Motorcycle Adventures

(chronological order)

December 29, 2013 Every day is one day closer to riding.

October 20, 2013 Who would have thunk that September 30 was going to be my last ride for our season. We've been on the bikes since to work but no rides. The last really nice day we attended the Badgers vs. Northwestern Homecoming game, so no riding that day. I have been so spoiled since I've owned a street bike with riding all the way into November, but this year that probably won't happen. The temps just dropped from 70s to barely getting into the 50s and I am not so thrilled about bundling up to go riding as I used to be. I must be getting old. So today and this week I will probably be preparing my baby (bike that is) for sleepy time. Guess the valve adjustment will have to wait until spring next year... ugh! :( I guess  I'm okay with this though since I put in the most miles ever in one season... over 6k miles. Whoot, whoot!

September 30, 2013 I had taken the day off for last minute items at my old place and for checkout. Since we had been so consumed with packing and moving hence our trip to Winona, we hadn't been able to do much riding with the bikes. I was able to talk Kevin into taking the afternoon off so we could put in some miles. Yesterday when we went to Milwaukee we saw some really pretty foliage/colors, so I checked the Wisconsin Fall Colors website but nothing around us had been close to peek. I however took us through all the counties that showed 50%. Although none of the counties we went through looked to be 50%, we still saw some pretty colors here and there. No pictures this time but a map to the right. 

September 6-8, 2013 We had planned a trip to Winona MN to celebrate my Dad's 77th birthday and for a visit with him and Canders. We left around 8:15 Friday morning and took Hwy 23 to 82 through Mauston and then Hwy 71 through Sparta, but we stopped at our usual DQ in Sparta for some lunch before proceeding on Hwy 71 to Hwy 54 all the way to Winona. We arrived in Winona around 1ish, checked into our hotel and then met Dad & Candy at the nursing home. Later we met Candy for dinner at Timbers. Sunday was the day before Dad's birthday so we met him that morning to give him his gift and for a short visit before heading home. We took Hwy 54 to 71 again, but this time I took us north on Hwy 27 to Cty O east through the south end of the Black River State National Park before heading south on Cty HH to Cty H back to Hwy 21 where traffic was a bit heavy so we stopped at the Citgo station for a rest and then back on Hwy 21 into Arkdale where I put my windbreaker liner in because clouds had set in and with the dew points being much lower than the day prior made it feel pretty cool. I took us to Cty G just after Arkdale south to Cty J into Princeton and continued on Cty J just outside of Ripon, but then decided to take Hwy 23 the remainder of the way back to make up for time we lost on the county roads. We arrived back to Fondy around 2:30ish. Enough time to spare to take care of some things and watch the Packer game. Pictures from our trip below and maps to the right.

September 2, 2013 We had planned on taking a nice long ride today since the weather was supposed to be perfect for it, sunny and 70. Well it was still overcast and only 65 when I left at 11:30 a.m. I ran into the Labor Day Parade downtown on my way to Kevin's and thinking I could miss it by taking Hwy 23/Johnson was oh so wrong. They were actually allowing the parade to run north across Hwy 23. They had traffic backed up so bad and then the fire trucks exited onto Johnson heading west only to find out there was a bad accident at Amory which was probably caused by the back up. I sure hope those people were okay because EMT were taking out the board and gurney when I passed. We took mostly major highways, but not too major to avoid the holiday travelers, to New Glarus. Although I took us just off of Hwy 73 on our way there and we ended up in Albion before I realized my mistake to stay on Hwy 73 before turning into Hwy 106.  Oh yeah did I forget to mention that New Glarus is where I planned for our destination today?! Once we arrived in New Glarus we parked our bikes and walked around to find an eatery/pub for a stop and some app's. We stopped at Puempel's Olde Tavern for some some traditional cheese curds where the bar ceiling was filled with dollar bills which the owner explained how the patrons get them up there and that they provide all of it to certain non-profit agency, which was very interesting. From there we took county roads into Mount Horeb and more county roads through Dane, De Forest, East Bristol to Columbus and more count roads from there until we opted to head for Hwy 151 since it was getting pretty late. Pictures and map to the right. Right around 250 miles this trip. Oh and it never really got sunny or 70 except while we around Madison area and most of the way back until we got close to home. Grrr!

