ALL ROADS LEAD TO STEUBEN

 There are actually 5 roads that do lead into the small village of Steuben, Wisconsin, and we will use 3 of them for our Wednesday night ride.  To say we had a variety of vehicles gathered at Casey's for the ride would be an understatement!

First of all we had 5 bikers with Jim & Cathy, Lois, Chuckles, and Mike.  Then it gets interesting with the three-wheelers.  Ron & Helen arrived on their Harley trike, Bernell & Kathy rode in on their Can-AM, Richard (newbie) came with his Slingshot,  and Bob led with his Honda trike.  Our "support" convertibles also offered quite a variety.  Irv cruised in with his Vet, Greg & Dale arrived in Greg's Mercury Cougar, and David brought his Jeep.  All together 15 riders in 12 different vehicles!

THREE BIKES AND TWO TRIKES

CATHY INSPECTS THE COUGAR

DALE HEADS OVER TO "WELCOME" JIM

CHUCKLES & DAVID LOOK OVER RICHARD'S SLINGSHOT

MIKE ARRIVES FROM NEW ALBIN

PLENTY OF "HORSES" IN THE SLINGSHOT!

BERNELL & KATHY PARK THEIR CAN-AM

IRV WARMS UP HIS VET

Under sunny skies and temps in the high 70's, the convoy departs Casey's at 5 and turn right at the only stop light in Allamakee County and proceed onto Elon Road.  Once again we hit a great Wednesday night for viewing the spectacular scenery in God's country!  After a cruise east down Elon, we turned toward the south onto Waterville Road (CR X32) and down through Waterville we went.  The road turns sharply west in Waterville and we made a smooth, scenic cruise up the hill to HWY 76 and proceeded south.

After a very short distance, we hit the newly paved part of 76 and motored past Effigy Mounds and down into Marquette.  To me, it always seems a little "spooky" driving on 76 from Effigy Mounds into Marquette.  If you look up on the bluffs on the right side, you wonder when the next rock or tree might come tumbling down on the highway.

We did arrive in Marquette safely and followed HWY 18 east across the Mississippi bridge into Prarie du Chien.  I think as much time as it took them to resurface the bridge, they certainly should have been able to make it a lot smoother!

Once in Prairie, we turned north on Main St. and followed it until it became CR K.  A short distance on K and we then turned back east onto Limery Road.  Heading east, we crossed the railroad tracks just ahead of a stopped locomotive who tried out its horn on some of us anyway.  Limery takes us across HWY 35 and up the hill past Shihata's Orchards to HWY 27.  Turning north on 27 we passed through Eastman where a little league baseball game was in progress.  Once when I passed this direction several years ago, I had to duck a foul ball from a girl's softball game.  Luckily I was not the first person to be knocked off a motorcycle with a softball!

Just outside of Eastman we turned back southeast onto HWY 171.  This highway offers some sweeping curves along with some fantastic views, but it had just recently been "repaired" using "tar snakes", so we took it a little slower to prevent any of the bikes from slipping.  We soon arrived in Steuben and took a break at now the only "stop" in town, Lou's Railroad Street Station.

ALL THE ROADS DID LEAD US TO STEUBEN

AND WE DID DOUBLE THE POPULATION

SPECIAL PARKING FOR "SUPPORT" JEEPS

After using the bathroom and buying drinks and chips from Lou's, we doubled back for a short distance and headed west onto CR E.  While not as scenic as some, CR E still offers some excellent views along the way to HWY 27.  After a very short jog on 27, we pick up CR E again and head west down the mountain.  All of the "alphabet" roads in this area that head down to the river offer some great scenery, and E was no exception.  It's pretty easy to gawk at the panoramic views, but there are enough curves to make you pay attention to the road also.

Once we arrived at HWY 35 just outside of Lynxville, we turned north, passed through Ferryville, and turned onto HWY 82.  82 takes us across the Blackhawk Bridge into Lansing and onto HWY 9.  Following 9 into Waukon, we stopped at Uptown for eats.  There we were joined by Chris and her father.  On another great Wednesday night, I ended up with about 110 miles on the trike.

SATURDAY

This Saturday is another of our RTE's (Rides To Eat).  The destination is the Jailhouse Bar located between Bluff Siding and Trempealeau on HWY 35 in Wisconsin.  We will meet at Casey's at 10:30 that morning and take a scenic drive through Minnesota and Wisconsin.  Right now the weather prediction is for showers in the afternoon, but warm temps.  I will post on the blog Saturday morning if any changes need to be made.

EVERYONE IS INVITED

FOR HARLEY OFFICIANTOS 

Who's bike is this?  Save your answer for next Wednesday night, and we will see who's more observant.

TRIKE RIDES FOR NURSING HOME RESIDENTS

I have been able to make connections with Good Sam here in Waukon as to their interest in WNR offering trike rides to some of their residents.  They did get right back to me and definitely want to do this.  We have set August 14th as the date, with August 16th being the rainout date.  I am waiting to hear back from them regarding the number of residents that may want to ride and the requirements that their corporation and insurance company for us.  I will then meet with their activities director and go over our requirements.  More on this later.

KEEP JUNE 25th OPEN

This is the day for the Winneshiek Medical Hospice Ride. The WNR has always been a strong supporter of this very special fund raiser, so let's be there again this year.  More on this later also.