A PERFECT NIGHT!

 The comment "It's a perfect night," was heard a number of times from the nine Wednesday Night Riders who gathered at Casey's last night.  On bikes were Chuckles, Howard, and Mike.  Sporting trikes were Irv, Ron & Helen (our only female rider), and Bob R.  Following in the "support" Jeep were David and Bob Z.

"FEARLESS LEADER" WITH PLENTY OF NEON YELLOW

CHUCKLES, MIKE, AND HOWARD

DAVID SHOWING THE GRIP USED TO STEER THE JEEP

RON CHECKING THE TRUNK FOR TREATS

Departing Casey's under sunny skies and temps in the mid 70's and our destination being Pikes Peak in McGregor, we headed east via the Elon Road.  At the end of the Elon Road, we took a short jog on the Lansing/Harpers Road and then onto Lafayette Ridge Road.  We followed LRR east and turned south onto the Great River Road.  Along the LRR we were treated to sights of a lot of trees with white blooms.  We assumed they were apple trees, but without Dee along, we couldn't be sure.  (More on the blooms later.)

We progressed down Great River Road passing by the Wexford Church and into Harpers Ferry taking in the great scenery and "perfect" temperatures.  We passed through Harpers, and continued our journey south on GRR.  Passing along the river we were able to see where the flooding had swamped some of the dwellings along the shore of the Mississippi.  The water still being high, prevented some of the cabin owners access to their properties.

GRR ended at HWY 76 and we turned southward and headed into Marquette.  Along the way past Effigy Mounds, we could see where the water had been that caused the highway to be closed earlier. When we arrived in Marquette, we had to take HWY 18 west for a ways and take Business 18 into the west side of McGregor.  Apparently Main Street in McGregor is undergoing some new sewer project and is closed to through traffic.

We arrived in McGregor after a bumpy ride down n Business 18.  I'm sure all the big grain trucks that have to use this route have added to the poor condition of the pavement.  Fortunately it's a short jog into town.  At the Catholic Church, we turned onto CR X56, Clayton County's version of the Great River Road.  On the way up the hill, we passed the site where the Ringling Brothers were born.  Upon arriving at the top of the hill, we turned on into Pikes Peak State Park.

PLENTY OF PARKING AVAILABLE

MIKE TELLS US THAT HE HAS CAMPED HERE BEFORE

THE BOYS IN THE JEEP MUST BE GETTING COLD!

 After parking the vehicles, we made a walk and stretch up to the lookout platform for some spectacular views of the Mississippi River.  We noted how high the water was yet and noticed some barges that had yet to continue their journey.

We all enjoyed the beautiful view from above.

HELEN TOOK A PHOTO OF ALL THE GUYS ON THE RIDE

HELEN, "A ROSE AMONG THORNS"!

"AIN'T THIS GREAT!"

"WHAT A VIEW ON A PERFECT NIGHT!"

HELEN FOUND THIS TREE (MAYBE CRABAPPLE) JUST LOADED WITH BLOOMS

THE GUYS STILL ENJOYING THE VIEW

SOON THEY WOULD "JOURNEY" INTO THE MEN'S ROOM

After enjoying Pikes Peak, we mounted up and exited the park onto CR X56 and made our way south to Clayton Road and took it west into Garnavillo and a break at the Speede Shop convenience store there.  While enjoying our refreshments, we were impressed by the monuments across the highway in the park that were dedicated to veterans from the area who served in various wars various wars.

After our break we cruised north on HWY 52 until we reached the junction of HWY 13.  We had to take 13 as a detour of HWY 18 west, because the bridge near Froelich is being repaired.  Once on 13 for a short ways, we turned west again on Golden Avenue and passed through Farmersburg, just missing the "rush hour".  

We continued on Golden (not exactly a pool table top!) to HWY 18 and took a short trip west again and cruised on into Monona.  There we followed Falcon Avenue through town and onto the Volney Road.  This took us north through Rossville and onto HWY 76 again heading north into Waukon. Once arriving in Waukon we made our way to the Uptown Grill where the popular eats for the night were Hawaiian burgers (very tasty).  I had a little over 100 miles on the clock when I parked the trike in the shed, and I would have to agree, it was a perfect night for a ride!

