Another ice cream run!

What a beautiful evening for a ride!

After supper, we contacted a couple from the MORE group to see if they wanted to go for a ride and some ice cream. Mark and Narcissa are always up for a ride!

After supper Jan and I hopped on the Roadstar and headed out to meet our friends. They live out by Sherrard, so we enjoyed quite a ride, just getting to their house! When we got there, Narcissa loaded us up with some veggies from her garden. Luckily, our saddlebags were empty!

I don't know the area very well, so Mark took the lead as we headed west toward Sherrard. It seemed like we headed west forever! We went through Reynolds and a ended up hooking up with Route 92 just west of Loud Thunder Forest Reserve. Turning back east, we cut through Loud Thunder on our way to Andalusia. Mark pulled over in the park to show us a great area to picnic. We thought that we should organize a ride and a picnic for the MORE group. It would be quite relaxing!

As we headed over a hill, we noticed an animal laying in the middle of the road. It appeared to be a dog, laying on its back twitching uncontrollably. We thought that it was a dog, who had been hit by a car and in horrible suffering! As Mark neared the dog, he honked his horn but the dog didn't stop twitching. Suddenly, when we were just a few feet from it, the dog popped up to its feet and barked at us. Obviously the dog had decided to itch his back on the pavement in the middle of the road! We were laughing so hard, we had to pull over after that!

Once we hit Andalusia, we stopped for ice cream at the "Shivers and Shakes". Great stuff! On our motorcycle adventures, we have found several new restaurants and ice cream parlors. That's one of my favorite parts of the motorcycle hobby. I've see more things and places that I wouldn't normally get to see. We've also met a ton of great people along the way.

Sunday evening rides may get to be a tradition! It's a great way to relax prior to going back to the grindstone on Monday. If you can do it with a couple of great friends, all the better! Thanks Mark and Narcissa for the great ride and fellowship!

Ride safe!

Mike

MORE goes to the Harley Museum

A small but brave band of bikers from Edgewood went on an adventure to the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisonsin on Friday, July 17th and 18th. Unfortunately, the weather on those two days set record for the coldest temperatures since the late 1800's!

The weather predictions were not good for Friday, but as we saddled up at 8:00 in the morning, we were encouraged with sunshine and decent temperatures. We followed route 84 up the river through the picturesque towns of Albany, Fulton, and Savannah. From there our fearless navigator, Terry, took us through some neat roads that curved and wound our way to Galena, Illinois.

In Galena we stretched our legs and ate a wonderful lunch a Vinnie Vinuchi's (I'm not sure that I spelled that right!). With our bodies rested and our bellies full, we continued our trek to Wisconsin. As we headed across the state line, we encountered our first rain drops. So, we pulled over and donned our rain gear. Since we were already bundled up for the cool temperatures, we all looked like stuffed bears! We got a good laugh from making fun of each others outfits.

Unfortunately, the rain continued for the rest of our trip that Friday. As planned, we stopped at a Best Western hotel in Janesville, Wisconsin. After a great meal at the Cracker Barrel, everybody headed for their rooms to rest up for journey to the Harley Museum on Saturday.

Saturday's weather was not a whole lot better than Friday. The skies were gray and the temps cool. The only saving grace was that there wasn't any rain! We thought we had around 68 miles to get to Milwaukee from Janesville but, a detour took us about 20 mile out of our way!

We finally arrived at the museum around 10:30. What a neat place. We really enjoyed looking at the bikes and memorabilia. Seeing the evolution of the Harley motorcycle was interesting. After taking a tour of the facility, we all enjoyed a meal at the museum restaurant.

At 1:00 we climbed back on the bike for the long trek home. We had to ride on a few interstates, but once we got to Rockford, we hopped on Illinois route 2. This follows the Rock River through the towns of Oregon and Dixon. At Oregon, we took a quick stop to look at the statue of Blackhawk that sits majestically on the bluff overlooking the banks. We all agreed that this road will have to be a must this fall. The view will be amazing when the leaves turn colors!

After Dixon, I think we were all getting a little tired! We stayed on the back roads for a while, but eventually hopped back on Interstate 88 to hightail it back home. Jan and I pulled in the driveway just after 6:00. We were extremely tired, but agreed that the weekend was a blast!

Gotta think of some place to go in August!

