Driftin’ Check in and Photos

[Mike]

First five have arrived and are already out riding. If you roll in and I’m not home, text or call me at 630.881.0125

Please share your photos here. I’ll compile an album at some point after all is said and done.

[Mike]

It has begun…

[Mike]

The guilty parties so far include Steven Knapp ((stevenknapp), Kris Besley, John Ranalletta (John Ranalletta) and his wife Ruth, Dave Schani (Dave_in_TX), Mike Barksdale (MikeB60) and his wife Dyann (not sure of spelling?), Glenn Ziolkowsky (Santorum), and Ken Deline (KDeline). And, of course, li’l ol’ me (Mike) and my wife Victoria.

Hot weather. We’re all heading out somewhere twisty this morning. I expect others to roll in today. The weather will moderate a bit tomorrow, and our group feed is Saturday evening. 

The coffee is percolating.

[Mike]

For those who may be showing up today, I’ll be out with some of the gang on a ride this morning. Feel free to set up your tents, grab a soda or a beer from the fridge in the barn, and just chill if you’d like. I’m going to be back by early to mid-afternoon.

 

I’d guess some of the others will be on more or less the same schedule. I know that Steve Knapp and Kris Besley have dinner plans for the Black Angus fairly late this evening. I may roll over there a bit earlier with Victoria. If you need anything, my mobile # is 630.881.0125. Bear in mind that I won’t answer while riding (Right?) and that cell coverage is spotty in the hills and valleys.

[Bud]

Thanks for posting. Good to see the usual suspects.  I think the last one I saw in person was Steve when he bought a trailer from me some time back.

[MikeB60]

Lunch at Potosi Brewery. Cool neon.

 

 

[MikeB60]

Today's lunch stop.  Great food if you're in the area. 

[MikeB60]

Nice ride today but definitely got a little warm.

 

[Mike]

3 minutes ago, MikeB60 said:

Nice ride today but definitely got a little warm.

 

Definitely toasty. My bike was reading around 92-93 most of the time. The mesh helps!

A most gratifying stop at Coffee On The River, a beautiful coffee shop located in a renovated mill, followed a bit later by a great lunch at the Driftless Cafe, a James Beard Award-nominated restaurant, with most of the suspects. Dave Schani and I rolled in after the rest, a result of my decision to take us north along the Iowa/Minnesota side of the River before heading back into Wisconsin. Excellent riding.

[Mike]

And a nod of the hat to BMW’s kickstand engineers….when Dave and I stopped at the coffee shop, I parked parallel to some railroad tracks that run just a few feet  in front of the building. There was a faded sign that said “active track,” but I’ve never seen a train there.  About 2/3 of the way through my iced coffee, I looked up and, to my horror, there was a freight train thundering by, within about three feet of my beloved (new) GSA. For a moment…before I walked to the front of the shop…I thought it had probably been shunted into the building by the engine, but there it was…standing tall and proud, despite the thundering train rolling by…right the heck by the bike.

Jeebus! Lesson learned. It would’ve been a memorable story.🤪

[Mike]

More arrivals yesterday. I think it’s accurate to say that this is the largest number of campers we’ve ever had at Borah Borah. 

[Bud]

[MikeB60]

Hopefully the campers have been warned about the tooth brush bandit!

[MikeB60]

Nice ride along the Mississippi River today after a great breakfast at Ma's Bakery with John and Ruth. Nothing too technical but some nice sweepers and very little traffic.  Weather was much better as well. 

A few pics from the ride.

[MikeB60]

One more.  A nice memorial to the Veterans of the Marquette IA area.

 

[BamaJohn]

10 hours ago, MikeB60 said:

Nice ride along the Mississippi River today after a great breakfast at Ma's Bakery with John and Ruth. Nothing too technical but some nice sweepers and very little traffic.  Weather was much better as well. 

A few pics from the ride.

You rock, Dyann!  

[Mike]

Driftin’ 2021 is now one for the history books. Over the past four days we hosted a bunch of old and new friends from BMWST, the last of whom rolled out just a few minutes ago. They’ve dispersed, heading home to locations spanning the USA from coast to coast.  

Last night we ended things with a group dinner at the cabin, and this morning the campers pulled up stakes and hit the road.
 

Lots of good food; a moderate amount of old-fashioneds, whisky and Spotted Cow (never before riding); a dozen or so tents; a couple dozen riders; and lots of laughs, lies and heartfelt connections.

 

Collectively, we rode thousands of miles on some of the best motorcycle roads in the world. 

 

’m honored that some were able to spend this time with us.

Watch for Driftin’ 2022.

[Hosstage]

Sounds like it was a hit! I'm interested in hearing comments on some of the more technical roads in the area from riders who have experienced so many other roads throughout the states, and how they compare.

