SIX PACK TO TOY MUSEUM

 Five other Wednesday Night Riders accompanied Bob on his planned trip to the Farm Toy Museum in Dyersville on Sunday.  Mike & Joan and Lois arrived on bikes, and Dave, Richard, and Bob filled in with three wheelers.

MOST OF THE GANG IS HERE

MIKE HEADS FOR HIS RIDE

LET'S GO SEE SOME TOYS!

With a beautiful afternoon in store, Bob decided to take his "shortcut" to Dyersville. So we started out on HWY 76 south, took the Volney Road to Monona, and stayed for a short jog on HWY 18 to Golden Avenue.  We stayed on Golden Avenue/ Fawn Hollow Road (CR X28) through Farmersburg and into St. Olaf.  We then took CR B65 over to Gunder Road and followed Gunder Road into Elkader.

Just outside of Elkader we picked up HWY 13 and up the hill we went to catch CR X3C, appropriately named Grandview Road.  And the scenery was cerainly grand!  Grandview took us on a scenic journey down to Elkport where the name changes to Colesburg Road, so we stayed on it right into Colesburg.  Once in Colesburg, we stopped at the newly refurnished Hill Country Convenience Store for a break.

After our break, we departed Colesburg and after a short jaunt on HWY 3, we turned onto CR X47 and headed for Petersburg.  We stopped for a photo of the St. Peter & Paul Catholic Church there in Petersburg.  In Bob's humble opinion, this is the most beautiful church in this part of Iowa.  See what he means!

After the church photo shoot we continued on CR X47 until it ended at 210th St, which is actually historic old HWY 20.  We took this historic route passing under the viadoc at "dead man corners" and on into Dyersville.  We could have taken "new" HWY 20 around Dyersville, but Bob opted to go right through town on the main streets to pay homage to the veterans that had their photo images displayed on banners all along the way.  Dyersville did a great job honoring their veterans this way!

We continued our way through Dyersville and arrived at the National Farm Toy Museum.

WE FIND PLENTY OF PARKING 

If you've never been here, put it on your "bucket list".  It's a great facility, and they've done a wonderful job with the displays. Here's a few photos of just a few of the displays.

MORE THAN JUST FARM TOYS

What's a motorcycle trip on a weekend without food and ice cream?!  So we accomplished both by stopping at Happy Joe's after our toy visit.

Wanting to get back home before dark, we took our "normal" run back taking HWY 52 through New Vienna (where there's another beautiful Catholic church), Luxemberg, Millville, Guttenberg, and Garnavillo until we reached HWY 18 again.  With all the field work going on, the combines were really kicking up a lot of dust!

We turned west on 18 and passed by Froelich and Monona and made our way into Luana and onto Diplomat/Forest Mills Road (CR X16).  Continuing on Forest Mills Road, we breezed by the Gelo ranch and back to HWY 76 and on into Waukon.  Bob had right at 150 miles on his trike when he parked her.  He was glad to have some company along on this ride, and hopefully he will be able to make a leaf viewing ride one of these next weekends, since we noticed that the leafs are starting to turn.

SHORT & SWEET PLUS RIDE ON SUNDAY

 As in previous years, the rides are going to get shorter on Wednesday nights since the daylight hours are dwindling.  However, we still had 10 riders show up this Wednesday on a beautiful fall evening.

The bikers were Mike, Lois, Dee, and Lissa.  Aboard 3 wheels were Richard & Melodye, Wayne, Dave, Terry, and Bob.

STILL TIME FOR PRERIDE CHATTER

LOIS JUST GOT BACK FROM THE DENTIST

TOO LATE TO CALL FOR HELP, TERRY

NICE BIKE, NO RIDER

LISSA RACES FOR HER BIKE

AND MAKES IT JUST IN TIME

Bob's plans for these shorter days is to be back in Waukon by sunset.  In this case it looked to be close to 6:30, which gave us about an hour and a half. So we departed Waukon via HWY 9 heading to Lansing.  After a smooth cruise on 9, we arrived in Lansing and proceeded to take HWY 26 north.  After some time at the bridge stop light, we continued our journey on 26 to New Albin.

Bob elected to try the newly laid asphalt on Pool Hill, so just outside of New Albin we made the turn heading toward Eitzen.  After passing by the well-stocked shops maintained by Mike, we proceeded on the new blacktop.  What an improvement!  Now the Iowa and Minnesota portions of this road are in great shape.

