SANTA CAME!!

Apparently despite public opinion, I was good enough this year to get a visit from Santa.  Click in the link below.
https://www.facebook.com/leap2pins/videos/1081394702207827/

Also:

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL WNR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!




I will try to post some rides and events that we are able to do in Florida as time permits.

THANKS AND MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

We arrived back from our Christmas journey to Denver to see the kids and grand kids.  I still don't like flying.  Rather be on a bike or trike or in a convertible any time.  We are now preparing for our departure to Florida for January and February.  Looking forward to seeing and riding again with our southern friends.

Thanks to all WNR who made it to the "World Premiere" showing of "The Foursome".  Wavelength Productions did a great job producing the documentary, and I received many positive comments after the showing.  Following is a  excerpt from their website.  And finally, and most important--MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL WNR AND FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!

THE FOURSOME - WAUKON PREMIERE The Waukon premiere was a success!  Our short documentary, THE FOURSOME premiered in Waukon, IA as an instant crowd favorite.  We'd like to extend a huge thank you to the city of Waukon, the Waukon Golf & Country Club and to the four men who made it all possible: Bob Rotach, Herb Collins, Darrel Collins, and Gary Peterson.   Like 'The Foursome' hats? Stay Tuned for More Information!

WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIDERS IN MISSOURI

Because of Christmas parties in the area tonight, we won't be riding (LOL).  Yesterday I spent the afternoon covering and trying to mouse proof the 2 wheeler.  I used poison and traps in the shed and placed smelly dryer sheets in and around the bike.  I also hooked up the battery tender.  This is always a sad time since I know it's going to be spring before I'm able to hop on again.  I also tried to mouse proof the trike, until the first of the year when we will be taking it to Florida.  I did put a battery tender on her also.

Even though we aren't able to ride on Wednesday nights up here, Jim & Cathy were able to hook up with a Wednesday night riders group while they were in St. Louis for Thanksgiving.  It's nice to know that the Wednesday night tradition continues in our southern states.  Here's a photo Jim sent of the Wednesday Night Riders in Missouri.

THEY HAVE A GOOD-LOOKING LEADER ALSO!  I SWEAR THAT THAT FOURTH GUY BACK LOOKS LIKE GARY, AND ISN'T THAT GUY ON THE END MERYLE?

I hope everyone had a joyous Thanksgiving, and one thing our group should be especially thankful for is David's recovery from the deer episode.  I saw him at the Christmas Fantasy gathering at the fair grounds, and he looks terrific!

I know this seems like a long way off, but I will set our annual PMS get-together for March 25th this coming year.  Mark that date on your calendars, and there will be more coming on that as the year goes along.

Finally--the thought for the week--

"I always thought that getting old would take longer."

MOVIE STAR?????

Movie star???--I don't think so.  But your fearless leader is going to be featured in a documentary film that's going to be played in the Waukon Theater on December 17th.  It's about our golf foursome that has been playing together in the Waukon Men's Invitational Golf Tournament for 50 straight years.  The player are Bob R (you know him), Gary P, Darrel C, and Herb C. We all met back when Bob R was the basketball coach at St. Pat's in Waukon, Gary was the coach at  DeSales in Ossian, Darrel was the coach at Notre Dame in Cresco, and Herb was a referee.  We all golfed together starting in 1969. In fact, we were the last group to play in the tournament and walk the course. 

Herb' daughter, Jenny, operates a film production firm called Wavelength Productions located in New York.  They have been involved in quite a number of film productions including documentaries and movies.  Since four guys (former rivals) playing golf together for 50 straight years is certainly quite an accomplishment, Jenny assigned her film crew to do a documentary.  The production of the film has been going on and off for over two years.  (The four of us are good actors, just not in films!)  They conducted interviews, followed us on the golf course, took many photos, and took views of Waukon and northeast Iowa, and are now ready to show the film.

So if you are hard up for entertainment on the 17th, you are hereby invited to the showing.  The following is a poster for the event and a link to make reservations.  Notice that the price of admission is right!!

The link for reservations is https://bit.ly/2pTpO85

The theater needs to know how many to expect.  I'm sure it will be standing room only (LOL).  Bob will be available, but not for autographs!

TOGETHER AGAIN!!--HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I'm not talking about the country song "Together Again" (one of my favorites, by the way) by Buck Owens.  I did get the Wing back together again and in  operating condition with some help from Jim. After close to 90,000 miles,  I removed the shocks and sent them in to have new bushings, seals, springs, and oil.  When I talked to the tech that did the work, he seemed to be very surprised that the seals had not given out long before then.  I told him I always cleaned the bugs and dirt off the exposed area of the shocks the first chance I got.  He said that probably made all the difference in the condition.  So there's a tip for everyone with a bike or trike--KEEP THE SHOCKS CLEAN.  The only problem I have now, it looks like I'm going to have to wait until spring (if we have one) to try out the new front end!

