Yeah, I know, it's been a while since I posted here. Been rather busy since the semester started.
The first "actual" weekend of this month was the date of the River Park Rendezvous in Baltic. This is a run put on by the Sioux Falls, SD chapter of A.B.A.T.E. That (for those who don't know) is a motorcycle rights organization with chapters all over the U.S. and Canada. I went for the first time last year and had a good time. This year, I was able to bring the Ol lady, Mystry, along. AND, we were able to ride there!
I had to work Friday night, the opening night of the party, so we weren't going to be able to leave until afterwards. Mystry loaded up the bike while I was at school, after we had gotten the mail and discovered a LOAAAD of cash had come our way. A very nice Friday surprise!
It was pretty cool to see my bike all loaded for a camping run. Never been able to do that before. Mystry did a great job packing it! Wish I had a pic to post, but I don't think either of us took any. Sorry bout that!
Well, work ended, the home team got their asses kicked (I'm a studio engineer at KJAM in Madison and work football games), so it was time to roll out. I took Mystry to work with me since it made good logistical sense. Didn't have a riding jacket so I had to wear my duster... made things interesting. I also discovered I really.. REALLY need new goggles. It really isn't fun trying to ride with foggy goggles.
The ride was, for the most part, uneventful. It wasn't as cold as I thought it was gonna be, and no animals with suicidal thoughts, so that was good. I did, however, have a problem that ended up grounding the 'Wing. As we pulled into Baltic and went to back off on the throttle and turn in to the party grounds, my throttle wouldn't back off! Found out in the morning that my return throttle cable was broken. That SUCKED!!!
Even though we didn't get to go for a ride, like we wanted to, we still had a good time, and spent a wad of cash, which was nice to be able to do for a change! NOW, I have a riding jacket again.... and some chaps! Mystry looks better in hers than I do! lol
We were able to line up transport back home on Sunday, thanks to Ma! We dropped the bike off at the local shop in Madison to get fixed. Decided to go ahead and get the fork seals fixed, too, finally.
At last report, yesterday, my cables aren't in yet. I sure hope the bike gets done before next Wednesday. My club friends are hosting some Brothers from Germany so there are alot of events happening!
I'll definitely be posting the parties I attend that week! And I'll TRY to remember pics!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Vets Run -- July 25, 2008
Well, this was the day I'd been waiting quite a while for!
The rest of the day went by really slow-like. I went outside around noon and worked on my chopper for a little bit (turned out I wasn't able to make it to the car/bike show I wanted to take the chopper to on Saturday, but this post isn't about that)to try to kill some of the slow-moving time. Finally, the time came to get ready to go!
Mystry, my Ol lady, packed a duffel bag with some extra shirts and our jackets, since we knew we were going to be riding home in the middle of the night. I took a shower and got my gear together.
We were a little bit late leaving, which annoyed me for a little bit, but finally fired up the "Old Thing" and hit the road.
The first "funny" thing that happened on the highway was I ran over a dead skunk. Fortunately it wasn't a straight shot! A few miles down the road, I came across some more "fun"... A nice fresh chip-seal coat on the highway! I hate that!
After stopping for gas, the serious trip was on! Between Howard and Colton, SD is some really nice riding. Tree lined roads and small hills and pretty decent roads made the ride down rather nice. It was a relatively short 40-some mile run to Colton, but great, nonetheless.
We got to town and signed up for the ride portion of the evening. Now I have a fresh new run patch to add to my vest! Hopefully, I won't sew my pocket shut... again!
After grabbing some eats and a soda, and catching up with Ma, we got on the bikes and headed on the run. Now, I'm used to poker runs, which have stops.... that you STOP at. This one was a straight-out 50+ mile ride with no stops! Once again, there was some excellent scenery! We took a road I haven't been on since high school. Well, after I realized I missed the turn and turned around. I had a fear of sharp curves. I repeat... I HAD a fear of sharp curves! This road pretty much cured me of that!