September 1, 2013 It was another pretty warm and very humid day so we didn't want to plan a long ride nor for very long. So we opted to find the next city needed for the city alpha challenge on the ST Group's site. They were up to C. So we headed for Dundee where we stopped at the Hamburger Haus for burgers, and just in case someone else got "D" we stopped at the Town of Empire's Fire & EMT Department for "E", which was also  the exact emergency service/crew who assisted at my accident. As we were there we noticed some pretty good storms just to the north of us so we checked the radar and it looked like they were heading our way, but I of course had to test fate and took us north towards them, but cut back towards town along the edge of the front. We only ran into some gusty winds and a few rain drops and even after arriving home, it just broke up and basically missed us altogether. I doubt if we put in much over 50 miles today. Two pictures to the right.

August 31, 2013 Kevin & I planned a trip to Wisconsin Rapids, but before we headed out Kevin attached some gremlin bells to my bike; one he recently bought me and another one Norb from work bought me right after my big get off in 2008. Kevin felt this was necessary after my two very close encounters with deer this year. After that we headed out on Hwy 151 to Cty TC to Hwy 44 & 49 to Hwy 73 for pretty much the remainder of the way to Wisconsin Rapids. Due to a late morning start we took mostly main highways to get there. We were going to take a look at the map for more county roads to take on our way home when we stopped for lunch in WI Rapids, but we didn't see anything of interest there so we opted to go to Stevens Point for lunch instead. We took Hwy 66 from the Rapids to Point. I took us to Guu's where I had stopped before with the Jahn's and Tom Bartelme for lunch on our bikes several years ago. Food was still good as I remembered. From there we took Hwy 51 Business south to Hwy 54 and then a bunch of county roads into Wild Rose and more country roads from there to Saxeville where we stopped for a rest along their damn and took some pictures (below). We either ended up taking EE or E into Red Granite where we had planned on taking E south out of Granite, but they had just laid down fresh tar and pea gravel on it so we opted to take Hwy 21 to Berlin where we took Cty F into Ripon. We stopped in Ripon to stretch and rest and then decided to take Hwy 23 the rest of the way home because I was feeling tired and my right wrist with the metal was starting to ache. According to our tracker we put in just over 240 miles. Map to the right.

August 24, 2013 Kevin & I planned on attending the Fallen Brothers Poker Run out of West Bend's Unity Club in memory of my half sister Marjean Boots who passed away after an accident on November 5 last year due to major brain stem damage. Marjean was always instrumental with helping this group with their annual poker run even though she hadn't owned her own bike for several years. Marjean wasn't always very close to us/family so it was extremely nice for me to learn more things about her from her friends in West Bend by attending this event. To the right is a picture of our group which includes one of Marjean's good friends Sue.

August 17, 2013 Kevin and I knew we were going to take a ride somewhere but because we planned it at the last minute we didn't have time to invite anyone else to join us. Our plan was to make it up to the Menominee Reservation. We took mostly main highways heading out since we started later that morning... Hwy 23 west to 49 north all the way to Iola where we took 161 east to Cty Tk C into Clintonville and then Hwy 22 into Shawano where I tried finding this pub/restaurant on the west side of Shawano Lake where Linda and Ray had taken me before but to no avail, so we stopped for lunch at the Farm Inn on Main where we had some awesome food and excellent service. From there we took Hwy 47 to 55 into the Reservation. When we got onto Hwy 55 we had a slow vehicle in front of us so I stopped at the Keshena Falls which I wasn't planning on due to time constraints, but that turned out very much in our favor since when we got back onto Hwy 55 we didn't run into any traffic at all so we could take the curves at a really good pace (okay somewhat fast). We took WW east off of 55 into Mountain where we took Hwy 64/32 south to Hwy 22 back into Shawano where we took Cty K south which turned into Hwy 187 into Hortonville. Just before Hortonville I had my second ever and second for this season very close call with a deer. This time it was a lone doe who by the time I saw her was full barrel going across the road in front of me. I had all I could do to grab a fist full of brake to avoid her, barely. Kevin said it jolted him pretty good too.  From there we took Hwy 54 and Cty M to Winneconne and Hwy 116 to Omro then Hwy 21 to Cty FF south and Hwy 26 to my old favorite Olden Road back to North Fondy. It was a perfect day for riding and I think we put in around 330 miles this trip. Pictures below and map to the right.

