While technically this doesn't count as a trip, I decided to write a little report anyway. I spent the day yesterday twisting and turning my way thru Wisconsin. I loaded the VFR with one GIVI bag containing my camping gear, just in case. I had quite an ambitious destination in mind, and really didn't think I would make it back home in one day. With vacation planned for next week, it really didn't matter either way. Perfect.
I left home around 9am and headed north via 76 up to Clinton, WI. Immediately I realized how nice it is to live so close to country roads and not have to spend 1-2 hours on the interstate just to get to where I wanted to start riding. Once I found my way to Clinton, I decided to jump on I90 to get to the other side of Madison in short order. The interstate was quite busy for a Saturday morning, but man were those cheese-heads (no offense of course) moving. I keep a watchful eye to the sky and went with the flow of traffic.
About 50 miles later and I was exiting the interstate at Rt 19, planning to head over to 131, then north up to Merrimac. The ride north on 131 was quite nice, and I was already starting to enjoy the day. The weather couldn't have been nicer with temps around 74. In no time at all I found myself pulling up to the ferry to get over to Merrimac. My timing couldn't have been better. The boat was about 75% full as I approached. The cars in 2 of the 3 lanes were already loaded. I stopped for a brief second, then realized there was still plenty of room for me on that there boat. Excuse me, pardon me ... coming thru. :) As soon as I pulled onto the boat, the hydraulic ramp started going up. Thanks for waiting for me Mr. Boat operator!
After a safe (free) boat ride across the river, I made my way south towards Prairie du Sac. From there, I began my exploration of the Alphabet roads, starting out with county PF heading towards Leland. I got the strange feeling a few times throughout the day that I had been on some of these roads many (6) years ago. I seem to recall the Slimy Crud run was around these parts. Did I mention how nice the weather was? I wasn't on the alphabet roads for more than about 15 minutes when I started thinking how nice it was to be out on the road, and how much I had missed riding on these roads that are practically in my backyard.
Continuing on past Leland over to Rt 23, I opted to head north to Reedsburg to find something to eat, and also for gas stop #1. As I was pulling into town, the one and only billboard pointed me to a Subway about 2 miles up the road. After a nice lunch, I secured a new WI map at the gas station. I had already noticed how many lettered roads I had been passing that were not on my current map that I wanted to go explore. Heading back south after lunch, I followed K for a while and what I believe was my first photo to the left.
Continuing onto D, then DD, and then D again - I found myself enjoying some fairly twisty and very scenic roads. I was having fun spooling the VFR up a bit, but keeping it well under control given the abundance of gravel in many of the corners. Several sections of this road reminded me of different parts of Arkansas I enjoy. Other parts were very typical of the Midwest - with nothing but a single farm to be seen for miles. The road quality wasn't always perfect, but my new Fox rear shock sure was working well.
If you haven't figured it out by now, I was trying to find my way to Wildcat Mountain State Park. I saw some video of the roads in that area from the NITRO group - and that was all I needed to make that my destination for the day. I wasn't exactly sure from the map which route to take to get there, but I opted to follow 131 north. Ignoring the 45mph speed limit on that road (only moderately), and waving to the guys in full leathers on sport bikes I passed, I knew I must be heading the right direction. As I was approaching the town of Ontario, I noticed the sky's darkening. The forecast was calling for a minor chance of afternoon storms, but I had ignored that. Passing thru Ontario, I saw a sign for Rt 33 and Wildcat Mountain. Instantly upon turning onto 33, I recognized the road from the video I had seen. Then without any time to think, I found myself moving around on the seat and spooling up the VFR. Then I came upon this wonderful never ending carousel like corner that went to the left, continued left, and then left again - all the while ascending up the mountain. Despite being sans knee pucks, the corner forced me to get off the bike and put my head down. About half way thru the corner I realized it was (no I'm not going to crash) tightening up a bit more and STILL turning! Wooooohooooo. Man, that was sure fun.
