CAMP COURAGEOUS--BEST DAY EVER!

We have been making motorcycle and sometimes cage trips down to Monticello to support the Camp Courageous fund raising meals in the fall and spring for many years now.  For the most part there have been very few times where the weather has been pleasant.  Many times it has been cold or rainy or both.  But this fall, seven riders were greeted by a spectacular fall day!

With clear skies and temps in the mid 60's to start, Lois, Chuckles, Bill, and Bob P stoked up their bikes.  Dave and Bob & Julie rolled in on their trikes.  The group gathered at Casey's for a 9 o'clock starting time.

JULIE LOOKS EXCITED!

DAVE'S GOING TO RIDE WITH US THIS YEAR

GOOD TO SEE BOB P AND BILL AGAIN

WE'RE READY TO ROLL!

The "magnificent" 7 rolled out of Casey's onto HWY 76 south then onto the Volney Road through "rosey" Rossville.  As we progressed through some of the low areas near the Yellow River, the temp on the trike read 52 degrees.  However, once we reached Monona, we were well into the upper 60's.

We sped on through Monona and passed by Froelich on HWY 18 and then turned southward on HWY 52.  We followed 52 all the way to Dyersville passing through Garnavillo, Guttenberg, Millville, Luxemburg, and New Vienna on the way and took a short break at the Casey's there.

CHUCKLES & BOB P FOUND THE HARLEY PARKING SPOT

CHUCKLES COMBED THE DITCH FOR $100 BILLS, BUT CAME UP EMPTY

After a short break, we continued our journey onto HWY 136 still heading south and passed through Worthington.  As we neared Cascade, we were supposed to turn onto HWY 151 south, but Bob was gawking around and missed the turn.  With everyone following, we were able to turn around and get onto 151 and speed towards Monticello.  All along the way so far, we noticed that like in our area, very few crops had been harvested.

After about 10 miles on 151, we took HWY 38 south and soon arrived at Camp Courageous where we had our own parking lot attendant guide us onto the basketball court.  We arrived at 11:15 and headed into the lodge for our waffle feast.  We were offered all the waffles and sausages we wanted, and some took advantage of that offer!

After being fully stuffed, we departed Camp Courageous for what in 

MHO is the most scenic journey in northeast Iowa.  

We backtracked on HWY 38 and 151 until we reached North Cascade Road and turned northward.  From N Cascade to Roller Coaster Road (very appropriate name) to Placid Road and on into Epworth we motored for a gas stop.  All three of these county roads are well maintained and offer some outstanding views, but the best was yet to come.

On the edge of Epworth, we found Gun Club Road and followed this windy, scenic tarmack into Bankston and St. Clement Church.  A short jog on Bankston Park Road took us over to Asbury Road and some more incredible scenery.  Again, your leader was gawking at the scenery, and missed the turn onto Five Points Road near the metropolis of Graf.  Again we were able to get turned around and onto Five Points to enjoy some breathtaking scenery.

Five Points ends ay HWY 3, and we normally take HWY 3 over to Sherill Road for a stop at Eichman's Store.  However, HWY 3 was closed at that point due to some never-ending repair work.  Since our goal was to get to Balltown, our only option was to try bypass the closing by taking S Mound Road over to Sherill.  So across the highway we went and onto South Mound also passing a "Road Closed" sign for it.  The last time I was on South Mound it was in really bad shape, and today was no exception.  Fortunately right at the closed barriors for S Mound, we were able to turn north onto Mill Road.  After about 2 miles, we came upon Haberkorn Road and were able to turn back east.  What a treat this road was!  It took us right into Sherill and onto Balltown Road we went.  Balltown Road is another one of the scenic drives in this area.  

After passing through a very busy Balltown, we stopped at one of the overlooks along the Great River Road for some photo opps.

We continued our scenic journey down the Great River Road and passed through North Buena Vista and back to HWY 52 at Millville.  What's a waffle breakfast without ice cream?!  So, our next stop was Joe's in Guttenberg where there were at least 20 choices of ice cream.

WE ARRIVE AT JOE'S

AND GET TO PARK OUT FRONT

After our ice cream treats, we left Guttenberg via the Great River Road and down into McGregor.  What an improvement is Main Street in McGregor!  We pass through McGregor and on into Marquette where we pick up HWY 76 and motor north back into Waukon.  We had 220 miles on the trike when we parked her.

What a day!  Great weather, great roads, great scenery, all for a good cause.  Thanks to Carl & Joyce who couldn't make the trip, but sent a contribution for Camp Courageous with us.

