Final Combined Map 2015
Another fun year has passed and although I didn’t have as much time off this season, which is okay because I really couldn’t have afforded a month of layoff with my previous employer. I still put in just over 6k miles. Kevin with his big trip out east and to the Dragon put in 11k. Here is a cumulative map of all of our trips this year, minus Kevin’s trip out east. Pretty crazy and fun map! ;)
November 4 Lake Mills
Well we were in luck with some more 70+ degree days, but couldn’t take off this week until Wednesday which was still supposed to be sunny, winds only up to 15mph and in the 70s. So I took off and Kevin took a half day. I planned a route the night before to head down towards and through Watertown and then to Waterloo, etc. Well the morning started out horrible, with fog, clouds and gusty winds. Good thing Kevin was working until 10 a.m. so I wen to the gym. The fog finally lifted and by the time I left to meet him the clouds were breaking up. We also noticed it was pretty hazy at the start of our ride. Outside of Kevin wanting to grab his ST Group’s tag on Wildcat Road south of Mayville, for the most part we stuck to my planned route until Watertown or Concord. We kept heading south out of Watertown, until we finally met up with Cty B just south of I94 which was what I had planned on taking originally anyways. It was a pretty scenic and curvy road. We stopped at a park near Lake Mills on Rock Lake to snap a couple of pictures and continued onto Marshall where we stopped for a late lunch at the Silver Fox tavern. From there we headed east and then northeast through Horicon Marsh. We stopped at Lakeside Park’s Lighthouse so Kevin could move the tag. I’m certain someone will still grab it this season. Although it wasn’t a very good start and the winds were much higher than forecasted, it ended up bering a pretty darn nice day, much better than the last one we took off for. And it will more than likely for sure be the last nicest day of the season. I’m so glad I took off to enjoy it and get some more seat time! Pictures and map below...
October 25 Kewaunee
Well It was supposed to get up into the 50s and I knew the usual suspects would probably want to ride today, but I needed to get to church and also do a belated birthday brunch with Linda. So I told the other kids to go and not wait for me because that would really shorten their riding and I don’t like being rushed anyways. So here is Kevin’s blurb from their trip this day with some pictures and a map…
With warm weather days winding down, a last minute ride was planned for today. Tammy unfortunately had church and a brunch planned with her great friend Linda today and was unable to join us. So with Pete setting the destination, my quick mapping skills with the Basecamp GPS software, and Sue in tow we were off the Kewaunee. Starting temps were I think 50 degrees, and temps would not rise above 58. It was to be a chilly ride. We would head east out of town via WH, continuing on to Hwy Q to Hwy P, then to MM eastward until heading north on LS into Manitowoc and Hwy 42 northward to Two Rivers where plans were to stop at Kutz’s Pub and Deli for lunch, which unfortunately is closed on Sundays. Group decision to head back to the Lighthouse Inn on the shores of Lake Michigan. From there we headed north to Kewaunee with a short stop near the break waters for a few pictures. With time to head home we took Hwy 29 to County B with some additional back roads until we met up with Hwy Q and again some back roads until we met up with JJ, J and P which brought us to just north of Chilton. Quick stop in Chilton for a stretch, before we headed Southwest on 151 all the way home. Today’s trip 188 miles.
October 21, Holy Hill
What appeared to be the last warmest day of the season (70s) I decided to use a day of vacation to get my bike in for its end-of-season oil change and then go for a ride with Kevin later in the morning to head towards Holy Hill. It was beautiful when we left around 11:30. We took Hwy 45, county and back roads to West Bend where we stopped at Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch. From there we headed west and south through the Southern Kettles and then over to Hwy 83 and 167 to Holy Hill. By the time we got to Slinger it had clouded up and the winds picked up, so I was unable to get as magnificent fall foliage pictures as expected but they turned out okay. We didn’t stick around there very long before heading out and home. Once we got to Hwy 175 I took that all the way home since I also had to finish my desert for Bunko and honestly it wasn’t nearly as nice as earlier in the day. Map and pictures below...
