Rustic Road 62 and Timm's Hill

The pandemic has altered my assault on Wisconsin's Rustic Roads. In past years I have gone off on one or two strategically planned rides to various locations. These rides enable me to ride a dozen or so Rusties in a couple of days. But this year I have not felt comfortable booking a night in a hotel and have only gone on day rides. So this meant that riding Rustic Road 62 in Price County would be the centerpiece in a long day of riding.

I have been studying the map this spring and summer looking for Rustic Roads that are accessible on a one day ride from my home. Number 62 is west of Tomahawk and about 160 miles away. The quickest route would follow the four lanes on US Highways 29 and 51, but I did not want to ride all the way on the slabs. 

Several years ago I picked up a copy of "Motorcycling Across Wisconsin" (2009), authored by William Murphy. The book has maps of rides, many of them loop style, in the state and each has a particular theme. One of the rides was titled To the Top of Wisconsin and was perfect for my trip. The route was on excellent county roads on the east and west sides of US 51 between Wausau and Tomahawk. As there were a number of different roads involved, I made few notes about the route to back up the information I entered into my BMW NAV VI GPS.

The day before the ride I invited my brother to come along, telling him it would be a 320 mile day. He was up for it and we decided to bring our lunches along rather than try to find a safe place to eat. We met at the Kwik Trip, filled up on fuel, completed our lunch packing, and headed northwest on US 29.

It was a perfect day to ride and soon we were just east of Wausau, turning north. We immediately noticed that the county roads in the area have a red tint from the granite used in their construction. We followed various county roads north and eventually a westerly direction into Tomahawk. Stopping for a break the Amoco on the edge of town, I told my brother that Harley Davidson owns a factory in Tomahawk. 

Willie G. Davidson, grandson of one of the founders, used to vacation in the area. He took an interest in the Tomahawk Boat Factory and in 1961 Harley Davidson bought it. By 1963 the factory was turning out fiberglass fairings, saddlebags and sidecars for the company's motorcycles. We were not far from the factory and saw a couple of Harley semi trucks on their way in and out. After mounting up and riding west through town we spotted another Harley building. Being a Harley owner I could not pass up this photo op. After carefully parking our BMW motorcycles in the lot we asked someone entering the building what its purpose is. She said that the products made east of town were shipped there for finishing. 

It was getting near lunch time and the Rustic Road was 25 miles west, so we got on our way. The NAV VI took us the rest of the way to County RR, Rustic Road 62. It is a paved road that goes south into Timm's Hill County Park. Timm's Hill, at 1951 feet, is the highest point in Wisconsin. The park, which also contains 160 acre Bass Lake, encloses the hill. We stopped at a spot on the lake that had a picnic table and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the surrounding woods. Across the small lake, which the Rustic Road guidebook claims is "teeming with northern pike", was a restaurant and bar. Soon after we arrived the quiet was interrupted by the arrival of an squad of ATV riders at the restaurant. If that many riders think it is worth a stop I will be back once I feel safe in a restaurant.

After lunch we rode just a few hundred feet to a parking area near the observation tower. It was a quarter mile hike up and it was quite warm on top of the hill. We plodded up the old wooden tower and took in the view. It was an almost cloudless day and it was possible to see for miles. The old metal fire tower still stands next to the observation tower. After catching our breath and taking a few pictures, we made our way back to the bikes. There were a few other people around, but it does not seem to be a popular spot for visitors. 

Our route home was on county roads paralleling US 51 on the west side. The first few miles on County C were a mix of curves and hills as we made our way south. Eventually the road straightened out as it entered healthy looking corn and soybean fields. We crossed over US 29 and turned east on County N. We planned to ride this into Wausau before hopping onto US 29 for the 90 mile blast home, but we ran into a "road closed" sign. So at Edgar, home multiple high school football championship teams, we got back on the big highway and road east and home.

It was an outstanding day on the bike and one more reminder that life can be grand even under the burdens of the pandemic.

