GUYS' RIDE RECAP

Many of you have asked about the trip that David, Bob Z, and Bob R took last week.  So I will try to give you a condensed version and a few highlights.  Since the blog has a very short time frame for videos, I can only do one short version of the many routes we rode.
Our goal was to reach Athens, Ohio, and use it as a base to ride the Windy 9.

DAY ONE
We left the Rotach house at 7 AM Monday morning, July 30th.  It was a very nice morning ride until we got near Guttenberg where we ran into very thick fog and had to slow to 40 mph in a lot of spots.  After reaching the top of the hill outside of Guttenberg, the fog lifted and we continued onward.  We continued through Dyersville where we made our first break.  From there we didn't stop again until we needed gas across the river in Fulton, IL.  We continued easterly and cutting south on state highways while avoiding interstate travel.  Surprisingly the state roads in Illinois were in good shape and we were able to make good time for our scheduled stop in Pontiac, IL, and tour the Route 66 museum there.

THE MUSEUM IS HOUSED IN AN OLD FIRE STATION

REMEMBER THESE?

ORIGINAL BURMA SHAVE SIGNS!

The Route 66 museum was very well done with some interesting exhibits.  I'm glad we were able to stop!  We continued on eastward to Gilman, IL, for our first overnight stay at the Motel 6 there.  No pool but it was right next to a Dairy Queen, so Bob Z was happy.  We covered 351 miles this first day.

DAY TWO
We left the Motel 6 on Tuesday morning again heading east and jogging south when we could with Athens, Ohio, being our destination.  However, most of the day and all across Indiana we rode through drizzling rain.  It was never heavy enough to force us to stop, but it was a PITA on a motorcycle.  We arrived in Athens about 4 in the afternoon (eastern time) and checked into the Baymont Motel there.  They were repairing the exit to the motel, so we had to take a detoured route to get to the Baymont, but there was a hot tub and a pool waiting for us.  We covered about 385 miles this day with about 300 of it in the drizzle.  The routes through Illinois were very straight and boring.  It almost always felt like you were riding in the middle of a corn or soybean field.  Everything was very green, however.

DAY THREE
This was the first day that we were going to start in riding the Windy 9, but it was still drizzling in the morning.  Not wanting to try riding windy curves on fresh blacktop, we decided to wait until closer to noon to venture out.  There was still some rain in the area, but with the radar on the Wing, we were able to dodge it.  I had to change the planned route quite a bit, but we were still able to get over 100 miles of riding on some fantastic roads!  There were plenty of curves that had to be taken at 25-35 mph, but the roads were in such good shape that it made for a real fun ride.  I think we only came to one curve all day that I would actually call a switchback.  The only problem we had with the late start and dodging the rain, we weren't able to take time to stop at some of the interesting attractions along the way.

DAY FOUR
Finally the weather broke and we were able to get a full day of riding in on the Windy 9.  We put just over 200 miles on the bikes and again through some challenging curves and very well-maintained roads.  Riding HWY 555 (the triple nickle) was probably the highlight of the day.  We were also able to take scenic rides along the Muskingum and Ohio rivers.  We were also able to make a lunch stop at the iconic Triple Nickle Diner.  It was really a fun day!

TRIPLE NICKLE DINER

DAY FIVE
We left Athens on Friday morning heading westward towards home.  If you know me, I don't like to take the same roads out and back, so we did a lot of jogging west and north.  We made it all through Indiana and a lot of Illinois in good weather.  Our destination for this day was the Super 8 in Bourbonnais, IL.  After about 500 miles we arrived there in time for a swim in the pool and supper at a very understaffed I-HOP.

DAY SIX
We left the Super 8 around 7 AM for the last leg of our trip home.  We stayed on the Illinois and Wisconsin side of the Mississippi passing through scenic Savanna, Galena, E. Dubuque, Dickeyville, Potosi, Cassville and Prairie du Chien on the way back to Waukon.  We put on about 340 miles that day and arrived back home around 3 PM.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE WE?!"

Would I do it again?  Yes!  Even though the roads through Illinois and Indiana were in good shape (better than Iowa's), I would probably take a couple of extra days and take a more scenic route out and back by swinging in from the south through parts of West Virginia.  The Windy 9 was all it was cracked up to be!