Wednesday Night Riders: June 2026

There will be two "episodes" on this new post on the blog. The first will be the ride Wednesday night.

We had a total of 14 riders show up at Casey's for our Wednesday night ride last night. Lois, Bill, Dee, and Nancy came aboard bikes. The three-wheel gang consisted of Richard & Melodye, Mark, Uncle Wayne & Karrie, Ron, ChucK, Dave, and Bob. Showing up for the first time this year was Ken in his convertible.

LOIS, BUT NO CHUCKLES

MARK TIPS HIS CAP TO THE REST OF THE RIDERS

UNCLE WAYNE & KARRIE

RON ARRIVES

BILL ON HIS ADVENTURE BIKE

Chuck & DEE ROLL IN

TIME FOR GROUP GOSSIP

NANCY ARRIVES IN MY REARVIEW MIRROR

EVEN KEN BREAKS OUT HIS CONVERTIBLE

It was a near perfect night for riding, so off we went with the goal being a cruise through the metropolis of Freeburg, MN.

After rolling through Waukon, we took HWY 76 north and just past Eitzen, we truned onto CR 17, and followed this "roller coaster" up to HWY 44 just outside of Spring Grove. We turned east on 44 and arrived back on HWY 76 and on into Caledonia.

After passing through Caledonia, we took CR 249 and wound our way along a smooth and scenic stretch of asphalt on into Freeburg just avoiding the "rush hour" Freeburg's fame rests in the fact that Little Miami Restaurant is located there.

We jumped off 249 and continued an adventure onto CR 24, one of the more interesting roads we will travel on this season. Most of 24 is not marked (Who needs "stinking yellow lines"?!) and winds its way along creeks and through woods offering up some great views. CR 24 ends at the junction of CR 3, and we take 3 on into Brownsville for a break at River Station Convenience Store located there.

GOOD TO SEE NANCY AGAIN

THE SLINGSHOT GETS PARKED

THE REST OF THE GANG PARKS

YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH GAS

After our break we continued our ride on a great night by taking HWY 26 on through Reno and New Albin and on into Lansing. HWY 26 offered us some cooling shade along with some great views of the river. We arrived in Lansing and took a gander at the new bridge construction and then passed through town to pick up CR X42 (Lansing/Harpers Road) and meander along it until we reached CR X52 (Elon Road) and cruised on into Waukon where six of us had eats at Uptown. I racked up just a little over 100 miles on the Wing. What a great night for a ride!

UPCOMING EVENTS

This Saturday is the Mags/Byrnes charity ride starting with a breakfast at the fairgrounds pavillion at 9 and a ride starting at noon. I plan to attend the breakfast and make a donation to the charity, but I don't know yet about going on the ride. Last year I did go.

This Sunday, we have another of our "semi-famous" RTE's (Rides To Eat). The plan is to leave Casey's at 10:30 Sunday morning and make a trip for eats at The Lookout bar & restaurant near Arcadia. It's been quite a while since we've been up there, so I guess it's about time. It's always been a fun and very scenic trip. Hopefully weather will not be a factor. EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

Sunday, June 14, is the WinMed Hospice Ride. This is an event that our group has participated in for a good number of years now, and we have had a good number of us go each time. Mark the date on your calendar!

PART 2--The Choo-Choo

Last Monday, Big Boy, the largest operating steam locomotive in the world, was coming to Tama for a scheduled stop. I couldn't pass up this possible "once in a lifetime" opportunity to see this monster. So, accompanied by Bill, we made our way down to Tama that morning. We were then joined by Jim and Mike on the rebound from their trip to Chattanooga and points south. The following are some photos and videos of the day's events with Big Boy.