Editor's note: Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker has agreed to chronicle his experience during the fourth annual Executive's Ride, which began this weekend at the House of Harley-Davidson on Layton Ave.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
7:30 a.m. -- Before we take off, our road guards go through all of the rules for a safe ride. Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas is riding with us. So is Milwaukee County Treasurer Dan Diliberti. Walworth County Administrator David Bretl stopped in, too. State Senator Mary Lazich and her husband are each riding motorcycles with us.
8 a.m. -- We are taking off for our 4th annual Executive's Ride from the House of Harley Davidson on Layton in Greenfield. John Schaller and his staff do a great job every year getting us ready for the great tour.
"Turkey," who usually rides in a yellow cheesehead Harley-Davidson with a sidecar, has a bad back and is riding on a two-wheeler this year. Still, there is a great mix of interesting riders.
This year, we are doing something new and stopping in all seven counties in the Milwaukee 7 region. Our next stop will be at Suburban Harley-Davidson in Ozaukee County.
8:45 a.m. -- We arrive in Thiensville and get a nice escort from the local law enforcement. Thiensville Administrator Dianne Robertson is a rider and she rode in with us and will stay through West Bend. Village President Karl Hertz rode his bike over too (bicycle that is).
10:15 am -- West Bend Harley-Davidson is our next stop. They are the host for a special MS ride today and the riders waited to depart until we came into the dealership. Washington County Administrator Doug Johnson gave us a nice welcome into the county. Roger Krist from the convention and visitors bureau was there too - along with a number of leaders of other key organizations in town. We did an interview with the local newspaper and they took some photos of the crowd.
11:45 am -- We are pulling into Wisconsin Harley-Davidson in Oconomowoc. Dan Vrakas and I were nearby here a few weeks ago as we lead a ride from the VA grounds in Milwaukee to Holy Hill and then back to Waukesha County. The ride was for the National Veterans Wheelchair Games - which runs through today.
We spoke with the publisher of the Oconomowoc newspaper and got some cool water. Then, Waukesha County Sheriff's Deputies got us on the road again.
1 p.m. -- Since there is no dealership in Walworth County, we are pulling into Gus's Drive-In in East Troy for lunch. Gus's has a massive classic car show each Saturday night.
Many of you may not know this but I grew up in Walworth County (in Delavan). Along with other leaders from the county, we were joined by the county's Health and Human Services Department head Linda Seemeyer. Linda was previously my head of Administrative Services in Milwaukee County and it was fun to see her here with us.
A freelance reporter from the local paper dropped in to interview me.
3:15 p.m. - We pulled into the Racine Harley-Davidson on Oaks Road. We did an interview on Racine radio about the stop.
4:30 p.m. -- We are back again at Uke's Harley-Davidson in Kenosha (right along the I-94). This dealership has a very cool museum up above the showroom. They have a massive chocolate Harley from Chocolate Fest. One of our long-time road captains - John Tenuta or JT - is a retired member of the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department.
The Kenosha paper sent over a reporter and a photographer. They got some nice shots of Tenuta's bike too.
7 p.m. -- We pull into the Holiday Inn in Rockford for the night. All of the bikes pull in for the night and we all head over to Damon's Grill for a buffet dinner.
This is a great market for Milwaukee as we are right up I-43. I like to note three quick reasons for people from Rockford to come to visit:
Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis is closer and better than the Illinois State Fair in Springfield.
General Mitchell International Airport is a better and easier airport than O'Hare International Airport.
Seeing a Cubs game is easier at Miller Park than at Wrigley Field.
Plus, it is good to promote the fact that the 40th anniversary of Summerfest opens on Thursday.
Rockford is an interesting market for me as my father was born there and my mother was born on a farm between Rockford and Belvidere, Illinois. On Sunday, we are talking to local television stations.
On Sunday morning, we go over to the local Harley-Davidson dealership for breakfast at their café. Kegel's is the oldest family owned H-D dealership in the world.
Time to get some sleep as it was a long day. We started at 8 a.m. and got in at 7 p.m. Plenty of stops and interviews but tons of riding, too.
Scott Walker begins his 4th annual Executive's Ride on Saturday, June 23. The trip covers 1,500 miles through 39 cities in four states with stops at 22 Harley-Davidson dealerships. Some 50 riders will travel with Walker _ with more joining him at different points along the way.
The trip started after the 100th anniversary of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company in 2003. Walker took the Riders Edge rider safety course at the House of Harley Davidson in Greenfield and lead the parade with then-Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist.
Borrowing the idea from former Governor Tommy Thompson, Walker decided to embark on an annual Harley ride to promote all of the great tourism attractions in Milwaukee County. In 2006, he expanded the promotions to include the seven counties in the Milwaukee 7 area.
The ride will conclude on Thursday, June 28 just before the start of Summerfest on the fest grounds. Walker rides a Harley Davidson Road King and wears a black Harley-Davidson helmet and appropriate protective gear. More details can be founds at www.countyexecutivesride.com.
Each day along the trip, County Executive Walker will blog exclusively for OnMilwaukee.com about the trip and the reaction from people across the state and surrounding states.