August 4, 2013 Kevin and I planned on going for a ride later in the morning after our workouts. According to the weather guy out of Green Bay it was supposed to be warmer than yesterday and sunny until later in the evening. So I dressed accordingly and met Kevin just before noon. We decided to go to Three Guys and a Grill outside of Elkhart Lake in the Sheboygan Marsh to stop for lunch and continue on. Shortly after leaving town the clouds really thickened which made it pretty chilly at times and we weren't expecting that. As much as I complain about it being too hot or not warm enough, I know I probably shouldn't say anything, but that weather guy was totally wrong! It even looked as if we'd run into rain several times, but luckily not. Early this spring we had too much rain and now we're enduring a drought and you can clearly see that by the pictures I took by the damn in the Marsh. I've never seen the water levels this low at the Marsh before.

August 3, 2013 Kevin's ST group planned an RTE (Ride to Eat) at the River Mill in La Valle. We didn't leave until late morning so we took main highways in an effort to get there around noon and we were only 10 minutes or so late. I think there were around 20 of us in the group. We had lunch and a nice visit. We yacked in the parking lot for a bit before we all took off on our separate ways. There were some people from Iowa and Minnesota there as well. Nice bunch of folks! Kevin and I took a couple of county roads after departing La Valle. To the right is a map and a picture of the group before we left.

July 27, 2013 We planned to go to Door County and wouldn't you know it... the weather was very unseasonably cool. Only in the low 50s with mist when we met to head out at 8:30. Tom was brave enough to join us. Before leaving town I wanted to air up my tires and top the tank. I had issues with the air valve at the station we stopped at with it not putting out enough pressure so it kept seeping air out. I was down to 15 lbs pressure on my back tire so we decided to take it to my cousin's shop (Dave's Engine Service) which was just down the street. Good thing we did that because I totally forgot to tell him about a concern with the valve on my front tire when I took it in earlier in the week for an oil change and check up. Sure enough he wasn't going to let me leave until he changed it. So what originally seemed like an inconvenience at the station turned out to be a good thing we had to take it to his garage sparing me from a potential major problem. Since we were around an hour late to start from planned, I took major highways all the way to Algoma where I took our first county roads along Lake Michigan and into Sturgeon Bay. From there I took another county road towards the lake and then a bunch of rural/residential curvy roads up to Cave Point Park where we stopped to venture out on the rocky shoreline. From there up to Bailey's Harbor to the Cornerstone Pub for lunch. Then Cty Q out of Bailey's back onto the Hwy 57 & 42 to Gills Rock where we decided to take the Ferry to Washington Island and that wasn't cheap... $56 bucks for both Kevin & I and our bikes, but it was well worth it. We met a really nice couple on their 1970 something Honda. They were from Wild Rose but used to live in Brandon and turns out Tom's son was either their son's or their grandson's teacher. Absolutely small world! We kept running into them on the Island and then again on the Ferry back. It was getting extremely late with showers popping up so I took Hwy 42 all the way through Egg Harbor but then I took Cty G to Cty B along the Bay side of Door County back to Sturgeon Bay where we lost Tom for a while. After we caught up with him we continued on Hwy 42 back to Manitowoc. Ran in to a little rain and took Hwy 151 to Chilton where we stopped to clean my visor because from the bugs and rain I couldn't see very well with oncoming traffic. We just missed a really good down poor heading into Chilton and I was worried about getting caught in the next one heading our way. We did get caught it in but it didn't rain too hard and not for very long. It was definitely very chilly and thankfully Kevin brought me his extra rain pants. We didn't get home until around 9:40 with around 350 miles. I took a ton of pictures below amd a map which is pretty close to our exact route to the right.

