Muskegon to Hilliard...

MikeO

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Dereham, Norfolk, today...
23rd September

I wake reasonably early and I’m on the road, packed and fed, at 1000. I’m heading for Hilliard, on the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio, today – I’m going to meet one of the characters from the Adventure rider site – BMW Rider…

It’s a reasonable hike over to Hilliard, about 360 miles, and I decide to keep off the freeways. After a few hours of pleasant, but hardly inspiring, country roads…

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…and quiet little towns…

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…with interestingly named streets…

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…I decide to head towards the freeway. I cross the border into Indiana for about half an hour, passing this refugee from American Graffiti…

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…then enter Ohio. Just before joining the freeway, I stop when I see this 1949 Buick Roadmaster…

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…which you may recognise as the hard-topped version of the car Tom Cruise & Dustin Hoffman used to cross the USA in ‘Rain Man’.

I arrive at Hilliard and say hello to Dan and Brenda at about 1745 – and relax into an evening of pizza and beer, whilst I use their laundry to de-contaminate the content of my panniers…

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24th September

After an excellent night’s sleep (assisted in no small way by an apparently bottomless well of cold beer), I’m up at 0830 and, in the company of my guide and mentor, Dan, on the way to a well balanced breakfast at a local health food store, Tim Horton’s…

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…where a fine selection from all the main food groups - chocolate, vanilla, jam and cream - is on offer…

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After a sensible, balanced meal – the most important of the day – we head off into town.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that a bracket on my right hand pannier was broken. The frames on the panniers are so over-engineered that the fracture (which almost certainly happened during one of the 3 drops onto the right side it has suffered) has caused no problems – but it’s something that Vern (who built them) suggested I get welded as soon as I can. Dan & I return to his house and I remove the pannier, then the broken part of the frame. We take it to a local metal shop…

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…where we leave the bracket to be repaired. We then set off on the bikes (Dan has a GS) towards Dayton, down the old highway 40.

Highway 40 used to be the main route east west through Ohio before the freeway was built. It is home to several small towns which have clearly passed their use-by date – their heyday was obviously in the late 40s and early 50s – they are now home to derelict motels, their decaying pop-art signs witness to a bygone era – like the cars for sale outside them…

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Soon we arrive at the USAF museum at Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB). Dan & I decided to visit here during last night’s ‘putting the world to rights’ session. Dan hasn’t been here in over 12 years and the place has changed considerably. There’s no parking charge or entrance fee, which is a bonus, and the displays, in 3 large hangars, are excellent – the SAC museum in Nebraska could take lessons from the curators here.

WPAFB is home to another of the 4 B36s left…

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…you’ll remember I saw one of the others at the SAC museum. Well the USAF’s example is not only in much better condition, it’s also displayed so that you can actually get a picture of (nearly) all of it. The ‘Cold War’ hangar, where the B36 is displayed, is also home to some other great looking aircraft, like the B58 Hustler…

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…the only combat aircraft to be named after an adult magazine (apart from the deHavilland Fiesta Readers' Wives Special). The USSR is represented by the Mig 23 Flogger…

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…at one time the fastest accelerating aircraft at low level in the world. In a display area to one side of the main hangar is the Titan II…

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…Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). This rocket was also used to launch NASA Gemini spacecraft, as well as hundreds of satellites.

In the ‘Early Years’ hangar, I’m intrigued to see the world’s first cruise missile…

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…the Kettering Bug. Designed in 1917, this aerial torpedo was pointed in the desired direction and launched. The aircraft had a series of electrical and pneumatic systems to stabilise it in flight. After a pre-set time, an electrical switch would cause the engine to stop and, after a short pause, the wings would be jettisoned and the missile would fall to earth – delivering its 180lb high explosive warhead. It’s range was 75 miles – a little optimistic for an unguided missile perhaps… Development was halted in the 1920s, but the modern day Tomahawk (and the WWII V1) are direct descendents.

In the WWII hangar, ‘Bockscar’, the B29 Superfortress which dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki and, effectively, ended the Second World War, takes a prominent place…

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The whole museum is well lit, well laid out and has an excellent collection of aircraft.

At 1500, there was a dedication of a B47 exhibit. The museum was full of frail old men, immaculately turned out in their blazers and flannels. These were the crews of America's first jet bomber - it was a sobering experience to realise they were probably the bike-riding, partying hot-shot youngsters of their day - all things pass...

In fact, 3 hours pass - very quickly - and, just before 1700, Dan & I head back west, along Interstate 70...

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…arriving home just after 1830, to spend another evening, with Brenda, generally bullshitting and reminiscing, with the aid of Chinese food and beer.

Oh – and being monstered by the family Staffordshire Bull Terrier – who has the rather unlikely name of Petal…

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A good day. :thumb

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25th September

I’m up and on my way to pick up the bracket, ably driven by Dan, by 0900. The welder has done an excellent job – he’s even re-painted it…

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…for just over $25 - :thumb

It’s quite clearly time to visit Tim Horton’s to celebrate :yelrotflm

Dan and I have a long talk about various things which are affecting out respective lives at the moment – we’ve had a surprising amount in common on the way to arriving at this table…

We return to the house and spend the day re-assembling (and re-sealing) the right hand pannier and then adjusting the valve clearances on the Adv. Interestingly, whilst trying to synchronise the throttle bodies (unsuccessfully – still can’t work out why – it seems to defy logic…), I suddenly notice that both header pipes (where the exhaust joins the cylinder heads) are glowing cherry red – despite the fact that the oil temperature gauge is still reading ‘normal’ (5 bars). We allow the bike to cool down a bit before re-starting the synchronisation…

Later that evening, Brenda joins us and we drive over to a small neighbourhood bar and restaurant in ‘German Town’, where we have a very pleasant meal with some friends of Dan & Brenda’s. Predictably, the evening ends with a late night discussion (over several beers) in Dan & Brenda’s lounge…:D

Tomorrow, I’ll be heading south…
 


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