Ride To Kayak
I took Friday off and decided to do something I've never done before - kayak. I've ridden through Taylors Falls many times and see all the signs for canoe rental places. I decided to do it and made a reservation at Riverwood Canoe. They made it so easy. You pick up a shuttle in Osceola, WI, they drive you up to Interstate State Park, hook you up with a canoe or kayak, oars, & life jacket, give you a quick safety lesson, and off you go down the river back towards your car (or, in this case, motorcycle). It's a 7 mile trip and should take 2-3 hours.
I needed to carry some gear so I took the Road King. I stopped at Key's Cafe in Forest Lake for breakfast and then arrived in Osceola just after 10am.
It was a little challenging dressing and preparing for a day of motorcycling and kayaking. The best solution I could come up with was to wear shorts under my Aerostich pants and I changed from boots into water shoes in the parking lot. I also had a bag with water, Gatorade, sunscreen, bug spray, and some ziplocs to keep my wallet, phone, & camera dry. I stuffed my boots and riding pants into the saddlebags and hopped on the shuttle.
The scenery was beautiful.
The only downside was a strong headwind. It was so bad that if I didn't paddle, the kayak practically stopped. It was quite a workout and took me nearly 3 hours to complete the trip with two brief stops.
It turns out that my Biltwell riding gloves worked pretty well for kayaking.
After my trip, I had lunch at the Drive-In up in Taylors Falls, MN. Then I went for a ride. I crossed back into Wisconsin to ride WI-65. I had read good things and wanted to check it out. The road was fun with a lot of roller coaster style hills. By the time I got home, I had ridden nearly a 200 mile loop.
View Larger Map
It was a solid day of riding and kayaking and I was exhausted by the end of it.
I needed to carry some gear so I took the Road King. I stopped at Key's Cafe in Forest Lake for breakfast and then arrived in Osceola just after 10am.
It was a little challenging dressing and preparing for a day of motorcycling and kayaking. The best solution I could come up with was to wear shorts under my Aerostich pants and I changed from boots into water shoes in the parking lot. I also had a bag with water, Gatorade, sunscreen, bug spray, and some ziplocs to keep my wallet, phone, & camera dry. I stuffed my boots and riding pants into the saddlebags and hopped on the shuttle.
The scenery was beautiful.
The only downside was a strong headwind. It was so bad that if I didn't paddle, the kayak practically stopped. It was quite a workout and took me nearly 3 hours to complete the trip with two brief stops.
It turns out that my Biltwell riding gloves worked pretty well for kayaking.
After my trip, I had lunch at the Drive-In up in Taylors Falls, MN. Then I went for a ride. I crossed back into Wisconsin to ride WI-65. I had read good things and wanted to check it out. The road was fun with a lot of roller coaster style hills. By the time I got home, I had ridden nearly a 200 mile loop.
View Larger Map
It was a solid day of riding and kayaking and I was exhausted by the end of it.
