LET'S SEE A PARADE!

 On a rather cool, but sunny evening, we had six Wednesday Night Riders show up at Casey's.  Lois came with the only two-wheeler, while Terry, Richard, Wayne, Dave, and Bob rolled in on three wheels.

RICHARD TELLS ABOUT HIS TRIP OUT WEST

HERE COMES LOIS

From now on our rides were to include a trip across the Black Hawk Bridge at Lansing until it is no longer there.  Apparently now the destruction date or final closing date is October 20.

We departed Waukon via the Elon Road and followed it out to the Lansing/Harpers Road.  There we turned north for a short jog and pointed our wheels onto Lafayette Ridge Road.  All this time, with no humidity, you could see for miles and miles.

At the end of LRR we made our way onto the Great River Road and motored along the Mississippi River on into Lansing.  Across the bridge we went (hopefully not for the last time) and into Wisconsin.  We followed HWY 35 south through Ferryville and picked up CR C just outside of town.  While on C, Bob had to brake for a doe to cross in front and waited to see if a fawn might be following, so we proceeded with caution.  That was the last deer we saw, but Bob got buzzed by a stubborn buzzard that didn't want to leave a fresh road kill.

CR C took us over to HWY 27, and we turned back south passing through Fairview and Mt. Sterling before arriving in Seneca and stopping at Greener's Corner for a break.  Up until this stop, we were making good time and should have no trouble getting back before dark.  That was about to change!

We continued our journey south on 27, passing through Eastman.  With HWY 35 still closed, we could not turn back west on any of the alphabet roads, so we kept on 27 until we reached Limery Road and turned westward on it.  At this time of year, the sun is at a perfect angle to be right in your eyes as you motor west.  So taking our time on Limery was in order.  Limery took us across HWY 35 just south of Prairie du Chien and onto CR K.

We followed K on into PDC, and to our surprise, the longest homecoming parade we had ever seen was blocking our way onto HWY 18.  We kept thinking that the parade would end when we saw a fire engine approaching, but no luck.  There was pickup after pickup pulling trailer loads of kids along the parade route coming by and throwing lots of candy.  After about a 15 minute wait, we decided to try to work our way around the parade.  No luck yet.  At our next stop, the parade was still passing.  A traffic cop told Bob that it would be at least another 15 minutes before the rest of the parade passed.  She did offer an alternate route that we eventually tried and were able to get back to HWY 27 and cross the bridge into Marquette.  By this time, we were going to have to hustle to make it back to Waukon before darkness set in.

We motored up HWY 76 north with some sun still available, and arrived in Waukon right at dusk near 7 PM.  Four of us stopped at Uptown for eats.  I had exactly 100 miles on the Gold Wing parked on Main Street in Waukon.  On the way back, the temps got down to 50 degrees at times, but except for having to view a parade with every kid in PDC, it was a good ride.

WE WILL TRY TO CROSS THE BLACK HAWK BRIDGE AGAIN NEXT WEDNESDAY, WHICH COULD BE THE LAST TIME.

REAL H O G RIDERS!

CLUCK, CLUCK!

Each year the Wednesday Night Riders have tried to make the trip on an early October Sunday up to Rockton for their almost world famous barbeque chicken.  We went again this Sunday.

 We had 16 riders gather at Casey's this Sunday in anticipation of a scenic ride up to Rockton and a chance to devour some tasty barbeque chicken.  Bikers were Mike & Joan, Jim & Cathy, Chuckles, Lois, and Bill.  The three-wheelers were Roger, Wayne, Dave, and Bob.  Dennis & Marlene supplied the "support" pickup with Julie aboard, and we were also joined by Danny & Cindy.

BOB SURVEYS THE CHICKEN EATING CROWD

EARLY ARRIVALS

THE GROUP GETS BIGGER

THE "SUPPORT" PICKUP ROLLS IN

CHUCKLES TRIES TO CONVINCE DANNY & CINDY THAT THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE A GOOD TIME

JIM WELCOMES THE "SUPPORT" GROUP

GETTING READY TO ROLL

WHO HAS THE BEST TRIKE?

