OPENING NIGHT

It was breezy, but warm when four of us officially opened the Wednesday night riding season.  Wayne, Gary, Meryle, and Bob R put on about 85 miles through Eitzen, Caledonia, Brownsville, New Albin, and back to Waukon at Gus & Tony's.  It was warm enough that some of us even ate ice cream at Brownsville!  We all got a look at Wayne's new ride without tool boxes.  Right now it doesn't sound too good for next Wednesday, but we'll have to wait and see.
Here's some photos from Wednesday.

Now what's this button do again?

Hey!  My credit card worked!

Wayne's new ride and Gary's tires full of nitrogen.

NICE NEW RIDE, NICE RIDE, FIRST WN RIDE

Now that the secret is out (Howard's move to the darkside), Howard and Bob R ventured out on Sunday afternoon for about 120 miles through Luana, Monona, PDC, Wauzeka, Steuben (all roads lead to Steuben), Eastman, Seneca, Mt. Sterling, Ferryville, Lansing, and back to Waukon.  A little cool, but a NICE ride!  The way the weather looks, we may actually be able to get our first Wednesday night ride of the year in this Wednesday---5:30 at Casey's for another NICE ride?!

HOWARD'S NEW BIKE--IT'S A NICE RIDE!

GOOD RIDE!! GOOD RIDDANCE!!

It did happen Sunday!  The temperature did get up to 60, and Tom, Nancy, and Bob R traveled about 100 miles through Eitzen, Caledonia, Hokah, Brownsville, New Albin, Lansing, and back to Waukon for the first ride of the season for the Haberichters.  It was a little breezy at times, but it was great to be back in the saddle and to also say "good riddance" to the month of March and some signs of winter we saw along the way.  I'm glad we got the ride in since the forecast for the next week is highs in the 40's with rain and snow mixed.  Oh well, we had two nice days this month.  What more could you expect!

Here's some photos of the trip.

Tom & Nancy set for a GOOD RIDE!

Snow melting in the ditch on 76--GOOD RIDDANCE

Snow melting off the bluffs on 26--GOOD RIDDANCE

Pond thawing out from ice--GOOD RIDDANCE

Ice flowing out of the Upper Iowa--GOOD RIDDANCE

Ice flowing out of the Mississippi--GOOD RIDDANCE

Snow melting off the bluffs along 9--GOOD RIDDANCE

NO WINNER! NEW CONTEST! MAYBE A MARCH RIDE YET!

No one guessed correctly on the (MMAT) winter.  The only ones that may have known were family members who have heard it before, so they declared themselves ineligible.  So its Making My Ass Tired winter!  Anybody care to argue with that?

If the weatherman isn't telling lies again, it sounds like it may be time to "wake up" the Wing again on Sunday.  It sounds like it's supposed to get up to 60 degrees.  (It's just amazing how excited we get when the temperature just reaches normal!)  If it does indeed get there, I'll probably take a short ride that day and stay on the state highways.  Let me know if you're interested.

The secret is out about who went over to the "darkside", but for those who don't know, you will now have a chance to pick which bike he purchased.  Below I have listed several choices.  Pick out the one you think is right, and when we finally see it, figure out if you won.  This should be easy!

CHOICE #1  MADE FOR IOWA'S ROUGH ROADS

CHOICE #2  GOES SO FAST THAT IT SKIPS OVER THE BUMPS

CHOICE #3  WIFE WANTS COMFORT AND POWER!

CHOICE #4  COMES WITH A 10 POUND TUB OF POLISH!

GETTING PMS AND A POSSIBLE VIDEO

With a half rain/half snow outside and the forecast for the next week having high temperatures in the high 30's, a real case of "pms" is starting to set in.  I can only imagine what you poor folks who have stayed here through this "mmat" winter must be going through!  By the way, the first one who guesses correctly what "mmat" stands for gets a free supper at Gus & Tony's after one of our Wednesday night rides. (One guess per person, must be done before the next blog post comes out--563-568-7277 or post on "COMMENTS")  Since I am kind of a basketball "junkie", I should be able to survive another week with the help of March Madness.  Go Iowa and Iowa State!

I am going to TRY to post a video of part of one of our rides in Florida.  If it works out, you will see us going over the John Gorrie Bridge that connects Apalachicola, FL, with East Point, FL, across Apalachicola Bay.  This is where the Apalachicola river flows into the Gulf of Mexico and the fresh water mixes with the salt water to grow oysters which the city of Apalachicola gained its fame.  It was also a cotton seaport and was blockaded by the Union forces during the Civil War.  It's really a neat old town!

Be patient, this is my first attempt at this:

IT'S MELTING!!

For the first time since we've been back, the snow banks around our house are shrinking.  Maybe getting a ride in yet this month is a possibility.  The next challenge will be dodging the potholes!  May have to avoid Rossville Road and Spring Avenue for a while.  Towing the Wing on the new trailer back from Florida worked great and over the 1,100 miles we traveled, the only time I was worried about losing the bike was on Rossville Road in Waukon!

A bit of news:  While attending the HOG chapter chili cook off last Saturday at Waukon Harley-Davidson, I heard a rumor that one of our longtime WNR members may be going over to "the dark side" this spring.  I guess we'll find out on that first warm Wednesday night.  Can't wait!

For those of us who have to wait for others to arrive, I thought you might enjoy this one:

WE'RE B B B B B BACK!

I would tell you how happy I am to be back in Iowa, but the website monitors obscene and foul language!  When we left Panama City Beach on Friday morning the temperature was 70.  We stayed overnight near Paducah, KY, and the temperature was 48 degrees on Saturday morning.  When we woke up here in Waukon on Sunday morning, the temperature was 9 below.  A difference of 79 degrees!  The drive back was uneventful until we got to Iowa.  From Davenport to Waukon the speed was 45mph through snow, slush, and salt.

 However, while we were gone we got a new Wednesday Night Riderette.  Tom and Nancy are proud grandparents of Kayden, born in New Hampton.  To Tom, a handshake; and to Nancy--"What a sexy-looking grandma!"

I have a few photos to share.  The first one was sent from one of my smart-ass Gold Wing buddies in Florida.  He said if I had this bike, then I could ride year-round like he does!

SNOW PLOW BIKE

WHERE THE WING IS SUPPOSED TO BE PARKED

WHERE IT'S PARKED NOW

And finally, a little humor from a sign at the Outpost (the redneck biker bar in Florida)--"SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THIS AREA WILL NOT BE REPORTED, BUT IT WILL BE GRADED!