Motorcycle Adventures

(chronological order)

November 9, 2010  Today was predicted to be exceptionally nice for this time of year, so I took the day off to go riding. I ventured out around 8:40 a.m. to Waupun, then west from there down around Fox Lake area, over to Packwaukee around Buffalo Lake and into Montello. Stopped there for a break and then headed north to Neshkoro and stopped there by the old mill and dam. From there headed north/northeast through Lohrville, Red Granite, and then stopped for lunch at a little cafe in the Saxeville/Pine River area. From there headed towards the Waupaca area and back down to Poy Sippi, Omro, Waukau, Pickett and then to one of my favorite roads (Olden Road) and a bunch of other back roads around Fondy to get home.  Since I took so many county and back roads its almost impossible to map it out, however, I took some pictures which are to the right.  I put just over 230 miles on the bike today.

October 16, 2010  We had another beautiful fall day so I took the bike to Kewaskum via Hwy 45 for a funeral visitation and then took Hwy 28 west out of Kewaskum to Cty TW to Scott's outside of Mayville. He and I left his place with our destination being Port Washington.  We took mostly County and back country roads into West Bend and then Hwy 33 into Port. We stopped along the harbor on Lake Michigan in Port Washington to walk around the piers. We saw some really huge (2-3 ft) salmon spawning there. From Port we took Cty Tk H to Kewaskum and then stopped at Victoria's Cornerstone Inn for some dinner. After that we broke up and went our separate ways. I took Hwy 45 back to town and put in just over 130 miles this trip. However, I didn't bring the camera so I don't have any pictures to share and since we took so many back roads it would be too hard to map out our route.

October 9-10, 2010  I made a trip to Winona MN to see my Dad & Candy and this was the first time in which I've ever taken the bike up there; including the first time I took the bike so far by myself. I started off around 8 a.m. Saturday morning and mapped out a route to take me further north than usual in an effort to avoid taking so much of the Interstate between Mauston & Sparta WI, but I ran into construction and ended up heading back down to Mauston anyways to get on the Interstate (I90) and then to Hwy 61 into Winona. On Sunday I mapped a different route that would take me south off the Interstate out of Sparta (Hwy 71) back to Mauston and what a great choice that was... nice sweeping turns up/down & in/out of the bluffs & valleys.  I added an extra hour to my commute both ways, but I sure enjoyed both and all the beautiful fall colors. Well, except for that part on my way up when I sat in construction for a bit before getting the heck out of there. To the right is a pic of the routes I took. This trip was well over 400 miles and in addition to the 230 mile ride I made the day before, I ended up putting in almost 700 miles within three days and that felt oh so good since I missed out on quite a bit of seat time this Summer. =)

October 8, 2010  I finally had a day off that was nice enough for a ride, including people to ride with.  So I joined Jon & Bob from work for Jon's weekly Friday ride which includes a first stop in Princeton at Jillian's Restaurant for breakfast/or whatever. Bob & I met up with Jon in the parking lot at Menard's in town at 8 a.m. and then we headed out for Princeton to meet Jon's friend Ed who was already waiting for us at Jillian's Restaurant. We had some really good food and then headed west with the destination being Levee Road along the Wisconsin River just south of Wisconsin Dells, which was still marked as closed due to all the rain that area received a couple of weeks ago; however, the road was no longer flooded. We still saw some remnants from the flooding, sandbags, etc., but it was all good and we made a pit stop along the river before proceeding to Merrimac with intentions to take a ride across the Wisconsin River/Lake Wisconsin on the Merrimac Ferry, except we had to overshoot it so that I could fuel up at a Mobile station just outside of Merrimac and then we headed back to the Merrimac Ferry. We took so many county roads that I lost track of all of them, but I mapped out our route the best I could. Click here to view the map, and to the right are some pictures.  It was a very beautiful fall day and I saw a lot of brilliant fall foliage; including some wildlife. The Sandhill Cranes were gathering in many fields with preparations for their soon to come migration, plus plenty of wild turkeys (not just on two wheels), Canadian Geese and one poor squirrel who chose his destiny by running into Jon's rear tire... =(

September 4, 2010  Scott & I ventured out on a pretty cool and windy morning to attend the motard sprint races at Shawano's USA International Raceway to watch Todd Severson (#71) race. It never really warmed up much but it was still a nice ride; including some entertaining racing to watch.  The only pictures I took were of the races which you can find on my Motorcycle Races page.  I mapped out the route we took the best that I could since we ran into construction and it was Scott's turn to lead, so I'm sure I missed a few roads. Click here for the map. I put almost 200 miles on the bike today.

