WIND, TRIKE RIDES, AND MEMORIAL DAY

 Despite a strong and gusty wind from the west, ten riders gathered at Casey's Wednesday evening with Protivin being the destination.

We welcomed Jim D back from his "winter" home in Florida.  He was accompanied by his granddaughter, Melea, who was a passenger on the back of his bike.  Also arriving on a two-wheeler was Mike, who was able to dodge a rain squall near New Albin.  Irv and Terry arrived in the "support" Vette, as well as Dr. David and Bob Z in the "support" Jeep.  Richard, Ron, and Bob R were all aboard three-wheelers.

RICHARD AND JIM GET REAQUAINTED

RON ROLLS IN

THE SLINGSHOT IS WINKIN' AND BLINKIN'

IRV AND TERRY ARRIVE

MELEA IS ANXIOUS TO GET GOING

DR. DAVID AND BOB Z ARE ALREADY HAVING A GOOD TIME

JIM SAYS "IT'S TIME TO GO."

Under partly sunny skies and a temp of 68 degrees, we pass through Waukon and take HWY 76 north.  We could really feel the western wind gusts as we moved north on 76, countersteering the rides and adjusting the helmets.  Once we reached Bear Creek Drive and turned west, the wind was now in our face.  There were several spots along Bear Creek Drive where the rain and wind from Tuesday caused some washing of gravel out onto the pavement, so the two-wheelers had to be particularly careful.

Following Bear Creek Drive, we arrived at Locust Road and journeyed south on it on into Decorah.  Once there, we rode in town on College Drive and onto a very rough portion of Pole Line Road.  Pole Line Road crosses over HWY 52 and continues along the Upper Iowa River for some time.  There were no canoers or tubers on the river today.  Pole Line Road is a good stretch of asphalt offering some challenging curves and some nice views of the surrounding countryside.  We followed PLR all the way to HWY 9 and then stayed on 9 on into Cresco.

Once in Cresco we found CR V58 (aka Dvorak Memorial Highway) and headed south towards Protivin.  Along the way, we did notice a considerable amount of water sitting in the farm fields and did notice some tree damage from yesterday's weather.  V58 is a pretty straight shot into Protivin.  We passed the new fire station in town and arrived at the convenience store at the edge of town for our break.

THE GROUP MILLS AROUND FOR A WHILE FIRST

DR. DAVID AND BOB Z GET SOME TREATS

MIKE GETS READY TO DEPART

After our break, we turn east onto CR B16 (still named Dvorak Memorial Highway) and make our way into Spillville.  Each time I pass through Spillville, I am awed at the sight of St. Wenceslaus Church.  What a beautiful structure!  The amount of craftmanship it took to built that church a long time ago is phenominal!

At the edge of Spillville we continue east with the wind now pushing us along.  Once we arrive at HWY 52, we turn towards Decorah.  About five miles along this journey, two deer appear on the highway in front of us.  One just scrambles for the right had ditch, while the other just stands in the middle of the road.  After I "stare him down", he moves over into the left hand ditch.  Now we have to proceed very cautiously, because one of them might try to cross the road to join the other.  Fortunately we were able to proceed on into Decorah without any further interruptions from Mother Nature's creatures.

Once in Decorah, Ron split for home, and the rest of us took what I call Old Stage Road (CR A52) east toward Waukon.  The first part of this road is rather rough as it passes through Freeport, but then it gets considerably better later on.  OSR also offers up some outstanding views and also has some challenging curves.  We did pull into Waukon and arrived at the Uptown Grill for eats shortly before 8 PM.  I had 108 miles on the clock when I got the trike back home.  A little battle with the wind at times, but still a good ride!

TRIKE RIDES FOR SENIORS AT NORTHGATE CARE CENTER

On Monday, Ron, ChucK, and Bob, representing Wednesday Night Riders, delighted some of the residents at Northgate Care Center in Waukon by giving them trike rides around town.  These folks are always glad to see us coming and they thoroughly enjoy the rides.  We also get a "warm feeling" doing this event, and it is good publicity for our WNR.  Thanks to Julie for taking photos and handing out the rider pins.  Here's a few of the photos she took of the event.

As a bonus, thanks to Ron, the local radio stations are going to devote one of their UP BEAT broadcasts to Wednesday Night Riders doing these events.  We are scheduled to give the trike rides to Good Sam residents on June 12th, and we are looking forward to that.  I know the Good Sam folks can't wait!

MEMORIAL DAY RIDE AND COOKOUT

As a reminder, Monday is our Memorial Day ride and cookout at Rotach's afterwards.  After paying tribute to our lost veterans during the past wars, we will depart Casey's at 1 PM for a cruise through the backroads in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.  After we are done with the ride, which should be around 5 PM, we will have a cook-out at Rotach's house.  Brats and buns will be furnished, but bring your own drinks and a snack, salad, or desert to pass.  IF YOU CANNOT MAKE THE RIDE, YOU ARE STILL INVITED TO THE COOKOUT!  It's always a good time to see everyone together again!

SEE YOU ON MONDAY!