UPCOMING EVENTS

As most of you know by now, ChucK, Ron, and Bob R will be giving trike rides to approximately 10 residents of North Gate Care Center on Tuesday at 12:30.  Right now, if the weather holds, it looks like another "perfect" day.  Anyone else who would like to see this event is welcome to come to North Gate that day.  Bob R could use some help taking pictures and handing out attendance pins.

Next Saturday, May 20th, is our RTE (Ride To Eat) Burger Run.  Right now I'm leaning for a ride over to St. Olaf to the appropriately named St. Olaf Grill to sample a burger or one of their famous tenderloins.  We plan to leave Casey's at 4:30 that afternoon, and everyone is welcome.

 Next Wednesday Night the plan right now is to ride over to Gays Mills and hopefully enjoy the apple trees in bloom.

UPDATE ON WAYNE F

Wayne was in Rochester yesterday and had all the tubes removed, so hopefully he is now on his way to recovery.  We all were concerned and want to wish him well.

AND FINALLY

How remiss would be be without wishing all our Wednesday Night Riders moms...

NEWS--SOME GOOD, SOME NOT SO GOOD

 There was enough happening this past week that I couldn't wait until after Wednesday night's ride to post everything.

I'll start with the "not so good" happening.  Last week a deer ran into Lissa.  She was able to keep her bike upright, but she suffered injuries to her wrist and fingers where the deer struck her.  Some "good samaritans" stopped by to help her.  Here's hoping she has a speedy recovery and can join us again after she heals up.

With other news--

Chuckles and Lois provided a couple more photos of their journeys in Texas.

THERE ARE HILLS IN TEXAS

LOOKS LIKE LUCKINBACH

DON'T TRADE THE TRIKE FOR A HORSE!

This Sunday Jim & Cathy rode over into Wisconsin to take part in the annual Slimey Crap Run.  They forwarded a number of photos of this adventure, so if you would like to see them, click on the link below.

Despite the name of the event, they apparently had a good ride.https://photos.app.goo.gl/JL7W4airc7NpknM9A

Remember when I said I forgot to take my camera to Camp Courageous last Sunday?  Well I was informed by Chuckles that KCRG channel 9 took my place. Click below here and you will see three familiar people in line for the omelets.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/camp-courageous-sees-sunny-side-of-community-at-annual-omelet-breakfast/ar-AA1azt8q

Just to inform everyone that ChucK, Ron, and Bob R will be giving trike rides to some residents of North Gate Manor nursing home on Tuesday, May 16th at 12:30 with a rain date of Friday, May 19th at 12:30.  You are welcome to stop by and see the smiles on the faces!

Finally, I said at the PMS get-together that I would try to post a destination for our upcoming Wednesday night ride.  This Wednesday it looks like we will be heading for our annual ride up to Pikes Peak outside of McGregor.  It should be interesting to see the high water from high above.

4 TIMES AS MANY

 This Wednesday we had four riders as compared to last week when we only had one.  On a very pleasant 65 degree evening, Bob R was accompanied by Mike R (newbie), Larry (famous brother of Jim), and Irv in the support Corvette.

MIKE READIES FOR HIS FIRST RIDE WITH US

IRV ROLLS IN WITH THE SUPPORT VET

A GELO SHOWS UP AND MAKES THE RIDE OFFICIAL

Since Bob was alone last week, he decided to take the guys on the same route he rode before, but in the opposite direction (bassackwards).  We rolled out of Casey's at 5 and proceed down HWY 9 heading west.  When we reached the point on the highway where there is a passing lane, we pulled over into the right lane to let any following vehicles get by.  This worked well until one "butthead" decided he wasn't going to let some of us back in, and this caused some of us to brake down to let him by.  It just proves my theory that there are more stupid people around, and every one of them drives!

After this incident, we turned onto Centennial Road, still being followed by two vehicles.  I figured they would turn off somewhere along the road, but no.  They even followed us when we turned onto Sand Road.  When we reached an open stretch, they safely passed us.

