ROUGH ROADS!

On another great night for a ride greeted 10 of us for our usual Wednesday night ride.  Arriving at Casey's on the only bike to begin with was Bill.  All the rest of the trikers were Wayne, Ron & Helen (a rose amoung thorns), Terry, Mark, Dave, ChucK, and Bob.

RON & HELEN ARRIVE

TERRY GETS READY

MARK, WAYNE, AND BILL CHAT

DAVE THUNDERS IN

 

The trip Bob fashioned was to take the group to Volga, or as some call it, Volga City.  So we left Waukon, picked up HWY 76 south for a short ways, and then turned onto CR X16 (Forest Mills Road).  After about six miles, we came to Yellow River Road, and made our way past the Gelo plantation to pick up a straggler.  That put our number at 10 riders.  We continued on YRD over to HWY 51 and cruised on into Postville.

We then picked up HWY 18 east for a short distance to CR W64 (Gunder Road) and turned back south.  This stretch of Gunder Road has gone under a little repair (grinding down the frost heaves), but it certainly is not a pool table top.  After following W 64 for about 5 miles, we turned westawardly onto CR B 60 (Apple Road) and headed for Clermont.  The first few miles of Apple Road were rough, but some resurfacing along the way helped this road greatly, but the worst was yet to come.

After entering Clermont we came back to HWY 18, and just inside the town we turned onto CR W51 (Canoe Road) bound for Elgin.  W 51 wasn't the smoothest ride, but the worst was yet to come.  Once we reached Elgin, we turned at Guppy's staying on W51, but now called Cedar Road. We passed by the old depot on the edge of town, and I was impressed by the railroad mural on the depot wall.

Cedar Road was no treat either. It seemed like we were hitting swale after swale on the road surface.  We were offered some great scenery if you could focus being bounced up and down!  The worst is satill yet to come.

After crossing Hwy 56, Cedar Road becomes what could be called a real mess of a county road!  I cannot believe that Fayette County could let a county road get this bad.  Again, there is some great scenery, but you have to watch the road so closely, that your eyeballs are bouncing!  We finally reach CR C24 (Bush Road) a few miles south of Wadena, and finally cruise along a stretch of smooth and scenic asphalt over to CR 2W (Domino Road).  Turning easterly on Domino, we arrive at the suburbs of Volga and pull into the Volga Valley Convenience Store for a break.

WE MAKE IT TO VOLGA

READY TO DEPART AGAIN

After our break, we continued on Domino Road heading for Elkader.  This road does have a few rough spots, but for the most part it offers some spectacular views. Bob had to stop for a deer to make up its mind to cross in front or not.  We arrive at HWY 56 again, and motor down the hill into Elkader.  After passing through Elkader, we pick up HWY 13 and head north.  

HWY 13 led us up to CR 290, and we turned westardly on into Farmersburg.  There we picked up CR X28 (Golden Avenue) and made our way back to HWY 18 again.  We headed west on 18 and as we reached the turn into Monona, a number of riders continued on 18 heading for home.  The rest of us passed through Monona on CR X26 (Volney Road) and passed by Volney and into rosey Rossville.  Then it was onto HWY 76 and back into Waukon where Wayne, Terry, and Bob stopped at Uptown for eats.

Bob had about 100 miles on his trike at Uptown.  Having to do it over, and heading for Volga, he would come through Fayette and skip the crappy county roads around Elgin and Wadena.

Next Wednesday he will try to find smoother roads, and possibly travel over to Protivin and check out The Place.  Apparently they have an "all you can eat" buffet on the last Wednesday night of the month.

Who knows who this guy is?

STILL HUNGRY

 The thought of having "homemade" hot beef sandwiches was enough to attract 11 riders to Casey's on Sunday for our now annual "Kickapoo Corners Hot Beef Sandwich Run".

We had Dee, Bill, Lee & Jill, and Jim on their two-wheelers, while Dave, Roger, ChucK, Richard & Melodye, and Bob straddled three-wheelers.

