GOOD SHOWING FOR HOSPICE RIDE

 As close as I could count, we had 20 Wednesday Night Riders participate in the Win-Med Hospice Ride on Sunday.  Some just came for the breakfast, but most came for the breakfast and ride.

Wayne, Carl and Joyce, and Julie came for the breakfast, while Chuckles, Lois, Richard & Melodye, Ron & Helen, Jim, Terry, Dave, Bernell & Kathy, Greg, Roger, Bill, and Bob did the breakfast and the ride. I'm counting Nancy as part of our group also.

Here' some photos that I and several others took during the day.

WAYNE, BILL, GREG, AND RICHARD & MELODYE LEAVE FROM CASEY"S

ALONG WITH TERRY

We arrive at Win-Med ready for the breakfast. Bill & Greg get acquainted as Wayne gets ready to eat.  Jim arrives and Richard & Melodye find parking,

After a hearty breakfast, we get ready for the ride.  While we were waiting, we got to see a beautiful Can AM ridden by a Legion Rider from Cresco.

Chuckles, Roger, and Bernell visit before the ride.

NANCY IS READY TO ROLL

The whole gang gathers for a group photo.  I have no idea who the two guys to Dave's right are.  Maybe they are new prospects.

Time to ride!

Our first stop was in Rushford.

CHUCKLES & LOIS VISIT

IT'S ALSO TIME FOR A BATHROOM BREAK

Our next stop was in Spring Grove. Parking around a nice park.

After leaving Spring Grove, we motored into Waukon, and then to Cleremont and finally to Calmar.  Along the way, Dave and Ron were drawing winners, but the big prize was $100 split by Terry and Roger. Roger needs to drink a Miller High Life before he gets paid.

Overall, we should be very proud of the number of Wednesday Night Riders we had to support this great cause.  It was a great day and a great ride.  Thanks to the Hospice staff, especially Nancy, and to Darrel for leading!  Apparently there were a little over 100 riders.

THIS WEDNESDAY & HOSPICE

I was glad to see that a good number of riders showed up this past Wednesday night, and thanks to Jim for leading.  I opted out of going.  With my upcoming surgery less than a week away, I did not want to risk the chance of getting wet and cold.

 It sounds like you had a really good ride, and here's the report that Jim sent me.

We had a good turnout in spite of iffy weather for our Wednesday night ride. With Bob deciding not to chance it, Jim, Bill, Mike, Chuck, and Lois were on two wheelers. Mark was on his trike, Richard and Melodye were in the Slingshot with Bernell and Kathy providing the chase vehicle in their convertible. After Jim got his satellite weather radar subscription straightened out so he could keep an eye on the weather the group headed out. We headed south to 76 and turned east. We took Forest Mills Rd to Luana then east on Hwy18. We turned off on  the nice smooth Farmersburg rd, continued to St Olaf and then to Hwy13 past Elkader. We then took Grandview  Rd to Garber Rd and on into Kwik Star in Guttenberg for a pit stop. After a short stop because of weather concerns we motored out on the Great River Rd through Mcgregor and Marquette. We took 76,then the Great River Rd to Harpers Ferry, up the Lansing Harpers Rd to Elon Dr back to Waukon. We actually stayed dry. It was pretty windy going to Guttenberg but that seemed to let up on the way home. Jim had to dodge a doe and her fawn and all had to dodge a Harley the guy had parked on the hwy without any lights on just out of McGregor. Richard was running over snakes.The out of town riders headed for home and the rest stopped at the Uptown Grill. I had 117 miles on the wing when I rolled past Caseys on my way home .

Here's some photos that Jim & Chuckles took.

