WET, COLD, WINDY WEDNESDAY NIGHT

Our last Wednesday night was forfeited to the weather witch.  Looking at the skies, hearing the wind howl outside, and looking at the outside temperature of 35 degrees, I opted for a smart move and didn't try to ride tonight.  It's too bad, since this was out last Wednesday night for the year since daylight savings time starts next week and it will be dark already at 5:30.  That's really depressing, but overall we had very few Wednesdays this summer that we were not able to ride due to weather.  And if you don't have your bikes put away yet, it looks like there may be some days next week that will be warm enough to ride.

I will still try to post whenever I can during the off-season trying to keep you informed and maybe entertained with some biking drivel.

We do plan to do another cruise in January with the Gold Wing group and also plan to take the trike with us to Florida to ride during February.

Julie & I went for a final leaf looking ride Monday afternoon.  The temperature was in the 60's with plenty of sun, so the leaves were showing their colors along the river between New Albin and Lansing.  I tried to do a video again from the trike.  Hopefully you will be able to click on the link and see it.  Don't be too critical since it was only my second try on the trike and I should get better. Also as you will notice, the bugs were still out.

FINAL Four??

Four of us including Chuckles, Lois, Gary, and Bob R departed Casey's Wednesday night under sunny skies and 67 degrees on what may have been the FINAL Wednesday night ride of the season.  With daylight savings time coming in two weeks and a predicted high temperature into the low 40's for next Wednesday, our rides on Wednesday night might be over for the season.  
However, even though our ride was short, it was a beauty.  We took HWY 9 to Iron Mine Road, where we dodged Gordy with a wagon load of corn, and over to HWY76 north.  76 took us up to Iowa River Drive (A26) and we headed east along the river.  At the end of A26 near New Albin we got on HWY 26 and headed south towards Lansing.  Between New Albin and Lansing the scenery was spectacular!  The merciless winds that we have been having lately must not have effected the trees on the bluffs along the west side of 26, because the leaves were just beautiful and made the ride well worthwhile.  If you have the time, I would recommend taking this drive between New Albin and Lansing to see the leaves.  I don't think they're going to be there much longer.
We continued on 26 past the detour and on into Lansing where we got on HWY 9 and on into Waukon.  Since the Wednesday Night Riders are a community minded group, we stopped at the St. Pat's School soup supper to eat.  Good chili, good hot dogs, good ride!

BECAUSE OF SOME CRUISE ARRANGEMENTS, WE MAY NEED TO MOVE OUR ANNUAL PMS MEETING INTO MARCH.  MORE ON THAT LATER.

Here's some photos of the FINAL Four.

STOPPED AT A26 AND HWY 26

THE MOON WAS OUT WHEN WE GOT TO ST. PAT'S

LOIS & CHUCKLES IN THE MISTY MOONLIGHT

TWO SPOOKS IN THE SCHOOL PARKING LOT

ONE MORE TIME!

Yes, we had one more Wednesday night ride.  With temperature readings in the sixties and under sunny skies, Lois, Chuckles, and Bob R headed out on what we hope is not the last Wednesday night.  We took HWY 9 west past Meryle's to CR W 60 where we turned south and went past Fishville.  I didn't realize that W60 was called Old Stage Road until I saw it on Google maps.  I always thought the Old Stage Road went from Decorah to Waukon (A52).  At the end of W60 we turned back west on Yellow River Drive to HWY 51 north.  After a short mile or so, we turned back west on the Frankville Road.  We passed through Frankville just in time to avoid the rush hour.  The Frankville Road took us back to HWY 9 again where we turned west heading for Decorah.  After a short way on 9 we turned back south on Centennial Road and picked up CR W46 heading back west.  Another short trip on W46 brought us to CRW42 heading back south to HWY 9 again.  Heading west on 9 we stopped at the light to turn onto CR A52 (OLD STAGE ROAD?).  We had to wait for all the Wall Martians turning in front of us before we finally got onto A52!  We then followed Old Stage Road (A52?) back to Waukon and Gus & Tony's.  It was about a 60 mile trip and back before dark. It looks like there will only be two Wednesday nights left for us before Daylight Savings Time kicks in.

Here's a couple of photos from Wednesday.

WE STARTED AT 5:30 AND.........

WE WERE BACK BEFORE DARK.

