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DART: my trip to Terra Caseo (the Land of Cheese)


Joe Frickin' Friday

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Joe Frickin' Friday

I took a trip recently and want to tell you about it, but this will not be one of my best ride tales.  For one thing, I won’t be showing you a ton of pictures because I didn’t take many.  Some of them are even recycled.  Shoot, some of them aren’t even mine.  Also, it was a short trip, just a few days, to a place I’ve already written about extensively.  So what novel things could I find to say about it?

 

Now that I’ve properly lowered your expectations, let’s get started.

 

First, the executive summary: I rode to DART, rode around the area and broke bread with some friends, and then rode home.

 

And now, the expanded version:

 

Day 1: Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Route: Ann Arbor, MI to Madison, WI

Distance: 261 miles

 

2022-06-DART-01b.jpg

 

 

Yes, 261 miles of riding.  The Google map says 344 miles, but don’t let that fool you.  There’s 83 miles of water between Michigan and Wisconsin, and I’m not quite good enough to pull this off yet:

 

(Professional rider on closed lake; do not attempt)

2022-06-DART-01b1.jpg

 

 

I’m not even sure a 1200RT has what it takes to stay on top of the water instead of under it.  No, I had to take a fairy across the lake:

 

2022-06-DART-01d.jpg

 

 

Wait, not a fairy, a ferry:

 

(recycled photo)

2010-08-dances-with-cows-006.jpg

 

(recycled photo)

2010-08-dances-with-cows-008.jpg

 

 

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again here for anyone what ain't heard it: the Lake Express high-speed ferry beats the crap out of riding through rush-hour Chicago. 

 

Or at least that’s the case when things go well, which turned out not to be the case for me last Wednesday.  It was supposed to leave at 4:45 in the afternoon, but it didn’t even arrive at the Muskegon pier until nearly 6:00.  And when it did, it was limping.  Normally its quad-waterjet propulsion enables not only 34-knot speeds during the lake crossing, but also extraordinary maneuverability during docking and departure:

 

 

 

But today it was moving at a snail’s pace as it approached the pier, creeping forward very gingerly so as to avoid exceeding their ability to stop.  When it finally docked and unloaded all of the passengers and cars from Milwaukee, the very first vehicle to drive aboard was a pickup truck with “Marine Propulsion Repair Services” writ large on the side.  Rather than waiting for this guy to complete his work, they then hustled all of us aboard without waiting, and we left at about 6:15.  

 

From the pier, it’s a little over three miles of sailing across Muskegon Lake and through the channel before reaching the open waters of Lake Michigan:

 

2022-06-DART-01b2.jpg

 

 

They usually do a good 12 MPH across Muskegon Lake and then dial it down to 8 MPH through the channel, but this time I’m pretty sure they were doing less than 6 MPH the whole way out to Lake Michigan.  Apparently the repair guy was busy the whole way: once we got past the breakwater, the ferry spent a couple of minutes cycling the power up and down and veering sharply right and left, testing all aspects of the propulsion system.   Whatever he had done worked, because then they powered up and got us to Milwaukee at a proper haul-ass pace. 

 

(recycled photo)

2015-06-wisconsin-unrally-007.jpg

 

 

All in all it was a pleasant crossing once we got going.  The above picture is from a previous trip; this crossing actually had some of the calmest waters I’ve ever seen during my 18 years of riding this thing, more like gliding on ice than chopping through waves.

 

After coming ashore in Milwaukee, I hustled west and reached my favorite restaurant in Madison at about 9:40…

 

(recycled photo)

2010-08-dances-with-cows-018.jpg

 

 

…and immediately ordered my favorite food:

 

(recycled photo)

2010-08-dances-with-cows-019.jpg

 

 

The staff said I was welcome to eat in the dining room, but also said they would need me to be gone by the time they closed at 10:00.  By the end of my meal, I was cramming french fries down as fast as I could:

 

(Professional diner at closed table: do not attempt)

2022-06-DART-07.jpg

 

 

It was well after 11 when I got to bed in my hotel on the west side of town, which was past midnight for my eastern-time butt.  A long day.  Stay tuned for Day 2...

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Ima gonna ride that Lake Express or the SS Badger someday soon.  There are places up there I still need to see.  Keep it coming.

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We've ridden "The Lake Express " several times . In june they normally let the motorcycles go free . You still have to pay for yourself. You rode right past our place  . About 20 minutes east of Madison . They are quite a few great palces to eat from Milwaukee to Madison . Let me know next time ,I'll take you around ..might have to loosen your belt a notch or two..

