Lanny, Sherm and Bucky comparing notes
Willie Wonka
Organizing committee members Warthog and Rudy
Big Dave - Real men don't make explanations
The pre-ride meeting has been called
Fly - The face that sank 1,000 ships
Lanny and the Arizona look
CC, the queen of Boscobel
Group leader Fly looking for his followers
Bucky is ready
Looks like we have a group
Willie Wonka and the Kawondacade
Big Dave and Beth
Back in the room, I was trying to update the blog when the WiFi suddenly got flaky and then failed completely. WiFi issues at a VROC gathering are almost a tradition. I went down to the front desk and spoke to Alisha, the manager. Unlike most places where they insist there is no problem, she said they knew about the issue and were working to fix it. The IT support guy was also on the way in. That was refreshing. It came back up after 10:00 AM and I finished my posting.
Sandy watching me blog
After 11:00, Sherm called Avila Beach in California and booked a tour of the lighthouse where he used to be stationed for a group of us when we are in Solvang. Then I started to look around for a place for us to have lunch. A place called Timothy's in Fennimore, about ten miles south, caught my eye.
The first thing we did in Fennimore was to stop at Carr Valley Cheese in the south end of town. I have passed Igor The Giant Rat many mornings while leaving Boscobel, but the store was never open that early. Today we got to go in and check it out. Sherm's eating regimen has him confined to goat cheese and they had a variety. I bought some ham sticks, cheese sticks and a bottle of Sangria. The ladies working there were very helpful and extremely friendly.
Carr Valley Cheese - Highway 61 Fennimore Wisconsin
Igor the giant cheese loving rat
Some interesting vintages
Campfire hootch and rhubarb wine
Cheese heads and cheese hats
Bags of goodies from Carr Valley Cheese
We left the cheese shop and went back to the middle of town. Timothy's Cafe was a nice little place where Sandy and I each had a chicken bacon ranch salad while Sherm had a special salad plate consisting of crab, chicken and slaw. The server was exceptional.
This looked like buggy parking practice
Timothy's - Fennimore Wisconsin
A patriotic theme
Looks like a burger made in heaven
Chicken bacon ranch salad
After we finished eating, we stopped at the Fennimore Railroad and Historical Society Museum. The railroad played a large part in the development of this area and they go to great lengths to honour that history. In addition to many exhibits and outdoor displays, they had a model railroad layout that was donated by a local man and moved to the current location.
Hard to miss this place
A pleasant park
The Dinky
The Dinky story
We went through the museum
Uniforms
Implements of destruction
Model railway
More model railway
Still more model railway
The parts were hand made in wood and then sent to a foundry
From Fennimore, we decided to drive ten miles east to Montfort and check out Tower Junction, where we would be having a buffet supper tonight. Then we followed County Road I through the rolling farmland to Highland. From there, we turned west on County Q and followed some GPS directions that took us down roads with no centre line, some that looked like driveways and through a few people's yards before coming back into Boscobel around 2:40 PM.
Today's First Route (56 Equinox miles):
It was very hot and humid when we got back. Riders were arriving back from the S&S run suffering from heat and the fact that most of the group got lost and never made it to the factory.
At the appointed 4:00 PM, Rudy and CC prepared to lead the group back to Tower Junction for supper. Sherm and Sandy had already left in the Equinox, while I rode the bike with the group. I tucked in behind Willie Wonka as we rode down 61 and across US 18.
Tower Junction sits across from a medium sized wind farm and they have an interpretive display in the restaurant parking lot. We went inside and arranged some tables. Almost everyone had the buffet. I decided our server Bailey was also exceptional.
Tower Junction - Montfort Wisconsin
There is a Vulcan in there somewhere
I wish they would explain the economics
But no, they just talk about renewables
Getting ready to eat
Our table
Not our table
Rudy and CC
After supper, CC had planned to lead us on a twisty route back to the River Inn. On going outside, I noted a cloud formation to the west and a certain feel to the air. Al checked the weather radar and said that a storm was approaching the Mississippi River and closing fast, so everyone opted to return via the most direct route. We made the best time we could, even when we got caught behind a mobile crane. On the plus side, the crane was doing 55 MPH.
We got back before the storm. In fact, the storm did not materialize until later in the evening. I parked the bike and drove the Equinox down to The Sands to pick up Wonka and another VROCer known as Huge. He almost didn't fit in the car.
Brillo and Deb arrived in their Audi while we were away. They no longer have a bike and Brillo spends his spare time golfing these days, but it was really good to see them. One local man came in riding a Ford Flathead V8 powered bike. He found the motor in a warehouse and wasn't sure what it was intended for, but he built the whole bike around it.
Ford motorcycle
That is one big motor
We were grabbed in the hallway and sent to the Wisconsin Room to sign the inflatable sheep sex doll for BlkChrome. Everyone agreed it was a fitting tribute to an unusual person.
What a place to be immortalized
We sat out and had a drink with a few people and then put our names on a list for next year to ensure that if we came, we would have a room. I was back in our room by 9:00 sorting photos. To keep up to date with the blog, some of the fun needs to be sacrificed. Bierkan stopped by to tell me that he thought about me and my infamous battle thong when he was buying the fur piece he was wearing to protect his groin area.
Around 10:00 PM, the thunder storm started. Soon after, the roar of motorcycle engines was heard ans the local NANMRA Chapter (North American Nude Motorcycle Riding Association) convened its annual meeting. No one was hit by lightning.
I was in bed before 11:00, once again proving how far the mighty have fallen.
Today's Second Route (47 motorcycle miles):
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