BONUS SUNDAY WAS A GEM

It doesn't get much better than that!  Lois & Chuckles and Julie & Bob departed Casey's on Bonus Sunday bound for The Creamery Ice Cream & Pizza Restaurant in Rushford under bright sunny skies and a temperature of 78 degrees.  All along the way we were treated to some beautiful fall foliage, especially the maple trees in the towns we passed through.  We started up HWY 76 and onto Bear Creek Drive and the Locust Road.  We then west through Hesper, into Mabel and onto HWY 44.  From 44 we continued onto HWY 52 through Canton and on into Harmony for a rest stop.  Continuing on 52 we took HWY 16 east near Preston for a scenic ride through Lanesboro, Whalan, Peterson, and on into Rushford.  It seemed like anyone who owned a classic car or motorcycle was out driving that day and rightly so.  The Creamery had quite a crowd at the ice cream counter, but we didn't have any trouble getting a table and ordering our pizzas.  If you thought their ice cream was good, you should try one of their pizzas!  I'm sure we'll be back again.

After stuffing ourselves with the tasty pizza we continued on scenic 16 through Houston and all the way to Hokah where we took CR 8 across the ridge and down in the valley to Brownsville and onto HWY 26.  26 took us through New Albin where we picked up Iowa River Drive and Lycurgus Road to HWY 9.  Upon reaching Lycurgus, we decided to try to make WW Homestead Dairy before they closed.  We made it in time to top off the day with some top notch ice cream.  Yes, Bonus Sunday turned out to be a gem!  Hopefully there will be some more coming, but it will be hard to top this one!

Here's a couple of photos of our 4 some.

WE ARRIVE........

AT A BUSY CREAMERY

LOIS WITH TOMORROW'S LUNCH

CHUCKLES EYEBALLING HIS "NEW" RIDE

THE LEADERS FULL OF PIZZA

EIGHT ON WEDNESDAY---BONUS SUNDAY

Eight bikes lined up at Casey's on Wednesday night to take advantage of the warm, but short lived weather.  Starting out in 68 degree and sunny conditions were regulars Howard, Chuckles, Carl, and Bob R.  We were glad to have Nancy, David A, and Bob H join us again, and we also welcomed Brad L to the posse.  

With darkness creeping into our riding time now, our rides are obviously going to be shorter and without any needed rest stops.  Our group this time headed up HWY 76 to Iowa River Drive and headed east to HWY 26 south near New Albin.  26 took us into Lansing where we picked up the Great River Road.  Following the GRR to LaFayette Ridge Drive where we tuned west and caught Elon Road back into town for our usual at Gus & Tony's and where Howard's "hot date" joined us.  We only put on 62 miles, but with darkness setting in and all the field work going on, we were concerned about deer.  We did see a group of deer in Ed Stahli's driveway on HWY 26 near Lansing.  We also got fairly close to a turkey and also had an eagle come up close to the road.

BONUS SUNDAY
Any time you can expect sunny and above 70 degree weather in October in Iowa, you had better take advantage.  So I am.  I am planning to ride Sunday up to Rushford for pizza and/or ice cream.  I plan to leave Casey's at noon, so if your hungry for pizza/ice cream and want to take advantage of a nice Sunday afternoon, you are welcome to join.  Who knows?!  It may be the last nice Sunday we have for a long while!

Here's a couple of photos from Wednesday.

Carl telling Chuckles that after Sunday he had to wash clothes before he came!
Nancy is wisely ignoring both of them!

Bob H gassing up for the first time this summer?!
He remembered the gas but forget his gloves.

Brad telling Howard and David A about his latest deer incident

CHICKEN CONVOY

Remember the C.W. McCall song "Convoy"?  Well, "mercy sakes alive" with 4 bikes, 3 trikes, 2 Jeeps, and an SUV, "it looks like the Wednesday Night Riders had themselves a convoy" heading to Rockton for chicken on Sunday.  We didn't have a chartreuse micro bus, but we did have a couple in a topless Jeep wearing all the clothes that they own!  With 18 of us including Jim & Cathy, Wayne M, Howard, and Bob R on bikes; with Meryle & Mary, Wayne & Sandy, and Dayton & Joan on trikes; and with Chuckles & Lois in their Jeep, Carl & Joyce in their Jeep, and Dennis, Marlene, and Julie in Blocker's Journey we departed Casey's with cloudy skies and a temperature reading of 47 degrees.

