"REFRESHING" FIRST WEDNESDAY FALL RIDE--CHICKEN RUN

Seven riders on three bikes and three trikes made up our crew for the first Wednesday night ride of the fall.  Meeting at Casey's on bikes were Howard, David, and Bob R.  Sporting trikes were Dayton & Joan and Darrel.  We were also joined by Irv on a Harley trike.  WELCOME!

IRV JOINS US ON A HARLEY TRIKE

THE OTHER HARLEY TRIKE

DARREL ON THE THIRD TRIKE

Since the days are getting shorter, our 100+ mile evenings are a thing of the past.  Now it's a challenge to find a route that will give us a good ride and get us back before dark.  This Wednesday we headed south on 76 (another highway Iowa should be proud to have!).  We then turned on the Waterville road and followed it to the Elon road.  We then turned east and followed the Elon road, Lansing/Harpers road, and Lafayette Ridge road down to the Great River road and followed it north into Lansing.  In Lansing we took HWY 26 north to New Albin and onto Pool Hill road heading to Eitzen and fighting the bright sun.  In Eitzen we picked up 76 heading south to CR A26 (Iowa River Drive).  Iowa River Drive took us to Lycugus Road and then onto HWY 9.  We turned south on 9 and on into Waukon and Gus & Tony's where their hot soup was the hit on the menu.  I had 85 miles on the Wing when I got home.  The temps varied from 65 to 55, so it was a "refreshing" ride for all of us!

"RUN, CHICKEN, RUN" RUN IS THIS SUNDAY

We will be departing Casey's at 10 AM Sunday morning for a scenic your through southwest Wisconsin and on to Rockton for their "nearly world famous" barbecue chicken.  If you want to go along and want chicken you will need reservations.  Bob R will call them in if you let him know by Friday, otherwise you can call the Rockton Bar (608-625-4395) yourself and make reservations.  Tell them you're with the Waukon Wednesday night group.  Right now I have reservations for Bob & Julie, Dale (2) and Dayton & Joan.  If it's cold on Sunday morning, there is a good chance that a car will be making the trip also.  On the way back we plan to stop at the orchards near Gays Mills for apples and donuts. Everyone is welcome!  This is our last "special" ride of the season.

A DOZEN TO CAMP COURAGEOUS--CHICKEN RUN

An even dozen WNR attended the Camp Courageous pancake breakfast fundraiser this Sunday.  We started out at Casey's with seven.  Gary was on his Harley; Meryle & Mary and Bob & Julie on GW trikes, and Dennis & Marlene bringing the support convertible.

NICE DOO RAG!

BILLY B SEES US OFF

GASSING UP THE SUPPORT VEHICLE

IS GARY TELLING A FISH STORY?!

We departed Casey's at 9:15 with unusually warm early fall temperatures and passed through Monona where we picked up Carl & Joyce on their trike now making nine of us on the trip.  Since we had limited time to get there, we took the more direct route down HWY 52 through Garnavillo and into Guttenberg, where we stopped for a brief break at Casey's.

GARY VISITS WITH A GUY WHO HAS A BIKE LIKE HIS

WE ADDED CARL & JOYCE TO THE GROUP

CHUCKLING AT CARL

We continued on HWY 52 out of Guttenberg and through Millville and Luxemberg where we took HWY 136 south through Holy Cross, Dyersville, and Worthington.  Just outside of Cascade we took HWY 151 south to Monticello and onto HWY 38 south to 190th St. and on into Camp Courageous for the pancakes.

THEY SAVED US OUR PARKING SPOTS

GOOD GRUB!

Just before closing, we were joined by Jim, Cathy, and Dale who just rolled in from Springfield, Illinois.  That made 12 of us in attendance.

WE PICK UP SOME "STRAGGLERS"!

After polishing off the pancakes and sausage, Mary, Marlene, Joyce, and Julie ventured over to the new building to eye the quilt sale while Meryle and Carl went to check out the new horse.  We all then gathered at the new building and started to make our way back.  Dale said he wanted to go back on his own to get some gum out of his teeth!  The rest of us took HWY's 38 and 151 back to just outside of Cascade where we took CR Y17 into Epworth where we gassed up.  Passing through Epworth we took a series of smooth and scenic county roads back to HWY 52 and on to Eichman's near Sherrill for a break.  

READY TO DEPART EICHMAN'S

We then continued our scenic journey up through Sherrill, Balltown, North Buena Vista, and into Guttenberg for ice cream at Joe's.

