Driftin' - June 10-13, 2021

[Mike]

22 hours ago, Dave_in_TX said:

Who is planning to stay at Captains Cove motel down the hill?  I currently have a reservation but may also have my camping gear with me.

Captain’s Cove is an old-style motel, but I stayed there a couple of times back when we were building the cabin and found it to be clean and comfortable.  It’s roughly a mile from our place.  

For those who might be interested in being in the town of Prairie du Chien, there are a lot of options that are around 5-7 miles from Driftin’ HQ. https://business.prairieduchien.org/list/ql/lodging-62

The River District and Waterfront hotels are probably the nicest, and they’re in the downtown area of town.  The River District Hotel has a nice rooftop bar with a basic food menu. The downtown has a couple of good places to eat, but most of what you’ll find are bars that offer little more than burgers and pizza. The Blackhawk is the exception, with a pretty broad menu. 

Closer to us, on Highway 18, I’d probably go with the Microtel or the AmericInn. The latter is close to the Black Angus, which offers the best food in town...by a wide margin. However, they’re only open for dinner.

The only camping that’s reasonably close (other than our lawn) is at Wyalusing State Park, which is six miles away. The park offers some stunning vistas of the Mississippi and Wisconsin River valleys.

 

With respect to both motel/hotel and camping options, I’d suggest booking now if you’re even halfway certain of joining us. This is a popular tourism area, and it can be difficult to find lodging if you wait to reserve. Also, you might just be able to snag a lower room rate now...some of these businesses seem to be offering pretty attractive rates at the moment to attract guests, after having suffered a disastrous year in 2020.


 

[syntorz]

I'm reserved at the AmericInn Thur-Sun. Not sure if I'll ride over on Thur and join the group for Fri, or perhaps ride part way on Wed eve in preparation for Thur AM. I guess that'll depend on weather and schedule of the grand festivities...

 

If anyone is wanting a riding partner from the SE WI (MKE area) or points in between Iet me know. 

 

 

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

GPS route file for this event can be found here.  For future reference, I've also added a link to Mike's post at the top of this thread.

 

[Mike]

31 minutes ago, Joe Frickin' Friday said:

GPS route file for this event can be found here.  For future reference, I've also added a link to Mike's post at the top of this thread.

 

Excellent! Thanks for all your work on this, Mitch!

[Mike]

Ya like twisty roads?

[Brodiepunker18]

This sounds like a lot of fun! I just need to double check the dates but Im definitely interested in coming down at least Saturday into Sunday! 

[John Ranalletta]

If you don't have breakfast or lunch at Ma's Bakery in Bloomington, WI during your Driftin' experience, consider it a fail.

 

  

[TPadden]

On 5/18/2021 at 7:54 AM, John Ranalletta said:

If you don't have breakfast or lunch at Ma's Bakery in Bloomington, WI during your Driftin' experience, consider it a fail.

I prefer to start any ride over 2000 miles out with a planned easy fail.  Relatively painless if I end up failing, and I end up throwing any plan out the first day anyway.

Tom

[Dave_in_TX]

Where is everybody staying? Syntorz is staying at Americinn. I have a reservation at the Captain's Cove, but might switch motels if everybody is staying elsewhere.

[MikeB60]

We are staying at the Microtel

[John Ranalletta]

Waterfront

[TPadden]

Lawn camping... Thinking of hitting the UP,  via Mackinaw 8-9 June since it's kind of on the way from Tampa. 

Tom

[Hosstage]

I can see that route working!

[Mike]

A few random thoughts, now that we’re just two weeks (and a day) out…

 

This is going to be fun. Really fun.

 

My best guess is that we’ll end up with around 30 or so riders and guests. Some are camping here (at Borah Borah) and others are scattered at various hotels, within one to five (or so) miles from here.  If you’re feeling it, I’ll have coffee brewing each morning (the timer will be set for 5 am, but give it a few minutes to percolate) and a few breakfast-y things to grab. 

