After a day that was over-cast and threatening rain, the weather changed and became picture-perfect. Tom declared it time for a ride; I agreed and on went the boots.
We headed to Petersburg on 356 and then took hwy 56 through Bowman and down that great winding road to Hazelton. We followed a really slow driver that kind of took the edge off the curves, but arrived in Hazelton proper, pulled off the road, and waited for some time to pass for the really slow driver to get down the road, and then we continued for the remainder of the trip. We came to a T in the road and Tom said he knew of a good spot. He turned left, we went up the road a few yards, and ended up at the Hilltop Tavern. We went in, ordered some cold Killian's and an order of chicken livers. They were great! We did some serious people-watching, caught up on news from the week, and then once the livers were gone and the bottles drained, we headed back. The road was ours alone on the way back, and the curves were smooth and very enjoyable. I think the driver has pretty much to do with that...he's been my pick of driver for many moons now.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
A Good Ride on a Hot August Day
Route:
We started off with friend Jeff around 11 am since the rains had made the roads messy earlier in the day. (Cleaners of big bikes will understand this logic immediately--yikes!) We took Jeff to one of our favorite spots for early lunch--Glenna's in Hudsonville. Actually, Glenna's is pretty much Hudsonville, save the church right next door. After some good cheeseburgers, fish sandwiches, and tea along with some laughs, out the door we went on our day's journey. Since the rains were being a little iffy to the south, we headed north. Not due north, right away, of course...but we got there eventually.
We got to Washington up hwy 257, then turned west onto hwy 50. We took this to hwy 550 which took us winding through Wheatland and Bruceville. Then a little trek up hwy 41 until we reached hwys 58 and 63 that took us through Meron Station and then Merom proper. This road was fascinating--very curvy and also a main route for melon buses...those re-furbished buses that haul melons and workers out to the fields. All the sides were opened, so when the buses took each sharp curve, melons fell off and we all have watched David Letterman's show enough to know what a melon falling from any distance looks like. Kind of the perfect definition of "splat." I was being the road hazard pointer, and, at every curve, I was using both pointer fingers. I probably could have used both pointer toes, too. Pretty crazy.
We came to Hutsonville on hwy 154 and headed west across the river into Graysville, IL. We followed this nice little highway along until we found hwy 1 just a couple of miles west of Graysville. More than likely everyone, at some time or another, has been on hwy 1. Nothing spectacular from a riding point of view, but a valuable "point A to point B" road nonetheless.
We felt the need to stop for pie Chilton's Cafe in West Union. They had 8 or 9 different kinds of pie...serious pie here in West Union. They also have breaded tenderloin, so we'll have to head back over when we're in the area.
We hopped back on hwy 1 and headed up to Marshall, IL, where we caught hwy 40 and headed east. I like this road since it runs parallel to I-70. You can also see the old hwy 40 in places which really send your imagination reeling to the 30s and 40s. Very cool. We took this into West Terre Haute and then connected in Terre Haute on hwy 41. We headed south and stopped for a little break at the Terre Haute HD store. We didn't want to stay on the interstate long, so we turned east onto little side road we picked at random and headed toward hwy 159 south. It was a nice little road. We took it through Jasonville, past Shakamak State Park, and then got on hwy 48. We continued on 48 and came into Worthington. At Worthington, we got on hwy 67 south and, with hwy 231 our goal, picked it up and headed into Bloomfield. We rode ahead into Loogootee and was beginning to feel a bit of bike butt, so we stopped at the Chuckles in town (our usual stopping place). There we ran into another good friend out on a ride. Good to see you, Noogie!
Butts rested, we headed down hwy 231 and we headed toward Otwell and Jeff toward Owensboro once we got to the Y in Jasper. While riding from stop light to stop light in Jasper we figured out that our next ride would work in a month. We'll be ready!
It was really hot on the ride, but it's always a good day to ride...and there was pie!