ChucK AND ROGER ARRIVE

DAVE & ROGER CONVERSE

DEE SHOWS ChucK WHERE TO PARK

BILL ROLLS IN

LEE & JILL ARRIVE

JIM SHOWS HIS "BEST" SIDE

LOTS OF PRERIDE CHATTER

THE SLINGSHOT ARRIVES

MORE CHATTER

After all the group arrives, on a beautiful day for a ride, Bob leads the group to Readstown, WI, the home of Kickapoo Corners.  Not known for taking the shortest route, Bob elects to start down HWY 76 into Marquette.  After crossing the Mississippi River bridge on HWY 18, the gang is led into Prairie du Chien, where we pick up HWY 27 north after passing through a stop light and a couple of round-a-bouts.

After about three miles on 27, we turn onto Irish Ridge Road at a place called White Corners.  IRR has no center stripes or markings (We don't need no stinkin' yellow lines!), but it does offer a scenic adventure through some timbered area. Irish Ridge Road ends at Gran Grae Road and we take another no yellow lines road over to HWY 60 and motor on through Wauzeka.

About two miles east of Wauzeka, we turn onto HWY 131 heading north.  This part of 131 has been closed for quite some time, but now it has been recently repaved and is a real treat to ride.  The scenery up to Steuben (all roads lead to Stuben now) is fantastic!  We continue on 131 north until we come to CR S near Petersburg and turn east on it.  CR S takes us over to HWY 61 north, and we cruise on past some of the orchards noting that there is a bumper crop of apples this year.  We pass through Rolling Ground and Soldiers Grove before arriving at the corner of HWYs 60 and 14 where our Kickapoo Corners got its name.

We soon observed from the parking lot, that Kickapoo Corners was doing a brisk business, but we were able to find enough parking.

SOME FIND PARKING AT THE END OF THE LOT

JIM HEADS IN WHILE BILL TRIES TO GO INCOGNITO

RICHARD & MELODYE SAY IT'S TIME TO EAT

We enter the restaurant and find that some of the tables we were going to occupy had been reserved.  However, thanks to a great waitress, we were able to arrange the tables outside and were seated there. While we were waiting for our food order, ChucK and Dee gave a presentation on a fishing trip that they will be taking up to Port Washington in September and invited anyone in our group to join them.  There will be more to come about this on the blog, but you may want to contact ChucK and Dee in the meantime for information.

VERY COMFORTABLE DAY TO SIT OUTSIDE

AND ENJOY GREAT HOMEMADE FOOD

SOME CORNER ATTRACTIONS

EVERYONE WAS WELL SATISFIED

After leaving Kickapoo Corners, our journey home starting by taking HWY 14 west over to CR T and turned north onto it.  Another no marking road led us through Spring Valley, and up to HWY 82 just south of Viroqua.

After about 5 miles on 82 we turned again back south on CR J.  CR J has yellow markings and is a scenic trip through the Kickapoo valley.  CR J ends at CR C, and we motored along C all the way to HWY 35, just outside of Ferryville.  What's a full meal without ice cream?! So our next stop was at the Arco convenience store in Ferryville.  There we all given very generous portions of some great tasting ice cream.

GOOD DAY FOR ICE CREAM,TOO!

EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO SIT ON CEMENT

After polishing off the ice cream, we continued on HWY 35 heading for the Lansing ferry.  We turned onto HWY 82 and found our way to the ferry landing.  When we arrived at the landing, we had to wait a while for the ferry to unload there. Even though we were not the first in line, they waived us to go on first.  Maybe the attendant was a motorcyclist!

PHOTO FROM ROGER

THE NEW BRIDGE IS COMING ALONG

SWALLOWS ARE ALSO MAKING THEIR HOMES AT THE LANDING

After crossing on the ferry into Lansing, the group split up with Bill staying at home there and some heading towards Postville and Decorah.  Bob had 135 miles on his trike when he parked it at home.

GREAT RIDE, GREAT FOOD, GREAT COMPANY!!

WE WENT HOME A'GIN

We had 11 riders show up at Casey's for another beautiful Wednesday night to ride. Under partly cloudy skies and temps in the mid 80's, Bill, Mike, Lois, and Dee arrived on bikes.  The three-wheel gang was Richard & Melodye, Mark, Dave, Ron, ChucK, and Bob.