I'm glad so many were able to make it.

[John Ranalletta]

@Mike, thanks to you and Victoria for your hard work and hospitality.  We had a grand time with friends and riding hundreds of miles of "letter roads" in the Drift Zone.  Also, thanks to your sidekicks, Jimmy, Steve and Chris for getting food on the table.

 

Picture taken from highest point in Lansing, IA.  Busy boating day on the river.  

 

 

Getting ready for lunch at the Hermitage in Gays Mills.  Meals prepared and served by French nuns. 

 

 

 

 

    

Saturday breakfast at Ma's in Bloomington, WI with the Barkdales.  The place was very busy.  This was local high school graduation week and people were lining up to pick up catering orders.  A local woman told Ruth and DyAnne that a group of women had pitched in to peel 600 lbs of potatoes for salad.  I saw a worker bring in at least 40 lbs of potato salad in 2-lb ice cream containers.  It's quite a place and friendly, too.  It's community seating.  When Ruth and I entered a group seated at a large table with two empty chairs immediately invited us to join them; however, Mike and DyAnne were joining us.

This picture of the main street is a reflection from a building adjacent to Ma's that a vacant, former five 'n dime/hardware store with original fixtures and some original merchandise.  @sknapp sent this picture of his breakfast at Ma's.

 

 

@sknapp sent this picture of his breakfast at Ma's.

 

[Mike]

18 hours ago, Hosstage said:

Sounds like it was a hit! I'm interested in hearing comments on some of the more technical roads in the area from riders who have experienced so many other roads throughout the states, and how they compare.

I'm glad so many were able to make it.

I’ll give it a shot. Remember that this is kinda home to me, so maybe I’m a bit biased:

First, what you won’t get are the amazing vistas of the mountain areas. And, along those lines, while you do see constant elevation changes on many routes, you’re generally traveling on roads that traverse elevation changes of only around 500-600’, so there are fewer switchback curves. 

The Driftless Area comprises around 24,000 square miles of hills and valleys and there is an abundance of roads in the area. Some are Dragon-like in their twistiness, though most probably tend a bit more toward sweepers. Road surfaces are generally good, though some state highways that are coming to the end of their life cycle may be pretty rough. The county “alphabet roads,” Like County C that is at the bottom of our ridge, are all paved (AFAIK), and largely twisty. Generally the maintenance is very good, but you’ll find that some do not have pavement markings. Those who are designated with place names, like “Markey Hollow Road,” are often gravel or a mix of gravel and pavement. Interesting…and often very pretty…but not ideal for a big touring oriented bike. 

All of the roads in this area are relatively free of traffic. One of the guys who went out for a couple of hours during Driftin’ mentioned that he only met two cars over a span of 2-3 hours.  That’s on the light side, but not completely unheard of. There just is not a lot of traffic, except on roads like the Great River Road (Hwy 35) that run between larger towns. Along those lines, law enforcement is generally pretty sparse. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility to run into a sheriff’s car on a county road, but you can go days…weeks…months…without seeing speed enforcement. The Great Enforcer is always keeping you on your toes, however, with the possibility of deer, farm equipment, and Amish buggies around every curve.  

I really think it’s a terrific place to ride, with the big limitation being that of a fairly extended winter, and if you’re looking for a region with a ton of lightly traveled twisty roads there’s probably no place in the USA with more of them packed into a discrete area. You might want to check out this website to see some excellent routes: https://www.driftlessroadadventures.com. Also, in the original Driftless thread, Mitch shared some of his fantastic routes.

 

[Hosstage]

Thank Mike, I am a bit familiar with some of the Driftless area, so I know what you are describing. I personally enjoy the hell out riding it, even on a big touring HD Ultra Classic. You're right, a big tourer may not be ideal, but we run what we brung. I was just curious what others thought of it that had not ridden the area before.

Congrats on what sounds like a pretty enjoyable event, it sounds like it may be one an annual thing, which would be pretty nice. I know it is not easy to coordinate, a lot of time and effort necessary. Thanks for doing that, hopefully I'll get there if it happens again.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

6 hours ago, Mike said:

I’ll give it a shot. Remember that this is kinda home to me, so maybe I’m a bit biased:

First, what you won’t get are the amazing vistas of the mountain areas. And, along those lines, while you do see constant elevation changes on many routes, you’re generally traveling on roads that traverse elevation changes of only around 500-600’, so there are fewer switchback curves. 

The Driftless Area comprises around 24,000 square miles of hills and valleys and there is an abundance of roads in the area. Some are Dragon-like in their twistiness, though most probably tend a bit more toward sweepers.

