Earlier in the week they kept forecasting for rain most of today, except in the low 70s. I was really bummed because after today the temps were supposed to really drop, which would have meant my last ride on the bike two weeks ago when it was 88 could very well be my last for the season. However, luckily for me, they updated it to being mostly sunny later in the morning and all afternoon. Kevin and I had started talking about potentially riding even before they took the rain out, but I told him Thursday evening that it looked like it would be nice now. Although he needed to get into the woods for bow hunting later in the afternoon, he was up for a bit of a shorter ride and even offered to meet me here since he has all the heated stuff on his bike.
He met me here right around 10 and we started out south on a route I planned last night and then again this morning since he informed me that the original route was a bit too short. Although I had planned it around and through the Northern Unit of the Kettle Moraine, I added a bunch of roads outside of the marked Scenic Route, so that I would have a better chance of stopping to take photos of any good fall foliage. Also, although it was overcast with pretty wet roads when we started off and for quite a while after that, it eventually did clear up well before making it to our planned stop for lunch.
Eventually we ended up scooting west across the north side of West Bend to get to Cty D to Jug’s Hitching Post for lunch. When we arrived, the heat from my engine seemed to have attracted quite a few bees, and when we asked if we could order our food out on the patio, they informed us they weren’t serving food out there because someone had gotten stung yesterday. So, we had to stay inside, which bummed me out because it was such a gorgeous day, and they had the A/C cranking. We both ordered burgers, and I ordered the smallest one they had, a half pounder, which I couldn’t even finish and barely touched my fries. I was so stuffed, as it was very good! There were only 5-6 other bikes there… some Harley’s and Indian, and I’m not quite sure any other brands, but it seemed like a shame not many bikers were there, and we actually ran back into this group later in the Kettles. However, we did run into a gaggle of grams and dirt bikes on our way to Jug’s heading west on Cty D and then exiting on some dirt trails just past there.
From Jug’s we headed back east on Cty D, and took Kettle Moraine Drive north and some other back roads before getting to Hwy 45, and then made a fuel stop on the south side of Kewaskum before backtracking to our original route taking a lot of unmarked and some scenic marked roads through New Fane and Dundee, and ending the route on part of the last of the northern marked scenic routes near Greenbush where we separated. I continued on the scenic route into Greenbush and by taking Hwy 23 to Cty S with hopes to see some more awesome fall colors, and to stop for photos since that section of S is never busy. And, I was in luck! I also made a stop at the Mill Pond for some photos before continuing into and out of Elkhart Lake, and then home.
I was so thankful the weather ended up being so nice today, especially since it is so pleasurable for me to be on the bike to enjoy the beauty of the fall colors while at the same time having the leaves falling down around you. At one point when we stopped there were a plethora of lady bugs. Well, actually they looked to be their imposter, the asian beetle, which was good I had all the gear on because they were all over me and my bike. At another stop for photos, there were quite a few Box Elder bugs, which I captured one in my photo of my bike (Kew My Ride). Tis the season for fall bugs too. Hah!
I only put in 116 miles, with enough time to enjoy a super long walk after I got home. Funny thing, although this is one of the smallest rides I’ve had this season, I took the most photos out of all my other rides. Just because it was so dang beautiful, I couldn’t help myself! Also, keep in mind, almost all of them were taken after lunch with the sun at our backs to help illuminate the scenery.
