The Piano Man in Woodstock, IL

Our last trip for the 2017 season was to see The Piano Man at the Woodstock Opera House in Woodstock, IL.

The Piano Man is a tribute to Billy Joel and Elton John. I had seen the two touring together several times and was looking forward to see how this tribute could provide a similar experience. We were not disappointed! Hitting all the favorites, the band performed with obvious appreciation of the original performers and provided commentary on these legends.

Our original plan was to keep it cheap and stay at the Crystal Lake Motel. However, poor planning on my part and the assumption we would find a room without a reservation, resulted in a last minute search for alternative accommodations.

We were glad it worked out this way! A call to Sherry at the Victorian Rose Garden Bed and Breakfast in Algonquin, IL was greeted with a very pleasant reception and an assurance she could work something out at the last minute. This does not normally happen at a B&B! Especially when we would only be staying one night.

Expecting the place to be only marginal, since they were so flexible, we were very surprised to find the house was exactly as shown on their webpage. Our room was very nice and breakfast was even better. This is now our favorite Bed and Breakfast and we plan to use it as a first night stay when leaving work late on a Friday for a weekend trip to Wisconsin or Northern Illinois.

After settling in to our room, we rode to Woodstock and had dinner at BBQ King. Great food and service and very close to the opera house.

Following the show, we rode back to the B&B. It was a little cool and my new AGV Veloce Soleluna was fogging. I did not expect this with a pinlock insert and had to compensate by riding with the visor unlocked. This helmet does not have detents like a typical model. The options were locked down tight, open with a slight crack of about one eighth of an inch, or unlocked. The cracked position was not letting in enough air while still in town and moving slow. Out on highway the cracked position was fine and the helmet has great ventilation. I will need to investigate the fogging issue and also the weak Sprint headlights, mentioned previously.

New Lid

My old Norton N-102 helmet had been peeling its outer coat and the liner was now sagging. I casually mentioned this to Chris and that I should buy a new helmet before next season. She decided I needed it NOW and it should be for my birthday. Not one to argue, I agreed and we took a ride over to Dainese Chicago to check out AGV helmets. Chris's AGV K-5 has worked out well and I like the possibility of some Valentino Rossi graphics.

The store was having MotoGP viewing party with free food so after some helmet shopping, we picked up some pizza and Coke and found a seat for the race. Nice race, but Rossi did not make podium.

So back to the helmets I went tried the K-5 S and the Veloce. The Veloce was much lighter with carbon fiber shell. In the end we went for the Veloce Soleluna. So now I am rocking the Rossi style. Any chance it will make me ride better?

20th Annual Midwest Triumph Ride-In

This annual event is hosted by Team Power Center, Janesville, WI and held at the Chalet Landhaus Inn in New Glarus, WI. It has attracted a growing tribe of loyal supporters.

To not miss the first night activities of beer and pizza, our plan was to leave early and stay on the road until arriving in New Glarus. However, things did not work out as planned and we had several hours of riding in the dark. While there were no near misses, it did cause some anxiety. This pointed out the inadequacy of the Sprint headlights as discussed on the TriumphRat.net forum and will need to be addressed in the future.

We did arrive before all the pizza and New Glarus Brewing beer was consumed. People were very friendly and we discussed options for the next day. Definitely wanted to take a ride somewhere, but left that decision for the next day.

Frank Lloyd Wright House -  Taliesin

After the amazing Landhaus breakfast buffet we joined others outside to check out our opportunities for the day. Team Power Center was offering test rides on all their bikes, but we just wanted to get going on one of the many trips they had mapped. With our interest in architechture, we decided to check out the Frank Lloyd Wright House, Taliesin in Spring Green, WI. Our route was loaded in Google Maps and house tour tickets purchased online prior to departure. As with our previous trip to Albany, WI, we had saved a map of the area when we had internet connection. This has been an effective work around to missing AT&T coverage in Wisconsin.

The scenery was relaxing and so was the absence of traffic as we made our way to Spring Green.

Chris has visited several Frank Lloyd Houses, but I had only seen the Darwin D. Martin House in Buffalo, NY previously. Besides its unique design, Taliesin was the location of Wright's architecture school. It might be best known to those with a morbid curiosity as the place where his mistress and her children were murdered. The facts surrounding this event are muddy, but many opinions regarding motive exist.

Following our tour of the house, we eagerly returned to Landhaus for the evening banquet, as we had heard it should not be missed.

Banquet and Next Morning

Well the banquet was amazing with the manager throwing in complementary dessert! Then Team Power Center jumped into action with prizes for various categories and a door prize drawing that would not quit. By the time they were done, everyone had "won" at least two and in some cases three prizes. These folks know how to hold a rally!

The next morning we had our last Landhaus breakfast buffet and quickly found our spot in the group photo. Folks were really nice and we look forward to getting together next year.

The weekend was over too quick and we needed to get back to Chicago. With that in mind, we wanted to stop in Woodstock, IL for lunch having visited there previously.

Woodstock, IL

First order of business was coffee at Ethereal Confections.

Having not checked for events, we made a surprise landing into HarvestFest 2017, a bluegrass festival! The music was fun and check out the tractors. I remember some of these from when I was a kid on my grandfather's farm in Southern Illinois.

After a short ride, we were back in the garage. Up went a sticker to remember our new best buds at Team Power Center.

Albany, WI

After consideration of various destinations in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin, we chose Albany, WI for a Labor Day weekend trip with the Triumph Sprint ST. Albany is an out of the way place, but close to other interesting towns like New Glarus, WI. Our route quickly entered Wisconsin from Chicago and crossed the Southern part of the state.

To avoid the problems we had encountered previously with AT&T service in Wisconsin, we downloaded a Google Map of the area we planned to see. That way if we lost cell service, Google Maps would still function. At least according to the instructions provided by Google.

Leaving Chicago after work, we rode until loosing daylight and decided to overnight at the Hilton Garden Inn, in Hoffman Estates, IL.Rather than going out again for dinner, we had delivery from Sweet Caroline's Barbecue. Was an excellent choice! Our route mostly avoided expressways, truckers, and Labor Day traffic.

So the next day we headed out, weather great, not much traffic, and farmlands. Then the unexpected happened, in the Wisconsin countryside, we saw the sign for a Triumph dealership, Team Power Center, Janesville, WI. As unexpected as the location was the fact it was only a Triumph dealership, no other multi-model manufacturer. Motus does not count. It was like the shrine to Triumph. After making our purchases of Triumph wear, we learned the dealership sponsored an annual rally, the Annual Midwest Triumph Ride-In in New Glarus, WI. Taking a flyer, we considered attending the event IN TWO WEEKS!

Our accommodations for the remainder of the trip were at the Albany House Bed & Breakfast. The house has great architecture with stone walls and almost all original interior. Breakfast was tasty and the innkeeper was very friendly without being intrusive. Overall, the house is a value with a very reasonable rate and close proximity to other sites. The only downside might be the limited dining in walking distance as compared to a place like Galena.

We did have a nice prime rib meal at Gabriella's Restaurant, which was in walking distance of the house. The next day we rode to New Glarus and sampled the Swiss cuisine having Rosti at the New Glarus Hotel Restaurant. Rosti is like cheesy hash browns.

After checking out the Chalet Landhaus Inn, we decided to return for the Triumph Ride-In in two weeks and made a reservation at the Chalet. While at Landhaus I hooked up with a local hottie and Chris was none too happy.

The traffic was not that bad for Labor Day as we returned to Chicago. Our iPhone/Google Maps navigation did cause some concern as the iPhone power connection seemed to be faulty. That will require further investigation.