AND THEN THERE WERE TWO

Apparently it was cold and windy last Wednesday, but there were two members that ventured out.  Chuckles and Jim braved the cold and wind for some late fall miles.  Here's Chuckles' report.

It was a cold windy evening, but two brave souls took to the open road.  Chuckles and Jim took 9 to Lansing, south on Harpers-Lansing then through Yellow River Forest, up to 76 to Rossville then through Monona and Luana.  On the way Jim G took a left to head home and Chuckles forged ahead.  Cold & lonely he stopped to warm up at the Vet's Club with a hot sandwich & a cold beer followed by the men's choir with Dennis.

ONE BRAVE SOUL & ONE SHIVERING CAMERA MAN

COOL RUN FOR HOT CHICKEN

Sunday was our 10th annual "Chicken Run" to the Rockton Bar for their "Almost World Famous Barbecued Chicken".  It was only 38 degrees when eight of us left Casey's with Gary, Wayne M, and Bob R on bikes and Wayne & Sandy, Dennis & Marlene, and Julie in the support vehicle supplied by the Fishs.  
We took Hwy 9 to Lansing and crossed the bridge into Wisconsin on HWY 35.  We turned off of 35 at DeSoto onto HWY 82 and then on to CR N at West Prairie when the sun came out and made the rest of the ride warmer with spectacular leaf looking.  Following N to HWY 56 and then turning onto CR O, we went through Newton and onto CR Y.  We followed Y on into Viroqua for a warm-up.  
We then got back on Y for a venture through Avalanche and onto CR S where the scenery was beautiful again!  From S we went through Bloomingdale and on to CR P.  Following P through Dell, we arrived at HWY 131 where we could already smell the chicken!  We followed 131 and found a table inside the bar to enjoy the meal and warm-up drinks.
After stuffing down the chicken, beans, macaroni salad, and bread we continued our travels heading for the orchards at Gays Mills.  Just gotta have some hot cider and warm apple donuts!  We followed HWY 131 through LaFarge, Viola, and Soldiers Grove where we picked up HWY 61.  We took 61 to HWY 171 at Rolling Ground and ended up at Sunrise Orchards where the smell of the donuts baking was overwhelming!  After sampling the cider and donuts and packing away a few extra apples and donuts we continued on HWY 171 through Gays Mills, Mt. Sterling, and onto HWY 35 again at Ferryville.  We then journeyed back across the bridge and home again via HWY 9.  We put on about 160 miles round trip.  
If anyone wants to enjoy the beauty of the leaf colors yet this fall, I highly recommend taking a ride on the county roads mentioned above.

I won't be in town on Wednesday, so you will need a new leader for the Wednesday night ride.  We will continue to ride on Wednesday nights up until daylight savings time.

Here's some shots from Sunday.

THE SUPPORT VEHICLE AND GARY WEARING HIS ENTIRE WARDROBE

"HEY, DENNIS, HOW MUCH CHICKEN CAN YOU EAT?"

WITH ALL THOSE CLOTHES, GARY CAN STILL GET READY FASTER THAN CHUCKLES

EIGHT USDA CLUCKERS.........GONE!

STILL COOKIN" EM

BUT THE LINE'S GETTING SHORTER

WAYNE, THE SUPPORT DRIVER, DOING THE "CHICKEN DANCE" WITH MARLENE

TWO GEEZERS AND A BELLE PLUS THE "CHICKEN RUN"

Only three of us (Lois, Howard, and Bob R) rode on Wednesday.  We had a very pleasant ride out through Elon and to Lansing via the LaFayette Ridge road.  From there we went through Lansing and up the river road to New Albin where we took Pool Hill road to Eitzen.  Down 76 to A 26 and the Lycurgus Road to HWY9 was our next leg.  We then continued on 9 into Waukon and Gus & Tony's.  Total mileage was about 80.  The temp was in the mid 60's and we got only a very short sprinkling of rain.

It sound like cool weather for Sunday's "Chicken Run", so if you don't want to ride a bike and still want to go, bring your car to Casey's and we can car-pool and motorcycle from there.  We will leave at 10 AM.  Let Bob know by Friday if you want chicken.

After many years of shifting the Harley, Gary is going to have a knee replaced next Wednesday.  Good luck to him!

Here's a photo from Wednesday night.

ONE GEEZER AND A BELLE READY TO HIT THE ROAD

WHAT A DAY!!

The only way to describe the day on Sunday was "WOW"!  We had 12 members on 8 units make the trip from Casey's to Camp Courageous that day.  The Blockers, Meryle & Mary, the Thorntons, the Votsmiers, Gary, Jim G, and the Rotachs traveled through Fishville, Postville, Gunder, Elkader, (the Farmersburg road is closed), Elkport, Colesburg, Petersberg, Sand Springs, and on to Monticello for the Camp Courageous pancake meal.  We all had our fair share of pancakes and sausage, but a couple of us outdid themselves.  It was a delicious meal and all for a good cause!

Since some of the roads we usually take back through Balltown were under construction with loose gravel, we took a new route in spite of Chuckles' protests.  We came back through Cascade, Epworth, Graf (also called Farg by the locals), Durango, Sherrill, Balltown (The scenery with the leaves changing was spectacular!), North Buena Vista, Millville, and on into Guttenberg for an ice cream stop at Greaser's.  A couple of us outdid themselves there also!  We actually ate ice cream while sitting in the shade!

From there we continued along the river through Clayton, McGregor, Marquette, Harpers Ferry, Elon, and back to Waukon.

 The good Lord gave us a beautiful day with unbelievable scenery to be best enjoyed from the seat of a motorcycle or convertible.

