RTE AND LOTS OF SCENERY

Taking the place of our normal weekend Couples' Trip, the Wednesday Night Riders set aside Saturday for another RTE (Ride To Eat) with a chance to see some great NE Iowa and SE Minnesota scenery.

Gathering at Casey's Saturday morning were Bill, Jim, and Dee on bikes.  On three wheels were Wayne, Richard & Melodye, Dave, ChucK, and Bob.  Dr. David & Suzanne rolled in aboard the "support" convertible.

 

THE GANG GATHERS

FULL TANK, EMPTY BLADDER

LOOK OUT!  DAVE'S BACKING UP!

THE SLINGSHOT GETS PARKED

DEE & ChucK ARRIVE

GOOD TO SEE SUZANNE...

AND DR. DAVID AGAIN

WAYNE & JIM ARRIVE EARLY

AND OTHERS BEGIN TO ROLL IN

Bob's plan for the E (Eats) was the Corner Bar & Grill in Houston, so we started out on his "shortcut" by putzing through Waukon, motoring up HWY 76, and turning onto Bear Creek Drive.

We cruised up Bear Creek Drive noticing how golden the bean fields have turned.  When we arrived at Locust Road, we turned north to HWY 44 just outside of Spring Grove. Turning westwardly, we passed by Mabel as they were getting ready for Steam Engine Days.  Continuing our cruise along 44, we arrived at Canton and took CR 21 north and avoiding rush hour in Henrytown we arrived at CR 12.  This stretch of road does need some repair work, but the drive was a short one over to CR 23, and turning back north again, we arrived at CR 10 and followed it through the metropolis of Highland. Years ago, the store in Highland (now closed) served the best tasting pies I have ever had.  Whenever I took this route, I would stop there for a delicious treat, even a'la mode!

Continuing our journey on CR 10, we arrived at Bratsburg (I have never seen anyone grilling brats in Bratsburg.) at the junction of HWY 43. After a short jog south on 43, we picked up CR 10 again heading eastward.  I don't know if we cross a county line, but CR 10 changes to CR 13 as we go along.  Now coasting along on 13, we would be in for our first views of some incredible scenery. Just before we start the steep, curvy decent, we are treated to an astonishing view of the valley below.

Winding our way down CR 13 can be a challenge, since some of the turns are rated at 10 mph, and it's easy to get attracted to the incredible views.  Once we reach the bottom of the "mountain", we head on into Houston.  But before we get there, we discover that 13 is closed ahead for repair, so we have to take a detour onto a very rough, semi-paved Westgate Drive.  Fortunately it's only about two blocks long before we reach HWY 16 and continue on into Houston.

When we arrive at the Corner Bar to eat, we find out we arrived in time for the  Houston Hoedown event taking place on the street behind the bar. It looked like there was a corn hole tournament and a display of huge pumpkins that won prizes.  We were able to park in a newly resurfaced city parking lot across the street.  We found out later that the winning pumpkin was a large white one that weighed nearly 500 pounds!

NICE, NEW PARKING LOT

DEE CHECKS OUT THE HUGE PUMPKINS

After entering the Corner Bar, we found that due to the Hoedown, they had a limited menu.  Most opted for the chesseburger basket (only $11), and even though the bar was crowded, we were all served quickly, except for Bob, who got his basket last.  The basket was a large cheeseburger and a generous portion of fries.

THE GANG GETS FED

We meandered out of Houston and onto CR 9, not realizing that we would have to be on the watch for bicycles, as there was apparently a bicycle event taking place in the area. We breezed along the smooth, scenic 9 skirting Silver Creek and passing through Looney Valley up to CR 11.  We glided along CR 11 past Hillside Cemetery and onto CR 8, which is another scenic stretch of blacktop that takes us on some downhill, shady curves to the booming city of  New Hartford. There we picked up CR 5 and took a rather rough ride into Nodine where we connected with CR 12 and did the mandatory salute (especially if you are a male) to the tin man as we passed.  CR 12 took us over to CR 1 (Apple Blossom Drive), and our second great series of faboulous views started. Apple Blossom Drive offers up some breathtaking views of the river and valley below.  We soon arrived in LaCrescent where some of us topped off our tanks at the Kwik Trip, while others used the facilities and satisfied their coffee craze.

