Two weeks and two days of travel makes for a pretty good trip in anybody's book. Especially on a motorcycle and especially on a Valkyrie!
I left out Saturday, July 13th for La Crosse, WI determined to take my time and stay off of highways as much as possible. Almost immediately, my plan paid off with an excellent old school drive in burger at Storms in Lampasas...
Later on the temps got into the triple digits in North Texas and staying hydrated became a priority -- couldn't wait for those cool temps in Wisconsin! I called it quits in McAlester, OK...
I had originally planned to kinda take an easterly route towards the Mississippi, but I found out that part of the route was closed, so I punted and decided to head north on highways to make up some time. (Little did I know that the detour I would have had to take to stay on my original route was only fourteen miles!) Anyway, started out the day with a bit of rain, but the temps stayed cool all day. Ended up north of Des Moines...
(Not sure how --
or why -- I carry so much stuff!)
Monday started out nice and cool as I headed through the beautiful patchwork of farmland that is the Iowa countryside. Had a great burger at the Fredericksburg Sports Bar and Cafe in Fredericksburg, IA. Along the way, I was consistently and politely approached by total strangers at fuel stops who wanted to know something about the Valkyrie. The sports bar was no different as I spoke with a guy having lunch with his grandsons. Apparently, the guy used to ride and seeing the Valkyrie had brought back some good memories of his youth.
After lunch I started coming across closed roads due to flooding from a storm a few days before. The detours took me through Amish country and ended up being a blessing in disguise. I probably would not have seen these places had it not been for the road closers. There was no cell service, so I was truly lost for a while traveling the backroads of Iowa. Eventually, I saw that I was in Minnesota and then found myself in Rushford. Good thing, because I was needing fuel and a good cell signal. Got my bearings and headed into La Crosse for my last leg towards InZane...
I immediately saw plenty of friends and started to just visit, but still was able to check in, get my packet and find some local cuisine all in a timely fashion...
Monday dinner at Huck Finn's along the shore of the Mississippi...
Tuesday started out with the Joe Boyd Memorial ride. Plenty of folks lined up for this annual event...
We headed out towards Grandad Bluff Park as the temps seemed to be getting pretty warm. Nevertheless, spirits where high as we all took the short route through town...
Somehow, and without reason or explanation, some of us ended up here...
I was willing to bet a nickel that this was
not Grnadad's Bluff!
Eventually, we did end up at the right place and met up with the rest of the group...
The view was pretty nice...
There's plenty more to come, so stay tuned!
