LIFE IS SHORT--EAT DESERT FIRST!!

That's what 15 WNR did at our stop at Joe's in Guttenberg. Bob Z, Howard, Larry, Al, Chuckles, Lois, David, and Bob R departed on bikes.  While Irv, Ron & Helen, and Wayne & Sandy took trikes followed by Dale & Greg in the support convertible. 

THE GROUP GATHERS

CHUCKLES & HOWARD COMPARE RIDES

ADDING FUEL TO THE INDIAN

HOWARD & BOB Z ENJOYING THE SUNSHINE

GOOD TO SEE WAYNE & SANDY BACK 

DAVID GETS ACQUAINTED WITH RON & HELEN

THE NEW TRIKE TAKES ON FUEL

ONE TOO MANY GELO'S??!!

After leaving Casey's at 5:30 we headed south on HWY 76 to Forest Mills Road and on past the Gelo ponderosa.  We turned off FMR onto Cherry Valley Road and on into Postville and east on HWY 18.  After a short stint. we turned south onto the Gunder Road, past the Gunder Tavern (now just a bar--no food) and into Elkader.  Taking HWY 13 south we soon turned onto Grandview Road through Communia and Elkport and then into Garber where we took the Garber Road and into Guttenberg where the gnats were waiting for us.  The route from Elkader to Guttenberg is one of the more scenic routes in northeast Iowa.  We made our ice cream stop at Joe's Pizza and Ice Cream Shop.

SANDY ARRIVES AFTER A DUEL WITH A BIRD

JOE'S DRAWS A CROWD

IRV FIGHTS OFF THE GNATS

GETTING READY FOR OUR TREATS

THE SUPPORT CONVERTIBLE ROLLS IN

After leaving Joe's, we followed the street running along the swollen river and past the pretty river park.  Outside of town we picked up CR X56 and rolled past Clayton and Pikes Peak and down into McGregor.  Outside of McGregor we took HWY 18 west into the sun and on to Monona where we took the Volney Road north.  After watching a deer dance in front of us just outside of Rossville we arrived at HWY 76 and headed north on into Waukon and Gus & Tony's.  At supper the conversation turned to "How many Gelo's ride with us?"  Dale said "One is too many!"  Nice route, good weather, good number of WNR's =great ride!  I had 122 miles on the Wing when I got her home.

SUNDAY IS THE HOSPICE RIDE
The following newspaper article gives all the info about the ride, except they got the day wrong.  It's on the ninth, but that's a Sunday, not a Saturday!  I plan to attend the breakfast and will be passing by Casey's a little after nine that day, if anyone else wants to ride along.  Hopefully we get a good number of us to support this worthy cause.

Also note that we have a RTE scheduled for June 15th.  The ride was planned for ribs at the Bagley Hotel, but that establishment is no longer open.  I then thought we could go to Gunder instead, but that has changed to just a bar now and no food.  WE WILL STILL MEET AT CASEY'S AT 4:30 THAT DAY, but we will have to find a new place to eat.  I'll keep you posted.

NEW LEADER--NICE RIDE--HOSPICE RIDE

While Bob and Dennis were up in Boulder Junction doing a lot of fishing and not much catching, the Wednesday Night Riders led by Jim & Cathy had a nice run.

Here's his report and some photos.

On a cool cloudy  Wednesday night Howard, Dave H, Al, Irv,  Jim, and  Cathy set out to see if we could make it to Boscobel and back without getting wet. Took Hwy 9 to Lansing, crossed the dike into Wisconsin and proceeded south on 35 through Ferryville.  Picked up Hobbs Hollow Road which connects to E. Followed E through Steuben and eventually ended up at Kwik Trip in Boscobel for our break. I noticed a lot more bugs hitting the windshield and my helmet after Steuben. The gnats are back and really annoying when you stop. So after a rather short break we mounted up and proceeded to 133, then Co C , back to 18 through Prairie. Had to dodge a pile of deer on C. They may have more than we do! Took 76 to Harpers road, then back home on the Elon road. We did notice some showers to the north west on the way into Waukon but didn't even get a sprinkle. Howard said he showed 126 miles on the odometer. It was a nice ride.

The Winneshiek Medical Hospice Ride is going to take place on Sunday, June 9th.  This is an event that WNR has supported since its start.  Nancy helps organize the event and there is always a good ride and good food.  There will be a free will breakfast at the Winneshiek Medical Center cafeteria from 9 AM to 10:30 and the ride leaving the center at 10:30.  Both cars and bikes are welcome.  More details in the next post, but make plans to attend.

