Day trip on my Harley - Fast Eddie's and a ride along the rivers

422 mile road trip today.  It was a great day for a long ride - sunny and hot!  Left Champaign at 9:30am - destination Fast Eddie's Bon-Air, Alton IL. for lunch.  First part of the ride was pretty boring - straight shot down I-57 to Effingham (quick stop at the Legacy HD shop), to I-70, I-270 and then into Alton.

If you go to Fast Eddie's on a motorcycle, note there is a special parking lot for bikes.  Its blocked off from the car parking lot - much safer.  I don't know how to describe this place.  It was packed with people of all ages (no children - they card you at the door - must be >21 y/o).  Several people celebrating their birthday - including one young 70 y/o lady.  Lots of bikers.

When you get inside, you join a line to the grill where you place your order.  There aren't a lot of food options but enough to make it difficult to decide what to get.

The grill at Fast Eddie's
(Photo borrowed from Chuck)

 There were five us and between us we tried: the beef tenderloin - $2.99.  Big chunks of beef on a stick (Big Ellwood).  Delicious!  Cold "peel your own" shrimp. ( 29cents/shrimp.)  Yum.  Chicks on a stick (chicken wings - and they actually were on a stick).  99cent cheeseburgers and pork kabobs.  The food is cheap!  You have to pay attention to announcements over the intercom so you can go pick up your order.  A waitress serves the beverages. This, I think, is where they make their money.  $2 soft drinks - no free refills.  Not complaining, though, as the food was so inexpensive.

 We left Alton and headed toward Grafton.  Very pretty ride along the river.  It was about this point that I broke away from the other riders and headed off on my own. Those who know me know well know I like to combine my photography hobby with my riding hobby, so I'm always looking for photo opps and not everyone likes to make stops along the way.

So off I go on my own, smugly thinking I had my Iphone, so access to maps.  Didn't think about the possibility of no cell service along the way (me who travels for a living - go figure).  So I took my direction from the sun (figured I need to head northeast) and the river.  At one point I saw this sign and at first thought someone with a sense of humor was messing with me.  Who knew there was a Detroit IL?

For a minute, I'm thinking - Detroit, as in Detroit MI?

 I'm still riding along the Illinois River through teeny little towns.  I see a Shell gas station sign in Pearl, IL.  Population 200.  This is where I thought I'd better check my location - no cell service.  I go into the little gas station to get directions and the store clerk (cute little lady) says "Champaign?  I don't know where that is" - so I say "I need to head east".  She says "if you keep driving up the road a ways, you'll come to Milton and then Detroit.  There's a road headed east - so maybe take that".  So I continue on - with a minor side trip to Nebo and Vin Fiz road.  Interesting history and very scenic - worth the detour.  If you're down in that area, add that to your destination.

On to Milton and Detroit where I did find the intersection where I could head east.  And then  I come across this sign out in the middle of nowhere (and when I say nowhere, seriously, I went 20 minutes or more without seeing anyone)

Drawbridge in the middle of nowhere?  And then I rounded the corner and saw it. 

Looking back at the bridge

It was a beautiful ride - rolling hills, lots of trees.  Several dips in the tree canopied road where the temperature was so chilly I got goose-bumps.  Refreshing!  Side note - could have done without the half a dozen dead snakes on the road but I figured that was due to the river being so close. 

One last stop - "Historic Winchester".  I confess I still didn't know where I was when I saw the sign "Historic Winchester".  I drove into the small town and found this lovely old building.

I'm standing across the street, my back flat up against the building, trying to get a full photo.  Bad/crooked view but you get the gist - its a lovely old building.

One of my longr day trips.  I think maybe the lack of a map and no cell service was a good thing - going with the sun and the river made for a beautiful ride in a part of the state I've never been in - so a great day!  Returning to that river road and the Nebo area is on my list for later this summer.