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!!

POSSIBLE CHANGE IN PMS DATE

Hi Everybody!

We did arrive safely back from Florida, even though we had to spend a couple of extra nights in Dyersburg, Tennesse, to avoid  severe wind and rain  storms.

The reason for this update is when I looked at the intended date for our annual PMS get-together at Uptown Grill on April 16th, I discovered that this year it falls right in the middle of Holy Week.  We have Palm Sunday to start the week on the 13th and Good Friday on the 18th.

Now this would not bother a Buddist like me (LOL), but the last thing I want to do is have a conflict with those in our group that set that week aside for religious purposes and have to make a choice between church attendance and our get-together.

The Uptown has the following Wednesday night, the 23rd still open, so I am contemplating changing our PMS a week later to that date.

I know some of you may have already set aside the 16th, and now may have a conflict on the 23rd.  If so, then please send me an e-mail at brotach @ msn.com or call me at 563-568-7277.  If I don't have too many objections, I'll make the date change.  I would like to let them know at Uptown by next Wednesday, so please contact me by then.  We have always had good atttendance at this "fun" time, and I would like to keep it that way.

I still plan to send out personal invitations and the ride dates sheet to everyone that I have an address for.  If you want to get these, then make sure I have your mailing address.  Stay tuned to this blog for any change that may be made for our PMS date.

ANOTHER FLORIDA UPDATE

 When the weather finally broke for the better, we were able to rack up some miles on the trike.  As of today, we have put somewhat over 1600 miles so far.

We have been able to connect with the motorcycle groups from Ft. Walton, FL, and Dothan, AL, by attending their monthly get-togethers.  We were on two rides with the Dothan group (the wiregrass u crew).  Our first ride, called their Sweet Heart Ride, was to a home cooked buffet at a restaurant called Red's School House in Grady, AL.

Here's some photos from that adventure.

A GOOD TURNOUT

OUR ENTERTAINMENT
THE GUY WAVING IS THEIR RIDE LEADER
DON'T EXPECT THAT FROM ME!

TWO SWEETHEARTS FROM IOWA

Our second ride with them was just this last Saturday.  They took us to Big Jim's Oyster Bar on Lake Seminole.  We don't eat oysters, but the shrimp po' boys were delicious!

THE GAL ON THE TRIKE BEHIND US GOT THIS SHOT

ONLY 6 BIKES AND TWO CARS ON THIS RUN

THE PO' BOYS FILLED US RIGHT UP

THE GUY WITH THE BLUE WING IS THEIR GROUP RIDE LEADER

HE AND I DO A LOT OF TALKING ABOUT GROUP RIDES

JULIE WITH THE TRIKE

THE TWO "SUPPORT VEHICLES"

WE REACH OUR DESTINATION

LOT'S OF FISHING ON LAKE SEMINOLE

I have adventured out on my own for several rides.  

Remember the guy in Florida who was hanging up Trump banners on his house, and was going to have to pay huge fines for doing it?  Well, the banner is still up and no one is making him pay any fines.  I rode by there the other day.

WE TOOK A RIDE OVER TO PORT ST. JOE
THEY ARE STILL BUILDING BIG SHIPS THERE

PHOTOS OF CYPRIS STUMPS THAT MAKE GREAT BASS FISHING

I got turned around (got my ass lost) the other day, and ended up at a familiar spot, the "highest point" in Florida!  A nice little park is situated there.

CAN'T SEE ANY MOUNTAINS!

SLINGSHOTS ARE PRETTY POPULAR RENTALS DOWN HERE
ARE RICHARD AND MELODYE LOOKING TO UPGRADE TO A SIX SEATER?!

SHUFFLEBOARD IS PRETTY POULAR HERE AT THE CONDO
DON'T PLAY THESE PEOPLE FOR MONEY!

OUR CONDO BUILDING

A SPECTACLAR SUNSET OVER THE GULF OF AMERICA!

ARE WE REALLY IN FLORIDA?!

 As you may have heard by now, winter was not nice to the south, and Panama City Beach was no exception.  We received about 4 inches here and in some areas just north of us in Florida and Alabama received over 8 inches, all new records.  It may not get warm enough today to melt away the snow, so it will probably turn to ice.  As you may well know, the natives in these areas have no idea how to drive in winter weather, so a day in the condo is the plan.  The only saving grace, is that temps this coming weekend are supposed to be in the 60's.

Compare the photos I sent you last time with the ones I'm sending today, and you'll see what I'm talking about!  It's amazing that right now we have more snow here than you have back there in Iowa!

The trike and pickup during the snow fall

VIEW FROM OUR FRONT DOOR

MORE PARKING LOT PHOTOS FROM LAST NIGHT

SNOWFALL LOOKING OUT THE BACK BALCONY 

MORE EVENING SNOW FALL

NO ONE IN THE HOT TUBS NOW

THE PARKING LOT IS A SKATING RINK

STEAM ROLLING OFF THE HOT TUB

FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW

MORE TRACKS

THAT'S NOT WHITE SAND.  IT'S SNOW!

UPDATE FROM FLORIDA

 I have received a number of requests to see how it's going for us in Florida, so I thought it might be easier to inform everyone on the blog.

