Any other info or "Secret" twisty scenic routes appreciated:

Very Interesting...

 

Keener,

Just about any road in the SW corner of Wisconsin (unglaciated area) is a twisty scenic route. You could do what I do all the time, see a road that looks interesting (or not) and take it. The majority of the roads in the area are in decent shape. Some of the township roads may be gravel, but I just avoid those. If one turns to gravel, I turn around. The same road but a different view going the other way.

 

Hey Chris. Is Rhonda taking the Rebel ? How is she doing on it ? Last year we rode the Mindoro Cut and found quite a bit of sand on the roads in the corners so beware. Sounds like a great time, have fun.

Riz.

 

Well, here is an overview of my travels this weekend. My daughter labeled it “TFH” or Trip From Hell.

We left Forest Lake MN at about 4:30pm last Thurs, and were meeting my brother in Cannon Falls MN at 6. This put us a bit behind schedule, but him riding with us for the weekend would be worth it. The only schedule we had for the trip was to meet some friends and hang out with their 4 year old at 8. They live in LaCrosse WI. So my bro is 30 minutes late. I knew he would show, so remained patient. We left Cannon Falls on 52, then went East on i-90 for speed.
He pulls over on the Interstate shoulder and starts putting his chaps on. Semis and traffic flying by. Somehow he thought we would be OK since our hazards we on. I told him to hurry the Hell up, or we were out of there. He said, “Hey don’t rush me, I don’t get to get out that often”. I told him if he wasn’t so fricken’ slow he could get out twice as much. Then to speed him up, I fired up the cammed V&H ProPipe v-twin. We headed off.

We were to meet in LaCrosse about 8. I guess out of courtesy, he pulled over into the truck stop South of Winona MN to call our friends and tell them we were running late. He just cut in the exit ramp, without warning.

Well, here is where it gets juicy. There are some major breaks in the concrete. They catch his front tire, buck his bike, then he, and the bike proceed to slide down the concrete I will guess 50 feet. Bike parts, sparks, my brother, schat everywhere. It all comes to a halt in the ditch. Luckily my daughter (passenger) and I were riding staggered, missed him, and stopped near by. Somebody calls in 911 stating a motorcycle hit a road sign on i-90. The first responder was there in a matter of minutes. 4 squads, 1 Trooper, EMT Ambulance. All on the scene. Oh yeah, the trooper called a flatbed tow truck too. Anyway he got 2 broken ribs, and a broken collar bone. I called his wife and had our Dad come to pick up my brother and his bike. Everyone left the Hospital at 1:30. My daughter and I snailed it into Lacrosse Wisc, and checked into our hotel an hour later.

Fri, we had only to ride wherever we wanted, and end up in Stevens Point WI. I headed down WI 35 (the River Road) to DeSoto. Those huge bluffs and the mighty Mississippi sure is pretty. We took 82 East for a while, then hit the “Alphabet” roads. County roads are all letter designated. We went through Viroqua, Hillsboro, and canyon country. The best part was, neither of us had been there, and had no clue as to exactly where we were. We then went on side roads, spurs of the County roads deep down into the twisty canyons, and then back up the other side. Now, I was loaed with a passenger, bu t3rd gear, at times, even seemed almost to bog. The inclines were so great, and roads twisty. It was incredible. Sat, and Sun, we headed across Hwy 56, and went through Wildcat Mountain Park, just South of Ontario in Wisconsin.

**Anyone reading this post owes it to their biking soul to drive this part of the country**

You can quote me on that.

All in all, we witnessed a wreck, drove through 3 days of record cold & drizzle, ran out of camera battery, barely had cell coverage. Looking back, it was another great adventure my daughter and I shared.

After the 1015 mile, 3 ½ day trip, within 5 minutes of getting home, my daughter wanted to take out her Honda Rebel with me. She received her license after the safety course, 3 weeks ago. I won’t let her drive yet without me leading. We did what I recall as about 40 miles. She did great. Hopefully we can get her skills sharpened, with time and practice, and she will want to go on trips like this with her and I, but her on her own bike.

Thanks for listening-

 

I hope your brother is doing ok! Let's hear the rest.

 

OK, I finished my story.

 

It's good to hear the rest of the story. It sounds like nothing is wrong that won't mend with your brother. Not a good thing that he got hurt, but it could have been much worse.

As far as the rest of the story, a lot of the places you were riding are where I ride when I'm doing short day trips. After seeing the locations and roads coming up more and more here on the board, I'm considering myself lucky to get to ride here. When you were on the Hillsboro side of Wildcat, did you happen to see a little place called The Bullpen? There's so many cool little hole in the wall places to stop during a ride just about anywhere in SW Wisconsin.

It's ironic, but I just rode through Wyoming, MN (listed as Keener's home town) two weekends ago when my friends and I were taking a long day trip.

 

Tripwire, ya, my brother will be fine. Bones will heal, and so will his pride.

Here is a link to my favorite section of our trip: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...2,0.22007&z=12

Through Wildcat Park, onto some seriously beautiful side roads. Elk Run Road, and Ames Road seemed "Lost in Time".

Yes, Wyoming, MN is an OK town. We got our first Stop light about 6 years ago.