August 28, 2010  Myself and mostly some folks I work with, some of their friends & spouses met up at our work parking lot for a planned trip to Sheboygan and then some. I headed the group east out of town down Old 4th Street Road (Cty Tk T) through Dotyville & the Armstrong area back across Hwy 23 into and through Glenbeulah, to Cty Tk C & then J past Road America and into the north side of Sheboygan. We stopped at the Mucky Duck Shanty in Sheboygan along the Riverfront for some lunch before heading back out north on LS to Manitowoc and then took Hwy 42 onto Algoma. We stopped at Caffé Tlazo in Algoma for some ice-cream and then headed back down Hwy 42 to Manitowoc where some of us split up to go our separate ways. Dennis, Scott & I took Hwy 151 and all the way back to Fondy; except for Dennis who broke off from us in Chilton. It was an absolute perfect day to be out on the bikes and I hope we have an exceptionally nice Fall to help make up for some lost time on my bike over this past Summer. I put around 220 miles on the bike today and to the right are a few pics.

August 7, 2010  I met up with Tom Bartelme at his place west of Fondy and then we ventured down some back roads & Hwy 41 frontage roads up to Oshkosh to meet Gary & Laurie Jahn.  From there we took some back roads west and north through Eureka up to Hwy 21, then west through Red Granite, Wautoma, Coloma, and then south & west on some back roads through Adams County to Gary's hunting grounds. If it hadn't been for the severe attack by Wisconsin's native bird... the mosquito, we would have stuck around Gary's hunting grounds a bit longer while he checked their food plots. From there we headed into Adams/Friendship for some lunch and then back east towards home. Most of the route was on Hwy 21, but we ventured off for a bit on some back roads (Cty Tk F & N) through Lohrville (that brought back some fond quarry swimming memories for me!). At Hwy 21 & 49 Tom & I broke off from the Jahn's and headed south on Hwy 49 to Berlin. From there I took us east on Hwy 91 to Cty Tk M south  to Pickette, and then to Olden Road which snakes around across Hwy 26 and turns into Cty Tk N just north of Fondy. Then we took Cty Tk I to Hwy 23 and over to Townline Rd where we broke off to go our separate ways. I put just over 220 miles on the bike. To the right are a few pictures.

July 18, 2010  I met up with Scott in Mayville and we planned to take a ride south towards Hartford.  Well we bypassed the Hartford area and although Scott pretty much didn't have any clue where we were, he sure found some really nice curvy roads in the process of potentially getting us lost. Turns out we were just south of Holy Hill. We turned back at that point to head for a stop at Mickey's Frozen Custard in Hartford for a sundae or should a say "soup" on such a hot day. From there we headed east and north through the southern branch of the Kettles up to Kewaskum where we broke off to go our separate ways. I put 120+ miles on the bike this trip.  No pictures this time.

June 29, 2010  I joined a group of mainly coworkers for a ride to Lake Geneva.  We met at the G&L parking lot in town and then took Hwy 151 to Hwy 26 just South of Waupun and stayed on that all the way to Fort Atkinson where we hooked up to Hwy 12 and then I lost track, but we ended up in Fontana on the southwest side of Lake Geneva and we stopped for some lunch at Chuck's Lakeshore Inn.  From there we proceeded around the other side of the lake into the city of Lake Geneva and eventually took Hwy 67 all the way to Theresa where we proceeded north on Hwy 175 & then I41 back to Fondy.  On our way back we also went through the town of Eagle which was hit by a tornado last Tuesday and what a mess... huge old trees ripped apart or blown over and headstones turned over in the cemetery, etc. I only put around 220 miles on the bike this trip. Click here to view the map of our trip and to the left are some pictures.

