PROBABLY THE LAST ONE

😞   Yes, it's kind of sad that this Wednesday was probably our last Wednesday night ride for 2021.  The forecast for next Wednesday looks to be rainy and cold, and this is the last Wednesday before daylight savings time takes effect, so it will be dark by 5 o'clock from now on until spring.

We did have three WNR venture out this Wednesday (if it's above 50 degrees and not raining, I'm riding).  Darrel cruised over from Freeport on his yellow trike.  Irv roared in on his Harley trike, and Bob led the trio on his Gold Wing. 

YELLOW HAS PLUG-INS FOR A HEATED JACKET

IRV ARRIVES IN HIS SNOWMOBILE JACKET

After seeing that there was just three of us, we rode out of Casey's and turned onto Elon Road heading east.  While on county roads, I like to keep the speed at 50 mph, but we came upon a driver who apparently thought that was too fast, and we dragged along behind him most of the way to the Lansing/Harpers Road.  That wasn't all bad, because even with the overcast conditions, we were still able to take in some great fall colors along the bluffs and valleys.

We turned north onto the Lansing/Harpers Road and so did our mopey traveler.  Fortunately he kept going north to Lansing while we turned east again onto Lafayette Ridge Drive. Again, cruising along on the pavement we were able to take in the striking fall colors.  We soon arrived at the Great River Road and scooted down through the valley into Lansing.  Probably the most spectacular view of the fall colors came as we passed the Driftless Center and saw the bluff overlooking Lansing to our north and west.

As we passed through Lansing and got on HWY 26, I was trying to imagine where the new Blackhawk Bridge was going to fit into the landscape.  I can't imagine the amount of change that's going to have to take place for there to be a new bridge approach!  We continued our trek north on 26, and actually without using the heated grips or seat, I was pretty comfortable on the Wing.  I contribute that to my new jacket with a warm liner.  Near New Albin we turned off of 26 and onto Iowa River Drive heading back west.  After a "cool" drive aside the Upper Iowa River, we found ourselves ready to head back south on HWY 76.  Shortly after turning south, a deer ran between my lead bike and Irv's trike.  I didn't see it, but Irv described it later, and said he was glad there was a good distance between us, so he didn't have to slam on his brakes.  We did see a few more deer, but they were way back in the fields where they belong.  As we approached Dorchester, we caught up to another "mopey" driver who must have thought the speed limit was only 35.  That was until we tried to pass him and he now sped back up again.  As I have said before about a lot of the drivers on the roads today , "No matter where you go, they are always lurking!"  Fortunately all three of us were able to get around him before he woke up!

There were no further incidents with wildlife or mopers, and we journeyed on into Waukon and stopped for our traditional (and probably last) eats at the City Club.

THE TIME

THE TEMP

THE RIDERS

AND WE ARE SOON LOOKING FOR A DROPPED HEARING AID, AND FOUND IT

While having our supper, our conversation turned to the Wednesday night rides we had this year.  And while we were sad to see them come to an end, we all agreed that we had a pleasurable and fun time and live in an area blessed with good motorcycle roads and some picturesque scenery.  We also remarked on the number of new riders we had that joined us this year.  I had 69 miles on the Wing when I rode her into the garage at home.  She now has 98,686 miles on her, and I am planning on taking her on another ride this weekend before I tuck her away for the winter.  It's supposed to be warm (upper 50's) on Saturday.  Her sister, the trike, goes with us to Florida at the end of the year.

TRIO RIDES IN TWILIGHT

 With maybe the last Wednesday night for riding, we had three riders show up on a cloudy but warm evening.  Darrel rode over on his trike.  Chuckles showed up on his Harley, and Bob led the ride on his Wing.

"WHO ARE YOU AGAIN?"

"SOMEDAY YOU'LL OWN ONE OF THESE."

