RUSTIC ROADS QUEST (JUL 2010)
SUNDAY RECAP - RUSTIC ROAD THIS!
So let's just take up where we left off - it's 9:30... I just got home... I am a snarly mess and I need to put out on the list where we will be meeting - Voila! Gus' Diner in Rolling Meadows! I had used this spot last year when we did some ride or another and Sue and I saw it one day on our way home from something and we both thought... Hey we should use this place again for a meet up... So to help end all speculation as to where I we would be riding... Gus' was announced. 3 handfuls of conditioner and my hair is back to normal...kinda
Now ... when you plan a ride you sit and wonder... will everyone like the place you picked? Will the food be good? Will it be affordable.. ? Will people pick to spend time on my ride rather on something better that might have come along...
I checked my email before heading downstairs and blissfully I took off thinking that every Fury but Sue would be there... for some reason the emails from Lisa aka TomTom or Janet aka 319 were out of commission. Add to it a text I got from the Needlesticker who tweaked her knee... the ride was dwindling. I was doing circles in the parking lot when the good Doctor arrived... HOW did I know it was her... I mean really? Nadine filled me on the Fury-Furlough and we thought that maybe every Fury should check in via text with the ride captain if they are coming or not... as there are still a few of us that don't have smart phones and cant access our email via our phones.. this would be very helpful as I would still be waiting on Lisa and Janet - (for some stupid reason I didnt see the 6:50 a.m. email until I got home) Caryl showed up for coffee and soon I was admitting that after being up until 3 on Friday, and riding all day on Saturday... I wasnt really in the mood to go ALL the way to Oregon.. We all agreed that we did NOT want to be out all day... and that we didnt want to go to Wisconsin .... soooooooooooooo. ... we futzed around and headed to the bikes...
Caryl suggested getting a patch and soon the Good Doctor was looking up Rural Roads in Wisconsin. Seems that woman will do nearly anything for a hard to get, well earned patch or designation. Maps reviewed we headed out... armed with the knowledge that we didnt want to go near Lake Geneva so Burlington near Rte 36 would lead us to some rural roads...
HOT HOT HOT
We headed up some road... I want to say 12 out of Rolling Meadows... and it was MISERABLE... we hit EVERY light... and I do mean EVERY light. We sat and cooked in the broiling sun. 5 hour energy drinks... there are not enough... we stopped and I tried a new flavor - grape! YUMMY... and they have a new type- "De Caffeinated" Nadine grabbed one to see if it would work. It was so hot that even Caryl had water! No really... she went to the cooler and asked... Uh where do they put the water... THAT's how HOT it was!
Somehow my helmet landed in my tour pak again. Nadine didnt quite get it when I kept saying I was "Abandoning" her. So as we started up... she stopped and pointed to my head... I said nope.. I did a classic Tom Sawyer and Nadine took over leading my ride.. which is a bad thing to do, abandon your ride and let someone else lead.... but given the circumstances. .. I had clearly lost my mind... it was OK.. this time! Sandwiched in the middle we took off for Burlington.
Now, it seems that I always end up in Burlington when it is 900 degress outside... the smell of chocolate was in the air and we rode right by the Dairy Queen... TWICE...and the Frozen Custard Stand... TWICE... and corn stands... MULTIPLE... and ICE CREAM parlors! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHH... ........
HOT... freaking HOT
Anyone seen those alleged "Rustic Roads?" Nope... and not on the GPS and not on the map... we found some kewl roads anyway... but no where closer to our patch... we bounced around ... literally on roads that were very uneven. I swear I was going to bounce right off my bike. We took a left we took a right and suddenly there was a RUSTIC ROAD! Well HELL! We had some fun riding it - and then moved on to the next one. We saw some beautifully LARGE Homes... The good Doctor nearly had to show us how she saves Large Breeds... one if not all of us nearly took out an elderly couple out for a walk along the narrow Rustic Roadway.
Somewhere we ended up trying out our horns... just to see what they sounded like... let's face it ... a Harley can certainly RUMBLE... but its horn is WEAK! So as we began to ride we would practice our horn usage... beep, burp blat!
We met up with some nice bikers - the woman was riding a triumph... in shorts... yesterday it was a chick in sandals on her harley - today it was shorts. She assured Caryl she was just fine and the pipes didnt get hot. They told us about Road P, and some alleged Rustic Roads in that direction. We took off - but all of Burlington was under construction. We ended up in a Motorcycle Rodeo... thru construction, do a U-turn or 3, through safety pillars... you name it... soft gravel, hard packed gravel, tight turns on a steep downward slope... but the pay off were some great twisty roads, roller coaster ups and downs, trees to give us shade, horse farms and even some weird bird farm... they were either ostriches or Emus... but the Vet was long gone so I was left with the Audubon book for later
Stopping for pictures Nadine got us to contort in ways that only show up in the karma sutra book but some how we got all 3 of us, our bikes AND the blasted sign in the pics... then with a hearty beep, burp, blat! we took off.
