STUBBORN W AND BEE STINGS

 A dozen riders showed up Wednesday at Casey's for another one of our Wednesday night rides.  This one turned out to be more of an adventure, but everything turned out ok.  Arriving at Casey's on trikes were Chuck (not Chuckles), Roger & Sue, Meryle & Mary, Wayne & Sandy, and Irv.  Sporting bikes were Dee, Terry (newbie), Howard, and Bob.  It was a warm, humid evening, but a good night for a ride.

DEE WITH THE SOON TO BE "STUBBORN" W

THE TRIKERS CONVERSE

IRV & TERRY (NEWBIE)

WAYNE & SANDY AFTER FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL BUSSING

HOWARD GIVING THE SCOOP ABOUT THE CITY CLUB

My route for the evening was to use Bear Creek Road, Locust Road, Pole Line Road and Madison Road for most of the way over to near Cresco and back.  Because of the days getting shorter, the routes also need to be shortened up.  We passed through Waukon and onto HWY 76 heading north before we turned west onto Bear Creek Road.  Fortunately because of the angle of the sun, we were able to ride westward without the sun directly in our eyes.  We followed BC over to Locust Road and turned south on into Decorah.  There the plan was to turn onto College Drive and pick up Pole Line Road in town.  However, even this early in the ride, some plans had to change.  

We discovered that repairs were being done to Pole Line there in town, so we took  the detour that kept us on College Drive and eventually onto HWY 52 south.  That part of College Drive could certainly use some smoothing out!

We took 52 down to Pole Line Road and turned west again.  This stretch of county road has been recently upgraded, so we had a smooth, scenic ride over to HWY 9 just outside of Cresco.  Turning east on 9, we rode on into Ridgeway for a break at the Engen Express convenience store there.

SO FAR, SO GOOD

EVERYONE FINDS A PARKING SPOT

WE FIND OUT MARY WAS STUNG BY A BEE ON HER HAND

After out rest stop, the plan was to take Madison Road just outside of Ridgeway west on into Decorah.  However when Terry, Irv, and I arrived at the Madison Road turn off, no one else was following us.  We waited for a while, and then decided to go back and see what the problem was.  When we got back to Ridgeway, we saw Dee's bike parked next to the convenience store and saw Chuck and her motoring back together on his trike.  We just decided to take HWY 9 east on into Waukon from there, since we assumed that's what the rest of the group had done.

When we got back to Waukon, we stopped at Lid's for eats, since the City Club was closed for the week.  We found the rest of the group waiting for us there and told us that Dee's bike wouldn't start back in Ridgeway.  I guess we can only assume that the "W" liked Ridgeway better than Postville!

By the time we got to Lid's, it was close to 8 PM and that's when they are supposed to close.  However, they were very accommodating and said they would serve us anyway.  The tenderloin I had was delicious!  Thanks to Lid's!  We'll be back.

After eating at Lid's, I got a call from Dee saying they made it back home ok and were going to return to Ridgeway the next day to try to coax the stubborn "W" back home.  My guess is that it's her battery.

Even after a detour, a bee sting, a bike stalling, and a restaurant being nearly closed, we all arrived back safely and for the most part enjoyed another Wednesday night venture.  Hopefully the bee sting heals and the "W" finds it's way back home.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Next Wednesday night is September 1st.  Where the hell did summer go?!  The plan is to ride through Elgin and Cleremont.  We may not stop for a break since it's getting dark sooner all the time now.  I plan to pass out the route and agenda sheets for the Couples' Trip then.

Labor Day is Monday and that means it's time for our annual "Double Dip" Ice Cream Run where we ride to a spot out of town for a dip and back to Homestead Dairy in Waukon for another dip. We will leave Casey's at 1PM that afternoon.  I will pass out any of the Couples' Trip sheets to those who didn't get them on Wednesday.  Everyone is welcome!

September 11th and 12th is the Couples' Trip.  We have 8 couples on board.  We may have room for another couple or two, so if you are still interested, let Bob know ASAP.

DOZEN MAKE IT "HOME AGIN"

 An even dozen Wednesday Night Riders showed up at Casey's for a planned ride over to Home Agins Bar & Grill in Mt. Hope.  It was a warm night with temps in the low 80's and clear skies.