First of all our trip down here was a little challenging at times.  We waited at home for a couple of hours before leaving on the 29th for the fog to lessen.  It was pretty soupy until we got to Oelwein, and then a few spots in Missouri along the way.  We stopped at Sikeston, MO, for the first night and then on to Defuniak Springs, Florida, and finally to Panama City Beach on the 31st.

When we first arrived, the weather was pleasant, but cool.  I was able to get in a 150 mile ride on Jan. 2nd.  However, since then, the weather has been very cool for this area along with a lot of rain and wind.  For almost a week now, the high temps were in the 40's, and I have not ridden since.  It looks like it's going to be in the 50's today, so I plan on a ride.  Needless to say, the natives are really "pissing and moaning" about the cold, but I also remind them that it's currently below zero in Iowa.  They said it would be crazy to live there!  The outdoor pool here is heated, so we are able to use it most every day.  The real challenge comes when it's time to get out!

We did attend a get-together with the motorcycle group from Ft. Walton last Thursday evening.  They are a group that's affliliated with Eagle Wings Motorcycle Association.  They only had 7 members show up, so I'm a little concerned about this group.  Hopefully we will be able to go on some rides with them.

On Saturday morning, I ventured over to Pensacola for their monthly meeting.  They are also members of the Eagle Wings Association.  Since I am also a member, I was able to participate in their activities and hopefully be able to join them on some rides. This is a very active group.  They have several charities that they support and generally have a couple of RTE's (Rides To Eat) each month.  You have to be a member of Eagle Wings to be able to go on rides with both of these groups.

Tonight we are heading up to Dothan, Alabama, the peanut capital of the world, for a get-together with a group that's similar to our Wednesday Night Riders.  They call themselves the Wiregrass U Crew.  Like us, they have no affliliation with any particular association, but some of the members belong to Eagle Wings like I do.  They have both 2 wheelers, 3 wheelers, and 4 wheelers of all kinds on their rides like we do.  They always have a RTE called a "Sweetheart Ride" near Valentines Day that we participate with them.

None of these groups ride as often as we do and don't have anywhere near the members that they had when we first started coming to  their meetings.  This is why I am extremely proud of our group.  We seemed to be growing in numbers and I was introduced to a fellow at the hospital Christmas party that wants to join us in the spring.

Hopefully the cold weather is coming to an end, and we will be able to get more riding in.  If we have any interesting adventures, I'll post them.  In the meantime, stay warm!

Here's some photos from our condo unit.

GULF OF MEXICO FROM OUR BALCONY

A LONELY TRIKE!

VIEWS FROM OUR FRONT DOOR

CHRISTMAS CARDS

 Apparently we were too darn lazy to gather and send out Christmas cards to everyone like we have in the past.  So, in lieu of taking the time, like we should have, I will use the blog to wish all of our Wednesday Night Riders, their family and friends, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Joyous New Year!

We plan to be heading back to Florida on Sunday, the 29th.  We usually get in a lot of riding with several groups in the area.  It's always fun for me to follow instead of lead for a while.  If we have some interesting experiences while we're down there, I'll try to post them here.  If not, see you in the spring!

He's on his way!

NOT BAD AT ALL

 Four intrepid Wednesday night riders showed up at Casey's Friday afternoon for what probably looks to be the last ride of the season.  With the temp right at 50, but sunny skies offering warmer conditions, the ride was on.  Chuckles and Jim showed up on bikes, while Terry and Bob huddled up on three-wheelers.

IF IT'S AT LEAST 50 AND NOT RAINING, I'M RIDING!

TERRY ALL BUNDLED UP

ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?!

YEP, LET'S GO!

With Bob in the lead, we departed Casey's at 1 o'clock, passed through Waukon on HWY 9, and made our way up to Lansing.  So far, so good, for the sun did offer more warmth.  Checking the outside temp on the Wing showed a "balmy" 55 degrees.

After rolling through Lansing, we turned north onto HWY 26 heading to Brownsville.  Knowing that we may have to ride through some shady areas, I still wanted to take this route.  I was hoping that the migratory birds might be in the reserve on the Mississippi River south of Brownsville.  We were not disappointed.  There were hundreds of white birds resting in the calm waters of the reserve.  Making up most of the species were swans and pelicans.  If anyone wants to see this spectacle of nature, now is the time to go!

After our bird viewing, we entered Brownsville and continued our ride on CR 3 heading for Caledonia.  Most of CR 3 was in the sun, and the smooth blacktop made for a great ride into Caledonia.  There we stopped at Kwik Trip, so Jim could fill his Wing with airplane fuel and the rest of us could imbibe in warm drinks.  Chuckles snapped a couple of photos here.

ZIP UP, BOB!

TERRY PARKED IN THE SHADE!

After warming up at Kwik Trip, we took HWY 76 out of town and then stayed on HWY 44 on into Spring Grove. We turned onto Division Avenue (CR A-16) and headed south towards Dorchester.  A-16 becomes Dorchester Drive after entering Iowa.  We enjoyed a smooth, "warm" ride down the hill into Dorchester.  After rolling through the suburbs of Dorchester, we came to HWY 76 and followed it south into Waukon.  Bob had 98 miles on the Wing at home.  Was it cool? (kind of!)  Was it worth it?  (definitely!).

Unless there is a dramatic change in the weather, the next time we ride together may be the Spring of 2025.  Also, the annual PMS get-together looks to be on April 16th, so set aside the date.

As for now here's wishing all Wednesday Night Riders, their families and friends a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving!