Welcome to the Season 1 Finale! I have some things to say about how it went, but first I have to tell you a wild story about riding Rock County's Rustic Roads.
I was on County M, headed east toward Milton when a police cruiser going the other way flipped its lights on just as it reached me. In my mirror, I saw him immediately pull a U-turn. County M in that stretch doesn't have much of a shoulder, so when I saw an intersection approaching in the next few hundred feet, I flipped on my turn signal and slowed to pull into it, so the cruiser could pass me safely.
As I was slowing, a grey car passed me at full speed on the other side of a double yellow. When the police cruiser passed me a few seconds later, I wondered how far down the road I'd catch up to them.
It seemed that I never did. Instead, when I reached Milton, the cruiser was blocking a side street, and the officer was out of his car, attending to a grey car that had jumped the curb and run head-first into a tree.
I try not to rubber-neck around accidents, because it's quite dangerous to be a motorcyclist around a bunch of rubber-necking cars. So, I didn't get a good look at the accident until I reviewed the footage at home. Can you guess what I found?
The car that passed me earlier was the same one wrapped around the tree. I had been in the middle of a police chase! Perhaps even stranger, except for my video I have been unable to find any evidence of the incident. Press releases on Rock County's website note incidents around that date, but not on it. Milton doesn't seem to have a police blotter that one can review online. Local newspapers have been trashed all over the country for over a decade.
So you'll just have to trust me that there was drama. But being aware of my surroundings meant it wasn't actually that much drama at all for me.
That capped off the 2022 Rustic Roads season for me. I had a great time exploring the state. the map says that I nearly completed the northeast corner, and a central column. People in the other three corners have already reached out to assure me that more great riding awaits me in their areas.
I was preparing to say this two weeks ago, and then received fifteen inches of fresh snow one night. But, as of this past weekend, the roads around me are finally starting to clear. And so, it's time to take a break from posting videos and get back out exploring. I hope you've enjoyed a little motorcycle break each week this winter as much as I have. See you on the roads!
Categories: Motorcycle Travel WIRR
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