After pulling out of Kwik Trip, we passed through LaCrescent and onto CR 6 for a short bump onto CR 25.  We climbed the steep hill up to the WXOW tv towers and turned onto Tschumper (aka Thumper) Road. Having ridden this narrow paved path many times, I consider it the most scenic 5 mile road in the tri-state area.  And it did not disappoint us today.  The day turned clear and sunny, and the views on both sides of the road were astonishing.  We passed by the Van Lin Orchards, where the trees were just loaded with apples.  At the bottom of the decline, we turned onto CR 21 and coasted on over to HWY 16.

As we passed through Hokah, the leader decided that a reasonable RTE should be topped off with some ice cream, and he was pretty sure that the coffee hounds along on the trip would be having dt's before getting back home.  So he made the decision to follow HWY 44 south into the Ruptured Rooster Coffee Shop in Caledonia.  There everyone was able to satisfy their ice cream and/or coffee yearnings.  After the Rooster stop, we completed our RTE by breezing down HWY 76 to Waukon.  Bob had 165 scenic miles on his trike when he got home.  I think the 11 of us were treated to some great back roads, some good food, and some of the most stunning scenery one would see anywhere!

ROAD CLOSED--NO PROBLEM!

On another beautiful night for a ride, we had 11 riders show up at Casey's for our Wednesday night ride.

Mike, Dee, Bill, and Jim rolled in on bikes, while the three-wheelers arrived with ChucK, Terry, Richard & Melodye, Wayne, Dave, and Bob.

THE GANG STARTS GATHERING

JIM ROLLS IN

DAVE HAS A DRINK FOR THE ROAD

Under sunny skies and the temps in the upper 70's we depart Waukon with the plan to explore the St. Lucas area.  We take HWY 76 for a short jog over to Forest Mills Road and cruise down to Yellow River Drive.  We roll past the Gelo ranch where Grassanova resides, and wind our way over to HWY 51.  From there we head into Postville.

Once in Postville, we turn westardly onto HWY 18, and make the short run into Clermont.  Just outside of town we find Great River Road and cross the Turkey River about five times before we come to the junction of Juniper Road.  We noticed that Juniper looked like it had just recently been repaved, and there was a "Road Closed" sign sitting next to it.  "What the heck." We were up for an adventure, and to our delight, we were able to take a smooth scenic ride on into West Union!

We passed through West Union on HWY 18 and then turned back north onto HWY 150.  After a short cruise on 150, we found the turn to St. Lucas via Nature Road and Rose Road.  Once we arrived in the metropolis of St. Lucas, we discovered another "Road Closed" sign for the route into Ft. Atkinson. "What the heck!" We lucked out the first time, why not try again.

We lucked out again!  The first stretch of CR W14 into Ft. Atkinson had just been recently resurfaced, but was open.  "We don't need no stinkin' yellow lines!" The last stretch of the route was still he original surface that was rough yet and needed resurfacing, so we bounced our way into Ft. Atkinson for a short break at the Lickity Split Connvenience Store.

LICKITY SPLIT!

During our break, we were informed that ChucK had tangled with an angry owl but escaped unscathed.

We continued our journey by taking HWY 24 into Calmar and then picking up HWY 52 into Ossian.  Once there, we took Sand Road out of town over to Centennial Road and up to HWY 9.  Four of us arrived at Uptown for eats when we arrived in Waukon, while the rest of the tribe split for home.  Bob had 98 miles on his Wing as he arrived at Uptown right at sunset.  Really nice, scenic ride on some adventurous stretches of new asphalt.

SATURDAY'S RTE

So far the weather looks good for our Ride To Eat on Saturday.  A friend and collegue of Bob's passed away this last week, so Bob will be attending his wake on Saturday morning.  So, instead of leaving Casey's at 10 that morning, it will be 10:30.  The food plan and the route up to Houston and down the Thumper will still be on the adgenda.  So, see everyone at 10:30 instead of 10 at Casey's on Saturday morning.

