Post by Crossbones Dennis on Apr 24, 2011 9:54:06 GMT -6
and my butt hurts. 
Earlier this week,on a nice sunny day, we broke out the bikes. We rode to a small motorcycle shop in Alton. We hung out there for awhile then decided to go to lunch. w333 and the shop owner recommended a place called Chubby's or something like that on Broadway. It looked closed as we went by. Then I noticed all the stores were dark and all the stoplights were not working.
We headed out of Alton on the Great River Road. greatriverroad.com/ We passed the Piasa Bird mural and cruised along the side of the Mississippi toward Grafton. The traffic was light. The towboats were moving their loads down the river. A state worker was having a bad day as he was trying to load a deer carcass into a dump truck. It looked like it was hit by a semi.
We eased into Grafton knowing of their "Loud pipes risk rights" policy. John's bike has the stock muffler. Mine is a modified stock system. It's not real loud but on a day with such few bikes, I didn't want to be singled out. When I get time, I'm going to put the original back on the bike.
We go all the way through town to Beasley's Fish. Pull in th parking lot. Darn, closed. So I suggested we go back to the Loading Dock. They have good food and a nice view of the river. We turn the bikes around and head back into town. About 1/2 way through town I see O Jan's Fish Stand. I'd never been there. There was parking available. We turned in.
O Jan's Fish Stand is a 2 story block building near the main intersection. You order at a window outside. It looked like they had inside dining but it was too nice to be in there. They have several kinds of fish and bbq. John had the buffalo. I had the bbq with fries and fried pickles. Now I've had fried pickles before and really like them. They were the dill chips. O Jan's are actually dill spears that are battered and deep fried. They weren't bad but I prefer the other kind. There was more of them than I could eat so John finished the last couple.
We debated where to head next. The Brussels Ferry seemed like a good idea. It's free. It's north of Grafton. It can be very busy on weekends. www.greatriverroad.com/SecondaryPages/ferries.htm
No line today. The ferry was unloading when we arrived. We pulled up onto it with several cars. Depending on the river, you might have clearance problems if you are on a lowered bike. Not a problem today. When you get on the ferry, turn off your bike and put it on the kickstand. It's a smooth ride but there is some swaying.
Off the ferry and onto some very nice roads for riding. Welcome to Calhoun county where the men are men and the sheep are scared. The farmers were in the fields. Traffic was rolling along at the speed limit. Except for the white Grand Am that passed me scaring the crap out of me. I never saw him coming up behind me. He was beside me before I ever saw him.
We rolled in to Brussels. A small Quiet community in the middle of nowhere. We stopped outside the Wittmond Hotel. www.wittmondhotel.com/dining.html I told John I've never ate there but had heard good things. It's family style dining. You don't order. You just sit down and they start bringing it to you. I told him we would have to bring the wives back some time.
We eased out of Brussels my v-twin purring right along. You couldn't ask for a better day to ride. When you get a little ways out, you'll come to a church on the right. If you turn right there, you will be heading towards Hardin. Which we did. Be careful at that intersection. there tends to be gravel in the middle. Hills first, then we topped one hill and it was a long straight downhill run leveling out in the bottoms straight as an arrow as far as you could see. OMG it was like being at the top of a roller coaster. There was an oncoming vehicle in the distance or I would've pinned it. I bet many individuals have set their personal land speed records there.
We rode along side the bluffs. At one point I could see a 4 wheeler on the road ahead of me. That's not uncommon in this area. Watch out for the farm equipment also.
At the stop sign in Hardin is a gas station where we usually stop. I told john I was going to run it farther on this tank. I wanted to get as much of the old fuel out as I could. We turned right onto the Hardin bridge and crossed the IL river. This is 100/16. A few miles down the road, they separate. 100 will take you back to Grafton. We took 16. It's a lot of flat farm fields. We passed through Fieldon, Jersyville, Piasa and into Shipman. That's where my fuel light came on. 113 miles and it says I need fuel.
There's not much in Shipman. We cut across on the Shipman Cutoff Road to the Brighton Bunker Hill road. We turned left. Went through Woodburn past the 1/4 midget track. It looks like they are doing some improvements.
I stopped for gas in Bunker Hill. 3.1 Gallons, 124 miles. Right at 40 mpg. I had about 40 miles left in the tank. We passed Willis Racing, honking and waving at Charles. He was out working in the yard.
Back to Staunton. 135 miles so far. John headed home. I went and picked up my wife. We rode to The Old Ripson bridge. Built in 1895, Ripson Bridge is the last pony truss bridge in Bond County. The Sorento Homecoming Association took over the bridge as a historic landmark and it is now a walking bridge.
There a fall festival there that we might attend this year.http://www.greenvilleusa.org/Ripson%20Bridge/ripsonbridgeinfo.html
As we headed back, the temp started dropping and the sky darkened. We made it home before it rained. Total for the day was 175 miles.