After Bob called in the final chicken orders, we left Waukon at 10:15 and took off up HWY 9 into Lansing.  There were a lot of people gathered on Main Street in Lansing for a celebration, so the town was pretty crowded.  Crowding would come into play later.

We made our way across the Black Hawk Bridge, which is going to continue to be part of our rides until it is dismantled.  After arriving in Wisconsin, we followed HWY 35 north into DeSoto and then turned eastward onto HWY 82.  The temps were very warm, but you had to be aware of wind gusts particularly on hilltops.

We followed HWY 82 passing through Red Mound, West Prairie, Fargo, and Liberty Pole.  We also took a quick look at Monument Rock as we passed by.  We took CR J on into Viroqua where we had planned to stop at Kwik Trip for a break.  Unfortuanately everyone in the county decided to come to Kwik Trip, so we departed since they were extremely busy and crowded, and there wasn't any parking in their lot.

So, we backtracked a little and got on our planned route by taking CR SS eastward out of town.  Things got interesting on this route also, as we were passed by emergency vehicles.  About halfway along the route we saw the accident.  A car was flipped over on its top and was lying in someone's fron yard.  Hopefully no one was seriously hurt.

CR SS was a scenic drive (color on trees began to appear) offering a smooth surface and some sweeping curves.  Once we reached HWY 56, we took a short jog to the juction of 56 and CR S, where Liberty Bar was located.  Since Bob had been there before, he decided this would be a good place for our break.

LOOKS LIKE A GOOD PLACE TO STOP

BARBEQUE PORK LOOKS GOOD, BUT WE'LL WAIT FOR CHICKEN

IT WAS WARM ENOUGH NOW TO SHED SOME JACKETS

WAYNE IS READY TO KEEP MOVING

After thanking the folks in the Liberty Bar for their hospitality, Bob led the group northward on CR S.  This is another well maintained county road that offers up some great views of rivers, valleys, and bluffs.  We make our way through Avalanche (By the looks of some of the dwellings, it looks like this berg was hit by an avalanche!) and Bloomingdale before we dropped onto CR P which took us on a scenic ride eastward to HWY 131.  Taking 131 northward for a few miles, we soon arrived at the Rockton Bar, where another huge crowd had gathered.

LOTS OF CHICKEN EATERS

Since we had made reservations, we were able to get right in and find a table inside, out of the relentless wind.

GULP AND GLUG!

ALMOST GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT!

ROGER SAYS, "I'M NOT SHARING!"

BOB LOOKS FULL

THAT SAYS IT ALL!

We departed Rockton, with the next scheduled stop being the orchards near Gays Mills.  However, on the way, a "handy-dandy" Harley helmet couldn't take the wind gusts.

ANYBODY GOT A PIPE WRENCH?!

We continued along HWY 131 through LaFarge and Viola and into Readstown where we joined HWY 61 continuing south.  When we reached HWY 171, we turned back west and made our bumpy way to the Sunrise Orchards.  HWY 171 from Rolling Ground down to Sunrise Orchards has always been and continues to be a "piece of crap".  The view of the valley below just before you get to Sunrise is breathtaking, and Sunrise has set aside a part of their paved parking lot for motorcycles.

After everyone who stopped at Sunrise had sampled the cider and cider donuts and purchased other eats, we continued our journey down 171 into Gays Mills.  After stuffing ourselves with chicken, donuts, and other apple goodies, we still stopped for ice cream at the Arco Store in Ferryville.  Bob said this was the last stop for him and headed for Waukon after passing over the Black Hawk Bridge again.  It has been rumored that some of our party still hadn't had enough eats and drinks and succumbed to the call of the Ruptured Rooster.

