Woohoo, riding day! It’s been damn cold and crappy in MN for a long time. I was grateful to catch a break earlier than most MN bikers in that I got to ride in FL and MO in March and April. Finally riding season is rolling up north. It’s been a long winter this year and that we’ve been waiting forever. It’s still cold, and occasionally wet here, but tolerable. The snow is gone anyway.
Likely people think Anita is really my imaginary friend. This site is called 4Tits4Wheels but you haven’t really seen her yet. She really does exist! Finally, she makes an appearance!
I had called Anita yesterday and asked if she wanted to head to Grantsburg, WI for root beer the next day. Sometimes we don’t pick a destination, but I wanted to get a decently long ride in and have somewhat of a plan. When I ride by myself I tend to just wander around a lot. I think Jim and Anita both like having a place in mind to go more often than just picking roads on the fly. Maybe not, but it seems like the day goes better if we have somewhere to head. And hey, I love the root beer at the drive-in there!
It was a fairly chilly day and somewhat blustery. Three layers of long underwear for me. Jim rarely wears a jacket, and I know it’s cold if Anita puts more than one layer on. It was supposed to storm later in the evening so I had it in my head that we would ride for a few hours but be home early enough to beat the rain. Knew there was a slight chance we’d get wet, but it wasn’t worth skipping a day of riding, for sure!
We met Anita around noon at her place, a convenient ten blocks away from my house, said goodbye to Anita’s wife, Sara, and rolled out. I had chosen the destination so I took the lead. I usually look for the fastest way out of the city, as it’s the least pleasant part of the ride for me. Traffic sucks, and there’s a lot of it in the metro area. We headed out over the Mendota Bridge on 62 East and eventually picked up 494 to 94, ending up in Hudson, WI, where we went north on WI 35. That’s where the ride becomes more enjoyable for me. I like rural riding, in spite of the risk of deer… a very real risk in MN and WI. Those damn things come up out of the ditch so fast, sometimes right into the side of a bike and you’re down before you can blink. Crazy freaking animals!
I make the ride on 35 up to St. Croix Falls fairly often. There are a lot of great side roads to take if you want. I recommend picking up County Road S on the north side of Osceola, WI that runs up and dumps you back out on WI 35, just south of St. Croix Falls. It’s a beautifully twisty, rural road with farms and forests. On a hot day it provides somewhat cooler riding than on the highway because it’s more shaded. It’s just a really pleasant ride and there are a couple of pull offs for walking trails that go into the state (or county?) forest. Nice scenery, fun riding, twisty and lovely. I can’t speak to the condition of the road this year though, as I haven’t been on it yet.
Getting close to Osceola I was considering our first stop. I was ready for something to drink and maybe a little bite, so I pulled into Tippy Canoes on the north side of town. They’ve got a nice patio, good food, and decent drinks. There were a few bikers sitting out on the patio. It was warming up a bit and the sun was out for the most part. We decided to sit at the bar instead of getting a table. Jim and Anita said they were up for a bite too, so we ordered from the appetizers. Steak bites and walleye fingers! Yum! Both were really excellent, but we definitely over-ordered. The portions were really big and one of them would have been enough. Still, it’s a place you get your money’s worth and the decor/ambiance is decent. It’s “north country cabin” like, with a fireplace and a canoe hanging from the ceiling. They’ve also got a few TVs sprinkled around the room and there’s always some sort of sport on. As an aside, they also have the biggest walleye sandwich I’ve ever seen and it’s really good.
Yay drinks! 
After having a couple drinks and a bit of food we left heading north on 87 for Grantsburg. A couple miles north of St. Croix Falls is the River Road. It’s a beautiful ride along the St. Croix River which is designated a national scenic riverway. Cut east at Wolf Creek to get back over to 87. Riding north is a mix of mostly farm country and forest and both make me pretty happy. I like to be where it’s green. Green is good for my soul. At this time of year there wasn’t much for green though, as the trees aren’t budding out yet and the farmer’s haven’t been able to get into the fields to plant yet. Still, we’re outside, riding… life is good.
It didn’t take long to get from St. Croix Falls to Grantsburg. The drive in is at the main intersection in town, on Hwy 70. Take a left off of 87 and look for the big rotating frosty mug of root beer in the sky! The root beer is top notch here, frosty mugs and all. It’s a total 50s throwback place. The servers wear poodle skirts and the interior is designed in red vinyl and chrome. It’s a fun place to go and the food is good. The onion rings and sweet potato fries are delish! It’s all about the root beer though! There’s a really great seating area outside. Likely there is car service, but I’ve only ever been there on my bike, so I can’t confirm.
That’s a really big mug! 
Poodle skirts! 
Frosty mugs! 
Happiness is floating! 
Great back yard 
While we were enjoying our beers and floats, we checked out weather radar on our phones. It was looking pretty dark south of us and we were starting to get hit with the occasional raindrop. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped pretty quickly. A kid at the next table said “hey! It’s starting to rain,” so we shushed him. Ha! Anita and I didn’t have any rain gear with us. Jim was a little better prepared with a rain jacket. He didn’t put it on though, but instead gave it to me because I was getting quite a bit colder. He’s a chivalrous guy.
We thought maybe we could skirt the rain for a while, but also knew we stood a good chance of getting wet somewhere along the way. As we rode south on the same route we had taken to get north, we could see the storm for a lot of miles. There were several big areas of rain several miles away and we were getting closer all the time. I figured Anita was pretty close to the point of needing gas and so I decided to stop in St. Croix Falls on the way south. Besides that it looked like rain further south and I thought maybe if we delayed a bit it would blow past before we got too much further down the road. Talk about fortuitous timing! Rain started to fall in a fast thick downpour as we pulled up undercover at the pumps to get gas. It was about a five minute gully washer that came straight down in fine sheets. We holed up undercover near the pumps and it passed pretty quickly. At that point I gave Jim his coat back as he didn’t have anything else to put on and I had my leathers.
Buddies 
Still a mystery! 
Downpour 
It’s wet out there!
We took the fast way back into town, down WI 35 and crossed the river into MN on the new high bridge just south of Stillwater. It’s quite different than crossing the (now closed) old lift bridge we used to have to get from North Hudson to Stillwater. I think Mother Nature was on our side, as we managed to skirt the rain the rest of the way home. Had a great day of riding and a fantastic time!
Heidi