EIGHTSOME ON WEDNESDAY/BUSY TIME AHEAD

This Wednesday evening we had 8 riders show up for intended trip to view Pikes Peak above McGregor.  We welcomed Jim S (all the way from Festina), Mike (all the way from New Albin), Bill (all the way back from Florida), and Lissa (from many different Kwik Star locations.  They were all on two- wheelers.  The three wheeled gang was made up of Dave M (all the way from Gunder), Ron & Helen (all the way from Decorah), and Bob (all the way from 2nd St. NW).

WELCOME TO JIM S

RON & HELEN ROLL IN

BILL SAYS, "LONG TRIP FROM FLORIDA!"

LISSA ROUNDS OUT THE CREW

 With mostly sunny skies and temps right at 70 degrees, we depart Waukon via the Elon Road.  At the end of Elon Road, we turn south onto the Lansing/Harpers Road and cruise down hill into Harpers Ferry.  We spot a couple of dead deer along the road, but no live ones yet.

When we arrive in Harpers Ferry, we turn in a westerly direction and follow the Mississippi River on the Great River Road through Waukon Junction and over to HWY 76.  We turn south on 76, pass by Effigy Mounds and arrive in Marquette.  Following River St. (appropriately named) we enter McGregor and take the newly refurbished main street through town and pick up CR X56 at the Catholic Church and head up the hill to Pikes Peak.

WE "LAND" AT PIKES PEAK STATE PARK

Once at the park, we head to the overlook for some photo ops.

We also get to view some great river scenery from our high vantage point.

After our viewing, we depart the park and head towards Garnavillo, where I had planned to stop for refreshments.  According to Lissa, the convenience store where I had planned to stop was closed.  We did continue down X56 until we reached Clayton Road, and weaved our way into Garnavillo and onto HWY 52.

Sure enough, the Speede Shop across from the city park was closed with a chain link fence surrounding it.  I guess we will have to find out what happened.

We continued our journey on HWY 52 north up to HWY 18 and turned west.  Some of us turned into Monona on the Volney Road, while others continued on 18 heading for home.  The group that went through Monona followed the Volney Road up to Rossville and then took HWY 76 back into Waukon where Bill, Mike, and Bob stopped for eats at Uptown.  There the conversation turned to fencing property lines.  Bob had 88 miles on his trike after arriving home.  The view from Pikes Peak in the spring and especially in the fall is always a treat!

NEXT WEDNESDAY MAY BE TIME TO VIEW APPLE BLOSSOMS.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The next couple of weeks are a very busy time for Wednesday Night Riders.  

This coming Saturday, May 10th, is our Burger Run (RTE).  We plan to leave Casey's at 4:30 and ride over to Cresco and Dan's Road House to taste the burgers that were nominated for best in Iowa. Everyone is invited to attend this pre-Mothers' Day RTE.

On Tuesday, May 13th, Jim G, Ron, and Bob will be giving trike rides to the residents of Good Sam in Waukon.  The probable time will be 1 PM.  Anyone else can come to help load, take photos, or pass out pins.

On Friday, May 16th, Ron and Bob will be giving trike rides to residents of Northgate Care Center in Waukon.  Time for that will be 1 PM.  Again, anyone else is welcome to come and watch or help.

On Sunday, May 18th, we will take a ride up to New Albin for the New Albin Fire Department pancake breakfast.  We will depart Casey's at 10 AM that morning and take a ride in the area after we eat Mike's excellently prepared pancakes!

On Monday, May 19th, Chuck, Ron, and Bob will be giving trike rides to residents of Wellington Place in Decorah.  That is scheduled for 1 PM also.  Again observers and helpers are welcome.

REMEMBER MAD MAGAZINE?!!

6 PACK ON 2ND WEDNESDAY NIGHT

 Our second Wednesday night ride of the year drew only 6 riders.  Partly cloudy skies with temps in the mid 60's greeted us at Casey's.  Jim & Cathy and Mike & Joan arrived on two wheelers, while Richard brought his Slingshot and Bob led with his trike.

