CONVOY THROUGH PURDY VALLEY

 With an almost perfect evening for a ride, a new record number was set when 23 riders showed up at Casey's Wednesday.  Aboard two wheelers were David M and Bob P (HOG members who joined us), Greg (newbie), Dee, Jim D & Honey, Howard, Terry, Jim G & Cathy, and Al.  Joining the ride on three wheelers were Jacque (newbie), Roger, ChucK, Darrel, Bernell & Kathy, Ron & Helen, Irv, Wayne, and Bob R.  Ken followed for a ways in his convertible for a total of 19 units!

WELCOME JACQUE AND HER SLINGSHOT

TWO "MILD HOG" MEMBERS JOIN US

BERNELL & KATHY JOIN THE CONVOY

TERRY TAKES A BIKE WITH A MOTOR TONIGHT

AN INDIAN PULLS IN FRONT OF GREG

ChucK SAYS DEE IS STILL WARMING UP

KEN HIDES BEHIND THE WOOD PILE

DARREL & "OLD YELLER" JOIN THE PARADE ALONG WITH ROGER

As CW McCall says "We got us a convoy!"  The convoy departs Casey's at 5:30 with partly sunny skies and temps in the low 80's and passes through the only stop light in Allamakee County and onto HWY 9 heading for Lansing.

After passing through Lansing on HWY 9, we turn right onto HWY 82 and cross the Blackhawk Bridge into Wisconsin.  Once across the Mississippi River, we turn north onto HWY 35/82.  After a short stint on 35 we come to the detour outside of DeSoto.  Instead of taking the rough bumps and waiting for the stop light, we take our own detour onto Old 35 street and pass into DeSoto.

In DeSoto we turn right onto HWY 82 and head up the windy hill.  HWY 82 does offer some opportunities for scenic views, but it gives us a bumpy ride through Red Mound and into West Prairie before we turn onto CR N heading north.  CR N provides us with some spectacular scenery as it winds its way through Purdy valley. (For those of you who don't know, Purdy is Norwegian for "pretty" LOL).  

After enjoying the views on N, we come to HWY 56 and turn west for a short jog and then onto CR O heading back north.  At the junction of CR O and CR Y, we turn east on Y and follow the curves and dips over to CR B and turn south on B over to HWY 56 again.  CR O, CR Y, and CR B rival CR N for some of the best scenery in this part of Wisconsin.  It is especially a treat this evening, because the humidity is low, and you can see for miles and miles across the coulees.  We turn back east on 56 and cruise on into Viroqua for a break at Kwik Trip.

THE CONVOY ARRIVES IN VIROQUA

WE JUST KEEP "ROLLING IN"

GREG PAUSES FOR GAS WHILE DARREL LOOKS TO PARK

ROGER FINDS A SPOT

GREG FILLS FOR HIS TRIP BACK TO SPRING GROVE

After our break, we head back south on HWY 14/61/82 until we come to the junction where 82 starts back west.  We follow 82 for a short distance and then turn left onto CR J.  This county road is another treat.  Besides being smooth, it is like the other county roads we were on by offering some fantastic views.  CR J takes us on a journey over to CR C and a right turn heading west.  We do encounter some deer crossings and at times the sun shine keeps us on our toes, but we do coast down the windy hills and onto HWY 35 again just outside of Ferryville.  Turning north on 35 we pass through Ferryville and then back onto HWY 82 across the bridge again and into Lansing.  Again we take HWY 9 quickly into Waukon where we hope Green Valley Getaway will still feed us.  

Green Valley Getaway does accommodate us with fried food and pizza.  The favorite seemed to be the tenderloin sandwich which everyone seemed to enjoy.  I think everyone agreed that is was a great ride on a fantastic night and hopefully we have many more to come yet this summer.  I had 116 beautiful miles on the trike when I put her to bed.

Here's Jim D's map of our trip.

BUCKNUCKLES IS SATURDAY

Saturday is our every other year RTE to Bucknuckles Bar & Grill near Alma, Wisconsin.  This has always proved to be a fun trip with some great scenery and good food.  (You can even get a camel burger!)  We will depart Casey's at 10:30 AM on Saturday morning and wind our way up through Winona and up to Bucknuckles for our Ride To Eat.  EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

IRON BUTT RIDE

Jim G and Darron went on their annual Iron Butt Ride last week.  You can see the trip they made by clicking on this link.

https://mt.513gs.com/?d=c4ad91&l=en&u=2

Finally for those of us who went on the Hospice Ride on the 12th, here's the photo of the group at the finish in Calmar.

You may need a magnifying glass to see your face!  But what a nice , large group to support a good cause!