Left Manitowoc and since there was no easily mapped way to Milwaukee without getting on the Interstate and since we were both cold and soaked, we decided to hop on I-43 and make a run for Milwaukee ASAP. So that’s what we did…I think we averaged 80 MPH the whole way…just one solid run straight down the highway. We were really moving, still getting wet every once in awhile from intermittent showers and road spray. I just kept my head down and focused on getting to Milwaukee as quick as possible. Peter was right on my tail. We got close and I happened to look down and saw my reserve light on. I had no idea how long it had been on, it could have been on for a tenth of a mile or it could have been on for 20 miles, that’s how focused I was on the road ahead, the traffic, and getting to Milwaukee. In any case, I signaled a stop to Peter because I didn’t want to risk running out, even though we were just coming to the outskirts of Milwaukee. There was no way to know if we would find gas downtown in the city.
We stopped and gassed up, then got back on the freeway and headed into downtown. We rode around for awhile, not quite sure where to go. It was pretty dead where we were…just office buildings, no traffic. We pulled over and Peter told me one of my hardbags was jiggling around pretty good. I checked it and it was blatantly loose so while I busted out the toolkit Peter got on the web via his phone and started looking for someplace to have lunch. I tossed a quarter into the parking meter just to be sure…no sense getting a visit from Johnny Law for something silly like not paying the meter. I got my hardbags squared away (note to self: next time use Locktite) and packed up the toolkit. Peter told me he had found a block that a had a couple restaurants and it was only about half a mile away so we saddled up and headed over there.
What a difference half a mile makes! It was like night and day…one second we’re riding through ghost town and then we make one turn and there’s all these people walking around. The sun even came out! We parked the bikes and saw Water Street Brewery across the street and headed over. We got a table and ordered beers and lunch. The beers came, and when Peter saw the glasses he said “they even have the correct drinking utensils!” so I knew we were in a serious beer spot. I ordered a BBQ chicken pizza to avoid yet another pub burger and fries and the pizza was really good. The beer was great. The restaurant was real nice…they had a beer can collection that was out of this world but something I thought was even more interesting was their beer tap collection.
I got on the MiFi and we scoped out hotels in the Chicago area. Peter and I wanted to stay on a budget so we looked out in the suburbs instead of the city and found a Days Inn in Elk Grove, IL. Called ahead to reserve a couple of rooms, got back on the bikes, and headed out. Someday I will go back and check out the Harley museum and the various breweries there…Milwaukee looks like a fun place!
Entries (RSS)