 

I’m guessing most of you will roll in on Thursday (June 10). Barring rain, we’ll have a campfire going each evening, and an assortment of beverages (bring your own if you’d like), and hopefully everyone will gather to share their triumphs and sorrows. If the weather is less than wonderful at any time, we have enough protected space to accommodate everyone. Dining options are plentiful in town, but if you want to grill something I’ll have a grill available. 

I’ll have disposable cups and flimsy plastic chairs, so if you have a decent mug or camp chair, bring them with you.

There is such an abundance of great roads here that it’s hard to go wrong. Mitch has created and shared a number of excellent routes that you should consider downloading. My practice is generally to just pick a general direction and follow whatever roads look interesting, then set my GPS for a return home once I’m  feeling the need to get back. The best roads from here are found in every direction except straight east, which gets flat and boring pretty quickly. 

There’s only one “formal” event, a Saturday evening meal at Borah Borah at around 6:00 pm. Nothing fancy, but hopefully palatable. I hope everyone will join us before hitting the road on Sunday.

We’re looking forward to seeing you. If the consensus is that this is worthwhile, we’ll do it again.
 

 

 

 

[Hosstage]

For anyone that has not been on these roads, I've only ridden the northern edge of the Driftless roads, and they are fantastic (a day ride for me). As Mike mentioned, you can pick a road that looks interesting with no real plan in mind, turn on to another that looks even more interesting, they just keep getting fun, scenic, and can be quite technical. Riding the same roads back seems to completely change them, even though you just rode them. Easy to get lost, easy to find your way out.

I hope weather is good for everyone that goes, I'll be thinking about you enjoying the area.

If it happens again next year, hopefully I can make it. 

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

3 hours ago, Hosstage said:

For anyone that has not been on these roads, I've only ridden the northern edge of the Driftless roads, and they are fantastic (a day ride for me). As Mike mentioned, you can pick a road that looks interesting with no real plan in mind, turn on to another that looks even more interesting, they just keep getting fun, scenic, and can be quite technical.

 

For general guidance if you won't be using my GPS routes:

 

US highways (e.g. US-18) and state roads (e.g. WI-35) tend to be the most smoothed-out and most likely to have traffic, although some of them can be pretty scenic if that's your interest.  If you're trying to cover ground quickly, stick to these kinds of roads:

 

 

 

If you're looking for twisty technical stuff, your best bet is county roads, i.e. anything with a letter in the name:

 

 

 

Even more obscure than county roads are the named roads, especially anything with "Ridge", "Valley", or "Hollow" in the name:

 

 

Be advised that some of these smaller roads may be unpaved (or may have pavement that suddenly ends); ride accordingly.

 

 

[Mike]

30 minutes ago, Joe Frickin' Friday said:

 

For general guidance if you won't be using my GPS routes….

Excellent info, Mitch.  I’ll reiterate Mitch’s point regarding the county roads and other secondary/tertiary roads: you’ll occasionally find that the pavement ends abruptly and turns to gravel. In fact, you’ll see that on our road, just a few hundred feet from the entrance to our place.  It’s a good practice to ride within your sight lines.

One of the rides I’d recommend, though it’s more of a leisurely amble, is Highway 35 along the Mississippi River. I may be easily impressed, but I find the majesty of the Great River to be pretty awe-inspiring. The Iowa side of the River offers equally great scenery. 

Just be aware of the fact that state highways tend to be more heavily patrolled than the others. Generally you can get away with 9-10 mph over the limit, but beyond that expect to get stopped and possibly ticketed.  Also, Prairie du Chien tends to patrol the highway through town pretty aggressively.  

[Hosstage]

We call the lettered county roads "doing the alphabet ride". Wisconsin is kind of unique in that regard. Rarely go wrong riding them.

Ridge, Valley, Hollow roads always a treat, as Joe mentions.

 

Also, any road marked with a brown "Rustic Highway" sign is mandatory to ride when on a motorcycle. (No gravel that I've ever found on them.) Usually they pop back out near your intended route anyway.

 

The Great River Road, hwy 35, is always, well, great!

[BrianM]

1 hour ago, Hosstage said:

 

Also, any road marked with a brown "Rustic Highway" sign is mandatory to ride when on a motorcycle. (No gravel that I've ever found on them.) Usually they pop back out near your intended route anyway.