We were doing something and we pulled over and Caryl got off her bike and came towards us...Oh boy... NOW what did Nadine do! We both cringed and all Caryl wanted was ...well heck I dont even remember... but she looked at us both and demanded to know what we were doing... bracing ourselves of course...because the SoA was after us! She assured us we hadnt done anything wrong...and maybe we should check in to a hospital to take care of our Post Traumatic Stress Disorder!
Somehow we ended up in Twin Lakes... or Twin Peaks whatever... and we needed to EAT... we had been hard at finding the non existent Rustic Roads (we were on 4...but it only counted as 3 cuz we did the same one twice darn it all to heck) and the GPS was calling out all manner of places - but nothing that looked like it would offer Caryl much more than mozzarella sticks or a grilled cheese. I thought we were going to settle for Subway (let's hope my bro never reads this) when Nadine said... how about we go towards the lake... Uh... what lake? yea... so over the hard packed gravel crap we found a lake... we stopped at a boater bar - not to be confused with a biker bar... they pointed us off to Pier West... so we figured... "How bad could it be" and it had a nice parking lot... and a deck that overlooked the water. It was hotter than hot inside but the lake breeze made sitting outside glorious. The food was good, the prices fine and we found ourselves unwilling to leave... a margarita would have been nice... We sent a text to Twinkie The Kid...but didnt reach her..
Beep, Burp Blat! it was time to head back to the real world
The day had started out with clear boundries... we had been to Wisconsin, We stayed out most of the day and as Caryl said... there will be the winter to do laundry and clean the house!! AMEN Sister!
As I pulled my helmet back on - Nadine gave a sigh of relief... We did some more cutting through corn fields (no Morai corn was noted) and found our way FINALLY to 173.. I headed eat, Nadine West and Caryl South...
Such a perfect day that I wasnt prepared for the BS that was to await me... As I tore down 94 there was suddenly a bike next to me - some MORON in nothing but a t-shirt and a springer HD... acting bad ass but not enough.. he was just a few feet to my right and was leap frogging - Scared the SHIT out of me and I let him have it verbally. What a moron! I wondered... if I had my colors on.. would he have tried that crap... I got home and and as I nearly put my guard down... a cab decided to try to take me out as I stopped to make my own careful left turn. MORE idiom practice!! there are not enough words to describe my anger wtih that cab... suffice it to say if you string enough MF's together... people get the hint!!
My bike is gassed up and ready for the next adventure!
beep
burp
BLAT
--
MJ
Megaera
Furies MC
No Pago Til 3
So let's just take up where we left off - it's 9:30... I just got home... I am a snarly mess and I need to put out on the list where we will be meeting - Voila! Gus' Diner in Rolling Meadows! I had used this spot last year when we did some ride or another and Sue and I saw it one day on our way home from something and we both thought... Hey we should use this place again for a meet up... So to help end all speculation as to where I we would be riding... Gus' was announced. 3 handfuls of conditioner and my hair is back to normal...kinda
Now ... when you plan a ride you sit and wonder... will everyone like the place you picked? Will the food be good? Will it be affordable.. ? Will people pick to spend time on my ride rather on something better that might have come along...
I checked my email before heading downstairs and blissfully I took off thinking that every Fury but Sue would be there... for some reason the emails from Lisa aka TomTom or Janet aka 319 were out of commission. Add to it a text I got from the Needlesticker who tweaked her knee... the ride was dwindling. I was doing circles in the parking lot when the good Doctor arrived... HOW did I know it was her... I mean really? Nadine filled me on the Fury-Furlough and we thought that maybe every Fury should check in via text with the ride captain if they are coming or not... as there are still a few of us that don't have smart phones and cant access our email via our phones.. this would be very helpful as I would still be waiting on Lisa and Janet - (for some stupid reason I didnt see the 6:50 a.m. email until I got home) Caryl showed up for coffee and soon I was admitting that after being up until 3 on Friday, and riding all day on Saturday... I wasnt really in the mood to go ALL the way to Oregon.. We all agreed that we did NOT want to be out all day... and that we didnt want to go to Wisconsin .... soooooooooooooo. ... we futzed around and headed to the bikes...
Caryl suggested getting a patch and soon the Good Doctor was looking up Rural Roads in Wisconsin. Seems that woman will do nearly anything for a hard to get, well earned patch or designation. Maps reviewed we headed out... armed with the knowledge that we didnt want to go near Lake Geneva so Burlington near Rte 36 would lead us to some rural roads...
HOT HOT HOT
We headed up some road... I want to say 12 out of Rolling Meadows... and it was MISERABLE... we hit EVERY light... and I do mean EVERY light. We sat and cooked in the broiling sun. 5 hour energy drinks... there are not enough... we stopped and I tried a new flavor - grape! YUMMY... and they have a new type- "De Caffeinated" Nadine grabbed one to see if it would work. It was so hot that even Caryl had water! No really... she went to the cooler and asked... Uh where do they put the water... THAT's how HOT it was!
