Dobber's.
Jim's home | Motorcycle home | 10k Home
I got a pretty early start out of the motel room in Escanaba, MI with the intent to get to a Moto Guzzi dealer ASAP to fix the noise coming from my engine. On my way out of town I saw Dobber's Pasties. Friend Rob had explained to me that a pastie is a pocket of dough holding potato and meat. Welch miners would eat them for lunch. So I stopped and was asked "Beef or breakfast?". I chose beef. She pulled one of many foil wrapped packets off the top of a pizza oven and handed it to me. Hefty, warm, smelled good. $6. I couldn't finish it. So many carbs with dough and potatos. Tasty though. If you were a miner...
Dobber's.
The pastie.
For repairs and per Tom Kelly's recommendation, I went to Dunn Imports in Middleton, WI. Got there about mid-day after riding along the west shore of Lake Michigan. They used to be a dealership for Guzzi, Vespas and others. Now they service European cars. However Jeremy, a Guzzi mechanic who works there checked my bike out. He instantly diagnosed the tapping noise as an exhaust leak. Later when the engine cooled off I found that the collar attaching the header pipe to the left side cylinder was loose. There were 2 studs to secure it. A nut on one stud was missing and the other was loose. Jeremy fixed it in 10 minutes and didn't charge me anything. There are special aluminum crush washers and thinwall nuts that should be used. He faked one and reused the other, and said it should be good for the rest of the trip. Indeed, the engine sounds normal now. Whew! I called Jim Hamlin in CT who did work on my bike. He said yeah, he should have retightened those nuts again after riding it and going through heating/cooling cycles. He's sending me replacement nuts and washers.
Jeff Dunn from Dunn Imports in Middleton, WI. Was fortunate enough to chat with him for quite a while. Interesting to hear the story behind their Guzzi dealership and it's demise.
So all's good with the bike. Tom Kelly requested I stop by a European bakery in Middleton to pick up some loaves of bread before heading to his house. I hit a nice brew pub first, got the bread and headed to Tom's. He's waaaay out in the country in an impossibly beautiful setting. A lot like North Carolina, but in the bluffs of Wisconsin. Apparently the glaciers didn't mow down any mountains or hills in his area vs. other areas of WI. It's really beautiful. Tom was leaving for a North Carolina Guzzi rally in the morning with his friend Steve who came to dinner and spent the night for an early start today. Friend Eric also came, riding a Griso. Had a really nice dinner with Tom, Debbie, Steve and Eric.
Driving to Tom's across beautiful Wisconson.
Tom's and Debbie's barn with Guzzis inside.
Their farmhouse.
Dinner.
We all woke up early the next day and went our separate ways. Tom had suggested a rather complex route that I got most of. Saw the A.D. German Warehouse designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Richland Center, WI. Nice having the morning east light a my back as I headed out through the Wisconson valleys.
Beutiful morning light from behind along the Wisconson River. What a way to start the day.
The A.D. German Warehouse designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
I crossed the Mississippi, went through Bluff Country in the NE corner of Iowa, and then crossed southern Minnesota to South Dakota. 540+ miles today. Great riding in the morning, but lots of interstate miles after the morning back roads. Stopped at the Obscure Brewing brew pub in one town on the way to my campground. Had a rather uninspired IPA.
Crossing the Mississippi.
Views looking east from the west banks of the Mississippi.
Something strangely compelling about the shapes of agricultural equipment.
Had a beer here.
Finally made to the American Creek campground on the Missouri River outside of Chamberlain, SD. It's an incredibly beautiful walk-in campsite. I took a quick dip in the river. Pretty cold below 1 foot depth, but refreshing after a hot day's ride. Had steaks with asparagus for dinner. Scotch, a cigar and some ukulele playing. Time for bed. Badlands tomorrow.
Campsite at American Creek campground.
Steaks for dinner. Really bad steaks actually.
Sunset on the Missouri River.
The bridge I'll cross in the morning.