Thanks to Dennis & Marlene for the photo.  I'm sure they feel the same way about their convertible.

TORN APART

JIM HELPED ME SLIDE THE FORKS BACK IN PLACE

THE FINISHED PRODUCT--NO LEFTOVER PARTS!

To all our Wednesday Night Riders, their families and friends.....

THIS WEDNESDAY--LAST RIDE SUNDAY

Due to daylight savings time change and "global warming" there was no Wednesday night ride last night!!

Pretty depressing, huh!!

I was able to squeeze in a ride last Sunday.  It was supposed to be mid 40's and sunny.  It turned out to be barely 40 and cloudy, but  I wanted to get all or most of the e-10 gas out of the trike, so I rode it up HWY 76, onto Bear Hollow Rd, onto Locust Road, through Decorah (I couldn't believe Whippy Dip was closed! LOL), and back on HWY 9 to Waukon.  At Casey's I put in regular gas along with Sea Foam and then rode around the outskirts of town and back home.  I put on about 70 miles, so I can count it as a ride in November.  December is certainly up for grabs!

WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIDES DONE FOR THE YEAR

With the weather witch throwing snow and temps that are 20 degrees below normal, and with daylight savings time kicking out on Sunday, it looks like the Wednesday night rides are over for 2019.  Despite having no spring and now no fall, we did have good participation and a lot of fun this summer.  I'm looking forward to start again the next warm spring night.  Hopefully November will turn out a lot better than October, and we can sneak a couple more rides in before winter actually hits us.  (maybe it already has!)

In the meantime I may post some interesting if not entertaining drivel on the blog at times.  As the riding season draws to a close, I usually try to get some winter storage and other maintenance done before it gets too cold out in the shed.  This year, because it was long overdue (the two-wheeler has nearly 90,000 miles on her), I decided to overhaul the front forks.  I removed them last Sunday and sent them in to a recommended facility to have new seals, bushing, oil, and springs installed.  They will install springs that are made for the rider's size and riding style.  Removing the shocks on my 2012 Gold Wing proved to be quite a task as you can see from the following photos.

FRONT END REMOVED

FRONT WHEEL, BRAKE CALIPERS,SHOCKS, AND FENDERS GONE

A FEW OF THE MANY PARTS

Hopefully it doesn't take too long to get the shocks back, so I can remember how to put everything back again!  I'll keep you posted on the progress here.  Hopefully I will be able to change out the air filter and spark plugs on the trike before we haul her to Florida in January.

Anyway Happy Halloween and don't forget Veterans' Day!!

Here's a thought for the week:

"We owe illegals nothing...we owe veterans everything."

4 SOME ON BONUS/LEAF RUN

Four Wednesday Night Riders showed up on Sunday afternoon at Casey's for what may well be the last ride of the season.  Looking like the only sunny and warm day for the next two weeks, Sunday proved to be an excellent day for a scenic ride and a peek at the fall leaves.  With Howard and Chuckles on their Harleys and Bob & Julie on the Gold Wing trike, the group departed Casey's at 1 PM.

JULIE BUNDLED UP & READY

TWO OTHER LEAF LOOKERS

We cruised north on HWY 76 to CR 27 west just north of Eitzen.  CR 27 has been newly paved and proved to be a smooth scenic ride into Spring Grove and then onto CR 4 heading north again.  By this time, even though it was sunny, it looked like the only trees that were turned were the yellows of the maples and oaks.  About the only real red maples we saw were in towns.
CR 4 took us through the Yucatan valley and back onto HWY 76 just south of Houston.  We stopped at the BP store in Houston for a break.  It was still very sunny and pleasant as we headed through Houston and onto CR 9 heading east.  After a few miles on 9 we turned north again on CR 25 and up Happel Hill and then east again until we came to CR T-258 (aka Thumper Road).  The four mile stretch south down Thumper Road is arguably the most scenic ride in the tri-state area and it did not disappoint today!  We arrived at the bottom of Thumper and turned east onto CR 25 again and then to HWY 16 heading south.  We passed through Hokah and picked up HWY 44 south that took us into Caledonia and the DQ.  What's a nice fall ride without a stop for ice cream?!

CHUCKLES LOOSENS HIS BELT FOR ICE CREAM

HOWARD SPOTS A PRETTY TREE NEXT TO THE DQ

THE TRIKE JUST CAN'T GO PAST A DQ WITHOUT STOPPING

After the ice cream break we followed 76 back to Waukon where I found some pretty trees right on our block.

It was still a great fall ride and we had 120 miles on the trike at home.