OUR WNR MEMORIAL WEEKEND

On Saturday at noon a decision was made by the "board of directors" to move the traditional ride and cookout from Monday to Sunday because of the impending weather forecast.  As this post is written today (Monday), it proved to be a wise decision.

THE RIDE
As we had hoped, Sunday afternoon turned out to be a beautiful day for a ride!  At 1 PM from Casey's nine WNR gathered under sunny skies and temps in the 70's.  We had Bob Z, Jim & Cathy, Gary, David, Al, and Lois on bikes, while Bob R & Julie led on the trike.

GARY TELLS A HEAD-SCRATCHER

AL FINALLY GETS A CHANCE TO JOIN US

JIM & CATHY CHASED THE GEESE OFF THEIR FIELD BEFORE THEY CAME

OUR NEW "SUPPORT VEHICLE"??!!

After departing Casey's we took the Elon Road east to the Lansing/Harpers Road north into Lansing.  We try to avoid the Terry Branstad Memorial Byway (HWY 9) if at all possible.  In Lansing we saw what could have been a very dangerous situation.  We saw a big Harley tip over while parked with the driver and his passenger still aboard.  We stopped to see if they needed any help, but the bike got uprighted by some friends and the couple looked relatively unscathed.  We then crossed the bridge , observing some very high water on the Mississippi, and heading north on HWY 35 towards Ferryville.  We then turned east again on CR B and followed it through Towerville and onto CR C still heading east.  After a short stint on C, we took CR J to the north and on into Viroqua for a break at the Kwik Star.
As we left the Kwik Star after our break, Lois stole David's spot in the lineup, but we continued on to CR B outside of Viroqua.  B took us north again until we turned west onto CR KK.  After a scenic drive through Amish country on B and KK , we picked up HWY 162 north near Chaseburg and followed it to HWY 14 heading west again towards LaCrosse.  However before to got to LaCrosse, we took one of the more scenic by-pass routes in the area by turning onto CR MM.  This county road seems rather benign to start with, but about half way across it, the views of the river and valleys below are spectacular.  MM took us back to HWY 14 again and we followed it through LaCrosse and across the river again into LaCrescent.  From there we took HWY 16 south into Hokah for our second break at the Kwik Star there.

WE ARRIVE AT THE KWIK STAR IN HOKAH

JIM SAYS, "JEEZ, THAT'S A TALL POLE!"

  We left the Kwik Star without Lois "crowding in" and took HWY 16 and to HWY 76 through Caledonia, Eitzen, past Dorchester, and back into Waukon for the cookout.

THE COOKOUT
We were joined at the cookout by Cathy, Dennis & Marlene, Suzanne, and Chuckles (free lunch).  Bob R brewed up some of Jet's brats and we all dove into the snacks, salads, and deserts that we brought in by the guests.  After the meal and some conversation, the gathering broke up about 9 O'Clock.

SOME CONVERSATION

AND PROBABLY A GOOD DOSE OF B.S.

BUT NO ONE WENT AWAY HUNGRY

THE MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCE PROGRAM
Because of the rainy, cold weather the Memorial Day parade had to  be cancelled and the program had to be moved inside the Waukon Banquet Center.  Some WNR attended and some were involved in the program.  Julie headed up the presentation of the Quilts of Valor, Bob Z was part of the honor guard, and Lindsey and Ella Lund (Wayne & Sandy's grand and great granddaughters) were Mrs. and Miss Poppy.

JULIE PRESENTS QUILTS OF VALOR

BOB Z (WITHOUT GLASSES) WOULD LATER SHOOT A RIFLE.
NO ONE GOT HURT!

On behalf of the Wednesday Night Riders we express our gratitude to those known and unknown heroes who have sacrificed themselves in the name of Freedom.


NEW LEADER
You will need a new leader for next Wednesday's ride.  Dennis and Bob R will be up in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin, hammering smallmouth bass.

IT'S GOING TO BE SUNDAY!!

I know it's not nice to fool Mother Nature, but she's been tricking us for quite a while now.  So instead of trying to have our Memorial Ride and cookout on Monday when the we usually have it, because of the nasty trick She wants to play on us again, we are going to go on Sunday instead.  The weather so far looks to be great with no rain predicted.  So we will still meet at Casey's at 1 PM on Sunday for the ride, and have the cookout at Rotach's afterwards (5 to 5:30).

