Rustic Roads in Central Wisconsin

If you read my 20 May post, you know all about Wisconsin's Rustic Roads. The thunderstorms that came up on my ride in May chased me away from one of them, so I made plans to get back to it this month. As long as I was making the trip, I found two other roads within striking distance.

The morning weather forecast showed rain showers to the west of Green Bay, so I left anticipating some wet riding. In order to get to the area where the Rustic Roads were I stayed on US 29, a 70 mile per hour four lane. At my first stop, in Shawano County, it looked pretty dark to the west. Checking the radar I only saw a few spots of rain and as I passed through Wausau the clouds cleared and the sun began to peek through.

My first goal was Rustic Road 73, which is located south of the little town of Curtiss. Following County E south, number 73 veers off the to west. It is a 2.5 ride over gravel through good old Wisconsin farm country. The most scenic part of the ride is an old bridge over a double set of railroad tracks. There is one intersection that is not marked, so it is important to study the map of the route or you could miss it.

Satisfied with grabbing my first Rustic Road of the day, I found a Kwik Trip and took a break. A Kona coffee and raspberry filled Danish was just enough to get me back on the trail. My plan was to go back east on 29 and north on Highway 13 out of Abbotsford. This would lead me to County D and Rustic Road 1.

By now the sun was shining brightly and the ride up 13 was as enjoyable as any ride this summer. The two lane is smooth as an opal and gently winds its way through woods and farmland. I passed through a couple of small towns before reaching Medford and crossing Highway 64. After another fifteen blissful miles I came to the small town of Westboro and the junction with County D. Turning right, the road winds through the little burg. Several miles past Westboro Rustic Road 1 leads off to the east.

This road is  gravel and five miles long. It passes through woodlands and a small lake. The area is known for hiking trails and the National Ice Age Trail is nearby. It connects with other hiking trails in central Wisconsin, but there were no hikers around on the day I visited. Some of the Rustic Roads in this area are approved for ATVs and I saw several of those during my ride.

I was getting hungry for lunch, but I had one more Rustic Road on the list. A better map recon and a belief in the "bridge out" signs would have saved me some time, but I made it to RR 78 soon after midday. This road mixes blacktop with gravel over a course of four miles. This ride involves a couple of unmarked turns and I was tempted to stop a couple of young ATV riders for guidance. But following what seemed to be the natural curves proved correct and I ended up back a little north of County E, which I had departed to ride Rustic Road 78.

Having successfully ridden the three roads and documented my accomplishment, I was ready to find lunch. I rode back down to Highway 64 and rode east toward Merrill. I was pretty confident that I would locate a McDonald's, but it wasn't until I was on the east end of town that I spotted the golden arches. After a predictably tasty Big Mac meal I mounted the big boxer and headed for home.

I decided to eschew the big slab as long as I could and followed Highway 64 all the way to Mountain. To be completely honest, I had ridden my Harley Davidson up through Mountain a week or so earlier. On that ride I noticed an ice cream sign at the junction of Highways 32 and 64. As long as I had the opportunity to ride past again I was not going to miss the ice cream again. A double vanilla and chocolate twist from a disinterested waitress was just what I needed to complete the last 60 miles of my ride.

An hour or so later I was parking the GSA in my garage. I had a feeling of accomplishment while realizing that I have still ridden less than half of the state's Rustic Roads. It is all the more reason to keep my unstoppable BMW GSA and plan more rides.

The Race of Gentlemen at the Harley Museum

The Harley Davidson Museum has become one of Wisconsin's most well known and popular attractions. Opened in 2008, it has brought visitors from around the world to the Milwaukee area. Many of those visitors are motorcycle riders, but many more come to learn the history of this iconic motorcycle. While strolling around the museum it is common to see families in shorts and flip flops mingling with bikers in leather, boots and do-rags.

As a Harley Owners Group member I receive free admission, so I have been there many times. I go once in January or February to get little mid-winter motorcycle buzz and then ride my Harley down once in the summer. Yesterday was the summer trip.

Wisconsin has received a lot of rain this summer, but yesterday was dry. As I rolled onto Interstate 43 south, the sun was shining and it was a comfortable 70 degrees. I had not filled the tank after my last ride, so I stopped in Manitowoc for a fill up and my daily banana snack. Road construction between Manitowoc and Sheboygan slowed the pace, so I was thankful that I was not on anyone's schedule but my own. Once south of Sheboygan it was a easy cruise into Milwaukee and the Harley Davidson Museum parking lot.

The Garage is a separate building from the rest of the museum and houses special exhibits. In June of this year an exhibit titled "The Race of Gentlemen" opened. It closes in September, so I was happy that I was able to work in this trip.

The Race of Gentlemen, or TROG, as it is known, is an event held each June on the beach in New Jersey. It is for cars built in the 1930's and for motorcycles built prior to 1947. The organizers insist on the authenticity of all parts, although the vehicles can be modified. The event itself is not a recreation, but an entirely new concept developed by a group of old car buffs about twelve years ago.

This group was interested in the car racing culture that developed in Southern California after World War II. Returning service members modified motorcycles and cars and raced them in the desert around Carlsbad. These WW II veterans and their vehicles were the inspiration for the group that began TROG. The connection between the veterans and the current racers is explained in great detail within the exhibit.

The Harley Davidson Museum managed to collect an interesting sample of vehicles for this temporary exhibit. The Number 4 Horseshoe Tavern roadster was recreated by a father and son team after finding a picture of the car a a rally in the late 1940's. The 1931 Model A they built eventually raced against another car that had the original Horseshoe Tavern engine installed in it.

Among the motorcycles, my favorite was a WLA bobber. These vehicles all have stories that are as interesting to read as the bikes and cars are enjoyable to look at. This bobber was built by a young man who had to overcome some adversity in his life. The bike project helped him get through it and he rode the old WLA 500 miles to participate in TROG.

If you are interested in taking in this excellent exhibit you have to hurry as it will close September 4, 2017.