THE GREAT RIVER ROAD

Day 8, Sunday, May 07, 2017

My alarm sounded at 6:30 AM and I got up right away.  C.E. was already awake and on his computer.  We got up, changed, packed and took our bags to our Motors.  I cleaned my Motor and then went into the breakfast area to eat.  Ken and Jan were already there eating.  The others came in slowly.  It was “LAUNDRY DAY!”  We left at 8:18 AM.

Jan had the address to the laundromat and gave it to me so that I could enter it on my navigation system.  We left and got to the Snowhite Laundry at 8:27 AM, which was only 4 miles away.  Time to get busy!  Laundry was done by all, except C.E. and Me.   Not only was laundry done, but the Motors (most of them) were cleaned, tires checked and aired and Chuck replace the broken Shift Linkage.  While we were waiting for the laundry to finish, two little girls came out and struck up a conversation with Ken.  Can you believe that?  Ken?  The two little girls, Kelsey and Brooke, were about 4 and 5 years of age.  They spoke with Ken for a very long time.  They were asking a lot of questions.  It was time to leave and one of the guys fired up the first Harley.  It was loud and the girls screamed and ran inside of the laundromat.  We all laughed.  I was about to get on my Motor and the girls came back out.  The older one, Kelsey, asked my why my Motorcycle had two seats.  I told her that the front one was for me and the back one was for my “Girlfriend.”  Kelsey asked, “You have a Girlfriend?”  I told her I did and I sat on my Motor.  I told them that I was about to start my Motor and they ran, screaming into the laundromat.  We left at 10:15 AM.

Jan led the Group and I was behind him.  J.B. was next, then Ken, C.E., Chuck and Jake.  Jan led us onto US 35, The Great River Road.  We followed it for another 64 miles and at 11:30 AM we stopped in Nelson, WI at a gas station/mini mart for a much needed pit stop.  We took care of business and drank coffee and water.  There were many Motorcycles out on the road.  The weather was a little cold, to us, and we saw some Motorcyclist riding in short sleeves.  We saw many “Garage Sales” and people out walking with their families and dogs.  One thing that we all noticed was that most of the Motorcyclists are rude.  The normal thing for a Motorcyclist to do when passing another Motorcyclist is to “wave.”  About 90% of the Motorcyclist passing us didn’t wave.  So, we didn’t wave back.  That’s enough ranting.  We were done with our break and we left at 11:55 AM.

Jan continued to lead the Group on US 35.  It was lunch time.  We rode for another 55 miles and at 12:51 PM; we stopped at a Subway in Prescott.  Oh come on!  We didn’t stop in Prescott, AZ; we stopped in Prescott, WI.  While we were sitting in Subway, we looked out the window and watched people boating and fishing in the St. Croix River.  It was a beautiful view.  We were done with lunch and left at 1:38 PM.

Jan led us back on US 35 and about 2 miles away; we turned onto County Road F.  It was a beautiful ride.  The scenery was awesome.  There were farms on either side, GREEN lawns and beautiful homes.  We continued on and then we lost County Road F. We ended up on County Road A.  We stopped after 13 miles and at 12:04 PM we stopped in Willow River to check the map.  We continued on County Road A and turned onto US 64.  Jan was looking for US 63 and we didn’t see it.  We stopped in New Richmond at 2:26 PM after riding 13 miles.  We stopped in an Auto Parts parking lot.  While Jan was checking the map, C.E. went into the auto parts store and bought a new headlight bulb for his Motor.  Jan was done checking the map and we were ready to leave.  We left at 2:34 PM. 

Jan continued on US 64 until we found US 63.  We turned left and headed north.  We rode for 36 miles and stopped after 36 miles at 3:11 PM in Turtle Lake for gas.  While we were getting gas, some of us “took care of business.”  We left at 3:30 PM.

J.B. took the lead with Ken following.  C.E. followed Ken, then Jake, Chuck, Me and Jan.  We rode for the final 32 miles and at 4:13 PM, we arrived at the Best Western in Rice Lake.  We parked in front while J.B. and C.E. went inside to “make the deal.”  Chuck quickly followed in.  Chuck came out soon after and told us that we had a good deal on the price, a Hot Tub was on the property and a restaurant was next door within walking distance.  We unloaded our bags and went to our rooms.  We went back out to our Motors and covered them and tucked them in for the night.  Soon after we took our bags to our rooms, we headed to the restaurant.  Let me back up a little.  Prior to going to the restaurant, Chuck and J.B. spoke with Tom Doyle, the Owner of the Best Western.  They spoke about who we were, what we were doing; we came from Arizona and going to Thunder Bay.  Mr. Doyle had a very good sense of humor.  Now, when we walked into the restaurant, Lehman’s Supper Club, we were greeted by the Owner of the restaurant, Harold Lehman.  Mr. Lehman asked us, “Are you the Motorcycle riders from Phoenix who are terrorizing the countryside?”  We had a laugh and agreed with him. 

We were seated, ordered our drinks and dinner.  When our dinner was served, Chuck and Jan had ordered a baked potato.  When it arrived, there were little rubber frogs, lizard, snake, flies and cockroaches on top of our food.  Funny!  Also, there was a potato-sized ROCK in place of the potato!  The cook, lady, came to see how we were enjoying our meal.  The cook was caressing a butcher knife.  We all told her that we were enjoying our dinner very much, hoping that she wouldn’t raise the butcher knife. Chuck did tell her that his potato was “rock hard.”  The waitress came and took the rocks and replaced them with real potatoes.  The waitress told us that Mr. Lehman has a sense of humor and does this every once in a while.  It also helps when his friend, Mr. Doyle, calls him in advance that he is sending some patrons over for dinner.  We had a very good dinner without any more shenanigans.  We walked back to the Hotel, dressed out and got in the Hot Tub.  This was a great way to end the day.

Today we rode for 225 miles. We got to see a beautiful part of the Country and ride some great roads.  We talked about where we would end up tomorrow.  It is a good possibility that we may enter Canada.  We shall see…