With daylight burning away quickly, we knew our ride would have to be a short one, so we left Casey's and headed out east from Waukon on the Elon Road.  Even though it was cloudy, we could still make out some of the tree colors across the valleys.  We turned to the south on Waterville Road and cruised along the smooth blacktop on through Waterville and up to HWY 76.  Turning south on 76 (one of our "smooth as a pool table top" state highways), we made our bumpy way down the hill into Marquette.  I think we rode along side of the world's longest train on our way into town.  After arriving in town, we noticed the striking colors on the bluff behind the new motel.  Once we passed through Marquette, we made our way onto HWY 18 and headed west.  We stayed on 18 and saw many combines working the crops on our way through Giard, Froelich, and Monona.  Once we reached Postville, we made our way through the residential area and onto Cherry Valley Drive.  Since it was cloudy, it was getting dark faster than expected, so we hustled right along on Cherry Valley and arrived at Forest Mills Road.  There we turned the iron horses north and sped past the Gelo spread and up to HWY 76.  From there we made our way back into Waukon and stopped for eats at the City Club.  It was getting plenty dark by then, but still above 60 degrees and no rain.

DARKNESS WAS SETTING IN

 While enjoying our meal, the conversation turned to plans to make for the warmer climes of Arizona and Florida.

I had 80 miles on the Wing when I parked her on Main St. Thanks to Chuckles and Darrel for accompanying me!  Hopefully this is not our last Wednesday night ride, but with daylight savings time looming soon, I'm afraid it might be.  Here's hoping we have some "indian summer" weather, and can get some riding in on warm weekends.  The tree colors are really getting spectacular right now!

CAUGHT JIM D ON THE REBOUND

 We decided to go on an impromptu leaf run on Sunday.  When we arrived at Casey's at 1 PM, we were surprised to see only one bike waiting there.  We were even more surprised to find out it was Jim D, since we thought he was still journeying south with his toy hauler.  Jim was with his granddaughter Mariah (sp ?), and said he returned to Waukon for about a week and would be heading south towards Missouri at the end of the week.

So, with only two units, Jim & Mariah on a Harley and Bob & Julie on their Honda trike, we departed Casey's on a beautiful fall afternoon.  Heading east on HWY 9, we cruised through Lansing and across the Black Hawk Bridge into Wisconsin.  We did notice that there still was not a lot of color to the trees yet, but a bit more than last Sunday.  After crossing the bridge, we turned north on HWY 35 and followed along the Mississippi River up to Victory.  We did meet a lot of bikes on our way, probably trying to squeeze in a "last ride".  At Victory we turned east onto CR UU and roared up the hill to HWY 82 at Red Mound.  After a short jaunt on 82, we turned south onto CR N and ran the loop through Retreat (home of the Retreat World's Fair).  The loop took us back to HWY 82 at West Prairie.  Continuing on N, we crossed 82 and headed down the hill passing through Purdy (Norwegian for "Pretty") and arrived at HWY 56.  There we turned west and when we reached the outskirts of Romance, turned onto Newton Road.  This a a narrow one lane blacktop that runs along a ridge and offers some striking scenery of the valleys below as it runs along the north fork of the Bad Axe River.

Newton Road comes to an end at CR O just outside of the metropolis of Newton.  We turned north onto O, sped through Newton and found our way up to CR Y.  Y is one of my favorite routes because it has some sweeping curves and offers panoramic views along the way.  You also pass by the Runge Hollow Recreation Area where the north fork of the Bad Axe River is dammed up to form an attractive reservoir.  We made our way along Y until we came to CR B where we turned back south to HWY 56 again.  We then cruised on into Viroqua where we paused for a Halloween photo shoot.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

A DRAGON GOING "TRICK OR TREATING"

THE ONE ON THE MOTORCYCLES KIND OF LOOKS LIKE CHUCKLES!

  After our "photo op", we pulled into Kwik Trip for a much needed break and to let Jim figure out how we got here.

WARM ENOUGH TO SHED JACKETS

MARIAH SEEMED TO ENJOY THE RIDE SO FAR

TIME FOR A DONUT

After our break, we passed through the rest of Viroqua and just beyond the golf course, we turned onto CR J.  This part of J had been just recently resurfaced and took us along the golf course and through a new housing addition until we arrived at HWY 27 just west of town.  We crossed onto 27 for a short hop and returned to CR J heading south again.  This is also an "easy on the eye" ride down through the valley to CR C.  Once we reached C, a turn west took us all the way back to HWY 35 just outside of Ferryville.  This stretch took us a little longer than usual since we got behind a slow moving cage that had trouble negotiating the curves and taking in the scenery at the same time.  So we just sat back and enjoyed the views ourselves.  When we reached 35, a turn back north took us through Ferryville and over to HWY 82 where we turned west and crossed the Black Hawk Bridge again.  We picked up HWY 9 again in Lansing and followed it back home to Waukon.  We had 139 miles on the trike when we parked her.