EARLY ARRIVALS

CHECKING OUT MARK'S NEW CHROME

MIKE GIVES HIS APPROVAL

TWO TRIKERS

RON ARRIVES

LOIS ROLLS IN

DEE LEADS ChucK IN

As previously advertised on the blog, Bob set the destination for the night at a spot in Mt. Hope, WI, called Home A'Gin, a popular bar and eating establishment.

We took off down HWY 76 south to Rossville, and then turned there onto CR X26 (Volney Road) and cruised on into Monona.  Just outside of Monona, we arrived at HWY 18 and followed it past Froelich and Giard and through Marquette then over the bridge into Prarie du Chien.  In PdC, we had to stop at a light for some road repair and then continued skirting around the city on the HWY 18 bypass until we reached HWY 18 and rolled out of town heading east.

Once we crossed the Wisconsin River bridge, we turned onto CR C, and made a twisty, scenic drive along the Wisconsin River passing through Millville and up to HWY 133.  (We don't need no stinking yellow lines!) Upon arriving at HWY 133, we cruised along a smooth and scenic stretch of highway back over to HWY 18.

After a short jog on 18 we took CR J into the big city of Mt. Hope and found some parking for our rides near Home A'Gins.

BILL WONDERS HOW WE GOT HERE

SOME HAD TO PARK AROUND THE CORNER

AND MAKE THE WALK INTO HOME A'GINS

Home A'Gins serves delicious food and it always seems to be busy.  On Wednesday nights they draw a huge crowd for their meat raffle and taco night.  They also have an all-you-can-eat fish night on Fridays, and an all-you-can-eat homemade pizza night on Saturdays.  I have attended both of these nights, and the fish and pizza were great!  After working our way through the crowd, we got some refreshing drinks and gathered outside to talk and hydrate.

When it was time to leave, most of us followed Bob onto CR J and over to CR A that took us over to HWY 35.  We passed through Bloomington and Patch Grove heading north until we reached HWY 18 again.  We then turned in a westerly direction and retraced our route back into Prairie du Chien.

After crossing the Mississippi River bridge, most of us turned onto HWY 76 in Marquette as Bob said we were going to do.  Some others continued on Hwy 18 heading home. Fortunately no one followed them! Motoring up HWY 76, we were again treated to a spectacular sunset.  The photos I took, do not do it justice.

Once we arrived in Waukon, Bill, Richard, and Bob stopped to eat at Uptown where we shared croutons.  Bob had 112 miles on his trike at Uptown.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Next Wednesday, the destination looks to be Volga City.

This Sunday, the 16th, is another RTE (Ride To Eat).  This one is our now annual Kickapoo Corners Hot Beef Sandwich Run.  The plan is to leave Casey's at 10:30 Sunday morning and venture over to Kickapoo Corners by passing through Prairie du Chien.  There will be a good chance that we will be taking the car ferry to Lansing back home. You do not have to have a hot beef sandwich, but you don't know what you will be missing.  They are semi world famous!

Right now it looks like the Couples Trip scheduled for Mid September is not going to happen for the Rotach's.  If someone else wants to plan a couples trip for those dates, feel free to do so.  Otherwise we will put the trip to see the grotto in West Bend on hold until next year.  I know some of the group are planning a fishing trip, so that weekend may be open.

No one guessed who the motorcycle celebrity was on the last blog.  It was "A Wonderful World", Louie Armstrong!  How about this guy?

GARY'S FUNERAL SERVICE

 The Gelo family has elected not to use a motorcycle escourt to the cemetery after Gary's funeral.  I will be stopping by the funeral home before the ride tonight for his visitation and will drop off a card from the Wednesday Night Riders.

Again, sympathy for Gloria and the rest of the Gelo family.

GARY GELO

As some of you may know by now, Gary Gelo passed away last Sunday.  Before his illness, Gary and Gloria  rode with our Wednesday Night Riders group with their Gold Wing trike.  

As is our tradition, when one of our riders passes away, we offer our motorcycle escourt from the funeral service to the cemetery.  I have reached out to Martin-Grau Funeral Home saying we would do this if the family wishes. The funeral home will contact me if they do, probably tomorrow.  I will keep you informed via this blog, and hopefully we will have a good number of Wednesday Night Riders participating.

