Birthday Ride to Galena

Today is my birthday! If I was going to plan out the perfect birthday, it would have to involve, good friends, riding my motorcycle, eating Mexican food, shopping at a HD store, and eating Whitey's ice cream.

Well, that pretty much sums up my day today! We met some of our fellow MORE members at Panera Bread at 7:30 in the morning, for our trip to Galena. Unfortunately, I think the threatening weather scared away a few folks! We had hopes of having a lot of bikes heading out on this trip. Regardless, we had 5 bikes begin the journey in the fog and chilly air.

The plan was to head up route 92, north on 78 and then west on Stagecoach Road, arriving at Galena in time for lunch. With our trusty leader and GPS guy, Terry, in the front of the pack, we embarked on our trek northward. Jan and I brought up the rear. There were times that we could barely see Terry's tail lights just a few yards in front of us. Though it wasn't actually raining, the fog was thick with moisture. Our friends Craig and Connie joined us for this trip. Craig told me later that his pants were soaked! He says he's going to look for a touring bike to ensure a little weather protection!

After and hour or so, the fog lifted and the sun actually tried to poke its head out every once in a while. If you dressed properly, the temperatures weren't too bad. I had my overpants and my jacket on. Other's in our group were wearing full leathers. So, we were well prepared for any type of weather.

Route 78 and Stage Coach Road is a great way to get to Galena. We usually take Route 84 (Great River Road) but, we've done that ride so much it's getting a little boring. So, this was a welcome change. By the time we got to Galena, we were all starving. There were a lot of events going on in town. Our plans were to eat at Vinni Vinnuchi's, but the crowds pretty much put a halt to that idea. So we ate at a Mexican restaurant on the outskirts of town. Good eats! What made it even more special was that it was right next door to the Galena, Harley Davidson dealership! How convenient!

After lunch, we were all stuffed. We managed to find a couple of parking spots downtown and spent a couple of hours shopping. Jan found a nice half helmet that fit nice and looked great! We just bought some new headsets for the CB and intercom that are supposed to be used with a half helmet or no helmet. So this really fit the bill!

The ride home was great. The roads going out of Galena are great! We took Scenic Ridge Road to Savannah and the 84 home. Terry managed to find a couple of detours that were interesting too!

To cap off a perfect day, we stopped at Whitey's Ice Cream Parlor in East Moline for some dessert! You can't ask for a better way to top of a great ride!

Ride Safe!

Mike