We continued on into Ossian where we found HWY 52 to our favor, and turned on to it and scooted into Calmar.  At the 4 way stop intersection in Calmar, another driver pulling a trailer waived us though so we could stay together.  I guess there are still some considerate drivers out there.

Passing through Calmar, we picked up HWY 24 and cruised into Ft. Atkinson.  Once there we turned onto CR B45 and headed east.  I would say B45 could use some repair work.  After a short bumpy 6 mile journey on B45, we arrived at HWY 150 and turned south passing through Festina just in time to avoid the rush hour there.  We continued on 150 until we reached the Great River Road turn and took it east again.  This is a scenic stretch of pavement that passes over the Turkey River at least five times.  All along the way we saw farmers busy preparing the fields for crops.  I also had a hen pheasant leisurely stroll across the road in front of me.

The Great River Road took us over to HWY 18 and we turned on it into Clermont and a stop for a break at the Casey's store there.

LARRY FINALLY FIGURED HOW TO GET HIS NEW HELMET OFF

After a short break, we continued west on HWY 18 and motored on into Postville.  There we cut through town and found our way over to Cherry Valley Drive and passed through the local farming area over to Forest Mills Road.  This time I had a rooster pheasant stroll across the road in front of me.  I hope he wasn't on a mission to find the hen I saw before!  These two birds were the only wildlife I observed on the whole journey which surprised me.  Usually when there are that many farmers in the fields, they tend to scatter deer and other creatures towards the roads.

After reaching Forest Mills Road, we turned north and passed by the Gelo ranch and on to HWY 76.  After a short jog on 76, we took HWY 9 back into Waukon.  I had about 90 miles on the Wing when I got her into the shed.  It was a very enjoyable Wednesday night ride, and hopefully Mike enjoyed it and will be along with us again soon.

CAMP COURAGEOUS

I forgot my camera, so I don't have any photos of our journey down to Camp Courageous on Sunday to support their fund-raising omelet breakfast.  With the weather refusing to cooperate again for the journey on bikes, Dennis was kind enough to drive his van with Marlene, Jens & Jane, and Bob & Julie aboard.  Before we left, Jim & Cathy were kind enough to drop off a donation for us to take down with us.  All the way down, you could feel the strong wind bump against the van.

Even with the lousy weather, a good crowd came to support the event.  I didn't see the any of the HOG riders that usually come down, so I don't know if they made it or not.  It was certainly not a day for motorcycling, but I'm glad we were able to support such a worthy organization.  Maybe this fall will offer up a better day for biking down there for the pancakes.

And Finally

UPDATE ON WAYNE F PLUS CHUCKLES & LOIS

 As many of you found out at our PMS get-together a week ago Wednesday,  that Wayne F was hospitalized that same day to undergo a series of 5 different operations.  I talked to Wayne tonight to see how he was doing.  He sounded kind of tired, but in good spirits.  Apparently the surgeries went well and he is now recovering.  Tomorrow will be the first day he will be given solid food.  He indicated that it should be somewhere around two days before he will be released to go back home.  After that he will be limited to lifting 10 pounds and will have six weeks of daily exams.  These he will be able to do in Waukon.  It sounded like he was very confident that he will recover well.  I indicated that quite a number of our Wednesday night riders were concerned about him, and he thanked me for calling.  I also indicated that we would keep him in our prayers until we could see his smiling face again. I indicated that I would visit him at home and drop off a dvd from our PMS meeting, because I know how much he and Sandy always enjoyed those get-togethers.  Get-well wishes can be sent to him at 1205 Acreage Lane, Waukon, IA 52172.

MEANWHILE

Chuckles and Lois ventured into Texas shortly after our PMS meeting.  They rented a Harley trike and did some riding on the Twisted Sisters.

GOOD TIMES ON THE TWISTED SISTERS

MOST OF US THINK THAT LOIS SHOULD BE DOING THE DRIVING!

Tomorrow is the omelet breakfast at Camp Courageous.  With the weather being totally crappy, we will be car pooling from Casey's at 9 AM.  Hope to see you there!