July 20, 2013 We weren't planning on riding today because Kevin had to go into work and other things we had going on, but when the weather looked so nice later in the afternoon we decided to take advantage of it especially after the very warm and humid stretch of weather this past week which kept us from spending much time on the bikes. No real destination but thought it would be nice to revisit the site of my accident since I haven't been by there in over a year. Turns out they totally repaved that road and joining ones so there wasn't any signs left of the poor conditions that helped cause my accident. From there we tooled up to Armstrong where we stopped by my grandparents gravesite. From there we took a whole bunch of country roads north and east of Lake Winnebago until we finally ran into Hwy 10 where we took that west to Hwy 55 and into Sherwood and then Hwy 151 the rest of the way home. No pictures this time and it was around 110 miles. Map to the right.

July 13, 2013 Kevin & I had planned at the last minute to do a group ride to Devil's Lake and the Merrimac Ferry. Since it was last minute we weren't able to get a group, however, Scott from work was able to join us and we met him at the McDonald's in Waupun around 10:15 a.m. From there we headed out on Hwy 68 to Cty P into and through Pardeeville and then Hwy 51 into Portage to Interstate 39 to Hwy 78 south. We passed by the Ferry in Merrimac to see how busy it was and it looked good before taking Hwy 113 past Devil's Lake into Baraboo and then we stopped for lunch at Hooty's, one of my stomping grounds from when I lived in Madison. Even though they still had the Hooty's sign up it apparently had changed hands a year and a half ago to the Pumphouse. From there we went through Devil's Lake around the south shore, stopped for some pictures and then continued through the park back to Hwy 113 to Hwy 78 to the Ferry. We were able to get on the next trip over Lake Wisconsin without much waiting. From there we took Hwy 188 south but because of the heavy traffic which refused to do the speed limit I decided to take Hwy 60 to Lodi where we stopped to decide where to go from there. We left on Hwy 113 to Cty J and then a bunch more Cty and back roads to the Mayville area where we took a detour to go through the Ledge Park and then into Kekoskee where we stopped by the old dam for some ice-cream before we split off from Scott to head home. We put in around 235 miles this trip. Below are some pictures and to the right is a map.

July 7, 2013 Kevin & I decided to go for another ride but we didn't have a lot of time since we were hosting a cookout later at his place and because it was going to be so warm again with the dew points up in the high 60s too I opted to head back towards Lake Michigan but this time to Port Washington. We headed out south on Hwy 45 and then through the Lower Kettle Moraine area to Hwy 57 to Cty A into Port where we stopped by the harbor to walk out to the lighthouse and enjoy the cooler temps. It was really hazy which was very apparent from my pictures I took but I was able to enhance them in PhotoShop for better clarity. We took Hwy 33 back due to lack of time and then Hwy 45 out of West Bend. We ran into some rain before Eden so we stopped to secure my cell phone and then proceeded home without too much more rain. It actually felt refreshing. Around 110 miles this trip. Pics below with a map to the right.

July 6, 2013 Kevin & I decided to take a ride today and since it was going to be in the high 80s with the dew points in the high 60s we opted for heading towards Lake Michigan which was an excellent idea because just before we drove over Hwy 43 it was 86 degrees and by the time we made it onto Lake Shore Drive the temps went down to the low 70s and that felt very refreshing. On our way out we went through St. Peter, Johnsburg, St. Anne, just north of Sheboygan before connecting onto LS along the lake into Cleveland where we stopped at Hika Bay to skip some of their perfect flat stones. From there we proceeded on LS to Manitowoc where I decided to get close to the old granary and stopped to take some pictures before stopping by the SS Badger Ferry to watch them load the boat which included part of a windmill. From there we kept along the lake to West of the Lake Gardens to enjoy some of their beautiful flowers. Then we kept along the lake into Two Rivers to refuel and then back down along the lake into Manitowoc where we took Hwy 42 through Howard's Grove where I took some county roads just outside of Elkhart and Road America. We were going to stop in Elkhart for ice-cream but didn't really see any place advertising it and because it was so hot we decided to head home. So we took Cty J into Glenbeulah and then Hwy 23 the rest of the way home. Pics below and map to the right.