We started off with friend Jeff around 11 am since the rains had made the roads messy earlier in the day. (Cleaners of big bikes will understand this logic immediately--yikes!) We took Jeff to one of our favorite spots for early lunch--Glenna's in Hudsonville. Actually, Glenna's is pretty much Hudsonville, save the church right next door. After some good cheeseburgers, fish sandwiches, and tea along with some laughs, out the door we went on our day's journey. Since the rains were being a little iffy to the south, we headed north. Not due north, right away, of course...but we got there eventually.
We got to Washington up hwy 257, then turned west onto hwy 50. We took this to hwy 550 which took us winding through Wheatland and Bruceville. Then a little trek up hwy 41 until we reached hwys 58 and 63 that took us through Meron Station and then Merom proper. This road was fascinating--very curvy and also a main route for melon buses...those re-furbished buses that haul melons and workers out to the fields. All the sides were opened, so when the buses took each sharp curve, melons fell off and we all have watched David Letterman's show enough to know what a melon falling from any distance looks like. Kind of the perfect definition of "splat." I was being the road hazard pointer, and, at every curve, I was using both pointer fingers. I probably could have used both pointer toes, too. Pretty crazy.
We came to Hutsonville on hwy 154 and headed west across the river into Graysville, IL. We followed this nice little highway along until we found hwy 1 just a couple of miles west of Graysville. More than likely everyone, at some time or another, has been on hwy 1. Nothing spectacular from a riding point of view, but a valuable "point A to point B" road nonetheless.
We felt the need to stop for pie Chilton's Cafe in West Union. They had 8 or 9 different kinds of pie...serious pie here in West Union. They also have breaded tenderloin, so we'll have to head back over when we're in the area.
We hopped back on hwy 1 and headed up to Marshall, IL, where we caught hwy 40 and headed east. I like this road since it runs parallel to I-70. You can also see the old hwy 40 in places which really send your imagination reeling to the 30s and 40s. Very cool. We took this into West Terre Haute and then connected in Terre Haute on hwy 41. We headed south and stopped for a little break at the Terre Haute HD store. We didn't want to stay on the interstate long, so we turned east onto little side road we picked at random and headed toward hwy 159 south. It was a nice little road. We took it through Jasonville, past Shakamak State Park, and then got on hwy 48. We continued on 48 and came into Worthington. At Worthington, we got on hwy 67 south and, with hwy 231 our goal, picked it up and headed into Bloomfield. We rode ahead into Loogootee and was beginning to feel a bit of bike butt, so we stopped at the Chuckles in town (our usual stopping place). There we ran into another good friend out on a ride. Good to see you, Noogie!
Butts rested, we headed down hwy 231 and we headed toward Otwell and Jeff toward Owensboro once we got to the Y in Jasper. While riding from stop light to stop light in Jasper we figured out that our next ride would work in a month. We'll be ready!
It was really hot on the ride, but it's always a good day to ride...and there was pie!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Road Trip for the New Year...National Maple Syrup Festival in Medora, Indiana
We've officially escaped the winter doldrums of icy-covered roads, way too cold weather, and snow. It's time to get the little two-seater out of the garage and hit the road. That's just what we did today--we headed to Medora, Indiana, for the National Maple Syrup Festival. In a word...it was maple-istic!
There were a boatload of reenactments involving Native American settlements, chuckwagons, pioneers making maple syrup, broommakers, blacksmiths, potters, wood carvers...you name it. 
The sky was blue, the weather crisp with the promise of early spring. We headed to the small town off Highway 50 to Burton's Maplewood Farm. Not only was there an abundance of maple sap being tapped on the property, there was also syrup in all stages of being cooked.
There were a boatload of reenactments involving Native American settlements, chuckwagons, pioneers making maple syrup, broommakers, blacksmiths, potters, wood carvers...you name it. 
The maple syrup was interesting; there were two grades of flavor, with Grade A being the lighter of the two and Grade B being much more intense. They are currently in the process of creating a keg of bourbon-infused syrup along with plans to make rum-infused syrup as well. It intrigues me that the syrup, when using it in cooking, can be treated as different types of wines. There is an annual cooking competition at the Festival...thinking maybe next year I might give that a try with an original recipe.
Good food, great people watching, fun day...2011 looks promising for T-N-T road trips!
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