Magnificent 7 ride without leader

 Since the usual leader of the Wednesday Night Riders had played golf in the smoke filled air on Tuesday, he didn't think two days of it would do him any good.  So he passed his Wednesday night leadership on to Chuckles with some suggestions from others.

Here's the report which I assume Lois wrote, because you can actually read it.

The magnificent seven, Chuckes, Lois and Mike on bikes, Richard & Melodye in the Slingshot and Dave & Bob Z. in the support Jeep departed Casey's in the heavy haze of smoke from the wildfires in Canada for a 'fly by the seat of your pants' ride in our fearless leader's absence.  Chuckles led us out on Hwy 9, heading West at Bob Z's recommendation, past Decorah then turning on Hwy 52 until we got to Pole Line Rd.  We followed that to Bluffton Rd, which was a real treat to ride since the resurfacing, then a short jog on A16 to Co Rd 21 on into Canton.  We crossed over Hwy 52 and stayed on Co Rd 21 through Henrytown, then Co Rd 12 to Hwy 52 which we took into Preston for a stop at Casey's where ice cream was the treat of choice.  After enjoying the nearly smoke-free air in Preston we started back on Hwy 52, with the sun at our back.  We cruised through Harmony, then Canton from a different direction, passed by Prosper and Burr Oak, where all was quiet after this past weekends' Laura Ingalls Wilder days there.  We then took North Winn Rd to 337th St. to Locust then Big Canoe Rd and Bear Creek Rd until we got to Hwy 76.  There Mike headed toward home and we turned to find a second traffic light in Allamakee County as one lane was closed for bridge repair.  My odometer showed 123 miles as we parked at Uptown Grill for some good eats and conversation reflecting on past motorcycle trips and home made saddle bags and trunks, from back in the day, that left something to be desired.  Our eyes were kind of burning from the smoke, but all in all it was a really nice ride with comfortable temperatures, great roads and some beautiful views.  

Also, as good reporters do, photos of the venture were included also.

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

INCLUDED A SLINGSHOT

AND A SUPPORT JEEP

LOOKS LIKE A GOOD PLACE TO STOP

LOOKS LIKE A CAPABLE LEADER

THE FINAL STOP

I'm glad that our group was able to enjoy a nice ride despite the hazy conditions.  Hopefully the air will clear again and we can all travel together again next Wednesday night.  We will leave the destination as North Andover again.

LAST CALL FOR THE GUYS' RIDE

Since I need to finalize motel reservations, I am giving time up to July 4th for any other guy who wants to go with us on the Guys' Trip from July 31 to August 5th.  Right now I have Chuckles, ChucK, Mike, David & Bob Z, and myself planning to go.  There is definitely room for more to come along, but I've got to know by July 4th.  We will be exploring the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  Stops will include the Soo Locks, the Tower of History, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, Tahquamenon Falls, Copper Harbor, an underground mine tour, and possibly others.  We will be staying at motels in Escanaba, Hulbert, Munising, Houghton, and Iron River.  Total mileage should be around 1,600 or about 260 per day.  We will try to have rest stops every 75 miles or 1.5 hours depending on the weather.  Contact Bob R if interested, but do it by July 4th!

TOO SMOKY

Just to let everyone know, I do not plan on riding today (Wednesday night).  Because of the smoky conditions, I'm not too sure I want to be breathing in some of that stuff, (and this is from a former smoker) and because of the haze, I don't think we would be able to enjoy the scenery.

I had planned on riding over to North Andover via Bagley, but I guess that can wait until next week.

If anyone plans on riding tonight from Casey's at 5, you will need a new leader.  If you want to take photos and give an account of your ride for the blog, just get me the information, and I'll post it. 

LEFTOVERS 

Chuckles sent me the following photo from last week's ride.  In case you missed it, if you want condiments for food at Udder Brothers in Boscobel, you have to milk a cow!

GOOD SHOWING OF WNR AT HOSPICE RIDE

 Even with a forecast of showers most of the day, the Wednesday Night Riders still had a strong contingent show support for the Winneshiek Medical Hospice Ride on Sunday.

