Ride To Eat on Saturday and update on blossoms

Just to keep you informed, our first RTE (Ride To Eat) for the season is scheduled for this Saturday, May 9th.  It's our Burger Run.

This year we are going to combine the burgers with a museum visit.  The plan is to depart Casey's at 1 PM Saturday afternoon and ride over to Ridgeway and take a tour of America's largest woodcarving museum.  And yes, it's in Ridgeway, Iowa!  I rode over there last Saturday and told them we would be over there around 2:30.  They close at 4, so we would have time for a tour (cost is $10) and to look around some afterwards.  I visited there last year when I was a mentor for a day with human services.  I really enjoyed it, and it's an interesting place, to say the least!

After our museum visit, the plan is to continue the ride over to Cresco for burgers (or whatever you want) at Dan's Road House.  Bill, Julie, and I ate over there last year, and the burgers were great.  Dan's finished in the top 5 best burger places in Iowa last year.

After our meal, and depending on daylight, we will continue the ride back using a different route.  Looks to be a great time!  If you have already visited the museum, or for some reason can't, you could still catch us to eat at Dan's around 5.

BLOSSOMS

I was hoping to be able to ride over to Gays Mills on an upcoming Wednesday night to cruise through the orchards and take in the sights and smells of the blooming apple trees.  I ventured over there yesterday (Sunday) and discovered that the trees were beautiful and in full bloom.  However, the highway that runs right down through the orchards (HWY 171) is going to be closed starting Wednesday.  Hopefully they are going to resurfacing 171, because it really needs it.  So, if you want to see the blossoms, you are going to have to go over today or tomorrow.

I have another appointment at Gundersen in LaCrosse tomorrow, so I may see if the apple trees on Apple Blossom Drive above LaCrescent are in bloom, and maybe shoot for that Wednesday night if the weather cooperates.  If not, see you Saturday.

 

FEARSOM FOURSOME CHILLS OUT

This Wednesday night looked to be somewhat cool, and it was.  However four riders bundled up and challenged the elements to a duel.

We had Jim and Mike on GW bikes while Richard drove his Slingshot and Bob led on his GW trike.  Apparently only Gold Wings and Slingshots are built to take the cold! 

A SMALL, BUT TOUGH GROUP

When we pulled out of Casey's the temps were in the low 50's with a better than brisk northwest wind and partly sunny skies.  The original destination was Pikes Peak, so we started off heading east on the Elon Road.  The wind pounded us pretty good until we made the turn onto Waterville Road.  We cruised through Waterville and once again hit the strong breezes as we made our way up to HWY 76.  We took 76 south, and it felt great to cruise down the hill past Effigy Mounds and into Marquette.

We made our way on into McGregor and took CR X56 (Great River Road) up the hill past the old Barnum & Bailey Circus wintering grounds and up to the turn for Pikes Peak.  Since we only had a few riders, waiting to see Pikes Peak at a later time seemed to be the thing to do, so we continued our journey on GRR.  Once we reached the turn to Garnavillo, we took Clayton Road on into Garnavillo.  Clayton Road proved to be a wildlife sanctuary, since we had to slow for a deer and passed a turkey on the roadside who paid us no attention.  Maybe he couldn't believe anyone would be out on a motorcycle today.

The plan was to stop in Garnavillo for a break at the newly remodeled Quick Stop there, but it wasn't ready to open yet. So we turned around and went back to the Garnavillo Mini-Mart on the southside of town.  None of us had ever been there before, but we decided to go in and try it out.  We were surprised to find they had a lot of goodies packed into a small space.  We were able to warm up with some coffee while we watched the friendly help make pizzas and sandwhiches.  I plan on stopping there again sometime.

OUTSIDE OF THE MINI-MART

We continued our journey under warmer temps and less wind as we made our way north on HWY 52.  Once we reached HWY 18, we turned east and rolled into Marquette again.  Only this time we took CR B45 (Pleasant Ridge Road) toward Monona.  The uphill portion of this road is still rough, but the rest of it has been recently been resurfaced, so we had a nice smooth ride ahead of us. We missed the "rush hour" in Watson and rolled into Monona.  The streets in Monona could use some work also.