Edited because I don't know my right from my left.
Earlier this week,on a nice sunny day, we broke out the bikes. We rode to a small motorcycle shop in Alton. We hung out there for awhile then decided to go to lunch. w333 and the shop owner recommended a place called Chubby's or something like that on Broadway. It looked closed as we went by. Then I noticed all the stores were dark and all the stoplights were not working.We headed out of Alton on the Great River Road. greatriverroad.com/ We passed the Piasa Bird mural and cruised along the side of the Mississippi toward Grafton. The traffic was light. The towboats were moving their loads down the river. A state worker was having a bad day as he was trying to load a deer carcass into a dump truck. It looked like it was hit by a semi.
We eased into Grafton knowing of their "Loud pipes risk rights" policy. John's bike has the stock muffler. Mine is a modified stock system. It's not real loud but on a day with such few bikes, I didn't want to be singled out. When I get time, I'm going to put the original back on the bike.
We go all the way through town to Beasley's Fish. Pull in th parking lot. Darn, closed. So I suggested we go back to the Loading Dock. They have good food and a nice view of the river. We turn the bikes around and head back into town. About 1/2 way through town I see O Jan's Fish Stand. I'd never been there. There was parking available. We turned in.
O Jan's Fish Stand is a 2 story block building near the main intersection. You order at a window outside. It looked like they had inside dining but it was too nice to be in there. They have several kinds of fish and bbq. John had the buffalo. I had the bbq with fries and fried pickles. Now I've had fried pickles before and really like them. They were the dill chips. O Jan's are actually dill spears that are battered and deep fried. They weren't bad but I prefer the other kind. There was more of them than I could eat so John finished the last couple.
We debated where to head next. The Brussels Ferry seemed like a good idea. It's free. It's north of Grafton. It can be very busy on weekends. www.greatriverroad.com/SecondaryPages/ferries.htm
No line today. The ferry was unloading when we arrived. We pulled up onto it with several cars. Depending on the river, you might have clearance problems if you are on a lowered bike. Not a problem today. When you get on the ferry, turn off your bike and put it on the kickstand. It's a smooth ride but there is some swaying.
Off the ferry and onto some very nice roads for riding. Welcome to Calhoun county where the men are men and the sheep are scared. The farmers were in the fields. Traffic was rolling along at the speed limit. Except for the white Grand Am that passed me scaring the crap out of me. I never saw him coming up behind me. He was beside me before I ever saw him.
We rolled in to Brussels. A small Quiet community in the middle of nowhere. We stopped outside the Wittmond Hotel. www.wittmondhotel.com/dining.html I told John I've never ate there but had heard good things. It's family style dining. You don't order. You just sit down and they start bringing it to you. I told him we would have to bring the wives back some time.
We eased out of Brussels my v-twin purring right along. You couldn't ask for a better day to ride. When you get a little ways out, you'll come to a church on the right. If you turn right there, you will be heading towards Hardin. Which we did. Be careful at that intersection. there tends to be gravel in the middle. Hills first, then we topped one hill and it was a long straight downhill run leveling out in the bottoms straight as an arrow as far as you could see. OMG it was like being at the top of a roller coaster. There was an oncoming vehicle in the distance or I would've pinned it. I bet many individuals have set their personal land speed records there.
We rode along side the bluffs. At one point I could see a 4 wheeler on the road ahead of me. That's not uncommon in this area. Watch out for the farm equipment also.
At the stop sign in Hardin is a gas station where we usually stop. I told john I was going to run it farther on this tank. I wanted to get as much of the old fuel out as I could. We turned right onto the Hardin bridge and crossed the IL river. This is 100/16. A few miles down the road, they separate. 100 will take you back to Grafton. We took 16. It's a lot of flat farm fields. We passed through Fieldon, Jersyville, Piasa and into Shipman. That's where my fuel light came on. 113 miles and it says I need fuel.
There's not much in Shipman. We cut across on the Shipman Cutoff Road to the Brighton Bunker Hill road. We turned left. Went through Woodburn past the 1/4 midget track. It looks like they are doing some improvements.
I stopped for gas in Bunker Hill. 3.1 Gallons, 124 miles. Right at 40 mpg. I had about 40 miles left in the tank. We passed Willis Racing, honking and waving at Charles. He was out working in the yard.
Back to Staunton. 135 miles so far. John headed home. I went and picked up my wife. We rode to The Old Ripson bridge. Built in 1895, Ripson Bridge is the last pony truss bridge in Bond County. The Sorento Homecoming Association took over the bridge as a historic landmark and it is now a walking bridge.
There a fall festival there that we might attend this year.http://www.greenvilleusa.org/Ripson%20Bridge/ripsonbridgeinfo.html
As we headed back, the temp started dropping and the sky darkened. We made it home before it rained. Total for the day was 175 miles.
Edited because I don't know my right from my left.