Riding Some Brand New Rustic Roads in NE Wisconsin

My attack on Wisconsin's Rustic Roads is continuing through this abnormal riding season. In other years a ride to a Rustic Road would include a stop at a local restaurant for breakfast or lunch. The search for just the right place was as much a part of the planning as working out the route to my destination. Early in the season I was disappointed by the fact that I would not be able to enjoy the local cuisine on my rides. But over the past few weeks I have discovered the joy of bringing my sustenance and finding a lake, river, or county park to enjoy with my meal.

Wisconsin adds to the list Rustic Roads on an intermittent basis. The only way to know if there are new designations is to check the website. Two of them were recently added in northeast Wisconsin. I rode the first after finding it by accident and the other one involved planned day trip. As of now I have ridden almost 90 of the state's Rustic Roads. I have plans to make it to 100 by the end of the year but since March I have learned to not count on plans. So I am taking pleasure in the rides that I am able to complete and not thinking too far ahead.

In late June my brother and I went for a ride up into Oconto and Marinette Counties. The route took us up Highway 32 to Wabeno. By doing a map recon I discovered that just west of Wabeno is Richardson Lake County Park. There is a campground and a little picnic area near the lake and we stopped there for lunch. After enjoying the quiet of the woods and good meal we went back into Wabeno, then due east on County Road C. We had not gotten far out of Wabeno when, to my surprise, a familiar brown and gold Rustic Road sign appeared. I did not have my logbook with me, but I knew that number 118 was new and that I had not ridden it yet. By the time I stopped and took the picture my riding partner had come back to see what had held me up. It is not easy to ride with a Rustic Road hunter.

RR 118 is a beautifully paved road with some nice sweeping curves and elevation changes. We rode it across Marinette County to Wausaukee, where it meets Highway 180. This road follows the Menominee River, the border between Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, on its way into Green Bay. There are a lot of great little stops along way where travelers can enjoy the river. When we got to Marinette we were going to go up to Menominee to get some pasties at Kolonel K's, but there was an unusual amount of traffic. It was then that we remembered that the president was there that day visiting Marinette Marine. We rode back south on US 41 and on the way into Green Bay saw the president's chopper and its escort of two Boeing Ospreys on their way north.

After finding number 118 in my own backyard I thought I should get back on the Rustic Road website and see if any others had been added in northeast Wisconsin. Sure enough, there was number 117 just south of Wautoma near Saxeville. I had been in the Saxeville area several years ago riding RR 48 and this one is just outside of town,

On the day I rode down there the forecast was for afternoon thundershowers. I kept a close watch on the sky and checked the radar on my phone at stops. It looked like it would be clear long enough for me to ride the Rustic Road and then get home dry. I used the Nav VI GPS on my BMW R 1250 GSA to guide me into Saxeville and onto RR 117. One of the features of this road is a short side road that has a covered bridge and I did not want to miss that. 

When I stopped for the bridge photo I noticed a park like area to my right. There was a home and some outbuildings on the property, so I was surprised to see a sign that indicated the public was welcome. The bridge spans the Pine River and there was a young fellow trying his luck fly fishing. I watched his efforts as I ate my lunch. An old Buick pulled up and a local gentleman and his family got out. As his wife and daughters took pictures of the bridge he came over to chat. He said that an older couple had owned the property I was on and had tended the gardens as long as they could. When they could no longer maintain it the local government purchased the spot and opened it for public use. It was a beautiful and peaceful location and one I would not have enjoyed if I had been seeking a local restaurant. Soon he went back to tend to his ladies and I spent a few more minutes enjoying the river. Then I remembered the threatening weather forecast and began packing up.

Rustic Road 117 is not very long and soon I was on County K heading up toward Wautoma and home. the county was doing some road work and while there were no detours I ended up having to clean a lot of tar-like specks off my motorcycle when I got home. I chose a southerly route home on Highway 10 and that was turned out to be the wet route. But it only lasted about 20 miles and then it was sunshine and dry roads all the way home. 

The list of Rustic Roads is up to 122. I am glad that I found these two close to home and can now add them to my list of roads ridden. This riding season is different from all others, but in some ways has become better than the others.

