Road Trip

Today was my first road trip on the

front end of a motorcycle. I've had road

trips before where I have been the

passenger but this time I was in the drivers seat. We started out at Liberty Motorcycle rental near Hwy. 61 and Hwy. 36. Liberty was a great place to rent a bike. The customer service was excellent. If you rent a bike there you are invited to sign a brick on the wall with a silver sharpie pen. I wrote "Vroom Vroom" before my name, city and date. I rented a Honda rebel. The bike had 6 miles when I started and about 112 when we returned 7 hours later. Before we left, we got pinned. Our trusted leader gave us both motorcycle-riding angel pins. We put them on our clothes and commenced. We drove north on Hwy. 61. Oh, what an experience that was. Hwy 61 has LOTS of traffic. The first time someone pulled into the right turn lane on the right of me I screamed. Lucky no one could hear me. We were fortunate, EXTREMELY fortunate to have a trusted leader who has years of experience on her Harley. She scouted out the route over the weekend and even made alternate plans in case we got farther during our day. She rode in front on the left. My bike was the smallest so I went second on the right and my other friend was third on the left. We went straight up Hwy 61 through Hugo and Forest Lake. I think our leader thought straight would be the best way to start. I thought I would be fearful of the traffic but actually speed bothered me the most. My favorite speed is between 25 and 30 mph. To ride 45 mph felt like 130 mph. I thought I was gonna fly off into the air. My bike was smaller and the engine whines way up when I went over 40. We hit a lot of red lights and I was fine with that because no one expects you to go fast before or after red lights. We headed east toward Wisconsin. The road along the St. Croix river was very pleasant, much better than Hwy. 61. We stopped in Osceola to take a break and get something to drink. There is a nice little coffee shop there with a waterfall in the back. We walked around the town to stretch our legs and to shop in a motorcycle accessory/leather good store. We drove south along the St. Croix toward Hudson. That part was beautiful. The road was wide and there seemed to be less traffic. Other vehicles gave us more space in Wisconsin than in Minnesota. We traversed farm country and small towns. I like the 25 mph speed limit when I'm on a motorcycle - seems impossibly slow in a car though. I found myself leaning way forward when going fast and able to sit upright again when we went through small towns. Suddenly we're on a freeway - speed limit 65 mph. Luckily hardly anyone was on it because 45 mph was as fast as I could comfortably go. We got to Hudson and dismounted to stretch our legs. We ended up getting back on the bikes to have lunch in Stillwater. The Stillwater bridge is closed. So, OMG WE HAD TO TAKE THE HWY 94 BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER! Either that or drive south to Hastings or back to Osceola. Let me tell you, I was saying my prayers! Out loud too! A vehicle got between me and my trusted leader. FREAK OUT! Pray some more. I knew she wouldn't have taken me here if she didn't think I could handle it and that knowledge calmed me down enough to focus and make it off that bridge alive and well and laughing. We headed north into Bayport and I was ever so glad to see the cliffs that let me know I was coming into Stillwater. We parked the bikes and had a nice lunch on a balcony outside. I think the name of the restaurant was the Freight House. After an hour of relaxation we headed north again and turned west onto Hwy. 96. Now that is a beautiful road because it curves and goes up and down hills. We drove through Dellwood and Mahtomedi. We took a side road around White Bear Lake. That was such a nice part of the trip - mostly because of the 30 mph speed limit. When you ride a bike, you are more aware of the wind and the temperature changes. Bike down into a ravine between two bodies of water and you can feel the temperature drop at least 10 degrees. Climb to the top of a hill and feel the air warm up again. Smell the freshly mown grass or the grease in the air as you drive by a bar and grill. By the time we got back into Maplewood it was rush hour. The busy traffic didn't bother me perhaps because I was sandwiched and protected by a rider in front of me and another rider behind me. We went south on White Bear Avenue and were lucky enough to hit mostly green stop lights. We went west on Beam Avenue and were greeted warmly by our guy at Liberty Rental. What an awesome day. Great friends, great weather, and a great experience. I now have 100 (non parking lot) miles under my belt.