If you have questions about our trip, please post them in the comments section and I’ll answer them in a summary post after we get home.

Monday, 8/28 – New Lenox, IL to Gallipolis, OH

The weather all day was clear and cool – perfect for riding long distances, and we rode a fairly long distance – 442 miles.

We rode through Illinois farmland to get to I-65 South. The seemingly endless corn and soybean fields were very familiar. In college I worked for a piano and organ company in Champaign, IL. I drove throughout east-central Illinois to rural churches to repair their electronic organs. The ride this morning brought back memories of those days.

Our morning break.

Lunch break at a rest stop.

Afternoon break at a Pilot.

Once we reached I-65 we were on expressways the rest of the day. We discovered a gem highway – US-35. It runs SE/NW. We rode it from Dayton, OH to Gallipolis, OH, on the Ohio river.

We decided to stay at a motel in Gallipolis for the night.

Tuesday, 8/29 – Gallipolis, OH, to Lexington, VA

It was a cool morning with some overcast clouds. The weather radar and forecast showed that we’d have a clear day as we headed toward Williamsburg. We hoped to get there before the hurricanes brought the rain north.

As we left the hotel, Beth noticed her battery light was on and the voltmeter read 11 volts. We started down the highway to see if the alternator would charge the battery. It wouldn’t and about 8 miles from our starting point, the engine wouldn’t run. We pulled over and I attempted to jump the battery from my bike, but that didn’t work.

Beth called HOG roadside assistance and arranged a tow. We subscribe to the Deluxe package, which includes unlimited towing. This service is very difficult to work with. They can’t understand a description such as, “I’m on US-35 East at mile marker 27.5.” They texted a map and asked for a pin location. Next, they said Beth would have to pay $200.65 before they would arrange for a tow truck and hung up. Beth had to call back and tell them she has the Deluxe package which includes the cost of the tow. The second agent agreed and called the tow company. The tow truck arrived in about 15 minutes and took us to Baxter’s Harley-Davidson.

I’m writing this post in the lounge at Baxter’s. The tech just informed us the problem is the stator (part of the alternator) and they have one in stock. Yea! As you can see in the photo, the wires in two of the poles shorted, got hot, and opened.

We got back on the road about 2 p.m., rode for about 4 hours and booked a hotel room in Lexington, VA. Beth had a taste for pizza and found a pizza shop near the hotel.

Wednesday, 8/30 – Lexington, VA to Williamsburg, VA

We had only 200 miles to cover today to Beth’s mom’s in Williamsburg. The weather was fine, and the interstate roads were fast. We had a morning break at a MacDonalds.

The toys are put away in the garage for a few days.

This ends our Atlantic to Pacific adventure. Our GPSs recorded 12,442 miles ridden by Tim and 13,160 miles by Beth. (Beth’s Motor Maids ride to Wyoming and South Dakota account for the extra miles.) We’ll add another 850 miles on the ride home.

We are going to spend a few days of private time with family and wait for the hurricane to pass and the roads to be cleared. This will be the last post in this series. I’ll post a summary of statistics later.

If you have questions about our trip, please post it in the comments section and I’ll answer them in a summary post after we get home.