We turned north again onto CR X26 (Volney Road) and made our may up to Rossville and onto HWY 76.  HWY 76 took us back into Waukon, where Jim & Mike split for home.  Richard & Bob stopped for eats at Uptown.  Bob had a welcome bowl of hot French onion soup.  Upon returning home he had just at 100 miles for the trip.  As he as always said, "If it's a 50 or above and not raining, I'm riding."  But that's when he was a lot younger.  Actually it was a cool, but enjoyable ride, and I'm glad we went.

However, when I got home, I noticed this...

FULL MOON

The saying is "That all the crazies come out when there's a full moon!"

Hopefully it will be a little warmer and dryer next Wednesday and we'll head for Houston.

Jim and I are thinking about heading down to Tama or Belle Plain on Monday, June 1st to see Big Boy, the world's largest operating steam  locomotive as it passes from Wyoming to Omaha.  We would go down and come back the same day. More on this later.

Bill correctly identified the mystery rider on our last blog entry.  It was one of my favorite singers, Roy Orbison.  He sang "Crying", "Only the Lonely", "Blue Bayou", and the still popular "Oh, Pretty Woman" among others.

If anyone who was unable to make the PMS get-together last week and would like a copy of the video presentation used there, I can give to a DVD copy.  Just let me know.

Everyone should know this guy...

CAMP COURAGEOUS

Eight Wednesday Night Riders made the journey Sunday morning to Monticello to support Camp Courageous at their omelet breakfast fundraiser.  Bikers were Jim & Cathy, Chuckes, and Lois.  Dave, Richard & Melodye, and Bob made up the three-wheeled gang.

CHUCKLES & LOIS FIRST TO ARRIVE

THE SLINGSHOT ROLLS IN

JIM ARRIVES, CATHY WALKS

TIME FOR PRERIDE B S

DAVID ARRIVES ON HIS "OLD" RIDE

JULIE SEES US OFF

THE LEADER GETS READY

CHUCKLES WOULD SOON BE STRUGGLING WITH HIS ZIPPER

When we departed Casey's it was just above 50 degrees and partly cloudy.  We traveled down through Rossville, into Monona, onto HWY 18 and then over to HWY 52 near Froelich. Following HWY 52 through Garnavillo, Guttenberg, Millville, Luxemberg, and New Vienna until we reached Dyersville where we took a short break at Casey's.

After a short break, we picked up HWY 136 just outside of Dyersville and passed through Worthington.  We then turned onto HWY 151 south at Cascade and sped along at 65 mph until we reached the turn for HWY 38 at Monticello.  HWY 38 south took us to the turn for Camp Courageous (190th St.) and we rolled into CC and found our usual parking spot on the basketball court.  By now the sun was out, and the temp was in the upper 60's.

PLENTY OF ROOM FOR PARKING

LET'S EAT!

While we were in line for the omelets, I met the new CEO for CC, Craig Stadtmueller.  He wanted to know more about our Wednesday Night Riders group.  I informed him about us as much as I could, and told him we have been coming down both spring and fall for the fundraising breakfasts for at least 25 years.  He was impressed and gave us a warm welcome.

Usually when we get there, around 11:15 or so, the dining area is about half empy.  Today, however, they were still streaming in at that time.  I asked the lady who made my omelet about the crowd, and she says they have been extremely busy the whole time.  She was actually from a group that came all the way from Waukee, Iowa, to volunteer.

We loaded up our plates with the omelet, toast, and sausage patties and found a place to sit.  There we were served juice, coffee, milk, or water if we wanted it. Our coffee connoisseur, Jim, said the coffee was just better than none, but I noticed he still had several cups.

EIGHT CHOW HOUNDS

We usually try to take a different, more scenic, way back, so we weaved our way through Monticello on HWY 38 and followed it up to CR A47 and turned north.  After arriving at HWY 20, we took it back through Dyersville and HWY 52 north.  Taking 52 north back through New Vienna, we turned west on HWY 3 and motored past Colesburg and into Edgewood where Bob and Dave needed gas.  After gassing up we made the mandatory ice cream stop at the Edgewood Country Club.

