Sunday, September 27, 2015

I Went Searching for Fall Color...

... and found some nice motorcycle roads. I left home at noon and headed east on CR-M, a few miles later I was riding through the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Just a few hundred feet before the town of Clam Lake, I turned north on CR-GG. The county has chip sealed and painted it recently and it's in great shape as motorcycle roads go.


Along the way I found some nice colors and got the required motorcycle picture...


Two miles from the town of Mellen...


Town of Mellen Memorial Park...


From Mellen I went south on WI-13 to the town of Glidden. The town has the title of "The Black Bear Capital of the World" because of a record setting bear killed near there in 1963. A mount of the bear is on public display just off the main street in a rock and glass enclosure.


Established 1876.


I left Glidden and back tracked 3 miles to the junction of WI-13 and WI-77. WI-77 is also known as the National Forest Great Divide Scenic Byway. I took 77 west through Clam Lake. There's an experimental heard of elk in the area that are part of a University of Wisconsin program to re-introduce elk to the area...


I turned left onto CR-S. The 10 mile section of county road S has the potential to be an awesome motorcycle road, it just needs to be totally resurfaced. It's been patched and repaired but it will pound you to pieces if you travel it at the 45 MPH speed limit. In the few sections that aren't too bad, there are tar snakes everywhere, both the kind that run parallel to the road and perpendicular. They make cornering a challenge.

County Road S...


When CR-S ended at CR-B, I turned right onto B. I stayed on that until I went left on CR-CC. County road CC is a very nice road that takes you through the Chippewa Flowage. In several places the road is running right along side the water...


One side of the road...


The other...


CR-CC took me to CR-N and on to CR-E. E is A very nice road, running right past and up close to both Grindstone and Spring Lakes. All of the area is part of the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation.

Spring Lake...


From there, it was a short ride out to CR-K, then north up to US-63, to Cable and back home. 151 miles and 3.5 hours

There are several more roads I want to ride... as long as the weather holds out!