 

Last week I watched a seminar on truck duty cycle analysis, in which they presented a national map of "road hilliness index."  They started with a high-resolution altitude map, overlaid a road map, and then used a computer to assess the actual local grade of roads nationwide.  The resulting map had obvious areas that were densely populated with hilly roads and also large areas without.  I wish I had taken a screenshot, because I can't find the actual presentation now - but I remember that the Driftless was notable for having an uncommonly dense network of hilly roads.

 

In the absence of that, all I can do is affirm that the Driftless Area is officially Not Flat:

 

 

[Mike]

That’s pretty cool, Mitch. And the stats match up with my personal experience. Many Driftless roads offer nearly continuous elevation changes, though not as drastic as an Alpine pass. 

[John Ranalletta]

2 hours ago, Mike said:

That’s pretty cool, Mitch. And the stats match up with my personal experience. Many Driftless roads offer nearly continuous elevation changes, though not as drastic as an Alpine pass. 

 

Here's a topo of the area.  Goto: https://www.topozone.com/iowa/ for more detailed view when enlarged.

 

[MikeB60]

We arrived home yesterday afternoon. Big thanks to Mike and Victoria for the hospitality, we had a great time. 

[TPadden]

Won't get home for another week but I would be remiss in waiting to thank Mike and Victoria for their wonderful hospitality.  As a first time attendee I felt I was welcomed as a family member.  Thanks to them, and all attendees, for a fantastic entertaining weekend.

Tom

[Rougarou]

17 hours ago, John Ranalletta said:

 

Here's a topo of the area.  Goto: https://www.topozone.com/iowa/ for more detailed view when enlarged.

 

 

Here, throw in the contour lines to determine the changes in elevation.  Depending on the map, the legend will let you know the contour interval (10 meters, 50 feet, etc) between lines.  From you link, if you scroll down small enough (farther than the map I posted below, you will get to a more detailed map, which shows a contour interval of 10 (since I can't see the legend, I don't know if it's 10m or 10ft).  either way, in the world of people walking (infantry types), this would be a "flat" area.

 

[Brodiepunker18]

Thank you to @Mike and Victoria for the amazing hospitality!

 

This was my first foray into a rally/ride of sorts and I look forward to doing it again. I hope this becomes a yearly event.

 

I look forward to hopefully traveling and seeing the new friends we made! 
 

- Eric

 

 

[TEWKS]

8 minutes ago, Brodiepunker18 said:

This was my first foray into a rally/ride of sorts and I look forward to doing it again

Looks like it might be a bit of a ride for you. (trailering is ok) But, this could be something to consider in the future. Fun event also! 
 

 

 

[Mike]

On 6/15/2021 at 6:45 PM, TEWKS said:

Looks like it might be a bit of a ride for you. (trailering is ok) But, this could be something to consider in the future. Fun event also! 
 

 

 

He’s an RT pilot…piece of cake!

[Jake]

On 6/10/2021 at 8:55 PM, Mike said:

It has begun…

 

Looks like a wonderful event Mike.  I wish I could have torn myself away to get up there and hug a few of those stud-muffins.

 

[Mike]

It was a great time.  Briggs especially enjoyed all the company. I’d invite those who attended to send me any suggestions you might have for next year. In 2022 I will endeavor to reserve a block of rooms at one of the local hotels; it seems to me that it would have been helpful to have a “headquarters” for non-campers to gather. That was part of the 2020 plan, but I got a bit skittish about doing it in 2021.

If you have ideas to make it better, please reply here or send me a PM. It was fantastic that so many of you were able to make it, and to enjoy this great region for riding. Once I have a chance to check with management regarding other events on the 2022 schedule, and to check my own calendar, I’ll toss out some dates.

[steveknapp]

Quote

Looks like a wonderful event Mike.  I wish I could have torn myself away to get up there and hug a few of those stud-muffins.

 

You were quite missed sir! 

 

Excellent roads, destinations, and company. 

 

My photos here: 
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nQxCfZSZftp3ApPk9

 

[Dave_in_TX]

On 6/28/2021 at 4:18 PM, Mike said:

It was a great time.  Briggs especially enjoyed all the company. I’d invite those who attended to send me any suggestions you might have for next year. In 2022 I will endeavor to reserve a block of rooms at one of the local hotels; it seems to me that it would have been helpful to have a “headquarters” for non-campers to gather. That was part of the 2020 plan, but I got a bit skittish about doing it in 2021.

If you have ideas to make it better, please reply here or send me a PM. It was fantastic that so many of you were able to make it, and to enjoy this great region for riding. Once I have a chance to check with management regarding other events on the 2022 schedule, and to check my own calendar, I’ll toss out some dates.

Other than the already mentioned choice of a headquarters motel for noncampers, I can't think of anything.