Today was an amazing day for a ride. Not too hot, not too cold, just right with my middle layer on. 75 and sunny, really no wind, couldn't ask for much better that that! It was great winding around the back roads, through the corn fields and we had some great views out over the lake when we got around to the east side of it. Not a lot of traffic, and almost no road construction the way we went either. I love this time of year, I would be happy if the weather was always like this :P
We knocked off Eureka, Jericho, Quinney and Van Dyne today, as well as Winnebago and Fond du Lac counties. We have U, X and Y left for cities. We tried to get Utica, but couldn't find a sign anywhere - grrrrrr.....
Our letters took us halfway around the lake so we decided to keep going and went all the way around, stopping at the Menasha Grill on our way around. I have yet to be disappointed in their food! Good, fast service, reasonable prices and excellent food.
Now to get those last three city letters.....
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Lots of letters today!
Today was a great ride with Ed. We did Brown County, De Pere, Doc's Harley Davidson, Zachow, Appleton, and Lawrence.
It started off a little chilly, so I wore the outside layer of my riding system. Wow, it was way too much jacket, I was pretty toasty. I'm going to go back to wearing the middle layer or my light jacket next time.
Getting the pictures takes some courage - we have to pull over on the gravel shoulder and hope there isn't too much traffic. We're getting better at catching the signs before we pass them, but I will say that I am getting to be the queen of u-turns!
We decided to have a late lunch at Stevie B's in Appleton. For $6.50 plus the price of a drink, you get all the pizza & salad you can eat. They have "normal" pizzas, dessert pizzas, anything you can think of pizzas as well as some of their own recipes. I have to say, there isn't a type of pizza there that I haven't liked. It is way to easy to overeat, but today I didn't for once :) The s'mores pizza and the cinnamon roll are my favorites, I could just eat them and skip the regular pizza but that is good too!
We have all the letters we need for SWITCHBACK now, and are just missing a few city letters E, J, Q, U, V, X and Y. We need a lot more county letters though.
It started off a little chilly, so I wore the outside layer of my riding system. Wow, it was way too much jacket, I was pretty toasty. I'm going to go back to wearing the middle layer or my light jacket next time.
Getting the pictures takes some courage - we have to pull over on the gravel shoulder and hope there isn't too much traffic. We're getting better at catching the signs before we pass them, but I will say that I am getting to be the queen of u-turns!
We decided to have a late lunch at Stevie B's in Appleton. For $6.50 plus the price of a drink, you get all the pizza & salad you can eat. They have "normal" pizzas, dessert pizzas, anything you can think of pizzas as well as some of their own recipes. I have to say, there isn't a type of pizza there that I haven't liked. It is way to easy to overeat, but today I didn't for once :) The s'mores pizza and the cinnamon roll are my favorites, I could just eat them and skip the regular pizza but that is good too!
We have all the letters we need for SWITCHBACK now, and are just missing a few city letters E, J, Q, U, V, X and Y. We need a lot more county letters though.
I is for Iola
So, is there a better way to end a work day than a ride with friends? None that I can think of! Ed & I headed out to Iola with a childhood friend (and neighbor) of mine and her boyfriend. The weather could not have been more perfect.
We had a great ride, saw some cranes, had our photo op in Iola, and due to time restrictions had to take the highway. There was some construction that gave us the opportunity to take some back roads to get where we needed to go.
We came back to Oshkosh, ate at The Chalice followed up by dessert at Leon's. I had the roast beef au jus with the pasta salad at The Chalice, it was fabulous as always. I tried a new flavor at Leon's, Raspberry swirl. It was good, but I still like chocolate best :)
Looking forward to more rides soon to finish up our ABC's!
We had a great ride, saw some cranes, had our photo op in Iola, and due to time restrictions had to take the highway. There was some construction that gave us the opportunity to take some back roads to get where we needed to go.
