Three states in the Midwest

The New Ulm Motel turned out to be a quiet place with a comfortable bed, so I was able to forgive the lack of little bars of soap and shampoo. I rode south on State Road 15 until it intersected  with SR 60, which goes southwest. Many of the state and US routes out here are four-lane divided just like the Interstates, and I made good time to Windom, where I stopped for breakfast. As soon as I was off the bike a man asked if he could help me. When I told him I was looking for breakfast, he suggested the HY-VEE supermarket (a local chain), which had a small restaurant area. The place where I'd planned to eat just served pastries and coffee. (The man's son works in the front office for the San Francisco 49ers - small world!) At the HY-VEE I ordered breakfast and sat down with my coffee (Caribou - excellent). I was soon joined by Jim, who had seen me earlier when he drove by in his truck. He is a farmer and a gentleman of 75 years, who rides an R1200RT. He said that he has a heart problem which causes fatigue at high altitudes, so he doesn't take long trips like he used to. We talked bikes and BMW rallies we'd been to, and we discovered that we'd both attended the rally in Spokane, Washington 10 years ago. We talked for an hour, and at least half a dozen people came up to say 'Good Morning' to Jim. When I left, I promised Jim that I would stop at his "local" BMW dealer in Sioux City, Iowa, which was about 130 miles away. The  dealer (Bak Motorcycles) is right on SR 75,  which was on my route, and when I stopped there the owner, Dave, was happy to hear the Jim was doing well. Garrison Keillor is right - Minnesotans really are the nicest people.

The impressive Cottonwood County Courthouse in downtown Windom, MN

From Sioux City I went west on US 20 (which is Euclid Ave. in Cleveland, OH) and then south on SR 15 to Wayne, Nebraska, where I stopped for coffee and a slice of zucchini bread at the Main Street Coffee Shoppe. Wayne is a college town, so there were two coffee shops. I must remember that in future trips - search for a college town for my afternoon cup of coffee. I rode on US 275 west to Norfolk after a delay for road construction. At Norfolk I went south on US 81, another four-lane divided road with a speed limit of 65 mph, so I made good time to Columbus, NE where I went west on US 30, The Lincoln Highway. In Grand  Island, NE (all these towns are fairly large - Grand Island is over 40,000 people - and the roads I was on go right through town) I  rode south on US 281 to Hastings, where I'm spending the night at the Rainbow Motel, another of my cheap picks.

The motel last night had two missing bulbs in a four-bulb fixture. Tonight's  motel has only one working bulb, but at least there is soap and shampoo.

Today began in Minnesota, and I cut through a corner of Iowa and I am now in Nebraska. Tomorrow I'll go south into Kansas and then west into Colorado. The bike is running great and feels good. The weather today started off a little over 60 with some high clouds, but it gradually cleared as I went south and the temperature reached a bit over 80 - good riding weather.