More cool automobiles, and more not so cool rain

August 11^th, 2026

Springfield, IL

Up with the alarm and slowly got ready.

Went out to uncover the bike and after I pulled it off there was a wet spot on the rear seat.  The cover does leak, it lets small amounts of water through in places, but this was the only spot, and the cover seemed dry.

Upon closer examination, it turned out to be animal piss, probably a cat.  Not sure if one had jumped on the bike and pissed on the cover, or if it had been able to crawl up under the cover (perhaps it did rain last night a bit?).

I stuffed the cover in bag, and then went in hotel to get water, and pulled out the shop towel from under the seat.

Cleaned it up best I could, but could still smell it afterwards.

Moved bike over under the overhang by the doors and went inside, grabbing the luggage cart along the way.

Loaded it up and grabbed all the other gear and after final room check left to load the bike.

As I started to load it started to rain, steady and blowing a bit to the side.  Thankfully only a slight mist caught the bike while I loaded it up.

I then had to figure out where to put the bike cover.  It normally goes inside one of the panniers, but since I would make a few stops today, I want to be able to cover the bike to keep rain off and hide the gear from passing eyes.

I tried to strap it under the rack near the shelf holding the spare gas bag, but was too small an area.

Ended up using one of the spare bungee cords to strap it to the backpack on top.  Strap was secured on the cover well, and then wrapped around the back pack.  Connected the two hooks to hold it on, but even if the hooks release, the cover cannot slide off the strap and the strap will be stuck under the pack as well, so will at least keep the cover from getting lost, might bounce around some, or even dangle off the back, but will stay with the bike.

Once done, I took the cart in, left the key on the front desk and then got on the bike and put all the navigation and other settings I need to work in place.

Rode over to other side of the highway to Fuel up at Love’s.

First pump I pulled up too had bad card reader, so had to move bike.

This one got stuck on the receipt menu, none of the buttons would make it proceed, but would still fuel at least.

When done I kept trying to clear it, and even tested to make sure no more fuel would come out.  Finally used the buttons on the keypad for Yes and the receipt printed.  Stupid machines.

Headed back to the highway and into the small town of Dwight.  I forgot to back track the half mile to use the original alignment into town, but only a half mile and nothing special on that little section.

On the other edge of town, I stopped at the Crazy 80s Car Museum.  Was a light sprinkle, not busy at all, and not much traffic, so figured I would leave bike cover off.

Went inside and started to look at the cars.  Talked a bit with the owner and a few of the other people inside looking.

Some cool cars from the time period, several similar to cars I have owned or have driven.

I was the last person to leave, after signing guest book and making donation, and checking out some of the other 80s artifacts on display.

Will need to come back someday, owner and his partner are creating a 70s version as well at another building in town.  Already have 25 cars in there, but roof is leaking and under repair currently.

Went down the street a bit to one of the old gas stations that sit along the road.  This one was restored and served as a small museum and the info center for the town.

I just took a few photos from the outside and then got going as the rain was in a lull and wanted to use this time to ride.

Headed south following the route plan and stopped later at another old gas station.  This one was a gift shop now, looked around a bit, bought a sticker and a soda as I was thirsty.

It started to rain a bit after that, just light stuff, but was hoping it would soon go away, was not that heavy of cloud cover to the south.

Stopped in Pontiac and visited the Pontiac Auto Museum.  Small, but some cool cars and while I did not go in, they have a research library there full of Pontiac documentation and such that could be interesting to dig through.

I then went down the road to the Route 66 Roadhouse to have lunch.  It started to rain a little while I ate, so was glad that I had covered the bike when I stopped.

Once done, the rain was over and I got back on the road.

The route now just parallels the Interstate for the most part.

As we came into Bloomington, the rain just unleased.  It was coming down hard, blowing at a 45 degree angle in places.  Got soaked.  I had put on the rain jacket that morning, but did not put the pants on.

Few more miles down the road and we stopped at another old gas station, did some photos and checked the bike over, making noise again.  Think the chain needs oiled, last few days have had some wet riding, probably washed off the oil again. 

Headed south to the small town of Mclean where I stopped at a big video arcade full of working vintage arcade games and pinball machines.  Pretty cool stuff, spent a few minutes playing a few games, and then got back on the road.

Short distance down in the town of Atlanta, stopped for the Giants museum.  Place has several of the large “muffler men” statues on display in various configuration, along with a small museum of other fiberglass advertising statues from the 1960s era.

After that we got going again, stopped later for another old gas station and to remove the rain jacket.  The rain had moved on shortly after Mclean, and the temperature had risen almost 20 degrees, was melting in that jacket.

Next up we came into the north side of Springfield.   Bit of a zig zag, and at one point took a road over to the road I needed to be on.  The alignments split in many spots, and here there were several options.  I have tried to stay on the pre-WWII alignments, and prefer the 20s-30s routes, but sometimes will just to the later ones as well. 

The part of town in Springfield was getting a bit sketchy, so skipped the last 4 blocks of it and went over to the other alignment.

Finally reached my hotel, the Route 66 Hotel and Conference Center.

Older place, but has had some updates.

Think it might have been a motel at one point, all the rooms face out and have large windows, but then the walk way has been enclosed now and the central courtyard as well.

The building also has the conference space, and a restaurant/bar in it.

I parked and went in to check in.  They told me to just park the bike under the overhang, up close to the building.

Went to the room, which is down a few hallways.

Decent size room, but showing some wear, and it appears to be a remodeled room.

Went back out front, and grabbed the luggage cart.

Unloaded the bike, hauled it all inside, and then sorted a few things and pulled stuff out to lay it out to try from the backpack which is not water proof.

Then took the cart back, and then went out to bike to do some servicing.

I oiled the chain, and also cleaned the fork seals again.  One was leaking and the other was very dirty, so would have started soon enough.  Need to put the shock socks on again I guess with all this rain.

Once done, I secured and covered the bike and took the tools inside.

I was going to ride down a few blocks to a famous hot dog place, but they were only an hour from closing, and I still had to shower and change.  But they open early, so can do an early lunch there tomorrow.

I instead went to the onsite restaurant for dinner.  Not a bad meal, decent portions and fair prices.

Then came back to the room to work out the route for tomorrow, and found and booked a place to stay.  Short trip tomorrow, and not much for sites along the way, so might end up getting there a bit early. 

Will leave late as I can to go have lunch first, will ride slow except for the few short Interstate sections, and then depending on time, will go see the old bridge over the Mississippi as that is an out and back since the bridge no longer carries cars over it.

If I get to hotel early, I will unload and then side trip up a few miles to a large tower that over looks the Mississippi/Missouri confluence.  But only if I get to hotel around 3ish.

Catch ya down the road.

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