After a "refreshing" ride to Viroqua for a warm-up stop at the Mobile station, we continued on scenic HWY 82, CR D, and CR P on into the Rockton Bar for some of their "almost world famous" barbecued chicken with fixin's.  What a treat!

After our fill of chicken, we departed Rockton heading for the apple orchards in Gays Mills.  The temperature by this time had crept up to a "toasty" 54 degrees.  Upon arriving at Sunshine Orchards, we immediately got in line for hot apple cider and warm donuts.  Some of us also filled our trunks and saddlebags with apples and donuts for the trip home.  After a brief gas stop in Ferryville we crossed the river into Lansing and back home on HWY 9.  I had 162 miles on the Wing when I pulled into the garage.  With the high temps only reaching the low 50's, we can come to only one of two possibilities:  1) The chicken and donuts are too good to pass up, or 2)  the Wednesday Night Riders are a tough bunch!

Here's some photos of the convoy.

"ANYBODY GOT AN EXTRA JACKET?"

NICE PANTS!  LATER IN ROCKTON SOMEONE ASKED HIM TO DANCE!

THE SUV JOINS THE CONVOY

"HEY, LOIS.  WE FORGOT OUR NECKEES."

WAYNE JOINS THE CONVOY

TWO JEEPS IN THE CONVOY

"LET'S HAVE SOME CHICKEN!"

PEELING OFF THE EXTRA CLOTHING

HOWARD READY FOR MACARONI SALAD
CARL & JOYCE WEARING ALL THE CLOTHING THEY OWN

OUR COOKS

LOIS SAYS, "IT'S FINGER LICKIN' GOOD!"

CARL SAYS HE HAS TWO MORE CHICKENS COMING

DIVING INTO THE "ALMOST WORLD FAMOUS" CHICKEN

COOL RIDE--LOTS OF FLASHING LIGHTS

It was 62 degrees when 6 of us left the Casey's parking lot Wednesday evening, and by the time we got back in town after about 70 miles it was 52 degrees.  Quite a change from the past few Wednesday nights!  So six bundled up riders (Wayne, Bob Z, Gary, Lois, Beth, and Bob R headed to Postville via the Cherry Valley Road.  Outside of Postville we picked up HWY 52 and headed toward Calmar.  This stretch of highway used to be one of the worst in the state, but now it's newly paved and smooth as glass!  As we neared Ossian, we had to stop for some roadwork and wait for a pilot car with flashing lights to escort us about three miles.  After that we were unlucky enough to catch up to more flashing lights.  This time it was a manure wagon being pulled by a tractor.  Fortunately we got by him in Ossian as we stayed on 52 towards Calmar.  However, we were soon met by more flashing lights and pulled over to see 3 fire trucks go by.  We could see some smoke in the distance and assumed that was where they were going.  As we got into Calmar on the main street, there were more flashing lights from police and highway patrol cars parked where the highway turns north.  We have no idea what was going on there, and we didn't stop to find out.  I had planned to taking a loop through Ft. Atkinson and Spillville, but with all the delays, we just continued on to Decorah and then HWY 9 back to Waukon where Sandy joined us at Gus & Tony's. Lots of flashing lights but no deer!

CHICKEN RUN SUNDAY
We will depart from Casey's at 10 AM on Sunday.  If you want chicken, make sure you either call the Rockton Bar or let Bob know by Friday (563-568-7277).  So far I have reservations to make for Meryle & Mary, Wayne & Sandy, and Bob & Julie.  Right now it looks like it's going to be a cool day but no rain.  I plan on riding, but there will probably be some alternate transportation available for those who don't want to ride on bikes.  We do plan to stop by the orchards on the way back.  I can smell the chicken and the donuts now!

CHUCKLES & LOIS--NEW RIDE
Apparently Chuckles doesn't want to rent motel rooms anymore on our Couples' Trips, so he and Lois have been eyeballing this.

ABE WAS A BIKER!!
While Jim & Cathy were in Springfield, Illinois, they found out that Abe Lincoln was a biker.  Here's some photos they took of Abe's ride.

Here's a couple of photos from Wednesday night.

A COUPLE OF "TOUGH OLD BIRDS" READY TO BRAVE THE COLD

TALK ABOUT TOUGH!  NO WINDSHIELD FOR BETH!

COOL WEATHER HAS "THAT EFFECT" ALSO