I'm talking about a slow moving vehicle on a fun twisty road. And, of course, it isn't always Minnesota... if it was 10 slow moving cars, 1 would be from Michigan, 1 would be from Colorado or Manitoba, and the other 8 would be from Minnesota. I'm sure there are decent drivers from the land of 10,000 frozen lakes and mosquitos... they must vacation in other places.
We're in for a few warm days ahead, and our time here is down to less than 3 weeks - I'm getting in all the riding I can. I was out before 9:00 this morning, and it was beautiful - the weather, the riding, the lack of traffic; just a delightful outing. I headed south to take in the entire length of Iron Mountain Road.
Turning from Hwy 36 onto Iron Mountain Road, there was no traffic in front of me. I had that glorious road to myself for quite a while... and then I came up on a white Chevy pickup with Minnesota plates. Through some spectacular curves, that driver was doing 16 to 18 mph, where the speed limit is 35. I have said this before: it is a great road, and people should be allowed to take it at whatever speed they want... as long as they use the turn-outs to let faster traffic get around. Really, that move takes nothing away from the drive; it is a simple courtesy. I'm not saying everyone should drive the speed limit (or faster) - just suggesting that one's fear of a curvy road doesn't give them the right to hold up other traffic - there are places to safely pull off (especially when you are going so slow) to let other traffic go around. It always seems to be the Minnesota drivers who are oblivious to traffic behind them, or are determined to make other drivers bend to their will. It's probably the former.
After passing several places to safely allow a pass, I twisted the throttle a bit to get around that slow-going pickup. A short time later, I stopped to take a photo of the CTX in front of the Iron Mountain Road Store sign...
Of course, that put me behind the white pickup again... and now they were going even slower. Spite or fear? Through some truly fine curves, I resisted the urge to pass on a double yellow line through a curve. I knew there was a short straight stretch coming up. The pickup sped up as I made my pass... yep, it was spite. It didn't take long until they were out of the sight of my rear view mirror.
The rest of the ride was a delight. There was even a Slingshot (a 3-wheel vehicle from Polaris that looks like something out of a Batman movie) who pulled to the side before a tunnel to let me get around. It had South Dakota plates, so was probably a rental.
The summer season is winding down. The vacationing families will be replaced by retired couples in sedans and SUVs. Early in the day will still be the best time. Or, head to other good rides that aren't so close to Mt Rushmore.
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