GREASER'S

With 15 bikes and 20 riders in tow, we departed Casey's on Wednesday night with ice dream on our minds.  We were blessed with several new guests.  Earl on his Indian, the Horns on their Indian, and Lee on his Suzuki.  We also had a good group of "regulars" with 4 Fish (Is that called a "school" of fish?), Bob Z, Howard, Lars, Lois, Jennifer, Jim & Cathy, David, Meryle & Mary, Tom, and Bob R.  On the way to ice cream heaven, we passed through Fishville, Postville, Gunder, Elkader, Elkport, Garber, and on into Greaser's in Guttenberg.  After a few dips we returned to Gus & Tony's through McGregor, Marquette, Harpers Ferry, and Elon.  It was about 120 miles of beautiful riding and good ice cream.

You will need a new leader next Wednesday, as Bob's Fairly Reliable Guide Service will be leading a pack of "explorers" along the Lewis & Clark trail and the Missouri Ozarks.  With luck we will be back by next Saturday.

Here's a few shots of Wednesday's ride:

INDIAN IN REVERSE

HOWARD WELCOMING THE "NEWBE"

THE BIG INDIAN

HOW COME WE ALWAYS PARK BY THE TRASH CAN?

WE CAN EITHER RIDE OR "SHOOT THE BULL" TIL DARK!

THE LINEUP AT GREASER'S

THE OVERFLOW FROM GREASER'S

CHUCKLES LEADS AGAIN & UPCOMING SUMMER TRIP

Apparently while I was "babysitting" in Denver, Chuckles led the Wednesday night ride.  Here's his report:

The Lucky 7, Chuck & Lois, Wayne & Sandy, Bob Z, Howard, & Meryle, left Waukon on another beautiful Wednesday evening passing through Elon, Lansing, New Albin and were led astray by Chuckles on the outside edge of Caledonia where dunebuggy conversion kits would have been helpful to get through two blocks of "road closed" before our beverage stop at Kwik Trip.  From there we went to Spring Grove, cross country toward Eitzen, then past Dorchester and through Lycurgus back home.  The night concluded with pizza and beverages at Green Valley Getaway.  Sorry, Dorothy, no doubt you weren't pleased having to clean up that new bike again, but other than that the temperature was wonderful & the crops were lush and green.  Just for good measure we're including a picture of the corn in central Illinois on the 4th of July.

Also here's some photos from the Wednesday night trip that Chuckles sent.

SEVEN READY TO ROLL

UH-OH!  CHUCKLES IS LEADING, I NEED MORE GAS!

CHUCKLES' SHORT CUT THROUGH CALEDONIA

I THINK CHUCKLES IS IN THERE SOMEWHERE!!

Next Monday, the 28th is the annual summer trip.  This year we will follow some of the Lewis & Clark trail into Missouri, detour through the Ozarks, and go back through St. Charles where they started their journey.  We should be back on the following Saturday, Aug. 2nd.  Right now I need to know who's all going for sure (motel reservations).  As of now I have Bob R, Bob Z, Howard, Wayne M, Chuckles, Clair, and Meryle going.  I will be passing out the trip sheets on Wednesday night after the ride.  If you plan to go with us, let Bob R know then or before (563-568-7277).

NICE RIDE TO BEETOWN

Eighteen of us left Casey's on 14 units on a beautiful Wednesday summer night.  Chuckles & Lois, Meryle & Mary, Wayne & Sandy, the Gelo 3, the Bugsies 2, Bob Z, Wayne M, Tom, Gary, Lars, Carl, and Bob R motored through Elon, Harpers, Marquette, PDC, the ouskirts of Bagley, and into North Andover for our break.  All went well until it was discovered that Bugsy had run over a black cat with the Bugsymobile, so we would have to be extra cautious from then on.  We left North Andover under a curse, but we made it safely back through Beetown, Bloomington, Patch Grove, PDC, Marquette, Monona, Luana, Hardin, and to Gus & Tony's.  It was a great 130 mile ride with good roads and good company.  Sandy still needs a heated seat!

You will need a new leader next Wednesday, as I will be in Denver visiting and returning some grand kids.

Here's some photos from Wednesday night.

MERYLE & CARL DISCUSSING THE FINE ART OF TRIKING!

BUGSY EXPLAINING THE "FINE ART" OF DUSTING A BLACK CAT!

TWO OF OUR "YOUNGER" RIDERS GASSING UP

CHUCKLES & LOIS GOING INCOGNITO

WE ARRIVE IN NORTH ANDOVER WITH 18 RIDERS AND A DEAD CAT!

WING DING 2014

Wing Ding (the national convention for Gold Wings) was held in Madison on July 1-5.  Since it was so close, Julie and I attended on the 1st and 2nd.  We had previous commitments and had to get back to Des Moines on the 3rd.  Tuesday we rode to Madison for the welcome party held in Middleton, a suburb of Madison, famous for the National Mustard Museum (a possible couples' trip).  The food was great, but the music was loud!  On Wednesday we attended the trade show and some seminars.  We met people from all over the country, bought a few "goodies", and saw some unique bikes.  We had planned to go on one of the planned rides (a possible couples' trip), but the weather was threatening, so we stayed inside the Alliant Energy Center.  We did attend the "Taste of Wisconsin" event that night, where they fed a couple of thousand and had a band.  At our motel in Verona (a possible couples' trip), there was a group from Louisiana staying there.  I called them the "Ragin' Cajuns".  They were a bunch of "characters" to say the least!  The ride back on Thursday was cool, but pleasant.  Overall we really enjoyed the event!