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Joe Frickin' Friday
16 minutes ago, DakarTimm said:

In june they normally let the motorcycles go free .

 

One of the other passengers I talked to mentioned that he wasn't charged for his bike.  So what happened to me?  Is this because I booked on their website instead of making a phone call?  Woulda been nice to save $126...

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Joe Frickin' Friday

Day 2: Thursday, June 23, 2022

Route: Madison, WI to Prairie du Chien, via Viroqua

Distance: 320 miles

 

Morning:

2022-06-DART-03.jpg

 

Afternoon:

2022-06-DART-02.jpg

 

 

In spite of the late night, I was up early, got a good hot breakfast at the hotel, I was out the door and on the road by 7:15.  After a relaxed seven-mile cruise to Cross Plains, I turned off of the main US highway and onto the side roads.  I had finally arrived in the mountains of southwestern Wisconsin:

 

2022-06-DART-03b.jpg

 

2022-06-DART-03c.jpg

 

 

The morning ride was great: cool temps, clear skies, and endless twisties.  The only downer was a 1/4-mile stretch of pavement that was inexplicably soft.  It was brand new, and while it was flat and smooth, it wasn’t particular compacted, as though they hadn’t run rollers over it, or maybe it was a defective blend.  It was like gooey sand, and my tires were digging shallow trenches as I wallowed through it.  By the time I got to the far end of it, my tires had flung this stuff all over the place:

 

2022-06-DART-09.jpg

 

2022-06-DART-08.jpg

 

2022-06-DART-10.jpg

 

 

Yeah, that’ll be fun to clean up when I get home.

 

I got to Viroqua a little after 10AM, surprisingly early.  So I headed back out for a one-hour loop (you can see it on the map), returning to the Driftless Café for lunch:

 

2015-06-wisconsin-unrally-033.jpg

 

The menu at the Driftless changes over time, but on this day they had a fried chicken sandwich made with chicken thigh instead of breast.  Mighty juicy.  They also offered “shabazi” fries: just french fries really, but topped with an unusual and tasty blend of herbs and spices (a bit of Googling suggests a Yemeni or Armenian origin).  I’ll be buying some of that spice blend one of these days.

 

Afternoon ride?  More of the same, just a bit warmer.  More twisty roads and not much traffic, although occasionally you get surprised when you come over a rise and there’s a corn sprayer half in your lane:

 

2022-06-DART-10b.jpg

 

 

The proportions are just unsettling.  Maybe linked to memories of the recognizer ships from the Tron universe?

 

2022-06-DART-10c.jpg

 

 

Sweaty and tired, it was mid-afternoon when I arrived at my hotel in PDC:

 

2022-06-DART-20-X4.jpg

 

 

The name belies its true nature: they should have just called it “Adequate 8.” 

 

A quick shower and change, and then I zipped off to Borah Borah.  At first it was only Mike, Dave_in_TX, and BrianM, but we were soon joined by Jake and Knappy.  After a bit of rest and chatter, we all headed down the road to dinner at Home-A-Gins in Mount Hope.  Mike said it was a dive bar, and he wasn’t kidding.  There was the inflated NASCAR hanging from the ceiling:

 

2022-06-DART-13b.jpg

 

 

and the fly swatter on our table:

 

2022-06-DART-13c.jpg

 

 

and the menu that featured fish “nuggets”:

 

2022-06-DART-13e.jpg

 

 

A panoramic shot gives you more of a sense of the place:

 

2022-06-DART-13d.jpg

 

Apparently I captured Steve doing his “Janus” impression.  That's Mike and Victoria in the background, and BrianM on my right.

 

Divey as it was, the food was great: I had a top-notch burger, and the french fries that came out for everyone were hot, plentiful and crispy.  A good end to a great day.

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Oddly, the use of panorama mode makes me look fat…while everyone else seems to be pretty much in proportion. 🤔

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4 hours ago, Mike said:

Oddly, the use of panorama mode makes me look fat…while everyone else seems to be pretty much in proportion. 🤔


Not you. We all do that! :spittake:

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Joe Frickin' Friday
5 hours ago, Mike said:

Oddly, the use of panorama mode makes me look fat…while everyone else seems to be pretty much in proportion. 🤔

 

2022-06-DART-10f.jpg

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Joe Frickin' Friday

Day 3: Friday, June 24, 2022

Route: Prairie du Chien to Richland Center and back

Distance: 260 miles

 

Morning route:

2022-06-DART-05.jpg

 

 

Afternoon route:

2022-06-DART-04.jpg

 

 

After breakfast at Huckleberrys with most of the folks, I resolved to ride my own ride out to Richland Center.  I was outside the Adequate Super 8 almost ready for departure, when suddenly a late-model RT rolled up next to me, and Rob Nowell introduced himself and asked if he could ride with me. 