October 11, Wisconsin Rapids
Since today could possibly be the last warmest day of the season we planned a group ride to check out the fall foliage in the Wisconsin Rapids area and I had planned to stop at park along the river where we stopped last year in Port Edwards. We had six bikes this trip: Sue, Nicki, Pete, Tom B., Kevin and me. We met in G&L’s main parking lot at 9:30 and headed west. We stopped for a much needed bathroom break in Princeton. Apparently Nicki needed it more than me, hence as soon as we stopped she had disappeared. Too much coffee! From there we kept heading west and stopped for gas in Westfield. From there even further west until we came up on Cty Z along the Wisconsin River. Just before hitting Z we were on Cty F and boy were there some spectacular colors along there. Once we got to Port Edwards I never saw the park with the really cool granite rock shoreline and got us twisted around so Kevin led and I told him the directions and street to look for for the Tamarack Pub where I had planned for us to eat and watch part of the game. Well we weren’t finding that and getting near the edge of town so I told him to just stop anywhere that looked decent. Right then we hit a red light and noticed a pub on the corner so I told him to go there. It was the Sportsmen’s Pub so they must have the game on, except they didn’t look busy for a game day. Turns out they had the game on two flat panels, great service and good sandwiches. From there stopped at the BP a little ways up across the street from the pub. When we left there we crossed Ruby Avenue, the street the Tamarack was on. Oh well it turned out just fine. I still wanted to head back to find that park to take some nice scenery pictures, which we realized must have been in Nekoosa. Yep Kevin was right again! However, I didn’t think that was the park because the water was so high you couldn’t see the rocks, just barely the top of one. I took a few pics of the colorful trees across the river. From there we took Hwy 73 with only one stop in Neshkoro for a stretch and then to Green Lake before working around the construction on Hwy 23 and taking Hwy 23 the rest of the way home. Because of my screw ups that caused delays I wanted to take highways as much as possible all the way home since Sue wanted to be home by no later than 4. We didn’t get back to town until 4:3ish… sorry Sue!
Sunday, September 27 Holy Hill
I had planned a ride to take what would have been our largest group yet, including my Bunco friend Nicki who finally bought a bike. However I woke up Saturday morning with a cold that had progressed throughout the evening and into Sunday morning. I really tried, but I just couldn’t make it. I am still posting the blog, but it will be in Kevin’s words (with a little grammatical tweaking)…
"Kickstands scheduled up at 9:30 for a trip to Fort Atkinson. Small delays meeting at Kevin’s house and kickstands weren’t up until 10:00. Some of the usual suspects were on the trip today, also some new and some stayed back due to feeling under the weather. Pete, Sue and Kevin were the usual suspects with Tammy coming down with a cold and forced her to stay home and rest. This meant Kevin would have to take the lead with the route planned by Tammy the night before. Our newcomer was Nicki with her new to her CB500X. This trip doubled the miles she had put on her bike so far since buying it. Forecast was for sunny conditions for most of the day, however by 10:30 we were under mainly cloudy skies and cool conditions. Later in the trip we would gain partly sunny skies and a little warmer temps. We had planned to head south on Hwy 45 to 67 through Campbellsport, then down through Mayville with a quick stop for stretches and a bathroom break in Iron Ridge. From there it was mainly county roads and 2 lane highways consisting of R to O to SC, then on to 16 then F and finally to 106. 106 lead us (Kevin) on to a wrong turn and heading to Palmyra. Not a bad little detour since we were able to find a great little diner named Kettle Hills Grill. Great food and very reasonably priced. As usual with our trips the topic during lunch is how do we head home as all trips are unplanned after lunch. After taking yet another “detour” we were headed west on Hwy 59 to County D to Hwy F and back to 16, where we took Hwy R to O and then onto a stop at Holy Hill for a stretch and a few pictures. From there Pete lead us through Hartford and a stop in Slinger for gas and yet one last stretch. Then it was onto the winding roads through the kettle moraine state forest before heading back west and home on Hwy 23. Overall 250 miles this trip."
Sunday, September 20 Point & North
We had planned an event ride on the Group page on FaceBook but it was only the usual suspects again: myself, Kevin, Pete and minus Pete’s wife Sue. I thought we’d head northwest and not really sure why since we’ve gone that way quite a bit this season. We met up at the main parking lot at G&L at 9:00 a.m. and it was a pretty cool start, barely 50 degrees with really low dew points. We all had warmer riding jackets on with layers. I took us west on Cty T into Brandon and then 44/49 into Ripon where we took Cty J west of Ripon into Princeton and continued on Cty J to Cty B north. I wanted to hook up with Cty BB into Steven’s Point but missed it somehow so stayed on Cty J north to Hwy 66 west into Point where we found a cafe/diner for lunch (The Rock ’N Roll Cafe) where we all ordered breakfast instead of lunch. From there we headed back east on Hwy 66 to Cty Y north which was a very nice winding road. However at one point we came up to some trucks parked on both side of the road with a car coming towards us and it appeared that car was going to turn left in front of me by the truck where the guys were standing, until I realized he didn’t mean to turn but was rather distracted and didn’t realize he was coming into our lane. Luckily we slowed down enough by the time he noticed. Sheesh! We took Hwy 29 east to Cty J south to Tigerton and south to Cty W into Saxeville where we stopped at the Dam for a stretch and some pictures. From there we headed south on Cty EE into Red Granite and then Cty E to Cty F into Ripon and then Olden Road back to North Fondy. Almost 300 miles this trip and it was a very beautiful day! Oh and we seen lots of black fuzzy caterpillars crossing the roads, and we had to really slow down for two gaggles of hen turkeys with their yearlings. No deer! At least not in the road. ;)