Bob had 157 miles on the trike when he parked her.  Our final scheduled RTE was fun.  Good roads, good scenery, and good company!

NEXT WEDNESDAY

We will cross the Black Hawk Bridge again, and maybe for the last time.  From there on it's anybody's guess where we go.

RUN, CHICKENS, RUN!!

BACK ROADS TO BOSCOBEL

 With all the road closings, it has been a real challenge planning routes over in Wisconsin this year.  The goal for the Wednesday ride was Boscobel, but with the promise to cross the Black Hawk Bridge as many times as possible yet, getting there was going to be a challenge.  Hopefully some of the roads I had taken long ago were still open!

We had eight riders roam into Casey's on Wednesday for our new 4 o'clock departure time.  Mike, Chuckles, Lois, and Bill arrived on bikes, while the other four, Dave, Wayne, Terry, and Bob rode trikes.

EARLY ARRIVALS

MIKE SPEEDS IN

BILL JOINS IN

AND HERE'S DAVE

The bank clock temp read 80 degrees as we rolled past it and out of town on HWY 9.  We motored on into Lansing, and made sure we crossed the bridge for one of the last times.  After arriving in Wisconsin, we took HWY 35 south through Ferryville and arrived at it's detour.  (HWY 35 from just outside of Ferryville to Prarie du Chien has been closed all summer for repair).  Since we couldn't continue south on 35, we took the detour up HWY 171, and climbed the mountain into Mt. Sterling.

We continued on 171 through Mt. Sterling to N Halls Branch Road, a strip of unmarked blacktop that I had taken quite a while back.  It was still open, so we maneuvered along the narrow winding strip (We don't need no stinkin' yellow lines!) until we arrived at CR S.  A scenic cruise on S took us to HWY 131 (also a closed highway) at Petersburg.  We were able to cross 131 and stay on S all the way east to HWY 61 also called the Blues Highway.

Fortunately we were all still together, so we continued our journey south on 61, a really good riding highway.  We followed 61 on into Boscobel for a short break at the Kwik Trip.  Usually when we venture into Boscobel, we stop at the Udder Brothers Creamery for ice cream, but with the shorter daylight hours, time was against us.

After leaving Boscobel, we picked up HWY 60, and cruised along side of the Wisconsin River and through Wauzeka.  Continuing on 60 we arrived at HWY 18 near Bridgeport and turned northward into Prarie du Chien.  We skirted around PDC on 18 and over the bridge into Marquette where we picked up HWY 76 north.  While viewing a beautiful sunset, we motored up 76 into Waukon where 6 of us stopped for eats at Uptown.  118 miles showed up on the Gold Wing's clock in Waukon.  We were able to put that many miles on, make it to Boscobel on backroads, and get back before dark.

UPCOMING EVENTS

This Sunday, the 5th of October (I'm still trying to figure out what happened to June!) is our last scheduled RTE (Ride To Eat).  It's the "Run, Chicken, Run" Run up to the Rockton Bar for their nearly world famous barbeque chicken.  They serve other food, but if you want the chicken, it's a good idea to have reservations.  You can tell Bob to make your reservations if you let him know before Sunday morning.  We plan to depart Casey's at 10:15 (note time change). We usually try to stop at one of the orchards on the way back to load up on cider donuts. Figuring out a route up to Rockton and then back through the orchards is going to be a real challenge, but it promises to be a scenic adventure.  Everyone is welcome!

CAMP COURAGEOUS--BEST DAY EVER!

We have been making motorcycle and sometimes cage trips down to Monticello to support the Camp Courageous fund raising meals in the fall and spring for many years now.  For the most part there have been very few times where the weather has been pleasant.  Many times it has been cold or rainy or both.  But this fall, seven riders were greeted by a spectacular fall day!

With clear skies and temps in the mid 60's to start, Lois, Chuckles, Bill, and Bob P stoked up their bikes.  Dave and Bob & Julie rolled in on their trikes.  The group gathered at Casey's for a 9 o'clock starting time.

