DEE AND ME/VETERANS' DAY

 On a cool but pleasant fall afternoon, only Dee and Bob decided it was a good time to get in another ride.  With Dee on her W (Kawasaki) and Bob on the Gold Wing trike, the duo departed Casey's at noon on Friday with the plan to stay in the sun as much as possible.  The temp was right at 55 degrees and the sky was sunny.

We cruised up HWY 9 to Lansing, then HWY 26 up to just south of New Albin before we turned onto Iowa River Drive and we followed it all along the river over to HWY 76.  Once reaching 76 we took a short jog north and jumped onto Bear Creek Drive.  While transversing Bear Creek, I was amazed by the amount of corn still in the field.  However, there was a lot of combines, trucks, and wagons in the fields.

Bear Creek took us over to Locust Road and we turned north on it until arriving at HWY 44 just west of Spring Grove.  We rode on into Spring Grove for some warm drinks at Kwik Trip.

TIME FOR SOME WARM DRINKS!

After our break, we backtracked a short distance on HWY 44 and turned north on CR 4.  We breezed through Blackhammer and Yucatan and arrived just outside of Houston on HWY 76.  We then took curvy 76 on into Caledonia.  By this time, a check on the bike's outside temp showed 60 degrees.  After negotiating the hills and curves on 76, we made our way through Caledonia (not stopping at the "Ruptured Rooster"),  and then stayed on HWY 44 heading back towards Spring Grove.  Before reaching Spring Grove, we turned onto CR 17, and "roller coastered" our way back to HWY 76 just north of Eitzen.

We continued south on 76, noting the amount of tar on the shoulder and in the ditches around the bridges.  Apparently there is still more work to do on a section of road that I didn't think needed any repair, because we were stopped and had to follow a pilot car for several miles.  All the while we were following the pilot car, the vehicles ahead of us were kicking up some type of dust from the highway.  Hopefully the dust was harmless, because we did breathe in a fair amount of it before we got out of the construction area.  We spent the rest of the time on 76 back to Waukon, where I headed home and Dee motored on to her abode.  I had 135 miles on the trike when I got home, and Dee probably had about 150 by the time she arrived.  Dee and I can always reflect on this ride when we are looking out the window this winter and see the snow blowing sideways.

Apparently Jim and Cathy also went for a cruise for lunch, coffee, and horseradish cheese!  Not my "cup of tea" or should I say coffee.

If there is another day like this in the upcoming days, another ride might be instore.

VETERANS' DAY

Here's a salute to all veterans on their special day of recognition.  I want to especially honor the vets that are part of our Wednesday Night Riders group.  So special salutes to Terry, Bob Z, Richard, Bernell, and Carl.  GOD BLESS AND THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE!!