Depending on the weather, we have our regular Wednesday ride and on Sunday we are scheduled for the "Chicken Run" to Rockton.  If you want to go along on Sunday and want chicken (they have other foods) let Bob know at least by Friday, so we can reserve the chicken dinners.  Apparently they are having a banner year for the chicken in Rockton!

Here's a few photos and a video clip of our journey on Sunday.

AS THE RASCALS SANG, "IT'S A BEAUTIFUL MORNING"

BIKES AND SUPPORT VEHICLE READY

CHUCKLES ASKING JIM HOW MANY PANCAKES HE CAN EAT

"HEY MARY.  I FOUND A NEW BUTTON"

WE GET OUR "USUAL" PARKING SPOT

"HEY JIM.  HOW MANY PANCAKES CAN YOU GET IN YOUR SADDLEBAGS?"

LOIS IS TOO BUSY EATING TO POSE FOR A PHOTO

WE ARRIVE AT GREASER'S

GREASER"S WAS BUSY!

FEARLESS FOURSOME ON WEDNESDAY/CAMP COURAGEOUS SUNDAY

This Wednesday a fearless foursome of riders left Casey's at 5:30.  Chuckles, Lois, Gary, and Bob R ventured out into the unknown.  How many miles we rode or what towns we went though?  WE'LL NEVER TELL!

The trip to Camp Courageous for the pancake breakfast is this Sunday.  We will leave Casey's at 10 AM.  It's supposed to be a nice day, so hopefully we can get a good group together.  It's for a good cause, and with the leaves starting to change there should be good scenery also.

Here's a couple of shots from Wednesday night.

WE ARRIVE AT G & T'S

LOIS HELPING CHUCKLES UNLOAD

"COME ON, CHUCKLES.  SPEED IT UP!"

SWEET 16 TO TASTE BEER & MUSTARD

Sixteen of us (Dennis & Marlene, Meryle & Mary, Clair & Doris, Wayne & Sandy, Chuckles & Lois, Carl & Joyce, Jim & Cathy, and Bob & Julie departed Casey's Saturday morning just ahead of an impeding rain shower on our annual couples trip.  This year we were headed to Middleton, Wisconsin to see the National Mustard Museum and to tour Capital Brewery.  For the most part we were able to avoid the rain as we passed through Luana, Monona, Froelich, Marquette, PDC, and Bridgeport for a break in Wauzeka.  We picked up Clair & Doris as they traveled from Dyersville to PDC.  We continued on through Boscobel, Blue River, Muscoda (the mushroom capital of Wisconsin), and  Avoca to a rest stop in Lone Rock.  From there we continued on to Spring Green, Arena, and in to Mazomanie where we had a very filling lunch at Rookies.  We then continued on past the Firm Worm to Black Earth, Cross Plains, and to Middleton where we toured the Capital Brewery and sampled beer in the Beer Garden.  We then left the brewery (with Chuckles screaming and dragging) to the Mustard Museum where Chuckles quieted down when he found out there were free samples of mustard and pretzels!  From there we headed back into Mt. Horeb to the motel where we told lies and ate snacks in the lounge area.
We started off Sunday by leaving Wayne & Sandy at the motel.  After they caught up with us we continued back to Cross Plains and into Lodi on HWY 113.  We continued on 113 to the ferry crossing on Lake Wisconsin at Merrimac.  After crossing on the ferry, we took the beautiful ride through Devil's Lake State Park on 113 into Baraboo and past Circus World.  We continued on HWY 136 through Rock Springs and then rejoined HWY 33 near Reedsburg for a break.  We took HWY 33 through LaValle, Wonewoc,  and on to HWY 82 near Hillsboro.  We took 82 through LaFarge and into Viroqua for lunch at Dave's Pizza and Ice Cream Shop.  From there we continued on 82 to Lansing and back home.
Total miles= 320; Total smiles=several hundred!

Here's a couple of photos

READY TO LEAVE TO BEAT THE RAIN

CHUCKLES & JIM MOONING THE RESIDENTS OF WAUZEKA

BELLYING UP TO THE FREE BEER AT CAPITAL BREWERY

EVEN CAESAR LIKED MUSTARD

LION PEEING FOUNTAIN OUTSIDE THE MUSTARD MUSEUM

GOOD FOOD AT DAVE'S IN VIROQUA

ABOARD THE MERIMAC FERRY

  

DUSTY START--GREAT RIDE

Construction on the street in front of Casey's filled the air full of dust for the start of our ride Wednesday night.  However, 13 of us on 10 bikes made an 85 mile trek through Eitzen and Caledonia to a stop at Brownsville for everything from ice cream to hot chocolate.  We (Jim, David, Bugsy, Gary, Jim & Cathy, Chuckles, Lois, Meryle & Mary, Wayne & Sandy, and Bob R) then returned home by passing through Reno, New Albin, and Lycurgus.  The stop for supper at Gus & Tony's included a birthday pie for Chuckles.  We all watched him devour it with no offer to split with Lois.  HAPPY 60th TO CHUCKLES!  You don't look a day over 70.

The Couples' Trip for this weekend is all set with Blockers, Meryle & Mary, Riesbergs, Fishs, Votsmiers, Thorntons, Gelos, and Rotachs all ready to see mustard, beer, and a ferry.  See everyone at 9:30 AM at Casey's on Saturday.  Sounds like some rain Saturday, but warm.  Sunday sounds warm & sunny.  Should be lots of fun!

Here's some shots from Wednesday night.

ONLY THE SHADOW KNOWS

JIM GETTING ADVICE FROM BUGSY

IS'NT THAT THE BEST TRASH CAN YOU'VE EVER SEEN?

I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHERE WE ARE

I'D ASK MERYLE, BUT HE DOES'T KNOW EITHER!