Pedal and Party in Pardeeville

40-Mile Pardeeville Route
Comments: Ride Time was 3 hours 29 minutes, average speed: 11.7

We spent the night before our Pardeeville ride in the Comfort Suites Hotel near Portage, WI. Joining us for this event were Alan and Michelle Andersen from Spring Valley, MN. After checking into our room on Friday, we drove into Portage for cocktails at the Blarney Stone Bar & Grill. While chatting with our bartender, Carolyn, Cimaroli’s was mentioned as a great place to try for our evening meal. We took Carolyn’s advice and drove out into the country to find the supper club. The restaurant was packed full but we decided to add our name to the 45-minute wait list. The food was good but the noise level made it hard to relax and enjoy our meal. Back at the hotel, we rested in the pool area and chatted with a few guys taking part in a Tough Mudder running contest? We found out that this contest is a nationally known, 10-mile obstacle course where the participants run, climb and sludge through any apparatus in their way to get to the finish line. It was exhausting just listening to these young men describe their event. We then shared our biking activities and our plans to ride in Pardeeville in the morning. It was now getting late so we wished the guys good luck with their race and found our room to get some rest before our 7:00 a.m. breakfast appointment with Michelle and Alan.

Dennis and I met up with the Andersens following breakfast and caravanned towards Pardeeville, WI for our ride start at Chandler Park. Registration was in progress so we joined the group getting ride information. Pardeeville bandanas were given to each rider with warnings to take precautions around the poisonous wild parsnip growing along our route. We were on route before 9:00 a.m. and enjoying the rolling countryside. The temperature was in the 80’s at ride start with a promise of higher temps later in the day. It instantly felt muggy but it was not storming as predicted so we had no complaints.

Our first rest stop came at the 17-mile mark. Eggs and other snacks were being served here so we stopped to take a rest and chat with other riders. We didn’t want to stop for long because the temperature was heating up. It was only 10:30 in the morning and already the temperature was in the 90’s. So, on down the road we pedaled.


This route provided so many beautiful sites. I enjoyed being on my single bike so that I could really enjoy the view. It was a little hard to take photos but I did manage to get some beautiful shots once stopped and this gave me time to rest along the way. I rolled past an Amish lady mowing her lawn on some kind of riding lawnmower attached to a horse and also passed many Amish children out in their yards. They were all friendly and waved as we passed.


Our next stop was at an Amish grocery store but we didn’t find much of interest here so we went on down the road and pulled into an Amish furniture store—Hey Dennis, do you think we could get that home? I found the perfect porch glider made out of permanent decking material with cow heads for back rests. Alan and Michelle offered to bring one of our bikes home so that we could fit the glider in the van. This was just meant to be so we asked the salesman to put a “Sold” sign on the piece and promised to return when our ride was over. The Amish do not take credit cards and that is all we had on us. It was quite the adventure getting back to the store to collect our seat but we are very happy with our purchase.


We made it back to Pardeeville by 1:30 and in time to join all riders for a party at the Caddy Shack Bar and Grill. Burgers, salads, desserts and beer were provided by Kay Lum and her ride organization team.


The live music was being held out on the patio for those tough enough to withstand the heat. The bar was very crowded so we ate our burgers and began our drive back to the hotel. We ended this mini vacation with a DQ treat and an evening of cards and games with Alan and Michelle. We are happy that biking is becoming more popular and more biking adventures are being offered to allow us to see and experience a variety of travelling opportunities. It is always extra special to share these adventures with good friends and biking companions.

COWS Wrangler Ride in Waupaca, Wisconsin

Laabs’ Neighborhood Loop: 27.92 miles
Comments: Ride Time was 2 hours 13 minutes, average speed: 12.5


We left the Johnson home in Dorchester early this morning to drive to the COWS Wrangler Ride being held at the Laabs’ Lake Home near Waupaca, WI. We arrived in time to join six other teams for this enjoyable ride in northern Wisconsin. Because of the dangerous high temperature expected for this day, John and Joan altered their planned route at the last minute to protect us all from the possibility of heat exhaustion—and it sure did get hot! The temperature soared into the 90’s even before our 10:00 a.m. start.


We met three new couples and enjoyed this chance to get to know them. The Wrangler Rides have been wonderful to gather smaller groups together and allow couples new to tandeming a less intimidating event to jump start their cycling career.