GOOD TURNOUT FOR EARLY DEPARTURE

With daylight hours growing shorter every week, we decided to try moving our departure time on Wednesday nights from 5 PM to 4 PM.  Apparently it worked out well, since we had 12 riders show up at Casey's this Wednesday on a day that started out with some ugly weather, but suddenly turned great just before we gathered.

Jim, Chuckles, Dee, and Mike arrived on bikes.  The Slingshot arrived with Richard & Melodye, and the trikers were made up of Terry, Dave, Wayne, and Bob.  Rolling in was a recently purchased "support" convertible with Bernell & Kathy aboard.

TO ALMOST EVERYONE'S SURPRISE

RICHARD & MELODYE, MIKE, AND WAYNE

DAVE PULLS IN

HERE COMES TERRY

DEE DISMOUNTS

CHUCKLES STOWS SOME GOODIES

THE LADIES CHECK OUT THE NEW "SUPPORT" CONVERTIBLE

JIM ARRIVES FULL OF COFFEE, BUT NEEDING GAS

The destination for the night was Houston via the "mountain" route, so the designated dozen departed Waukon via HWY 76 heading north.  Once we reached Bear Creek Drive, we turned westward and followed it all the way over to Locust Road.  After turning north on Locust we intended to take CR 14 over to Hesper, but apparently the road was closed, so we continued our journey on Locust up to HWY 44.  We then took 44 west to Mabel and then HWY 43 north became our new route.

HWY 43 is a combination of all kinds of interesting driving factors.  It features smooth blacktop, sweeping curves, sharp turns, and hills.  It's considered a "delight" by most motorcyclists.  We negotiate most of 43 until we arrive at CR 10 where the "real" fun begins.

CR 10 is a flat section of road that was recently resurfaced, but for some reason, the bumps remained!  At the county line CR 10 becomes CR 13 (lucky number) and the road suddenly becomes a lot more smooth, more curvy, and more scenic.  Just before dropping down the steep switchback hill, there is a view of the valley below that is breathtaking!  We carefully traversed down the mountain side and arrived at our destination, the BP Station in Houston.

After our break at the BP convenience store, we left Houston by taking HWY 76 south for a short ways until we turned our wheels onto CR 10.  (This is not the same CR 10 that we were on previously).  This CR 10 is another smooth scenic route passing through the village of Sheldon and winds its way back to HWY 76 just outside of Caledonia.

We pass through Caledonia and continue on HWY 76 stopping for the ongoing Bear Creek bridge repair.  The stop sign let everyone catch up again, and we continued southward to Iowa River Drive and turned eastward.  Passing along the Iowa River, we were surprised that more bean fields had not yet been harvested.  Once we arrived at Lycurgus Road, we headed south to HWY 9, and took 9 back into Waukon where 8 of us stopped at Uptown for eats.  There were about 120 miles on the trike when we parked outside of Uptown.

I think we will use 4 PM as the departure time for the rest of our Wednesday night rides.  It gives us more riding time before darkness sets in.  Also the plan for the rest of the Wednesday night rides will be to cross the Black Hawk Bridge at some time each ride.  It will be our way of paying our respects to the "grand old lady" before she is taken down.

UPCOMING EVENTS

This is an event we have participated in for many years now giving our support to Camp Courageous.  Hopefully there will be a number of us making the trip down to Monticello this Sunday.  We will depart Casey's at 9 AM Sunday morning. The route is scenic both down and back and will include a stop for ice cream somewhere on the way back. If you can't make the trip, you can still send a donation with one of us.

The following Sunday, October 5th, is our annual "Run, Chicken, Run" Run up to Rockton for their semi-world famous barbeque chicken and a stop at a Gays Mills orchard on the way back.  We will leave Casey's at 10:15 that Sunday.  More on that on the next blog.

Remember this guy?

DARREL TRIBUTE AND REMINDER

Last Saturday was the funeral for our friend Darrel Samuelson.  After the funeral six Wednesday Night Riders followed Lee, Darrel's son, out to  Washington Prairie Cemetrery for internment.  Lee led on Darrel's yellow trike (Ol' Yeller) followed by Bob, Wayne, Chuckles, Bernell, Roger, and Jim & Cathy.

Lee and Darrel's other son, Jim, thanked us and said Darrel would have appreciated it.  Thanks to Cathy for the photo, and special thanks to Roger for keeping us informed about Darrel.

On the Helm's Funeral Home website is Darrel's obituary.  At the end of the obituary is a photographic tribute to Darrel.  It is very well done and there are a couple of photos of Darrel with us on our rides.

