GREAT RIDE FOR A GREAT CAUSE!

 For the first time in quite some time, the weather witch cooperated, and we were able to make our fall trip down to Camp Courageous for their pancake breakfast fundraiser.  A "lucky number" 13 Wednesday Night riders showed up at Casey's on Sunday morning to show our support.  Aboard bikes were Chuckles, Al, Marie, Jim & Cathy, Howard, Dee, and Jim D.  Butts on trikes were Meryle & Mary, ChucK, and Bob & Julie.

HOW MANY CHUCKS DOES IT TAKE TO EAT PANCAKES?

I FOUND SOME SCRATCHES!

MARY DID WARM UP A LITTLE LATER

HONEY MUST NOT LIKE PANCAKES!

GELOS ARRIVE AND MAKE THE RIDE "OFFICIAL"

With the temp at a "cool" 62 degrees and under mostly sunny skies, we knew it would be warmer sooner as we cruised up Forest Mills Road past the Gelo plantation and on into Luana.  Outside of Luana we got onto HWY 18 east and past Froelich where they were celebrating Fall der all.  We then turned south onto HWY 52 and made haste for Garnavillo.  We usually try to make a stop somewhere along the way to Monticello, but with the number of travelers we had, I was afraid a stop would take too long and not get us to Camp Courageous by noon closing.  We cruised through Garnavillo, Guttenberg, Millville, Luxemburg, and New Vienna then into Dyersville where we continued south on HWY 136.  This stretch of highway used to be rough, but some resurfacing made a smooth ride through Worthington and onto HWY 151 south at Cascade.  Motoring on 151, we soon came to the Monticello exit for HWY 38 and followed 38 to 190th St. and turned east on into Camp Courageous where we got our "usual" parking spots on the paved basketball court.

CHUCKLES THINKS HE'S GOING TO GET A REBOUND

AL TRIES TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE ARE
AND JIM TRIES TO PRY HIS HELMET OFF

MARIE & JULIE SHED WARM CLOTHING

We arrived about 11:30 with plenty of time to eat a hearty bunch of pancakes and sausage along with all  the juice and coffee you wanted.  After the breakfast, we relaxed for a while in the warm sunshine while some of our party who had never been here before explored the grounds.  Jim D even got to witness a train robbery!

While the ride down was rather rushed, the ride back was going to be much slower and full of spectacular scenery.  We pulled up stakes and Camp Courageous and headed back on HWY 38 and onto HWY 151 heading north this time.  We took the second Cascade exit and turned onto Farley Road.  As promised, this smooth stretch of tarmac took us through some sweeping curves and over some moderate hills passing through some harvested cropland and into Farley where we gassed up.  In Farley, we followed old highway 20 eastward for a short drive into Epworth.  We then followed Gun Club Road north out of Epworth heading towards Bankston.  This is where the scenery really picks up offering us some of the best views in Iowa.  The spectacular scenery continued as we turned onto Bankston Park Road and Asbury Road.  While gawking at the scenery, our tour guide missed the turn onto Five Points Road, and had to turn the group around in a nearby farmer's driveway.  We did get back onto Five Points, and we reached the top of a good sized hill where five roads all come together, the view goes on for miles and miles.  Five Points took us all the way back north to HWY 3 and we turned east and journeyed on into Sageville for a rest stop at Eichman's Store.

After our rest, we were going to be treated to some more fantastic views as we cruised north on Sherrill Road through Sherrill, on Balltown Road through Balltown (home of Iowa's oldest bar), and on the Great River Road through North Buena Vista and back down to HWY 52 at Millville.

What would a Sunday ride with 80 degree temps be without a stop for ice cream?!  So we followed 52 into Guttenberg and stopped at Joe's along the riverfront for ice cream treats.  We then took CR X56 north out of Guttenberg and all the way past Pikes Peak into McGregor.  After passing through McGregor and Marquette, we followed HWY 76 north past Rossville and into Waukon.  Except for a stretch of HWY 52 into Dyersville that is being repaved, HWY 76 was the worst road we traveled on the whole day.  We had 230 miles on the trike when we got home.  What a great ride for a great cause!

NEXT SUNDAY

Next Sunday, October 3rd, is our last scheduled RTE for the year.  It's our annual "Run, Chicken, Run" Run up to Rockton,WI, for the Rockton Bar's "nearly world famous" barbequed chicken.  The plan is to leave Casey's at 10AM and wind our way along the scenic backroads into Rockton for the chicken (or whatever else you may want to eat).  Then on the way back we usually stop at Sunrise Orchards outside of Gays Mills and "sample" or "load up" on their apple cider sugar donuts.

NOTE:  If you want chicken, then you need reservations.  You can either let Bob know by Friday about how many chicken dinners you want, or after Friday you can call the Rockton Bar yourself and tell them you're with the Wednesday Night Waukon group.