JULIE LOOKS EXCITED!

DAVE'S GOING TO RIDE WITH US THIS YEAR

GOOD TO SEE BOB P AND BILL AGAIN

WE'RE READY TO ROLL!

The "magnificent" 7 rolled out of Casey's onto HWY 76 south then onto the Volney Road through "rosey" Rossville.  As we progressed through some of the low areas near the Yellow River, the temp on the trike read 52 degrees.  However, once we reached Monona, we were well into the upper 60's.

We sped on through Monona and passed by Froelich on HWY 18 and then turned southward on HWY 52.  We followed 52 all the way to Dyersville passing through Garnavillo, Guttenberg, Millville, Luxemburg, and New Vienna on the way and took a short break at the Casey's there.

CHUCKLES & BOB P FOUND THE HARLEY PARKING SPOT

CHUCKLES COMBED THE DITCH FOR $100 BILLS, BUT CAME UP EMPTY

After a short break, we continued our journey onto HWY 136 still heading south and passed through Worthington.  As we neared Cascade, we were supposed to turn onto HWY 151 south, but Bob was gawking around and missed the turn.  With everyone following, we were able to turn around and get onto 151 and speed towards Monticello.  All along the way so far, we noticed that like in our area, very few crops had been harvested.

After about 10 miles on 151, we took HWY 38 south and soon arrived at Camp Courageous where we had our own parking lot attendant guide us onto the basketball court.  We arrived at 11:15 and headed into the lodge for our waffle feast.  We were offered all the waffles and sausages we wanted, and some took advantage of that offer!

After being fully stuffed, we departed Camp Courageous for what in 

MHO is the most scenic journey in northeast Iowa.  

We backtracked on HWY 38 and 151 until we reached North Cascade Road and turned northward.  From N Cascade to Roller Coaster Road (very appropriate name) to Placid Road and on into Epworth we motored for a gas stop.  All three of these county roads are well maintained and offer some outstanding views, but the best was yet to come.

On the edge of Epworth, we found Gun Club Road and followed this windy, scenic tarmack into Bankston and St. Clement Church.  A short jog on Bankston Park Road took us over to Asbury Road and some more incredible scenery.  Again, your leader was gawking at the scenery, and missed the turn onto Five Points Road near the metropolis of Graf.  Again we were able to get turned around and onto Five Points to enjoy some breathtaking scenery.

Five Points ends ay HWY 3, and we normally take HWY 3 over to Sherill Road for a stop at Eichman's Store.  However, HWY 3 was closed at that point due to some never-ending repair work.  Since our goal was to get to Balltown, our only option was to try bypass the closing by taking S Mound Road over to Sherill.  So across the highway we went and onto South Mound also passing a "Road Closed" sign for it.  The last time I was on South Mound it was in really bad shape, and today was no exception.  Fortunately right at the closed barriors for S Mound, we were able to turn north onto Mill Road.  After about 2 miles, we came upon Haberkorn Road and were able to turn back east.  What a treat this road was!  It took us right into Sherill and onto Balltown Road we went.  Balltown Road is another one of the scenic drives in this area.  

After passing through a very busy Balltown, we stopped at one of the overlooks along the Great River Road for some photo opps.

We continued our scenic journey down the Great River Road and passed through North Buena Vista and back to HWY 52 at Millville.  What's a waffle breakfast without ice cream?!  So, our next stop was Joe's in Guttenberg where there were at least 20 choices of ice cream.

WE ARRIVE AT JOE'S

AND GET TO PARK OUT FRONT

After our ice cream treats, we left Guttenberg via the Great River Road and down into McGregor.  What an improvement is Main Street in McGregor!  We pass through McGregor and on into Marquette where we pick up HWY 76 and motor north back into Waukon.  We had 220 miles on the trike when we parked her.

