Lacon IL at Tom Cottons shop for a short visit. Alex needed a quick soldering job which Tom took care of for him. Nice visit Tom, thanks for your hospitality. It was good to see your shop and visit with you!

This afternoon we arrived at the Arsensl Island lock and dam for a stop at the visitors center. Turns out we can't get in on the south end. So we parked the bikes and walked to the bridge just in time to see the bridge rotate so a tug and barges could pass through the lock. What an engineering marvel, operating continuously since 1898.
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Rode north on River Drive to LeClaire for afternoon maintenance and visits from friends Craig, Mary, Shane, Fiona, Kevin, Marcy and Steve, who did some laundry for us, thanks Steve!!!

Maintenance was straight forward again. I really think the drop in speed to 45 was a great move and has decreased wear on the front chains considerably.

Tomorrow we ride to Anamosa and take in their museum then on toAmana to meet up with some of our wives and family for a rest day on Wednesday.

[gharper]

Yesterday was another great day of riding!! Rode from Le Claire IA to Amana IA with a stop at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa IA.

We are on a big detour from Lindberghs route, which we will briefly connect with tomorrow. Lindberghs map showed multiple routes from Madison to Little Falls and I have no way of knowing which route he took, so I chose the one that cut through NE Iowa. I added a detour to the museum and Amana for a rest day. We connected with 3 of our wives today. Jan and Denise drove in from Colorado a few days ago. Anne Marie flew in from South Africa, Jan and Denise picked her up in Cedar Rapids. They will travel along in the car and do their thing while we ride and meet up at night.

Our ride yesterday was great. Started out another cool morning following the Mississippi River then cutting north and west through the Iowa farm land. Nice rolling hills on mostly backroads. We made it into Anamosa and for the first time had a chance to sit down and enjoy a local coffee and pastry shop! The bikes are running great, we can finally settle in and just ride, not having to stop for minor repairs or whatever. I found myself riding for miles and not looking back to see if someone has dropped out, they're always there..... 45 mph seems to be the happy spot, primary chains aren't wearing out as fast, oil consumption is a bit less and were getting a good 35 mpg.
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An incredible hot wind drove in from the south mid day. The temp was almost 100° but the bikes ran quite cool because of the high wind.

We arrived in Amana and started maintenance for the day. The ladies arrived just after we did and brought snacks!s Our friend from Iowa City, Chris came for a nice visit too.
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Today, our daughters Janene and Olivia will come for a visit, bringing their husband's, dogs and our new twin baby granddaughters! It will be great to see them. Rest day here today, no laundry or maintenence!

[jolsen]

It's great that the bikes are running reliably now. Who would have thought that 2000 miles or so of riding would make them MORE reliable? Congratulations.

I've added some photos from the first 9 days of the ride to my website at www.johnolsenphoto.com. With the captions they tell some of the story of this fine adventure. On my site click on "Browse" then "Motorcycles" then "Lindbergh Ride."

Greetings to all joining you in Iowa.

[ammorest]

John, great photos! Thanks for sharing.
Dave

[jug]

Gene, e.t.a Dubuque?

[T. Cotten]

...First gas stop was in Lacon IL at Tom Cottons shop for a short visit. Alex needed a quick soldering job which Tom took care of for him. ...

So I'm cleaning up the bench, Gene,...

And suddenly I think: Oh my gosh, somebody left their keys!

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If I hadn't been so distracted, I would have been delighted!

Many thanks; The pen goes into a special pre-script Ball jar, the penknife needs to go into the carburetor toolcase (the only 'phillips'), and the flashlight will come in handy camping at Davenport...

...Cotten

[gharper]

Thanks for letting us enjoy your shop!!! Glad you like the little bling!

[gharper]

Another superb day of riding, but it was cold for the first half, more to come tomorrow!

We left Amana IA by 8 am in the low 50's and humid.
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Backtracked to Anamosa and hit the 4 lane northeast for a bit to make time. The country is beautiful, rolling hills, farm and wooded country, spectacular riding. Hans commented that the scenery today was the best of the entire trip!

Balltown IA, we stumbled into a Ford Model A club on an outing. They just finished lunch and were heading out to Waterloo IA. Nice folks!
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Lunch stop in McGregor IA. Hot soup hit the spot! Bikes are running superbly! Mile after rmile with absolutely no problems. Holding our speed to 45 (mostly.....) and careful maintenance with lots of chain lube is paying off. We don't even worry about problems because things seem to be well sorted out. The steep hills makes for fun hill climbing competitions!
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Our evening stop in Lansing IA saw the usual maintenance routine for a couple hours. On a quick test ride I happened upon a group of teenagers who were hollering as I rode by. I turned around and chatted with them for a bit. I offered up some bling if they could tell me who Charles Lindbergh was.. it took dome prompting but they figured it out. I told them there was more free bling and motorcycles down the street. They piled in their cars and roared down the street. Nice visit with a good bunch of kids. Turns out they're the entire Lansing High School (8 man) football team. We encouraged them to read up about Charles Lindbergh, a man who accomplished many great things but is mired in PC controversy.. I encouraged them to read some of his writings about those subjects and decide for themselves...

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Lindberghs route crossed the Mississippidi River at Prairie DuChein WI, just across the river. We will cross his route in the morning and catch up again tomorrow aftetnoon.

[gharper]

Our last long day, it was long, wet and cold...

Out and rolling just after 8 am today for our 194 mile ride. Beautiful riding along the Mississippi as we left Lansing IA. Temp 54°F and foggy. 20220923_065402.jpg20220923_074419.jpg



Wonderful winding, hilly roads along the river. Shortly after departing the temp dropped to 48, which I'm ok with except the humidity nade it bone chilling. Half way through the rain started, but was never heavy, which helped!

Coffee and hot chocolate were in order at our lunch stop in Lake Pepin WI. We crossed to the east side to avoid traffic.

The afternoon continued cold and damp. Our ride into New Prague was delayed with construction detours, making today right at 200 miles.

The bikes are amazing!!! They are all running beautifully!! Again, our 45 mph speed and careful evening maintenance make for wonderful trouble free riding. It's amazing how the Big X just purrs along, trouble-free, for mile after mile. Too bad they eat primary chains!!!!

Tomorrow is our last day, 138 miles into Little Falls MN for our final leg. We plan to arrive at the at the Charles Lindbergh home and museum in Little Falls MN between 1 and 2 pm. Come see us!!