RIP, Darrel

A REMINDER

The ride on Wednesday night will leave from Casey's at 4 PM instead of 5.  The plan is to take the "mountain" route into Houston.  Please spread the word.  If it works out, we may leave at 4 for the rest of the Wednesday nights.

Also, next Sunday, the 28th, is the Camp Courageous Waffle Run. Plan to leave Casey's at 9 AM.  We had good group support last time, so let's keep it up!  More on that after the ride Wednesday night.

Five Give It A Try

 On a wet Wednesday night, five brave souls decided to test their luck with Mother Nature and try a ride.  Here's a report from Jim.

We had Mike, Jim and Cathy on 2 wheelers. Richard in the Slingshot and Dave M on his trike. With Bob wimping out because of a couple of clouds 😂 the five of us took off for a little rain dodging ride with Jim and Cathy in the lead. We took Elon Dr. out of Waukon. Took a left on Lansing Harpers Rd then a right on Lafayette Ridge Dr. to the Great River Road which we followed through Harpers and upto HWY76. Started to fail on dodging the rain. Left on 76 and down the hill to Marquette. More failing on dodging rain. On the radar It looked like once we got out Prairie we should be in the clear. We headed up 27 looking for county Rd N to Wauzeka. Darn if the radar didn't update and that rain cloud was on the same trip as us. Finally got to County Rd N and after a few miles were in the clear. We even got a little sunshine to welcome us to Wauzeka. After a break at the BP station  we headed back to Prairie on HWY60 and since it was still raining along HWY76 and in Waukon we elected to take 18 to Luana and then Forest Mills Rd back to Waukon. We did manage to stay dry the whole trip home. Even though we got a little rain it was a nice ride.

Jim says they put on about 115 miles.  Bob remained home, warm and dry.

UPCOMING EVENTS

PLEASE NOTE:  Because of the early darkness, our rides have to be cut back considerably this time of year.  I do not like riding in the dark.  So, this coming Wednesday, we are going to experiment with leaving Casey's at 4 instead of 5, so we can get a good ride in and be back by 7.  Please pass this change on to anyone you happen to see this week.

Services for Darrel

 Darrel Samuelson, age 83, of Decorah, Iowa, passed away on Sunday, September 7, 2025, at his home in Decorah, Iowa.

Memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 20, 2025 , at Helms Funeral Home, 306 E. Water Street, Decorah, IA, with Pastor Abe Faugstad presiding. Burial will follow at Washington Prairie Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 12 noon until the time of the service on Saturday, September 20, 2025 , at Helms Funeral Home.

There will be a motorcade of motorcycles and maybe cars from the funeral home out to the cemetery, if the weather permits.  They will start lining up at the funeral home at 1:45.  I plan on making it to this.  I have a "mentor for a day" event that I will be attending in Ridgeway that morning, so I will be coming from there.  I did leave a note for the family expressing the Wednesday Night Riders' sympathy for the family and how we enjoyed having Darrel as a loyal member of our group.

GOOD SIZE GROUP, NICE NIGHT

 We had 14 Wednesday Night Riders make their way to Casey's for a trip on Bob's "shortcut" to Cresco.  The crowd was made up of 5 bikers that included Mike, Chuckles, Lois, Jim, and Fred (newbie).  The trikers were Ron, Richard & Melodye, Wayne, Dave, Roger (picked up on the way), and Bob.  Irv arrived in the "support" Vet.

THE FIRST BUNCH ARRIVES

FOLLOWED BY TERRY

THEN CHUCKLES AND LOIS

JIM, WITH A FULL MUG

OUR "NEWBIE" GASSES UP

DAVE ROUNDS OUT THE GROUP

RON SAYS "THAT'S A REAL HEAD SCRATCHER."

We depart Casey's with the temps in the low 70's under partly cloudy skies and very little wind.  Perfect riding weather!

We make our way through town and head north on HWY 76.  When we arrive at Bear Creek Road, we turn west.  We continue on Bear Creek and then Big Canoe up to the Locust Church where we pick up Roger.  After crossing Locust, the road changes to 337th St. and we continue on it until we reach North Winn Road and turn southward.  North Winn takes us over to HWY 52 and we turn back towards Decorah.  All of the roads so far have been in good shape with some sweeping curves.

HWY 52 takes us down to Pole Line Road and a turn back west.  With the sun in our eyes, sunglasses are needed as we continue our journey towards Cresco.  Pole Line Road is an interesting journey, since it has some sharp turns and alot of up and down hills to maneuver.  Pole Line ends at HWY 9, and we cross it and roll into Cresco for a break at Quick Star.