EAT AT JOE'S

READY FOR ICE CREAM ON A WARM DAY

SOME SHADE BY THE RIVERSIDE

IS MERYLE GOING BACK FOR MORE ICE CREAM?!

After ice cream at Joe's, we continued through Guttenberg and then took the river road all the way into McGregor.  Just outside of McGregor we took HWY 18 west to Luana and then Forest Mills Road past the Gelo ranch and on into Waukon.  I had 242 miles on the trike.  GOOD ROADS, GOOD FOOD, GOOD SCENERY, GOOD COMPANY, GOOD CAUSE!!

"RUN CHICKEN RUN" RUN
It's hard to believe, but it's time again next Sunday for our last special ride of the season--THE CHICKEN RUN TO ROCKTON.  We will depart Casey's at 10 AM next Sunday and head to Rockton for their "nearly world-famous" barbecue chicken.  Everyone is welcome on this ride, but if you want chicken, you need to have a reservation.  If you are going along and want the chicken, let Bob R know by Friday, or if you want to reserve on your own, you can call 608-625-4395 and tell them you are with the Waukon Wedneday Night group. 

MAYBE WE COULD HAVE GONE--CC SUNDAY

About 5:30 last night, my radar lit up with storms all around us.  It looks like if we would have traveled west towards Decorah, we may have been ok.  But to the east, north, and south there were severe thunderstorms with some hail.  Wouldn't have been fun on a motorcycle!  So instead of our usual Wednesday night photos, I have included a few from the couples' trip this last weekend.

GIFT STORE AT POINT BREWERY

SAMPLING THE PRODUCT

TRYING OUT A "NEW" RIDE

IT TAKES THREE TO GET MERYLE GASSED UP

OUR TOUR GUIDE

OUR GROUP AT SCULPTURE PARK

CAMP COURAGEOUS

Sunday is our semi-annual trip to Camp Courageous in Monticello.  This time it's for their pancake breakfast fundraiser.  They serve until noon, so we will depart Casey's at 9:15 that morning.  Everyone is welcome.  The weather is supposed to be sunny and warm for a change, so it should be a good day for a ride for a good cause.  Hopefully we will have a good number going this Sunday.

A MIDSUMMER EVENING

On an unusually warm (80 degrees) night 10 units gathered at Casey's for our weekly ride.  Aboard bikes were Chuckles, Lois, Bob Z, Bob H, David, Dayton (on a Harley classic), and Bob R.  Mounting trikes were Meryle & Mary, Wayne, and Darrel.

NICE CROWD!! NICE NIGHT!!

We started our journey taking HWY 76 north through Eitzen and then west on CR 17.  Following CR 17 took us over to HWY 44 just outside of Spring Grove and we turned back east.  This is where Meryle & Mary had a close encounter with one of our white tailed "buddies".  HWY 44 took us into Caledonia where we picked up CR 14 heading east again and down to the river on HWY 26 near Millstone Landing.  We followed 26 south into New Albin where we made a brief stop at the county conservation park.  It was a beautiful night, but with darkness coming sooner now, we took the Iowa River Drive and Lycurgus Road back to HWY 9 and then back into Waukon.

BACK BEFORE DARK

We then went into Gus & Tony's where the conversation turned to manure pumping!  I had a little over 80 miles on the Wing for the night.


I want to thank those of you who expressed their condolences to me on the loss of my brother Larry last week.  Special thanks to Dennis & Marlene, Jens & Jane, Chuck & Lois, and Jim & Cathy for coming down to Manchester for the visitation.  Since Larry was a veteran and very active with the American Legion in Manchester, we decided that any memorial funds would go to them.  They are in the process of raising money to sponsor the honor flights for veterans.

COUPLES' TRIP UPDATE

As many of you know, my brother, Larry, passed away last Tuesday evening after a long battle with cancer.  His funeral is this Tuesday, so I may not be able to ride on Wednesday night.  So I have given the route sheets to Chuckles to pass out that evening in case I'm not there.

The couples making the trip this year are Wayne & Sandy, Chuckles & Lois, Jim & Cathy, Meryle & Mary, Dayton & Joan, and Bob & Julie.  The trip is to Stevens Point, WI, for a brewery tour, a visit to the Wisconsin Korean War Memorial, and a view of the sculptures located in a park there.