With my upcoming surgery and recovery time, you will probably need ride leaders for the next few Wednesday nights.  I have an extremely busy end of this week coming. I have a neice getting married in Dubuque on Saturday, so today, Thursday, I had to travel up to Onalaska to get a root canal done before surgery.  That was a great time!  I'd planned to come back home and get in a final round of golf, but it poured rain and the wind about blew me and the pick up off the highway.  On Friday, I have to return to Gundersen in LAX for a couple final checkups and then drive down to Manchester to see the kids and grandkids that are coming for the wedding.  I have to return to Waukon that night, because staying at a motel is not what Gundersen recommends.  Then on Saturday, I will head from home to the wedding in Dubuque and reception in Farley.  I will also return to Waukon sometime Saturday evening. HOWEVER, I still plan to ride in the Hospice Ride on Sunday, and will leave Casey's at 9 AM Sunday morning to head to Win-Med for breakfast and sign up for the ride. Anyone who wants to ride along with me is welcome.  Sign up is up until 10:30 and the ride starts at 11. SO, let's have a good turnout for the Hospice Ride Sunday like we usually do!

I did ride in the Mags/Byrnes ride last Saturday.  It was for a good cause and they did have a good crowd, but it always seems like there are some that just can't keep civil.  There were several that just roared through Hokah with loud mufflers roaring, and several passed me on double yellow near Dorchester.  Fortunately, they were in the minority, and hopefully didn't spoil it for everyone. There are also some skid marks on the highway just south of Brownsville where I had to slam on the brakes to avoid a deer! Chuckles got a shot of me and some of the group waiting to take off from the fairgrounds.

Lissa and husband, John, also rode in the Mags/Byrnes ride.

Also, someone identified the mystery biker in the last post.  It was Dean Martin, one of my favorite singers. I still hum along to some of his best--"That's Amore", "You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You", and "In the Misty Moonlight".

AND FINALLY, HOW ABOUT THESE TWO "YOUNGSTERS"!!

 

CATCHING UP

As many of you know, I have a lot going on health wise, so I haven't really had much of a chance to catch up with a few things that I intended to put on the blog. 

First, I thought I would share a note I received in the mail a couple of days ago.

That should make all of us feel good!

As some of you also know, our two "iron butts", Jim and Mike, recently went on an adventure to Chattanooga, TN, and other points south.  Here's some photos of their journey.

They visited Southern Honda, the largest Gold Wing dealer in the United States. However, the only thing they bought was a t-shirt!

While in Chattanooga, they took the incline railroad up to the top of Lookout Mountain where the "Battle of the Clouds" took place during the Civil War.

Of course they had to patronize Bucees, find a coffee hot spot, and chow down.

And what would a trip down that way be without a ride on The Dragon?!

But I think the Cherohala Skyway is a better ride.

They put 700 miles on one day, just to make it back to Iowa for Big Boy.

WEDNESDAY'S RIDE & HOSPICE RIDE

If the weather lets us ride Wednesday night, the 10th, it will be Bob's last Wednesday one for a while.  His scheduled surgery is the next Wednesday, the 17th, so you will need new leaders for some upcoming Wednesdays.  He goes up to Emplify (Gundersen) this Friday, the 12th,  for some final check ups.  He plans on riding in the Hospice Ride on Sunday, the 14th. His plan is to leave Casey's at 9 AM that morning, get to Win-Med for the breakfast, get signed up, and go on the ride.  Anyone wishing to ride along with him that morning is welcome. That will probably be his last ride for a while.

He's my favorite singer.  Guess who?  Hope he didn't burn his pant leg like I did on that bike!

NO RTE TODAY

After checking the weather forecast and looking at the future radar, our RTE (Ride To Eat) for today would be a wet one.  

Therefore, I decided to cancel our ride to the Hideout today and save that for maybe another time later on. I thought about trying to ride to a closer location, but it looks like the rain is due to hit this area by 1 PM.

Freeburg & Big Boy

There will be two "episodes" on this new post on the blog.  The first will be the ride Wednesday night.

