Another Day, Another State: Iowa

Splat is gearing up for another season

This past Friday, I took some time off from work for a little riding time. Originally, I was suppose to attend the Moonshine Run in Central Illinois but due to rain in the forecast, I pulled the plug. My wingman, Bandit Brother Matt, along with Splat, decided to mark off another state from my To Do list. By midday, we were in Iowa.

In all, we rode over 450 miles in 12 hours. We left before 9 in the morning. Our first stop was Galena via the Stage Coach Trail off of Highway 20. The Stage Coach trail is a good way to welcome in a new season of riding. This was Matt's and my first time on this road. It's not as twisty as the Kettles but it was sure fun to open the bike up on the country back roads. The roads were clean and no traffic. I am sure we will be going back, later this year.

Once we got to Galena, we were looking for a place for lunch. Matt pointed out a place called something like Fritz and Fries but we both misread Fries. I still don't know what the place was called but we all missed the word bistro. Bistro means $$$. If you don't know by now, Matt and I both like cheap ma and pa type places ( for the most part). We walked in. I noticed white linen table clothes, fancy water goblets on the table, and servers in formal attire. We took a quick glance and noticed that the appetizers start at $15.00. We made a quick get away for the door.

Matt then found a burger joint down the road. Enter, Durty Gurts! A cajun flare theme with world class burgers.

The Inferno Burger. Burn, Baby Burn!

Durty Gurts had all type of Pop Culture theme burgers including the Goodfella ,Rescue Me, the Obama burger and we can't leave off the Sarah Palin burger. I was not crazy about the Gumbo but the mouth watering inferno burger made up for it. It litteraly burned my lips for an hour afterwards. When in Galena, go to Durty Gurts. Tell them Razor sent ya.

We took a few pics around Galena and then headed into Dubuque IOWA. Yeah, another state marked off.

The Ol Mississippi River from the Iowa side.

We did not spend much time in Iowa. The plan was to ride the Great River Road north but we missed the turnoff. We stayed on the highway into Guttenburg. A few stops here and there but nothing to write home about. Maybe Splat will something to say about Iowa in his post.

Just south of Guttenburg, Iowa

After Guttenburg, we snuck back into Wishconsin via Route 18, heading to the state capital, Madison. Along the way, we encountered a woman in an escort station wagon who either:
A- Does not like motorcyles
B- Was in more of hurry then we were
C- Trying to get Matts phone number
D- Was out to prove that Ford Escorts belong in NASCAR.

As Matt and I were leaving another small Wisconsin town, I was leading out in front. I came across the escort along with a car in front of her. In the passing zone, I put on my signal to pass. Matt was with me. Driving defenively, I kept my eyes on the escort, especially her side mirror. Sure enough, as I get to her back bumper, she looks at me and decides she is passing in front of us well. I jam on the brakes to avoid contact and point at her to go. She gets back in her lane so I jump on it again to pass but the escort decides that she is going to pass.

Matt and I follow. The three of us pass but we kept pushing on to pass the escort. We both figured she was gone. About every 5 minutes, Matt and I would get stuck between some small traffic. When the opportunity presented itself, we pass the traffic. After every pass, I would see the escort behind us. I couldn't believe it. Matt and I were going plenty fast but she had to have the escort redline to keep up with us. We don't know how she did it but she was always there. Almost embarrasing but she was on a mission.

Then she started tailgating me. I rode along Matt to get his attention but I couldn't communicate that this woman is trying to take me out. We finally let her get around us in a small town. She then eventually exited a ramp. Matt stated that she waved at us. I am sure if I saw it, I would have given her the bird. OK, that was a bit long winded but its hard to explain all the crap you encounter on two wheels. Just glad we did not get taken out.

Matt and I ended up in Madison to have dinner with my sister and her husband, Shane.

Quaker Steak and Lube: The place where Splat and I met last 4th of July

After dinner, we headed home without much fanfare. Unless you spot some road head going on, not much else to report. Well, there was that one close call with the law. After leaving another town on 12, we just passed 3 car SLOW cars. Coming at us, at a safe distance, was truck flashing his headlights. That is usually the universal sign for a cop ahead. After moving into my lane, I hit the breaks. Sure enough, a cope was sitting in a used parking lot doing radar. A big thanks to that truck. Without the warning, I am sure we would have earned our Letter of Achievement.

Getting back at home at 9, the only thing I did wrong for the day was not bring my jacket liner for my mesh jacket. I figured a tshirt and sweatshirt was going to be good enough. Wrong! I bitched like a little girl on the way to lunch and then on the way home with the sun going down. I was so fricken cold. I needed a hot shower to get the chill out. Speaking of showers, I am taking one and heading to bed. It's a work night. Nite!