Day 6 Joliet, IL

WOW, that's the only way to describe today. Today gave a new meaning to Power Ride. We got up this morning to a light rain and cold temperatures (upper 40's). We decided to get an early start and take a leisurely ride to meet Steve. We donned our rain gear and prepared to head out. One problem, the bike wouldn't start. The battery was stone cold dead. A gentleman watching offered assistance and we brain stormed on how to get it started. I decided to have him pull start the bike with his car. Oh ya, the car had a U-Haul attached. Tracy didn't want to watch. The lot was wet and slippery and the rope was short. We prayed that it would work and that it would be safe. God is good, after one stall we got it started. Jim (the gentleman who helped) and I shared our faith with each other and departed ways. The winding roads of West Virginia are beautiful filled with mountains and trees. We had the road to ourselves and we made good time. We stopped for gas in Mineral Wells, W.V. I figured the battery had charged enough to shut it down. Wrong. Once again the Lord put us were we needed to be. The BP station we stopped at was a full service station and mechanics were on hand. The manager called a bike shop and had them set aside a battery for us. The shop was only a few miles up the road. The mechanics push started us and off we went to the shop. The guys at Lemon and Barrett's Suzuki ere great. We explained to them that we needed to be in Cleveland by 2 p.m. to meet Steve. We had about an hour to kill but that would mean a straight ride through to Cleveland. There wasn't much we could do the battery needed time to soak and charge. While we waited everyone chatted with us and made us feel welcomed. Tracy took a scooter for a test ride and we looked at everything in the large store. The guys made every effort to make sure we would be on time and they pulled through. We left and headed north. We still had the road to ourselves so I put the throttle in overdrive. We made excellent time and were only gong to be about a half hour late. We stopped for fuel and I called Steve to let him know our status. We arrived at the turnpike plaza in Ohio at 2:30 p.m. Steve wasn't there. He left me a message on my phone that he was running a little behind and would be there in an hour. Tracy and I went in and had coffee and a bite to eat. Our bones were cold from the power ride. Steve arrived , had a coffee and we headed out for what would turn into the Real Power Ride.... I'll spare you the details of the rest of the day, let's just say were in Joliet, IL. Ohio and Indiana are flat, very flat, and theres not much to see. We are all sore and relaxing now. All I can say is we certainly took advantage of the nice day and time change. Total miles for today was 637 and our total to date is 2,098. Many more to go. Keep us in your prayers and God Bless to all.