The Last Ditch by Tom Paine

Well rested and moderately well nourished we set off to drive the next section of the Great River Road, for the first time in convoy. Before leaving the Dubuque area, we flipped over to Dyersville to see the odd tourist attraction that is the movie location for Kevin Costner’s baseball…

There was a lot of Minnesota to drive through before reaching Iowa; my first new state for a couple of days. I have tried to plan the trip to avoid retracing my tyre tracks more than strictly necessary, but going so far up-country to stand at the source of the…

I woke refreshed in my rustic residence in the Itasca State Park and set off in the cold morning sunshine to start the Great River Road (GRR). The first stop was Bemidji, where I had a “Minnesota Nice” lumberjack breakfast. A bit much really, as driving even a Ferrari does…

I had a pleasant drive through Minnesotan wetlands to Itasca State Park today. There was still snow on the ground and some lakes were part-frozen, but the roads were clear and dry. A day or so of sunshine will clear away the last evidence of Winter soon.  I stopped at…

I plan a more gentle run today – a mere 160 miles – followed by a walk in Itasca State Park.

I headed off from Chicago full of an excellent breakfast and with my friends’ words of encouragement being drowned out by the roar of Speranza’s V8. It had been a welcome break from life in one anonymous hotel room after another and, though I am enjoying all the conversations with…

How could I not love Chicago, when the first Chicagoan to speak to me (the guy collecting the Skyway toll) praised Speranza’s beauty, asked politely if he could take her photograph and sent me on my way with the compliment above? I was lucky in my guide to the city.…

I spent the morning at two motor museums; the National Automotive and Truck Museum housed in the factory where Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg cars were made and – right next door in the former offices and showroom of the company – the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum. I thoroughly enjoyed both. After a…

America did not invent the car but has embraced it with a passion that matches my own. An automobile goes where you want, when you want. It is the vessel for a man who is the captain of his soul. Americans have built roads across their vast continent-nation, together with all…