There was a total of 16 Wednesday Night Riders in various forms of transportation.  Some departed from Casey's in Waukon at 9:15.

Mike, Jim, and Dee rode bikes.  Chuck & Bob were on trikes.

Richard & Melody in their Slingshot

Julie drove over for breakfast in her car.

After arriving at Winneshiek Medical in Decorah, we were joined for breakfast with Chuckles and Lois on bikes, Bernell & Kathy on their CanAm, Ron & Helen and Irv & Chris in convertibles.  After a delicious breakfast we gathered up to depart at 11:00, just as it began to rain a little again.  After years of experience in tangling with rain gear on the road, Bob put on his gear at home and was glad he did.

Ron & Helen arrive in their convertible.

After a police escort out of Decorah, we passed through Ossian and made our first stop at Goeken Park near Eldorado.

As you can see, rain gear came in handy.

Chuckles & Lois in similar costumes.

Mike draws to his poker hand.

The rest of the WNR crew arrives.

Richard & Melody even get a little damp in the Slingshot.

Irv & Chris remain nice and dry in the Vet.

Helen departs while Ron tries out his wings.

Bob & Mike get ready to go again.

After a smooth and less damp cruise through Auburn, we made our way for our second stop at Barney's in Wadena.

Chuckles, Lois, and Bob park on a side street by Barney's

The other bikes park while the convertibles roll into Wadena

Our third stop for the day was in the city park in Elkader.  There were a couple of hard rains while the crew was under one of the shelters in the park.  On the way we passed through Douglas, Hawkeye, and Fayette.

Leaving Elkader we ran into some more brief showers and cruised on into Luana for our fourth stop at the Luana Tap.

Parking is plentiful in Luana

I would leave those rain clothes on!

Jim makes his way to the Tap.

Chuckles & Lois get ready to roll again.

We leave Luana for our final stop in Calmar.  On the way back, we pass through Postville, Castalia, and Ossian and ran into a couple more rain showers.  We pull into the PIVO Brewery in Calmar for our final stop.  There the final poker hands were counted and various awards were given out.  The riders were treated to sandwiches, cheese curds, chips, cookies, and brownies.  Also some us tried out some of the PIVO special brews.

Bernell and Kathy depantsing

The end of the ride!

Many thanks to Daryl, Nancy, and the crew from Winneshiek Hospice for organizing a great ride.  Hopefully some nice contributions from the riders and others helped the cause.

Nancy thanks the 34 motorcycles and 7 cars that made the ride.

I think the Wednesday Night Riders can be proud of the number of us who helped make this worthy cause a success.  Let's do it again next year!

NEXT WEDNESDAY

Our destination looks to be North Andover, WI.

WARM RIDE TO COOL BOSCOBEL

 With temps in the upper 80's, we still had 14 riders show up at Casey's on Wednesday night with the promise of getting cooled off with some ice cream in Boscobel.

We probably had the largest bike contingency we've had in a long time.  Riding in on the two wheelers were Larry (newbie), Lois, Chuckles, Howard, and Bob.  The three-wheelers were still very well represented with Darrel, Roger, Richard & Melody, and Bernell & Kathy.  Our support convertibles were manned by David in his Jeep and Greg & Dale in the Pontiac.

DAVID & GREG CONVERSE WITH NEWBIE, LARRY

BRENELL & KATHY ARRIVE FROM A WARM RIDE FROM HOME

ROGER BACKS INTO A PARKING SPOT

DARREL GASSES UP OL' YELLER

HOWARD TURNS DOWN A HOT CUP OF COFFEE

CHUCKLES & LOIS WHEEL IN

THE SLINGSHOT ARRIVES

MELODY COMES ALONG TO KEEP RICHARD IN LINE

OL' YELLER FINALLY GETS FILLED

With the number of roads being detoured or repaired, it's becoming a real challenge to pick good routes, and finding a way to Boscobel was no exception.