Darrel and Sharon (newbie) cruised over from Freeport on their trikes.  Other trike riders were Chuck (not Chuckles), Wayne, and Irv.  Sporting bikes were Dee, Howard, Lois, Chuckles, and Bob.  Greg supplied the support vehicle and Dale was co-pilot.

CHUCK & DEE ROLL IN

MORE OF THE CREW WITH SHARON (NEWBIE)

CHUCKLES & LOIS READY TO ROLL

Departing Casey's at 5:30, we started out on HWY 76 south before turning onto Forest Mills Road.  We cruised past the Gelo plantation and through Hardin and on into Luana where we picked up HWY 18 heading east.  Once we passed through Monona, Giard, and Froelich, we discovered that the stop light on the Mississippi River bridge was no longer in use, and we crossed from Marquette into Prairie du Chien with no delay.  In PDC we followed HWY 18 until we reached CR C just south of Bridgeport and turned east on it.  We cruised on CR C along the bank -full Wisconsin River.  It proved to be a cool, refreshing ride through Millville and up to HWY 133.  We turned south for a scenic drive south on 133 down to HWY 18 and a short jog west to CR J and on into Mt. Hope for a break at Home Agins'.

ON THE STREETS OF MT. HOPE

THE LEADER GOT US HERE

We discovered that most of the population of Mt. Hope was in Home Agains', but we were able to get our treats and sit outside and tell lies.

RELAXING IN MT. HOPE

CHUCKLES BITTEN BY A MT. HOPE BUG

Since the days of summer are growing shorter (dammit!), taking the shorter route back to Waukon was really our only option.  So instead of traveling back through Bloomington, as we have done before, we took HWY 18 back through PDC and back over the bridge to Marquette.  A couple of deer were spotted on our journey just before we reached the "deer crossing" signs on the highway.  

In Marquette, after everyone had caught back up from the PDC stop lights, we took HWY 76 north.  Again along the way several deer crossed the road ahead of us or were staring at our convoy from the side of the road. 76 continues to be one of the worst state highways in Iowa!  We did pass through Rossville safely and on into Waukon and eats at the City Club.  There the conversation turned to what a great event the "Field of Dreams" production turned out to be in Dyersville last Thursday night.  I had 115 miles on the Wing when she roared into the garage.

NEXT WEDNESDAY

Right now the plan is to ride west over towards Cresco.

THANKS TO THE GUYS THAT WENT ON OUR TRIP TO THE DAKOTAS FOR YOUR "THANK YOU" GIFT.  I WAS GLAD TO HAVE "JUST SOME" OF YOU GUYS ALONG (LOL), AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE A VERY GOOD ADVENTURE!  LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR, GOD WILLING.

YOU NEEDED TO BE HUNGRY!

 We had fourteen Wednesday Night Riders take advantage of some beautiful weather to make one of our scheduled Mystery RTE's (ride to eat) Saturday afternoon.  Jim & Cathy with their Wing and Al on his Indian were the only bikes.  Gary & Gloria, Darrel, Roger & Sue, Meryle & Mary, Wayne & Sandy, and Bob & Julie were aboard trikes.

TRIKES, BUT NO RIDERS?!

THERE THEY ARE!

NO ONE EXPECTED SANDY & MARY TO BE SITTING IN THE SHADE!

TRIKES ALL LINED UP

JIM & CATHY START THE GELO ARRIVALS

THE INDIAN NEEDS A PUSH?!

THE GELO QUOTA IS NOW MET

With Bob the only one knowing the destination, he took his normal lead position, and we started out on HWY 9 heading west.  We then turned onto Centennial Road south and followed it to Sand Road heading west again on into Ossian.  Passing through Ossian we took HWY 52 north into Calmar.  Passing through Calmar, we picked up HWY 24 and started heading west again.  I thought it was only appropriate that the 5th Dimension song "Let the Sunshine In" came on our XM radio with the bright sun gleaming down on us!

Following HWY 24 through Ft. Atkinson, we turned onto CR V64 just outside of Jackson Junction.  After a sharp curve, we proceeded straight ahead onto CR B33 and right through Little Turkey where we avoided the "rush hour".  B33 took us over to CR V56 and we turned south on it and back down to HWY 24 just outside of Lawler.  We passed through Lawler on 24 and on into New Hampton, where they have the roughest Main Street around.  Passing through New Hampton we arrived at Klunder's Kafe, our RTE mystery destination.