What a day!  Great weather, great roads, great scenery, all for a good cause.  Thanks to Carl & Joyce who couldn't make the trip, but sent a contribution for Camp Courageous with us.

GOOD TURNOUT FOR EARLY DEPARTURE

With daylight hours growing shorter every week, we decided to try moving our departure time on Wednesday nights from 5 PM to 4 PM.  Apparently it worked out well, since we had 12 riders show up at Casey's this Wednesday on a day that started out with some ugly weather, but suddenly turned great just before we gathered.

Jim, Chuckles, Dee, and Mike arrived on bikes.  The Slingshot arrived with Richard & Melodye, and the trikers were made up of Terry, Dave, Wayne, and Bob.  Rolling in was a recently purchased "support" convertible with Bernell & Kathy aboard.

TO ALMOST EVERYONE'S SURPRISE

RICHARD & MELODYE, MIKE, AND WAYNE

DAVE PULLS IN

HERE COMES TERRY

DEE DISMOUNTS

CHUCKLES STOWS SOME GOODIES

THE LADIES CHECK OUT THE NEW "SUPPORT" CONVERTIBLE

JIM ARRIVES FULL OF COFFEE, BUT NEEDING GAS

The destination for the night was Houston via the "mountain" route, so the designated dozen departed Waukon via HWY 76 heading north.  Once we reached Bear Creek Drive, we turned westward and followed it all the way over to Locust Road.  After turning north on Locust we intended to take CR 14 over to Hesper, but apparently the road was closed, so we continued our journey on Locust up to HWY 44.  We then took 44 west to Mabel and then HWY 43 north became our new route.

HWY 43 is a combination of all kinds of interesting driving factors.  It features smooth blacktop, sweeping curves, sharp turns, and hills.  It's considered a "delight" by most motorcyclists.  We negotiate most of 43 until we arrive at CR 10 where the "real" fun begins.

CR 10 is a flat section of road that was recently resurfaced, but for some reason, the bumps remained!  At the county line CR 10 becomes CR 13 (lucky number) and the road suddenly becomes a lot more smooth, more curvy, and more scenic.  Just before dropping down the steep switchback hill, there is a view of the valley below that is breathtaking!  We carefully traversed down the mountain side and arrived at our destination, the BP Station in Houston.

After our break at the BP convenience store, we left Houston by taking HWY 76 south for a short ways until we turned our wheels onto CR 10.  (This is not the same CR 10 that we were on previously).  This CR 10 is another smooth scenic route passing through the village of Sheldon and winds its way back to HWY 76 just outside of Caledonia.

We pass through Caledonia and continue on HWY 76 stopping for the ongoing Bear Creek bridge repair.  The stop sign let everyone catch up again, and we continued southward to Iowa River Drive and turned eastward.  Passing along the Iowa River, we were surprised that more bean fields had not yet been harvested.  Once we arrived at Lycurgus Road, we headed south to HWY 9, and took 9 back into Waukon where 8 of us stopped at Uptown for eats.  There were about 120 miles on the trike when we parked outside of Uptown.

I think we will use 4 PM as the departure time for the rest of our Wednesday night rides.  It gives us more riding time before darkness sets in.  Also the plan for the rest of the Wednesday night rides will be to cross the Black Hawk Bridge at some time each ride.  It will be our way of paying our respects to the "grand old lady" before she is taken down.

UPCOMING EVENTS

This is an event we have participated in for many years now giving our support to Camp Courageous.  Hopefully there will be a number of us making the trip down to Monticello this Sunday.  We will depart Casey's at 9 AM Sunday morning. The route is scenic both down and back and will include a stop for ice cream somewhere on the way back. If you can't make the trip, you can still send a donation with one of us.

The following Sunday, October 5th, is our annual "Run, Chicken, Run" Run up to Rockton for their semi-world famous barbeque chicken and a stop at a Gays Mills orchard on the way back.  We will leave Casey's at 10:15 that Sunday.  More on that on the next blog.

Remember this guy?