Burlington for Breakfast

A couple of my friends from MORE and I decided to take a quick trip to Burlington, Iowa for breakfast. After the last couple days of solid rain (11 inches in two days), we were keeping our fingers crossed that the weather would hold up for us! Luckily, the day was a beauty! Temps were a little more like October than August, but with a jacket and warm pair of gloves, it was just fine.

So Kim, Nathan, and I headed out at 7:30 for our Saturday morning jaunt! The weather was little too chilly for our wives, so this turned out to be a man trip. Kim was in the lead, so I can't tell you what roads we went on. I was happy to follow him like he was the Pied Piper of Hamlin! There wasn't much traffic on the roads, so we were able to set the cruise (A nice feature I'm finding out) on 60 miles per hour, sit back and enjoy the cornfields flying by.
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Speaking of flying, about 10 miles from Burlington, we came up over a small hill to find a bald eagle in the middle of the road. When the eagle saw us coming he gracefully took off, right over our heads. I'm glad the road was straight, because I couldn't help but gawk at this beautiful creature. They are so majestic looking in flight. I don't think I have been that close to one in the wild. Awesome!

We arrived in Burlington in about an hour and twenty minutes. Not bad! We had a great breakfast at the local Perkins and then headed for the Burlington Harley Davidson dealer. It's only about two blocks from the restaurant. I absolutely love looking at all the HD shirts and accessories. I saw a great looking shirt that I liked, but they didn't have it in my size. Bummer! But I did find some chrome, speaker covers for the fairing on my Ultra Classic. As soon as I got home, I installed them and they look great! I can't afford to purchase all of the chrome pieces I want at one time, so I'll have to buys stuff a little bit at a time. I think my next purchase is going to be some chrome speaker trim for the passenger seat. That will add a little shine to the back of the bike.

Kim and I had a tee time at 1:30 so we didn't have much time to stay in Burlington. We took off and made it back in to the Quad Cities @ 11:30. Plenty of time to change, grab a quick lunch and head to the course.

After soundly beating Kim in a friendly round, my wife and I took an early evening ride to one of our favorite restaurants. It's On the River, is a local hot spot for boaters and bikers. The food is fantastic and the view is amazing. Tonight we watched the sunset over the Mississippi and the town of LeClaire, Iowa. The river, the town on the banks, the hills in the distance, and the gorgeous sunset, painted a perfect picture for the perfect day!

Ride Safe!

Mike

Love the new HD

Well, I've had the new Harley about a week now. I absolutely love it!

Last week 3 other couples joined Jan and I for a trek to Waukeshau, Wisconsin to pick up my new (to me) 2002 Harley Davidson, Ultra Classic Electra Glide, Peace Officer Special Edition. Wow! That's a mouthful!

In the last couple of weeks we've been on bike trips to Wisconsin twice. Both times, as soon as we have hit the Wisconsin border, the skies open up and we get to test our rain gear! Sheesh! For about 35 miles on route 43, we were caught in a torrential downpour. Not fun!

But, as we headed over the final hill toward the dealership, the clouds parted and the sun began to shine. Eerily, the rays of sun appeared to focus directly on the bike shop! Really, I'm not making this up! It was a little spooky! We pulled in to the parking lot and peeled of our soggy rain gear.

As we were disrobing, the salesman brought out the Ultra Classic. I guess I must have had a rather astonished look on my face, as Mark immediately got out his camera and took my picture. The bike was beautiful! The salesman left it idling and got off the bike. It had that perfect HD sound. Potato, potato, potato.............

Like a little kid in a candy store, I hopped on the bike and began poking all the knobs and buttons on the fairing and handle bars! I couldn't wait to take it on the road! Of course I had to show my driver's license and don my helmet before taking the bike out. But, once I did that, down the road I sped! The bike was amazing. I'm not used that kind of power! I don't know if the previous owner added them or if they were a part of the Peace Officer Edition accessory package, but the bike is equipped with several Screamin' Eagle parts. Since, I'm not a mechanic, I can't tell you exactly what the Screamin' Eagle parts do, but more horsepower is one of the effects!

Signing the papers and taking care of the legal business didn't take long. I had done the majority of the business end over the phone, the week prior. So, we were back on the road in no time at all. We had gone up with 3 Harley Ultras and 1 Yamaha Roadstar. On the way back to the QC, we were all Harleys! One Ultra Classic is good looking, but when you stand several side-by-side, they are amazing looking! Each time we pulled in to a gas station or stopped at a restaurant, I had to step back and take a long look at the bikes. Beautiful!!!

I wish I could show you some pictures, but in my excitement, I forgot to take any! Hopefully, Mark or one of the other guys snapped a few! We put on 465 miles that day and collected some great memories along the way!

Ride Safe!

Mike

Picking up the new bike!

If you would have asked me a couple of weeks ago, I would have told you that my next bike would be a Goldwing. I had it all planned out, right down to the color and accessories!

Having made the decision, I began the fun process of looking for the bike of my dreams. On a daily basis, I scoured a multitude of Internet websites, looking for my new ride. During that process I saw literally hundreds of bike from all around the country. About a week ago, I noticed a dealership in Wisconsin that had several Harley Davidson Ultra Classic, Electra Glides for sale. One caught my eye. For some reason, I found myself going back to it several times during the day. The bike was beautiful! Could THIS be the bike that I'm supposed to buy?

I showed it to Jan and she said that the Ultra Classic and the Goldwing both have comfortable passenger seats, so it really didn't matter to her. She thought that the Harley was a great looking bike too!

Just for kicks and giggles, I contacted the dealer in Wisconsin to see if we could make some kind of a deal. Long story short, we agreed upon a price and the deal was done! I am going to be a Harley rider!

After putting the bike on Facebook and sending pictures to several of my friends, I had all kinds of offers from people who said that they would go with me to Wisconsin to pick up the Ultra Classic. If everyone shows up who said they would, we could have quite a posse making the trip!

Who would have guessed that I would be a HOG!?!

Ride safe,
Mike