Somehow my helmet landed in my tour pak again. Nadine didnt quite get it when I kept saying I was "Abandoning" her. So as we started up... she stopped and pointed to my head... I said nope.. I did a classic Tom Sawyer and Nadine took over leading my ride.. which is a bad thing to do, abandon your ride and let someone else lead.... but given the circumstances. .. I had clearly lost my mind... it was OK.. this time! Sandwiched in the middle we took off for Burlington.
Now, it seems that I always end up in Burlington when it is 900 degress outside... the smell of chocolate was in the air and we rode right by the Dairy Queen... TWICE...and the Frozen Custard Stand... TWICE... and corn stands... MULTIPLE... and ICE CREAM parlors! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHH... ........
HOT... freaking HOT
Anyone seen those alleged "Rustic Roads?" Nope... and not on the GPS and not on the map... we found some kewl roads anyway... but no where closer to our patch... we bounced around ... literally on roads that were very uneven. I swear I was going to bounce right off my bike. We took a left we took a right and suddenly there was a RUSTIC ROAD! Well HELL! We had some fun riding it - and then moved on to the next one. We saw some beautifully LARGE Homes... The good Doctor nearly had to show us how she saves Large Breeds... one if not all of us nearly took out an elderly couple out for a walk along the narrow Rustic Roadway.
Somewhere we ended up trying out our horns... just to see what they sounded like... let's face it ... a Harley can certainly RUMBLE... but its horn is WEAK! So as we began to ride we would practice our horn usage... beep, burp blat!
We met up with some nice bikers - the woman was riding a triumph... in shorts... yesterday it was a chick in sandals on her harley - today it was shorts. She assured Caryl she was just fine and the pipes didnt get hot. They told us about Road P, and some alleged Rustic Roads in that direction. We took off - but all of Burlington was under construction. We ended up in a Motorcycle Rodeo... thru construction, do a U-turn or 3, through safety pillars... you name it... soft gravel, hard packed gravel, tight turns on a steep downward slope... but the pay off were some great twisty roads, roller coaster ups and downs, trees to give us shade, horse farms and even some weird bird farm... they were either ostriches or Emus... but the Vet was long gone so I was left with the Audubon book for later
Stopping for pictures Nadine got us to contort in ways that only show up in the karma sutra book but some how we got all 3 of us, our bikes AND the blasted sign in the pics... then with a hearty beep, burp, blat! we took off.
We were doing something and we pulled over and Caryl got off her bike and came towards us...Oh boy... NOW what did Nadine do! We both cringed and all Caryl wanted was ...well heck I dont even remember... but she looked at us both and demanded to know what we were doing... bracing ourselves of course...because the SoA was after us! She assured us we hadnt done anything wrong...and maybe we should check in to a hospital to take care of our Post Traumatic Stress Disorder!
Somehow we ended up in Twin Lakes... or Twin Peaks whatever... and we needed to EAT... we had been hard at finding the non existent Rustic Roads (we were on 4...but it only counted as 3 cuz we did the same one twice darn it all to heck) and the GPS was calling out all manner of places - but nothing that looked like it would offer Caryl much more than mozzarella sticks or a grilled cheese. I thought we were going to settle for Subway (let's hope my bro never reads this) when Nadine said... how about we go towards the lake... Uh... what lake? yea... so over the hard packed gravel crap we found a lake... we stopped at a boater bar - not to be confused with a biker bar... they pointed us off to Pier West... so we figured... "How bad could it be" and it had a nice parking lot... and a deck that overlooked the water. It was hotter than hot inside but the lake breeze made sitting outside glorious. The food was good, the prices fine and we found ourselves unwilling to leave... a margarita would have been nice... We sent a text to Twinkie The Kid...but didnt reach her..
Beep, Burp Blat! it was time to head back to the real world
The day had started out with clear boundries... we had been to Wisconsin, We stayed out most of the day and as Caryl said... there will be the winter to do laundry and clean the house!! AMEN Sister!
As I pulled my helmet back on - Nadine gave a sigh of relief... We did some more cutting through corn fields (no Morai corn was noted) and found our way FINALLY to 173.. I headed eat, Nadine West and Caryl South...
Such a perfect day that I wasnt prepared for the BS that was to await me... As I tore down 94 there was suddenly a bike next to me - some MORON in nothing but a t-shirt and a springer HD... acting bad ass but not enough.. he was just a few feet to my right and was leap frogging - Scared the SHIT out of me and I let him have it verbally. What a moron! I wondered... if I had my colors on.. would he have tried that crap... I got home and and as I nearly put my guard down... a cab decided to try to take me out as I stopped to make my own careful left turn. MORE idiom practice!! there are not enough words to describe my anger wtih that cab... suffice it to say if you string enough MF's together... people get the hint!!
My bike is gassed up and ready for the next adventure!
beep
burp
BLAT
--
MJ
Megaera
Furies MC
No Pago Til 3