WARM RIDE TO COOL BOSCOBEL

 With temps in the upper 80's, we still had 14 riders show up at Casey's on Wednesday night with the promise of getting cooled off with some ice cream in Boscobel.

We probably had the largest bike contingency we've had in a long time.  Riding in on the two wheelers were Larry (newbie), Lois, Chuckles, Howard, and Bob.  The three-wheelers were still very well represented with Darrel, Roger, Richard & Melody, and Bernell & Kathy.  Our support convertibles were manned by David in his Jeep and Greg & Dale in the Pontiac.

DAVID & GREG CONVERSE WITH NEWBIE, LARRY

BRENELL & KATHY ARRIVE FROM A WARM RIDE FROM HOME

ROGER BACKS INTO A PARKING SPOT

DARREL GASSES UP OL' YELLER

HOWARD TURNS DOWN A HOT CUP OF COFFEE

CHUCKLES & LOIS WHEEL IN

THE SLINGSHOT ARRIVES

MELODY COMES ALONG TO KEEP RICHARD IN LINE

OL' YELLER FINALLY GETS FILLED

With the number of roads being detoured or repaired, it's becoming a real challenge to pick good routes, and finding a way to Boscobel was no exception.

We elected to follow HWY 9 out of town and into Lansing where it always seems that someone is going to back right out in front of us.  Luckily loud horns can save the day.  Passing through Lansing, we crossed the Mississippi River and onto HWY 35 south in Wisconsin.  We passed through Ferryville and then took HWY 171 east.  171 is a smooth stretch of asphalt with some sweeping curves and appealing scenery. Upon reaching HWY 27 at Mt. Sterling, we turned south for a short jog before picking up CR S near Seneca.

CR S passes mostly through valleys formed by creeks that meander along the roadside.  Howard did report a deer crossing in front of him along the way.  The road itself remains in good shape and offers some hills, curves, and twisties along the way to Petersburg and HWY 131 where we cross the Kickapoo River.  We motor straight across 131 still on CR S and continue on to HWY 61 near Mt. Zion.  61 gives us a smooth journey on into Boscobel where we stop for cold treats at the old Dairy Queen now occupied by Udder Brothers Creamery.

A MUCH NEEDED STOP ON A WARM DAY

TOP UP AND AIR CONDITIONING FOR THE JEEP

Upon entering Boscobel, I noticed that HWY 60 west was closed for repair, so we would need to take an alternative route back home.  The choice was CR E where we turned north just outside of Easter Rock.  I knew E passed through Steuben (all roads lead to Steuben) and if we followed it far enough we could make our way back to HWY 27.  We did pass through Steuben, but continued onto HWY 179 instead of CR E.  This proved to be a wise choice since the Wisconsin folks did a great job improving this stretch of highway up to HWY 27 near Eastman.

We crossed straight over 27 and onto CR D where the speed limit is only 45 mph for a good reason.  Cr D is a downhill stretch of smooth blacktop and offers some great views on either side of the road, so it is best to just take your time and enjoy the ride.  D ends at HWY 35 near a village called Charme that I have never found!  We turned south on 35 and made out way through Prairie du Chien on CR K.  We then crossed the Mississippi River again on HWY 18 and made our way over to HWY 76 in Marquette.

HWY 76 is really a nice smooth ride from Marquette to the Waterville turn.  From there on in, I have named this teeth rattling stretch of highway the "Terry Branstad Memorial Expressway".  We survived the bumps and rolled into Waukon for our eats at the Uptown Grill.

TIME TO PUT THE JACKETS AWAY AND HEAD IN FOR AIR CONDITIONING

Although the first day of summer was plenty warm, I think everyone enjoyed the ride.  I had 125 miles on the Wing when I got her home.

MILESTONE

Or should I say 100,000 mile stones.  My bike, a 2012 Gold Wing has just racked up 100 thousand miles, and she still runs like a top.