We elected to follow HWY 9 out of town and into Lansing where it always seems that someone is going to back right out in front of us.  Luckily loud horns can save the day.  Passing through Lansing, we crossed the Mississippi River and onto HWY 35 south in Wisconsin.  We passed through Ferryville and then took HWY 171 east.  171 is a smooth stretch of asphalt with some sweeping curves and appealing scenery. Upon reaching HWY 27 at Mt. Sterling, we turned south for a short jog before picking up CR S near Seneca.

CR S passes mostly through valleys formed by creeks that meander along the roadside.  Howard did report a deer crossing in front of him along the way.  The road itself remains in good shape and offers some hills, curves, and twisties along the way to Petersburg and HWY 131 where we cross the Kickapoo River.  We motor straight across 131 still on CR S and continue on to HWY 61 near Mt. Zion.  61 gives us a smooth journey on into Boscobel where we stop for cold treats at the old Dairy Queen now occupied by Udder Brothers Creamery.

A MUCH NEEDED STOP ON A WARM DAY

TOP UP AND AIR CONDITIONING FOR THE JEEP

Upon entering Boscobel, I noticed that HWY 60 west was closed for repair, so we would need to take an alternative route back home.  The choice was CR E where we turned north just outside of Easter Rock.  I knew E passed through Steuben (all roads lead to Steuben) and if we followed it far enough we could make our way back to HWY 27.  We did pass through Steuben, but continued onto HWY 179 instead of CR E.  This proved to be a wise choice since the Wisconsin folks did a great job improving this stretch of highway up to HWY 27 near Eastman.

We crossed straight over 27 and onto CR D where the speed limit is only 45 mph for a good reason.  Cr D is a downhill stretch of smooth blacktop and offers some great views on either side of the road, so it is best to just take your time and enjoy the ride.  D ends at HWY 35 near a village called Charme that I have never found!  We turned south on 35 and made out way through Prairie du Chien on CR K.  We then crossed the Mississippi River again on HWY 18 and made our way over to HWY 76 in Marquette.

HWY 76 is really a nice smooth ride from Marquette to the Waterville turn.  From there on in, I have named this teeth rattling stretch of highway the "Terry Branstad Memorial Expressway".  We survived the bumps and rolled into Waukon for our eats at the Uptown Grill.

TIME TO PUT THE JACKETS AWAY AND HEAD IN FOR AIR CONDITIONING

Although the first day of summer was plenty warm, I think everyone enjoyed the ride.  I had 125 miles on the Wing when I got her home.

MILESTONE

Or should I say 100,000 mile stones.  My bike, a 2012 Gold Wing has just racked up 100 thousand miles, and she still runs like a top.

Here's her clock with the photo taken just before our ride tonight.

HOSPICE RIDE IS SUNDAY

This Sunday is time again for the Wednesday Night Riders to support a very needy cause.  Winneshiek Medical is putting on their annual Hospice Ride with the proceeds are used for specialized therapies for hospice patients from Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Howard, and Winneshiek counties.  Here's the itinerary....

I plan on leaving from Casey's in Waukon at 9:15 on Sunday and having their breakfast and registering for the ride afterwards.  If anyone else wants to ride over with me, they are more than welcome.  The Wednesday Night Riders have always been good supporters of this event and hopefully that will continue.

SEE YOU SUNDAY!!

GUTTENBERG BY THE DOZEN

 We had a dozen Wednesday Night Riders show up last night for an expected journey to Guttenberg.  Only two bikes were present and they were occupied by Mike and Jim & Cathy.  Richard, Darrel, Bernell, Ron, and Bob all brought their 3 wheelers.  Occupying the "support" convertibles were Irv in his Vet, David with his Jeep, and Greg & Dale in the Pontiac.

PARKING FOR RED VEHICLES ONLY

GREG & DALE ENTERTAIN OUR GROUP

JUST WAITING FOR THEIR RIDERS

RON PRACTICES USING REVERSE

With overcast or maybe somewhat smoky skies and temps in the low 80's, the group departed Casey's at 5 and headed out of town south to HWY 9.  Following 9 for a short ways, we turned south onto CR W60, aka West Ridge Road, aka Old Stage Road.  Allamakee County must have received a bargain on chip seal again this year, since the first few miles of W60 was covered with the stuff.  This can present a problem for two wheelers, so we took it slow until we were clear of it.  At least Allamakee County looks out for us by putting up "Loose Gravel" signs.  It still made for a rather rough ride.

