Day 18

8/25/11  Today's post will be short; there's very little to report.

We got up at 6am and were on the road at 7am, the earliest we've hit the road on the trip.  It was a very nice start; cool and moderate traffic getting out of Denver.  No real problems at all.

Once on I-70, the winds picked up, coming out of the southeast and sometimes out of the east.  Winds like that make riding difficult because they push the bike all over the road.  So, constant steering corrections are needed to stay in control.  The winds were about 35mph, and we were riding at an angle in order to stay straight.  When passing a truck, as the truck blocked the wind, the bike would become straight up, but when the truck is actually passed, the bike is pushed again.  Hard riding.

We rode through Kansas with the wind like that.  420 miles of corn, wheat, and cows.  Not much else; it's an extremely boring ride.  I guess the winds made it more interesting than it would have been without them.

It never got really hot; the highest temperature for the day was 95.  And it stayed cool until about noon.  So, riding conditions were good (except for winds).

We rode 632 miles, from Denver to Independence MO.

After checking into the hotel and having dinner, Gary decided to check his rear tire to see if it was wearing okay.  It had several thousand miles on it before leaving town, and he knows how many miles he usually gets on a rear tire, so he was expecting it to be okay.  However, when he looked closely, he saw the steel cords shining through!  The tire is shot.  So, tomorrow starts with a visit to the BMW dealer in Kansas City.  Hopefully they will have a tire that can be installed quickly and we can resume the trip.

Always an adventure...