Once we reached Eitzen, we turned south on HWY 76 and cruised down to CR A26 (Iowa River Drive) with Bob dodging a stubborn eagle on the way.  We motored along IRD over to Lycurgus Road, which also had just gone through some repair work.  As we moved along Lycurgus, we noted the cement sections that replaced some of the damaged places on the road.  It was quite an improvement, but the road is still rough in places.

At the end of Lycurgus, we turned onto HWY 9 heading back to Waukon.  Since we had a little time left, our leader decided to take Iron Mine Drive over to HWY 76, take Mt. Olivet Road past the cemetery, over to Prairie Drive, back on 76 and on into town for eats.  However a couple of the riders must havce been real hungry, because they didn't follow and went straight to Uptown.

Bob had a little over 75 miles on his trike at home.  The ride--Short, but Sweet.

SUNDAY RIDE

Since Sunday looks to be an exceptionally nice fall day, and who knows what next weekend will bring, Bob is going to ride down to Dyersville on Sunday to tour the Farm Toy Museum there and stop at Happy Joe's for some pizza and ice cream.  He will be leaving Casey's at 11:30 that morning, if anyone wants to ride along.  It would be hard to pass up a day that's supposed to be in the 80's!

Last blog's mystery rider was Babe Ruth, as Lois correctly guessed.  Since it is near World Series time, I thought a photo of one of the greatest hitters in baseball of all time would be appropriate.  Who can identify this guy?

FEW RIDERS BUT A GREAT RIDE

 We had the least number of riders that we have ever had before for our annual "Run, Chicken, Run" Run up to Rockton, WI.  On a cool but soon to be fabulous fall day, we had only 10 riders to make the journey for the semi-world famous barbeque chucken.

The only bikers were Lois & Chuckles.  There were eight three-wheel riders including Don & Karrie, Uncle Wayne, Dave, Mark, Richard & Melodye, and Bob.

THE GROUP GATHERS 

TWO "ANCIENT MARINERS"

BOB CALLS IN THE CLUCKER ORDER

LOIS INSPECTS THE GROUP

GOOD TO SEE DON & KARRIE AGAIN

TIME TO GO

Not knowing how long it may take us to cross at Lansing, Bob chose to go down through Prairie du Chien and take mostly main roads since we needed to make sure we were there before 1.

Our journey started by heading south on HWY 76 into Marquette. We then crossed the bridge on HWY 18 and entered the three round-a-bouts to get us onto HWY 27 north. No one tried to crowd Chuckles off this time.  Once we got onto 27, we cruised along a scenic stretch taking us through Eastman and into Seneca for a short break at Greener's Corner where Bob bought some popcorn from the Boy and Girl Scouts.

We continued our scenic cruise along HWY 27 passing through Mt. Sterling, Fairview, and Rising Sun.  Once we avoided the "rush hour" in Fargo, we turned onto HWY 82.  After passing through Liberty Pole and paying homage to Monument Rock, we were headed for Viroqua.  Not wanting to venture through Viroqua, Bob turned onto CR SS and after a short jog took a shortcut on Lewiston Road over to HWY 82/56 and turned east until 82 split and up the hill we went.  This section of HWY 82 is a motorcyclist's dream.  It offers great views, sweeping curves, hills, and smooth tarmac.

After some fabulous scenery, we arrived in LaFarge and were able to take the newly resurfaced HWY 131 north and arrived to the smell of barbeque chicken at the famous Rockton Bar.  For the most part, we were able to find easy parking, since there didn't seem to be as many cages as there normally has been.

LOIS & CHUCKLES GET PARKED

OTHERS FIND THE SHADE

AND SOME USE THE MAIN LOT

We get our orders placed and sit down for a a half chicken, beans, and macaroni salad and bread.  After visiting with another rider sitting at our table, we remarked how far we'd come for the chicken, and then he told us he had come from Mason City!  The semi-world famous chicken draws them from all over.  After polishing off the chicken, it was time to make our way to Sunrise Orchard for some apple goodies.

LOADING UP AGAIN

GETTING READY TO ROLL AGAIN

STILL PLENTY OF BIKES YET

We headed back on HWY 131 through LaFarge and Viola and into Readstown all on newly resurfaced tarmac.  Once in Readstown we  turned south on HWY 61 and rolled into Soldiers Grove for gas at the Mobile Station.  We continued our journey south on 61 until we reached HWY 171 and turned westward toward the orchards.  The last time we rode on this section of 171, it was a real "teeth rattler".  However, to our surprise, just like 131, it had been resurfaced and we took "as smooth as glass" ride with stunning views all the way to Sunrise Orchards.