THE MYSTERY IS NOW SOLVED

SAY "HELLO" TO KLUNDER'S MASCOT

YEP, THIS IS THE PLACE

Some of us who had been here before, knew what to expect for portions of food they serve.  If you leave hungry, you're not in the right place!

EVER SEE THE FILM "JAWS"?!

GARY WITH A PILE OF MASHED POTATOES

MERYLE WITH A PILE TOO, AND WAYNE WITH A "STRINGER" OF FISH

AL & DARREL AREN'T GOING TO STARVE EITHER!

After we finished our meal and crawled out the door, some of us needed to be boosted back on the bikes!  When everyone was ready, we followed Milwaukee Street for a short jog, and got onto HWY 63 heading north for our return journey.  At the junction of 63 and CR B22 we turned east and passed through Jerico and missed the "walls all tumbling down".  Joshua must have been out of town!  We continued on B22 to CR V56 and turned north for a short jog up to CR B16 and headed east again.  By now the sun was behind us, and you could feel the temps cool down.  B16 took us past the Czech National Cemetery and on into Spillville, home of the Bily Clocks and the beautiful St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church.  In Spillville we continued on B16 through the town square and followed it all the way back east to HWY 52.  We then turned south on 52 and scooted on into Decorah and onto HWY 9 east.  After negotiating a few stop lights, we escorted Darrel home, and followed 9 back to Waukon.  We had 125 miles on the clock on the trike when we parked her.  I did not need my usual snack while I watched a ballgame on tv!

NO TORNADOES, GREAT RIDE--MYSTERY RUN

 With KWWL broadcasting tornado watches for Allamakee County, our Wednesday night ride was in doubt.  But when we gathered at Casey's and looked at the radar, the ride was on.

Braving the possible foul weather were Wayne & Sandy and Darrel on trikes, while Jim & Cathy and Bob showed up on their bikes.

GASSING UP

CATHY TAKES A BREAK FROM MOWING

SIX PACK TO VIROQUA

Since this group was not part of the bunch that made the trip to Viroqua last Wednesday, we decided that was going to be our destination tonight.  We journeyed through Waukon, which now has the second stop light in all of Allamakee County, and continued east on HWY 9 to Lansing.  We crossed the Blackhawk Bridge there and arrived on HWY 35 heading north in Wisconsin.  We followed 35 past DeSoto and Victory and into Genoa for a short stint on HWY 56 and then onto CR K.  This is one of the many scenic routes that can be taken to Viroqua.  CR K to CR O to CR Y will take you to HWY 14 just north of Viroqua.  Even though we had to pass a number of Amish buggies and dodge some horse "apples", we had a very scenic journey into Viroqua.  We stopped at the Kwik Trip on the north edge of town for our break with still no signs of any bad weather.  In fact, the temps proved to be very comfortable as we went from sun to shade along the county blacktops.

After our break we passed through Viroqua and took HWY 56 west and avoiding "rush hour" in Bud, we turned onto CR N and headed south through Purdy (Norwegian for "pretty").  CR N offered us some great views all the way to HWY 82 at West Prairie.  We turned west on 82 and made our way into Red Mound.  It was there that I had planned to take CR UU down the hill to HWY 35 at Victory, but when we got to the intersection, we saw the signs saying "Fresh Oil" and "Loose Gravel".  Since I had ridden on enough of that in the city of Waukon, and Darrel had to ride in it on the Old Stage Road over to Waukon, I kept going on HWY 82, and we wound our way down the slope into DeSoto and onto HWY 35 back south.  We then turned onto the Blackhawk Bridge again, passed back through Lansing, and followed HWY 9 back to Iron Mine Road.  IMR took us over to HWY 76 south and into Waukon and our usual stop at City Club for eats.  There the conversation was about the preparations needed for the upcoming school bus driving.  I had 115 miles on the Wing when I put her to bed for the night.  NO TORNADOES--GREAT RIDE!