September 6 - 9 Richland Center/Winona
Sunday, September 6 - Richland Center
We had planned to take a five day extended holiday weekend so that we could ride for a couple of days and then spend a couple of days, including Dad’s birthday, in Winona. However, I wanted to have one day out of the five off at home to run errands, go to the gym, grocery shop, do laundry and visit the pool for the last and final time before they close it, which is exactly what I did. So Kevin rode with Pete and Sue and I stayed behind on Saturday. Okay onto our ride Sunday to Richland Center where we planned to spend the night and do some riding after arriving on some of the awesome roads in southwestern Wisconsin. Upon arriving we looked for a ma & pa type local place to eat but only found one… The Center Cafe along Hwy 14 and their food was very good. After that we checked into our hotel, the Ramada White House where we would spend the night in Montana. After we unloaded we took off for an 80-90 mile ride north then west and south back to Richland Center. We immediately took advantage of the pool upon arrival before heading out to find some dinner and boy did that feel oh sooooo good! ;)
Monday, September 7 - Winona
It stormed and rained overnight so we took towels out to wipe down our bikes prior to eating breakfast at the Country Kitchen attached to the hotel. After breakfast, showering and loading the bikes back up we took off south out of Richland Center to Prairie Du Chien, then north on Hwy 27 and county roads to Bangor and north of there before heading west to Winona. After arriving in Winona we looked for some place for ice-cream downtown and found the Acoustic Cafe. After that we checked into the Days Inn and took a nap. Yes a nap, which felt oh soooo good too! After that we went to visit Dad at the nursing home. He was somewhat sleepy and cranky, but he perked right up when the workers there asked him if he wanted his nightly ice-cream. Can’t blame him for that.
Tuesday, September 8 - Winona
It was still raining when we woke up and continued for several hours, so we watched TV, surfed the Net, ate breakfast before going out to wipe down the bikes. Today was pretty much all about spending time with Dad and Candy, so no riding besides around town.
Wednesday, September 9 - Winona, Dad’s Birthday, and Heading Home
Well no rain this morning, so all we needed to do was eat breakfast, load up the bikes and head over to see Dad for his 79th birthday. We staged his room with our gift, card and balloon before I went to get him from the lounge. I think he was pleasantly surprised. He seemed really attentive and not sleepy so we took him to the park adjacent to the home where he and Candy had planted a memorial river birch tree so he could see how big it was getting. The weather was perfect for doing this too. The high temps and dew points were gone! After that we visited with Dad and Candy before heading home. I planned to take the highway and then interstate through La Crosse to Hwy 16 into Sparta where we took Hwy 71 to Hwy 131. When we got to Ontario, Kevin took Hwy 33 through Wildcat Mountain and I stayed on Hwy 131 to Cty F, and met back up with him beyond Wildcat. I didn’t want to take it from the west. Call me a wimp, but I don’t like testing my limits and going in that way is immediately uphill with sharp turns and some potholes. After we met back up on Hwy 33 we stayed on Cty F to FF into Hillsboro where we stopped at Barbies Kitchen for a sandwich. From there we continued on FF back to Hwy 33 all the way to Fox Lake and then Hwy 68 to 151 back home.
I think it was around 650 miles total this trip. Maps and pictures below. Still waiting for some of Kevin’s pictures, so I may be adding more soon.
Sunday, August 30 Iola & Big Falls
As planned we met Pete and his wife Sue at 11 a.m. at the G&L parking lot. I planned out a route the night before to take us to Red Granite for lunch and then north to Iola and Big Falls. We stopped at the Curve Inn Cafe for lunch/breakfast in Red Granite. Food was good and service too! From there we headed north on E or EE north to A into Wild Rose and then AA out of Wild Rose north connecting to A before taking B to G into Iola. AA was a new road for us and very nice… curvy and huge pine trees, etc. We stopped for gas in Iola and proceeded north on Hwy 49 to Cty C east into Big Falls where we stopped by the Wolf River for a break, stretch and pictures. From there we planned to head south on Cty E all the way to Waupaca, but shortly after traveling on it we ran into where they had just laid down tar and gravel south of Hwy 161. So I took Hwy 161 east to Hwy 110/22 south into Waupaca with hopes to reconnect on E but didn’t go far enough into town so I ended up taking us on Cty A, EE, and back to A before hitting Hwy 49 south into Poy Sippi where we stopped again for a stretch and some gas. From there we took D east, to F and then Hwy 116 out of Omro to Cty M south and then our old favorite, Olden Road. We had a really nice time with Pete and Sue, and we look forward to riding with them again! Oh and the weather was much better today vs. yesterday. Map and pics below...
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