A SMALL, BUT ENTHUSIASTIC  GROUP

We departed Waukon via HWY 76 north and journeyed up to Bear Creek Drive while viewing a considerable number of farm fields being burned.  We turned west onto Bear Creek and followed it over to Locust Road.  Turning north again, Locust took us up to HWY 44 and we followed it through Spring Grove and on up into Caledonia where we stopped for a break.  Since the Qwik Trip there offers a numerous amount of coffee possibilities, most everyone was satisfied that we passed up the Ruptured Rooster.

THE 6 PACK ARRIVES.....

AND GETS READY TO HIT THE ROAD AGAIN

We backtracked through Caledonia and then picked up HWY 76 again and headed south through Eitzen.  We hit the stop light just about perfect at the bridge repair on Bear Creek, and continued up to Iowa River Drive and motored eastward.  We did spot about a dozen deer in a herd way across a field near the river.  Again, so far on this ride, we saw very little field work being done.

Continuing on Iowa River Drive, we came to Lycurgus Road and made our way southward to HWY 9 at the Lycurgus Church.  HWY 9 took us southward towards Waukon, but with plenty of daylight left we did some skirting first.  We turned onto Iron Mine Drive NW and that led us back over to HWY 76.  We crossed 76 onto Mt. Olivet Drive and past the Catholic cemetery.  Mt. Olivet Dr. took is over to Prairie Drive and past Ft. Burroughs to Old Stage Road and back into Waukon for eats at Uptown where the conversation turned to capturing skunks and soup seemed to be the popular dish.  The trike had 93 miles on her when I arrived home.

NEXT WEDNESDAY THE PLAN IS PIKES' PEAK

AND IF IT KEEPS RAINING.....

ONLY NINE

 We only had 9 particpants show up for our first "special" ride of the season.  This was our Spring ride down to Monticello for the omelet breakfast fundraiser for Camp Courageous.  Jim & Cathy rode in on their bike.  Bob led on his trike.  Dennis drove his Dodge with Marlene and Jens & Jane aboard.  Julie brought her Dodge also and took Richard with her.

JIM & CATHY READY TO RIDE VISIT WITH RICHARD

DENNIS ROLLS IN WITH A "SUPPORT" VEHICLE

JENS IS "SHOTGUN" WHILE MARLENE & JANE ARE IN THE BACK

JULIE DRIVES THE SECOND "SUPPORT" VEHICLE
WITH RICHARD ABOARD

What was supposed to be a cold day with chances of rain showers and a never-ending wind, turned into a great day for a ride.  After we left Waukon, we were treated to ample sunshine and since we were riding against the breeze, we were very comfortable.

The route down took us through Monona and Garnavillo and into Guttenberg for a short break.  Also there at Kwik Star were the HOG chapter riders also heading for Camp Courageous.

After our break we passed through Luxemburg, New Vienna, Dyersville, Worthington, the outskirts of Cascade and Monticello and on to Camp Courageous at 11:15.  There we enjoyed the delicious omelets, sausage, toast, juice, and coffee.

OUR NINESOME

After our "charity" breakfast, we made our way back through Monticello, Hopkinton, Delhi, and into Delaware for a gas stop.  We continued on HWY 38 past Oneida, through Greeley, and into Edgewood where we stopped at the Edgewood Country Club for our "mandatory" ice cream stop.

WE ARRIVE AT THE EDGEWOOD CC PARKING LOT

After getting our fill of ice cream, we took CR X21 north through Littleport and up to Grandview Road where we turned west over to HWY 13.  This stretch of X21 and Grandview (CR X3C) is one of the most scenic in northeast Iowa.  By this time the temp in the sun was close to 70 degrees.

We followed HWY 13 into Elkader and then found our way to the Gunder Road and continued our scenic journey on through Gunder, and then took a rough stretch of the Gunder Road over to HWY 18 just outside of Postville.  We passed through Postville and took HWY 51 north.  Jim & Cathy departed for home when we got to the Yellow River Drive turn.  The rest of the party continued on 51 up to HWY 9 and into Waukon.