After our ice cream treats, we got onto CR X 21 (Littleport Rd) and headed north.  This stretch of road is one of my favorites.  It's been recently resurfaced and offers some outstanding scenery. After passing through Littleport we continued onto CR X3C (Grandview Road) and enjoyed some more great views until we reached HWY 13 north.  We then cruised through Elkader and stayed on 13 until we got to CR B65 and motored down the hill into St. Olaf and then took CR X28 (Fawn Hollow Road) into Farmersburg.  After passing by xxxhole's garage, we made our way to HWY 18 staying on X28.  After turning back west on 18, we turned off at Luana and followed CR X16 through Hardin and then passed the Gelo plantation where Jim & Cathy departed.  The rest of us motored on north to HWY 76 and into Waukon.

I had a little over 200 miles on the Wing when I arrived home.  GREAT RIDE FOR A GREAT CAUSE!

If it's fit to ride Wednesday night, Pikes Peak will be our goal.

Lois correctly identified the mystery rider in the last post.  It was Jack Nicholson.  He starred in many films, but I most remember him in the movie Easy Rider.

How about this guy?

GOOD SHOWING AT PMS

We had another good turn out for our 18th PMS (Parked Motorcycle/Motorcar Syndrome) get-together on Wednesday evening.  According to the unofficial count, we had 30 attendees.

After feeding our faces, Bob presented a recap of our 2025 year including comments on the special rides upcoming.  We also paid tribute to those members of our group that passed on including Sandy, Darrel, and Irv.

The final set of videos was meant to give some good-natured teasing to most of our members and drawing some humor and laughter.  Apparently that was successful.  So, I think everyone had an enjoyable evening, and are looking forward to another great riding season.  Special welcome to Karrie.  She and her husband, Don, plan on joining us for some rides this season.

Here are some photos of the folks in attendance.  Bernell & Kathy joined us later, and Ken K apparently got lost going home after his pills.

This coming Sunday is our first charity ride.  We will be heading to Camp Courageous for their omelet breakfast fund raiser.  We will depart Casey's at 9 AM Sunday morning.  After the breakfast, we will be taking a scenic ride back with a possible stop for ice cream on the way.  There should be a car ride available for those who do not want to ride motorcycles.  If you can't make the ride, you can still come to Casey's that morning and send along a donation to Camp Courageous with one of us.  LET'S HAVE A GOOD TURNOUT FOR THIS VERY WORTHWHILE CAUSE!

The mystery rider from the last post was Charlie Chaplan.  No one guessed right.  How about this guy?

 

PMS Tomorrow Evening

Don't forget about the PMS get-together at Uptown tomorow evening.  You can start ordering food at 5. It will be great to see everyone again!

The last mystery biker was Jackie Chan

 Jackie Chan, also known as Fang Shilong, is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, and martial artist. He's known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he usually performs himself. Chan's on-screen fighting style is based on traditional and Northern Kung Fu, and designed to be the opposite of Bruce Lee's fluid movements. 

How about this guy?

PMS TIME

I am assuming that no one was dumb enough to try to ride Wednesday night, so there is no report to view on that. In the mail today, I am sending out the invitations to our PMS (Parked Motorcyle/Motorcar Syndrome) get-together at Uptown on the 22nd of April.  Also included with the invite is the list of the Wednesday Night Riders tentative special rides for 2026.  If you have any questions about the rides, or any other matters concerning the Wednesday Night Riders, I will try to answer them at the get-together.

Now, if you did not get an invitation and still want to come to the PMS get-together, please come.  If you did not receive an invitation, it means that you have not been riding with us for a while, or I do not have your mailing address.  It's always great to see everyone again since last fall and we always seem to have a good time.

So, set aside the evening of  April 22nd at Uptown in Waukon.  Food orders taken starting at 5 and program to follow.  SEE EVERYONE THEN.

