Reel Brothers Harley Davidson and Rustic Road 121

It has been a few weeks since my last ride to a site participating in the Wisconsin Harley Davidson Dealers Association Passport Tour. I had a trip planned a couple of weeks ago but the weather went south and I canceled. My other bike is a 2020 BMW R1250 GSA and if I would have been riding it I would not have canceled, but I try my best to avoid riding my 2016 Lowrider in any kind of rain. It would not be harmful to the bike, I just like to keep it as clean as possible. It is nearing 14,000 miles and it still looks almost like new.

Today and tomorrow promised excellent riding weather and the trip was back on. My brother, on his 2016 BMW R1200 GSA,  and I left Green Bay under cloudy skies enjoying a tailwind out of the north. Our route took us south on I 41 and then west on US 21. These highways are thick with Kwik Trips and even though I limited myself to two cups of coffee, I had masked up and visited more than one Kwik Trip before getting fuel at the one in Necedah. 

The clouds and cool weather continued as we turned south on Wisconsin Highway 80. A few miles south of Necedah we took the left fork onto Wisconsin Highway 58 and into Mauston. Reel Brothers Harley Davidson is on the northern edge of Mauston and all was quiet as we pulled our bikes into two of the many empty parking spots.

This dealership was like most I have visited across the state getting my Passport Tour sheet stamped. There was only one other patron and most of the remaining bikes were of the touring variety. There were two attractively painted Softail Sport Glides on offer also.

This is the first of a planned two day assault on four Harley Davidson dealerships participating in the Passport Tour in 2020. I am also riding as many of Wisconsin's Rustic Roads as I can, so after visiting Reel Brothers we went south on Wisconsin Highway 82 and then north on Wisconsin Highway 80. Wisconsin Rustic Road 121 winds northwest off of 80 and returns via County Road S. It has some nice hills, curves, and little farms for scenery along the way.

Once back on Highway 80 we rode through the little town of New Lisbon. North of town, on County M, is Kennedy County Park. I had found it on the map and it looked like a good place to stop and eat our lunch. The gravel road led to a campground and picnic area. There were a few campers, but no one else was around. The picnic area is next to the  Lemonweir River and we enjoyed the quiet of the woods while we ate.

Leaving the park on M, we turned west on County C. This took us to the main gate of Volk Field in Camp Douglas. This is a Wisconsin National Guard hotbed and serves both Army and Air Guard units. It was the home of the Wisconsin Military Academy before the new one was built at Fort McCoy in the latter part of the 20th century.

From there we went north on County H to US Highway 21. Thirty miles west is Fort McCoy. The post was established in 1909 on land between the towns of Sparta and Tomah. It became an important location for training and preparing troops for World War II and many of its buildings date to that time period.

A number of buildings were taken down by the Amish, who then repurposed the lumber. Those that are still in use have been extensively renovated. The post has a nice outdoor museum of buildings and vehicles that brought back many fond memories of Annual Training periods spent at the fort. We were able to secure lodging on post for the night and after a trip to the Post Exchange we settled in.