 

So away we went.  Our day started by skittering across a good ten miles of freshly laid chipseal, but after that we enjoyed a nice 140-mile ride to Richland Center, surprising only a few deer along the way. 

 

Lunch was at RC Tacos.  This is a tiny restaurant tucked into one unit of a nondescript commercial building on the edge of town, but they serve top-notch Mexican food.  You know they’re committed when they paint the menu right on the wall:

 

2022-06-DART-13f.jpg

 

 

This wasn’t my lunch, but it’s pretty close.  Corn tortillas loaded with goodness:

 

2022-06-DART-13g.jpg

 

Afternoon ride?  What can I say?  A few more hours of fun bombing the Driftless with Rob.  Only one brown moment with a deer.  Couldn’t quite see the shag of his fur has he ran across the road in front of me, but it was close.

 

Like I said earlier, I didn’t take many pics on this trip.  In fact, I didn’t take any pics while riding this day.  If you’ve never been to the Driftless, here are a few pics from earlier trips to give you a sense of what you’ve been missing:

 

(recycled photo)

2012-08-dances-with-cows-too-039.jpg

 

(recycled photo)

2015-06-wisconsin-unrally-031.jpg

 

 

(recycled photo)

2015-06-wisconsin-unrally-034.jpg

 

(recycled photo)

2012-08-dances-with-cows-too-049.jpg

 

 

Back in PDC, Rob and I split up.  After degreasing a bit, I headed over to Borah Borah.

 

Jake and Knappy standing by Mike, Brian and the bikes...

 

2022-06-DART-11.jpg

 

 

...and sitting next to Kris Besley and Briggs one of whom is at least 50% hair by mass, and the other of whom is…less hairy:

 

2022-06-DART-12.jpg

 

 

And eventually John and Ruth Ranaletta showed up with the catered dinner for everyone from Ma’s Bakery, and Victoria (Mike’s wife) came out to the barn to join us:

 

2022-06-DART-13.jpg

 

 

Dave_in_TX is cleverly concealed behind Victoria, and Jake and Ruth are nestled in behind Steve. 

 

Not sure how, but I didn’t get any pics of the food, which was outstanding.  Baked lasagna, shredded smoked chicken, potato salad, cole slaw, fantastic baked beans, on and on. 

 

OK, I lied.  I got one pic, of the custom cake:

 

2022-06-DART-14.jpg

 

 

Not sure how they did the silver beads around the edge of the BMW emblem.  Mercury amalgam?  Whatever, it was all fantastic, and I gained weight because of it. 

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Joe Frickin' Friday

Day 4: Saturday, June 25, 2022

Route: Prairie du Chien to Balltown (IA) and back

Distance: 112 miles

 

Early afternoon route:

2022-06-DART-06.jpg

 

 

Late afternoon route:

2022-06-DART-06b.jpg

 

 

Wegottalottarain during the night, and it continued into the morning.  After fecklessly laying about and waiting for kinder, gentler skies, a bunch of us met at Huckleberrys for a late breakfast around 9.   Afterwards most of the breakfast crowd drove over to Cabela’s to browse for a bit, while I went back to my Super hotel room to take care of a few emails.  After an hour or so, we all converged at Borah Borah…and then the World’s Toughest Riders™ waited some more for the weather to improve:

 

2022-06-DART-15.jpg

 

 

Skies remained low and grey for a while, but the rain slowed to a light drizzle a little after noon, so a group of us decided to suit up and ride over to Iowa for lunch:

 

2022-06-DART-16.jpg

 

 

All of my prior riding experience in Iowa was about getting the hell through it as fast as possible, preferably via the interstate highway system.  So this ride turned out to be a pleasant surprise, as Mike led us all down the Great River Road to Balltown.  Plenty of elevation change and nice sweepers as we wound up and down across bluffs and ravines.  Intermittent drizzle kept the roads damp and fogged up the vistas of the Mississippi River, but hey, you can’t have everything. 

 

After an hour’s ride, we arrived at BreitBach’s Country Dining.  As the link tells, this is a place with a long history (it’s the 21st oldest restaurant in the US, and the oldest in Iowa) and so much love from the surrounding community that they were able to endure through two catastrophically destructive fires in as many years:

 

2022-06-DART-16b.jpg

 

 

A simple cheeseburger and fries was enough for me, but it was top-notch.  Hope to go back again someday and try some of their other items. 