MYSTER RTE IS THIS SATURDAY

Our next "Mystery Ride To Eat" is this Saturday, the 14th.  We will depart Casey's at 4:30 that afternoon for a mystery destination for hopefully some good food.  EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

COUPLES' TRIP

Our Couples' Trip for September 11 & 12 is now set with eight couples set to make the journey.  We have Jim & Cathy, Dennis & Marlene, Meryle & Mary, Chuckles & Lois, Clair & Doris, Wayne & Sandy, Chuck (not Chuckles) & Dee, and Bob & Julie scheduled.  It looks like we may a have a van or two for "support vehicles" in case of rain or cold.

NEXT WEDNESDAY

Right now the plan is to ride over to "Home A'Gins in Mount Hope.

SOME TO GAYS MILLS--SOME TO VIROQUA

 A super large group of Wednesday night riders showed up at Casey's last night.  I counted 20 that were eagerly anticipating a trip to Gays Mills on a beautiful evening.

Showing off their trikes were Irv, Ron, Darrel, Wayne & Sandy, Roger & Sue, and Chuck (not Chuckles).  Sporting bikes were Larry, Beth, Al, Howard, Jim & Cathy, Chuckles, Lois, Dee, and Bob.  Bernell & Kathy rode in on their Spyder.

GASSING UP AND GABBING

HOWARD MAKES A PRERIDE CHECK

WAYNE MAKES A PRERIDE TRIP INTO CASEY'S

TRYING TO FIT THE HELMET AROUND THE BANDAID

A LONELY INDIAN

LET'S TALK TRIKES

DO I NEED A JACKET OR NOT?

MOST OF OUR GOOD SIZE GROUP

JIM & CATHY JOIN THE GANG

BERNELL & KATHY MAKE THE START

HERE'S CHUCKLES

WITH LOIS CLOSE BEHIND

DEE ARRIVES ON THE "W"

FOLLOWED BY CHUCK (NOT CHUCKLES)

The intended route was to go to Gays Mills via a number of backroads, so we started heading east on the Elon Road.  We soon passed the corn field where a helicopter had crashed earlier in the day. We also discovered that part of the road had been freshly prepared with chip seal.  The "Loose Gravel" signs were posted, so we were prepared. At the end of the Elon Road we jogged a bit north on the Lansing/Harpers Road and turned east again onto Lafayette Ridge Road.  Heading east we came to the Great River Road and turned north and followed it into Lansing.  We crossed the bridge in Lansing over into Wisconsin and headed south on HWY 35.  We passed through Ferryville and turned back east on CR C.  At the junction of CR C and HWY 27, most of the group continued on straight on C while some decided that Viroqua was a better place to visit than Gays Mills.  They turned north on 27.

Since I have no clue which route the Viroqua bunch took, the rest of the trip is the Gays Mills route.  We continued on CR C until we reached Soldiers Grove and then turned to the south on HWY 61.  After about five miles on 61 we turned west onto CR X and avoided the rush hour in the metropolis of Morgantown and traversed down the hill onto HWY 131.  We took 131 south into Gays Mills and stopped at the Cenex Market Place for a break.  That's when we discovered that part of our group was now stationed in Viroqua.

After our break we passed through Gays Mills and turned onto HWY 171 and made our way west through Mt. Sterling and down the hill to HWY 35 just south of Ferryville.  We passed through Ferryville again on 35, came to HWY 82 and turned west to cross the bridge again into Lansing.  This time we took HWY 9 back to Waukon where we stopped for eats at City Club and Chuckles and Lois joined us after their "side trip" to Viroqua.

PART OF THE GROUP AT CITY CLUB

I had 112 miles on the Wing when I got home.

COUPLES TRIP--IMPORTANT!!

Our annual Couples' Trip is scheduled for Sept. 11th and 12th.  Our plans are to journey south to Waterloo and tour the John Deere Tractor and Motor Museum.  We will then continue our journey down to Gladbrook and visit the Matchbook Marvel displays.  The plan is to overnight in Toledo.  With motel reservations at a premium, it is very important to know who all wants to make this trip.  Right now I have Jim & Cathy, Dennis & Marlene, Meryle & Mary, Chuckles & Lois, Chuck & Dee, Wayne & Sandy, and Bob & Julie planning on making the trip.  IF YOU PLAN TO GO ALONG, THEN YOU NEED TO LET BOB KNOW BY THE END OF THE WEEK!  Call 563-568-7277 and leave a message.  The motel reservations will be firmed up on this Sunday, July 8th, so that's the deadline.