We came back to Oshkosh, ate at The Chalice followed up by dessert at Leon's. I had the roast beef au jus with the pasta salad at The Chalice, it was fabulous as always. I tried a new flavor at Leon's, Raspberry swirl. It was good, but I still like chocolate best :)
Looking forward to more rides soon to finish up our ABC's!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Riding weekend day 2, June 24
Good day of riding today. We went around Lake Winnebago to knock some more cities off our list. We got Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, Kiel, Plymouth, Harris, Chilton and Neenah.
It felt cool when we left, so we both wore jackets, but soon I was sweating my butt off so we took them off and enjoyed the sunshine. It was a mix of clouds & sun with almost no wind so it was perfect. There were a few times it looked like we might get rained on but we didn't. Animal sightings today were pretty much zilch. We saw a couple of geese with their goslings, otherwise besides the normal birds nothing. Very uneventful with the exception of an old (antique) Mustang that had no brake lights and decided to stop and turn on the highway and gave us a little heart check, but nothing like the day before.
We stopped at Scoops in Chilton, it was amazing as always. I had a peanut butter volcano sundae with chocolate ice cream and Ed had a grasshopper sundae. The place was busy, but not too busy, so we got good service and were able to enjoy our delicious sundaes.
We logged 150 miles on this ride, and we took off to ride Monday too, but we were a little sore from the 2 days in a row so we just vegged at home and went to a movie instead.
It felt cool when we left, so we both wore jackets, but soon I was sweating my butt off so we took them off and enjoyed the sunshine. It was a mix of clouds & sun with almost no wind so it was perfect. There were a few times it looked like we might get rained on but we didn't. Animal sightings today were pretty much zilch. We saw a couple of geese with their goslings, otherwise besides the normal birds nothing. Very uneventful with the exception of an old (antique) Mustang that had no brake lights and decided to stop and turn on the highway and gave us a little heart check, but nothing like the day before.
We stopped at Scoops in Chilton, it was amazing as always. I had a peanut butter volcano sundae with chocolate ice cream and Ed had a grasshopper sundae. The place was busy, but not too busy, so we got good service and were able to enjoy our delicious sundaes.
We logged 150 miles on this ride, and we took off to ride Monday too, but we were a little sore from the 2 days in a row so we just vegged at home and went to a movie instead.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Slightly damp ride June 23
Today we headed off to Friendship to knock off another county & city on our list. Got rid of Adams county & Friendship from our list.
Pretty much all the excitement happened on the way to Friendship. First thing was outside of Princeton the traffic came to a complete and sudden stop. I think I actually heard Ed's tire squeal. We'll call that heart check #1. Heart check #2 came a little while later when some old lady decided that the curve in the highway was optional and came heading straight at us. That was the last heart check for the day.
Animal sightings for the day were plentiful. We saw 3 brown cranes and I saw 2 white cranes, possibly whooping cranes. We also saw 2 deer, 5 turkeys and a woodchuck. There was also a dive-bombing suicidal bird that went after Ed and many, many brown winged creatures that we couldn't agree if they were butterflies or flying grasshoppers. They felt a lot like grasshoppers when they hit me, but Ed said he thought they were butterflies.
Just outside of Princeton, we did get rained on for about a half hour, but it wasn't bad, just a light rain that was pretty annoying.
The ride back from Friendship was very uneventful. We had a great ride with lots of hills and curves in the road. Not a lot of traffic, and riding back through the hills we did get to see all the crops growing. Some of the farmers were irrigating and got a little too close to the road so we got to ride through some very brief fake rain showers. When we were in the open spots, the birds of prey were soaring looking for a meal. I always love watching them just glide.
We stopped at the Wheelhouse for a bite to eat and they were having a steak fry and had a band. We didn't have steak and we sat inside and ate burgers. It was the best bacon cheeseburger I've had in a while, just the right amounts of everything including grease.