Here's her clock with the photo taken just before our ride tonight.

HOSPICE RIDE IS SUNDAY

This Sunday is time again for the Wednesday Night Riders to support a very needy cause.  Winneshiek Medical is putting on their annual Hospice Ride with the proceeds are used for specialized therapies for hospice patients from Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Howard, and Winneshiek counties.  Here's the itinerary....

I plan on leaving from Casey's in Waukon at 9:15 on Sunday and having their breakfast and registering for the ride afterwards.  If anyone else wants to ride over with me, they are more than welcome.  The Wednesday Night Riders have always been good supporters of this event and hopefully that will continue.

SEE YOU SUNDAY!!

GUTTENBERG BY THE DOZEN

 We had a dozen Wednesday Night Riders show up last night for an expected journey to Guttenberg.  Only two bikes were present and they were occupied by Mike and Jim & Cathy.  Richard, Darrel, Bernell, Ron, and Bob all brought their 3 wheelers.  Occupying the "support" convertibles were Irv in his Vet, David with his Jeep, and Greg & Dale in the Pontiac.

PARKING FOR RED VEHICLES ONLY

GREG & DALE ENTERTAIN OUR GROUP

JUST WAITING FOR THEIR RIDERS

RON PRACTICES USING REVERSE

With overcast or maybe somewhat smoky skies and temps in the low 80's, the group departed Casey's at 5 and headed out of town south to HWY 9.  Following 9 for a short ways, we turned south onto CR W60, aka West Ridge Road, aka Old Stage Road.  Allamakee County must have received a bargain on chip seal again this year, since the first few miles of W60 was covered with the stuff.  This can present a problem for two wheelers, so we took it slow until we were clear of it.  At least Allamakee County looks out for us by putting up "Loose Gravel" signs.  It still made for a rather rough ride.

At the terminus of W60, we turned west onto Yellow River Drive where we had a much smoother but only two mile jaunt over to HWY 51.  After turning south on 51, we passed through Postville and onto HWY 18 east.  After a brief cruise on 18, we turned onto CR W64, aka Gunder Road.  The surface of this road up to Gunder is a real "teeth rattler".  It is a real test for your vehicle's suspension.

After passing through Gunder, the road becomes a real pleasant, smooth, and scenic ride into Elkader.  I guess that's the reward for putting up with all the previous bumps.  We turned onto HWY 13 south and soon discovered that 13 was being repaved, so we were stopped by a "chatty" flag guy who kept me entertained until the pilot car arrived.  He then chatted some more before getting in the pilot car himself and guiding us on the left lane through the construction.  Apparently this part of 13 is going to be resurfaced down to Strawberry Point in stages.

At the top of the hill, we turned onto appropriately named, Grandview Road  (CR X3C).  Along with Gunder Road, this road offers in MHO some of the best scenery in Northeast Iowa.  The views tonight were somewhat hazy, due to the Canadian smoke hanging in the air, but we were still able to enjoy some fantastic scenery.

Staying on X3C, we cruised on into Elkport, where the road name changes to Colesburg Road.  Normally in Elkport we turn onto Garber Road and follow it into Guttenberg, but since it was such a nice night, I decided that a trip through Osterdock might be appropriate.  So we followed X3C until the turn for CR X47, aka Osterdock Road, and we took it.  It had been a while since I traveled into Osterdock this way, but I did remember there were some excellent views, and we were not disappointed.  Their is a view from the top of the hill before going down into Osterdock that will take your breath away!

We were able to miss the "rush hour" in Osterdock and up the hill we went to connect onto the Garber Road (CR C7X), and downhill we flew onto HWY 52.  We then took 52 on into Guttenberg and to the Kwik Star store for our break.

