Door County run 6/25/11

So, on Saturday we did the Door County run. I've been up there lots of times, but never on a bike. It was a perfect day - lots of sunshine, virtually no wind and not that much traffic - what more could you ask for! The day started out a little cool, but thanks to my new Rider Comfort System clothes, I was very comfortable and removing layers was really easy.

We left Oshkosh, went up through De Pere then to Fish Creek where we stopped at The Oilery. We got some sesame oil, garlic extra virgin olive oil and toasted almond oil. I can't wait to try them. We also got some sauces that could almost be used as jam, cherry, raspberry and strawberry pepper. Gonna have some tasty meals coming up real soon!

We ate at the Harbor Fish Market and Grille in Bailey's Harbor and I had the soup & sandwich special. It was a tuna melt, open face, on an english muffin with a cup of beer cheese soup. While it looked like I might be hungry when they brought the food, I was pleasantly surprised that I was was full - satisfied full, not stuffed full - when I was done. The amount of tuna salad on the muffin was generous and it was all toasted with cheese on top so it was a little crunchy on the outside but warm and chunky in the middle, very tasty stuff! Ed had a tuna sandwich with potato salad. His was a grilled tuna steak instead of chopped tuna and he said it was good. Both of our meals were $10.95 (each) so it was a little more than I would expect to pay around home for the same meal, but it was a kind of fancy restaurant inside (we ate outside) and it was in Bailey's Harbor so it was about normal for there.

292 miles and 10-1/2 hours later we were home. It was amazing. The butt pad I got from Alaska Leather helped out a lot, normally I can feel it after about 200 miles, but this time only my knees were sore by that time so that the only reason we had to stop was to stretch our legs, get gas, eat or take a potty break. I think I am really going to enjoy riding this year!

First "official" ride of 2011 is in!

We went riding with our friends Sunday. leaving from Oshkosh, then to Neenah to meet up with everyone, then off via the winding back roads to one of our favorite haunts, The Wheelhouse in Waupaca, and of course, that trip would not be complete without the trip across the parking lot to Scoopers for ice cream.

After stuffing ourselves, we took the back roads back toward Neenah again, winding through the booming metropolises of Poysippi, Borth and Winneconne.

We had pizza for the first time at The Wheelhouse, we had the Jeff's loaded special, but opted for ham instead of green olives, it was amazing with a great balance of toppings to crust and a crispy crust. We also had cheesy garlic bread, which was ok - definitely not one of my favorite versions of that. They had Sprecher root beer on tap which made me really happy since I love that stuff.

Scoopers is an experience all on it's own! If you are planning to have dessert, make sure you leave LOTS of room. They had so many flavors to choose from, and a kiddie scoop there is what some other places call a single scoop. The single scoop is huge, and 2 people could share it. They also let you split a single scoop if you just can't decide what flavor you want.

The weather wasn't the greatest, mid 60's, cloudy, a little breezy, but it was still a great ride. The fact that it was cooler made the travelling on the back roads around the resort areas a lot less congested so we could just take our time winding around the curves and up and down the hills. We had 8 bikes in our group and 3 were women riders!!

Hopefully this is the start to a great riding season - the weather hasn't been to cooperative so far but maybe that will change soon!!

Yay - got a ride in!!

Well, Memorial day turned out to be a nice day, although it was a bit windy. We took a short ride, up to Appleton to drop off something at a friends house, then over to New London and back home. Ed's replacement headset was working fine - it took a bit to get it paired up since the instructions that come with it are less than desirable, but luckily I found someone's blog online that had better instructions.

We made it back just in time to beat most of the Memorial Day traffic, but not all of it. Some jerk practically ran a stop sign so he wouldn't have to follow us, so he ended up right in front of us stuck in the same traffic we were in, but we were able to pass him so we got way ahead - it felt GREAT!

It was awesome to be on the road in the warm sun, wind in my hair, no bugs in my teeth (that I noticed anyway) and cruising along at highway speeds. It's what riding is all about!