Beaver Dam and Madison Harley Davidson Sh

The scourge of COVID 19 shows no signs of abating and I continue to be happy to have a riding goal for the summer. The Wisconsin Harley Dealers Association Passport Tour has given me the incentive to get out on the road and map out new routes across the state. Now that I have gotten Passport stamps at all of the participating dealerships in the eastern part of the state it is time to look to the west.

This week I planned an overnight trip that would have netted me six new stamps and left just one to acquire. But Mother Nature intervened in the form of a rainy forecast and that plan went by the wayside. Or it would have if the waysides in Wisconsin were open. The first part of the route was still in play though, and I made the best of it.

I was on the road after the I 41 rush hour subsided on a beautiful sunny morning. It was cool enough that I was comfortable with a long sleeve riding shirt under my Harley Davidson Killian jacket. The only luggage capacity on my 2016 Low Rider S is a swingarm bag, so I travel with a Fly backpack. There would be enough room in there

 to ditch the riding shirt as the day warmed up.

The first stop was Mischler's Harley Davidson in Beaver Dam. This is the also the home of one of two BMW dealerships in the state. The dealership was opened in Waupun by William Mischler in 1958 selling Harley Davidsons and became a BMW dealer the next year. Soon after, the shop moved to Beaver Dam. It has been in several locations since and the new owners, William's son Art and his wife Deb, moved to the current location in 2002. It is a state of the art facility with easy access off US Highway 151. I have a BMW also, so I make it a point to visit Mischler's at least once each year.

Madison is only about 40 miles southwest of Beaver Dam on 151, but it was an interesting and unsettling ride. The highway has been under some type of construction for at least two years and justt south of Beaver Dam there was a good stretch of single lane along this four lane highway. It ended near the Columbus exit and just as traffic was getting up to speed the orange barrels showed up again. In an unfortunate incident, a truck with some type of crane struck and killed a construction worker. I did not know it at the time, but saw the truck amid several law enforcement vehicles. There is also road construction on I 39 near the exit for Harley Davidson of Madison, but the dealer rep gave me some good directions to avoid it on my way in.

I got my first Harley Davidson in 1998 and at the time was a member of the Wisconsin Army National Guard. I was drilling in Madison then and on those weekends I always found time to visit the local Harley shop. It was called Decker's then and was located on US 51 on the south side. When it was sold and moved to its current southeast side location in 2002 it became Capital City Harley Davidson. Since then it has been sold and renamed twice. The current owner closed his Sauk Prairie Harley Davidson dealership in Sauk City in 2015 and merged those operations with Harley Davidson of Madison.  

This place has an inviting showroom and an excellent selection of parts and accessories. There was a 2020 Road King Special on the floor, the first I have seen in my travels. It had a premium paint job and looked terrific. I remembered more grassy area outside from the last time I visited, but they added some square footage for storage and there was no picnic area on the property. I still managed to find a nice shady spot under a tree to enjoy my lunch. 

While eating I marveled at how perfect the day was perfect and lamented the fact that I was not going to be able to continue northwest toward the next participating dealer. It would have been a great day for it, but the looming forecast meant I was on my way home. After watching a rider or two take some shiny new bikes out for test rides I packed up the backpack, put on my helmet, jacket and gloves and got back on the highway.

I had plenty of time and chose to take some back roads home. Over the years I have been on most of them, but it is a beautiful part of the state. Highway 73 took me through the little towns of Deerfield, Marshall, Randolph, Columbus and up to Fox Lake. I thought of the many people I knew from the National Guard who lived in the little towns around the home of the State Headquarters. 

The little town of Columbus was in the news recently as they announced the removal of their Christopher Columbus statue. I went south on Highway 60 to see if it was still there, but all that was left was a cement pedestal near the empty Shopko building. On my way back to 73 I passed a statue memorializing the local Union soldiers who had died during the Civil War. The Amtrak was leaving the station and blocking the street, so I used the traffic halt to take a few pictures.

