Rustic Roads in Northwest Wisconsin

It has been well over a year since I have taken a proper motorcycle trip, so this weekend I combined a visit to the Red Mouse for the Slimey Crud Run with a quest to ride some of Wisconsin's Rustic Roads. I left Green Bay with my brother on Saturday afternoon and spent the night on Madison's west side. We found a local establishment for a bite to eat and map out our plans for the next day. As anyone who has traveled recently knows, the hotel breakfast routine is to put it in a bag and bring it back to your room. I made a few selections, bagged them up, and enjoyed a solitary breakfast. At 0830 we mounted up and rode west to Pine Bluff. We arrived thirty minutes later and it was not too busy, but within the next hour it was way to crowded and maskless for us. But the opportunity to see the variety of bikes that show up and the willingness of their owners to talk about them is a motorcyclist's dream. Everyone seems to know that the whole purpose is to show and talk about bikes. The crowd kept me away from getting too close for pictures, but it was an enjoyable experience. 

The scene at the Red Mouse in Pine Bluff

We left Pine Bluff on County P, and had a great ride through south central Wisconsin. The area around the Wisconsin River and the Baraboo Bluffs is enchanting. Riding past the old Badger Army Ammunition Plant brought back memories of Viet Nam War protests and the furtive bombing attempt by the Armstrong brothers, Karleton and Dwight, during the height of the antiwar movement. After a few more roads and couple of more hours we were in Mondovi for a Subway lunch. We were nearing the Wisconsin Rustic Roads in the Northwest quadrant and I had plans to ride a few in the next couple of days.

Lunch in Mondovi

The first was Rustic Road 122,north of US Highway 10 and the newest Rustie, was an uneventful ride through typical Wisconsin scenery. Each of the roads is unique in its own way, but after riding over 90 of them they tend to run together in my mind. After all, they are all in Wisconsin. But the second one, Rustic Road 51, was definitely different. I knew from the state issued brochure that it was gravel and we decided that if it was too rough we would not ride all of it. Riding from the east it was a nice, well groomed gravel track. It is a four mile road and after about a mile it offered an opportunity to go straight or left. I chose the left option, labeled as a "winding trail". Another thing noted in the brochure was that the road sometimes crosses a trout stream. The omitted information was that those crossings do not include bridges. We came to the first water crossing and I assumed we would turn around. My brother, four years younger at 64, figured we could make it across. We have the same motorcycles and I invited him to go first. He made it with no problems. I was still skeptical about my ability to do it, but made it across safely. We took a few pictures and congratulated each other.

Unexpected Adventure Riding

But about a quarter mile later, here was another one. We went across that one and one more before I hesitated at number four. That morning I had no plans to be riding my motorcycle through a trout stream and I was not sure I wanted to do it again. This one was wider and appeared deeper. I was already wet from the earlier crossings, and although that was not a big concern, the apparent depth spooked me. I shut off the bike and walked up to the edge of the crossing. The left side looked better than the right. Also, there were some buildings on the other side, which indicated that this had to be the last water crossing. I got back on the big beast, started it up, and went forward. I was elated to come up on the other side, however ungraceful my riding style may have been. The end of Rustic Road 51 was not far off and we stopped to contemplate our accomplishment and clean our windshields and helmet shields. If that marks the end of my riding through streams I will not be disappointed.

Made it through!

After that we rode northwest to ride Rustic Road 92. It was a beautiful ride through cattle country and farmland. The residents were taking advantage of the lower wind speeds to get some needed burning done. It reminded me of the smells at my favorite fishing camp in Ontario, Canada. We finished our riding with a cruise through the streets of River Falls, which on this Sunday afternoon were full scented with the unmistakable smell of pizza. I don't know if it's because it's a college town or not, but they love their pizza. 

The last few miles to Hudson went quickly and soon we were in the Holiday Inn Express for the night. After stowing our gear we enjoyed an excellent Mexican dinner in Hudson in anticipation of more Rustic Road riding the next day.