 

Some rustic roads are/have gravel. Not sure if any in the area are/have gravel.

[Mike]

Putting together the menu in my head for Saturday’s group meal:

-Smoked pulled pork

-Grilled chicken/apple sausages 

-Betty’s Baked Beans

-Cheesy potatoes (it is Wisconsin, after all)

-Cole slaw

-Home-baked dinner rolls

-Cookies (from Ma’s Bakery?)

 

The AED has fresh batteries. If anyone has dietary restrictions that would preclude joining in, let me know. I’ll endeavor to make as much of this as time allows. 

[Mike]

Just over a week away, so a bit of housekeeping:

-I’ll be doing a bit of food shopping over the next couple of days, so we’ll have a bit on hand each morning. The morning focus on nutrition will be on coffee. ☕️ Saturday we’ll be having a dinner at Borah Borah…smoked pork, grilled sausages, cheesy potatoes, etc. All the stuff that would make a heart surgeon hopeful for a secure financial future.

-Weather is hard to predict this far out, but looking into the crystal ball daytime temps will probably be in the low 80s, dropping to the mid 60s at night. I’d expect some rain showers.

-Again last night, I encountered a deer smack dab in the middle of the road as I was driving up our road. The riding is great around here, but deer are on the move, especially around dawn and dusk. Keep on your toes. Also, be aware of the fact that you may encounter Amish buggies or wagons, and farm equipment. 

Again, if you haven’t responded that you’re joining us, please take a moment to do so. Looking forward to seeing you next week!

[Mike]

I’m guessing some people will have already started meandering this way. This is the current list from the online registration site. A couple of folks double registered, which is why two of the rows are blank. I woke up at 3:30 and am too groggy to put the entire list together at the moment. It looks to me as though we’ll have around 30-40 in total.

 

The current weather forecast is calling for scattered showers on Thursday, clearing on Friday, and nice over the weekend. If there are periods of rain and you’re around Driftin’ HQ, we can shelter in the barn, drink coffee, and talk about how great we are. 

 

Mike Boomgarden	Mike	Prairie du Chien WI
Steven Knapp	stevenknapp	Grayslake, IL
John Ranalletta	John Ranalletta	Indianapolis
Dave Schani	Dave_in_TX	Driftwood TX
Michael Barksdale	MikeB60	Cataula, GA
Larry T Scalztti		Lake Zurich
Jennifer MacKenzie	Jmaxx	Downers Grove IL
Glenn Ziolkowski	syntorz	Milwaukee, WI
Bud Meade	Bud	Nashville, IL
Thomas J Padden	TPadden	Tampa Florida
Robert James Stevens	Scout6	West Michigan
Thomas J Padden	TPadden	Tampa Florida
MICHAEL MCCALLISTER	Hammock Mike	Des Moines
Eric Cerniglia	Brodiepunker18	Green Bay
mike mcarthey	not a member of sporttouring	mukwonago, wi
Jim Galaszewski	Dabeemer	Waukesha

[Mike]

A sublime Sunday morning at Driftin’ HQ….

[Lester V]

On 5/26/2021 at 7:42 AM, Joe Frickin' Friday said:

 

For general guidance if you won't be using my GPS routes:

 

US highways (e.g. US-18) and state roads (e.g. WI-35) tend to be the most smoothed-out and most likely to have traffic, although some of them can be pretty scenic if that's your interest.  If you're trying to cover ground quickly, stick to these kinds of roads:

 

 

 

If you're looking for twisty technical stuff, your best bet is county roads, i.e. anything with a letter in the name:

 

 

 

Even more obscure than county roads are the named roads, especially anything with "Ridge", "Valley", or "Hollow" in the name:

 

 

Be advised that some of these smaller roads may be unpaved (or may have pavement that suddenly ends); ride accordingly.

 

 

Nice red BMWRT sticker on the saddlebag Mitch.  I wonder how many Leslie and Jamie made in total? 

[Mike]

Today’s gonna be dedicated to some of the food prep that can be handled a few days out, and maybe hosing down the floor of the barn in order to make it slightly more presentable. 

