2024 Milwaukee Run – Day 4

After signing off last night I spent some time around my campfire. It was quite chilly out and I had already been in my jacket for some time. The warmth of the fire and quiet of the camp allowed me to sit in peace with my thoughts. Could have used a more comfortable chair the the tripod camp chair I’ve got. I let the fire die down and then headed to bed.

Normally I sleep on a cot inside my tent. It rolls up nice and small so it’s easy to pack and it keeps you off the ground so you don’t have to worry about rocks or hard ground. But with it being so chilly out, and supposed to be colder by morning, I opt not to use it. I want that extra warmth from the ground. The ground is very hard but I sleep just fine.

I wake shortly after 8:00 which is fine because our first stop is only ten minutes away, the Back Home Harley dealership, and it opens at 9:00. With camp broken down we head out. Back Home Harley is a small dealership but I’m in and out quickly with my two poker chips and back out on the road. Our next stop is 240 miles away in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

There’s still a good bit of corn in this part of Minnesota but not near as much as Iowa. It doesn’t take long before we’re crossing the mighty Mississippi River and into Wisconsin. The Mississippi is a big river but at this crossing it is absolutely massive. It could be mistaken for a lake if there weren’t signs identifying it.

Wisconsin starts much like Minnesota, some corn fields but mostly tree lined tracts of grass fields. There’s not much happening on our way into Oconomowoc but I do notice some things about Wisconsin drivers. A lot of them like to camp out in the left lane and some of them are absolutely f’ing insane. I was cruising along with an SUV. We’re moving well and I’m just kind of following her down the highway. Nothing crazy or reckless happens for several miles, we’re just cruising. Then suddenly, from the far left lane she swerves right, cuts off a luxury bus and crosses three lanes to get to an exit we are already passing. I really thought that bus was going to clip her back end and spin her out which would have sucked but that bus would’ve taken the hits and I would have powered passed with out worry.

We finally make it into Oconomowoc around 1:00pm. But getting to my exit but before I get there I meet another idiot. I was following another SUV, waiting for him to move over so I could pass. I wasn’t tailgating him, at least not in my opinion, and wasn’t honking or flashing my brights. He finally moves over. I generally don’t look over at other drivers when passing but I notice his hand on the window and, as I pass, see him looking directly at me, wide eyed and displaying the famous one finger salute. I gave him my “What the hell?” look and returned the sentiment as I scooted passed. Not sure what I did to anger him, maybe he just doesn’t like bikers.

I make my exit just a minute later and hit the Wisconsin Harley dealership. It’s a very nice one too. Complete with outdoor music venue. I make my way in and purchase my two chips then head back to the service department. Whenever my vest gets wet enough the buttons stick, they don’t want to release and I’ve ripped one of them out this trip. I ask for a few squirts of WD-40 and they oblige. I get my remaining three buttons sprayed, button and unbutton a few times and we’re back to good. The service tech and I joke about it being Harley and what those three little squirts should cost me. He says $16 and I tell him it’d probably closer to $30. But they of course don’t charge me anything.

We’re just about half an hour away from Milwaukee and the Harley-Davidson Museum. I know Milwaukee is a big city so I’m not looking forward to riding in. But as I get close I meet my third idiot SUV. This one is a bit beat up which doesn’t surprise me once I see his driving skills. He passes me, thankfully, before his antics start. He’s swerving all over the place passing cars, lane 3 to lane 1 and 1 back to 3. He swerves so hard into the next lane that it looks like he’s going to flip the car. I’m not worried about me but the mess he’s going to cause in front of me. If he causes a wreck I can stop or get out of the way, I’m just waiting for it to happen. What I can’t stop is the person behind me. That’s what worries me most in these situations.

No crash happens, at least not before I make my way off the highway. I’m not using Laurelin’s GPS because this system actually has CarPlay so I can use my phone and Google Maps. But Google is acting up a bit and is telling me where I need to be but not giving me an exit number. So I miss the exit I should have taken and get off late. It’s a few extra minutes but I finally make it into the Museum. It’s a huge complex, the museum, two stores and a restaurant. Bikes also have cordoned off parking in front of the museum and restaurant.

I decide to grab lunch before heading in to the museum. It’s already around 1:30 and I know I might spend a couple of hours inside and don’t want to skip lunch. I have my self a very good Cajun chicken club sandwich then head into the museum. It’s a massive two story museum with some really cool displays of engines, gas tanks and of course bikes. The bikes range from the 20’s all the way to today and include everything from police, military, postal, racing and the normal production bikes.

All of the bikes are out in the open, displayed in roped off sections. Upon entering the museum you’re told to take as many pictures as you want but do not touch the bikes. There are only three bikes that are enclosed in glass. The Series 1 bike which is believe to be the first production motorcycle, all stamped parts are stamped with the number 1. Then there’s a bike with a side car attached. On it are 6,000 signatures. This bike was the first bike off the production line in 2003, the 100th anniversary year. After coming off the line the bike was disassembled and the parts were shipped across the country, signed by every employee of Harley-Davidson and then shipped back where the bike was then reassembled. The third is the bike I really want to see.

In 2011 the devastating Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, taking thousands of lives, causing extensive damage, and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. One man, who lost everything, had his motorcycle stored in a storage container along with all of his summer stuff, grill and what not. That storage container was foam insulated and was washed away in the tsunami. It travelled 4,000 miles to the west coast of Canada where it was discovered by Peter Mark. Mark opened the container and found the motorcycle. He too photos and video of it but had no way to transport it. By the time he came back, weeks later, the container had been sucked back out to sea by the tide. The bike however had been left on the beach. Mark reached out to Harley-Davidson through a local dealership and they found the owner. Harley-Davidson offered him a new bike buy the guy declined it, he couldn’t accept such a gift when so many were still suffering and grieving, the Japanese are all about honor. He did however want the bike to be displayed at the museum as a reminder of the tragedy that happened.

On my way out I was talking to one of the front desk people. He told me he conducts some tours and the tsunami bike is one that gets a lot of attention. Every five years the original owner or a delegate for him comes over and holds a memorial service in front of the bike. Next to the bike a patch from that Harley group hangs from the ceiling and from it, hundreds of paper cranes. Paper cranes signify hope and every five years, more are added.

With the museum done I decide to check out the two stores. Both are mostly clothing, but one has the glasses, pins and poker chips. Gotta get a poker chip for the museum! From here it’s about an hour to Lake Geneva, a little lake resort town. I’m staying at the same hotel we stayed in and head out to eat at the same restaurant, the Oakfire.

The Oakfire is a pizza place but it’s Italian style. Very good and the bartender is friendly. She’s been to Austin and even has family in the area. The pizza, good as it was, is overpriced but its a resort town, everything is. You even have to pay for parking, everywhere around the lake.

Tonight I have a real bed and a real shower which is about to be used. I’ll get a good night sleep tonight, recharge my battery. Enjoy the photos!