Our ride included a stop in Mount Morris for an ice cream treat and a chance to cool down. The group gathered out on the deck of the ice cream shop to visit and rest before continuing down the road back to the Laabs’ lake home. The group stayed together throughout the ride and arrived back at Joan & John’s by 3:00 p.m. The lake looked very inviting after 28 miles of biking so most changed clothes and went in for a swim. Dennis decided to dive in bike clothes and all. A late lunch was served out on the deck and Joan did a great job feeding these hungry travellers. Sandwiches, salads, fruit and cookies satisfied our appetites prior to our trip home. We again had a wonderful day biking in Wisconsin with our COWS friends and look forward to future Wrangler Rides planned for this biking season.


Wrangler Ride Attendees: Joan & John (host & hostess), Kathi & John, Carol & Bruce, Al & Sandie, Barb & Glen, Tim & Marla, Dennis & Deb.

A Mini-Vacation at Johnson’s B&B

Dorchester to Mondeaux, WI: 63.08 miles
Comments: Ride Time was 4 hours 23 minutes, average speed: 14.3

After spending the night at the Johnson’s B&B in Dorchester, WI, we awoke Saturday morning rested and ready to ride, however, the weather did not cooperated. The predicted rains moved into the Dorchester area and stayed until Noon. We waited out the rain by playing Spinner, Toss the Pigs and Buck Euchre with John and Kathi—much fun! Following our game time, the sun came out and we readied our bikes for a 60-mile ride towards Modeaux.


The route was beautiful with many rolling hills. We seemed to be really rolling along despite the mid-80-degree temperatures. We reached Mondeaux around 2:00 p.m. dry, hot and hungry. The four of us split a pizza at the cabin-style restaurant located near the Mondeaux dam—it was delicious! Following a short rest here, we got on the bikes to pedal back to Dorchester.


Back at the Johnson’s we shared a wonderful meal of grilled chicken, twice-baked potatoes and salads. This was a very enjoyable mini-vacation for Dennis and me. We always enjoy visiting with our biking friends in Dorchester.

Our First Non-Tandem Organized Ride

Adams, Ostrander, LeRoy, Taopi
Comments: Ride Time was 4 hours 11 minutes, average speed: 11.4


We started this biking day with an hour drive west to the small town of Adams, MN, where we registered along with 144 other bikers to bike the 13^th Annual Shooting Star Bike Ride. This was the first organized ride where Dennis and I decided to ride our single recumbents. Alan and Michelle Andersen and some of Alan’s work buddies were getting ready to ride as Dennis and I drove into the parking lot. The skies were cloudy with a forecast of 10% rain but we only encountered a few sprinkles throughout our day of riding.


Michelle and I headed out on a modified 45-mile route and ended up with a total of 48 miles on our singles. The guys opted to take the 60-mile route and ended up putting 63 miles on their bikes. Michelle and I stayed ahead of the guys until reaching Ostrander where we waited for 90 minutes for Susie’s Bar and Grill to open and the guys to show up. We enjoyed watching all the riders along the route pass by with smiles and waves as we waited on the bench outside of Susie’s. Our group of 11 had lunch together and then continued biking east towards LeRoy. We rested some at the LeRoy rest stop and then headed back towards Adams using the Shooting Star Bike Trail.


This bike event was well-planned and organized by a group of very friendly volunteers. One volunteer cycled the routes on his motorcycle and visited with each rider before moving down the road to the next group of riders. He was checking to make sure we were all doing ok. Another volunteer stopped in Ostrander while Michelle and I were resting to make sure we didn’t need any help. What a great group of people.


We all made it back to Adams around supper time hungry and hot. We drove to Rose Creek for food and beverages before heading home. We will definitely consider adding this ride to our annual bike event schedule for the future. It was great to have Alan and Michelle join us on this journey and hope they will continue to enjoy the miles of smiles to be had travelling along the roads using their own pedal power.

Modified Tour de Tonka Loop

Minnetonka Loop: 43.50 miles
Comments: Ride Time was 3 hours 27 minutes, average speed: 12.5

Happy birthday Dennis! What a beautiful day for this ride north of the Twin Cities. We chose to bike a modified Tour de Tonka route. We would not be able to bike the official ride day in August so decided to route our own version of the ride using maps posted on the ride’s web site. We parked the van at the Minnetonka High School and began pedaling towards town for an Arby’s lunch and then set off along the route towards Wayzata—a beautiful little town surrounded by lakes.



We took a combination of bike trails and roads to get us to Mound, MN, the town where Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) was born. We then turned back towards Wayzata to stop at Ben & Jerry’s for a much needed ice cream treat. The temperature was rising into the 90’s and the sun was getting to us both. After our snack, we continued on our way back towards Minnetonka. The route was beautiful and we enjoyed biking around the many lakes. Flags were proudly displayed throughout today’s route as a reminder of the freedoms we have as citizens of this beautiful country. Happy 4^th of July!