May 29, 2010  Myself, Tom, Gary, Laurie, Mark K., Rick & his son met up for a ride through the Kettles after the HD Hog event that was held at Open Road today in Fondy.  We took Hwy 45 through Eden and over by Round Lake to Dundee.  Then we cut into the Kettles from there and onto Three Guys & a Grill in the Sheboygan Marsh outside of Elkhart Lake.  After that I took us through the countryside by St. Cloud, Mt. Calvary, Malone, Johnsburg and St. Peter back to town.  We all pretty much split up after that.  There are two pictures to the left from when we stopped at Three Guys.

May 15, 2010 I finally was able to get together with some other folks for a little ride.  Tom met me at my place and we headed for Siebkens to pick up Mark K. From there we headed to Road America for the free Family Day and to meet the Mielke's.  We left there to grab some lunch at the Black Dog bar & grill on Cty MM.  Scott & Mark E. met up with us there and then we headed out on MM to LS along Lake Michigan to Manitowoc and then back to Elkhart to drop off Mark K.  From there we took mostly county roads back into Fondy.  I put only around 120 miles on the bike this trip and would have put on more, but the weather didn't get nearly as warm as predicted.

Week of March 29, 2010 Hopefully a sign of things to come... I've taken my bike to work for the past three days and outside of still trying to burn out the old fuel, my bike & I couldn't be any happier. Lets hope that the early riding season will continue!

March 17, 2010 Finally had some time with the unseasonably warmer weather to get the bike out over my lunch hour, but it was only to the shop for the shod Bridgestones and an oil change.  Won't be able to pick it up until March 19 and by then the weather will be back to normal for this time of year, with a chance of rain. Can't wait though for another fun riding season!

November 28, 2009 I started my day preparing to put my bike to sleep for the winter, but ended up putting 120 miles on it instead... =)  Although I had a slow start to my riding season this year, I made up for it later.  My goal was to put 5,070 miles on the bike this year.  Mostly because I couldn't ride at all after my accident last year and the fact that I put 5,000 on my old bike the first year I had it (2007).  I also factored in the extra 70 because that's how many miles were on it this spring from other people who rode it last year either to work on it or to take me for a ride on it.  So to the right is a picture of my odometer so you can see that I surpassed my goal.  Thanks to everyone who helped make my first year back out there such a good one and for all of the great company as well!

November 7, 2009  We had some unusually beautiful weather for this time of year so some of us decided to take advantage of it and go for a final day long trip on the bikes.  Tom, Scott, Deb & Mark from work made up the crew outside of myself. I started out at 7 a.m. to meet Tom on the way to the Micky's in Waupun to meet everyone else at 8 a.m. My day of riding almost didn't happen after checking my tire pressure when I arrived at Tom's and come to find I had a nail stuck in my rear tire. Kind of noticed it didn't feel right on my way there (rear tire slipped out a bit on me), but never would have guessed my tire pressure was as bad as it was. We filled it, but I lost three lbs of pressure by the time I made it to Waupun. However, lucky for me after telling everyone I'd have to pass so that I could get my bike to my cousin's shop, Scott ventured down the road to Rush Powersports to see if they were open. They weren't but they were cool enough to let me bring it in so they could plug it, and they only charged me $5. So I didn't have to miss out on such a great day for riding. After that ordeal we ventured west on Hwy 33. We stopped in Reedsburg for a little break and then continued onto Hillsboro where we stopped at Tiger Town Tavern for some grub and caught a bit of the Badger game. After leaving there lord knows I can't remember all the back roads we took through the bluffs (Hwy 131, FF, P, ???) but they were very nice/curvy roads (except for the ones with pea gravel on 'em). Last town I remember going through before heading back was La Farge and after that we eventually made it to Richland Center to gas up before heading back home.  We took Hwy 60 out of Sauk City & Sauk Prairie through Lodi and then hooked onto Hwy 151 in Columbus.  Made it home right when it started to get dark, around 5 or 5:30.  I put around 315 miles on today.  Not bad considering how my day started and the fact that it is November! =)  Didn't get any pictures of scenery since we didn't stop much but there are a couple to the right of the gang from when we stopped in Reedsburg, and you can also click here to view a partial mapping of the route we took... couldn't capture (or remember) all of the back roads we took but I highlighted the cities we went through in those areas.