I did tell Jim that everyone enjoyed reading the accounts of his travels, and said he would continue to keep us updated as he starts out again later this week.  I hope our "newbie", Mariah, liked the ride.

ABOVE 50 AND IT AIN'T RAININ'

 Bob has always said, "If it's above 50 and it ain't rainin', I'm going.  That's the way it was tonight (Wednesday) as I departed Casey's as "the Lone Ranger". 

I headed west on 9 and then turned south on CR W60 (Old Stage) down to Yellow River Drive.  Just as I turned west again, I had to stop for two big flocks of turkeys running along the ditch.  I tried to get a photo of them but they scattered before I could get the camera out.  So while I was stopped, I decided to take a couple of shots of the colorful hillsides.

FROM THE REAR VIEW MIRROR

THE ONLY WAT I CAN GET A "SELFIE"

SOME COLORS

SOME MORE

I continued west on YRD to HWY 51 and turned south into Postville.  Passing through town, I turned onto HWY 52 and passed through Castalia and Ossian.  Before I reached Calmar, I decided to take Middle Calmar Road north to Decorah.  It had been a long time since I had traveled this road, but I do remember the striking scenery especially as you get closer to Decorah.  It's too bad the road is so rough that it takes away from the fun of riding it!

Middle Calmar took me into Decorah where I picked up HWY 9 and headed east back to Waukon.  I parked outside of City Club and noticed the temp on the bank clock was still 62 degrees.  I had 65 miles on the trike when I got off to go into the City Club.

CITY CLUB IS LIT UP

Above 50 and no rain, I'll do it every time!

TRIO OF GOLD WING TRIKES ON BONUS RUN

 It proved to be a very nice day for our "Bonus Run" on Sunday, but apparently other commitments limited our riders to 4, all on Gold Wing trikes.  We had Darrel on "Old Yeller", ChucK on "New Red", and Bob & Julie on "Old Red".  The route I picked, I call Scenic TWO, since it takes in two of the most scenic stretches of pavement in southeast Minnesota.

We departed Casey's at 1PM and headed north out of Waukon on HWY 76 under partly sunny skies and temps in the mid 70's.  We turned off of 76 just north of Eitzen and followed CR 17 past the Wilmington Church and over to HWY 44 just outside of Spring Grove.  HWY 44 took us over to HWY 76 again and we passed through Caledonia and picked up CR 10 heading east.  Passing through Sheldon, a newly resurfaced blacktop made a smooth ride back to HWY 76.  After a short jog on 76, we cruised into Houston for a break at our favorite BP convenience store where Darrel cleaned bug juice off his glasses.

POSING FOR A REST STOP

After our break and some glasses cleaning we started through Houston and found out the town is not only known for owls, but also dragons and other monsters!

WE DID "THE MONSTER MASH"

Still on 76 we passed through Houston on onto CR 9 heading east out of town.  CR 9 is another scenic and smooth stretch of pavement that takes us through Looney Valley and onto CR 11 heading north again.  We were able to see some color in the leaves along the limestone bluffs on CR 11.  From CR 11 we took CR 8 back east and breezed through New Hartford avoiding the "rush hour".  Turning back north when we came to CR 5, we made our way into Nodine to pay tribute to the Tin Man.  Legend has it that if you don't pay tribute to him when passing by, men will suffer severe consequences when they reach the bottom of the hill! 

TIN MAN!

Once by the Tin Man, we turned south onto CR 1, aka Apple Blossom Drive, and marveled at the sites along the way.  This is the first of the two of my most scenic drives.

THAT'S LAX AIRPORT

ANOTHER SHOT FROM APPLE BLOSSOM DRIVE

We got down the hill into LaCrescent without any consequences thanks to the Tin Man!  Passing through LaCrescent, we took a short jog onto CR 6 and then onto CR 25 and up the long hill to the WXOW towers and onto Teschemper (Thumper) Drive.  IMHO this is the most scenic five miles in the tri-state area.  I try to make this journey at least a couple of times during the riding season.