200 miles more put on today, and we are looking forward to riding the next 2 days for H-D World Ride June 24 - 25 and getting some more things knocked off our ABC's of touring list.
Pretty much all the excitement happened on the way to Friendship. First thing was outside of Princeton the traffic came to a complete and sudden stop. I think I actually heard Ed's tire squeal. We'll call that heart check #1. Heart check #2 came a little while later when some old lady decided that the curve in the highway was optional and came heading straight at us. That was the last heart check for the day.
Animal sightings for the day were plentiful. We saw 3 brown cranes and I saw 2 white cranes, possibly whooping cranes. We also saw 2 deer, 5 turkeys and a woodchuck. There was also a dive-bombing suicidal bird that went after Ed and many, many brown winged creatures that we couldn't agree if they were butterflies or flying grasshoppers. They felt a lot like grasshoppers when they hit me, but Ed said he thought they were butterflies.
Just outside of Princeton, we did get rained on for about a half hour, but it wasn't bad, just a light rain that was pretty annoying.
The ride back from Friendship was very uneventful. We had a great ride with lots of hills and curves in the road. Not a lot of traffic, and riding back through the hills we did get to see all the crops growing. Some of the farmers were irrigating and got a little too close to the road so we got to ride through some very brief fake rain showers. When we were in the open spots, the birds of prey were soaring looking for a meal. I always love watching them just glide.
We stopped at the Wheelhouse for a bite to eat and they were having a steak fry and had a band. We didn't have steak and we sat inside and ate burgers. It was the best bacon cheeseburger I've had in a while, just the right amounts of everything including grease.
200 miles more put on today, and we are looking forward to riding the next 2 days for H-D World Ride June 24 - 25 and getting some more things knocked off our ABC's of touring list.
Holy Hill ride 6/3
The day started off with a ride halfway around the lake and took us past the spot where the guy plowed into the 10 motorcycles. There were a bunch of bikes and people on the side of the road paying their respects and I actually felt bad not stopping when we went by.
We rode down to Holy Hill with our friends. In all the times I/we have driven past Holy Hill, I have never actually gone there. Technically, I still haven't been there because it was hot and we didn't actually walk up and take in the view - maybe another time.
Then we took a detour to West Bend to get the Harley there off our list and took the scenic route back through the kettle moraine. It was a great ride and we did about 200 miles.
Before we headed off to Holy Hill, ,we rode to Fond du Lac and went to Schmitty's Oar House for some lunch. The food was awesome and HUGE for the price. We both got a tuna melt and it came with fries. The burgers were 1/2 pound and came on big square buns. Definitely a visit again place.
After our ride back through the kettle moraine, we stopped at Kelley Country Creamery. Amazing and overwhelming wouldn't even cut it. They had so many flavors and optional ways to eat your ice cream that there is no way this is a one visit place. Even better, if you sit outside and eat, you can look over the field and see the barn where the cows are that supply the milk for the ice cream.
All in all a great ride with good food and good friends and about 1990 miles on the bike.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
More ABC's of touring, posted late, of course!
Well, we got a great day of riding in, we went to Manitowoc and Two Rivers. It was almost 80 when we left here, but when we got to Manitowoc the temp on the sign outside of the YMCA read 56! It's amazing how much cooler Lake Michigan can make things. We crossed off Stock's Harley, Manitowoc city & county and Two Rivers.
We also went through a little town called Whitelaw before heading to Appleton to Sai Ram to have lunch with our friends Bryan & Ben.
We also went through a little town called Whitelaw before heading to Appleton to Sai Ram to have lunch with our friends Bryan & Ben.
Monday, March 26, 2012
ABC's of touring, week 2, or is it week 1?
After a not so great start to the contest pictures, this is week 2, but since we have to start over, it's more like week 1. This week we rode to Beaver Dam to the HD dealer there, then over to Green Lake and back home.