October 19, 2009  We finally had a day in October that almost made it into the sixties and myself & Scott just happened to have off of work, so we decided to take one last pretty decent ride for the season. He met me at my new place and we headed north on the east side of the ledge to meet Mike (from Marshfield) to head for Door County. Mike met us just south of Green Bay and then we headed east towards Lake Michigan on mostly county roads and stopped in Algoma for some lunch. From there we headed north along the lake and eventually made it to Cave Point Park in Jacksonport where the winds coming out of the east over Lake Michigan made for some spectacular waves against the rocky shoreline there. From there Mike took off to head home since he had a little more of a haul than us, but Scott & I continued by heading north through Baileys Harbor to make a stop at Koepsel's Farm Market so that Scott could get another adjustable cheese slicer and some fudge... don't ask! From there we took Cty Tk Q along the lakefront and back to Hwy 57 to Sturgeon Bay and then Cty S into Denmark, and then a whole bunch of county roads to Hwy 151 and into Chilton. We made one last stop there for gas, etc and it already had been dark for a little while.  I made it home right around 8 p.m. and put a little over 300 miles on this trip.  Although it was pretty cool and chilly most of the time, I was prepared since I wore my ski pants, etc.  I will try to see if I can map out the route we took and load it here eventually, but for now there are a few pictures to the right.

September 12, 2009  Another gorgeous day and weekend on tap for our area so Tom & I decided to take a trip today to Devil's Lake by Baraboo.  I met Tom at his place and we took back roads to Waupun and from there we took mostly back roads through Fox Lake and Pardeeville to Portage. From Portage we took Hwy 33 into Baraboo. We stopped for some lunch at a place where I used to go to watch Road Trip play when I lived in Madison, Hooty's. We then drove through Devil's Lake state park and stopped to take a few pictures. After leaving there our intentions were to take the Merrimac Ferry, but the road to the ferry was closed. So we tooled back to Portage via Hwy 78 & 33. From there we hooked up onto Hwy 22 to Montello and then Hwy 23 to Ripon. We took a little detour off of Hwy 23 onto Cty Tk A through Green Lake and back onto 23 via Cty Tk K.  I put in 190 miles on this trip.  If you click here you can view a map of the route we took, and to the left are a few pictures. No time for ice-cream today. =(

September 8, 2009  Tom and I joined Jeff Stephany for a ride he planned. We met at my place at 8:00 a.m. and took off south of town on 175, then 49 through Horicon Marsh. From there we headed south on 26 to 60 through Hustisford, Hartford, Slinger, Jackson and Grafton. We took Cty Tk C to a park along Lake Michigan where we stopped and ventured out on their boardwalks & trails to the lake front.  I think it was called Lake Bluff Park, but I can't seem to find anything online about it. Pretty views though. After that we headed north on Cty Tk I and over to New Prospect and Dundee. We stopped in Dundee at the Hamburger Haus for some lunch and then proceeded through the Kettles. Jeff broke off from us at Hwy 23 and Tom & I proceeded north through Glenbeulah and Mt. Calvary. In Mt. Calvary we were detoured due to a propane tanker accident near my Aunt & Uncles house on WH. Later I found out from my Aunt that it hit a power pole because their power was out for a while as well. So we went north past Wolf Lake and through Johnsburg, then back down the ledge to Fondy. We proceeded to Gilly's to make an ice-cream stop... yum, yum!  I put around 200 miles on the bike this time and it was another gorgeous day for a ride. Click here to view a map of the route we took and to the left are a few pictures.

September 5, 2009  Gary Jahn planned a ride up to Stevens Point and WI Rapids. Tom from work met me at my place at 9:00 a.m. and we met Gary & Laurie in Oshkosh.  We ended up going through Auroraville, Eureka, Poy Sippi and Plover before reaching Stevens Point. We then stopped at Guu's On Main for some food. On our way back we rode though Wisconsin Rapids, Plainfield, Wautoma and that's where Gary & Laurie broke off from us and Tom & I proceeded to Princeton where we stopped for some ice-cream. We rode through Ripon and then I almost got us lost looking for Olden Road, but I eventually found it.  I put 225 miles on the bike this trip.  There are a couple of pictures to the left.

