[DriftlessRider]

My families Labor Day tradition is to visit college friends in Oshkosh. The last few years DrBonnieBlack and kids have taken the car and I've make a ride out of it. And so it was this year again. I rode some Wisconsin Rustic Roads along the way visited Rural, Wisconsin.

I took off Saturday morning, got a late start and got 15 miles down the back roads before I remembered I forgot my sheepskin butt pad. I wasn't going to survive without it so I turned around. Back on the road, I made up some time by taking Rt 35 down to Galesville and then Rt 54.

I took Rustic Road 91 off Rt 54. It was mostly dirt and put me in a good mood.

 

[DriftlessRider]

Geo-coded copies of this pictures are at http://picasaweb.google.com/callahan.ed/LaborDay2010OshkoshTrip, should you want to see where they were taken at.

Found a waterfall right off Rt 54 at North Bend

And stopped in Melrose for breakfast. It was a lousy breakfast buffet. It was getting near lunch time, so the stuff on the buffet was a bit stale. But, it filled me up:

I took the river road between Melrose and Black River Falls. I immediately hit a rural Wisconsin traffic snarl

A tractor had slid off the road, so a bigger tractor drug him out. While we all waited I took some pictures of the Black River

 

[DriftlessRider]

Down on the edge of the river I found another left-foot sandal. Freaks me out.

I continued in Rt 54 past Black River Falls and stopped at some sort of campground where a Pow Wow was taking place. It was like battle of the bands, but with drums

Saw this little bike there:

 

[DriftlessRider]

Rustic Road 54

I headed south on Rustic Road 54 which cuts through the Black River State Forest.

The rustic road passes a waterfowl management area

 

[DriftlessRider]

I started heading east again. Nice flat water-rich area, with lots of cranberry bogs around

 

[DriftlessRider]

Sprague Mather Flowage

I went by the Sprague Mather Flowage in the Necedah Wildlife Refuge. It's a man-made impoundment for waterfowl management and the like

From there it was time to make time out to Oshkosh. The evening was marked by too much eating, and too much drinking.

 

[DriftlessRider]

Sunday

A friend of the folks I was staying with rides too. He is an ADV rider and apparently knocked off all the WI Rustic Roads last year. He and I headed out Sunday. We took Rt 10 out to Waupaca. That is four-lane highway, but not very congested. It was a bit breezy and we rode pretty fast. If I was going to do very much of that I'd need a screen of some sort. But fortunately, I don't ride very much four-lane.

My riding partner for the day:

The first Rustic Road

And our second

Which was near a typical, scenic WI red barn

And another rustic road

and another

Four Rustic Roads in one day, not bad.

Then we headed back for too much food, and too much drink. We had Fat Moma's Soul Food take out, highly recommended. Fried Chicken, ribs and pulled pork. Also one or two (or three) too many brandy old fashions. We laughed a lot, way fun.

 

[DriftlessRider]

Monday

Monday it was time to head home. This is where we were staying. Our friends live in a nice neighborhood. The kids can ride their bikes around the block. It's nice and quiet and friendly

I took county roads out to Fremont and had breakfast. I ate on the deck overlooking the Wolf River. Thankfully the scenery was good, because the service and food wasn't. They are riding on their location here, and are making more money on drinks that food anyways

 

[DriftlessRider]

I came across a Road Closed sign and sneered at it. This ADV stuff is growing on me

I worked the area we had road on Sunday a bit more and grabbed some more pictures

There are areas around here just strewn with boulders and rocks. A geologist would have all sorts of glacier stories to tell about the area

And I rode through Rural, Wisconsin

 

[DriftlessRider]

I got into some real flat, nearly desolate area east of Wisconsin Rapids

And in the middle of it an big old Prairie Chicken management area

 

[DriftlessRider]

Frank Story Crossing

I noticed a sign out in the prairie, and there was a grass trail out to it so I rode out there

The Story Crossing is really just a path that covers a couple culverts over this stream

 

[DriftlessRider]

Nekoosa

I made it out to Nekoosa along the Wisconsin River

 

[DriftlessRider]

I had gotten a late start and had been stopping a lot, so I needed to make some good time. So I headed down Rt 54 towards Black River Falls.

But, there was Old Route 54. Surely that wasn't too much of a detour. And I really don't like riding behind other cars. So I thought I'd just take that.

The pavement was a bit rough but I was out there alone and the land was beautiful. I was riding pretty fast. Not too fast to be safe, as long as the road didn't suddenly and unexpectedly turn into gravel. But, that is exactly what it did. I survived, but my underwear nearly didn't.

That made me a bit grumpy. Plus, it had been threatening rain all day, and now the rain had really set in. But, as it turned out it was the highlight of the day. I wandered the dirt roads of the Black River State Forest north of 54. Most excellent. I wasn't getting home any quicker, but it was fun

But now I really did need to get home. I took 54 through Melrose back towards Galesville. That really is an excellent road. Then home.

It was a Good Trip. A bit over 200 miles Saturday and Monday and about 125 on Sunday. Good enough for me.

 

[HiDesert]

Great report! I love reading those information signs. Sounds like someone might be interested in the new Tiger that's about to be released...

 

[DriftlessRider]

Great report! I love reading those information signs. Sounds like someone might be interested in the new Tiger that's about to be released...

If the pocketbook allows, for sure. While I was riding yesterday I decided to look into some more Scrambler-related tires for my Bonnie next time around, something with a bit more bite. We'll see.

You're a photographer HiDe. The pictures I posted in my Extended Pie Rat Tour thread I tweaked at my work computer over lunch. They were all a bit dark so I lightened them up a bit. But when I got home they all looked washed out.

This group I tweaked at home last night. They all benefited from a little shading to give them some more richness. But at work they look dark.

I guess it just depends on the monitor. Maybe I just need to stop second guessing my camera.

 

[HiDesert]

You're a photographer HiDe.

Just a dabbler. We've got much better photogs on this site.

These all look pretty good to me. A few could beenfit from a bit of lightening in the darker areas of the photo, but it has to be done with a 'lighten shadows' feature, or the clouds looks overexposed. Most are great!

The monitor adjustment definitely matters. I go to http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/forums.html, which has a grayscale at the bottom of the screen. You should be able to see all 26 shades as distinct shades. That's my quick check on monitor settings.

 

[DriftlessRider]

Thanks. The camera is a great accessory on a trip. I pull a lot of U-turns to go back and "get that picture" that I might not otherwise. And I very, very seldom regret a U-turn. About half the fun for me is the riding, and the other half is the stops, and finding myself in places I'd never be if I wasn't out exploring on the bike.

Plus, photography may be another verging hobby in the BonnieBlack household.

 

[propforward]

Great report......I think we need to work on those rustic roads! I want to get one of Powerhouse's stickers!

 

[DriftlessRider]

Great report......I think we need to work on those rustic roads! I want to get one of Powerhouse's stickers!

Thanks, I probably look at my own reports more than anyone, just to enjoy the pictures and wish I were currently out there on the bike.

Just to verify my dork factor, check out my log of Rustic Roads I've got to so far: http://edcallahan.com/wordpress/. Only six so far, but I'm on a mission. I plan to get a couple more Saturday.

 

[Catenaccio]

Terrific report and wonderful pics! I really like reading the historical signs! What a great way for the rest of us to see and appreciate places we may never ride. The Bonnie seems like such a great all-around-do-everything bike.