Did you figure out who the mystery person was in the last blog entry?  It was William Shatner, star of the popular tv show, Star Trek.  Apparently he was also a motorcycle rider in his spare time.

OK, how about this guy?

Tribute to Irv

Special thanks to all the Wednesday Night Riders that came to Irv's funeral, wake, reception, and the fellowship time.  I know everyone couldn't attend all the events, but I'm sure the family appreciated seeing us there.

As I mentioned to Chris at the funeral home, we are really going to miss Irv.  I think every ride he was on with us, he always added knowledge, humor, and friendship.

Special thanks to those who accompanied the funeral procession to the church cemetery outside of Ossian. We had 12 participants (counting Chuck, who was on duty) in 9 units.

Here's some photos that were taken, mostly by Chuckles.

  

I think all the planned events were very well done, which made it a special tribute to Irv.

IRV'S FUNERAL

 I have 15 Wednesday Night Riders signed up who plan to attend Irv's funeral tomorrow and sit with the group.  If you are one/or two of the 15, try to be at the church around 10:30.  Once we are all gathered, Craig will bring us up front to our seats.  If you cannot make it that early, just tell Craig or Chuckles, and they will bring you up to sit with us when you get there.

 After the funeral, there is a reception at the fairgrounds in Waukon. We will escourt the hearse to the cemetery outside of Ossian starting at 1:30 from the fairgrounds.  If you did not attend the funeral you can still be part of the escourt.  Just be ready to go at 1:30.

The weather prediction is for clouds with a possible morning shower and high temps around 60, so it is going to be cool, but hopefully not wet.

Any questions, just let Bob know.

7 UP FOR EARLY BIRD RIDE

Seven riders participated in an impromptu "early bird" Wednesday night ride last night.  The only notification was put on the blog yesterday morning.

Mike, Chuckles, Lois, Jim & Cathy showed up on bikes, while Dave M and Bob rode trikes.

We departed Casey's with 66 degrees showing on the Waukon State bank sign. We cruised through town and made our way onto HWY 76 north.  We were presently happy to see that they had finally finished the bridge over Bear Creek, so we didn't have to stop there anymore. We made our way up to Dorchester Drive and proceeded through the countryside all the way up to Spring Grove. With all the leaves off the trees, one could see alot more surroundings (some good, some not so good).  We were constantly looking for sand on the road surfaces, but so far it was only at intersections.

We cruised through Spring Grove and made our way along HWY 44 to CR 17 and followed this windy, hilly, but smooth asphalt all the way back to HWY 76.  We sped by Eitzen and continued on 76 until we turned onto CR A26 (Iowa River Drive) and followed it along the river to Lycurgus Road.  The only animals we spotted so far were turkeys and a couple of darting dogs.

Lycurgus Road is starting to show its age by being quite bumpy, but we made our way back to HWY 9 and observed a crowd filing into St. Mary's Church.  Hwy 9 took most of us back to Waukon and eats at Uptown.

After about 75 miles, we arrive back in town safely from a really nice "early bird" ride.  Richard joined us for eats at a very busy Uptown.

DON'T FORGET TO LET BOB KNOW IF YOU WANT TO ATTEND IRV'S FUNERAL WITH OUR GROUP.

Here's a sign that Lois spotted on one of her travels.  Enjoy!

EARLY BIRD WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIDE

For those of you who have your bikes and convertibles out of storage, we will have an "early bird" Wednesday night ride tonight.  Like before, we will depart Casey's at 5, ride for a couple of hours, and stop at Uptown Grill afterwards.  The temps are predicted to be close to 70, so that makes tonight hard to pass up.  The plan is to travel up towards Spring Grove and Caledonia. I doubt if we will stop for a break.

Hopefully a few can make it!

ANOTHER GUESS WHO?

MORE ON IRV'S SERVICES

 Memorial Service for Irv

March 30 4:00pm-7:00 pm Visitation at Martin Grau Funeral Home, Waukon

March 31 Visitation at 10:00 am, funeral at 11:00. St. John’s Lutheran Church, Waukon followed by a luncheon at Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion

1:15 depart for Stavanger Lutheran Church cemetery for burial.

