MYSTERY NO LONGER

Lois was a great leader on the Mystery RTE on Sunday!  Here's her report along with some photos of the journey.  Chuckles was even able to provide some entertainment with a nail in his tire.  Thank God there wasn't a blowout!

With the bank thermometer reading 78 degrees, on a partly cloudy and muggy Sunday, 16 of us gathered at Casey's for our Mystery RTE. On two wheels were Lois, Chuckles, Bill, Jim & Cathy and Mike & Joan.  On three wheels were Richard & Melodye in the Slingshot, Dave, Wayne, Roger, Don & Karrie and Lee & Jill (newbie). Welcome, Jill!

With Lois in the lead we began our ride heading East on Elon Rd, noticing a good amount of cleanup done since our post-tornado ride. When reaching Lansing-Harpers Rd, we only hopped on for a short ride, before turning on to Lafayette Ridge. When we reached Great River Rd, we enjoyed the cool shade and passed by IC at Wexford, where they celebrated their 175th anniversary last weekend. As we neared Harpers Ferry the twisted mess and missing tops of trees was still very evident. We continued through Harpers Ferry where we went straight through on 364. There was still some activity on the aptly named 'Muddy Mississippi' after this week's deluge. On reaching 76 we cruised on down to Marquette experiencing an unplanned stop at Casey's there. Chuckles picked up a nail in his rear tire which resulted in a flat. Thankfully, it was the rear tire and there were no injuries, except for the tire. He parked the bike in the corner of a lot, for later retrieval. Taking Lois' bike, with her as a passenger, we continued on 18, the 76 detour, to McGregor where we arrived at "The Station". 

There we were greeted by delightful staff and were thrilled to be joined by Bob & Julie and Dennis & Marlene, especially since Bob had suggested this as a mystery destination. We feasted on delicious sandwiches and nice cold drinks. We chose the inside seating, where it seemed a bit cooler and we were sure to have shade.

From there Chuckles hitchhiked home, with the foursome, to get his trailer and return for the bike. The rest of us followed the Great River Rd to Guttenberg, where we headed to Joe's for some ice cream. Great idea, Don!  It was pretty steamy as we crossed the street so we decided to have a seat in their back room to enjoy our sweet treat.  On departure we continued our swoop, next to the river, until we reached Hwy 52. Traffic coming from the North had their windshield wipers going and I debated on just taking 52 for a direct shot for home. I thought the sky looked brighter to the West so stayed with the original plan and hopped on Gunder Road. We encountered a short 'cool down' shower that wasn't too heavy and didn't take too long to pass. We followed Gunder Rd to Grandview then Hwy 13 past Elkader. We turned down through Farmersburg and took Golden Rd back up to 52.  We cruised past Monona and turned up through Luana where we came out by the old school so it was just a short scoot to Forest Mills Rd that we followed to 76 and back home. I noticed Mark gassing up at Casey's when I cruised through downtown. I suppose he had to check out all the 4th of July hot spots since it's his first year back in Waukon. Hope you can join us next time, Mark.

Feeling thankful for the smooth roads, the good food, the great company and getting home safely.  Odometer showed 130 miles as I rolled into the garage.  I'd call this a good day. God Bless America!

Gathering at Casey's; Bill - "Here's the nail"; Arrival and eats at The Station; Parking by the river and enjoying our ice cream stop; Harley is home.

As I mentioned previously, it is very, very doubtful that I will be able to make the Summer Trip this year.  So, if you still want to have one, it would be a good idea to start very soon on the planning by someone who wants to be a leader and plan the trip.  You may want to go to a different location, and save the Peace Garden for next year.  I'm leaving that up to you guys.