PIZZA RUN

I forgot to mention that tomorrow, Saturday, the 18th, we have a special ride.  It's our annual Pizza Run.  Chuckles has volunteered to lead you to some mouth watering pizza delights.  If this and and a great ride sound good to you, then be at Casey's tomorrow at 11 AM.

A WARM WEDNESDAY--ICE CREAM TIME!

Jim led the tribe this last Wednesday night.  Here's his report, and hopefully some photos.

On a warm but nice Wednesday evening we  had a great turnout to ride with Bob stopping  by Casey's to see us off.  On 3 wheelers were Chuck K, Ron, Mark, Wayne, Dave, Terry, Don and  Kari. On two wheels we had Chuckles, Lois, Dee, Bill, Mike, and Jim. Jim floated the idea of Boscobel to Udder Brothers ice cream. Everyone seemed to think that was a good idea so off we went. Headed south out of Waukon to a nice smooth Hwy 76 into Marquette. The shade along the river felt great going into Marquette. We hopped across the bridge into Prairie and headed south on Hwy18 to C. The first part of C is nice and smooth. The views along the Wisconsin  river are pretty and again we enjoyed a little shade. As we got closer to Millville the road got noticeably rougher and the speed limit dropped to 35MPH. About the right speed for the bumps! We bumped our way to Hwy 133 and headed south towards the Metropolis of Woodman and on into Boscobel for our ice cream stop at Udder Brothers. After indulging in some very good ice cream treats and a lot of visiting we saddled up and started towards home. On the way out of Boscobel there were two powered parachutes flying overhead. Looked like another fun way to enjoy a nice night. After leaving Boscobel we took a left on Hwy 60 and followed that for several miles to 131 into Steubon (all roads lead to Steubon). The powered parachute pilots must have been doing the same thing because we had them overhead again. 131 was recently blacktopped. It is very smooth, curvy, and extremely scenic. A perfect motorcycle road. There were a lot of critters out. Had to chase a family of geese off the road, also Racoons, and several deer. Must have been too hot earlier and they all came out when it cooled down a bit. From Steubon we took Hwy 179 to D to Hwy 35 back to Prairie and came home on Hwy76 since our ice cream stop had gotten us late for Uptown Grill. Bob was at the Uptown to welcome us back and several of us stopped to eat. We ended up right around 125 miles total. Congratulations to Don Z. I hear he officially has his motorcycle license

Thanks for all your prayers and well-wishes!  Bob & Julie are both in rehab now, and hopefully on the way to recovery.  In the meantime, thanks to those who have taken on the leadership on Wednesday Nights and Special Events.  I know what a tough job that can be.  I was also real happy to hear that a Summer Trip is also going to happen.

Remember these two?!

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS, BUT THE SUN IS STARTING TO SHINE

As most of you know by now, I am recovering from heart valve replacement and pacemaker surgery.  I will be starting cardiac rehab this week here in Waukon.

Just recently,  Julie had an MRI done and a tumor was discovered that was pressing on her brain.  We were fortunate enough to be able to get into Gundersen for surgery yesterday, and the surgeon said it went very well.  One of the biggest dangers involved with this type of surgery is the chance of a stroke.  However, an MRI after surgery showed no signs of a stroke.  She is currently in ICU at Gundersen, and will probably remain in the hospital there for a while.

We have received many well wishes and prayer thoughts from our friends and are very grateful for those!  THANKS A LOT!!

As we are thinking, "What else could happen?!" , we both know that better days are coming as we both recover from serious physical events, and the sun is beginning to shine on us again.

AND AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR THE CARING THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS!

WEDNESDAY NIGHT & SUMMER TRIP

 Some of our braver Wednesday Night Riders headed out last night in an attempt to dodge what looked like a rain threat coming in from the north.

Here's Mike's report.  Apparently the group was camera shy.  He also makes note of the Summer Trip, and what you need to do if you want to go.

Currently WNR has seven people interested in going on a ride to northern Minnesota.  Participating are Richard and Melody, ChucK and Dee, Bill, Ron, and Miike.  Working on the motels currently.  Please let Bill, Richard, or Mike know ASAP if interested in going. The first night will be halfway to Grand Rapids/Duluth area, with the next 3 nights being at the same Hotel.  The fifth night will be somewhere south of Duluth.  A lot of planning is needed in a short time frame.  Everything is subject to change if we can't get motels in the areas we are thinking about.  

Wednesday Night Riders had a good turnout for the evening ride considering the weather conditions.  Eight units.  On two wheels was Lissa, Dee, Bill, and Mike.  Three wheelers were Mark, ChucK, and Richard and Melody with the Slingshot.  Ron followed up with his support vehicle. The group left Waukon after some discussion on a route. Temp on the bike read 82.  Lissa took charge by heading the group East on Elon. Looking to the North, it was quite dark and you could see rain off in the distance.  We turned South on the Lansing/Harpers road.  The sky ahead of us looked good for favorable riding.  The rear view mirror was quite dark.  We turned on to State Forest Road heading West, going through Yellow River Forest, a scenic tour that's always enjoyable.  Lissa led us South on 76 down to Marquette.  We then jumped onto 18 West going through Giard, Froelich, on into Monona. Sky conditions were starting to look gloomy ahead. The group stopped at Kwik Star in Monona and decided we better start back to Waukon.  A few of us put on rain suits as it looked like we were going to get wet.  We chose to take Volney Road North into Rossville, got back on 76 and headed to Uptown in Waukon.  We met Bob and his son John outside of Uptown.  Bob said it rained a little in Waukon, we were fortunate.  We didn't get any rain for our roughly 60 mile loop! Eight of us stopped at Uptown for eats.  Going home was not quite as dry.