 

After lunch, we geared up for the ride back, stopping briefly at a scenic overlook just a mile north of Balltown.  Had it been a clear day, we would have seen something like this:

 

2022-06-DART-18b.jpg

 

 

Instead, we got this:

 

2022-06-DART-18.jpg

 

 

Though if you stood near the edge of the bluff and looked downslope, you could see under the clouds and get a dim sense of what lay before you:

 

2022-06-DART-19.jpg

 

 

I’ll look forward to visiting again someday. 

 

Mike allowed me to lead the group back to Borah Borah, which was a mistake on his part.  About halfway back I missed a turn that would have kept us on the Great River Road, and instead led the group through what appeared to be the US Strategic National Corn Reserve: straight and flat, with corn growing tall in every direction as far as you could see.

 

After returning to Borah Borah, we spent a few hours relaxing and chatting until we all headed out to Jones’ Black Angus.  Seeing "market price" on the menu can make a fellow cringe for a bit, but once you get over that, you have hope that you're in for a really fantastic dinner, and the Black Angus definitely did not disappoint.

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Well, one emoji won't cover the range of reactions to your post, Mitch.  🤔

Worlds toughest riders?  Well, maybe not, but perhaps the wisest.😏

Leadership?  It's more an ideal than reality.  ("Slabbing?  What do ya mean I missed a turn?!  I LIKE slabbing.  I MEANT for us to finish slabbing, 'cause, 'cause, well I was bored with sweepers and twisties!") 🤣😂😎

 

Sounds like you're havin' a blast.  Stay safe, and more happy trails! 

 

🍻👍🏆

  • Haha 1
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Joe Frickin' Friday

Day 5: Sunday, June 26, 2022

Route: Prairie Du Chien, WI to Ann Arbor, MI

Distance: 351 miles

 

2022-06-DART-01c.jpg

 

 

This was get-your-ass home day.  I had a fairy ferry to catch in Milwaukee, so I opted to leave PDC at 6AM.  The day started with 90 miles of the rising sun searing my eyeballs as I cruised east on US-18, but this early departure allowed me to get breakfast in Madison at the Bassett Street Brunch Club. The pork carnitas hash is highly recommended:

 

2022-06-DART-34.jpg

 

 

The picture barely shows it, but hiding under the eggs and house-made salsa is a generous portion of carmelized onions, poblanos, and carnitas pork.  Add in the outdoor seating that facilitates people-watching, and it was a great breakfast.

 

My early arrival in Madison also allowed me to spend a little bit of time unwinding in the nicer parts of town.  What are the nice places?   Here's one:

 

(recycled photo)

2010-08-dances-with-cows-052.jpg

 

 

That's a photo from a previous trip, but you get the idea.  Head for Observatory Hill, get off your bike, sit in the grass high above Lake Mendota, take in the scenery and contemplate life for a while.  Contrary to that old photo, last week I was there on a bright, cool, windy Sunday morning.  The trees were waving grandly about, and there was lots of chop visible on the water.

 

The other one is the UW Arboretum.  It was the antithesis of the past three days of bombing the Driftless at WOT: just a super sedate 4-mile cruise in second and third gear along a quiet forest road, visor up, taking in the views of Lake Wingra and the adjacent marshlands.  Probably annoyed lots of walkers, joggers, and bicyclists along the way with my 1200-cc sewing machine, but oh well. 

 

After the arboretum, I made one more stop to catch a shot of Bucky at the student union next to Lake Mendota:

 

2022-06-DART-22.jpg

 

 

The sailboats make me nostalgic.  I was in the  Wisconsin Hoofers when I was a grad student here in the '90s; this would have been a great day to go sailing.

 

Eventually I had used up all of my spare time and had to head for Milwaukee to catch the ferry.  The trip back was relatively uneventful:

 

2022-06-DART-33.jpg

 

 

…although I had an interesting conversation with another passenger.  They were supposed to ride the ferry last Thursday morning, the day after my own Wednesday-afternoon crossing had been severely delayed.  You'll recall that the boat was repaired just as we were heading out from Muskegon, but apparently that repair didn't last: this fellow's Thursday-morning crossing had been cancelled altogether.  I guess I got lucky.  The ferry is nearly twenty years old now; Shawn and I first rode it on the way to the 2004 UnRally in Cody, barely a month after it started service.  Maybe it’s not quite as reliable as it once was...

