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Sunday morning we ran into a few Chicagolandians in the parking lot of our hotel. It was interesting to see how many had decided later in the week to make the trip up to take advantage of the weather and view some beautiful foliage. We rode out of the hotel parking lot around 10am, and headed south on US53. I used the hotel computer to plan a route, and was hoping we'd find some good twisties. We were not disappointed!
Most of the way down 53 was straight farmland. At one point we passed a Llama farm, which put Napoleon Dynamite in my thoughts for about an hour afterwards. "GOSH!" Per motorcycleroads.us, we headed east on county road D, which wasn't all that impressive. However, the magic was not far ahead.
We turned onto Wisconsin Trunk 108 in a small town called Melrose. As we rode through the town, we noticed a shitload of cars parked along the one road in town. As it turns out, there was a farm auction taking place this beautiful morning. There were probably twice as many people in town as the population, which was an interesting sight. Soon out of Melrose, the twisties did come!
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108 was definitely made for great riding! All of the curves were clearly marked with suggested speeds, and we were graced with plenty of S-curves, and even a few switchbacks. I got so into the ride, I wound up losing Jim about a mile behind me. I slowed down on a straight to let him catch up, only to have some douche on a Street Glide blow past me at about 70mph, scaring the living daylights out of me! Jim caught up just in time to make it to the highest point of the road, which I stole a picture of off of Google streetview:
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After this great find, we stopped in at Augie's Bar and Grill in Bangor, WI. It was fun walking into an establishment in such a tiny town, and having the whole bar (8 guys) turn and stare at you. Their curiosity quickly wore off when we ordered a couple of beers and some sandwiches. We walked out of Augie's with a warm belly and only down $15 for the complete meal! Too bad we didn't stay for the Packer's game, since the town was having a potluck, in the bar!
Right out of Bangor we stayed on WI162, which was another surprising ride. The road runs midway up the bluffs, and took us through some beautiful farmland and sweeping curves, overlooking the valley below. About 15 minutes later we jumped on WI33, which we rode last year from La Crosse to Wisconsin Dells. This is another elevated sweeping road, running through plenty of small towns. Another bonus of WI33 is all the nice Amish folks we passed along the way. Next stop, Wildcat Mountain State Park!
This year we actually pulled off to check out the scenic overlook. It was $5 a vehicle for an hour in the park, but well worth it. We met a nice, older couple who were out driving their old MGB around, and the gentleman pointed out that we were 1500 ft above sea level. The view from the overlook was truly amazing. Directly beneath us was WI33, which you could hardly make out through the tree tops. We could see for miles and miles, and were lucky to have such an array of colors in the trees below.
Riding out of Wildcat, we came across a large group of Amish kids walking along the side of the road. In their true Christian fashion, they all waved and smiled at us. We continued on 33 towards Wisconsin Dells, where we were staying the night in Jim's camper. Since this day's ride was 100 miles shorter than the previous two, I planned out a route that would take us through some of the County routes not far from the Dells. As you can see by the map, we were in no hurry to get home:
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After our hour long jaunt through these backroads, we headed to Jim's camper near Mirror Lake. We stopped in to turn on all the utilities, then headed out to get some food. Just around the corner from his camper is a quaint restaurant called The Green Owl. According to Jim, this building has had numerous owners in the past, so we'll see how long they last. We were able to sit outside and enjoy the unseasonable warmness, along with a few pints of Fat Tire. The food was delicious, though the service was slightly lacking. However, I do not believe the owner's were anticipating a rush, as it should have been a lot more chilly this time of year. After eating, we fired up the bikes and made a nice ruckus for the remaining patrons as we flew out of the parking lot on our 2 minute ride back to the camper.
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