last chapter

My brother and I started doing the Bro Ride because we felt a need to spend some time together and since we both rode motorcycles it seemed like a natural. I give Tom the credit for the idea, and the name "Bro Ride." He's a great brother. With him I'm not the "pastor" or the neighbor, just the brother. That is very freeing.

I never know if my motorcycle will run from one minute to the next. After all it's 31 years old. This year it overheated occasionally but that was manageable and our trip wasn't interrupted by mechanical failure like last year.

We got as far south as Corydon, Indiana 12 miles from Kentucky and discovered that the roads along the Ohio River in Indiana were "scenic" so we opted to just look at Kentucky from across the river instead of ride our cycles into the blue grass state. I thought the spot pictured here was especially scenic. Enjoy.

Something I realized on this trip: When I'm riding along, occasionally I will feel tiny droplets of (water?) or something hitting my lips. I realized that these are tiny airborne droplets of water from automobile air conditioning that is thrown my direction if a car is in front of me.

Something else: I'll bet you haven't noticed this. A lot of towns have funny names, like French Lick. A few miles away there's a town named English. Apparently there is no licking going on among the English. Seriously, who comes up with names like: Paoli, Ina, Oolitic, Cuzco, Lick Fork, Gnaw Bone, Needmore, Loogootee?

Here's to you bro. Next year what about the 1,000 mile Circle Tour trip around Lake Michigan?

where to stay

Unless you're doing one of the famous 24 hour "Iron Butt" 1,000 mile tours around Lake Michigan, there is always the matter of where to stay on a motorcycle trip. I tend to favor small, single story, sleazy motels along the side of the road.

A few years back one of the highly publicized chain motels had an advertising campaign that boasted "no surprises" at their motels. I can appreciate that. When I am traveling with my wife and we're tired and want to rest before driving 12 hours the next day I want everything to be perfect. If there are any surprises I want them to be along the order of free ice cream in the lobby. When I'm on the Bro Ride I don't want a "no surprises" type of motel. In fact I want lots of surprises, the type that would horrify most motel managers. When we're on the Bro Ride, for some reason it's hilarious to me when I turn on the air conditioner and the front falls off or when I can park my motorcycle six inches from the door to my room, or there's no lock on the room, only a cable and a nail.

This year we stayed at a Comfort Inn. No surprises. Nothing to write about. But let me tell you about the place we didn't stay at. We saw this old hotel and spa that had been gloriously restored in West Baden Springs, Indiana near French Lick. It was so cool looking that we decided to take a tour of the hotel, the spa, the gardens and grounds. Wow, wow, wow and wow. $180 for the cheapest room. Pictured in this post is the driveway of the hotel. That says it all. For $180 you can drive up this spectacular driveway and check into a fabulous room and walk through a lobby that is so spectacular people take pictures of it. I resisted the urge. This place has an elegance of a time that has passed us by. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

My criteria for the Bro Ride; clean sheets, a working shower, an air conditioner that cools. Nothing else matters. I don't need a leaded glass window in a rotunda looking out over the lobby.

Next year I hope some surprises happen... like some doors falling off the hinges, or the ceiling falling in or a moose deciding to walk through the lobby. Yeah, that would be something to write about.