5/20/05 Well after being so disgusted with how cheesy/touristy South Dakota was I decided I might as well try making good time to Boston. So I decided I would ride at least 600 miles today and try to make it to the Lake Michigan Ferry in Manotowoc. As I started to cross the open plains in South Dakota a nice 30-35 mph cross wind picked up. So for the next 6 hours I rode at a 20 degree angle leaning into the wind. After I made it out of South Dakota I made into Minnesota which really didn’t seem to offer much but at least the wind died down. I decided I would get stop and get some headphones I could wear with my helmet. Normally I never wear headphones when I ride, I think it takes away from the experience of riding a motorcycle. So much of riding a bike is not only the scenery but the smells, sounds, and wind in you face feeling. But one can only sit on a straight flat road for so long so I gave in. I came across a Wal-Mart in Minnesota, WOW I was not ready for what I saw. If you want to feel better about yourself go to a Wal-Mart in Minnesota, I walked out of there feeling normal. After I left the Wal-Mart I road to till midnight, finally stopping just inside Wisconsin. Today’s Specs Weather: Sunny but Windy, 90F with 30-35mph cross wind Distance: 628 miles, Bad Lands State Park to Wisconsin.   5/21/05 This morning I woke up and packed up my gear and headed for Manitowoc Wisconsin, which was 230 miles to the North East. My plan is to make it there by 2:00 to catch a Ferry across Lake Michigan. Once I got on the road I was enjoying the scenery of Wisconsin, it reminds me allot of Northwest Washington but with mountains replaced with allot of lakes, but with the same style dairy farms. I plugged the destination into the GPS and I was quite happy when it showed I would be mainly riding the back roads and staying off the major freeways. One thing I noticed is that everyone here likes there riding lawn mowers, I saw one house where a dad and his two sons were all mowing the lawn, each with his own riding lawn mower. It was a beautiful day today with a mostly sunny sky and the weather in the mid 80’s so there was plenty of motorcyclists out. An observation I have made of states without helmet laws is that the people who ride without helmets seem to be trying too hard to act cool. For the non-bikers there is a thing called the biker wave, whenever you pass another bike you usually wave, a sense of camaraderie. I started noticing this in Texas and it has been confirmed on this ride but the guys not wearing helmets act like they are to cool to wave, or is it they are too busy picking bugs off there face, I don’t know. O-well just a small observation. Well after a nice scenic ride I made it Manitowoc in time to catch the ferry. I went in to buy a ticket and apparently I didn’t read the fine print when I researched it on the internet, I thought it would be $29 for a one way ticket but it turned out that was just for the bike, it was an additional $49 for my self. Well it was too late to turn around now. So I forked out the $78 and boarded the boat. After a 4 hour ferry ride on the “Badger” old coal fired steamship I was ready to hit the road for Boston. As I was loading up the bike I checked the rear tire for the first time in a day or two and quickly noticed several metal cords sticking out where tread used to be. I quickly decided I had better find a bike shop to get a new tire, but it is Saturday at 7:00 at night so the odds are pretty slim I would find anything. Next option drive into town and find the first biker bar, so that is what I did. I came across a great group of people, led by Bill, who instantly made it their mission to help me. Well after an hour of calling and drinking we decided the best bet was to just order one off the internet and I would have to stay in town for a couple days. This was fine by me and one of the couples, Dave and Deb, even offered to let me stay at there house. You have to love the motorcycle community and how willing people are to help someone out that is in need. I have traveled allot and I will agree that people in foreign countries are generally more willing to take you in and share their house with than Americans but I have seen that same mentality among the motorcycle community. You will never here me say anything bad about Harley riders again. So with a couple days of down time I am going to catch up on some movies and relax. Today’s Specs Weather: Mostly Sunny , 75F Distance: 225 miles by bike, State Park in Wisconsin to Manitowoc Wisconsin, then a 4 hour Ferry to Ludington Mich.   5/22 Pretty lazy day just waiting for the tire, went and saw the new Star Wars movie and just sat around and talked to Dave and Deb. Really great people how have me feel at home in their house. Today’s Specs Weather: a little rainy and overcast Distance: 0 miles, Ludington Mich. 5/23 Another lazy day, had to order the tire from a different company the first wouldn’t be able to deliver for a week, the new company promised it will be here tomorrow. I road around the town a little bit, it is a really nice town and I watched an amazing sunset from their boardwalk. I had no idea that Lake Michigan was this nice and had such a nice sandy beach. Today’s Specs Weather: a little rainy and overcast Distance: 0 miles, Ludington Mich.