Health Update

On top of all our other health issues, Julie now has a bout with kidney stones that caused her some real pain late last night.  After a trip to the ER here in Waukon, she was transported by ambulance up to Mayo in LaCrosse at 2AM this morning.  She is scheduled to have the stones removed later this afternoon, but will probably remain in the hospital there overnight. So I will be spending most of today (Thursday ) in LaCrosse.  What next?!

Our guest motorcycle celebrity last in last week's blog was Steve McQueen.  He starred in many action movies.  My favorites were "Great Escape", "Bullit", and "The Magnificent 7".  He was nicknamed the "King of Cool".

HOW ABOUT THIS GUY?!

LOTS OF DOUBLE DIPPERS!

As usual, our annual Labor Day "Double Dip Ice Cream Run" turned out a large number of Wednesday night riders at Casey's Monday afternoon.  It was a near perfect day for a ride with temps in the mid 70's and mostly sunny skies.  We started out with 18 riders that included Jim & Cathy, Dee, Lee & Jill, Bill & Beth Ellen, Chuckles, and Lois on bikes.  The three-wheeled gang was made up of ChucK, Mark, Terry, Uncle Wayne & Karrie, Dave, Richard & Melodye, and Bob.

 

THE SLINGSHOT IS BACK IN ACTION

BETH ELLEN PLAYS PEEK-A-BOO

CHUCKES & LOIS GAS UP

LEE & JILL ARRIVE

DEE SHOWS DAVE HOW TO DISMOUNT

UNCLE WAYNE, KARRIE, AND TERRY WATCH THE ARRIVALS

THE USUAL PRERIDE CHATTER TAKES PLACE

As Bob announced at the start, with nobody listening as usual, the stop for our first dip would be The Porch in Prarie du Chien, and be especially careful of the construction and pay close attention to the round-a-bouts in PdC.

Leaving Waukon via Elon Road, we followed it to its end at Lansing/Harpers Road and took L/H for a short jog onto Lafayette Ridge Drive.  This smooth/scenic stretch of concrete took us over to the Great River Road which we followed all the way into Harpers Ferry.  How many times do you get to see the Bigfoot family?  We did!

After arriving in Harpers, we continued on the GRR, skirting along the Mississippi River, on up to HWY 76.  There we turned south on into Marquette where their annual Flea Market was taking place under the bridge.  We crossed the bridge and entered PdC, noting the construction, and maneurvering through the 3 round-a-bouts, arrived at The Porch and parked where available,

MOSTLY ALONG THE STREET

SOME IN THE OTHER LOT

SOME BESIDE THE PORCH

OTHERS FIND A HANDY SPOT

MIKE & JOAN ARRIVE. 

While we were all getting parked at The Porch, Mike & Joan arrived on the new Wing and rounded out our gang to an even 20.  It was 2 PM, and Bob announced, again with no one listening, that we needed to be out of The Porch by 2:45 to continue the ride and be back before WW Dairy in Waukon closes at 5.

We did luck out.  We were the only ones at the ice cream bar, so we were able to make our dip choices right away from the over 20 varieties of ice cream available.

GOOD ICE CREAM!

TERRY & LEE TRY TO CALL EACH OTHER

MORE GOOD ICE CREAM

ABOUT READY TO DEPART

The plan was to take in a scenic drive through Wyalusing Park before returning to Waukon.  So again we proceeded on through the round-a-bouts on HWY 35/18, except before Chuckles got to the turn, a cage driver decided he needed the whole two lanes on the round-a-bout, and scraped the side of Chuckles bike.  So he and the group behind him had to stop.  Fortunately he had minor damage and no one was hurt.  However, as Bob has preached over and over, if the unit behind you drops out, you have to pull over safely and stop also.  If this is not done, Bob leading the group would never know if anyone was having trouble or needed help if he still saw units still following him, and would keep going, leaving the stranded unit(s) behind.  This happened, and there is no excuse for it!  We ride as a group and stay together as a group.  WE LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND!

Not knowing that there was trouble behind, the ride continued without Chuckles, Lois, Jim & Cathy, Mike & Joan, and Richard & Melodye, and they never did catch up.  THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THAT!  LOOK IN YOUR REARVIEW MIRROR!

