MOA & RA Rallies - 4. Arriving in Des Moines, Iowa

4. Arriving in Des Moines, Iowa

Even though we had time, we tried to be at the Fairground in Des Moines as early as we could on this Sunday morning. There was work to do!

I carried a tent for the trip down to Des Moines and for the one week later rally of the RA rally in Wellsboro, PA. (I will come to that in this blog later).

Schmoozing With Friends In Front of Our Tent

I had to set up the tent but where exactly do you plop a tent?

It takes us some time to scout out the area. Carol and I ride around the premises, looking for what we believe is a good spot. And yes, the early bird catches the worm here. The good spots go quickly, that is why we had to be here ‘early’.

Everything around us was still in a bit of disarray because nobody knew yet where anything would be, where anything was allowed to be set up, etc. But we did have a map, sent out by the MOA, showing camping areas.

Policewoman Checking Out Our Camping Site

A policewoman came and told us we could not set up a tent where we were working on setting up but... after we showed her the map sent out to all members by the MOA, after other people came and stood beside us, telling her we were allowed to do what we were doing, she was ok with that. Naturally, she had to make a phone call to her higher ups, but all was ok. We really never have a problem with the local police, we never do.

The police are doing their due diligence and that, too is ok with me.

A Few More Tents Once the Rally Starts

We sat up the tent not because we were using it to sleep in, but because we used it as a drop off; a refuge, a place to fall back on in case of unforeseen events. Friends we know used our tent to store their riding gear, too. Typically we ride in, drop our bike and gear off at the tent and then spend our time at the rally grounds. The tent, in this case, only serves as a base and storage area.

 

Where do we stay, sleep?  Planning is everything. Months before the rally started I looked on line for any facilities that would allow us to sleep in a real bed instead of sleeping on the ground. Oh, we don’t mind sleeping in a tent, but we also don’t mind sleeping in an air conditioned room, in a real bed, when temps are over 95 F or 30 plus Celsius outside.

Typically I look at websites which list motels, hotels first. Then I try Airbnb, even Youth Hostels, whatever is offered that could give us an air conditioned place to sleep. I carefully consider the distance it takes to get back and forth to the rally site, I do not want to be 30 minutes away, so I try to keep it reasonably close to where the activities are. While searching a few months back I found this ‘Extended Stay’ facility that is kind of set up like a hotel. Normally it serves people who have to be ‘living’ there on a temporary basis and when I thought about it, that was exactly what we were doing. I booked it for the 7 days we were in town. This ‘hotel’ was 3 miles away from the rally grounds and it worked out perfectly. We rode in to the rally every morning and went back to sleep in the A/C every night.

Good thing we had this place... it was HOT, but I said that already!  Sleeping at night in a hot tent is no fun, I know, I have been in that situation many a times. But since I am getting older I believe I am also getting a bit wiser... this extended stay place was just what we were looking for. The price of $40/night including all taxes was a fair price, I felt.

We are all set, we now have a base tent, we now have a place to sleep and now we need to find a place to consume our food. Every rider I know prefers a place within walking distance of where they are camping. At least 2 meals daily, breakfast and dinner, where do we find this place?

Heading to the Diner Outside the Fairgrounds

We asked other riders what was nearby and what was good, we searched the internet, and we rode around the block to look for a good place. Luck was with us, there was a diner just beyond the Fairgrounds fence that was perfect. A cafe or diner is a preferred place to eat; fancy, white table cloths are not so much in vogue with us at a rally.

Naturally the food needs to be good and plentiful.....ah, the quirky ways and folks of rally living.

There are people we know who are almost ‘professional’ rally goers. As soon as the weather changes to ‘rideable’ they are on the move. Like travellers, they go from one rally to the next, constantly moving, constantly living in a different location. They truly become “Nomads”, we call them Rally Rats.

And when I think about it... it’s a wonderful life... I could do that! For awhile.

Their ‘house’ is their tent. Between rallies they wild camp or use a camping ground to just hang out. From their reports I know they find the oddest sightseeing stuff along the way. They are true ‘Nomads’, I prefer that term. Just imagine riding on the North American Continent, from Alaska down to Mexico, any place in between and just ‘rally’.

Yiieehaaa!

So now that we are set up... we report in to volunteer.

That is the next page on this blog!

MOA & RA Rallies - 3. The Trip Going. Days 2 and 3

3. The Trip Going. Days 2 and 3

Battle Creek, MI was just a stopover, we did not sight-see, and we just ate dinner and then read in an A/C cooled room. We rode in temps over 30 C plus the first day, we were glad to be off the hot tarmac. 

The next day, Friday, we could have made it to Des Moines easily. We were very lucky, we had to go around Chicago but we ran only into light traffic. Normally the traffic around Chicago is very, very, very slow. So there goes our timing, we just gained 4 hours on our trip. I remember the last time we passed through the Chicago area, where we sat for hours in stop and go traffic. It shows you, one can make plans but then stuff happens. Some stuff is good stuff, like no traffic around Chicago. Yippee!

Main Street in Amana

So we made a quick re-adjustment in our plan and went to see the Amana Colonies in Iowa.

We rented a hotel room in Amana for an overnight Friday stay.

Since we got to Amana a bit earlier than expected, we also had time to go sightseeing. The story behind Amana, actually named the Amana Colonies, is 

 a story that needs to be told.

Fabulous Fresh Baked Pastry

Sunflowers As High As an Elephants Eye...