These photos don't really do justice to the beautiful views that "Thumper" offers, but there is really no good place to pull off to take photos.  As far as leaf color, we did notice some bright yellows mixed in with the greens and browns.  Since our resident agronomist, Dee, wasn't along, I had to assume these were birch trees.

At the bottom of "Thumper", we turned east onto CR 21 and motored east over to HWY 16 and on into Hokah.  There we left 16 for HWY 44 and beat a beeline for Caledonia for our "pledged" stop for ice cream.  We reached our destination in Caledonia at the Wired (Ruptured) Rooser.

We parked in front of a "highly recommended" bakery.  It was closed.

But the Rooster was open and ready to serve us their delicious hand dipped ice cream.  After polishing off our ice cream treats, we got ready to make for home.  As we were about to pull out, Jim & Cathy arrived after making their trip up to Red Wing.  Now that some Gelos joined us, we could call this an official trip!

We left Caledonia via the "infamous" CR 14.  It is a smooth blacktop road with some easy on the eye views of surrounding valleys.  At the end of CR 14 we took HWY 26 south through New Albin and Lansing and then jumped onto HWY 9 back to Waukon.  We had 159 miles on the trike clock when we arrived home.

Even though we were still a little early for the fall leaf colors, it proved to be a great ride with some very striking scenery.  Hopefully some of us can still get in some rides before the "weather witch" drags winter in with her.  This was the last of our Wednesday Night Riders special rides, but we will continue to try Wednesday nights for a while depending on weather and daylight. 

BOB GONE--IRV LEADS--DEE REPORTS

 With Bob out of town last Wednesday evening, he was glad to see that a ride still took place, because we don't have many of them left.  Dee was kind enough to write up a ride report for us.  Here it is......

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

With our Fearless Leader Bob goofing off (golfing is goofing, right?),
many riders took a well deserved Wednesday night off, while others were
burning the evening oil to harvest a few more acres before the rain
predicted to arrive on Thursday.

Five riders did show up to carry on the tradition  -- Irv and Roger on
their Harley trikes, Darrel and ChucK on their Goldwing trikes, and Dee
on the lone two-wheeler. Irv kindly took the lead and the rest of us
followed him on a 91-mile jaunt. We started east on Elon Road to
Harper's Ferry, north on the river road to Lansing, and west on 76 to
the Lycurgus Church. At the church, we rode north on Lycurgus Road to
New Albin, west to Eitzen, MN, and finally south on 76 back to Waukon.

Roger and Irv had to slow down to avoid three deer crossing the road,
and Dee was worried about a pup that looked anxious to cross (but stayed
safely in place). Otherwise the wildlife left us alone. As we rode south
on 76, we were treated to a spectacular red sunset in a crisp, clear sky.

It got a little cool on the leg from Eitzen to Waukon, but otherwise the
ride was lovely. All five of us met at the City Club just after 7 p.m.
for supper. The taco salad that Irv and Roger enjoyed looked really
tasty; it's on my list to try next.

The trees are still not quite at their peak of color, so if you can, try
to get out soon to enjoy the fall colors.


--DeeAnna (Dee) Weed

BONUS RIDE SUNDAY

Bob plans on leaving Casey's at 1 on Sunday afternoon for our "Bonus Run".  Anyone who wants to ride along is welcome.  Hopefully there will be more leaves turning for us to view.  I also plan to stop somewhere for an ice cream treat!  This is the last "special" ride for the season.  😞

FOURTEEN WNR CHASE DOWN "CLUCKERS"

 Even with the cooler temps and some threat of rain, we still had 14 Wednesday night riders show up for our annual "Run, Chicken, Run" Run up to Rockton, WI, for their "nearly world famous" barbequed chicken.

The bike contingent was represented by Jim D, Dee, and Lois.  On trikes were Darrel, Meryle & Mary, Wayne & Sandy, ChucK, and Bob & Julie.  Wayne M brought his Spyder, and Irv & Chris supplied the "support convertible".