After some of us rode the scenic route through Wyalusing and Bagley, we took CR P up to HWY 18 again and back through PdC.  We found the round-a-bout that pointed us across the bridge again and into Marquette.  After waiting for quite some time, hoping to see the rest of the group, we continued on 18 to Monona.  From there we took the Volney Road up to HWY 76 and took 76 back into Waukon for our second dip at WW Dairy.  Once there, we were joined by Dennis & Marlene and Julie, which made our total group of 23.  The rest of the gang finally showed up with the story about what happened.

Except for the round-a-bout incident, and leaving part of the group behind (THAT HAD BETTER NOT HAPPEN AGAIN!), it was a really good ride along with some great ice cream.  Bob had 116 miles on his trike as he arrived at WW Dairy.

NEXT WEDNESDAY

The plan will be to head over towards the St. Lucas/Spillville area.

NEXT SATURDAY, THE 12TH

The plan is to have another RTE (Ride To Eat) departing from Casey's at 10 that morning.  I can only promise that we will have lunch somewhere in the Houston (MN, NOT TX) area, and the Thumper (Tschumper) Road will be on the route.  The Iowa/Iowa State game doesn't start until 6:30 that evening, and we will be well back by that time.  See you then, and EVERYONE IS INVITED!

SMOOTH & SCENIC

 We only had 10 riders show up for our Wednesday night ride yesterday, but they were treated to some smooth riding and great scenery.  Maybe the temps in the mid 80's spooked some riders, but most of the ride (THANKS, BOB) was in the shade!

Arriving for the ride from Casey's were Jim & Cathy, Chuckles, Lois, and Mike on bikes.  Congrats to Chuckles & Lois on becoming grandparents again, and to Mike for becoming an owner of a brand spanking new Gold Wing!  The less famous trikers for the night were Ron, Terry, Wayne, Dave, and Bob.

THE GANG GATHERS

WAYNE ARRIVES

JIM NEEDS A HAIRCUT?!

UH, OH, HERE COMES LOIS!

CHUCKLES INSPECTS MIKE'S NEW RIG AS DAVE ARRIVES

LOIS TAKES A GANDER AT THE NEW MACHINE

BOB GETS TO SEE THE NEW GRANDCHILD

The plan was to include Lansing, New Albin, Brownsville, Caledonia, Spring Grove, and Eitzen on our journey tonight.  So we stayed on HWY 9 to Lansing and stopped at a stop light before proceeding onto HWY 26.  We were able to get a good view of the new bridge and were surprised that the one lane used for traffic was now some smooth concrete.  Continuing on 26 north, we passed through New Albin where Mike dropped off for some babysitting.  

After arriving in Brownsville, we turned onto CR 3, and made a smooth scenic cruise through the countryside into Caledonia.  As I looked in my rearview mirrors, I noticed that Jim was having a tough time keeping his bike from pulling into the Ruptured Rooster!  We did stop at Kwik Trip for some needed hydration.

RON & TERRY FIND EXECUTIVE PARKING IN THE SHADE

THE REST HEAD FOR THE AIR CONDITIONING

After our break, we continued on HWY 44 into Spring Grove, where we picked up one of Bob's favorite county roads, CR 27, (Sylling Road--I would be interested in how it got that name.)  This is another smooth, scenic strip of asphalt that offers up some rolling hills and sweeping curves that keep the ride fun.  We come to the end of CR 27 at its juction with HWY 76, and we turn south passing by Eitzen, and winding our way into Waukon where five of us ate at Uptown.  It was another beautiful Wednesday night and a really neat ride.  Bob had just at 100 miles on the Wing at Uptown.

UPCOMING EVENTS

This Monday, Labor Day, (I know it's hard to believe it's here already) is our annual "Double Dip" Ice Cream Run.  The plan is to leave Casey's at 1 that afternoon and then venture out to some ice cream shop out of town for one dip, and then return to WW Dairy in Waukon for the second dip, or as many dippidy doos as you want.  EVERYONE IS INVITED!

Then on Saturday, September 12th, when we normally do the Couples' Trip, we will be doing another RTE (Ride To Eat).  The plan is to depart Casey's at 10 AM that day, find a lunch spot, and continue the ride on into the afternoon.  So we should be back sometime in the mid afternoon.  Right now the weather looks good for that day, but who knows!  If it's not good, we'll try Sunday at 10:30.  AGAIN, EVERYONE IS INVITED!