I had just short of 200 miles on the trike when I parked her.  Great day for a ride for a great cause!

No he didn't ride with us, but apparently he rode motorcycles, and he was a great singer who passed away too soon.

PMS DREW A CROWD

 Our seventeeth annual PMS (Parked Motorcycle (Motorcar) Syndrome  get together for the Wednesday Night Riders drew an amazing 33 participants.  Included in our midst were military veterans including Bob Z, Richard, Bernell, Terry, Dave M, and Carl.  We were also blessed to have some WNR veterans in Wayne & Sandy and Carl & Joyce.

After a brief welcome, Bob started the meeting with the Mo Bandy ballad "Americana" video.  Mo does a fine job of explaining how small towns off the interstates are really what America is all about.  That was followed by Bob telling of some of their Florida adventures with winter.  He then went over some ride rules and made note of some of the upcoming "special" rides for 2025.  Then a video showing highlights of the WNR activities was shown.  This video included some of our sights, our rides, our new friends,  our charities, our "be good to others", and our eats.  2024 was quite a year!

The next video has become a "feature" of our PMS get-togethers.  Here we poke some good-natured fun at almost everyone who rode in 2024 by using photos that Bob and others took during the year.  Of course, there was always some "slight" imbellishment done, but no one was immune to the teasing, and everyone seemed to enjoy the "overheard quotes or misquotes".  

Hopefully everyone was able to get in a lot of post-winter visiting and spent an entertaining and enjoyable evening with friends old and new.

Our first "special" ride of the year is this Sunday when we venture down to Monticello to support Camp Courageous by donating and taking part in their omelet breakfast.  We will leave Casey's at 9 AM.  There may be a couple of cars making the trip, so if you don't want to motorcycle down, you should be able to catch a ride in a car.  Right now the Sunday forecast is for temps in the 60's with rain coming later at night.  Let's have a good turnout!

HAPPY & BLESSED EASTER

To all Wednesday Night Riders, relatives, and friends:  Have a happy and blessed Easter!

 

A reminder:

Our "famous" PMS get-together is this Wednesday, the 23rd,  at Uptown Grill in Waukon.  Most of you have been sent invitations, the agenda, and a page of our "special" rides for 2025.  If you did not receive an invitation, that just means that I don't have your mailing address, and you are still more than welcome to come and join us. I will have extra copies of the "special" rides.  If you haven't ridden with us for a while, we would still like you to come.  We are always glad to see everyone, and the "more the merrier"!

Eating around 5:30 or 6 with a couple of videos to follow around 7.

AGAIN, EVERYONE IS WELCOME !!

Pre PMS Ride?

 If the weather stays the way it's predicted (temps near 60 and calmer winds), I do plan to take a short ride tonight (Wednesday) from Casey's at 5.  If the weather stays cool and the winds pick up like they have been, then I'm staying home!

See you at 5, maybe!

It's also "Be Kind To Your Pet" week.

PMS is now on the 23rd

It's now official.  The PMS get-together has been moved from the 16th of April to the 23rd.  After receiving a fair number of responses in favor of moving the date to the 23rd, and none saying it would not work, the change was made.  The 16th fell right in the middle of Holy Week and I also think it's when St. John's Lutheran in Waukon had their annual meatball supper scheduled.

Again, for those of you who have given me your address, you will be receiving in the mail an invitation along with a sheet showing the "special rides" for the 2025 riding season.  For those of you who I do not have an address for, you are still invited to attend and can pick up your "special" rides sheet then, or if you want, you can send me your address.  It has proved to be a "fun" time for everyone and it will be good to see everyone again after another winter.

So, set aside the 23rd of April for the seventeeth annual meeting of the Wednesday Night Riders Club at the Uptown Grill in Waukon.  More details will follow on this blog as I get time to put everything together.

SOMETIMES IT'S JUST MORE FUN GOING TWO UP!!