Sunday 1 August 2010

Great Roads, Big Rivers, Brown Cow, Little Birds....

I left Milwaukee on Friday morning and was joined by Dan who I had met the day before. It had been a while since my friend Paul had gone back to the UK and I had ridden with anyone, so I enjoyed it.

Here are a couple of shots I grabbed of Dan on the move....












































After Dan left to go back home, I went continued heading east and found this picture on a wall in Watertown, Wisconsin. I liked the picture, but no, I didn’t understand it either!....




















Frank Lloyd Wright was a very famous American architect and I went to see his summer home and studio called Taliesin, near Spring Green, Wisconsin. Sadly however they only have two tours a day and I had just missed one, so I would have to wait for about three hours for a two hour tour. It was a shame, but I should have checked in advance! I did sneak into the grounds and take one picture of the house....





















I saw this when I was riding along. She probably saw nothing wrong with having a dog on her lap as she drove....
















This mail box made my smile, so I went back and took a photo of it....




















I spent the night at Prairie du Chien near the banks of the Mississippi. A few years ago I went on an organised bike tour across Europe to Austria. On that tour was a guy from Illinois called Mike Nees, who runs Nees Harley-Davidson

We rode from Prairie du Chien south to Dubuque and then north up the west bank of the Mississippi along what are the best bike riding roads I have been on in the US. They were fantastic! We kept as close to the river as possible both heading south and then north again.

Along the way we spotted this car turning off the road we were on. We turned around and went and checked it out – it had driven into a place that serviced and restores cars, so we went and had a look. There were some real treasures at this place which I might add, was in the middle of nowhere! This was the Buick that made us decide to turn around and go have a look....




















Another lovely Buick....




















A Dodge with its external sun visor that makes the car look angry....



























A Dodge Charger....




















Inside, they had just started to restore a Model T Ford....


























Shortly after, we arrived in Dubuque and did two things here. First we went and found the Fenelon Place Elevator, an inclined railway originally built to transport a Mr J.K. Graves between his place of work and his house, because the journey by road took too long by horse and buggy....



















































Then we were stuck at a road junction for a while as a huge number of cyclists were completing a week long ride of about 425 miles....




As we rode, we saw these cows. One seems to be saying “Do I look out of place?”....




















Mike and I went to the top of a number of Bluffs (aka cliffs) that overlook the big Mississippi River. Here is Mike admiring the view....



























One of the Locks and Dams on the river (I had no idea the Mississippi had dams)....



































This is where the Wisconsin River (in the middle of the picture) joins the Mississippi (at the bottom)....



















Finally for today, we spotted some Hummingbirds, and I managed to get a photo.....

9 comments:

Chris said...

Nice to see things I recognize! I took that vertical train last summer. Did you make it to Pike Peak in Iowa? Just across from PDC, WI. Your second to last shot looks like that area.

Eve said...

I love that you're getting to see all these vintage cars Gary. I've always been a car person. The shots of the Mississippi look much like the Tennessee River that is just down the mountain from me. I did a post on the Dam here just the other day...Oh and I rode my bike. Take a look when you have time!
The Hummingbirds are great fun!!!
Ride Safe!

Oz said...

You are now is some great country side. As you move west you should notice a decrease in traffic. Enjoy it.

Milwaukee Dan said...

Just got back from the Mississippi bluffs yesterday, the views are fabulous and the roads are amazing. Hope you enjoyed your time riding through Wisconsin. Looks like the weathered cleared once you left Milwaukee. It was great riding with you.

Eve said...

PS I have bikes and cars in my latest post!! Really nice bikes and cars!! hahaha!

IHG said...

Oh how I love Dubuque! So cool that you got to see the end of Ragbrai!!! We are going to be riding the Great River Road in a few days so maybe we will see you on the road! Looks like maybe you have already done that though...I'll be listening for British accents on our trip! That would be fun if we ended up in the same place along the way.

Have really enjoyed your trip across our great land! So glad you are here!!

redlegsrides said...

Gary

let me know when you get closer to Colorado!

dom
Redleg's Rides
domchangATyahoo.com

Unknown said...

Gary:

I hope you are riding safely and wonder how you are shooting all these photos while rolling.

I think the brown cow has never seen a UK HD before.

. . . let me know when you get closer to BC

bob
Wet Coast Scootin

Gary France said...

Chris – That vertical train was fun and considering it was built so long ago, it worked incredibly well.

Eve – Vintage cars are great fun, with so much more character than modern cars.

Oz – There was one day I rode about 40 miles on some back roads and I saw just a handful of cars. I saw lots of corn though!

Dan – It was great riding with you too. Going up those bluffs and seeing the views of the river was really good.

Eve – I took a look and I really liked the post, including the Corvettes.

IHG – There certainly were a huge amount of bikes taking part in Ragbrai. I have now left the Great River Road, but I am sure you will enjoy it. I am pleased you are enjoying my trip so far and that you are reading my (almost) daily words and pictures.

Charlie / Dom / Redleg – Will do!

Bob – I keep my P&S camera in my windscreen bag so it is easy to get to. The camera is really easy to turn on and take a picture with one hand. Often I use my thumb to operate the shutter with the camera upside down, then just rotate them on my laptop. That would explain it about the cow – I hadn’t thought of that! Ok about BC, but it might be a while....