I read the report listed above on Wikipedia and I am amazed as to the way people do the nuttiest things just because they believe in them. I can say that because, I am nutty, too. 

Brought This Home and Made It

To be a ‘tool’ or ‘instrument’ of God; well I have my deepest doubts but believing it does no harm, so it’s ok with me.

Reading this Wiki report made me realize that Germany seems to be a hotbed of ‘different’ thinkers. My home town in Germany was heavily influenced by Mennonites, Huguenots and Jewish thinking. It helped our town grow into a better place to live. Today Germany has invited millions of people from

Lights Inside Produce a Colourful Light

around the world to live in its midst, giving them freedom to exercise their belief system. Well, time will tell if these present ‘immigrants’ are as productive as the people were in the Amana Colonies. 

A diversity of beliefs, of thinking is a good thing in the long run. As long as nobody ‘pushes’ themselves to be the majority and wants to force their belief system or way of thinking on others, all is well. 

We did the tourist thing for the afternoon on Friday and then again for the morning of Saturday. We were in no hurry to leave, ate fantastic food, snooped around the shops, chatted with workers who were building a new ‘store’, walked around a bit and before you know it, the time in Amana was up.

School Bike - Now There's an Idea

Would I recommend Amana? Difficult question, I would say, go and look at the Colonies on your own.  It is not an overwhelmingly religious area today, but it does show you what a common belief can accomplish. It was one of the first communes to succeed. 

Carol wrote a blurb in an email to some club members who were on the road, suggesting they stop here to explore this place.

Packing Up

Saturday, around 11 AM we rode out of town… and stopped just outside of Des Moines, Iowa, we had a plan. 

We would not go into town yet, we wanted to wait until Sunday. So we just idled away the afternoon on Saturday just outside of Des Moines, reading and working on a cross word puzzle.

MOA & RA Rallies - 2. The Trip Going. Day 1

2. The Trip Going. Day 1

I told you already it’s hot?

We are wearing boots, socks, long armored specialty pants, that have reinforced knee and hip protection. We are wearing a riding jacket that is equally padded; elbows, shoulders and the spine are protected with super efficient, tested and certified armor, too.

Then there is the helmet, only the best will do, we only have one head. And I know from experience that this part MUST be covered. I walked away with just a bloody nose once; it could have been a lot worse. The helmets we have each has an intercom, a face shield and sun visors. We wear gloves every time we swing our legs over the saddle.

Yes, we look a bit like space men (woman) but so what, I’d rather have a riding suit damaged than my body. I have seen some ghastly pictures of people who slid along the asphalt, their skin peeled off them. 

We are adamant…….ATGATT…..all the gear all the time.

When we left on Thursday morning it was already hot. All the zippers and vents built into the riding suit were open, the wind, when riding, helps cool us off. The tank is full, bladders empty and off we go; going west. Within a few miles out of Toronto the temps move towards the 30 C mark. 

Our first target town is Sarnia (Port Huron for you U.S. guys) and as we had experienced most of the time, the border has a waiting line. It is one thing to stand in line in a car, the A/C blows in your face and you just inch forward. It’s totally different on a bike. On a bike, stop and go is a real pain. Literally! Your left hand has to operate the clutch; you need to squeeze it in and hold it, and then let it softly go when you ride forward. You do this over and over in slow traffic and after a while your wrist gets sore. After squeezing the clutch for 10 minutes or more you want to just relax your left hand, but… there is no way you can do that…you are in line, you move onward, an inch at the time. 

Oh! Did I forget to tell you, you have to balance this forward movement carefully? Remember, you are only on 2 wheels. I do not like stop and go traffic, especially when riding on a bike. Border crossings are always a pain, are always inconvenient, are always exasperating when you have to fiddle with gloved hands and show your paper work. The border officer talks to you and you cannot hear well because you are wearing sound cancelling ear plugs under your helmet. Ah, the whole shenanigans of border crossings are pure bureaucracy and it irks me no end. 

We made it through customs but now we also have to wait in line to pay the bridge toll. Every bridge I know today uses EZ pass, an electronic toll device that makes it easier to collect tolls. But of course! … Not at the Sarnia Bridge, the Bridge from Canada to the U.S. You need to pay in cash, which means you ride up to the booth, stop, put your side stand down, remove your gloves, flip up your visor and give the collector money. I usually pay in U.S. dollars; I have tried using a small bag with just some dollars in them and then give the bag to the person.  But they only look at you funny and have no clue, even if I tell them take the money out; put the change back and so forth. If they were brainy folks they would not sit in a booth and collect tolls. So, I just do my dance, make a full stop, turn off the engine, remove my gloves, etc. I take my time; I want them to see how much of a hassle it is to charge motorcycles toll. In Norway all motorcycles are exempt from paying tolls. I like that! Good for you, Norway!

We ride for another 3 or so hours and then, usually between 3 and 4 PM we stop.

How do we find a hotel?  Almost every exit on an American Interstate has a hotel.

So, it’s easy to just ride up, book a room and that is it. Yes, of course we like a bargain, yes, of course we like a restaurant near the hotel, etc. but we usually find what we are looking for, if all fails we just ride to the next exit on the Interstate.

We have developed a system for finding hotel rooms, it depends where we are, what we drive, ride or whatever. I rarely make reservations when riding a bike. I never really know where I will be, so I start looking for hotels around 3 PM. I like to be settled in by 5 PM if I can. We made it as far as Battle Creek, MI this day, about 350 miles from Toronto.