July 2-3, 2013 (July 2) Kevin & I had planned on taking an overnight trip during our break over the week of the Fourth of July down towards southwestern Wisconsin with really no destination in mind but to hopefully take in some of the great roads that wind up & down and through the bluffs. So we headed out Tuesday morning in that direction. We took Hwy 151 and Cty C to Hwy 33/68 to Portage where we meant to hook up on Hwy 78 but missed it so we were on the Interstate for a ways south before we got off and took some Cty Roads into Lodi where we stopped for a break and to get our bearings. From Lodi we took Hwy 60 to Spring Green where we took Hwy 23 and stopped at a scenic overlook that looked out to Alex Jordan's House on the Rock and more specifically the Infinity Room jarting out over the valley. We've both been to the House on the Rock but this was definitely a view of the Infinity Room which we've never seen. Very nice except every where and every time we stopped we were bombarded by these little bugs. So we couldn't stay too long to enjoy the scenery. From there we proceeded down Hwy 23 to where we took Cty Rd M to Cty Rd Q. We took Hwy 80 south to Cobb where we took Hwy 18 to Montfort where we stopped again for a rest and to look at the map. At that point we decided to take Hwy 18 all the way and Hwy 35 into Prairie du Chien where we were going to spend the night. After finding a nice hotel we checked in, took a nap and then proceeded to head out for another ride. Hwy 35 north of Prairie was closed only to find out later it was due to the heavy rains and landslides from the weekend we took the bikes two weeks ago to MN to see my Dad when we had to dodge all of the rain and storms. So we headed out of Prairie on Hwy 27 north to Hwy 179 to Cty E into Boscobel where we saw just how much devastation they had since Boscobel endured 8 inches of rain the weekend we were in MN. They're still trying to clean up the landslides just outside of Boscobel on Hwy 60 which was closed north of there and every road we took up to that point and after you could see the damage caused by the high waters through and along the roads, and including how far the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers were crested. We were told that the Mississippi was 7 feet above normal in Prairie and that was very apparent, which you can see by some of the pictures I took to the right. Anyway, back to our trip out of Boscobel, we took Hwy 61 south to Lancaster and then Hwy 35 all the way back to Prairie. We stopped for dinner at the old train depot along the Miss in Prairie which was converted into a bar. We walked down by the Miss River after dinner and then drove around the grounds of Villa Louis Historical Site. From there we went back to our hotel and walked to the local Cabela's next to the hotel before heading back to the hotel where we enjoyed their indoor water park. I loved the water slide the most outside of the hot tub waterfall over my aching shoulders and neck.

July 2-3, 2013 Cont'd (July 3) Since we already knew Hwy 35 on the WI side and north of our hotel was closed after we ventured up that way the day before and from talking to the locals we opted for taking Hwy 18 over the Mississippi to the Great River Road on the Iowa side into Minnesota because we decided to venture to Winona for a surprise visit with my Dad since our last trip to see him was cut short due to the storms and rain. Except I must have missed where we were supposed to connect just after or under the bridge over the river and we ended up in Monona IA before stopping and then taking a county road to get back to Hwy 76 in IA to the river. The detour ended up being pretty nice roads though... up and down the bluffs. Once we got to the Great River Road we got detoured once again out of Lansing. I swear I've never seen such poor highway postings than in Iowa! Just a couple miles out of Lansing on Hwy 9 is when I realized we were heading too far west so we turned back and finally found the Great River Road again where we witnessed more evidence of just how high the river was along the way. Not to mention how many does we came across and with their fawns. One specific instance before reaching La Crescent where a doe came running across Hwy 26 full throttle with her two fawns and I really had to break and thread between the two fawns in an effort not to hit any of them. That was my closest call ever with deer and thankfully I missed them! I think that made everyone in front and behind us slow down or at least give us some more room without following us so closely. We made it into Winona just before my Dad was getting ready for lunch and we only had around half an hour to see him but it was so nice and great to see how surprised he was to see us there. From there we took Hwy 54 over the Miss on the WI side to Melrose where we took Hwy 71 to Sparta. From there we took "boring" Hwy 21 all the way back through Red Granite and then we headed down through Berlin where I opted for Cty F into Ripon and then Olden Road all the way past and across Hwy 26 to Cty I and then OO into North Fondy. I showed around 640 miles this trip. To the right are some pictures and a map.