We will be staying at the Econolodge there in Stevens Point where we will have our usual "snacks and lies" party.  We all try to contribute to the snacks, and so far I have Sandy volunteering to bring cheese curds.  Jim says he wants to bring meat sticks; Joan has a desert to "die" for, and Bob & Julie will bring crackers and cheese spread.  I'll leave it to the rest of you to decide what you want to contribute.  As far as I know, the motel does have a pool.

If I don't see you on Wednesday night, I'll see you Saturday morning at 9 AM at Casey's.

A "REFRESHING" WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIDE

With a temperature reading of 59 degrees and under partly cloudy skies seven WNR departed Casey's on Wednesday evening for a refreshing ride around Allamakee and Clayton counties.  We had Darrel on the yellow trike and Bob Z, Jim & Cathy, Chuckles, Lois, and Bob R on bikes.

THE GROUP IS A LITTLE MORE "BUNDLED" UP TONIGHT

We headed east on HWY 76 through Rossville, turned north on the Waterville Road, passed through Waterville and ended up turning back east on the Elon Road.  We then caught the Lansing/Harpers Road for a short distance and then turned back east on the Lafayette Ridge Road.  LRR ended up taking us to the Great River Road and we headed back south and on into Harpers Ferry where we picked up the Lansing/Harpers Road again heading east.  After about 3 miles we turned south onto the State Forest Road.  Shortly after making this turn I had a bobcat streak across the road in front of me!  The State Forest Road took us past our monument to Iowa legislature stupidity (a closed Luster Heights facility)!  We then arrived at HWY 76 again and took it south on through Marquette and into McGregor where we stopped for a break at Kwik Trip.

While passing through McGregor we could still see some of the aftermath of the tornado that went through the town.  Especially noticeable were all the twisted and mangled trees!  We then caught HWY 18 west and passed through Froelich and Giard and the outskirts of Monona before turning on Edgewood Avenue and on into Luana.  We passed through Luana and took CR X16 (Forest Mills Road) through Hardin and past the Gelo Ranch to HWY 76 again.  We took 76 back toward Waukon and Gus & Tony's just before dark and  where a certain group had pre-ordered taco pizza and gobbled it down!  I had about 90 miles on the Wing when I got home.

NICE SUNSET ON THE YELLOW TRIKE

JUST BEFORE DARK!

EIGHTEEN SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM

We had 18 folks gather at Casey's on Monday for our annual Double Dip Ice Cream Run.  Howard & Dorothy, Chuckles, Lois, and Jim & Cathy on bikes; Wayne & Sandy, Carl & Joyce, Darrel, Roger, and Bob & Julie on three-wheelers; and Dale, Greg, and Dennis & Marlene in support convertibles.

With partly sunny skies and a 66 degree temp, we departed Casey's looking forward to warmer temps and more sun.  After surviving the Terry E Branstad Memorial Byway (HWY 9) to Lansing, we crossed the bridge into Wisconsin and headed south on Great River Road (HWY 35) toward Ferryville.  Just before Ferryville, we turned northeast onto CR B.  B took us to HWY 27 at Rising Sun where we turned back north.  We soon arrived at HWY 82 and turned back west to pick up CR N in West Prairie.  Scenic CR N took us north through Purdy and to HWY 56.  A short jog east and we were on CR O heading north.  More good scenery on O and we arrived at HWY 162.  A short way west on 162 took us to HWY 35 at Stoddard and to Hood Scoops Ice Cream Shop for our first dip.

I THINK THAT WAS MORE THAN ONE DIP

THE IOWA BENCH

CAN'T STEAL THESE TOOLS!

CHUCKLES NEW RIDE

After our first dip(s) at Hood Scoops, we headed north on 35 up to CR K where we turned west. K took us on a scenic venture through Pleasant Valley and Chaseburg.  We made a short jog from K and onto Wire Hollow Road and down to Newton Road heading west.  Newton took us past a large vegetable farm and to HWY 56.  We went straight across 56 and onto Mundsack Road.  Following Mundsack south and east, we arrived back at HWY 35 again.  By this time the sun was out and the temps hit the 70's for a beautiful ride!  We took 35 back south to Desoto and then turned west on HWY 82 and into Lansing.  In an attempt to avoid traveling down HWY 9 again we took the Lansing/Harpers Road south to Elon Drive and then west into Waukon and WW Dairy for our second dip.

I had about 140 scenic miles on the trike when I pulled into the garage.  Nice day, nice ride, good ice cream!