Thursday, June 8, 2017

AHRMA Road America 2017 - Day Before

What a day!!

Lovely, warm and breezy....a fine day to be on the little V-Twin.

Other than a stop in Lake City and Ripon for some ice and firewood, I mostly drove straight through.

 

Checked into the motel last night right at 9:30; the trip to Fond du Lac an easy drive and found out this morning I was parked next to the big guys.


This year, a clockwise loop to the northeast.....an extremely pleasant 180 miles.


There's a high ridge running north/south on the east side of Lake Winnebago and the wind machines are very numerous; Lake Winnebago in the distance.


Eric (and Larry!) have me paying extra attention to old barns and silos.  In this part of Wisconsin these solid concrete silos seem to be everywhere, old, original and still standing.  Old, magnificently kept barns around every corner too.


Scenic AND a shortcut....you can't beat that!!



Before I left Two Rivers.....makes me wish mine was blue.



A few years ago I spent time along this shore with the Yamaha TW200 but didn't manage to find this particular park and beach at Two Rivers, definitely time spent here today was not wasted.


During that same trip a few years ago, I spent a couple of nights at Point Beach State Park.  One morning I rode into Two Rivers and visited a coffee/bicycle shop, now closed.  I also spent time at one of the nicest libraries I've ever been in, the Lester Public Library in town.  When I went past today, the "Used Book Sale Today" sign was just too much for me to resist.


Right there front and center in the periodicals.....



My winnings......


It was getting to be lunch time so I looked for something interesting in Two Rivers.  Connie's Cafe looked very closed, so I stopped at Schwarz's Pub & Grill for their Soup and Sandwich Special.  Located in an old bank building, the former safe has been put to better use.


and this was out in the parking lot when I left.....


Since I'd already visited the great Maritime Museum in Manitowoc last time, I thought I'd go down to the Badger Ferry terminal to see if anything was going on.  Having no clue about the ferry's schedule over to Ludington, MI I was glad that I decided to take a look.




I had been sitting on the berm patiently waiting for departure but had to move.....air got just a tad dirty.


 The Maritime Museum and submarine that I visited last time.....



 Helpers getting ready to make way....








St. Anna's church and park.....


 Palm Tree Road Bridge......I rode over it with the Yamaha last time, decided not to disturb the boys that were fishing today.





 


Tomorrow they both get unloaded in the Carousel....we'll be there early.

8 comments:

  1. Love that stone bridge.

    And I have to ask what kind of trailer you are using. Hubby sold our heavy one and is looking for a lighter aluminum one to tow the bikes behind the Subaru.

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    1. Brandy, that bridge is simply pretty!

      Good luck with finding a trailer that works; mine is adding some nice options to my weekend riding.

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  2. I like your take on my home turf. There are a lot of concrete silos and restored/ well maintained barns in the area, I guess I never noticed that you don't see them that often in western Wis. My grandparents had a nice old machine shed and barn with a concrete silo.

    This comment is a week late but, two of my favorite parks are High Cliff on the north side of lake Winnebago and Kohler-Andre south of Sheboygen. If you're ever camping out that way, those are a couple of gems.

    Happy trails!

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    1. Jason, I found myself looking for some small detail differences in construction and even usage re: the silos. Also, the barns that have been kept up just because and the many that are still being used. Comments were made to friends about the many "L" shaped barns in that part of the state, a rarity over here on our side.

      I keep telling myself that I'm going to visit High Cliff each AHRMA weekend and it still hasn't happened. As young kids, my brother and I played for hours and days in the now Kohler-Andre State Park. Back then it was Terry-Andre and the beach along with the old slides of us playing on that sand are dear memories. I've visited on the bike a couple of times, stayed at Point Beach with the TW200 after the races one year.

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    2. It was Terry-Andre the last time I was there and the light house was still running (maybe it still is). I remember going for a hike at night and watching the beam swing round. Good memories.
      I'm planning on doing the grand rounds this weekend with AMCA/VJMC on Saturday, and I took off Friday.

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    3. Sounds like we're making plans offline. Hope we get a chance to meet this weekend!

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  3. Shouldn't scenic be long cuts? :) I too am drawn to silos and barns. Most are definitely not in use down here.

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    1. Most of the time Scenic isn't direct, I'd agree. I thought it was handy to have a shortcut with a bonus.

      There are some very nice and then many that are not quite polished but still functionally lovely around here. It was the sheer number over there that really got me noticing. Painted pretty is nice to look at but old ones standing, properly roofed that appear to be very solidly built, will look just as good at the end of this century as they do now at the beginning.

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