GREAT NIGHT/SPECTACULAR VIEWS

On a beautiful Wednesday night, eight Wednesday Night Riders arrived at Casey's for what would turn out to be a ride with spectacular views.  Bike riders were Lissa, Jim G, Mike, and Bill.  Richard & Melodye came in the Slingshot  while Irv and Bob hopped on trikes.

MIKE IS THE FIRST TO CRUISE IN

BOB GETS READY TO LEAD THE PACK

IRV ARRIVES ON HIS NEW RIDE

BILL ROLLS IN

RICHARD & MELONYE ARE ABOARD THEIR SLINGSHOT

JIM COMES IN "COFFEELESS"

HERE COMES RON

AND LISSA JOINS US AGAIN

With our destination being Guttenberg via Osterdock, we left Casey's under mostly sunny skies and temps in the high 70's.  We cruised out on HWY 76 and then down Forest Mills Road (CR A16).  Passing by some good looking crops growing on the Gelo estate, we arrived in Luana.  From there we got on HWY 18 heading east past Monona and onto Golden Avenue (CR X28) and headed south passing through Farmersburg (and by Asshole's Garage) and on into St. Olaf.  Apparently the state was supposed to do some work on X28 since it was used as a detour much of last year.  However riding on this stretch into Farmersburg indicates the state isn't very handy at repairs either!

After arriving in St. Olaf (home of the giant tenderloins) we turned west onto 200th St. (CR B65) and after a short ride, we came to the Gunder Road (CR X16).  This road offers a fun cruise with some great views on into Elkader.  We picked up HWY 13 (newly paved) and climbed the hill up to the aptly named Grandview Road (CR X3c).  This is where the real adventure begins, because it's difficult to maintain control of the vehicles while gawking at all the surrounding beauty.

We did pass through Communia, Elkport, and Garber avoiding the rush hours there, and continued on X 3C (now called Colesburg Road) up to Osterdock Road (CR X47).  With all the rain that fell in this past week, we were surprised to see that the rivers we passed were just a little above normal, but still very muddy.

Now turning northward on the Osterdock Road, we avoided the traffic jams in Osterdock as we passed by and continued our journey down CR 47.  There is a point on this stretch of concrete where you ascend a hill and at the top you are offered one of the best views in northeast Iowa.  It's worth slowing down and almost stopping to savor a spectacular view!  I have always said, If I ever get an atheist on the back of my bike, I'll take him over some of the routes we ride, and I'll either scare the "hell" out of him, or he will believe a "superior being" created this beauty.

CR 47 took us over to the Garber Road (CR C7X) and we made the turn down the mountain into Guttenberg and HWY 52.  We stopped at the Quik Star there for our break. 

After our break, we took a more direct route back.  We took HWY 52 back through Garnavillo and back onto HWY 18 west.  After arriving in Monona, our ride continued onto the Volney Road (CR X26) and north we went on into rosey Rossville.  We picked up HWY 76 again and rolled into Waukon where four of us grabbed eats at Uptown.  I had 120 spectacular miles on the trike when I got her home.  I would say it was a great night!

Next Wednesday

It's July 3rd (already!), and right now I do plan to ride.  If the river is down, a ride over to Mt. Hope would work, otherwise we may take the "mountain run" into Houston.

Other photos

I do have some more photos of our group at the Hospice Ride that Dee sent me.  As soon as I figure out how to get  them from my new phone to the computer, I'll post them.

Yep, my granddaughters are coming to visit soon!

GREAT WNR TURNOUT FOR HOSPICE RIDE

 The turnout of Wednesday Night Riders for the Winn Medical Hospice Ride on Sunday was fantastic.  At last count we had 19 folks associated with the Wednesday Night Riders participate in most of the Hospice Ride events including the breakfast and the ride.

Riding in from Waukon were Jim & Cathy, Mike & Joan, Richard & Melodye, Bill, and Bob & Julie.

MIKE & JOAN ARRIVE

AND GAS UP FOR THE DAY

JIM & CATHY HAVE COFFEE BUT NEED GAS

THE NEWLY REPAIRED SLINGSHOT ROLLS IN

BILL FILLS OUT THE GROUP

Once we arrive at Winn Med in Decorah, we see Chuck & Dee arrive from rural Postville.