Following 73 took me to Highways 33 and 68 and I rode into Waupun ready for a break. A Kwik Trip appeared just at the right time and I enjoyed a Kona coffee and blueberry muffin. A gentleman in a Ford Harley Davidson pickup stopped to chat and ask a few questions about my Low Rider. He and his wife have Harley Ultras and he also enjoys his Sportster when bar hopping. 

The ride home was over familiar roads along the east side of Lake Winnebago. Even though my trip was cut short it was a pretty good day on the bike. I now have gotten stamps from all of the dealers in the bigger cities, so the next rides will be on much less traveled roads.

Passport Tour Stamp Quest in the Milwaukee Area

Wisconsin weather is famously unpredictable and we are experiencing an unusual heat wave. This week the temperatures have been in the high 80' and low 90's with high humidity. This all factored into my quest to get Harley Davidson Dealers Association Passport Tour stamps from the participating dealers in the Milwaukee area. Most of my ride would be near the Lake Michigan shoreline and it would be a bit cooler there.

I left Green Bay at 0830 and made my first stop at Suburban Motors in Thiensville. Thiensville is about five miles west of I 43 and, unlike most other Harley dealerships, is located in a downtown area. A village of a little more than 3000 people, Thiensville has a quaint old downtown and was rather busy on a mid week morning. There are restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries, all busy with shoppers and diners.

Suburban Motors has been in this location for 40 years and prides itself on the fact that they have sold bikes to several generations. This shop had more parts and accessories, along with clothing, than any of the shops I had been in. They also had a good selection of their inventory outside for interested buyers to examine. After a quick look around, getting my Passport stamped and hydrating, I rode back to the interstate and went south.

My next stop was Uke's Harley Davidson in Kenosha. The ride through Milwaukee went well as it was after the morning rush hour. Uke's is a dealership that I have ridden past many times on my way to Chicago and points beyond. There has not been a good reason to get off at the exit near Uke's, so I had never been there. It is not be missed by travelers, though, due to its tower showroom containing five floors of new motorcycles.

Uke's has a long history with Harley Davidson and Kenosha, going back to 1930. Their website details how this family owned business has been a major player in motorcycling in Kenosha for almost 100 years. The building they are in now was built in 2003. It is easy to pass up, but worth a stop. I took time to enjoy my lunch on their front patio, got my Passport stamped and rode off to my next dealership. 

To get to Wisconsin Harley Davidson in Oconomowoc I skirted the south and west sides of Milwaukee on Interstates 43, 41 and 94. Oconomowoc is about 30 minutes west of Milwaukee and the dealership is on the south side of the highway. The groundskeeper had finished cutting the expansive lawn and was in the process of blowing the cuttings off the parking lot. I took this into consideration as I parked my Low Rider S. 

Oconomowoc means "where waters meet" and the area is known for its lakes. The dealership originated in Watertown in 1917 and moved to Oconomowoc in 1995. The big beautiful building I entered was completed in 2005. Like the other new shops I had been in there was plenty of showroom space and a friendly staff. 

It had become much warmer as I rode away from the lakeshore and I knew that I would be into late afternoon traffic by the time I got back to Green Bay. So after a chat with one of the representatives and getting my Passport stamped I went back out into the heat. I finished up the water I had with me before crossing the interstate and riding north on Highway 67, leaving the city of lakes behind me.

I wanted to avoid riding in the heat as much as possible and also avoid going back through Milwaukee. My route took me through part of the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine Forest and it was a nice break from the interstates. I did encounter some unexpected detours as I made my way north and east, but it made the ride more interesting. I arrived back on the lakeshore at Grafton and rode back north on I 43. After one more water stop in Sheboygan I arrived home at 1700.

These three shops are in the busiest and most traveled areas of Wisconsin and I am glad to have their stamps. The last seven are pretty well scattered around, but they are in more remote areas. Plans to visit them are already in the works.

Lakeshore Harley Davidson Shops

A few days after learning about the Wisconsin Harley Davidson Dealers Association Passport Tour I rode off on my first dedicated ride to secure stamps at participating dealers. I packed up a nice lunch and aimed my 2016 Harley Davidson Low Rider S south on Interstate 43.

