Saturday, August 22, 2015

Sport Touring Revisited - Counterclockwise

It seemed like the perfect forecast, I was in the right mood, the timing wouldn't get any better.  My Sport Touring Route that I hoped to visit again this season was the one I followed today, only I used the "Invert Route" command and for the most part, I stuck with the path I followed a couple of weeks ago though instead of a mostly clockwise loop, this time it went the other way around.

After a half mile of gravel, our brandy new paved County road at 6AM....


6:15AM overlooking the lower end of Lake Pepin....



Crossing the river and into Wisconsin.....


The big bike this time.....




A rest stop along the Chippewa River, Tyrone Canoe Landing, the Chippewa Valley Trail bridge below.


I rousted 4 pair of Sand Hill Cranes today, but these stuck around long enough to be documented.


Elk Mound flagpole just to the right of the "45" sign.....









After stopping in Colfax to mail a parcel that I had carried along, I took County W north...



810th St., my first time here......lots of loose, not very much gravel.


A 2nd visit to 1090th, as much fun as the first time I'd been here.....






I've no idea who Vince is......but now I wish I knew him.


These road transitions are the ones a rider needs to watch out for......


Not sure what it was, but something really hit my leg and I had to look down to see if anything had been left behind.


Yes, Wisconsin does some sand mining.......



I needed gas, decided that since I wasn't looking for overnight Sport Touring lodging that going as far north as Rice Lake was not necessary.  A gas and lunch stop in Chetek instead.

This Tracker is still trackin'.......today for now but tomorrow too??


From Chetek, it was back towards Hillsdale, the Coop family's old stomping grounds.

I visited more than one of the old rail/road crossings of "The Blueberry Line" here just outside of town.  This line intersected the Cattail Trail railroad line that I rode a couple of weeks ago.


 Looking north.....a much busier place on a cold snowmobiling weekend.



We rode our trailbikes on this trail, snowmobiled it and took the dogs for walks here.  Long ago the Town Dump was just off this old right of way and was our early McMaster source for Gramp's tinkering projects.  Washing machines, clocks, wheels, things that moved, whirled or spun of every description.  I can even remember part of an old mini-bike. A pair of slip joint pliers and a screwdriver or two in a pocket was about all it took to bring treasure home.

As I zig-zagged around the Hillsdale area, the afternoon skies, no real bright sunshine until I was just a few miles from home by early evening.


Just south of town, there's a popular place that hosts weddings and their receptions.  The Enchanted Barn appears to be worthy of both.



What the access road out to the highway looks like now.......



....and what it looked like in the early '40's when Gramp was hauling Rural Mail.



For the most part, I stayed loyal to backtracking my way back home, mimicking my trip up on the CT90 a couple of weeks ago.  

Crossing the river bridge back into Minnesota......Red Wing's riverfront and boat harbor (American Queen had been here last weekend).

  
Barn Bluff on the downriver side.....


Home and up the driveway.....


The Route......


The numbers.....Moving Average not all that different than the Original Sport Tour.




6 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you Charlie6, thanks for stopping by! An enjoyable and very satisfying Friday trip I'd say.

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  2. The road has definitely changed since the 40's ... but something tells me you would have loved riding that muck just as much (even more) as the black top.

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  3. Wow Coop that was quite the ride! Weather looked decent, i actually prefer cloudy to sunny. The road appears better than it did in the 40's. Nice pics!

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    Replies
    1. There were a few moments, only a few when the sky had that blue that makes you think you've still got sunglasses on but for the most part, the overcast was partial and in the afternoon, thick. Agree with you, makes good riding AND outside time.

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