September 4, 2009  Scott and I took a ride after he got done with work.  I met him at G&L and then we drove to his place outside of Mayville so he could switch bikes.  From there we ventured out to Beaver Dam & then Fox Lake.  On the way back we drove through Horicon Marsh and stopped to walk out on their boardwalk and trails.  We broke off to go our separate ways in Oakfield.  It was a perfect evening for a ride and I put on 110 miles.

August 28, 2009  Myself and a small group of riders (Tom, Scott & Jim) took the day off to head up to Door County. Tom & Scott met me at my place for a tasty breakfast and then we headed for Plymouth to hook up with Jim.  From there we took back roads to get to LS along Lake Michigan. Our first stop was at West of the Lake Gardens in Manitowoc where we walked around and looked at their spectacular flower gardens. After that we stayed along the lake all the way up to Sturgeon Bay and then cut back over to the lake front up to Jacksonport & Baileys Harbor.  We stopped at Cave Point Park in Jacksonport to enjoy the scenery and then at Weisgerber's Cornerstone Pub in Baileys Harbor for some lunch. After that we kept heading north and this time we made it all the way to Gills Rock.  When we left there we took the Bay side back down through Sister Bay, Fish Creek & Egg Harbor and then Cty Trk B back to Sturgeon Bay.  Then we pretty much stuck to Hwy 42, but made a stop for some ice-cream at Caffé Tlazo in Algoma.  From there we stayed on Hwy 42 and kept just south of a storm system moving into the area.  Jim dropped off when we were near Plymouth and we then proceeded back on Hwy 23 in an effort to beat the storm.  Scott broke off just after getting to Fond du Lac and then Tom & I got caught by the storm shortly thereafter.  However I only had a couple more miles to go.  Still no fun in a heavy down-pour, including people in cars driving like idiots which took me longer than usual.  However coming home with a wet bike provoked me to clean it where I otherwise would not have.  Outside of that last couple of miles (340 total miles for me) the day turned out to be a real good one for riding and probably the best one for the weekend since today (Saturday) it is very cool, breezy and overcast.  To the left are a few pictures and I will also post some on my Friends & Family page since there are so many.

August 2, 2009  Scott and I took our bikes for a ride from his place in Mayville down through Hustisford, Lebanon to North Lake where we stopped for a bite to eat.  We then proceeded past Holy Hill to Grafton and up to Port Washington along Lake Michigan where we stopped to enjoy the scenery.  After that we headed back through Saukville, Newburg, and West Bend.  I put 180 miles on the bike and to the left are a couple of pictures.

July 25, 2009  I took the bike to the Madison area to ride with Mike.  We took off from Cambridge for The Grumpy Troll in Mt. Horeb for some grub and then proceeded to Blue Mounds and to Brigham Park overlooking the bluffs & flats west of Madison.  After that we tooled around through the bluffs in that area and then through Cross Plains, Springfield Corners, Waunakee and through Madison.  I put right around 300 miles on the bike.

April 18, 2009  I finally got my new bike out for my first ride of the season and more importantly to me... the first ride since my accident. I was really nervous at first and it felt like that very first ride all over again, but it didn't take me long to feel comfortable. I only put around 50 miles on the bike, but it was probably just the right length of a ride as my wrist and shoulder endured nicely without hardly any pain. Hurray!!! 

June 30, 2008  My new bike (Hyosung GT650R) finally arrived.  However, due to the severity of my wrist injury I was unable to ride it this season, but I remain hopeful for a much better riding season next year. You can click here to view the specs on it and to the right there are a couple pictures of it.

April 20, 2008  I had a pretty nasty crash on Walnut Road just west of town after a really nice ride with some coworkers through the Kettles, etc. and was flown to Froedtert Hospital via Flight-for-Life for a weeks stay with the following injuries:

  - compound fracture (right wrist) required two surgeries

  - grade 3 separation of the left shoulder

  - hairline fracture of the left Fibula

  - including some minor road rash

Click here to view pictures of my bike, gear & scene of the accident. Myself and a coworker were near the end of a nice ride that afternoon and just tooling down some back country roads outside of town when it happened.  I don't remember any of the accident, but was conscious when it ended.  A hump in the road that wasn't visible upon my approach was the cause. My helmet took some blows as well as all of my safety gear destroyed. My helmet surely saved my life!  This hasn't deterred me from riding as I enjoy it too much!