The day started out with the promise of great weather as we had hoped. We're attending a bike blessing followed by a brunch ride to Fin n Feather in Campbellsport today. I had no idea exactly how long the ride was or what direction we were heading. Usually I plan all of our rides but not this one, this time all we had to do is show up. Yippee!
We're going with a group called Hales Angels (I love the name). They are a wonderful group of individuals who are connected through the fellowship of their church, Hales Corners Lutheran Church on Janesville Road. The group discovered their common bond, the love of riding, and formed Hales Angels. My husband, Jeff works with Janet, one of the members of the group. Janet invited us to one of their rides last year and we had a great time. We also attended their safety seminar earlier this year so we knew we could have confidence in their riding practices and they were all so friendly it would be hard to resist any invitations.
We got to the church at 10:15 and the pastor joined us in the parking lot at 10:30 for prayers and the blessing. With the great weather, the turnout was better than they anticipated; there were 33 bikes with 50 riders and passengers.
The road captains asked people to raise their hands if they are new to group riding. A few people had their hands up and the leader reassured them that the group would take good care of them. Cindy, who had her hand up commented that she also doesn't do hills. So she begged for everyone's patience. Of course, it's never an issue when someone struggles. We're all there for the ride and to help each other. After a little coordination by our road captains, we broke into two manageable groups and headed out.
We were on the road by 11 heading west on Janesville Road to College Avenue. We turned right onto Moorland Road all the way to Hwy 175. At first I thought this was a bad idea because Moorland Road is pretty busy but considering the size of our two groups, it made sense once we got on the road. Moorland Road has two lanes going in each direction as well as many right and left turn lanes. Our groups didn't really impede other traffic because there was always that extra lane to get around us. When we got to Hwy 175 it was the same. Even though it was a busy road there were plenty of lanes to accommodate traffic. As a rule, I would prefer more back roads but considering the size of our group, this route made good sense.
We rode Hwy 175 for a long time and the further away from Milwaukee we got, the stronger the winds blew. With the open fields we passed, the gusts seemed even worse. I highly recommend ear plugs on days like today, they keep the wind out but let sound in, I could even hear the radio on the bike in front of us so hearing was not an issue. I was cursing the weather men when we rode through Allentown as it started to rain. Luckily it only lasted a few minutes. It was just enough raindrops to make Jeff's sparkly clean bike full of dirty rain spots.
Once we got to Lomira we headed north on Hwy 67. I was really starting to get hungry and antsy. Jeff got a new Corbin seat for the bike in fall and it's still not broke in so my butt was getting numb. The last stretch on Hwy 67 to County road SS seemed like forever but it was only about 9 miles. It turned out that the restaurant is in New Prospect, not Campbellsport. As soon as we got off the bikes everyone did a big stretch. If it weren't for all the black leather, we might have been mistaken for a callisthenic class.
Fin n Feather Supper Club is a quaint restaurant, with dining rooms surrounding a large bar in the middle. The bartenders worked quickly as our big group surrounded the bar. My husband called his bloody mary pretty boozy, which is not a bad thing. To my dismay, I discovered that the only option on the menu was the Sunday Brunch buffet. I am not a fan of buffet food. I perused the lunch buffet that had a salad bar, cut-up fruit, some meats, and a few side dishes where I could see vegetables floating in some sort of thick sauces. This picky eater likes her vegetables steamed and identifiable, plain and boring, not floating in cheeses or white sauces. Not to mention, I hadn't had breakfast yet, I was really looking forward to eggs.
I tried to be a sport, so I perused the breakfast buffet. The breakfast sausages looked like the kind that go in the microwave and this place had them floating is some sort of liquid which didn't add any appeal. The other breakfast sides included crepes, hash browns, and waffles. As a low-carb fan, that wasn't helping. I headed to the omelet table thinking I could get my favorite, a bacon and Swiss cheese omelet. But they had no bacon. No bacon on the breakfast buffet. Huh. No Swiss cheese either. So I ordered scrambled eggs. I didn't realize at the time that the price per person was $13.95 which is pretty expensive for someone like me (picky eater who doesn't want all that food).
I felt bad about spending $13.95 for just scrambled eggs but my enterprising husband asked the waitress for special compensation. She went to talk to the manager who offered to charge me $3.95 for my eggs. That was pretty nice of them. It's my own fault; I should have asked the price before I went to the buffet, if I would have known I would have just skipped eating there altogether. At the end of the meal, Jeff did state that the desserts were wonderful. I'm sure he got his money's worth although most of the offerings weren't good for the heart healthy lifestyle he should be living.
After brunch we broke up into groups depending on where everyone lives. Since we're from Oak Creek, we went back with a group that would ride through Holy Hill. Cindy and her husband, Scott were going to ride with us until she heard Holy Hill. "Hills!” she exclaimed, “I don't think so!" So they planned their own route home. Many others also broke off and went their separate ways. We rode with the group for a while then split off to get gas and headed home via the expressway. It was almost 3:30 and the sun and wind really wore us down.
For the first group ride of the season we had a great time. The wind was pretty brutal in some parts but with the sun shining, it was all good. The views weren’t as pretty as summer since the trees were just past the budding stage with little green sprouts starting to show. It sort of made the trees look fluffy. But like most Wisconsinites, I think we appreciate all the good weather days even when there's a little adversity. Knowing how beautiful this state is in summer with all the lush green color, I had to remind myself that it’s only April and no, the leaves aren’t on the trees yet but the scent of flowers blooming and cut grass was in the air.
This ride took up a good part of our day. We left the church around 11, got to the restaurant at 12:30 and stayed there until 1:30. We stopped for gas and got home at 4 PM. From Oak Creek to Hales Corners to Fin and Feathers was a total of 88.9 miles, the return trip was 78 miles. We were exhausted when we got home, between the sun, wind, and lack of endurance for a long ride; we knew we stretched our limitations for our first group ride.
Note to self: To be better prepared, I should have used sunscreen on my nose. Even though the day felt cool, my nose is red as a beet today.
Stats:
Time away: 5 hours (including 1 hour for brunch)
Miles: 166 round trip
I look forward to the next new adventure.
Happy riding!