WHILE JIM & CATHY GAS UP, MIKE CHECKS TO SEE WHERE WE ARE

After our break, we motored north on HWY 52 and passed through Garnavillo.  HWY 52 and HWY 18 west are detoured through Farmersburg due to the "never ending" bridge repair going on on HWY 18 near Froelich.  After passing through Farmersburg, the road, Golden Avenue (CR X28), is anything but golden.  It is actually more chip seal than pavement!  I'm sure this is due to the heavy truck traffic that has to be detoured from HWY 18, but I'm sure the state will reimburse the county and they will be able to resurface it. (LOL)

We did finally reach HWY 18 and turned west to be greeted by an orange sun peeking through the smoke.  Upon reaching Monona we passed through town on CR X26, aka Falcon Avenue, aka Volney Road, and on into Rossville.  We then took HWY 76 back into Waukon.  We were amazed at all the animal carcasses that were lying along the roadside on the way to Rossville and into Waukon.

Despite the sight of dead animals along the road, we still managed good appetites at the Uptown Grill.  I had about 125 miles on the trike when I got home.

WHO'S HARLEY?

The only guess I received was that Darren was the owner.  While Darren has a nice Harley himself, this Harley was owned by someone just a little more famous.

This was Elvis Presley's 1976 Harley Davidson.  It has currently obtained a bid of $80,000 from a possible new owner, but it is still open for bids.  Maybe Darren will own it yet!

NEXT WEDNESDAY

The plan is to cruise over to Boscobel to check out the ice cream store that now occupies the Dairy Queen building.

WINNESHIEK MEDICAL HOSPICE RIDE

This important charity ride will take place a week from Sunday on the 25th of June.  There is a breakfast at Winneshiek Medical that precedes the ride.  It has been a really good meal, and I do plan to attend both the breakfast and the ride and will leave from Casey's that Sunday morning.  Once I have more details on the times involved, I will post them on the blog, and anyone who wants to ride over with me will be welcome.  KEEP THE 25th OPEN!!

"WE'RE IN THE JAILHOUSE NOW!"

 The classic country song "We're In the Jailhouse Now", sung by Ernest Tubb, Webb Pierce, and Johnny Cash among others was the theme song for the Wednesday Night Riders as they gathered at Casey's on Saturday morning for the RTE (Ride To Eat).  Our destination was the Jailhouse Tavern outside of Centerville, Wisconsin, known for its good eats.

Only seven riders showed up for this event, but it still turned out to be a good day to see some fantastic scenery and chow down on good food.  Chuckles, Lois, and Dee cruised in on bikes, while Gary & Gloria, Darrel, and Bob straddled trikes.

THE VOTSMIERS SHOW UP TO MAKE THE RIDE OFFICIAL

WE ALSO GOT OUR QUOTA OF GELOS ALONG WITH DARREL & DEE

DARREL & BOB GETTING READY FOR "IMPRISONMENT"

We departed Casey's under overcast skies and temps in the mid 70's.  Most of us were actually hoping we would get rained on, since it has been extremely dry here.  HWY 76 north would be the main route today and we followed it all the way to its end at CR 12 near Ridgeway, passing through or near Hanover, Dorchester, Eitzen, Caledonia, Houston, and Money Creek.  For the most part HWY 76 north of Waukon offers some challenging curves, but is in good shape and some of the views are fantastic.

Once we reached CR 12, we followed it through Witoka and then onto CR 17 and our cruise down the hill into Winona.  We stopped at one of the busiest Kwik Trips in the state for our break.

BREAK TIME

After our break, we wound our way through Winona, and crossed the bridge into Wisconsin.  We picked up HWY 35 south, and soon motored into the Jailhouse Tavern parking lot.

WE FIND AMPLE PARKING

THE JAILHOUSE PARKING LOT IS ALSO HOME TO A FREEDOM ROCK

Once inside, we found a table for seven and placed our orders.

THE DECOR IN THE JAILHOUSE MAKES IT INTERESTING

After finishing our eats, some of us wanted to check out the jail.

ANYBODY KNOW A GOOD LAWYER?!