Special thanks to Lissa for leading the group to dry land!

SUMMER TRIP PLANS

Since Bob will no doubt be unavailable to make the Summer Trip scheduled for July 27-Aug.1, Bill, Mike, and Richard are planning a trip to take the place of the scheduled one.  Right now their plan is to travel to northern Minnesota, Grand Rapids/Duluth area and stay at the same motel and branch out from there with a ride each day.

This is an excellent idea, but one thing is very important!  If you would like to make this trip, then it's VERY IMPORTANT that you contact Bill, Mike, or Richard ASAP with your intentions, so that motel reservations can be made.  I would say you should let one of them know BY THE END OF THE WEEK at the latest!

I would have loved to make the trip to the International Peace Gardens this year, but I know the doctors do not me wandering that far from home quite yet, since my pacemaker is being very closely monitored at that time.  Hopefully next year we can make the trip that was planned for this year.

PLEASE LET BILL, MIKE, or RICHARD KNOW ASAP.  They will plan on riding Wednesday night, and will be at the Uptown for eats afterward.  If it's raining and they don't ride, they will still be at Uptown.

MYSTERY NO LONGER

Lois was a great leader on the Mystery RTE on Sunday!  Here's her report along with some photos of the journey.  Chuckles was even able to provide some entertainment with a nail in his tire.  Thank God there wasn't a blowout!

With the bank thermometer reading 78 degrees, on a partly cloudy and muggy Sunday, 16 of us gathered at Casey's for our Mystery RTE. On two wheels were Lois, Chuckles, Bill, Jim & Cathy and Mike & Joan.  On three wheels were Richard & Melodye in the Slingshot, Dave, Wayne, Roger, Don & Karrie and Lee & Jill (newbie). Welcome, Jill!

With Lois in the lead we began our ride heading East on Elon Rd, noticing a good amount of cleanup done since our post-tornado ride. When reaching Lansing-Harpers Rd, we only hopped on for a short ride, before turning on to Lafayette Ridge. When we reached Great River Rd, we enjoyed the cool shade and passed by IC at Wexford, where they celebrated their 175th anniversary last weekend. As we neared Harpers Ferry the twisted mess and missing tops of trees was still very evident. We continued through Harpers Ferry where we went straight through on 364. There was still some activity on the aptly named 'Muddy Mississippi' after this week's deluge. On reaching 76 we cruised on down to Marquette experiencing an unplanned stop at Casey's there. Chuckles picked up a nail in his rear tire which resulted in a flat. Thankfully, it was the rear tire and there were no injuries, except for the tire. He parked the bike in the corner of a lot, for later retrieval. Taking Lois' bike, with her as a passenger, we continued on 18, the 76 detour, to McGregor where we arrived at "The Station". 

There we were greeted by delightful staff and were thrilled to be joined by Bob & Julie and Dennis & Marlene, especially since Bob had suggested this as a mystery destination. We feasted on delicious sandwiches and nice cold drinks. We chose the inside seating, where it seemed a bit cooler and we were sure to have shade.

From there Chuckles hitchhiked home, with the foursome, to get his trailer and return for the bike. The rest of us followed the Great River Rd to Guttenberg, where we headed to Joe's for some ice cream. Great idea, Don!  It was pretty steamy as we crossed the street so we decided to have a seat in their back room to enjoy our sweet treat.  On departure we continued our swoop, next to the river, until we reached Hwy 52. Traffic coming from the North had their windshield wipers going and I debated on just taking 52 for a direct shot for home. I thought the sky looked brighter to the West so stayed with the original plan and hopped on Gunder Road. We encountered a short 'cool down' shower that wasn't too heavy and didn't take too long to pass. We followed Gunder Rd to Grandview then Hwy 13 past Elkader. We turned down through Farmersburg and took Golden Rd back up to 52.  We cruised past Monona and turned up through Luana where we came out by the old school so it was just a short scoot to Forest Mills Rd that we followed to 76 and back home. I noticed Mark gassing up at Casey's when I cruised through downtown. I suppose he had to check out all the 4th of July hot spots since it's his first year back in Waukon. Hope you can join us next time, Mark.

Feeling thankful for the smooth roads, the good food, the great company and getting home safely.  Odometer showed 130 miles as I rolled into the garage.  I'd call this a good day. God Bless America!

Gathering at Casey's; Bill - "Here's the nail"; Arrival and eats at The Station; Parking by the river and enjoying our ice cream stop; Harley is home.

As I mentioned previously, it is very, very doubtful that I will be able to make the Summer Trip this year.  So, if you still want to have one, it would be a good idea to start very soon on the planning by someone who wants to be a leader and plan the trip.  You may want to go to a different location, and save the Peace Garden for next year.  I'm leaving that up to you guys.

MYSTERY RTE ON SUNDAY

In case you were wondering, the Mystery RTE (Ride To Eat) is still on for Sunday.  Lois has volunteered to lead Chuckles and the rest of the crew to a mystery eating establishment.  She'd tell you, but she'd have to kill you!

REMINDER

LEAVING CASEY'S AT 10:30 SUNDAY MORNING