The Dark Side

Not much riding to do this time of year. At the end of Nov. I did mange to change out the tires on my bike. I decided to try an alternative tire on the rear. If you look at the pic you may be a bit confused at the rear tire on the right. The front tire is a stock Bridgestone, the rear tire on the right is a car tire. If you want to know more about putting a car tire on your bike, search for "DarkSide tire" and you will get all you need to know. Not all bikes have a tire size that works in a car application. I did get to put about 100 miles on these tires and while I am not sold on the car tire deal, it does offer some distinct advantages. You are probably asking, "How can a car tire work on a motorcycle?" This seems to be a recent trend, but I dont think so. I did this years ago when I had no money and needed a tire. I worked at a tire shop, and put one on an old Triumph I got form a co worker. Maybe you are saying, "It cant hande properly". Well, I can lean my pig of a cruiser over far enough with this tire to drag the floor board hard enough to lift my left foot up into the shifter forcing a gear change at a high rate of speed. dont take my word for it, researchit and find out if its right for you.

A little farther north, in the town of Friendship....this is a pic of the lbuff on the north edge of town. These bluffs are scattered throughout this region, not apparant rhyme or reason. This whoel area of the state is called the Unglaciated area. For some reason the glaciers from the last ice age, didnt come through here and level the place. Likely cause for this was the area was a large body of water.

These are some pics I took while riding. Yeah, riding and snapping pics at the same time. Dont tell any Motorcycle Saftey class instructors will ya?

Levee road is a great road for riding. Designated Rustic Road 49, it has beautiful scenery and lots of wildlife.

While riding through here I rounded a curve and scared up a ring neck pheasant, who wasnt very interested in leaving the road quickly. The bird simply walked across the road as I tried to evade him. No time for pics of that one, jsut glad to still be mobile at that point.

Just down the road somewhat, is the levee for the Wisconsin river. Levee road is about 10 miles long and full of twists and turns, running through the Aldo Leopold nature preserve, and public hunting grounds. ( interesting combination huh?) Top pic is of the preserve. This is a great time of year to be out and about, the colors are just starting to fade though. Bottom pic was taken from atop the levee, overlooking the river.

First pics are from the old Indian Agency house in portage. I learned of a book written by Mrs. John H. Kinzie , called "Wau-Bun" - a history of her early western life. The house is amazing to see. Its adjacent to a small canal and park.

I put on a couple of hundred miles today, got up early on a Sunday to see the sun rise. I dont bring along any MPE players or have any radios on the bike. I like the "Quiet" of riding. Which really isnt quiet. The bike makes noise and the wind and road are also very audible. You can ride and think and enjoy the scenery. Dont we get enough digital sensory input when at home or at work? TV and radio are everywhere....except on my bike.

For some people, riding a motorcycle is all about the look. Such as, how do I look to others? Is my bike, or my gear better than the others? Seems some would rather impress than to ride. They want to strut and pose. I wouldnt call them posers or wannabes or anything like that....in fact they arent going to hear a peep from me. Why bother? We have motorcycles for totally different reasons.

I have been to a number of local "Bike Nites". Hardly spoken to anyone there. Seems rather clicky to me.

Another thing I cant understand....why would any man buy, build or own a motorcycle in an attempt to attract women? One could go on a rant about a guy having a bike to ahem, "compentsate" but thats not the issue I am talking about. what I am trying to stress, why would you want a woman who is attraced to you for your bike? Do you really need the bike to meet women? Its an ice breaker? Maybe I would buy that....just seems like an excuse for a lack of personality.

I have a motorcycle for riding, not to impress.

After stopping at the Von Steihl winery for some really good wine tasting, (limited as I am the pilot of the 650 motorcycle, two people and gear) we stopped by a smalle county park and a large breakwater pier.

On the way back from Washington Island, we stopped at Whitefish dunes state park. You would swear you were at the ocean. Super clean water and super smooth white sand.

The steps walking down from Lookout Tower

Care for a beer? I dont know how much of the WHeat for this beer comes from this small field, but the beer is really good. (notice the MGD logo on the back of the sign??) Other pic is from the lookout tower on Washington Island. I'd recommend going to Washington Island on a bike during the more peak seasons. Either spring when the cherries bloom or during the fall colors.

These are a couple of pics on the ferry crossing to Washington Island. The first is from the old US Life Saving group (now the Coast Guard) boat house and living quarters. The Coast Guard operated this for a number of years. all automated and unmanned now. Same goes for the lite house.

Same area, the next morning. It was about 57 degrees, crisp cool and soooo quiet. I was ready to move up there. After taking these we headed up the door peninsula, and stopped for fuel at a small gas station. Beleive it or not, there was a gentleman working in the station, and his job for the morning was killing flies arund the picnic table. Oh man to have such a hard task first thing in the A.M.

Some pics here on my recent trip to door county. These are pics of the sunset on the first nite looking out over lake Superior/Green Bay. A couple fo deck chairs for me and my wife, a bottle of wine, and just the sounds of the waves.

The roads in Wisconsin seem tailor made for a bike.....

More of the Bark River. You can see where the fish had just jumped as evidence by the rings in the water. I would guess that they jumped at least a dozen times while I snapped a few photos. Wish I had a pole.

The colors are just beginning to change here as show in these of the bark river.

Badfish Creek, pics taken from the bridge.

This is the current community center in the town of Cooksville. Clearly an old school. I should have gotten a picture of the old old merry go round type thing out back. Looked like a torture device.

These are the type of roads you dream about riding.

The school seems to have been added onto a bit.

These pics are just outside Evansville Wi. Small Church and one room school house. The out house is a nice touch as well. The church looks somewhat still in use, but on this day, Sunday, there were no sermons, only grass cutting and maintenance.

I had a number of pictures from 2006 but I decided to start over with later 2007. Maybe I am just lazy, but more likely is the pics are better because my equipment was better.