CHUCK & DEE ARRIVE

Irv & Chris arrived in the "support" Vette.

APPROPRIATELY DRESSED FOR A BEAUTIFUL DAY

LATER YOU WOULD HEAR THE ROAR OF THE VETTE

At the breakfast, we found Ron & Helen and Chuck & Lois.  Dave Miene was also there.  He rode in with the Hog Chapter.

CHUCK & LOIS ARRIVE FOR THE BREAKFAST

EVERYONE ENJOYED THE BREAKFAST

AS WELL AS BILL AND RON & HELEN

Before we departed, a member of the hospice was kind enough to take a photo of our Wednesday Night Riders, including Nancy.

QUITE THE CREW!!

The breakfast was great, and the ride itself was a well-planned event.  You have to admire the job done by Nancy, Darrel, and the rest of the hospice crew.  I don't think people realize the amount of planning and hard work it takes to put on a ride and event like this.  Hats (helmets) off again to the remarkable job done done by the hospice group, and all for a good cause!  And especially to Nancy for fooling the Weather Witch!

Ride On Wednesday Night

The original plan was to ride over to Mt. Hope, but with the recent downpours, the Wisconsin River is over its banks in places.  So the route I like to take to Mt. Hope includes CR C, which runs along side the Wisconsin River.  That means it would be safer to save the trip to Mt. Hope for a later Wednesday night ride.  So this Wednesday we'll shoot for Guttenberg via Osterdock.

HIS PASSENGER DIDN'T SURVIVE THE LONG RIDE

A REMINDER & UPBEATS

Again I would encourage as many Wednesday Night Riders as possible to support the upcoming Winn Med Hospice Ride on Sunday.

See previous post for details.  Those who wish to ride over as a group from Waukon can meet at Casey's at 9 AM.

Free will offering breakfast from 9-10:30 at Winn Med

Sign In from 9-10:30

Ride starts at 11 and ends at 4:30 at Pivo Brewery in Calmar

All vehicles welcome--$20 per rider

UPBEATS

I have been asked lately by a number of folks who haven't heard the "Upbeats" segment that highlights the Wednesday Night Riders giving the trike rides to residents of Northgate and Good Sam.  Greg did a great job on it, and if you don't have a chance to hear it on your radio, you can hear it here.  Thanks to Ron for this information.

http://www.kvikradio.com

SEE YOU SUNDAY!!

 

A LITTLE DAMP & OTHER NEWS

"Life is short, eat desert first!"  That was the theme for the seven riders who showed up at Casey's for our Wednesday night ride.  The plan was to ride over to Boscobel and have some ice cream at Udder Brothers.  Jim, Mike & Joan, Richard, and Lissa arrived on bikes, while Irv (with a new one) and Bob rode in on trikes.

JIM & RICHARD EYEBALL IRV'S NEW RIDE

A CLOSE UP OF THE NEW HARLEY

MIKE & JOAN JOIN THE CREW

With overcast skies and a 25% chance of rain (more than the Witch needs), we decide that Boscobel is still going to be our destination.  We take HWY 9 to Lansing, cross the Blackhawk Bridge, eye the new construction, and arrive in Wisconsin and HWY 35.

We head south on 35 and pass through Ferryville before we reach Lynxville.  Once there we turn eastward onto CR E.  CR E is another of the fun "alphabet" roads in southwest Wisconsin.  There are enough curves to keep the ride interesting and enough good scenery to keep you gawking.  On CR E we will pass through Steuben and Easter Rock before arriving at HWY 60.  After a short jog on 60, we turn onto HWY 61 and cruise on into Boscobel and arrive at Udder Brothers for our treats.

PLENTY OF PARKING IS AVAILABLE

LISSA SLIDES IN

RICHARD TRIES TO BE INCOGNITO

After our "deserts" we leave Boscobel with some light sprinkles falling.  As we continued returning along HWY 60, the light rain continued.  (Without rain and wind, would we have any weather at all?!)  We passed through Wauzeka and continued our journey over to Bridgeport and onto HWY 18.  The light rain was still falling, but not enough yet to stop and put on raingear.  On around Prairie du Chien we went on the bypass and then over the bridge into Marquette.  With the light rain still falling on us, the sky to the north looked brighter, so we took HWY 76 north.