 

Set your GPS destination to:

13040 Borah Ridge Rd. 

Prairie du Chien, WI 53821.

 

If you happen to get hopelessly lost, get to Prairie du Chien and call me at (630) 881-0125, and I’ll vector you in. For road updates: https://511wi.gov. There are a couple of road closures due to construction (see attached screen shot), but lots of options to detour. See you Thursday!
 

[Dave_in_TX]

Anyone looking for a motel room? I currently have one available at Captain's Cove I cannot cancel and I'm currently planning to camp.

[MikeB60]

We are on the way.  We loaded up the trailer yesterday and drove from Cataula to Poplar Bluff MO. Unloaded the K bike and took a 220 mile trek through southeastern Missouri.  Looks like rain most of tomorrow, not sure if we can get a ride in between downpours. Planning to arrive in Prairie du Chin on Wednesday. A few photos from today. 

[Mike]

Sounds like the southern contingent is under way! Mike, we could use a bit of that rain here…but hopefully before Thursday. The area is bone dry. 
 

I sat down a few minutes ago, after spending most of the day prepping food for the Saturday dinner. Most of the heavy (culinary) lifting is done…chopped, cut, smoked, vacuum sealed, and frozen or refrigerated, as appropriate.  

Safe travels, everyone.

[realshelby]

I hope this becomes an epic event in BWMST standings! I just could not make it happen this time. Sad this morning, I should have been a couple hundred miles north already on the way had things worked out......

[Dave_in_TX]

23 hours ago, Mike said:

Sounds like the southern contingent is under way! Mike, we could use a bit of that rain here…but hopefully before Thursday. The area is bone dry. 
 

I sat down a few minutes ago, after spending most of the day prepping food for the Saturday dinner. Most of the heavy (culinary) lifting is done…chopped, cut, smoked, vacuum sealed, and frozen or refrigerated, as appropriate.  

Safe travels, everyone.

I've been in Wisconsin since last week Thursday  currently staying with in-laws near Rosendale. I'm about three hours away, planning on heading down Thursday morning.

[syntorz]

I'll be meandering over Thursday from MKE. Targeting 3pm arrival for hotel check in, then join the campfire at Borah Borah in the evening.

 

Everybody ride safe and have fun.

[Mike]

This makes it all real….

[Mike]

Tomorrow (day 1) I’ll be making a morning run for ice and other last minute items. If you happen to roll in and I’m not here, the barn will be open and I’ll have ice water waiting. Help yourself to anything in the fridge. 

[TPadden]

Left Tampa northbound a week ago, hit Macinaw (Macinac Bridge) and Copper Harbor (Keweenaw Peninsula)  Michigan, the northern end of Tamiami Trail US-41, head south tomorrow ...

 

Tom

 

[KDeline]

Very last minute decision on my way to the MOA rally, I’m going to swing by probably Thursday afternoon sometime. Hope to see Knappy and Freaking Friday, haven’t seen those boys in years. 

[John Ranalletta]

We arrived hotel about 3p.  Took a 50 mile ride.  Great.  Watch for tar snakes!  Otherwise, AOK.

[Mike]

1 hour ago, John Ranalletta said:

We arrived hotel about 3p.  Took a 50 mile ride.  Great.  Watch for tar snakes!  Otherwise, AOK.

We’ll see you tomorrow. I’m making an early run for ice, then should be back early a.m.  

[Mike]

Foretelling a good gathering tomorrow….

[Indy Dave]

Pretty quiet from the WI crew....

[John Ranalletta]

 

[KDeline]

Well when you wake up with that paralyzing feeling of a ferocious predator waiting for you to die in your tent so it can eat you, or steal your toothbrush, bottles, cans, or napkins, it makes the weekend exciting. Then you have all the ladies of the group trying to fatten you up, I am pretty sure it was for the coming slaughter. The predator had to eat you know. 

[Dave_in_TX]

1 hour ago, John Ranalletta said:

 

+1

[Mike]

1 hour ago, Indy Dave said:

Pretty quiet from the WI crew....

Some photos here: 

 

[Indy Dave]

Great stuff, updates and photos! Thanks for the links!