BONNIE & CLYDE?!

After our meal and photo opps, we made our way to the parking lot and found out that the Jailhouse is a popular stop for bikers.

Watching out for fairly heavy traffic, we departed the Jailhouse parking lot back onto HWY 35 and headed south again.  However as we went past our usual stop for ice cream at Toad's Cove BP store, we discovered that it had been extremely damaged by fire.

Apparently the owner does plan on reopening again.

We continued on into Centerville on 35 and then stayed straight ahead onto HWY 93 which led us to CR K and we turned west.  After a few miles, we turned onto CR M and followed it back to HWY 35 south of Trempealeau.  CR K and M are smooth as silk stretches of asphalt that takes riders through some farm land.  We did notice that some irrigation was taking place and we saw some fields that had corn plants curling up.

We took 35 to CR XX and made our way through New Amsterdam.  I didn't know we were that close to Holland!  CR XX took us through Midway and onto CR OT.  A short jog on OT and we arrived back on HWY 35.  If I had to do it over again, we would have avoided XX and OT, as they are both in need of some repair.

Once on HWY 35 again, we made our way through Onalaska and onto I90 heading west into Minnesota.  We exited I90 onto HWY 14 and rolled through LaCrescent to HWY 16.  Shortly outside of LaCrescent we took HWY 26 south along the Mississippi into Lansing.  Along the way, a few raindrops hit the windshields, but that was it for the predicted 60% chance of rain.

In Lansing, Dee, Darrel, and Bob couldn't pass up the Skinny Dip, and feasted on desert.  I had 177 miles on trike when she rolled into the shed.

Nice ride, great company, excellent eats!

Wednesday Night 

Right now it looks like we will cruise to Guttenberg for next Wednesday's ride.

Who the hell is Bob?

CHUCKLES FOUND THIS SIGN OUSIDE THE MEN'S ROOM IN STEUBEN

WHO'S HARLEY?!

FIGURED IT OUT YET?

AND FINALLY!

THANKS TO TERRY!

ALL ROADS LEAD TO STEUBEN

 There are actually 5 roads that do lead into the small village of Steuben, Wisconsin, and we will use 3 of them for our Wednesday night ride.  To say we had a variety of vehicles gathered at Casey's for the ride would be an understatement!

First of all we had 5 bikers with Jim & Cathy, Lois, Chuckles, and Mike.  Then it gets interesting with the three-wheelers.  Ron & Helen arrived on their Harley trike, Bernell & Kathy rode in on their Can-AM, Richard (newbie) came with his Slingshot,  and Bob led with his Honda trike.  Our "support" convertibles also offered quite a variety.  Irv cruised in with his Vet, Greg & Dale arrived in Greg's Mercury Cougar, and David brought his Jeep.  All together 15 riders in 12 different vehicles!

THREE BIKES AND TWO TRIKES

CATHY INSPECTS THE COUGAR

DALE HEADS OVER TO "WELCOME" JIM

CHUCKLES & DAVID LOOK OVER RICHARD'S SLINGSHOT

MIKE ARRIVES FROM NEW ALBIN

PLENTY OF "HORSES" IN THE SLINGSHOT!

BERNELL & KATHY PARK THEIR CAN-AM

IRV WARMS UP HIS VET

Under sunny skies and temps in the high 70's, the convoy departs Casey's at 5 and turn right at the only stop light in Allamakee County and proceed onto Elon Road.  Once again we hit a great Wednesday night for viewing the spectacular scenery in God's country!  After a cruise east down Elon, we turned toward the south onto Waterville Road (CR X32) and down through Waterville we went.  The road turns sharply west in Waterville and we made a smooth, scenic cruise up the hill to HWY 76 and proceeded south.

After a very short distance, we hit the newly paved part of 76 and motored past Effigy Mounds and down into Marquette.  To me, it always seems a little "spooky" driving on 76 from Effigy Mounds into Marquette.  If you look up on the bluffs on the right side, you wonder when the next rock or tree might come tumbling down on the highway.

