GOOD TIME AT MEMORIAL MAKE-UP

 It turned out to be a near-perfect day for the make-up of the postponed ride and cookout from Memorial Day.  We had nine riders show up at noon on Sunday.  Bikers were Jim, Dee, Chuckles, and Lois.  Trikers were ChucK and Bob & Julie.  Richard & Melodye arrived in the Slingshot.

CAN YOU SEE US NOW?!

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN LOIS NOT SMILING?!

CHUCKLES AND JIM CONFER

MELODYE THINKS ITS GOING TO RAIN

ChucK MAKES A RAPID ENTRANCE

DEE PARKS JUST IN TIME TO TAKE OFF AGAIN

With Houston being our first stop, we rolled out of town onto HWY 76 heading north.  We passed through Caledonia, missing the Ruptured Rooser, much to the dismay of three of our riders.  Outside of Caledonia we exited 76 and took CR 10 through Sheldon and back onto 76 just outside of Houston.  CR 10 is always a fun ride with smooth asphalt and a few twisties.  HWY 76 took us into Houston and we stopped in the alley behind the River Valley Convenience Store and right in front of Barista's Coffee House.  Our three "coffee starved" riders immediately jump off their rides and made a beeline for Barista's.

THE TEMPTATION WAS GOING TO BE TOO GREAT!

"CHEERS" FROM CHUCK

DEE GRABS A TREAT

JIM EMERGES WITH DRINK IN HAND

RICHARD SAYS, "I DON'T NEED NO DAMN COFFEE."

After our rest stop and "coffee break", we took a short jog out of town on HWY 76 and then rolled onto CR 9 heading eastward.  CR 9 is another scenic stretch of blacktop that crosses Silver Creek several times.  We were treated to the sight of many of the blooming purple flowers along the creekside.  CR 9 took us up to CR 11 and we followed it to just past Hillside Cemetery and onto CR 8.  (Hillside is a well-kept cemetery, but not as good as Oakland in Waukon!)

CR 8 is another interesting strip of road.  You are treated to some challenging curves and a couple of downhill plunges.  This road takes us into the thriving metropolis of New Hartford and onto CR 5.  Instead of turning right and heading directly into LaCrescent, Bob turned left and followed CR 5 into Nodine.  Just to note, a short 1 and 1/2 half mile of CR 5 hasn't been redone since it was new, so we had a rough, but thankfully, short ride into Nodine.

Now, as rumor has it, unless men stop and  pay homage (salute) to the "tin man" in Nodine, some disasterous effects will happen to their bodies.  You can ask Bob about the rumored possible effects, but he has always paid homage!

DON'T MESS WITH THE TIN MAN!

After paying our respects to the tin man, we continued our journey by dropping off what is now CR 12 and turned onto CR 1 which is aptly called "Apple Blossom Drive".  To our surprise, what used to be a rather rough ride along the ridge was as smooth as a pool table top!  Apple Blossom Drive is a "can't miss" if you are traveling through the area.  The views of the river and the city of LaCrosse below are breathtaking!

This video really doesn't do the view justice.  This area might be a good place to watch the Blue Angels do their maneuvers during the Deke Slayton Air Fest on the 15th & 16th in LaCrosse.  After taking this video, Bob forgot to replace the lid on his glove box, and it flew off onto the road.  Thankfully ChucK grabbed it before someone ran over it and returned it safely to Bob.

We completed the five mile beautiful ride on Apple Blossom Drive and opted for a rest stop at the Kwik Trip in Lacrescent.  While we were there, a family with four young boys were excited to see our cycles and asked about the Slingshot.  As they were leaving, Bob asked them if they would like to sit on his trike along with ChucK's.  They eagerly accepted while their father photographed them.  It feels good to something like this and not only the boys and their parents, but the rest our riders enjoyed the time spent.

After our rest stop, we exited LaCrescent onto CR 25.  This route ranks right up there with the best of them as far as a good surface and fantastic views go.  It's best to take this route in the spring, before the corn grows too high and blocks some of the fantastic scenery.  We hit it perfect!  With very little haze in the air and the corn still just coming up, we were treated to some of the best outlooks in the tri-state area!  The last two miles float you down a long hill with an incredible view of the Root River and the valleys below.  We continued on CR 25 until its terminis at HWY 16.  A turn back east on 16 and we were back into Hokah.

After viewing all the "goodies" outside of Hokah Hardware (an offshoot of Horsefalls) we turned onto CR 18 and cruised down the hill into Brownsville.  Once there we took HWY 26 back south passing through New Albin and on into Lansing.  Along the way, a loud blast from a hidden locomotive about had Bob changing his pants!  Once we reached Lansing, we jumped onto HWY 9 and sped on into Waukon.

We arrived at the Rotach residence for our annual post ride cookout.  We were joined by Howard (good to see him again), Cathy, Jens and Jane, and Dennis & Marlene.  Our ranks now swelled to 15 hungry folks.  Bob grilled up some Jets' brats and other folks brought some delicious salads, snacks, and deserts, so we had a real feast and some good conversation.  It was really a great day!  We had about 150 miles on the trike, and no rain.

ALL THESE FOLKS CAN TALK AND EAT!

This Wednesday evening ride looks to go to Boscobel for some ice cream.  Always eat desert first!

Also next weekend is the Mags/Byrnes ride put on by the Goodfellows motorcycle group on Saturday, and our ride to Bucknuckles on Sunday.  Because of the huge crowds on Sundays at Bucknuckles, I'm thinking about going somewhere else.  More on both of these later.

See you Wednesday!