July 1, 2013 Today we really didn't have a destination in mind until I decided since it was a week day it would be a great time to go through the Northern Kettle Moraine because it wouldn't be so busy, so that is just what we did. From there we tooled around and I took Spring Valley Road to Scenic View Road which I've always wanted to take but never had. Quite a view from up there hence the name. We ended up in Kiel and decided to finally check out Scoops Ice-Cream Parlor in Chilton but not until after checking out another spot we had noticed last time we were on Hwy 57 outside of Chilton... Ledge View Nature Center where we ventured through their exhibits in the building, white tailed eagle in an outside cage and also ventured up their overlook tower. Below are some pictures and to the right a map of our trip.

June 30, 2013 Kevin & I planned a trip with the bikes to our last Breakfast on the Farm in Waushara County in Wautoma at their Fairgrounds. Scott & Sparky from work met us in the G&L parking lot on Johnson before heading out at 8 a.m. I decided to take main highways to get us there before the lines got too long and that worked out pretty well. Breakfast was very good. Bummer it wasn't at a farm but it still was something you cannot do every day. Sparky left us from there to meet some friends before heading back home. I took us on a bunch of county and country roads after leaving Wautoma. One of the best was Cty J which eventually met up with Cty B which takes you back into the north side of Montello. From there I tried to take as many back roads and another good road was Cty E before Hwy 33 where we ran into a bridge over some railroad tracks that was posted 5 MPH where the asphalt was completely gone and only wood boards left. It was pretty bumpy but very neat! The worst road was one that wasn't marked very well that it was a dead end and when I came up over a hill the road immediately ended and changed to dirt. Good thing I slowed down on my approach to the hill since I sensed something didn't seem quite right. Still the guys had to help me back up my bike to get me turned around. This was also my first trip where I encountered so many deer which caused me to slow down or almost completely stop. Lots of doe and with their fawns. Our GreenAlp app's couldn't keep up with us so I did the best I could by highlighting a map to show our route but it doesn't show all of the back roads we took. We put in around 200 miles this trip. To the right is a pic of the guys at the Fairgrounds and a map which is as close as I could get.

June 21-23, 2013 Kevin & I planned a trip to MN to visit with Dad & Candy for the weekend, but due to the storms, potential hail and strong winds we postponed our leave Friday morning until the severe weather had passed. We left two hours later than planned and left in the rain until just past Ripon and then the wind really picked up too hitting us broadside from the south so I took Hwy 49 to Berlin to keep the wind at our backs and luckily we not only were able to get out of the wind but the rain eventually stopped too by the time we reached Berlin. We took Hwy 21 to Hwy 16 and then Hwy 108 out of West Salem into Mindoro and Cty Rd D back down to Hwy 53/35 into Onalaska where we had our hotel reservations. We dropped off some of our stuff at the hotel and proceeded on I90 through La Crosse where we ran into construction... down to one lane over the Mississippi River and a few miles after that before we split off onto Hwy 61 the rest of the way to Winona. After we got back to our hotel later Friday night some more good storms moved through overnight and we had to wait Saturday morning for the roads to dry a bit and then we took the Wisconsin side (Hwy 53/35) to Winona to avoid the road construction on I90. While having dinner with Candy on Saturday evening a shower passed and then we noticed more showers/storms popping up so we high-tailed it from there to get over the river and back to our hotel which we only had minutes to spare upon arriving at our hotel before the skies opened up and then it rained/stormed for the remainder of the night into the morning. When we woke up on Sunday there were more storms heading our way and we did not want to chance taking the trip to Winona and get caught in it, so we opted to head home from there. Of course by the time we reached Mauston the rain we had stayed ahead of started to break up and by the time we got home there wasn't any rain at all over Wisconsin. I guess better safe than sorry though. We ran into Kevin's cousin and her husband at the Mauston Park Oasis Shell Station where we stopped for breakfast. They were coming back from Black River Falls on their bike where they said it stormed all night the night before as well. We put in around 580 miles this trip. To the right are some pictures and a map. The only thing the map doesn't show is our daily trips back and forth from Onalaska to Winona and then a trip we took out of Winona west on Hwy 14 to Stockton and back. 