Recent rides

Well, it's Wednesday and the weather is absolutely horrible! It started raining at 8:00 this morning and didn't stop until late this afternoon. So, I've been cooped up inside all day and nothing else to do but write this blog! LOL!

Yesterday however, was another story. For most of the morning, the weather was beautiful with plenty of sunshine and weather in the 70's. I had some yard work planned, but I couldn't help but take a spin on the bike. Heck, I'm on vacation you know!

I really didn't have an itinerary or a route planned. I ended up doing a motorcycle dealership crawl. I love looking at bikes of all shapes and sizes. So, I hit Hawkeye Motorworks, Weibler's Harley Davidson, and Brenny's. I saw some great bikes!

Somehow I ended up on Indian Bluff Road behind the airport. As I was zipping down the road, I noticed that the Met Life Blimp, "Snoopy 2" was moored right next the road. So, I hit the breaks and road as close as I could to get a picture. The blimp is in town for the John Deere Classic, PGA golf tournament. It's not every day you get to see a blimp up close!

Later in the day I took a spin to Rock Falls to visit Workman Harley Davidson. I've driven by it a hundred times, but have never gone in. It's very nice! Of course, I had to buy another HD t-shirt. Can't afford a new bike so a t-shirt will have to do. On the way there and the way back I took all kinds of country roads. Since I didn't have a map or GPS, I was navigating by the seat of my pants! That can be a little scary, but I think that's part of the fun!

All in all, it was a great day of riding. It made up for the lousy weather we're having today!

Ride safe!

Mike

Bike Night and Ice Cream...What a combo!

On Thursday, Jan and I met the Hartley's and the Brackney's for a quick ride to Ducky's in Andalusia, for their weekly bke night.

Ducky's has great food, so it's a nice place to meet other bikers to enjoy a meal and look at a variety of bikes. You can either eat a burger off the outside grill or go inside the restaurant to order off the menu. Ducky's has a large seating area inside and outside to enjoy your meal. So, despite the large crowd, there was no problem finding a place to eat.

While we were waiting for our meal we strolled up and down the rows of bikes. There are literally hundreds of bikes of every kind of make and model imaginable! The vast majority of the bikes are Harley Davidsons (Go figure!) but, several Goldwings, Ducatis, metrics, and custom bikes were present as well. It was fun looking at all of the bikes and picking out the make, model, and color of my next bike!

After supper we went to Country Style for a quick ice cream cone before heading home. Finishing our rides by going to an ice cream parlor is getting to be a tradition! I like that!

Ride safe!

Mike

Lunch at Poopy's!

Despite the gray skies and cool temperatures, a few friends and I rode to Poopy's in Savanna, Illinois for lunch today. In the picture to the left, you'll find Craig and Connie Brackney, Mike Nitzel, and Bob Hartley, taking a break at a gas station in Princeton, Iowa. Notice everyones wearing a helmet! I have mine on too!

Actually, the weather wasn't all that bad, but the temps were more like October than July. Luckily, I dressed appropriately for the weather!

For those of you who have not had the pleasure of visiting Poopy's, it is a great place to have lunch or breakfast. The food is wonderful and the portions HUGE!!! I ordered a club sandwich and couldn't come close to finishing it. I think if Jan and I go together we'll have to split a meal. Poopy's is also has a bar, gift shop, and tattoo parlor. I've only been there during the lunch hour, and have found the staff and clientele to be very friendly. I've driven by the place on the weekends and noticed that the parking lot is FULL of bikes! Route 84 is a major motorcyle track on the weekends and Poopy's is a popular stop.

No, I didn't get a tattoo while I was there, but found browsing through the artwork interesting. I've been thinking about getting at tatto, but haven't got the nerve up yet. We also browsed the gift shop. They have lots of t-shirts and novelties. I would have liked to have gotten a t-shirt, but unfortunately the slogan for Poopy's contains a word that I don't think is appropriate. So, I passed on making a purchase.

On the way up to Savanna, my saddlebag lid flew open. I must not have gotten it latched properly. I didn't notice it, but Craig Brackney pointed it out to me as we were riding. We stopped in Fulton so I could "button down the hatches". Luckily, the only thing I lost out of the bag was my do-rag! Bummer!

The ride home was pleasant and relaxing. I arrive back at the old homestead shortly after 3:00. I had a great time, but boy am I pooped! LOL!