Friday – 350 miles to Ramsey, and a cold beer
Morning brought another sauna-like day. I was on the road by 8 a.m. and was looking forward to getting off the highway. State route 36 would be my yellow brick road as I dodged every threatening thunder storm all the way to Springfield where I picked up 29 and finally 51 south through Pana to Ramsey.
The International Brotherhood of Motorcycle Campers is a diverse collection of motorcycle camping enthusiasts brought together by the enjoyment of the outdoors and the love of camping on two wheels. Loosely organized, the members host campouts in whatever location they choose and notify other members through the web or a newsletter circulated every other month. All types of camping goes and it is not uncommon to have combinations of dual sport bikes, sport tourers, touring bikes and scooters all at the same campout. Accomodations range from the bivouac style to tow behind trailers.
Arriving at the campground I was met by Paul from Illinoise. He was just headed out for refreshments and offered to split his site with me and I immediately agreed. He pointed me to the spot, took my drink order and headed off into town. Great service, huh?
I completed my setup and walked around meeting and greeting everyone. Many of the names were familiar but this was the first time I was putting a face to them. Paul returned, delivered the cold ones and we sat with everyone swapping stories of adventure and disaster. A perfect wind-down from the whirlwind journey I had been on for the past week and a half.
The campout was scheduled for the entire weekend but unfortunately I was headed out the next morning. It was just over 1000 miles from Ramsey to Colchester and I didn’t want to be pulling into my driveway late Sunday evening. A shower, and to bed by 11 p.m. The trip was indeed coming to its final stages.
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