Adventurepalooza Recap
After an incredible weekend on two wheels at Adventurepalooza, our service manager, Eric Wertz, had a lot to say! Check out his recap of the trip on a Harley-Davidson Pan America below.
"Left Joplin Thursday morning, got about 1 and a half hours into the trip when the left front trailer tire slung a tread off, taking the left fender with it. Itwent about 20 feet in the air and landed in the median. Limped it to an oriellys to get a lug wrench. Swapped on the spare. Checked the other tires and none looked healthy. Went to the walmart and barely got the last two the had in stock. (A guy walked in 5 minutes after we did looking for the same thing.) Got back on the road with no other issues. We left the truck and trailer at the end point of the route where the ceremony was to be held. Then unloaded the bikes and rode to our start point.
Spent the night at a hotel in Keokuk, IA. Had a really good country fried steak, with some spot-on mashed potatoes and fantastic onion rings, at the Hawkeye Restaurant next door. At the hotel, we met a couple of other teams going on the adventure, too. One was a husband and wife. The other was a father and two sons. Got lucky and the forecasted rain for Friday turned out to be just a deluge early in the morning before departure time.
Friday: 130 miles. Road mostly gravel roads with a little blacktop. Seems like most were freshly graded or re-graveled, because they were very loose and difficult for me, as a beginner and on an unfamiliar bike, to ride with any efficiency. This leg had a really neat path that ran down a farmers access road to get across the mile section. Then another stretch that ran down a levee made of sand. Very soft, enough so that the bikes stood up without kickstands. Made it a ways before the sand took down Judd. He was ok. Sand was soft and he had the riding boots on, but his leg was pinned under the saddlebag. After we got it lifted back upright, we walked down the levee to see if it improved. It was the same for quite a while. So best course of action was to get them turned around and head back. Easier said than done. The bikes were just digging in, so once turned around, I had to get moving by working the clutch and pushing, then run alongside to get to more solid ground. This cost us at least an hour, if not two. Once back on the road, we continued on. Ended up having gps issues, so we took a wrong course. This was fortuitous, as it led us down a really neat curvy highway. After determining we were on the wrong course, we reset and got back onto the track. Stopped for lunch on the side of the road on a little bridge over a creek where we could see a beaver dam, and tracks for several other creatures including deer and racoons. While there we watched the farmers cutting and hauling beans in the surrounding fields. Once on the move again, there was more gravel roads and beautiful countryside. Country fried steak for dinner at Coltons steak house, though a little less spectacular than the last. After dinner we had to run for some wd-40. As we were leaving, we saw a van pulling in with a flat tire. Woman and a kid going to the clinic to treat his poison ivy/oak/sumac. Looked to have clipped a curb and took out the tire. We sent them in to take care of him because the place was fixing to lose. Got the tire swapped and headed home.
Saturday: 193 miles. Beautiful sunrise, coupled with a fog that settled across the fields More gravel roads, and nice countryside. Pit stop at a traditional amish general store. Met a couple of solo riders on the adventure. Rode with a couple of them for a bit, but were clearly more experienced and I struggled to keep up.
The final destination was the farm/ranch we left the truck at. There, we met the many other participants from the other routes, including two other Pan Americas running solo. We took the North Route. There were three other routes, but all converged at the same destination. The organizers served a dinner of either barbeque chicken, or pulled pork sandwiches, with some fabulous mashed potatoes, green beans, and some type of salad. They also had water troughs full of iced down beer, water, and pop. Dinner was followed by an awards ceremony for the winners. Not us. We made 7700 points. The overall winner made 37000+ points. They drew winners for the raffle that included several items like a nice jacket. Also received our "I survived" first year coins. After the ceremonies, was the ice cream bar and then live music in the barn.
Sunday: After a short night, we broke camp before sunrise. The return trip was mostly uneventful. Made good time. Stopped at Bonnie Cafe for another fantastic country fried steak with hash browns, scrambled eggs, and some homemade biscuits and gravy. Then on to home."
When you're ready to make your own memories on - or off - the road, make sure you see the team at Hideout Harley-Davidson for advice on Adventure Touring and to take a test ride of your own!