We did arrive in Marquette safely and followed HWY 18 east across the Mississippi bridge into Prarie du Chien.  I think as much time as it took them to resurface the bridge, they certainly should have been able to make it a lot smoother!

Once in Prairie, we turned north on Main St. and followed it until it became CR K.  A short distance on K and we then turned back east onto Limery Road.  Heading east, we crossed the railroad tracks just ahead of a stopped locomotive who tried out its horn on some of us anyway.  Limery takes us across HWY 35 and up the hill past Shihata's Orchards to HWY 27.  Turning north on 27 we passed through Eastman where a little league baseball game was in progress.  Once when I passed this direction several years ago, I had to duck a foul ball from a girl's softball game.  Luckily I was not the first person to be knocked off a motorcycle with a softball!

Just outside of Eastman we turned back southeast onto HWY 171.  This highway offers some sweeping curves along with some fantastic views, but it had just recently been "repaired" using "tar snakes", so we took it a little slower to prevent any of the bikes from slipping.  We soon arrived in Steuben and took a break at now the only "stop" in town, Lou's Railroad Street Station.

ALL THE ROADS DID LEAD US TO STEUBEN

AND WE DID DOUBLE THE POPULATION

SPECIAL PARKING FOR "SUPPORT" JEEPS

After using the bathroom and buying drinks and chips from Lou's, we doubled back for a short distance and headed west onto CR E.  While not as scenic as some, CR E still offers some excellent views along the way to HWY 27.  After a very short jog on 27, we pick up CR E again and head west down the mountain.  All of the "alphabet" roads in this area that head down to the river offer some great scenery, and E was no exception.  It's pretty easy to gawk at the panoramic views, but there are enough curves to make you pay attention to the road also.

Once we arrived at HWY 35 just outside of Lynxville, we turned north, passed through Ferryville, and turned onto HWY 82.  82 takes us across the Blackhawk Bridge into Lansing and onto HWY 9.  Following 9 into Waukon, we stopped at Uptown for eats.  There we were joined by Chris and her father.  On another great Wednesday night, I ended up with about 110 miles on the trike.

SATURDAY

This Saturday is another of our RTE's (Rides To Eat).  The destination is the Jailhouse Bar located between Bluff Siding and Trempealeau on HWY 35 in Wisconsin.  We will meet at Casey's at 10:30 that morning and take a scenic drive through Minnesota and Wisconsin.  Right now the weather prediction is for showers in the afternoon, but warm temps.  I will post on the blog Saturday morning if any changes need to be made.

EVERYONE IS INVITED

FOR HARLEY OFFICIANTOS 

Who's bike is this?  Save your answer for next Wednesday night, and we will see who's more observant.

TRIKE RIDES FOR NURSING HOME RESIDENTS

I have been able to make connections with Good Sam here in Waukon as to their interest in WNR offering trike rides to some of their residents.  They did get right back to me and definitely want to do this.  We have set August 14th as the date, with August 16th being the rainout date.  I am waiting to hear back from them regarding the number of residents that may want to ride and the requirements that their corporation and insurance company for us.  I will then meet with their activities director and go over our requirements.  More on this later.

KEEP JUNE 25th OPEN

This is the day for the Winneshiek Medical Hospice Ride. The WNR has always been a strong supporter of this very special fund raiser, so let's be there again this year.  More on this later also.

NEWS ARTICLE ON NH RIDES

 For those of you who do not take or subscribe to the Waukon Standard newspaper, I am going to attempt to show you the article about our trike rides for North Gate residents.  Hopefully it will come out readable here on the blog.  It does give the Wednesday Night Riders some good PR, but I wish they would have included photos of Chuck and Ron also.  As I mentioned before, there is an article and more photos on the North Gate Care Center facebook page.