TIME FOR SOME GOODIES

THE GANG'S ALL HERE

FRED TELLS US ABOUT HIS TRIP TO WASHINGTON AND OREGON

After leaving Quick Star, we pass through Cresco and turn to the south on Dvorak Memorial Highway.  After about 4 miles, we find CR A 46 (Schley Road) and motor on eastward with the sun now shining on our backs.  We arrive in Ridgeway and after a short jog on HWY 9 we turn back north on CR W14 and after about 2 miles we find Madison Road and turn east again.  Madison doesn't have a lot of curves, but it does offer some hills with good views.  Bob also kicked up an angry eagle along the roadside.  We arrive back on HWY 52 just north of Decorah and follow it into town where we pick up HWY 9.  The sun is starting to set, so we cruise back on 9 into Waukon where some of us stopped at Uptown for eats.

The trike had right at 100 miles on it when it was parked outside of Uptown.  An enjoyable ride on a great night, and welcome to Fred.  Hopefully he will join us again.

NEXT WEDNESDAY IS UNDECIDED YET.  WILL NEED TO RECOVER FROM THE COUPLES' TRIP THIS WEEKEND.

The services for Terry's father, Ernie, are today for visitation at Zion Church from 4:30 to 7 and tomorrow (Friday) from 10 to 10:50.  His funeral is Friday at 11 at Zion.

Services for Darrel Samuelson are next Saturday, the 20th.  His visitation is at Helms Funeral Home from noon to 2 PM with his funeral at 2 there at the funeral home.  I do plan on going over to the visitation next Saturday.

AND LESS WE FORGET...

ANOTHER PASSING

 I just received word from Roger that Darrel Samuelson has passed away.  He was always a very faithful rider with us up until last year with Ol' Yeller, his yellow Gold Wing trike.  I will try to post his funeral service information when I receive it.

Also, the service information for Ernie Lubahn (Terry's father) is as follows:

Visitation at Zion UCC in Waukon is Thursday, September 11, from 4:30 to 7 and Friday, September 12th, from 10 AM to 10:50 AM.  His funeral is at 11 AM on Friday also at Zion.

Portside Bar & Supper Club

 The Portside Bar & Supper Club in Harpers Ferry has an all-you-can-eat fish & chicken buffet Friday night.

ChucK and Dee are planning to get there around 4:30 for a drink (or two) and then partake in the buffet.  They said any Wednesday Night Rider is welcome to come down and join them.

Probably going to be a little too cool for biking, but a chance to get together again.

COOL & CURVY

 This Wednesday evening we had 11 riders show up at Casey's on a cool, but sunny evening.  Temps were in the mid 60's as Mike, Jim, Chuckles, and Lois arrived on bikes.  Dave, Wayne, ChucK, and Bob brought their trikes.  Richard & Melodye rode in in their Slingshot, and Irv stoked up his Corvette.  Bill met us on his Guzi as we passed through Lansing to make our group an even dozen.

IRV WOULD BE THE ONLY ONE IN SHORTS TONIGHT!

THE GROUP HUDDLES UP

With Viroqua being our destination, we headed out of town on HWY 9 cruising into Lansing where Bill was waiting for us.  We crossed the "soon to be demolished" Black Hawk Bridge and rolled into Wisconsin.  I would like to cross the Black Hawk Bridge as many times as possible, before it no longer exists.

We journeyed northward on HWY 35 until we came to HWY 56 in Genoa.  After passing through town on 56, we turned back in a northerly direction on CR K.  Like all the county roads to come, CR K is a stretch of blacktop that winds it way through the hills and valleys of the area.  After quite a stint on K, we arrived at CR O.  Here the fun really started!  Now along with all the curves and hills, we had to dodge "road apples" and maneuver around Amish buggies.  Apparently it was "rush hour" for the Amish as they were returning from the farmers' market in Viroqua.

CR O led us to CR Y and again we wound our way along with the Amish coming from both directions.  Some of us left CR Y and took CR B over to HWY 56 and rode on into Viroqua for a stop at the Quick Trip on the south end of town.  The other half of the group decided that continuing on CR Y was much better, so they followed it over to HWY 14 and stopped at the Quick Trip on the north side of town.  No matter which way we took, all of the those county roads offer a challenge, but are fun to ride.

With a couple of phone calls, we were able to join forces again and began to make our way back home by leaving Viroqua on HWY 14 and catching CR J just outside of town.  J took us past the lush, green Viroqua Golf Course and onto HWY 82.  We followed newly paved 82 all the way into Red Mound and then turned onto CR UU.  Down the scenic hill we went admiring a beautiful sunset and arriving in Victory and onto HWY 35 again.