Here's some photos and a couple of videos from Wing Ding.

MY FAVORITE--CIVIL WAR TRIKE

WITH LIGHTS!!

APPROXIMATE VALUE=$100,000

THE NEW "TWO IN FRONT" GW CONVERSION

YOU CAN EVEN GET A FOUR WHEEL GOLD WING!

J & P OPEN HOUSE

I attended the J & P Cycles open house rally in Anamosa on Saturday.  It was a nice ride down in the morning, and it was a good thing there was a breeze blowing that day to keep things cooler at the rally.  They are estimating that somewhere near 30,000 bikes will be present at the rally this year.  It was their 35th anniversary.  I remember when John Parnham stated the business in his garage.  Now it is one of the largest motorcycle aftermarket parts business in the nation with over 200 employees!  On the way back, I stopped to visit Mom in Manchester.  After leaving Manchester about 6 PM, I got drenched with a thunderstorm in St. Olaf.  After leaving there I ran into another storm in Farmersburg, but I got under a shelter in a park there.  From there I made it to Luana, where I ducked under the drive-through at the bank.  I tried to make it home through Postville from there, but it was too hard to see at night and I nearly got run off the road.  So I parked the bike and had Julie come and get me in the car.  We went back to Postville and retrieved the bike this morning.  Is it ever going to quit raining?!!!

Since I will be at Wing Ding in Madison on Wednesday, you will need a new leader.  Try to stay off the gravel!

Here's a video and some photos from J & P

GREG'S NEXT RIDE?!

MERYLE & MARY WOULD LOOK GOOD ON THIS!

TOM'S NEXT RIDE?!

CHUCKLES NEXT RIDE?!

CARL & JOYCE WOULD LOOK GOOD ON THIS!

THIS ONE WOULD WIN IF I WAS THE JUDGE!

YOU JUST CAN'T WEAR OUT A GOLD WING!

GOIN' BACK TO HOUSTON...HOUSTON...HOUSTON

Like the old Dean Martin song, we made a return trip to Houston on Wednesday night with a "full boat" of riders.  Meryle, Bob H, Tom, Bugsy (in the Bugsymobile), Jim & Cathy, Beth, Linda, Lois, Wayne, Gary, Bob Z, Bob R, and a retired minister all departed Casey's on a beautiful evening.  We traveled through Lycurgus, Eitzen, Wilmington, Caledonia, Sheldon, and a stop in Houston.  From there we CR 25 and 21 to Hokah and CR 18 to Brownsville, and then back along the river through New Albin and Lansing and back to Gus & Tony's.  Some riders did take the "detour" along the Harpers/Lansing road, but we all made it back safely with nice scenery, good weather, and smooth roads.  Although we did lose the minister along the way.  I think he tried to convert Bugsy and finally gave up!  I do think our group could use a minister.  I hope he shows up again.

You will need a new leader next Wednesday.  Julie and I will be attending Wing Ding.  This year it's in Madison, so it will be worth it to spend a couple of days there visiting with Goldwing riders from all over the nation and several foreign countries.

I do plan to attend the J & P Cycles open house this Saturday in Anamosa.  I plan to leave from Casey's at 9 that morning if anyone else cares to ride along.  I won't be coming directly back afterwards, since I plan to stop in Manchester to see Mom.

Here's some photos from Wednesday night.

MINISTER TRYING TO CONVERT WAYNE & MERYLE

SOMEBODY BROUGHT BOB'S BIKE BACK!!

THE BUGSMOBILE BLOCKS IN THE SEMI

THE MINISTER'S HELMET

BETH CALLING SOMEONE TO COME AND HELP LINDA LIFT THE DUMPSTER!!

NINE WETBACKS TRAVEL TO HANSEN'S

Nine members of WNR (Dennis & Marlene, Meryle & Mary, Carl & Joyce, Chuckles, and Bob & Julie) departed Casey's at 10 AM Sunday for our annual Hansen's Hold-Up Bar Ride.  It was a beautiful ride up through LaCrescent, across Apple Blossom Drive, through Winona and Fountain City, and on to Hansen's.  There we dined on burgers, fries, and brats.  Because of the look of the skies, we decided to go home through Arcadia and Centerville.  We were doing alright dodging the storms until we had to head south into LaCrosse.  We finally had to take shelter at the Cedar Creek Country Club.  After some drying out and waiting out the rest of the storm we headed back through LaCrescent to stock up on donuts.  We then traveled through Hokah and Caledonia and back home.  Overall it was good trip with lots of nice scenery.  The view from Hansen's is still fantastic!

Here's some photos of our adventure.

WE ARRIVE AT HANSEN'S

THE VIEW FROM HANSEN'S DECK

ANOTHER VIEW ACROSS THE VALLEY

CARL SAID HE HELPED PUT UP THAT HARVESTORE!

CHUCKLES THINKS HE'S GOING TO GET INTO THE BURNOUT CONTEST

ALL THE BS IS MAKING MARY TIRED!

CARL & MERYLE ATTRACT AN INTERESTED SPECTATOR

WAITING FOR THE FOOD TO ARRIVE

GOT BOOTS!!

TAKING SHELTER AT AN EXCLUSIVE COUNTRY CLUB
CHUCKLES IS GOING INCOGNITO!