We had a total of 14 riders show up at Casey's for our Wednesday night ride last night.  Lois, Bill, Dee, and Nancy came aboard bikes.  The three-wheel gang consisted of Richard & Melodye, Mark, Uncle Wayne & Karrie, Ron, ChucK, Dave, and Bob.  Showing up for the first time this year was Ken in his convertible.

LOIS, BUT NO CHUCKLES

MARK TIPS HIS CAP TO THE REST OF THE RIDERS

UNCLE WAYNE & KARRIE

RON ARRIVES

BILL ON HIS ADVENTURE BIKE

Chuck & DEE ROLL IN

TIME FOR GROUP GOSSIP

NANCY ARRIVES IN MY REARVIEW MIRROR

EVEN KEN BREAKS OUT HIS CONVERTIBLE

 It was a near perfect night for riding, so off we went with the goal being a cruise through the metropolis of Freeburg, MN.

After rolling through Waukon, we took HWY 76 north and just past Eitzen, we truned onto CR 17, and followed this "roller coaster" up to HWY 44 just outside of Spring Grove.  We turned east on 44 and arrived back on HWY 76 and on into Caledonia.

After passing through Caledonia, we took CR 249 and wound our way along a smooth and scenic stretch of asphalt on into Freeburg just avoiding the "rush hour"  Freeburg's fame rests in the fact that Little Miami Restaurant is located there.  

We jumped off 249 and continued an adventure onto CR 24, one of the more interesting roads we will travel on this season.  Most of 24 is not marked (Who needs "stinking yellow lines"?!) and winds its way along creeks and through woods offering up some great views.  CR 24 ends at the junction of CR 3, and we take 3 on into Brownsville for a break at River Station Convenience Store located there.

GOOD TO SEE NANCY AGAIN

THE SLINGSHOT GETS PARKED

THE REST OF THE GANG PARKS

YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH GAS

After our break we continued our ride on a great night by taking HWY 26 on through Reno and New Albin and on into Lansing.  HWY 26 offered us some cooling shade along with some great views of the river.  We arrived in Lansing and took a gander at the new bridge construction and then passed through town to pick up CR X42 (Lansing/Harpers Road) and meander along it until we reached CR X52 (Elon Road) and cruised on into Waukon where six of us had eats at Uptown.  I racked up just a little over 100 miles on the Wing.  What a great night for a ride!

UPCOMING EVENTS

This Saturday is the Mags/Byrnes charity ride starting with a breakfast at the fairgrounds pavillion at 9 and a ride starting at noon.  I plan to attend the breakfast and make a donation to the charity, but I don't know yet about going on the ride.  Last year I did go.

This Sunday, we have another of our "semi-famous" RTE's (Rides To Eat).  The plan is to leave Casey's at 10:30 Sunday morning and make a trip for eats at The Lookout bar & restaurant near Arcadia.  It's been quite a while since we've been up there, so I guess it's about time.  It's always been a fun and very scenic trip.  Hopefully weather will not be a factor.  EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

Sunday, June 14, is the WinMed Hospice Ride.  This is an event that our group has participated in for a good number of years now, and we have had a good number of us go each time.  Mark the date on your calendar! 

PART 2--The Choo-Choo

Last Monday, Big Boy, the largest operating steam locomotive in the world, was coming to Tama for a scheduled stop.  I couldn't pass up this possible "once in a lifetime" opportunity to see this monster. So, accompanied by Bill, we made our way down to Tama that morning.  We were then joined by Jim and Mike on the rebound from their trip to Chattanooga and points south.  The following are some photos and videos of the day's events with Big Boy.

JIM & MIKE ARRIVE FROM CHATTANOOGA

LOTS OF SPECTATORS

LOTS OF SMOKE

WE HEAD TO BELLE PLAINE TO SEE IT RUN

JIM OPTS FOR THE SHADE

HERE SHE COMES!!

The guys on the motorcycles in the last blog that no one could identify were Keenan Wynn and Lee Marvin.

SEE YOU SUNDAY!