Month: August 2013

Hike and Bike

by HooHaAdventures, posted in Indiana motorcycle touring

It’s getting hot!! As we experience a late summer heat wave, we decide to take a short tour around Northern Indiana and take in the sites. We drove by beautiful Indiana farmland bursting with corn and soybeans yet to be harvested.

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Quiet Indiana road

Traveling the Blue Star Highway, we discover Lagro, Indiana, where we explored a stop for the Erie Canal and the remains of one of its locks. The Erie Canal was the major trade route between Toledo an this area in the 1800s. Horses would tow large barges filled with goods along the canal before trains and then roads replaced them.

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Kerr Lock, Lagro, Indiana
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Kerr Lock locktender’s home
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Remnants of lock
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Path of the Erie Canal at Lagro

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Back on the bike, we meandered toward Salamonie Reservoir. After getting off the bike, we hiked down a steep staircase to the base of the dam that supplies the Salamonie River. We connected to a trail in the adjoining woods, and enjoyed a gorgeous 1/4 mile hike complete with a pretty descent climb up to a picnic and parking area.

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Salamonie Reservoir
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Hiking path at Salamonie Reservoir

After our hike, we headed home, enjoying the quiet rumble of the bike tires on the backroads of Northern Indiana. Wind in our faces, enjoying the ride… HooHa!! J & M

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Road Test

by HooHaAdventures, posted in Indiana motorcycle touring
Heading out for road test
Heading out for road test

Last weekend we wanted to test out the Kawasaki by taking a 2.5 hour ride to have dinner at Triple XXX Root Beer in West Lafayette, featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. We both found the bike rode well, the Northern Indiana views beautiful, and the company excellent.  We did have to adjust the suspension to smooth out the ride home, but outside of that, it rode like a dream.  We think, based on fuel and miles done, that we are running around 50mpg.

Once at our destination, we enjoyed juicy burgers, scrumptious onion rings and cold mugs of root beer at Triple XXX Root Beer. The burgers were ground fresh in the original drive-in, and well worth the trip. If you want ice in your root beer, you have to request it.  We had a lovely ride home, reaching home just as it was getting dark, allowing us to test lights and visibility. We plan to upgrade the headlights in the upcoming weeks. Great road test…hooha! j & M

HooHa! Triple XXX root beer and burgers....mmmmm!
HooHa! Triple XXX root beer and burgers….mmmmm!

Remembering Tina

by HooHaAdventures, posted in Uncategorized

HooHa Adventures is about living life, passionately, and savoring every moment. Tina Thomas-Bratscher died one year ago today, doing just that. She was, and still is, such an inspiration to those who knew her, and those who learn about her. She was a writer, and author of her own blog followtinasjourney@blogspot.com outlining her final years before losing her battle to ovarian cancer. Prior to learning about her diagnosis, she continued to live life with passion, kicking her own bucket list one adventure at a time including horseback riding, camping, parasailing, skydiving, riding motorcycles, travelling to Europe, Cuba, and Northwest US to name a few. She handled adversity with class, and made everyday an adventure with her great friends, love of great food, drink and music. We love and miss you, and are living life to the fullest! HooHa Tina!!

Tina Thomas-Bratscher 01/05/67-08/11/12 Tina Thomas-Bratscher 01/05/67-08/11/12

The Plan

by HooHaAdventures, posted in Uncategorized
The Honda Shadow.. The Original Plan
The Honda Shadow.. The Original Plan
The Voyager...The New Plan
The Voyager…The New Plan

So, we headed out to a local dealership this week to outfit our Honda Shadow V Twin 1100 American Classic Edition with saddlebags, a new passenger saddle for comfort, and other accessories we might need for the upcoming journey. We started out up to head out to the dealership…. No dice.  A few minutes later, we were on the road after Jef jumped the battery. Add a battery to the list. Oh, and a windshield. Definitely a saddle for me… 12 days of this might be a test…but, there are families that do most of their travelling on a motorcycle smaller than this one, so a bit of global humility may be needed. We arrived at the dealership ready to shop when I made the mistake of spotting a used motorcycle with everything we needed. Sat on it. (Uh oh) Test rode  it… it was smooth and effortless at 70 mph…it felt safer (last straw). So, now it’s ours and headed to Cape Breton with us. (still deciding what to do with the Shadow….it’s so pretty and fun…) Now, The Plan is to outfit the Voyager with gear and plan our itinerary (loosely… It still is a journey). Any comments or suggestions will be appreciated!!! J & M

The Next Big Journey

by HooHaAdventures, posted in Cape Breton motorcycle tour 2013, Indiana motorcycle touring

Off reading in the U.P.This blog is starting after the return from a week in the U.P. near Munising, Michigan. We drive up in the Jeep, loaded down bikes mountain bikes, a trailer with an ATV, motorcycle, kayaks, rocket box, totes, and a Great Pyrenees poking his head out the back window. While we look almost normal on the road the closer we get to our outdoor destination, here in Indiana, you can almost read the lips on the passing drivers.. “I wonder where they’re going? ”  Next trip, I will plaster a hoohaadventures.com magnet to the side of the jeep and just point….

The Next Big Journey will require a lot less gear, and a bit more planning. Our first adventure ride out to the East Coast to reconnect with my family and experience Cape Breton culture.  We will be scanning the web for suggestions on routes, things to see and do, and any other helpful tidbits on motorcycle travel. HooHa!