It was only in the low 60's, (still well above normal for this time of year) but I was comfy in my riding gear and especially with the heated hand grips. I think Ed was enjoying his as well. We did about 117 miles, had lunch at the Arby's in Beaver Dam and managed to get a couple of pictures.
The scenery was beautiful. There were rolling hills and fields of green next to fields of golden remains of last year's harvest, and the trees are juuuuust starting to turn green so there were hints of green in the woods along with the brave flowering trees and shrubs that are already in bloom. I'm still amazed that it's only March, it's almost like everything is a month ahead of time.
My ankle is holding up well at 8 weeks post surgery, I seem to do better if I am just riding and not doing a lot of stopping and starting since it's my brake foot that had the surgery. I can hardly wait until we can get out consistently and ride! This weekend doesn't look so good, but that's ok since I have to work on Saturday anyway. Let it rain ;-)
Until next time...
It was only in the low 60's, (still well above normal for this time of year) but I was comfy in my riding gear and especially with the heated hand grips. I think Ed was enjoying his as well. We did about 117 miles, had lunch at the Arby's in Beaver Dam and managed to get a couple of pictures.
The scenery was beautiful. There were rolling hills and fields of green next to fields of golden remains of last year's harvest, and the trees are juuuuust starting to turn green so there were hints of green in the woods along with the brave flowering trees and shrubs that are already in bloom. I'm still amazed that it's only March, it's almost like everything is a month ahead of time.
My ankle is holding up well at 8 weeks post surgery, I seem to do better if I am just riding and not doing a lot of stopping and starting since it's my brake foot that had the surgery. I can hardly wait until we can get out consistently and ride! This weekend doesn't look so good, but that's ok since I have to work on Saturday anyway. Let it rain ;-)
Until next time...
Riding season is here? In March? In Wisconsin?
Yep, it's true! I went to pick my bike up on March 14th, and the temp on the HD Dealership sign was 78 degrees, at 5 PM! It was an amazing ride home, nice way to end my workday.
That Saturday, for St. Patrick's day, we rode up to Greenville to The Twist for a cone and ended up with a mint twist cone. I had a hard time eating it fast enough and ended up with sticky fingers so I had to go in and wash up. No complaints here though!
The next day we started doing the ABC's of Touring contest. We went to Chilton, Fond du Lac, and the HD dealer in Appleton. Come to find out, we had to have our bikes in all of the pictures, so we have to do them all over again. Someone (ahem, Ed) didn't read the rules close enough. Oh well, just an excuse to put on some more miles!!
Check out the blog for the next round of adventures.
That Saturday, for St. Patrick's day, we rode up to Greenville to The Twist for a cone and ended up with a mint twist cone. I had a hard time eating it fast enough and ended up with sticky fingers so I had to go in and wash up. No complaints here though!
The next day we started doing the ABC's of Touring contest. We went to Chilton, Fond du Lac, and the HD dealer in Appleton. Come to find out, we had to have our bikes in all of the pictures, so we have to do them all over again. Someone (ahem, Ed) didn't read the rules close enough. Oh well, just an excuse to put on some more miles!!
Check out the blog for the next round of adventures.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
The 2012 Riding season is soooooooo close!
Yesterday it was almost 60 degrees and it rained, a lot, which helped get rid of the 6 inches of snow we had last weekend.
On Monday, Harley Davidson, Appleton, is coming to pick up the bikes and get them ready to ride. Ed decided that he is going to try out some Heat Demons on his bike like I had put on mine last winter. If we don't get anymore snow, and if the weather stays nice enough, and if my recently operated on ankle cooperates, I hope to be riding by next month!
On Monday, Harley Davidson, Appleton, is coming to pick up the bikes and get them ready to ride. Ed decided that he is going to try out some Heat Demons on his bike like I had put on mine last winter. If we don't get anymore snow, and if the weather stays nice enough, and if my recently operated on ankle cooperates, I hope to be riding by next month!
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