As usual, Sunrise Orchard was very busy, but we were able to fine parking and went in to buy and sample some of the apple goodies.  I can attest that the apple cider was good, and the apple cider donuts were great again!  I'm always happy to get out of that building without getting run over by a grocery cart!

We continued down the twists and turns on the steep hill into Gays Mills.  We stayed on HWY 171 and we again pleasantly surprised that 171 had been resurfaced all the way to Soldiers Grove.  What an improvement!  Continuing on 171, we went gliding down the hill and picked up HWY 35 and made our way into Ferryville.  What's a chicken dinner without ice cream, so we make a stop at the Arco Station for a dip or two.

After the ice cream, it was time to make our way to the Lansing ferry.  Taking 35 north, we turned west onto HWY 82 and into the parking lot for the ferry we went.  The ferry was full just as we arrived, so we spent about a half hour waiting for its return.  It seemed to me that this ferry boat wasn't as big as the one we had taken earlier in the summer.  But we did make our way under the new bridge and over to Lansing on it.

After crossing on the ferry, most of us took HWY 9 back to Waukon, as Don & Karrie departed for home just outside of Lansing.  I had a little over 170 miles on the trike when I rolled into the shed at home.  Usually I like to take back roads (county roads) as much as possible when we go to Rockton, and maybe that will happen again when the Lansing Bridge is open.  But if I were going to take main roads again, I would definitely recommend the route we took, especially since they have done all the resurfacing on HWYs 171 and 131.  It's too bad we didn't have more riders, but it's a busy time for a lot of us, and I'm sure crop harvesting is going to start very soon.

I'm still thinking about a ride to Dyersville in the near future weekend for pizza and to tour the Farm Toy Museum there, but so far I haven't heard much interest from anyone else.

JUST A REMINDER

 JUST A REMINDER--We will be leaving at 10 tomorrow morning, not 10:30, since Rockton quits serving at 1 and it looks to be about a two hour trip.

If you want chicken tomorrow, and have not made reservations for it, I would advise that you do that.  Bob Protsman called to tell me that some of his friends went up there last Sunday without reservations, and could not get chicken.  It looks to be a nice day, so there will be plenty of eaters at Rockton tomorrow.

So far I have only Dave, Chuckles & Lois, Richard & Melodye, and myself for chicken reservations.

CHANGE OF TIME FOR SUNDAY

 In looking over the possible routes to get us to Rockton before 1 O'Clock, I've decided that we better leave Casey's at 10 instead of 10:30.  I still plan to call in reservations as soon as they will take them.  So if you want me to make reservations for your chicken dinners, then let me know by Saturday noon. I still plan to stop at the orchards near Gays Mills on the way back and take the Lansing ferry back across to HWY 9 in Iowa.

SUNDAY--CLUCK! CLUCK!

 Since I haven't received any report from the ride some may have taken last night, I'll move on to our next event.  As many of you already know, our annual "Run, Chicken, Run" Run is coming up this Sunday.  The plan is to leave Casey's at 10:30 that morning and make our way up to the Rockton Bar for their "nearly world famous" barbeque chicken. As of now, I do not know the route we will be taking up there, but I do plan on taking the ferry at Lansing on the way back.  Also, on the way back we usually make a stop at the orchards for some cider and apple cider donuts.

Sunday, right now, looks to be a nice fall day, so there may be plenty of chicken eaters at Rockton.  That's why we usually call in our orders to reserve a chicken dinner.  I will call in the reservations, so if you do want chicken and want me to call in for you, let me know by noon on Saturday.

CLUCK! CLUCK!  EVERYONE IS WELCOME

Our mystery rider from the last post was Bruce Springsteen, as someone correctly guessed.

TRY THIS ONE!

ELEVEN TO SUPPORT CAMP COURAGEOUS

 We had 11 Wednesday Night Riders show up at Casey's Sunday morning for our fall trip down to Camp Courageous in Monticello for their fund-raising waffle breakfast. With the damp weather threatening to spoil our plans, we still had Mike & Jim dress up for rides on their bikes.  Dave and Bob planned to take their trikes, while we had two support vehicles with us.  Dennis drove his pickup with Marlene, Julie and Jens & Jane aboard.  Richard & Melodye opted for their Jeep instead of the Slingshot.

DAVE IS READY TO TACKLE THE DAMPNESS

MIKE AND RICHARD ARE DRESSED FOR THE RIDE

JIM CHECKS THE WEATHER FOR RICHARD & MELODYE

DENNIS ARRIVES WITH A TRUCK LOAD

JENS GETS TO RIDE "SHOTGUN"

After checking the radar, we figured if we got to Guttenberg without getting too wet that would be the plan.  So with a slight mist still falling, we opted to take HWY 76 down through Marquette and McGregor and pick up the Great River Road to head into Guttenberg.  The plan was to try to stay east of most of the heavier rain, and except for a few fairly wet spots on the roads, the plan worked fairly well.

