Check out the new riders' dos

One thing your learn quickly when you ride a motorcycle is that you have no choice but to compromise style for comfort and light packing. To prepare for this trip, we knew we were going to have to make compromises: take very few changes of clothes and wash them frequently on the road, give up some of the luxuries in life such as a huge toolboxes, beauty creams and masks, make up (this one was particularly hard for Chad) and the like. Another important thing was having a hairstyle cut for the road:) So we did it and here is a picture of the result:
Gone is the hairstyle "a la" Hugh Grant for Chad - all buzzed off with the clippers. First comment he made: "Nice, it's already dry!" as he stepped out of the shower. As for Caroline's long curly hair, all gone too and in the new short hairstyle. She missed long hair for a few days but after Chad called her Betty Boop, the long curls were soon forgotten and the cute short curls and the low maitenance that comes with it much appreciated. So now, we are ready to go on with this trip, we got the riders' dos...


A taste of Chicago
Our first big touristy stop was Chicago where we spent the weekend. We had the good excuse to stay in the area a little longer as we met with a Suzuki V-Strom (the bikes we are riding) expert who would give us a motorcycle maintenance crash course. We really enjoyed the city as we had perfect weather and even hit the beach in Chicago on Saturday. The Millennium park was really impressive: filled with unique architectural pieces like the reflective bean, some amazing fountains with pictures of Chicagoans, and on the way we saw sculptures from Picasso, Dubuffet and the list goes on and on...

Of course, we could not resist what we thought were the most important things to do in Chicago: eat a deep dish pizza at Giordano's (it was Caroline's first and she never thought she would say that as a French person but man, there is so much cheese in it!) and have a cocktail at the lounge on the 96th floor of the Handcock Tower, with a stunning night view of the city. Both are memories to be remembered for a long time.