4:00pm-8:00pm Gather at Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion for fellowship.

The Wednesday Night Riders have been invitied to participate in Irv's services. Obviously attending the visitation on the 30th is up to you. On the 31st, the day of the funeral, we are invited to sit as a group in the church. The funeral home will save some seats for us. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SIT WITH THE GROUP AT THE FUNERAL, then let Bob know by Saturday, the 28th, so he can tell the funeral home how many seats to save.

As noted above, there will a luncheon following the funeral service at the Fairgrounds Pavilion.

Following the luncheon, at 1:15, we are invited to form a motorcycle escourt for Irv from the fairgrounds to the cemetery in Ossian. If you would like to participate in the escourt, then be ready to line up by 1:15. I will try to get a count and some photos then. You DO NOT need to let Bob know if you plan to be in the escourt, just be ready to go by 1:15. As the plans are now, we will be following a van to the cemetery with the hearse following us. Obviously, participation is going to depend alot on the weather.

Returning to the Fairgrounds Pavilion from 4-8 for fellowship is up to you.

If there are any changes to this agenda, it will be up on the blog.

AND I KNOW IRV WOULD BE DELIGHTED TO SAY, "Way to go Cyclones and Hawkeyes!"

SERVICE TIMES FOR IRV

 I thought it would be appropriate to post the service times for Irv here on the blog, so plans for attending can be made.  According to the funeral home, here are the times.

Irvin Fosaaen

1949 — 2026

Waukon

     Irvin K. Fosaaen Jr., 76, of Waukon, IA, died Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, March 31st, at 11:00 AM at St. John's Lutheran Church in Waukon with Pastor Mark Oehlert officiating. Burial will be at Stavanger Cemetery in Ossian, IA. Friends may greet the family from 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM Monday, March 30th, at Martin - Grau Funeral Home in Waukon.

     A full obituary will follow.

SOME SAD NEWS

 Here is a message sent today by Chris.

Today we bid farewell to Irv. He passed on peacefully and was surrounded by his family.

This photo was taken on his beloved St Croix at sunrise the morning of the day he fell and sustained a brain bleed. Complications from that event proved to be insurmountable in spite of his persistent attempts to recover. We will miss you dearly, Irv.

MORE ON IRV'S RECOVERY

 Here's another update from Chris concerning Irv's recovery.

Day 44 at Mayo St Mary’s Hospital. Irv moved out of the ICU and is on a regular medical unit! They will watch him for a day or two and then develop a “next steps” plan.

ANOTHER IRV UPDATE

As many of you know, Irv had a setback and had to return to ICU.  However, this update from Chris sounds encouraging.

 Finally! Irv is awake and alert. The breathing tube was removed yesterday. If all goes well he will move out of the ICU tomorrow to a regular unit so he can begin physical and speech therapy. The neurologist is optimistic about cognitive recovery close to how he was prior to the brain bleed. Since he’s been bedridden for 40 days, the physical recovery will take months.

These days have been an unsettling rollercoaster ride. And we’re hopeful now for a smoother ride going forward.

Thank you all for your ongoing support, concern and prayers.

KEEP THE PRAYERS COMING FOR IRV'S RECOVERY, AND GOD BLESS CHRIS FOR BEING WITH HIM THROUGH THESE TOUGH TIMES.

ANOTHER IRV UPDATE

 FROM CHRIS

Big day! After 3 weeks, Irv moved out of the ICU to a “step-down” unit. He will be there until they clear him for a physical therapy unit.

UPDATE ON IRV

Chris posted this update.  For those of you who do not use Faceboook, I thought being informed on the blog would let everyone know how Irv is doing.

Keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

 The doctors were certainly correct when they said Irv’s recovery will be slow. Two weeks after his successful craniotomy he FINALLY had the breathing tube removed this morning. He immediately began breathing on his own! His respiration will be closely monitored for a few hours and if all goes well, he will be transferred from ICU to a transitional unit before going to rehab.

Thank you all for your concern and prayers.