After another 2 miles or so of uninterrupted (no traffic) twisties, I found myself at the entrance to the state park. I followed the signs up to the overlook, and enjoyed the view for a few moments. The funny part is, after I suited back up, and started to leave the park, the rain began to fall. And we're not talking about a few drops here and there. I mean the sky opened up. Given the sudden turn in the weather, I followed 131 back south to 82 where I would make a route decision. The rain intensified to the point that I could feel it thru the stich. The funny part was, I didn't care, and it was even refreshing. Sure, my gloves were getting wet (didn't have any rain supplies with) - but what the heck. I was just glad the rain gods held off until I got thru that twisty section near Wild Cat!
Once I made it back to 82, I looked at the sky, decided I wasn't done riding for the day, and turned west thinking I would make it over towards the Mississippi river. The rain continued for probably another 15 minutes, then gradually lightened up. I continued on 82 over to Fargo, where I looked at the sky, and decided it was really best if I not go any farther west. The funny part about the ride for the next few hours is I felt like I was dodging weather systems. I keep a watchful eye on the weather all around me, and it looked like it was raining everywhere expect for the road I was on. And speaking of that road, it was yet another fine example of a peaceful country ride. I think the weather scared EVERYONE away - as myself and one other Dodge RAM that followed me for a while were the only signs of civilization I saw for an hour or more. There were a few more literal down pours I road thru. The guy following me in the truck probably thought I was crazy. I mean the sky opened up again ... and my pace of about 62 didn't flinch one mph. Thanks to good gear and wonderful tires (D220's) the rain really didn't phase me in the least.
Eventually I found myself passing thru Prairie du Chien and another decision to make. The weather to the west still looked bad, but where I was at the sun actually would poke out from time to time. To the east it was overcast, but it didn't appear that it was raining. So, that being said - I followed 35 to the south east over to Bloomington and county road A. Once onto A, the sidewalks rolled up again, and it was just me, the VFR, and the road. I had another flashback to roads in southern MO here as the roller coasters set in. Up and down I made my way for quite some time. I was really enjoying the days ride. It was probably 4pm or so, and I still hadn't decided where I would end up.
I made my way over to Rewey and turned south on G to find some gas with 190 miles showing on the trip. G was another fun ride, with several sharp 90 degree turns connecting mostly straight sections of road. Sure, the corners had gravel to contend with, but you really shouldn't be hammering thru corners on the street you can't see thru anyway. My approach to most of the corners was to scrub of a little more "safety" speed entering the corner, then once I could see thru it, apply a ton of "throddle" to power thru the corner. Needless to say, it was a ton of fun!
Route G ended ironically enough at a brand new BP gas station right along the interstate like Rt 151. I filled the VFR, grabbed myself a quick energy drink (which was horrible btw - but it did give me a much needed boost), then continued on G over to Z. Route Z was another one of those roads that I said to myself I might have been on before. I stopped for my last photos of the day on Z and took probably my best hay bail shot to date. Something else worth noting. On many of these country roads, you really got the sense you were in the country - literally. The dairy farms were plentiful, and the associated smell was abundant. This might sound funny, but it actually added to the experience. I'd say it's kind of like the when in Rome type of saying.... the country without the smell of farms just wouldn't be the same.
The end of my county roads dropped me into Rt 81 at Darlington. From there, I continued east to Monroe where I grabbed a quick sandwich at deli/cheesery that according to their posted signs, should have been closed an hour ago. The nice Russian guy running the place made me a wonderful sandwich with some type of cheese that I don't think I can even come close to spelling correctly but sure was good.
After my sandwich, I changed over to my clear shield (it was now close about 6:30pm) and continued over to Beloit on Rt 81. I navigated my way thru my old stomping grounds (used to work in South Beloit), and eventually found my way over to 251 and then to Belvidere Road and home. I pulled in the garage sometime around 7:30pm after what I must say was the best single day of riding I have ever done. As you can tell from the photos and the fact that I even took time to write this report, I had a wonderful time winding my way thru the countryside west of Madison.
What's funny, or maybe ironic, about the days ride is that I started out "touring" with what I considered a long (200 mile) ride thru WI. Now, not always having time for that week long trip, I have rediscovered there are some quite nice roads easily within a days ride (heck - a couple hours away really) from my house. Provided I can avoid paying additional taxes (tickets) in WI, I think I will have to take more day trips like this. The days ride took me 455 miles round trip.
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