WEDNESDAY WAS A BUST--STILL PLANNING ON SUNDAY

With only a high temp of 43 degrees with clouds and wind, no one rode on Wednesday night.  I still plan to ride on Sunday.  It is supposed to be partly cloudy with a high of 60.  Not the best, but looking ahead, it may be the last ride for this year.  They are talking snow on Halloween!  I plan to leave Casey's at 1 PM on Sunday afternoon.  Anyone is welcome to ride along.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

Why do I have to press "1" for English?  Did America move?!

DOUBTFUL WEDNESDAY? LEAF RIDE SUNDAY!?

Looking at the upcoming weather, Wednesday shows cloudy with highs in the high forties, so there may not be many riding Wednesday night.  However, right now Sunday looks promising with partly sunny skies and highs in the mid sixties.  Looking at long range forecasts, Sunday may be the last chance to take a ride to see the leaf colors.  So for now, I plan on taking a leaf run on Sunday afternoon leaving Casey's at 1 PM.  Anyone is welcome to ride along and there may be a possible ice cream stop!  I'll post again later if Sunday works out or not.

FIVE SOME ON WEDNESDAY--WEATHER SUNDAY--TRIKE RIDE FOR GOOD SAM

Five Wednesday night riders gathered at Casey's last night at 5:30.  Since it starts getting dark a lot earlier now, our routes need to be shorter.  We had Chuck (not Chuckles) on his Harley trike and Dee (newbie) on a Honda Silver Wing, Lois on her Suzuki, Al on his Harley, and Bob R on his Gold Wing.

NO GO WITH THE INDIAN, SO AL TAKES THE HARLEY

CHUCK (NOT CHUCKLES) AND WIFE, DEE (NEWBIE)

LOIS VISITING WITH A PASSERBY

DEE WONDERING IF THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA

We headed out on the Elon Road, and right away things got a little ominous when we looked to the north and saw the Grim Reaper standing in a harvested farm field!

THE GRIM REAPER!!

In spite of that sighting, we continued east on the Elon Road and then north for a short ways on the Lansing/Harpers Road and then east again on Lafayette Ridge Road.  LRR took us east to the Great River Road and then south into Harpers Ferry.  The temp still remained in the mid sixties as we continued to follow GRR south to HWY 76 and headed north.  After a ways north on 76, we turned onto Waterville Road, went down through Waterville and back to the Elon Road.  Just outside of Waterville, we had a herd of six deer cross in front of us and we slowed way down to make sure they stayed put.  Elon Road took us back into Waukon and Gus & Tony's where the conversation turned to a battle with Billy Goat Gruff and some cows.  In spite of the Grim Reaper and our deer encounter, it was a pleasant fall evening ride.  Welcome to Dee, and hope she joins us again.  I had 67 miles on the Wing at Gus & Tony's.

NEXT SUNDAY
On our ride sheet we have a Bonus Ride possibility on Sunday.  However, with a high temp of 42 degrees scheduled for that day, I don't think we will have any bonus ride.  However, stay tuned because if the weather ever straightens out and all the leaves don't blow off the trees, I would like to take a leaf-looking ride maybe on the following weekend.  I'll keep you posted.

TRIKE RIDE FOR GOOD SAM RESIDENTS
After visiting with a Gold Wing chapter in Oelwein that gives trike rides to nursing home residents, I thought it might be a good thing for our WNR group to try.  The Oelwein group says they really enjoy doing it, and the residents can't wait to do it again.  As near as I can figure, we have a dozen Wednesday night riders with trikes or Spyders that have passenger back rests.  So I contacted Good Sam this week, and they are excited about having us do this.  After going over some basic procedures, we came up with a date of May 14th (Thursday) from 2PM to 4PM to try this.  This corresponds  with a national nursing home week, and when Good Sam would have enough staff available. I realize it's early yet, but if you have one the the trikes/Spiders and would like to do something "feel good", let Bob R know before April 1st.  All you need is your drivers' license and proof of insurance.  The route will be all in town (8-10) blocks and not over 30 mph.  No helmets are needed and the staff at Good Sam will get the residents on and off the trikes.  Three-wheelers only, no bikes.  I will keep posting more information on this and reminders to participate.

Hopefully we can get some more rides in before daylight savings time hits us, but in the meantime, Halloween is just around the corner.

JIM'S RIDE

Jim & Cathy couldn't join us on the chicken run last Sunday because Jim apparently picked up a flu bug on his journey to Ohio and West Virginia last week.  While Cathy ventured into Houston, Jim mounted his other Honda and headed east.  Here's his report and some photos and a video he took.  We did visit the New River gorge on our guys' trip several years ago, but Jim wasn't with us then, so this would be a whole new experience for him.  Bob Z, David, and Bob R rode the triple nickel (555) on the guys' trip in 2018.