 

Not much more to report after that - I made it home in one piece.  Three and a half days after coating my undercarriage with bits of asphalt from that super-soft Wisconsin road, that gunk had accumulated even more nastiness:

 

2022-06-DART-23.jpg

 

2022-06-DART-25.jpg

 

2022-06-DART-26.jpg

 

2022-06-DART-27.jpg

 

I think I'm going to need to just spray the whole damn machine in Goo-Gone this weekend.

 

Oh yeah, and a couple of miles from home I hit a rhinoceros beetle:

 

2022-06-DART-29.jpg

 

Either that, or I encountered a bird with irritable bowel syndrome and exquisite timing.  If anyone needs me this weekend, I'll be busy cleaning my bike.

 

Thanks for reading.

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On 7/5/2022 at 6:30 AM, Joe Frickin' Friday said:

Day 5: Sunday, June 26, 2022

Route: Prairie Du Chien, WI to Ann Arbor, MI

Distance: 351 miles

 

2022-06-DART-01c.jpg

 

 

This was get-your-ass home day.  I had a fairy ferry to catch in Milwaukee, so I opted to leave PDC at 6AM.  The day started with 90 miles of the rising sun searing my eyeballs as I cruised east on US-18, but this early departure allowed me to get breakfast in Madison at the Bassett Street Brunch Club. The pork carnitas hash is highly recommended:

 

2022-06-DART-34.jpg

 

 

The picture barely shows it, but hiding under the eggs and house-made salsa is a generous portion of carmelized onions, poblanos, and carnitas pork.  Add in the outdoor seating that facilitates people-watching, and it was a great breakfast.

 

My early arrival in Madison also allowed me to spend a little bit of time unwinding in the nicer parts of town.  What are the nice places?   Here's one:

 

(recycled photo)

2010-08-dances-with-cows-052.jpg

 

 

That's a photo from a previous trip, but you get the idea.  Head for Observatory Hill, get off your bike, sit in the grass high above Lake Mendota, take in the scenery and contemplate life for a while.  Contrary to that old photo, last week I was there on a bright, cool, windy Sunday morning.  The trees were waving grandly about, and there was lots of chop visible on the water.

 

The other one is the UW Arboretum.  It was the antithesis of the past three days of bombing the Driftless at WOT: just a super sedate 4-mile cruise in second and third gear along a quiet forest road, visor up, taking in the views of Lake Wingra and the adjacent marshlands.  Probably annoyed lots of walkers, joggers, and bicyclists along the way with my 1200-cc sewing machine, but oh well. 

 

After the arboretum, I made one more stop to catch a shot of Bucky at the student union next to Lake Mendota:

 

2022-06-DART-22.jpg

 

 

The sailboats make me nostalgic.  I was in the  Wisconsin Hoofers when I was a grad student here in the '90s; this would have been a great day to go sailing.

 

Eventually I had used up all of my spare time and had to head for Milwaukee to catch the ferry.  The trip back was relatively uneventful:

 

2022-06-DART-33.jpg

 

 

…although I had an interesting conversation with another passenger.  They were supposed to ride the ferry last Thursday morning, the day after my own Wednesday-afternoon crossing had been severely delayed.  You'll recall that the boat was repaired just as we were heading out from Muskegon, but apparently that repair didn't last: this fellow's Thursday-morning crossing had been cancelled altogether.  I guess I got lucky.  The ferry is nearly twenty years old now; Shawn and I first rode it on the way to the 2004 UnRally in Cody, barely a month after it started service.  Maybe it’s not quite as reliable as it once was...

 

Not much more to report after that - I made it home in one piece.  Three and a half days after coating my undercarriage with bits of asphalt from that super-soft Wisconsin road, that gunk had accumulated even more nastiness:

 

2022-06-DART-23.jpg

 

2022-06-DART-25.jpg

 

2022-06-DART-26.jpg

 

2022-06-DART-27.jpg

 

I think I'm going to need to just spray the whole damn machine in Goo-Gone this weekend.

 

Oh yeah, and a couple of miles from home I hit a rhinoceros beetle:

 

2022-06-DART-29.jpg

 

Either that, or I encountered a bird with irritable bowel syndrome and exquisite timing.  If anyone needs me this weekend, I'll be busy cleaning my bike.

 

Thanks for reading.

Hmmm, pictures like that make me wanna run out to the garage, hug my RT, and hold her hand ....er... ahh... HANDlebar.  Just terrifying (amount of clean up work)!🤣😯😥

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