In the near future, I will contact Good Sam here in Waukon to see if they are still interested in the rides.  I also think Ron is going to check with some folks in Decorah to see if there is any interest.

I also forgot to mention in the last post that Wednesday night our destination will be "all roads lead to Steuben".

WE CHECK OUT THE CZECHS

 On another great night to ride, the Wednesday Night Riders had 14 eager riders show up for a planned ride over to Protivin.

Bikers were Jim & Cathy, Dee, Chuckles, Lois, and Mike.  The only triker present was Bob R, but Darrel and Roger met up with us later on the route.  The support convertibles had Irv & Terry in the Vet and David & ChucK in the Jeep.  Dale also appeared, but apparently his ride did not.

DAVID SHOWS DEE WHERE ChucK WILL BE RIDING

JIM & CATHY FRESH BACK FROM ST. LOUIS

CHUCKLES ROLLS IN

FOLLOWED BY LOIS

AND THEN MIKE

IRV & TERRY ARRIVE IN THE VET

DALE'S RIDE HASN'T APPEARED YET

The temp was 88 degrees as we departed Casey's for Bob's "short cut" to Protivin.  We passed through Waukon and our convoy turned north onto HWY 76.  A couple of deer were spotted along the way before we took Bear Creek Drive west over to Locust Road.  Darrel and Roger were waiting for us on their three-wheelers at the church on the corner.  Cruising down Locust, we arrived in Decorah and turned onto College Drive.  Passing by Luther College and the very busy Decorah swimming pool, we made our way onto Pole Line Road.

Continuing on Pole Line, we crossed HWY 52 and still heading west, our route took us into Cresco.  Pole Line is in good shape and offers some scenery and a few curves that keep your attention. After entering Cresco, we discovered that HWY 9 was detoured onto the same road we were going to take south to Protivin (Dvorak Memorial Highway).  I guess I don't know who Dvorak was, but his highway made up a lot of our route to and from Protivin.

Once we arrived in Protivin, we found we arrived in time for "rush hour".  Main Street was lined with convertibles and other passenger vehicles.  We made our way to the convenience store on the south end of town for our break.

TIME TO SHED THE JACKETS AND COOL DOWN

NOT A LOT OF PARKING, BUT WE MADE IT

MIKE'S FIRST TIME IN PROTIVIN

THE CONVOY GATHERS IN THE SHADE

NICE SHIRT, Chuck!

After some cold drinks and ice cream treats, we departed our Czech friends in Protivin and headed east to Spillville still on the Dvorak Memorial Highway.  Apparently the county graveled the shoulders of DMH and some of the gravel spilled out onto the road surface, so we had to be careful especially rounding corners.  We motored on into Spillville where in MHO is the most beautiful church in Iowa.  We continued on through Spillville passing by the famous Bily Clock Museum and we were still on the Dvorak Highway all the way over to HWY 52.

We then reached the intersection of HWY 9 and followed it through Decorah.  The stop lights caught some of the group, but we all made it back together outside of town.  HWY 9 took us back to Waukon and some of us munched down on the eats at the Uptown Grill.  110 miles showed on the speedo on the trike when I got her home.

NEWS ARTICLE

In this week's Waukon newspaper there is an article about the trike rides we gave to the North Gate Care Center residents.  The article gave Wednesday Night Riders a lot of good PR, but I wish they would have included Chuck and Ron in the write up along with a couple more photos.  On North Gate Care Center's Facebook page, there is a better account of the rides and more photos.

UPCOMING EVENTS

  Saturday, June 10th, will be another of our RTE's (Rides To Eat).  We will depart Casey's at 10:30 and wind our way over to the Jailhouse Bar near Trempealeau, WI.  They are known for their great sandwiches and the decor is neat.

Also, the Winneshiek Medical Hospice ride will be on Sunday, June 25th.  This is an event that the Wednesday Night Riders have always supported.  More on this ride as the time grows closer.