Even passing by Rossville, the rain continued but seemed to be less.  We arrived in Waukon and four of us ate at Uptown.  I racked up 116 miles on the Wing.  It's too bad Irv's new ride had such a rough first outing, but it sure is a nice looking rig.

To top off the evening, we were treated to another spectacular sun set.  But why does it have to rain first?!

SOME OTHER NEWS

Next Wednesday the plan is to head over to Mt. Hope and a break at HOME-A-GIN'S.

Jim & Cathy rode over to LaCrescent on Sunday and observed the Blue Angels from a spot on Apple Blossom Drive.  Here's a couple of photos, and hopefully a link to a video Jim took.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tXyvp9AFc2qwAW8K7

The Blue Angels always put on quite a show.  I talked to several folks in LaCrosse yesterday who said both days tickets we "sold out" at the airport.

WE MAKE THE RADIO

The Wednesday Night Riders got some good publicity lately.  Right now on the LA Communication stations in Waukon and Decorah are broadcasting a segment done by Greg Wennes called "Upbeats".  We are given upbeat status for giving trike rides to residents of Northgate Care Center and Good Sam.  Be sure to listen for this on your favorite station(s).  Greg did a good job with it!

UPCOMING EVENT!!

This Sunday, the 23rd, is the annual Win Med Hospice Ride.  Our group, the Wednesday Night Riders, have always been a strong supporter of this worthwhile event, and I'm sure we will be again this year.  I plan to leave Casey's at 9 AM that morning.  Anyone who would like to ride along with me is welcome.

Here's the scoop...

The annual WinnMed Hospice Memorial Ride is set for Sunday, June 23.  The event will begin on the WinnMed campus in Decorah with a free-will donation breakfast, and will be held rain or shine.

The 2024 event will support specialty therapies for hospice patients: Pet Therapy, Music Therapy and Massage Therapy. Additionally this year’s donations will support WinnMed Hospice’s “We Honor Veterans” program.

Breakfast is open to the public from 9 -10:30 am in the WinnMed Cafeteria.  Convenient parking is available in Lot E. Anyone is welcome to come and have breakfast, whether riding or not.

Poker Run

All vehicles are welcome to participate in the poker run. The ride entry fee is $20 per person and sign-in is available at WinnMed from 9-10:30 am (during the breakfast). Bikes and cars will take off at 11:00 am from WinnMed to begin the poker run. The ride will take a tour of the beautiful roads of Northeast Iowa and Southeast Minnesota and end at Pivo Brewery in Calmar at 4:30 pm with a silent auction, door prizes and refreshments.

Let's show our support again for this great event!  Nancy says she has a great ride lined up for us, and the weather (at least for now) looks to be good.  See you all Sunday!

THREE SQUEEGE IN A RIDE AND GOOD SAM TRIKE RIDES

 GOOD TIMING!  Right at 5 PM, the rain that hit the area let up, so three of our Wednesday Night Riders showed up at Casey's to make our weekly run.  After looking over the weather maps on the smart phones, we figured the "smart" way to go was up towards Spring Grove and maybe on to the Cresco area.  We had originally been set to travel over to Boscobel for ice cream, but it looked too stormy to go that way.

So after Chuckles and Lois bid us farewell, Jim on his bike, Richard in his "support" pick up, and Bob on his trike departed Casey's and headed up north on HWY 76.

When we reached Bear Creek Drive (CR A 26), we turned west avoiding what looked like stormy weather to the north.  We followed Bear Creek over to Locust Road (CR W38), and turned north for a short jog and onto CR W40 heading back west.  We passed through Hesper and on into Mabel.  From there we cruised along HWY 44 and over to HWY 52 where we turned south towards Decorah.  We continued on 52 south until we reached the Cenex Convenience Store where we stopped for the ice cream we were scheduled to get in Boscobel.