We backtracked on 35 and crossed the Black Hawk Bridge again into Lansing.  Back on HWY 9 again into Waukon where 6 of us had eats.  The hot soup tasted pretty good!  I had 111 miles on the trike at Uptown Grill.  Even though we had to dodge "road apples" and buggies, it was still a nice ride on what would almost be considered a fall evening.  The sad part now is that the daylight hours will be getting shorter, so our rides will too.

Next Wednesday, we may cruise over by Cresco.

Another one of my favorite 50's/60's singers rode a motorcycle...

I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM....

 WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM!

At that's the way it looked in the Casey's parking lot as the group gathered for our annual Labor Day "Double Dip" Ice Cream Run.  I'm sure the beautiful day had something to do with it, but when we have 22 riders arrive, ice cream must have some thing to do with it!  The 22 riders broke our one ride record by four.  The most riders we had ever had before on one ride was 18!

Trying not to forget anyone, we had 10 riders on 8 bikes.  That group was made up of Chuckles, Lois, Mike, Jim & Cathy, Dee, Bill & Beth Ellen, and two imports from Wisconsin, Bob P and Luther.

Composing the massive three-wheeled gang were Richard & Melodye, Dave M, David R (Porky) & Elaine (Babe) from Wellsburg, Wayne, ChucK, Roger, and Bob & Julie.

We even had a "support" convertible with Dr. David & Suzanne aboard.

Here's some shots of the pre ride gathering in the Casey's lot.

"PORKY" & "BABE"

The first dip journey was to take us up to Caledonia where the "highly recommended" Wired (Ruptured) Rooster Coffee Shop was to offer us a big selection of dipped ice cream.  We arrive at the Rooster...

only to find out the "big selection" was the CLOSED sign on the door!  So we decided to move onto Houston where Bob knew (or hoped) some ice cream might be available.

We exited Caledonia on HWY 76 for a short distance and then took CR 10 through the metropolis of Sheldon and onto HWY 76 just outside of Houston.  We took 10 instead of 76 to Houston since Bob prefers the more sweeping curves, great views, and smoother blacktop.  We rolled into the River Valley Convenience Store in Houston and "overwhelmed" the nice lady on duty with our ice cream orders.  It was a very busy place, and after she called in her daughter to help, they handled the crowd very well. And we got our first dip!

The best part of the ride was to follow.  Just outside of Houston, we turned in an easterly direction on CR 9.  We followed 9 over to CR 21 and turned more southernly.  Both CR 9 and 21 meander along the Root River and offer some good views.  After a ways on 21, we turned back northerly on CR 25 and up a steep hill we went.  CR 25 is another jem that is well maintained and offers some excellent views of the valleys below.  Because of the tall corn in places, we were not able to catch all the great views, but it is still a nice route.  

The best was yet to come when we turned off of CR 25 at the WXOW towers and proceeded down Tschumper Road (Thumper Road for short).  This is only a one lane path of semi blacktop, but to most of us it is the most scenic four mile stretch of road in the tri-state area.  On a day like today, it did not disappoint.  The views were breathtaking!  A great ride down the hill takes us back to CR 21 and we make our way eastward to HWY 16.  A short trip down 16 takes us into Hokah for a brief stop at the Quick Trip there.

CHUCKLES TRIES TO TELL DAVID WHERE WE ARE

After a brief stop, we continued with our convoy down CR 18 from Hokah to Brownsville.  Once in Brownsville, HWY 26 became our route back along the Mississippi River to New Albin.  It was disturbing to see the number of catipillar tents in the trees along the river.  Outside of New Albin, we took CR A 26 (Iowa River Drive) for a smooth ride westerly to CR X30 (lycurgus Road) and then onto HWY 9.  Most of us took HWY 9 back into Waukon for our "second" dip at WW Dairy.

TIME FOR DIP #2

LUTHER SEEMED TO ENJOY THE RIDE

THE ICE CREAM WAS WORTH THE WAIT!

DENNIS & MARLENE MET US THERE.

There were about 115 miles on the trike at WW Dairy.  It sounded like everyone enjoyed the trip and the "double dips".  A special welcome to Luther from Wisconsin and to "Porky" & "Babe" good to see you again.

TOMORROW (WEDNESDAY NIGHT) if the weather cooperates, we may make tracks for Viroqua.  It's time to leave Houston alone for a while.

ON A SAD NOTE

Word has come to me that Terry's dad, Ernie Lubahn, has passed away.  More on the visitation and service to come.  Condolences to Terry and the rest of the Lubahn family.