LOOK WHAT THIS GUY SAYS--HOW TRUE!!

Route for Wednesday

The planned route for tonight's ride (Sept. 2) will be from Waukon to Lansing on HWY 9, then up HWY 26 to Brownsville.  There we will take CR 3 up to Caledonia and get on HWY 44 over to Spring Grove, and depending on time take one of the three ways back to HWY 76 and back to Waukon.  Possible breaks for hydration either in Caledonia or Spring Grove.  If you plan on splitting off early to go home, then move to the back of the pack after the break. 

LUCKY 13

 On another near perfect night for riding, we had 13 lucky souls arrive in anticipation of a trip over to Protivin.  Bill, Lois, Chuckles, and Lissa made up the two-wheel crowd.  Arriving on three wheels were ChucK, Bernell, Richard & Melodye, Wayne, Mark, Dave, Terry, and Bob.

IMPORTANT CONVERSATION

MORE PRERIDE CHATTER

CHUCKLES & TERRY DISCUSS THE COMING RIDE

I THINK THIS GUY WOULD RATHER COME WITH US

SOME NEW RECRUITS?!

LISSA FILLS OUT THE GANG

With Protivin as our goal, we started out on Bob's shortcut by rolling through the county's only stop light and heading onto HWY 76 north.  Apparently we pass right by the Blake ranch before we reach Bear Creek Drive (CR A26).  We cruised along BCD up to Locust Road where the school that Bernell attended used to be. As we continue on A 26 its name changes to Big Canoe and then 337th St.  This route does offer a smooth surface, nice curves, and good scenery.  Once we reach North Winn Road (CR W34) we turn south and connect onto HWY 52 heading towards Decorah.

When we come to the turn for CR A34 (Pole Line Road) we turn onto it and cruise through the scenic contryside all the way over to HWY 9 just outside of Cresco.  Passing through Cresco and by the now closed Kwik Star (There is a new one west of town) we turn onto Dvorak Memorial HWY and on into Protivin we go for a quick stop at thr Fast Mart Convenience Store.

HARLEYS MUST BE GAS GUZZLERS!

ANYBODY KNOW WHERE WE ARE?!

MAYBE TIME FOR JACKETS

WE TAKE A SHORT BREAK

The original plan was to follow CR B16 (Dvorak Memorial HWY) over to Spillville on the way back.  However, as seems to be the case where ever we go, the road is closed for construction.  So back we go through Protivin towards Cresco again.  However before we get to Cresco, we make a turn onto CR A46 (Schley Road) and take some rolling hills on into Ridgeway.

Once in Ridgeway, we get back on HWY 9 and head for Decorah.  With HWY 9 under construction, getting through Decorah can be a challenge.  This is where the group split up.  Bernell headed back up toward North Winn, Dave and ChucK headed to Postville, another group continued on 9 to Waukon, and the rest took the Old Stage Road back to Waukon. Lissa's husband, John, joined us at Uptown.  As near as I can tell, I racked up 112 miles on the Wing at Uptown.  Since the days are becoming shorter, we may have to ride less miles or forget taking breaks on Wednesday nights.

Despite the unplanned detour, it was still a good ride!

Since no one has stepped up to take over the Couples' Trip in September (I can't blame them), I plan to do another RTE (Ride To Eat) on Saturday, September 12th.  More details on that later.

The rest of the September events aside from Wednesday nights are September 7th (Labor Day--our annual "Double Dip Ice Cream Run"

September 17th we are giving trike rides to the residents of Eastern Star Home in Decorah.

September 23 & 24 is a fishing trip invite from Dee and ChucK.  You should contact them ASAP for details!

September 27th is the pancake (waffle) fund raising breakfast at Camp Courageous in Monticello.

Our celebrity motorcyclist from the last post was Patrick Swayze, an actor whose most popular films were Ghost and Dirty Dancing.  He passed away in 2009 at the age of 57.  Lois made the identification on the blog.

HOW ABOUT THIS GUY?!