June 9, 2013 Kevin and I planned on another breakfast on the farm but couldn't take the bikes because it was raining here first and then where we were going to... Manitowoc County. However the rain didn't last long so when we got back we took off on the bikes with really no destination in mind. So I decided to take us out toward Elkhart Lake and more specifically to the tower located in the Sheboygan Marsh by Three Guys and A Grill. We met another couple up on the tower from Fondy who were there with their Valkyrie and come to find out she went to school with my Aunt Carol Beuk. We didn't have as much time as yesterday so we only put in around 90 miles. Pics from the tower below and a map to the right.

June 8, 2013 Kevin and I planned on taking our bikes to "Breakfast on the Farm" outside of Omro on Ginnow Road and wouldn't you know it even though the forecast was calling for partly cloudy and temps topping in the seventies today, we ran into rain on our way there, while we were there and when we decided to leave. After looking at the radar I decided to take us south to avoid it. We ended up going south just west of Oshkosh, through Waupun, then through Horicon to Mayville, then east to Newburg, and north through Adell, then west to Dundee, and you'll just have to view the map from our GreenAlp phone apps below. I showed just around 180+ miles this trip. Felt so good to finally put some time and miles on the bike.

May 19, 2013 Kevin and I planned a ride towards Lake Michigan since it was going to be in the eighties with very high humidity. I usually  wouldn't plan a trip towards Lake Michigan this time of year because of the cooler air off of the lake, however, I thought it might feel refreshing by the time we got there. Well by the time we reached Hwy 43 within a mile after that the temps dropped almost 10 degrees and with the high winds coming east off of the lake it felt very cool very quickly, especially since I wore my airflow jacket without the liner. Needless to say we did not reach the shore of Lake Michigan and instead headed north and then back west to find somewhere to grab some food. We stopped in Kiel at the River View Restaurant and we ordered some very tasty breakfast. From there we headed to New Holstein, Chilton and that's when I decided we'd go all the way around Lake Winnebago. So then we headed through Stockbridge, Sherwood, and Neenah/Menasha where we stopped at the Heckrodt Wetland Reserve. We took some pictures there... some of us to the right and some of their turtles, etc. below. Then we headed back down the west side of Lake Winnebago through Oshkosh and to Fondy where we stopped at Lakeside to take pictures of my Aunt Carol and Mary's trees for my Dad and Canders. I clocked in 170+ miles this trip.

May 5, 2013 I planned a ride for Kevin and I to head towards the Wild Rose area but my destination wasn't that. However, after taking some miscellaneous county roads which we never had been on before, we still ended up in Wild Rose. It was a very nice day for a ride when the sun stayed out, but it was a bit chilly at times when the clouds were around. We stopped in Princeton on our way back for some ice-cream at All in Good Taste before heading the rest of the way home. We had a very nice ride until a tow truck driver behind us decided we were taking too long to enter Hwy 151 from Cty Trk TC and that's when he pulled up along side us in the median and stole our view of oncoming traffic in an effort to beat us onto the highway. Kevin entered the Hwy at the same time as him but I stayed behind since I couldn't see the oncoming traffic. After I could see it was clear I took off and did something that I am not proud of... I stooped to the tow truck driver's level by flipping him off once I was able to pass him and catch up to Kevin. The driver just kept smiling at me and then he attempted to catch up to us except his exit was before ours. Apparently he was proud of what he had done which doesn't sit well with me at all. Especially when someone messes with us when we're on our bikes. The world could afford a few less of the likes of him! According to my Speed-O we put in around 150 miles and to the right is a map of our ride from our Greenalp app on our phones.

April 26-28, 2013 It finally appeared that we would have some temps consistently around or above 50 degrees, so I finally decided it would be a good time to start the bike so I could get it to the garage for the new tires I ordered over the winter and so that I would be good to go for the nice forecasted weekend. Saturday Kevin and I met at Best Buy to order the new washer and dryer and then we left town for a ride west of town. We stopped at Jillian's in Princeton for lunch and then took off from there with really no destination in mind. We ended up putting in around 140 miles. Sunday, April 28 we did much more of the same after our workouts, etc. Except we headed more south and then west before heading back towards home. Another 140 mile day.

Previous Years & Accident

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