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Now that Amy has a highway-worthy bike, it was time to put the metal to the test. I had talked with Mark (mad1150) and Vickie awhile back and they invited us to meet up in Spring Green, Wi....that's what we did.

After taking a tour of a possible house to rent...we headed out Friday at noon. With the late start, we wanted to go as fast as we could, while avoiding as much super-slab as we could. No time for photos or meals, we only made two stops.

This is the first stop...our bladders were screaming. How about this for the size of government?

The view across the street from City Hall.

Second stop...just a restroom break and a candy bar. We parked next to this old beauty. The older couple who owned it, were on their way to a gathering of classic car owners.

When we made it to Spring Green, we checked into the motel. I checked my voicemail and Mark had left a message. They were on their way to the Motel. After they got there, we were heading off to dinner. Great news, Amy and I were starving. We were also going to meet up with Troy and Jen (friendly local Wisconsonians) and head off for some tasty fried fish. Vickie hopped on her bike to find the battery dead, and so rode pillion on Mark's bike. When we met Troy and Jen, they suggested we head to their house and pick up the Buell in the garage. Jen could ride the Buell, and Vickie could ride Jen's Honda.

The fish and beer were excellent. Afterwards, we all headed back to the Motel. We drank a couple more beers and chatted. Mark, Troy, and I tried to troubleshoot Vickie's bike. I'm not sure we did much. But we were pretty darn sure that the battery was indeed dead. So we drank a few more beers and had some laughs.

to be continued immediately...

...continued...

Saturday morning Mark took the battery to an auto parts store where they tested the battery. It was dead. I was busy taking advantage of the continental breakfast at the Motel. Mark headed off to the closest motorcycle shop and got a new battery. This fixed everything.

We met Troy and Jen at a nearby Harley dealership. I had a bratwurst for my second breakfast of the day at the Harley shop.

We rode around all Saturday and had a great time riding around beautiful Wisconsin. Once again, we didn't stop for photos along the way. It was cloudy and dark most of the time so 'twas no big loss. When we took the ferry across Lake Wisconsin, a friendly stranger was good enough to take our picture. This guy knew how to make people smile... He flashed us!!! He even got the Uber German Amy to smile big.


We rode around...got lost...rode around more...then got confused...rode...ate more food...rode...stopped for drinks...rode...and stopped for drinks again. At this last bar, Jen said there was an interesting table in the ladies' room. It was made of severed deer legs. I handed over the camera, and she was kind enough to get a picture for me.


Jen and Troy went for dinner and the rest of us went back to the motel. We rested, and later had dinner. We called it an early night, as the mosquitoes were very aggressive, and we all just wanted to stay in our rooms to avoid the bugs.

My computer is all wonky...so day three...coming very shortly...

...going home...

Sunday started off cold, wet, and dark. No rain...just dark and wet. But thankfully, the sun burned it off pretty quickly and things brightened up. It was still kind of hazy, but it was much better than the previous days, and I got more pictures. Amy had not ever spent time in the Northeast corner of Iowa. So we took the scenic route down along the Mississippi. A route that I have traveled many, many times. And I always enjoy it.

Some road in Wisconsin, as we head northwest from Spring Green.

We crossed over the Mississippi at Lansing, IA and headed south. Here we are looking back north at Lansing. You can barely see the bridge off in the distance (not the railroad in foreground). I guess the photo posting site compresses the quality significantly.

We hiked up the bluff at the Effigy Mounds National Monument. Here's a view looking south down the river.

Here we are cheesing.

We ate at this Cafe In Marquette, IA. Food was good, but there were so many people...the cafe was swamped. There was all kinds of Memorial day festivities going on, and lots of people around. We spent a long, long, long time waiting for our lunch. We did, however, get to watch a substantial portion of the Indy 500.


...continued...

...hopefully the last one...

Next stop...Pike's Peak. Yep, that's right. Mr. Pike did not realize the that the name would be better reserved for a much higher peak farther west. So actually, this one is the original. That's the Wisconsin River on the other side merging into the Mississippi.

bald eagle

Farm with Mississippi River, Wisconsin on the other side

Stopped for cookies in Bellvue, IA. My money is on the girl in blue

bathroom break

Bird's eye view of Bellvue

View of ugly vulture

Nicer looking bird...but was too busy looking for fish

Amy said, "What is THAT???"...hmmmmm.... "that's a crane"

We got home just at sunset.

Ah, gee. Thanks for the invite.
No really, nobody likes me anymore.

Great report!! I really enjoyed the ride, Wisconsin has some great roads. I am planing a ride to pikes peak this summer (the one farther west). I didn't know about the one in Wi. Den

Nice report, thanks.
Had some nice rides in WI last fall, especially between Palmyra & Millwaukee.
Been to the art museum on lake on your bikes?

DLS

OU812 wrote:Ah, gee. Thanks for the invite.

Again I say!

Never been to the museum, that is a good idea though. Thanks all for the compliments...

Except you Steve!!! You'll stay home by yourself... get no acknowledgment... and like it!!!





...kidding...I would promise to make it up to you in beer in Trempeleau, but I still haven't found a place to live yet. I'm starting to get worried that I will have to make an emergency home purchase.
There's nothing quite like having to buy a house when you weren't expecting to....ugh...

I'm gonna look at another rental prospect tomorrow.

Hopefully, that works out...if it does...I'll make it up to you in beer in Trempleau...I promise. (and you should be angry with Mark, he was doing the invites )

Well the market is down and so are the prices. Interest rates are exceptional. Pull the trigger.
Mark is mine now!

Uhhh, Steve?

Have you been drinking to much with your Harley neighbors?

I did ask you if you could make it to Spring Green about 2 or 3 days before the trip. You said you couldn't make, and you were still recovering from seeing Ves' off in your mirror! My bad for not asking sooner however!

We're still working Trempealeau...probably won't know till the last minute

Memory is a terrible thing to .......waste? Loose? Oh whatever.