At the terminus of W60, we turned west onto Yellow River Drive where we had a much smoother but only two mile jaunt over to HWY 51.  After turning south on 51, we passed through Postville and onto HWY 18 east.  After a brief cruise on 18, we turned onto CR W64, aka Gunder Road.  The surface of this road up to Gunder is a real "teeth rattler".  It is a real test for your vehicle's suspension.

After passing through Gunder, the road becomes a real pleasant, smooth, and scenic ride into Elkader.  I guess that's the reward for putting up with all the previous bumps.  We turned onto HWY 13 south and soon discovered that 13 was being repaved, so we were stopped by a "chatty" flag guy who kept me entertained until the pilot car arrived.  He then chatted some more before getting in the pilot car himself and guiding us on the left lane through the construction.  Apparently this part of 13 is going to be resurfaced down to Strawberry Point in stages.

At the top of the hill, we turned onto appropriately named, Grandview Road  (CR X3C).  Along with Gunder Road, this road offers in MHO some of the best scenery in Northeast Iowa.  The views tonight were somewhat hazy, due to the Canadian smoke hanging in the air, but we were still able to enjoy some fantastic scenery.

Staying on X3C, we cruised on into Elkport, where the road name changes to Colesburg Road.  Normally in Elkport we turn onto Garber Road and follow it into Guttenberg, but since it was such a nice night, I decided that a trip through Osterdock might be appropriate.  So we followed X3C until the turn for CR X47, aka Osterdock Road, and we took it.  It had been a while since I traveled into Osterdock this way, but I did remember there were some excellent views, and we were not disappointed.  Their is a view from the top of the hill before going down into Osterdock that will take your breath away!

We were able to miss the "rush hour" in Osterdock and up the hill we went to connect onto the Garber Road (CR C7X), and downhill we flew onto HWY 52.  We then took 52 on into Guttenberg and to the Kwik Star store for our break.

WHILE JIM & CATHY GAS UP, MIKE CHECKS TO SEE WHERE WE ARE

After our break, we motored north on HWY 52 and passed through Garnavillo.  HWY 52 and HWY 18 west are detoured through Farmersburg due to the "never ending" bridge repair going on on HWY 18 near Froelich.  After passing through Farmersburg, the road, Golden Avenue (CR X28), is anything but golden.  It is actually more chip seal than pavement!  I'm sure this is due to the heavy truck traffic that has to be detoured from HWY 18, but I'm sure the state will reimburse the county and they will be able to resurface it. (LOL)

We did finally reach HWY 18 and turned west to be greeted by an orange sun peeking through the smoke.  Upon reaching Monona we passed through town on CR X26, aka Falcon Avenue, aka Volney Road, and on into Rossville.  We then took HWY 76 back into Waukon.  We were amazed at all the animal carcasses that were lying along the roadside on the way to Rossville and into Waukon.

Despite the sight of dead animals along the road, we still managed good appetites at the Uptown Grill.  I had about 125 miles on the trike when I got home.

WHO'S HARLEY?

The only guess I received was that Darren was the owner.  While Darren has a nice Harley himself, this Harley was owned by someone just a little more famous.

This was Elvis Presley's 1976 Harley Davidson.  It has currently obtained a bid of $80,000 from a possible new owner, but it is still open for bids.  Maybe Darren will own it yet!

NEXT WEDNESDAY

The plan is to cruise over to Boscobel to check out the ice cream store that now occupies the Dairy Queen building.

WINNESHIEK MEDICAL HOSPICE RIDE

This important charity ride will take place a week from Sunday on the 25th of June.  There is a breakfast at Winneshiek Medical that precedes the ride.  It has been a really good meal, and I do plan to attend both the breakfast and the ride and will leave from Casey's that Sunday morning.  Once I have more details on the times involved, I will post them on the blog, and anyone who wants to ride over with me will be welcome.  KEEP THE 25th OPEN!!