IF YOU CANNOT MAKE THE RIDE, YOU ARE STILL MORE THAN WELCOME TO COME TO THE COOKOUT!

Brats will be furnished but bring your own drinks and maybe something to pass (salad, desert, snacks).

POSSIBLE CHANGE FOR RIDE AND COOKOUT

The weather forecast for Monday (Memorial Day) looks dicey to say the least (80% chance of thunderstorms).  I'm thinking of changing our ride and cookout to Sunday at 1 PM, since the forecast for Sunday really looks a lot better.

Please let Bob R know if you had plans to make it Monday, but Sunday will not work for you.  If enough can't make it on Sunday, we may just have the cookout and not have the ride on Monday.

Call Bob at 563-568-7277 if Sunday will not work for you!!  I'll keep you posted on what we decide.

Also, here's a photo that Roger sent me on our ride to Steuben and the RR Bar & Grill.

LUCKY DOZEN FOR APPLE BLOSSOMS/MEMORIAL DAY RUN & EAT

On a warm, sunny, albeit windy, Wednesday evening 12 WNR departed Casey's heading for the Gays Mills orchards to view and smell the apple blossoms.  Hopefully with all the wind and rain in the area, the blossoms would still be worth seeing. It was our second nice Wednesday in a row, and it was enough to lure Clair out of Dyersville on his new Gold Wing.  Bob Z, Lois, Chuckles (also on a new ride), Howard, Jim & Cathy, Larry, and David were on two-wheelers.  While Darrel and Bob R mounted trikes, Dale followed in the support convertible.

CHECKING OUT CHUCKLES' NEW RIDE

IS THAT GLARE FROM THE BIKE OR JIM'S HEAD?

DAVID'S FIRST WEDNESDAY NIGHT

We headed east on Elon Road then turned north onto Lansing/Harpers Road into Lansing.  We crossed the Black Hawk Bridge into Wisconsin and onto HWY 35 south.  After passing through Ferryville, we took CR C back east all the way into Soldier's Grove where we stopped at the Citgo convenience store for a break.

WE ROLL INTO SOLDIERS' GROVE

CHUCKLES' NEW RIDE (2009 HARLEY)

CLAIR'S NEW RIDE (2018 GOLD WING)

After leaving the convenience store we followed newly paved HWY 61 south to HWY 171 east and down through the orchards.  Our timing was perfect.  The blossoms were beautiful!  It looks like a bumper crop of apples is on the way despite the crappy weather.  HWY 171 took us down to Gays Mills where we picked up HWY 131 and headed south to CR S.  We approached CR S with some caution, since the water from the Kickapoo River was still high, but it had receded enough for us to take CR S west to HWY 27.  There were times when we spotted deer, but fortunately not while the sun was glaring in our eyes.  We then took HWY 27 south to CR F and turned west again down the bluff to the river and HWY 35 south.  CR F is one of the most scenic seven mile rides in the area, and it did not disappoint tonight despite the sun in our faces.  After waiting for another deer to dance back and forth, HWY 35 south took us into Prarie du Chien through the roundabouts and onto HWY 18 across the bridge into Marquette.  In Marquette, Clair dropped off and headed back to Dyersville and the rest of us took HWY 76 north and headed back into Waukon for our supper stop at Gus & Tony's.  The conversation there turned to whether Diet Pepsi and ketchup makes a good mixed drink.  I had 127 miles on the trike when I pulled into the shed.  Another really nice Wednesday night ride!!

MEMORIAL DAY

Monday is time for our annual Memorial Day ride and cookout at Rotach's.  The weather calls for spotty showers, but we do plan to leave from Casey's at 1 PM after honoring our fallen veterans.  We should get back to Waukon and Rotach's house around 5 PM.  If you can't make the ride , be sure to stop over for the cookout.  Brats furnished--bring your own drinks and maybe something to pass (salad, snack, desert).  See you then!!

NO GUNDERBURGER RIDE

Apparently the weather witch has decided to piss on us again.  With a 95% chance of thunderstorms starting around 6 PM today and a chance of 4 inches or more of rain predicted, our ride to Gunder will have to wait until maybe a better Saturday coming up later.  I knew it was too good to have two good days (Wednesday and Thursday) in the last two weeks!
Right now next Wednesday looks good, but things could change for the worst by then also.  Until then, have a good weekend and try to stay dry!