SPLITSVILLE!

 On a beautiful Wednesday night for riding, we had 17 riders show up at Casey's in anticipation of a cruise over the mountain top into Houston, MN.

We had David in the support Jeep, Irv & Terry in the "support" Corvette, Al, Lois, Chuckles, Dee, and Lissa on bikes.  Bernell & Kathy were aboard their Spyder while ChucK, Darrel, Ron & Helen, and Bob mounted trikes.  Wayne & Sandy showed up to see us off in their van.

DEE ADMIRING LISSA'S COLORFUL HELMET

WAYNE & SANDY TO SEE US OFF

THE SPYDER ATTRACTS SOME ATTENTION

ChucK AND AL WAITING ANXIOUSLY

OUR "SUPPORT" CREW

NO, THESE VEHICLES DON'T BURN WOOD!

While trying to depart the parking lot at Casey's, we had to wait for a break in the traffic that was probably headed up to the fairgrounds.  After finding a slot, I led the posse up to the stoplight and purposely waited there for it to turn red and allow everyone to follow up.  Assuming that this had been done, I proceeded onto Main St, through town, and turned north onto HWY 76.  At that point I could see some bike lights behind me, so I assumed everyone was caught up. However, when we reached the turn onto Bear Creek Road, I realized that only three of the units were following us.  So we stopped there at the intersection and waited to see if any more of our group was coming.  As we were waiting there, a vehicle pulled up beside us, and we were informed that a group of bikes and cars had pulled over at the sale barn on 76 outside of Waukon.

Since there were no messages on my phone, we decided to continue riding with Ron & Helen, Bernell & Kathy, and Lissa following.  Motoring up Bear Creek Road, I decided to pull over at the intersection of Locust Road and try to make cell phone calls to some of the rest of the group.  No luck with that, so we continued "our" ride by traveling north on Locust Road.  I determined that now we would not have enough time to complete the route I had planned, so we tried a shorter alternative.

After reaching HWY 44, we turned east and passed through Spring Grove and on into Caledonia where we stopped for a break at Kwik Trip.  While there, I made contact with Chuckles who informed me that they had made their way to Houston via HWY 76 and were at the BP station there.  I was glad to hear that everyone was safe and we would meet them for eats at Green Valley.

Our group backtracked on HWY 76 and into Eitzen and followed Pool Hill Road down the hill into New Albin.  Even though we were separated from the rest of the group, we were still able to enjoy the great riding weather and scenery.  Once in New Albin, we turned south on HWY 26 and sped on into Lansing.  HWY 9 then took us back into Waukon where we were met by the "lost souls" who found their way back from Houston.

I have no idea how many miles the "other" group had traveled, but I had exactly 100 miles on the trike when I parked her.  Even though both groups had pleasant riding, it is still important to remember Rule #1 in group riding--If the unit behinds you drops out, you must drop out also.  This keeps the group together, and makes sure everyone is safe and not lost.

GUYS TRIP

This trip is coming up on August 1st.  We have Al, Jim G, Jim D & Honey, Darron, Clair, ChucK, Bob Z, David, and Bob R going.  I plan to pass out the "hard copies" of the routes we are planning to take to the Smokies next Wednesday night before or after our ride.

CHANGE OF TIMES FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIDES

Since the days are getting shorter, and I do not like having to ride in the dark, I would like to start our Wednesday night rides leaving Casey's at 5 instead of 5:30.  We tried this last year and it seemed to work out ok, but if anyone has a problem with that, let Bob R know.  Otherwise we will plan on starting at 5 beginning with the first Wednesday in August.

NEXT WEDNESDAY

Right now the plan is to wind our way over to Mt. Hope for a stop at Home-Agins' and back home again.  Keep in mind that repair work is being done on HWY 76 south with the use of pilot cars and the never-ending use of chip seal, so we will be avoiding that part of the route next Wednesday.  SEE YOU THEN!