RICHARD PARKS THE "SUPPORT" PICK-UP

JIM CHECKS THE WEATHER ON HIS PHONE

After our break, we continued on HWY 52 until just outside of Decorah and then turned back west onto Madison Road.  Following this smooth stretch of concrete, we arrived at CR W14 where we turned south and arrived at HWY 9 in Ridgeway.  All along the routes we took, we ran into some wet pavement in spots, but no rain on us.  We took HWY 9 back into Waukon where Richard and Bob stopped for eats at Uptown.  Actually it turned into a pretty nice evening for a ride.  I had right at 100 miles on the trike when she finally got a rest for the day.

TRIKE RIDES AT GOOD SAM

To say that the trike rides that Ron, Chuck, and Bob gave to the residents of Good Sam and Evergreen Court were a success would be an understatement.  We ended up giving 20 of the residents a ride from East Main, around the golf course, onto new 8th Avenue (past the Dollar Store, over to 2nd St., past St. Pat's, back to Main, through town, and back to Good Sam.  We were shown many smiles and tons of "thank-you's"!  The Wednesday Night Riders also got a lot of good publicity.  Also special thanks to Julie for taking photos and handing out the ride pins.  The residents had a great time, and it was heart-warming for us.  We even had a 95 year-old and a 100 year-old woman ride!

Here's some of the photos Julie took.

THIS WEEKEND

Do to "lack of interest", Bob will not be leading a ride to LaCrosse for the Deke Slayton Air Fest.  If anyone still plans to go on their own, the airport is open at 9, with the air shows beginning at noon.  Tickets at the airport are $30.  The Blue Angels are the featured attraction.

Next Wednesday we will try Boscobel again.  Hopefully not all of the ice cream melted!

AND FINALLY!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

PLENTY WINDY, PLENTY TO EAT!

 Our RTE (Ride To Eat) on Sunday drew seven riders.  Mike & Joan were on the only bike, while Richard & Melodye arrived in the Slingshot.  Darrel, Roger, and Bob straddled trikes.

GET READY

GET SET

GO!

Our destination was Tippy Toe Inn (Stagger Out) in Chaseburg, WI.  We departed at 10:30 under sunny skies and a brisk north wind that kept the temps in the low 70's.  The plan was to take Bob's "shortcut" and arrive in Chaseburg just before noon.

We exited Waukon via the Elon Road (CR A52) heading east.  Right away we could tell that the north wind was alot stronger out in the country than in town.  At the end of Elon Road, we turned left (north) onto Lansing/Harpers Road for only a short distance, before we turned east again onto Lafayette Ridge Drive.  After a smooth cruise on the concrete pavement and a few jolts from the wind, we made our way to Great River Road (CR X52) and headed north again towards Lansing.  Once we arrived in Lansing, we crossed the Blackhawk Bridge while eyeballing the construction on the new bridge.  We noticed that the water in the Mississippi River was rough and full of whitecaps from the wind.

Once we arrived in Wisconsin, we took HWY 35 north.  Since HWY 82 is closed from HWY 35 to HWY 27 for some much needed work, we continued on 35 up to Genoa.  Once there, we turned onto HWY 56 for a short distance and picked up CR K just outside of town with a left turn.  CR K is an interesting stretch of pavement (some needing some work) that winds along the edge of an elevated area with no guard rails.  It does offer some outstanding views of the surrounding countryside, but we were pretty occupied with wind gusts and dodging "horse apples".  There were alot of Amish in buggies along the way.  CR K took us on into Chaseburg and HWY 162 (Depot Street) where we arrived at the Tippy Toe.

WE PARK ALONG A SIDE STREET

AND GET READY TO TIPPYTOE IN

A number of years ago, I ate breakfast here at the Tippy Toe, and remembered that you get your money's worth of food.  AND WE DID!  Needless to say, the food was plentiful and very tasty.

After our eats, we departed Chaseburg via CR KK.  This is another interesting route that offers some twisties along with some great views.  So "over the river and through the woods" we went on KK over to CR B.  CR B is a straight stretch that takes us to HWY 14, just outside of Coon Valley.  We stayed in the right lane on the four lanes on 14 leaving Coon Valley for everyone to catch up, because the next turn can be easily missed.  This next turn onto CR MM is one of those you do not want to miss!  CR MM is one of Bob's "top ten" routes.  It is only about 5 miles long, but it rivals in comparison to Teschember (Thumper) Road near LaCrescent.  The views from various points are fantastic and the road itself is very well maintained.  So we took our "sweet time" traversing this gem, and arrived back on HWY 14, just outside of LaCrosse.  HWY 14 took us back to HWY 35, and after negotiating a couple of roundabouts, we were back cruising south.  This time that pesky strong wind was behind us, so we flew down 35 and took a "mandatory" ice cream break at the convenience store just outside of Desoto.