After rolling through Guttenberg, we did encounter some wet areas on HWY 52, but once we reached Dyersville, we clear of any rain.  We made an attempt to stop at the new Kwik Star there in Dyersville, but it wasn't quite ready to open yet, so we waited in line again to use the facilities at Casey's.

After our break at Casey's we continued our journey south on HWY 136.  We did notice that some corn chopping had been done, so they must not received the amount of rainfall we did earlier.  When we neared Cascade, we turned onto HWY 151 and sped along this 4 laner until we reached HWY 38 just outside of Monticello.  HWY 38 took us south for a short ways to 190th St. and we motored along it and on into Camp Courageous.  A parking attendant wanted us to turn into one of the lots, but we ignored him and continued to our normal parking spots on the basketball court.  Dennis and Richard were also able to park their vehicles on the grassy area next to the courts.

NOBODY WAS GOING TO KEEP US FROM OUR NORMAL PARKING SPOT

 After parking, we made our way into the huge cafateria building and loaded up our plates on waffles and sausage along with juice and coffee, all delicious.  As always, we were able to sit as a group, and a kind attendant took our photo.

CHOWING DOWN

After a great breakfast, we made our way back to the vehicles. 

GETTING READY TO ROLL BACK HOME

While Dennis and his group decided to take the direct route back home, the bikers and Richard & Melodye chose to take the scenic way back as we have done before.

The "biker"gang, led by Bob left Camp Courageous by the same route, only this time as we passed by Cascade, we stayed on HWY 151 and exited onto Farley Road.  Bob decided to take a little different route over to our gas stop in Epworth.  Farley Road offered up some nice sweeping curves through the farm country and took us into Farley.  There we picked up Old HWY 20 and took the smooth asphalt into Epworth.  This brought back some memories for Bob, since this used to be the route from Manchester, his hometown, to Dubuque.  We even passed under a viaduct on a sharp curve that we nicknamed "dead man curve" back then.  We gassed up at the BP station there like we've done before.

After passing through Epworth, is when the route really becomes scenic, and is one of our favorites.  We catch Gun Club Road just outside of town, and follow this scenic byway up to Bankston and St. Clement Church. Then we turn for a short jog on Bankston Park Road over to Asbury Road and enjoy some more stunning scenery as we make our way to Five Points Road.  And as he has done before, Bob was gawking at the scenery and missed the turn onto Five Points.  Fortunately some thoughtful resident of Graf put a place to turn around, so back we went and up the hill on Five Points.

If you are ever in the area, Five Points Road is one you should never miss.  There are places along this stretch of blacktop where the scenery can only be described as "breathtaking".  Five Points ends at HWY 3, but the never-ending repair work on HWY 3 is still going on, so you cannot turn east and take it over to Eichman's BP as we often do.  This time, Bob hadn't planned to do that anyway, so we crossed HWY 3 onto South Mound Road.  This road is another treat.  It winds its way on newly paved blacktop up and down hills over to Sherrill where we pick up Balltown Road.

The treat continues as we meander along Balltown Road taking in more incredible views and into Balltown we go.  We pass by Breitbach's Country Dining, and one of these days I've got to get back there for one of their oustanding buffets or at least a peice of their delicious pie.

After turning onto CR C63 we take our time drifting along looking at the fabulous views of the valley below.  Our journey continues on C63 (Ridge Road) and then onto CR C9Y (Great River Road), which takes us through North Buena Vista and down the hill onto HWY 52 near Millville.  We take 52 on into Guttenberg, and what's a waffle breakfast without ice cream? So we stop at Joe's Pizza for some treats.

After polishing off the ice cream, we continue our journey on HWY 52 passing through Garnavillo and up to HWY 18.  There we turn westwardly passing through a busy Froelich, and on past Monona.  We turn on into Luana and take Forest Mills Road past the Gelo Ranch where Jim gets off while the rest of us continue on up to HWY 76 and into Waukon.  Bob had a little over 250 miles on his trike for the trip.

The bikes, and probably the "support" vehicles need a good wash, but it was again a great ride for a good cause!

While we were in Dyersville, I was reminded when I saw the sign for the National Farm Toy Museum that I had never been there.  I'm thinking about a trip down there maybe yet this fall for pizza at Happy Joe's and a Farm Toy Museum visit.  Anyone else interested?