First 1000 miles

[wildezt_imp]

Well, I picked up my CB from the dealer on June 9th and wound the odometer past 1000, non-commuting, miles last night. About half of those miles were racked up on fairly local trips away from the urban sprawl of Chicago to at least the fringes of the more open country that surrounds it, including one one 60 mile ride with the sole purpose of enjoying a cigar in a neat little park in southern Wisconsin. Also, some rides to bike nights and a pretty cool ride to a vintage bike show in the city called "Mods vs. Rockers" where my bike got a ton (pun intended) of attention from the cafe racer crowd in attendance. The remaining 500 miles was clocked on our second annual Solstice Ride.

The Solstice Ride was conceived by my brother-in-law and has four simple rules: you must be on your bike at sunrise, on or near your bike all day, on your bike on sunset, and your route should return you to your starting point at the end of the day (avoid using The Ride as the first leg of a longer trip) . Last year, it was just two of us. This year, there were four riders (two BMWs, a Yamaha, and me).

Our route took us to breakfast in a bar in northwest Illinois called Poopy's, then north along the Mississipi to Galena then crossing the Big Muddy into Iowa, following The Great River Road. Crossed the river into Cassville, Wisconsin; this time via a small ferry that you board after a mile-long ride down a gravel road. From Cassville, it was down to Potosi for lunch at the Potosi Brewing Co. Then we meandered east across Wisconsin, stopping at a state park, New Glarus Brewing, a Hooters, and dinner at a diner on Hwy. 45 in Bristol, WI with plenty of. Curves, twists,, and turns in between. Left my house at 5:15am and returned home at 10:45pm.

By the end of this month, my odo should have ticked over 2500 miles as my wife on her CTX, me on my CB1100, and three friends on Wings (one on the new F6B) will have completed a circle tour of Lake Michigan by then. I will post a report of that ride when it is in the books, but expect a report of miles and miles of smiles

My feeble attempts at photography and posting said photography follow...

Nice concept..