My goal was to get two stamps on the ride. It was a perfect June day for riding and the traffic was light. Wisconsin is an open state as far as the corona virus goes, but many people are still staying home and staying safe. 

Harbor Town Harley Davidson is located on the I 43 west frontage road in Manitowoc. Most of the stores have been quiet during my midweek visits and this one was no different. There was not the usual picnic table outside Harbor Town, but I found a shady spot to eat before going inside.

After browsing around the new and used bikes and the discounted clothing rack I got my Passport stamped and prepared to continue south. 

Lunch at Harbor Town HD

Route 43 Harley Davidson is the dealer in Sheboygan and is about 20 miles south of Manitowoc. It has been in this location since Harley's heyday in the 1990's. I bought my first real motorcycle jacket here in about 1999. It is the Marlon Brando style and although I don't wear it much now I got a lot of use out of it. 

I parked near the picnic tables outside the store and hydrated a bit before going in. One thing I have noticed is that the Harley dealers are all doing their own thing as far as protecting themselves and their customers from the virus. There are very few masks on the employees, if any, and I have only seen one with the plexiglass shields at the service counters. 

Made in the USA

After checking out the shop and looking for another deal on a jacket I asked the representative about getting my Passport stamped. He said that the dealership "had not made the cut" this year and were not participating. He said they had sent in all of the paperwork, but were not included in the tour. He asked which ones I still needed and was very helpful in providing a good route down to Suburban Harley Davidson in Thiensville. That would be for another day.

As I prepared to leave I resolved to spend some time studying the Passport and make sure that my trips would not end up without a stamp. It was a great day to ride though, and any ride that ends in perusing shiny new bikes is a good ride. 

Discovering the Wisconsin Harley Davidson Dealers Association Passport Tour

A couple of days after my trip to Wausau I loaded up my backpack and rode south. My destination was Open Road Harley Davidson in Fond du Lac with a stop at Appleton Harley Davidson. The sun was out and temperatures were in the high 70's. This is prime riding weather in Wisconsin.

I purposely did not leave Green Bay until mid morning. My route was down I 41 and the traffic during morning rush hour is legendary. By the time I was on the road it was tolerable. Appleton Harley is about two miles off the interstate and I arrived ready for a water and stretch break.

This dealership holds some wonderful events during the year and there is ample room for them. They have a brat shed on the grounds for some events and a large parking area. Across the street is another parking lot that they use for the Harley Davidson Riding Academy classes. On this day there was one to one instruction happening. My wife and I stopped in early this year, prior to the pandemic shutdown, for their Wing Ding event. Local wings places set up shop in the maintenance area and for a small fee attendees can sample local wing delicacies. It was very well attended and a fond memory of when we could talk and mingle freely with fellow motorcycle and chicken wing enthusiasts. 

Appleton Harley Davidson

The shop had a good selection of new touring bikes and a few nice Sportsters. I always like the looks of the Sportys, but I don't see one in my future. I had one twenty years ago, but now that I am used to the Dynas and big twins I do not think I would be happy on a 1200. This dealership has very friendly associates and after a few brief conversations I packed up on got back on I 41 south. 

The Open Road dealership is on the frontage road on the west side of the interstate. It is in a huge building with a covered picnic area next to the parking lot. All of the newer Motor Company dealerships seem to be built next to the main highways and are on big pieces of property. It makes it easy to get in and out and provides plenty of room for dealer events. The pandemic has shut down the events, but the amenities are still there for riders like me. 

Open Road Harley in Fond du Lac

I parked next to the covered picnic table and enjoyed a leisurely lunch. Like the other shops, this one had very few customers. A couple of people drove up in cages and came out with parts and clothing. A couple on a trike rode in for a mid week visit. After eating I went in to find a lot of pandemic related safety features. I sanitized as requested and began to check out the merchandise.

