Took off on Friday the 12th to hook up with Mike ( Hubcap ) from South Carolina at Fontana Dam in North Carolina. Did The Dragon on the way and crossed Cherohala Skyline the weather Friday the 12th was outstanding in the beautiful east Tennessee / western North Carolina mountains.
We stayed in Cleveland , Tennessee that night to hook up with Terry ( T-Bird ) for the first day ride to Shipman, Illinois on Satuurday. A very special thanks to Gary and Rosie for opening up their beautiful home to us the hospitality was second to none and we was told to come hungry and we did . What a meal two grills full of meat and all the fixin's... Gary and Rosie y'all are the best I'm proud to call you my friend.We had riders from several states join us Sunday morning in Shipman for day three of my ride to InZane .Gary took us on some cool roads that had us meandering along The Great River Road. Some area of The Great River Road was washed out from flooding the week before and we had to zig and zag to stay on it thru the detours.One of the stops was in Alton, Il. to check out the Piasa Bird.
The Piasa Bird (pronounced Pie-a-saw), is a local legend in the Alton area. Its foundings go back to 1673 when Father Jacques Marquette, in recording his famous journey down the Mississippi River with Louis Joliet, described the "Piasa" as a birdlike monster painted high on the bluffs along the Mississippi River, where the city of Alton, Illinois now stands.
According to the diary, the Piasa "was as large as a calf with horns like a deer, red eyes, a beard like a tiger's, a face like a man, the body covered with green, red and black scales and a tail so long it passed around the body, over the head and between the legs."
The creature was given its name by the Illini Indians, "The Piasa", meaning a bird that devours men.
We crossed the mighty Mississippi River several times along the way to La Crosse , Wi but by far the coolest was the ferry ride.I can't remember the name of this little town cause we travelled through so many on the way up.
The National Motorcycle Museum located at 102 Chamber Drive in Anamosa, Iowa is a non-profit museum, founded in 1989 by motorcycle builders, racers, and riders. Its purpose to maintain the experience of bikes past and present as well as motorcycle memorabilia, documents and actual vintage bikes from as far back as 1903. It was named Iowa Tourism Attraction of the Year in 2001.
The museum contains a huge collection of motorcycles over the past 100 years as well as thousands of photos, postcards and posters. The bikes come from all over the world; there are American, Japanese, British and other European motorcycles on display.
In 2010, the museum moved its collection of more than 300 motorcycles to a much larger building, and celebrated a grand re-opening in June 2011.
Nice place to check out along the way is Pikes Peak State Park is a state park of Iowa featuring a 500-foot bluff overlooking the Upper Mississippi River opposite the confluence of the Wisconsin River. The park is operated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. It is nearly a thousand acres in extent. The nearest city is McGregor, Iowa. Iowa Highway 76 approximately defines its northern boundary.
It gets its name from the Iowa incarnation of Pikes Peak, a particularly high point overlooking the gorge of the Upper Mississippi, and like Pikes Peak in Colorado, is named for Zebulon Pike.
Thanks to the staff of the VRCC for helping keep the Valkyrie alive with this yearly event. If you go back to La Crosse I think I'll pass next year . I always hear this event is held in July cause folks have kids in school I'd be willing to bet you could count the number of folks that attended this year with small kids on two hands. The heat the last two years for lack of a better word SUCKS and takes so much away from being in a new area and checking out the roads .One of the better rides we did was to the Valkyrie Brewing Company in Dallas, Wi.
My friend and ridin' bud T-Bird and I at the Valkyrie Brewing Company.
" The Money Shot " taken it Gary and Rosie's front yard in Shipman Il.
Long Live The Dragon
