Yet Another boring ride to The Golden Frog

Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum

Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

SwollenRaccoon

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 29, 2009
Messages
531
Reaction score
357
Location
Rochester, MN
Saturday, October 15th, 2011. The day before, (Friday) was spent doing vehicle maintenance on my wife's Civic, plus a couple of hours raking leaves at the neighbor's house. Poor gal (mid 40s, no husband), is pretty ill with the big C, so she needs some help lately. Anyway, having spent most of the previous day doing necessary chores, I decided to give myself a reward on Saturday, in the form of a 200-mile ride for some lunch. Interesting how, even though we know the inevitable march of the seasons will bring crappy conditions (at least in most of the country), we get busy as bees getting things done.....yard work, painting, and even some fun things. Yeah, motorcycle riding is one of those. Cram in as much as you can, 'cause who knows how long this will last?

Very windy day, with highs in the upper 50s, and a new(ish) front PR2, with a brand-new rear PR2 that needed scrubbing in. Rode the back roads to Wabasha, then crossed into Wisconsin. First stop, the IGA grocery store in Waumandee. My wife describes this store as having "everything from tires to tampons". They have hunting and fishing supplies, used clothing, a small hardware area with paint-mixing capabilities, farm supplies, and general groceries. It's a small store, but they do have a small meat and cheese counter, with their own smoker out in back. They can process deer, cattle, and pigs (and who knows what else), and they make fantastic deer and beef sticks, sausage, and homestye weiners. I bought one of each flavor of beef sticks ($1 each), but what I really came for was the cheese. They carry Widmer brick cheese, from Widmer Cheese(D'uh) which is only a few miles from RoadAmerica. This may explain the exquisite flavor, perhaps a hint of race gas, tire smoke, and beer. The Widmer brick makes the best grilled cheese in the world. I had Laney (the nice lady at the counter, tell her "hi") slice up a pound, and packed it in my mini-cooler with the beef sticks. Sorry, no cheese or beef pictures.

Enough about groceries. Most of the colored leaves have been relegated to forest-carpet duty, but a few yellow maples remain intact. One nice thing about riding this time of year here in Minnesota and Wisconsin; less bugs, and the ability to see things you can't see when the trees are full and the crops are tall. Like further around a previously blind corner.

Along County F.

DSC01878.jpg


Down to Fountain City, and lunch at the Golden Frog. Haddock and fries. Nothing spectacular, but definitely tasty.

DSC01442.jpg


DSC01885.jpg


DSC01886.jpg


Burping and farting, (me, not the FJR) I continued my journey by heading up Canada Ridge Road. Being a township road, not a county road or state highway, it has no corner markings. There are several blind corners, right after cresting a rise, that can produce varying levels of annular ring muscle contraction, depending on your speed, skill level, and overall mental state. During mid-to-late summer, the corn gets to be 6 to 8 feet tall, planted in some areas as close as 2 or 3 feet from the road. This produces a really fun but scary sensation of riding down a green-walled corridor. Fun, in that the sensation of speed is heightened, scary in that a deer or farm equipment can appear rapidly enough to cause somewhat serious panic. This time of year, most of the corn is gone, and atop Canada Ridge, sight lines are improved enough to let the FJR loose. In this environment, I can't resist. The FJR is like a prom date that has a few cocktails after the dance, and she wants action NOW. Who am I to say no? Yeehaaaah!

A couple of shots taken on Schaffner Valley Road. Nothing spectaular, but the pavement sure was.

DSC01882.jpg


DSC01881.jpg


Overall, a cool, dry day, and some nice roads. Did I mention that I LOVE NEW TIRES! Sorry for the boring nature of the report, but I hate stopping to take pictures. Some of the nicest vistas I saw were right in the middle of a perfect set of corners, and I couldn't make myself stop to shoot a photo. I need more patience, I guess. Yeah, I know, I need a lot more than that. A better brain, more fiber, less fat, and NEW TIRES, please! Hope your riding season lasts longer......

 
Very nice Fall ride report! :clapping: You guys are looking like late fall with most of the leaves down now. At least it looks like the Fish & Chips and dark beer can keep you going through the winter.

 
Thanks for the kind remarks.

On a side note.....since I was on the bike, that is actually ROOT beer in the mug. The other kind was put to use after I got home. :D

 
Good report.

Yep, my FJR is almost in winter nap season as I have some stuff I need to get taken care of before the snow flies.

 
Great report Scott! I was out on Sunday east of Stillwater, also a fabulous day of riding. Although, we were in a little more wind being flatter county.

All in all, a good weekend to get out one more time before the white stuff comes. Next year we need to sync our schedules & do more rides together. :)

 
Not many leaves left on the trees...must be getting late in the year up thar!

Sounds like a great time was had, thanks for sharing. :)

--G

 
"The FJR is like a prom date that has a few cocktails after the dance, and she wants action NOW. Who am I to say no?"

An absolute classic line. I was chuckling through your comments and since I have not been to that section of country, I was enjoying the pictures as well.

On a side note, I grew up on haddock and fries, but can't get haddock very easily on the left coast. An all-time favorite meal. I spent an entire summer fishing for cod and haddock as a reenager. Thanks for reminding me of those memories.

Great report. Please write more. :clapping:

 
Top