After filling our faces with ice cream, we crossed the Blackhawk Bridge again and passed through Lansing onto HWY 9 and back into Waukon.  I had about 130 miles on the trike when I got home.  Even though the wind was a pest, it was still a very enjoyable RTE!

UPCOMING

This Wednesday is our trike rides for residents of Good Sam here in Waukon.  Ron, Chuck, and Bob will be the drivers, and Julie has been recruited to take photos and hand out pins.  If anyone else would like to help out or just come and enjoy the smiles, you are certainly welcome!

Also the Wednesday evening ride at 5 is planned to venture over to Boscobel for some "much needed" ice cream.

CHUCKLES AND LOIS'S NEW MOWER!

SOME LIKE IT WET!

 Apparently some of our more courageous (I could think of a different synonym!) decided a Wednesday night ride could still be made despite the weather forecast.

It was great to see Lissa back riding again.  Hopefully she will be back with us again under better conditions!

Here's a report from Lois, and thanks to Chuckles for leading.  Next time it rains, we will gladly let him lead.

As told by Lois, self appointed secretary of the evening:

The first suggestion was that Bob not find out that we rode, but that wasn't too likely, so the second suggestion was to title this post "Pour Decisions". Six riders gathering at Casey's were Chuckles & Lois (oblivious to the updated blog post and the weather forecast), Mike and Lissa (her first ride since a deer t-boned her 13 months ago) on bikes and Richard & Melodye in the slingshot. Having chatted with Jim, in the bug, he and Cathy joined the caravan on the Wing, at Yellow River Drive, (Yellow River was brown) as we cruised blissfully down Forest Mills Road then hopping onto Hwy 18 at Luana. We saw a multitude of flashing lights and had a brief stop at the Kwik Star intersection as we got to Monona. There was one car in the ditch, looking pretty tough, and a couple with body damage still in the road. As we crept through, when directed, we cruised past Froelich & Giard down into Marquette for a short break at Casey's. 

After checking the weather app (again) it appeared to be clearing off. We decided to cross over to Prairie and left with a few stray raindrops landing but that increased dramatically as we crossed into Wisconsin. It started pouring as we took the bypass on the West side of Prairie and 7 of us took shelter under the overhang at Rockweiller's. Chuckles was in the lead and went until Peoples State Bank drive-up overhang.

After waiting out the deluge Chuckles ventured back to regroup. Checking the weather app (again) it looked like maybe an hour until the storm would completely pass, so we thought it best to wait it out at Culver's where we enjoyed some good eats and drinks. Since we were damp, the air conditioning felt especially cool, so the conversation turned to a nice hot bath or shower when we got home. Looking out the window it appeared nice and clear to the north so we cruised the bypass to Co Rd K and followed that to Hwy 35.  We cruised toward Lynxville, where the rollers were wide open on the dam, past Ferryville and 82 over to Lansing. We paused across from Kwik Star, where Mike and Lissa made a stop before each heading home. We cruised back into Waukon on Hwy 9.

We were able to put on about 96 miles.  The roads were mostly dry once we passed Ferryville. If we hadn't been cool and damp it would have been great to stop and catch a picture of the amazing, yet unusual looking, sunset. The spectacular view actually made it worthwhile getting caught in the rain.

It looks like it was still "fun" for all!

SOME REMINDERS

The Mags/Byrnes Ride is Saturday for those who want to ride or make a contribution to their cause.  See previous post for details.

We will be having a RTE (Ride To Eat) on Sunday, leaving Casey's at 10:30 that morning.  So far the destination has yet to be determined.

I set yesterday, Wednesday, as the deadline to let me know if you plan to make the trip to Ohio in July/August.  I want to make sure that I've got everyone who "signed up".  I have ChucK, Dee, Dr. David, Bob Z, Mike, Darron, Jim G, and Bob R.  If I forgot anyone, let me know ASAP, since I will be confirming travel times and motel reservations shortly.