ME, MYSELF, AND I

 My premise is that if the temp is 50 or above and it's not raining, I ride.  Well, Wednesday nights temps were in the low 60's and we were under sunny skies, so I was ready to motor.  Particularly since the weather had not been cooperating since our first Wednesday ride, I was looking forward to being out on the road again.  However after gassing up at Casey's and waiting until 5, I was surprised to find that I was going to be the only Wednesday night rider tonight.

With all the road repair in our area and some road closures due to flooding, it took me a while to figure out a route that would work tonight.  So I cruised out of Casey's at 5 and headed out on HWY 9, then to HWY 76, and down Forest Mills Road.  After passing the Gelo plantation, I turned onto Cherry Valley Drive and motored into Postville.  There on the outskirts of Postville, I had to stop for a train roaring by.

I stayed a good distance away from the tracks after hearing about all the train derailments in the country lately!

After the train passed, I continued my solo journey through Postville and onto HWY 18 heading west.  I followed 18 on into Clermont, and then took the Great River Road all the way across to HWY 150 near Eldorado.  I crossed the Turkey River a number of times and was surprised to see that it was a little higher, but certainly not flood stage (at least yet).  I turned north onto HWY 150 and then turned onto CR B32 just past Festina and motored on into Ft. Atkinson.  I was warm enough yet that I hadn't needed the heated seat or grips on the Wing.

After arriving in Ft. Atkinson, I slipped onto HWY 24 and headed east into Calmar.  There I stopped at the newly remodeled Kwik Star for a break.

This is really a nice store now after all the remodeling.  Since I knew I probably wouldn't stop for eats when I got back to Waukon, I gobbled down a slice of pizza that was on sale.  BIG MISTAKE!  I could taste that pizza for the whole rest of the trip.

After several burps, I got going again on HWY 52 and made a beeline for Ossian.  To my surprise I saw the same train that I waited for in Postville parked along the tracks on the highway to Ossian.  Once I reached Ossian, I passed through town, turned left onto CR W42 for a short jog, and then onto Sand Road still heading east.  At the end of Sand Road I turned back north onto Centennial Road and would up at HWY 9.  I followed it back into Waukon where I parked the Wing after racking up about 90 miles.  With the way the weather has been, I was happy to get in another Wednesday night ride!

CAMP COURAGEOUS

Sunday is our "charity" ride to Camp Courageous for their omelet breakfast fund raiser.  The weather at the present time does not look too favorable for motorcycle riding, but we still plan to go by car-pooling.  So if you would like to go along, we still plan to meet at Casey's at 9 AM on Sunday morning.  Camp Courageous is a charity we strongly support because of all the work they do for folks (especially kids) with disabilities without any assistance from government agencies.  Besides their omelets are great eats!

WHO'D A THOUGHT IT--PMS

 Our 15th annual PMS (Parked Motorcycle (Motorcar) Syndrome) get-together for the Wednesday Night Riders drew an amazing crowd of 35 folks to the Uptown Grill in Waukon last night.  That is quite amazing since our first one back then only drew 10 people!  Quite a bunch!

LOIS WAS "WOUNDED", BUT STILL ABLE TO COME

DARREL, ROGER, CHUCKLES, DAVE, AND JULIE

HOWARD, RON, BERNELL, MARY, GLORIA, DOROTHY, LOIS, AND JULIE

HELEN, KATHY, CARL (DOZING OFF), JIM, CATHY, SUE, AND AL

KATHY, HELEN, JOYCE, CARL (AWAKE NOW), BOB Z, DAVID, DARRON, SUE, AND SUZANNE

ChucK, MIKE (NEWBIE), JENS, JANE, DENNIS, MARLENE, CHRIS, KARLA, IRV, AND TERRY

Now with sound effects!

We honored the USA and veterans...

Paid respect to those who passed...

MERYLE

WAYNE

BOB

KATHY

DOROTHY

Our "program" consisted of some "interpreted" reflections back on the 2022 riding season.  Here's a few of the photos from those.