Gary's funeral is at 12 PM Thursday at the funeral home, and burial will be in Oakland Cemetery following the service, and there is a lunch following at Lid's.

There is a visitation for Gary tomorrow at the funeral home from 4 PM to 7 PM.  Gary's obituary can be found on the Martin-Grau listing on the internet.

Our sympathies go out to Gloria and the rest of the Gelo family.

HUNGRY AGAIN?!!

Apparently stuffing our faces at Gunder on Wednesday night was not enough to satisfy enough Wednesday Night Riders, so 18 of them showed up for our Mystery RTE (Ride To Eat) at Casey's on Saturday afternoon.  I'm thinking it was just a beautiful day for a ride, and nobody really wanted anything to eat (LOL).

The large group of two-wheelers consisted of Jim & Cathy, Lee, Bill & Beth Ellen, Mike & Joan, Dee, Chuckles, and Lois.  Three-wheelers were Terry, Wayne, ChucK, Dave, Roger, Richard & Melodye, and Bob.

EARLY ARRIVALS

THE GANG GROWS

HERE'S DAVE

ChucK & DEE JOIN THE GANG

HERE'S CHUCKLES & LOIS

THE SLING SHOT ARRIVES

QUITE A BUNCH

LEE DEMONSTRATES THE PROPER GRIP

MIKE DOESN'T BELIEVE IT

JIM LOOKS DOUBTFUL

ROGER ARRIVES

 With Bob being the only one who knew where the mystery ride was going, we departed Casey's with clear skies and the temp right at 80, a perfect day for a ride.

NOW, IF BOB CAN JUST FIND THE STARTER BUTTON!

As we had such a large group, it was important for the leader to pause at certain points to make sure everyone was still with us.  Our first turn was off HWY 76 and down CR X16 (Forest Mills Road).  We cruised past the Gelo territory and on into Luana and then onto HWY 18 heading east.  After passing by Monona, we turned onto CR X28 (Golden Avenue & Fawn Hollow Road) and cruised through Farmersburg and into St. Olaf.  (Some thought we were going to stop at the St. Olaf Tavern--WRONG!)

We turned back east in St. Olaf and followed CR B65 (200th St.) over to HWY 13.  We followed 13 for a short distance south and then turned back east on HWY 128 and sailed through Clayton Center over to HWY 52. Turning southward on 52, we passed through Garnavillo and then jumped onto CR X47 (Kale Avenue).  The scenery really began to pick up as we made our way over to CR C7X (Garber Road) (Some thought we were going to stop at the Stockyard in Osterdock--WRONG).

We meandered down Garber Road until we were back on HWY 52 just outside of Guttenberg.  We motored on into Guttenberg (Some though we were going to stop at Joe's for pizza--WRONG AGAIN!)  At the edge of Guttengerg, we picked up CR X56 (Great River Road) and up the hill we went until we reached 228th St and turned toward Clayton.  We turned onto Front St. in Clayton, and there in front of us was our mystery destination, Clayton Lighthouse.

On such a beautiful day, this small river town was packed, so parking became quite a challenge. But as soon as everyone was parked, we entered the very busy establishment.  However, even as busy as they were, we were quickly seated with a view of the river, and before too long our drinks and food orders were placed.

GUESS WHO ORDERED COFFEE?

FRONT WINDOW SEATING

THE THIRD TABLE

PLENTY OF DRINKS

THE LOOK OF SATISFACTION?

Considering the crowd, the service was as good as could be expected, and there were no verbal complaints about the food.  Mine was delicious, and I had to take some home in a box.

After we departed the Lighthouse, we headed back up the hill and back onto the Great River Road and followed it on past Pikes Peak Park and into a very busy McGregor.  We passed along the river and into Marquette where we picked up HWY 76 and continued past Effigy Mounds where Bob had to dodge a meandering raccoon.  When we reached the top of the hill, we were treated to a spectacular sunset!  A beautiful ending to a great day of riding, friendship, and good food.  I ended up with 105 miles on the Wing.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Wednesday night may be a trip over to Mt. Hope, and next Sunday is another RTE (Ride To Eat) for our annual Kickapoo Corners Hot Beef Sandwhich Run.  One thing about being a Wednesday Night Rider, you are not going to starve to death!