We were going to go to a place in Appleton to eat called New York Deli, but we rode by and it was closed so we headed off to Tom's Drive In in Neenah. Can't go wrong with Tom's - love the cheese curds and I had a Black Raspberry shake. Yep, it was amazing!

Hopefully we will have good weather this weekend as well - looks like we will have company on Saturday, so I have to get the yard work done in the morning, and hopefully we can go riding on Sunday. Stay tuned for more adventures...

Am I ever going to get to ride???

Ok, so I have been able to take the bike to work a couple times, but sheesh!! It's May 24th and the high today is 55! I mean, really? I was hoping that I would get to try out my new butt pad this weekend, but it's supposed to be cold & rainy all weekend. I think I have put about 90 miles on my bike so far this season and that's pretty sad.

I do have to say that being in the southern states for a week made me really want to get out and ride, and it looks like they had warm weather back here while we were gone, so we missed it!

I am glad that we didn't take the bikes since it rained the first day and a half of our trip. It was much easier to take in the car that it would have been on the bike. I'm hoping I never have to use my rain gear, but I'm sure that won't be the case. Hopefully next week the temps will get back up and the skies will clear up too I can start cranking up some miles.

We are going to break the great river road trip into segments, and hopefully get some 3 or 4 day weekend trips in this summer too. I'm hoping to have lots of great adventures to blog about.

Headsets, Mother nature is a B%&ch!!

Well, the company we bought the headsets from replaced the bad Bluetooth piece and the charger, no questions asked, all we had to do was send the bad ones in and they sent new ones.

We ordered a second set of headphones and receivers, but since the weather has been so crappy and cold, and there has been so much severe weather, we have decided to take the convertible to Florida instead of the bikes. It should save us at least 2 days of travel time, and at least we can put the top down once we get to the warmer climate. It's not going to be the same as the bikes, but there's always next year right?

I haven't even been able to ride to work between the cold and the rain. A week ago today we had a blizzard, and then today it was almost 60 and raining. Man I really hate Wisconsin sometimes. Hopefully by the time we get back from vacation we will have some better riding weather!

First cold trip with the new gear - success!

I have to say that the Rider Comfort System from Harley Davidson was well worth the investment. We rode at 50+ MPH this morning for about 13 miles (and that back again) and the only part of me that was cold was my face! I actually have something that I can wear that will keep that warm but I did not want to dig it out of my bag.

I wore all 3 parts of the gear that I bought, plus I wore a Columbia fleece vest between the middle and outer layers for some extra core warmth, plus I had my cold weather gloves on and my chaps.

It was weird being cold this morning (it was about 40) and hearing frogs in the ponds as I rode past. It made me think of summer but it sure didn't feel like it! After today, I am getting pretty excited about riding to FL in a month. I was a little nervous about the cold, but after today, I am feeling a lot better about the "what if it's only 40 out when we leave?" The layers should be great as we go from climate to climate, I can take off on the way down and add on the way back.

I did order a butt pad from Alaska Leather that should be here soon, I will have to give a review on that once I get it. We had a problem with one of the Bluetooth receivers and its charger, but since they have a 2 year warranty, they will replace it as soon as I send it back - which I will do tomorrow. We're hoping to have 2 working sets by the time we go on vacation in May.

Ready to go!

Took the bike out on Tuesday, only rode it to the gas station since it needed gas then took the long way home. Got to try out the Heat Demons I had installed over the winter - they are amazing! Took the bike to work yesterday, and again this afternoon (I had the dog with me this morning).

After work, we went to H-D Appleton and I bought 3 parts of the new Rider Comfort System from Harley Davidson. I bought the layering top, soft shell jacket and functional jacket. I have a Columbia fleece vest I can throw on if I want to, and they did not have my size in the vest anyway. I'm looking forward to getting to try it out. It's definitely more packable than a leather jacket and sweatshirt. I figure I can throw on a thermal top underneath and I should be good to go!

I'll be sure to post out which combinations I use and how they worked. It's supposed to be 76 on Sunday, but it's supposed to storm too so most likely no riding.

I'm really excited about blogging on my new accessories and new adventures this riding season. More to come SOON!