Lunch break at Open Road

One of the associates came over and I told her I was visiting as many Wisconsin dealers as I could this summer as all of the usual events and rallies had been canceled. She told me about the 2020 Wisconsin H-D Dealers Association Passport Tour. The Passport Tour began on April 1 and ends October 31. There are fifteen dealers in the state participating. She gave me a Passport and explained how it worked. As you visit each dealer you get them to stamp your Passport. Depending on the number of stamps you get, you are eligible for prize drawings in the fall. I accepted the Passport she offered and realized that I had just found a riding goal for 2020. 

My ride home took me up the east side of Lake Winnebago. It is a much nicer ride than the interstate and quite scenic. During the ride I was planning my trips back to Bull Falls Harley in Rothschild and Mischler's in Beaver Dam to get the Passport stamps and visualizing rides to the far corners of Wisconsin. It is nice to have reason to ride in the middle of the madness.

Riding During the Pandemic

The spring of 2020 will be remembered for many reasons and one of them is the cancellation or postponement of just about everything. Tickets for sporting events, concerts and vacations sit unused in desk drawers or on digital devices. As springs rolls into summer and the pandemic continues to hover the postponements turn to cancellations or become 2021 events. 

For motorcyclists one effect has been the cancellation or postponement of many rallies and events around the country. Riders schedule vacations around them and for many of us the rides to and from the events are highlights of the riding season. The BMW National Rally was scheduled to be held in Great Falls, Montana this coming week. My brother and I had hotel reservations and talked all winter about the route to take out there from Wisconsin. By late March we began to realize the rally was in jeopardy and by May it had been canceled for 2020. 

Over the winter I mapped out a plan to ride some of Wisconsin's Rustic Roads. They are all in the west and northwest part of the state. The plan was to ride to Madison to watch my niece receive her diploma from the University of Wisconsin in early May and then head up to the Rustic Road hunting grounds. But there was no graduation ceremony and I had no interest in trying to find a hotel to stay in at that time. In addition, the state was on lockdown and there would have been no restaurants available.

Last weekend I decided to take my Harley for a ride out to the Harley Davidson dealership in the Wausau area. I had never been there and it was a beautiful day to ride. So I packed a lunch and rode west on US Highway 29. Doc's Harley Davidson is near Shawano, WI, and right on 29, so I made a stop there. If you have never been to Doc's, it is a "must see" dealership. He has everything from a zoo to an antique store on the property and his motorcycle related creations are inspired.

Doc's Harley Davidson

After a brief walk around the shop I continued west toward Wausau. The traffic was light and the miles clicked past. The dealership in the Wausau area moved from downtown Wausau to Rothschild several years ago. Like many of the Motor Company's shops, this one moved close to the four lane highway. In this case it is near the intersection of US Highways 29 and 51. As I pulled up I immediately began looking for a picnic table or some area suitable for a relaxing lunch. Most of the dealerships provide a spot like this and Bull Falls Harley Davidson did not disappoint.

A perfect spot for lunch

The sun was warm and I took my time eating. A few riders came and went, but there was not much activity for a sunny Saturday in June. I had thought that this shop was called Rib Mountain Harley or something like that, so I was interested in the new name. After disposing of my lunch packaging I ambled into the shop.

Harley Davidson in Rothschild Wisconsin

It all looks brand new although the building went up in 2006. As I was looking over the new bikes I heard someone call my name. I looked up and it was a representative who I knew from my local shop, Vandervest Harley Davidson in Green Bay. He had helped me trade in my 2004 Low Rider for my 2016 Low Rider S. He explained that the Vandervests had bought the Rothschild dealership in April 2019 and several employees split their time between the two shops. I was glad to see a familiar face and we spent some time catching up. 

Harley Davidson, like a lot of manufacturers, shut down for a period of time this spring. The showroom had a good selection of new touring bikes, but there is not the number I would expect. I have learned that there will be limited numbers of 2020 bikes built and the 2021 models will not be introduced until February 2021. Normally the new models are unveiled in August.

On the way home I turned south at US Highway 45 and meandered back to Green Bay on the back roads. During the ride I began to think about the possibility of spending a few days over the summer visiting the Wisconsin Harley shops. Over the next few days a plan took shape and the 2020 riding season had a new focus.