DARREL COMES OVER TO PLACE HIS ORDER

GOOD TO SEE WAYNE M AGAIN

GETTING BUNDLED UP

OUR "SUPPORT CONVERTIBLE"

With temps in the mid 60's and under mostly cloudy skies we left Casey's at 10 AM bound for Rockton and the USDA "cluckers".  Heading east on HWY 9 we passed through Lansing and over the Blackhawk Bridge into Wisconsin.  There we picked up HWY 35 south and took it over to CR B and headed up the hill to HWY 27 north.  Even though we were surrounded by cloud cover and sometimes some mist, we could still enjoy the start of some fall coloring.  HWY 27 took us through Liberty Pole and past monument rock and just outside of Viroqua, we turned back east on CR J.  CR J also offers some fantastic views down through the valleys.  CR JJ was our next turn east again and this short stretch of blacktop took us down to HWY 14.  A short jog on 14 took us into Reedstown where we stopped at the BP Convenience Store for a break.  So far we had encountered very little rain, but the blacktop roads were wet from previous rainfall, so we had to use some caution to avoid some possibly slippery surfaces.

After our break, we turned onto HWY 131 for a short hop and turned east again onto CR I.  Cruising along on I, we encountered a "dancing cow" along the road ditch.  Our leaders got by him ok, but he did dance his way onto the road and some riders had to stop to avoid him.  Chris got this shot of him dancing across the road in front of Wayne M.  Welcome back, Wayne!

It's bad enough to have to watch out for deer, but "dancing" cows!  We continued our journey on CR I before it ended at CR A where we turned north again.  CR A took us through West Lima and onto HWY 82 and after a short stretch onto CR V.  We followed V for a short ways north and found CR P and turned west through Valley and on up to HWY 131 where we turned west into Rockton.  Taking Bob's "shortcut", we arrived at the Rockton Bar at 12:25.

SOME OF US WERE ABLE TO PARK ALONG THE ROAD

OTHERS USED THE GRAVEL LOT

SPECIAL PARKING FOR VETTES

WHILE SOME DECIDED TO PARK IN THE BUSHES!

Since there seemed to be a much smaller crowd than usual, we were able to secure our reservations and get right in line for the chicken.

WE WERE ABLE TO EAT INSIDE A NEWLY CONSTRUCTED ADDITION

SANDY IS INSIDE COOKING FISH

EATIN BBQ CHICKEN CAN BE MESSY

ENJOYING THE MEAL

After "wolfing" down the delicious chicken, beans, macaroni salad, and bread, we departed the Rockton on HWY 131 some of us headed back south for the orchards and apple cider donuts .  However, once we reached LaFarge, we discovered that 131 was closed and we had to take a detour on HWY 82 and 56 back around to Viola.  I figured this detour cost us about 20 miles, but the ride was dry and we were able to take in more fall colors.  Arriving in Viola we got back onto HWY 131 and made our way back to Reedstown where we turned south onto HWY 61 south.  61 is a newly resurfaced stretch of road, so we had a smooth ride through Soldiers Grove and up to Rolling Ground and then turned west onto HWY 171 and down to Sunrise Orchards.  Apparently there must have been a Corvette group from Dubuque there also.  After we sampled and loaded up on apple cider donuts we hit the road again for home.  We followed 171 down the steep incline and passed through Gays Mills where we saw some old cars with Allamakee licenses.  I guess the "old car group" out of Waukon stopped there on their way back from Baraboo.  We continued on 171 passing through Mt. Sterling and on down the hill to HWY 35 north.  We then passed through Ferryville, crossed the bridge into Lansing, picked up HWY 9 west and cruised back into Waukon and points further south for some.  We had 184 miles on the trike as we entered the garage.  We avoided some rain, saw some nice colors, and enjoyed a great meal.  How much better can it get?!

NEXT WEDNESDAY

Bob will be gone golfing (He had to plan that trip,too!), so you will need a new leader for the Wednesday night ride.  Be safe!

NEXT WEEKEND

If the weather cooperates, we could have a "bonus" ride either Saturday or Sunday.  We have used one of these days in the past to go on an afternoon leaf-looking ride.  More on that as we get closer to the weekend.

A CONCERN

Please keep Roger Frick in your prayers.  He has a mass that needs to be removed while he is in the hospital in LaCrosse.  He has battled cancer before, and hopefully he can do it again.