We are planning on it. Little touch of a cold, maybe flu bug. Going to be healed by Sunday! Ok sent pics using Google drive. Let know if you don't get them. Couldn't leave till Wednesday am. Made to the East side of Columbus the first night so I wouldn't get caught in rush hour traffic. Next morning took 555 south out of Zanesville with a short detour to see big muskie. Back to 555 to 550 into Marrietta OH. Worked my way east and a little south to camp in Summersvilles lake WV.  Next morning I headed over the New River gourge bridge. The longest and highest steel arch bridge in the world. They close the bridge each year for a day and people bungee and parachute off. If anyone is interested it's the 19th of this month. Headed down to Knoxville and stayed just east of Nashville. It was a lot of interstate riding but curvy and very pretty in the mountains. Wanted to go farther south and ride the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Tail and the Cherahala Parkway but it was miserably hot. Made it to my son's in St Louis Saturday and headed home Sunday. Rode in heavy rain when I got to IA which was fine until it started to lightning. Pulled off at Donnelson IA Casey's. I was chatting with a guy when we had a lightning strike about a mile or less away. Think we both had to change our shorts😎 Decided it was time to go inside. After the thunder quit rode the rest of the way home. Good trip!

I PLAN ON ADDING THIS TO MY FARM MACHINERY!

THE TENT SEEMS SMALLER THAN IT USED TO BE!

A DOZEN ON THE RUN, CHICKEN, RUN RUN ON SUNDAY

Even though we have had 11 straight weekends with rain, we lucked out on Sunday for our annual Run, Chicken, Run run to Rockton, WI, to sample their "nearly world famous" barbecue chicken with trimmings.  Ten of us started out from Casey's, but because of the low temps at the time, only Bob R rode a trike and Julie and Dennis & Marlene in a van and Wayne & Elaine, Wayne & Sandy, and Meryle & Mary in another van.  The temp was 55 at the start.

WAYNE TAKING CHICKEN ORDERS??!!

We traveled east on the Elon Road and the sun started to shine through the clouds.  Elon took us to Lansing/Harpers Road and on into Lansing where we crossed the Blackhawk Bridge into Wisconsin and HWY 35 heading south.  After passing through Ferryville, we turned east again onto CR C.  We frequently take C on our rides since it is scenic and curvy.  C took us to CR J heading north along a scenic ridge, onto HWY 27, and into Viroqua where we stopped at the Kwik Trip north of town for a break.  At the break there, we were joined by Chuckles & Lois.  Chuckles was still full of free snacks from the Harley-Davidson open house yesterday and two breakfasts today.  We can only assume that he was late joining us because of time needed in the bathroom!

NOTICE THE BLUE SKIES

CHUCKLES & LOIS MAKE THEIR APPERANCE

READY FOR THE LAST LEG INTO ROCKTON

After leaving Kwik Trip we turned east onto CR Y and passed through Avalanche and then onto CR S through Dell and finally onto CR P which took us over to HWY 131 north and on into Rockton.  Y, S, and P proved to be both smooth and scenic.  I was a little concerned about possible flooding on P, since a lot of rain had fallen in this area and P runs along several creeks and part of the western branch of the Kickapoo River.  We had no problems, however, and by the time we made the turn into Rockton, we could smell the barbecuing chicken.

After introducing ourselves as the Wednesday Night Riders having reservations, we got in line for 1/2 chicken, macaroni salad, beans, and a roll.  Even though the sun was shining and the temps were now in the mid sixties, we found a spot to eat inside the Rockton Bar.  The Packer game had not yet started, or we wouldn't have been able to sit inside.  Thanks to Lois for the inside photos.

HEARTY CHICKEN EATERS

SOME MORE USDA CLUCKERS GOT DEVOURED

Part of our chicken trip has always been to stop at the orchard in Gays Mills for their apple cider donuts.  Actually we found out that the reason for taking vans was not because of the cool weather, but to have enough room to haul donuts back home!  So after leaving Rockton, we took HWY 131 through LaFarge, Viola, Kickapoo Center, and into Readstown where we got onto HWY 61 south through Soldiers Grove and then HWY 171 west at Rolling Ground.  171 took us to Sunshine Orchard and the mass of humanity there buying apples and other goodies.  After stocking up on the donuts, we continued on 171 through Gays Mills and past the swollen Kickapoo River.  171 passed through Mt. Sterling and down the hill to Ferryville and HWY 35 this time heading south.  At HWY 82 we turned west across the bridge again and into Lansing.  We would normally stop for ice cream either at Ferryville or Lansing, but with the cool temps and being full of donuts, the ice cream will have to wait until next time.  We took the Terry E Branstad Memorial Byway (HWY 9) back into Waukon.  I had 167 miles on the trike when I got home.  Even though he was full of snacks, breakfasts, and chicken, Chuckles was still able to polish off this desert when he got home.

LOOKS GOOD!

It was a nice fall trip, but in another week or so if Mother Nature cooperates, the leaves should be turning, and this route would be a really beautiful scenic journey.