Sandusky, OH

We finally stumbled into to some good luck. Yesterday we rode 144 miles from Erie to Sandusky and I started to see a lot of motorcycles. We were traveling on U.S.2/I-90 and making good time. We stopped at the Garfield Historic Site 12 miles from Cleveland and talked to a park ranger who gave us a tip on avoiding traffic getting through Cleveland. We had thought we might get to bag two National Park stamps in one day but as it was approaching 4:00, which is our goal time to stop, we were only a few miles from a KOA here in Sandusky.

So we pulled in and were welcomed by signs for OHIO BIKE WEEK. Oh Lord, I figured we might have trouble getting a spot in the RV park but this is a huge KOA and we were able to easily get a spot even during this event. Here’s the good luck. When I checked in the clerk told me “That will be $13.50.” Now KOA’s generally get 35 bucks a night for water and electric sites so I was pleasantly surprised. It turned out they had a half price special for the bike week which started yesterday and goes through next week end. This encouraged us to stay here an extra night which Von wanted to do anyway but I was resisting. I am getting in a “let’s make some miles” mode.

But the weather is getting to be very nice and this is a nice park nestled in a grove of cottonwoods near the shores of Lake Erie so we are staying.

We talked yesterday about changing our riding pattern to where we ride close to 500 miles in a day but then stay two nights before packing up. It is quite a lot of work to load everything and doing it every day makes Von a bit cranky, which makes me a bit cranky too, if you know what I mean.

We had dinner last night at the barbecue being hosted by the campground. Cheeseburgers were only 2 dollars and hot dogs/brats were $1.00. We got to talking with an employee of the park while eating and he told us the bike week nearly didn’t come off when the prime sponsor and organizer, the Harley dealer here, went bankrupt. First time I’ve heard of a Harley dealer going out of business since the 70’s when Harley was owned by Brunswick, the bowling ball company, and they nearly ruined the brand name.