A few of us had gotten separated from the main pack. Before I turned around, a couple of the guys I was riding with missed the turn and didn't notice. So, I was basically by myself on the twisty stretch. I can't say I minded much. lol
I must have been rollin' hard because when we pulled back into town, I saw the taillights of the rest of the pack ahead of me. I didn't think I was speeding that much! (hehe)
After the ride, I ate again and socialized. Talked to some other Goldwing riders and a bunch of other folks. I was looking forward to seeing how much the painting I donated to the silent auction would fetch for the cause. The price was a tad disappointing, but at least a Vet got it!
That's it for this one. Other than to say that the ride home wasn't nearly as much fun as it should've been. I'm not a huge fan of riding at night. Especially with a scratched up windshield!
Enjoy these pics! I don't have many, but there are a couple...
The rest of the day went by really slow-like. I went outside around noon and worked on my chopper for a little bit (turned out I wasn't able to make it to the car/bike show I wanted to take the chopper to on Saturday, but this post isn't about that)to try to kill some of the slow-moving time. Finally, the time came to get ready to go!
Mystry, my Ol lady, packed a duffel bag with some extra shirts and our jackets, since we knew we were going to be riding home in the middle of the night. I took a shower and got my gear together.
We were a little bit late leaving, which annoyed me for a little bit, but finally fired up the "Old Thing" and hit the road.
The first "funny" thing that happened on the highway was I ran over a dead skunk. Fortunately it wasn't a straight shot! A few miles down the road, I came across some more "fun"... A nice fresh chip-seal coat on the highway! I hate that!
After stopping for gas, the serious trip was on! Between Howard and Colton, SD is some really nice riding. Tree lined roads and small hills and pretty decent roads made the ride down rather nice. It was a relatively short 40-some mile run to Colton, but great, nonetheless.
We got to town and signed up for the ride portion of the evening. Now I have a fresh new run patch to add to my vest! Hopefully, I won't sew my pocket shut... again!
After grabbing some eats and a soda, and catching up with Ma, we got on the bikes and headed on the run. Now, I'm used to poker runs, which have stops.... that you STOP at. This one was a straight-out 50+ mile ride with no stops! Once again, there was some excellent scenery! We took a road I haven't been on since high school. Well, after I realized I missed the turn and turned around. I had a fear of sharp curves. I repeat... I HAD a fear of sharp curves! This road pretty much cured me of that!
A few of us had gotten separated from the main pack. Before I turned around, a couple of the guys I was riding with missed the turn and didn't notice. So, I was basically by myself on the twisty stretch. I can't say I minded much. lol
I must have been rollin' hard because when we pulled back into town, I saw the taillights of the rest of the pack ahead of me. I didn't think I was speeding that much! (hehe)
After the ride, I ate again and socialized. Talked to some other Goldwing riders and a bunch of other folks. I was looking forward to seeing how much the painting I donated to the silent auction would fetch for the cause. The price was a tad disappointing, but at least a Vet got it!
That's it for this one. Other than to say that the ride home wasn't nearly as much fun as it should've been. I'm not a huge fan of riding at night. Especially with a scratched up windshield!
Enjoy these pics! I don't have many, but there are a couple...
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Fast Friends...
This particular June weekend, My ol lady, Mystry, and I rode up to DeSmet for a street dance weekend. It was a pretty good time, although I forget who the band was the first night. The guys from Twisted Choppers were there showing off their motorcycles, and doing a burnout or two. Friday night I got a bit... "happy". Saturday, Mystry was tired and napped in our tent but I didn't feel like it. I don't like tents during the day as they tend to get a bit warm. I decided to ride over to Lake Preston to see a couple "Brothers" of mine. I sat there for a couple hours or so relaxing and having good conversation.
After a while, some of the other club members showed up to ride back over to DeSmet for the second street dance of the weekend. One of my friends' bike didn't sound too healthy, so we hung out till the problem got fixed.
I rode over to DeSmet with the guys, but they were going to another house in town than where I was going.
Let it be known that when you ride with a club you better be able to keep up! These guys don't fuck around on the highway! We were going 80 MPH at one point. I gotta say it was pretty exhilarating! Except for my leaky fork seals, which made for an interesting ride through the turns we took at 75. We got to town and I waved to the guys as they turned off to where they were going.
During the dance I saw most of em again. I didn't get to drink anything that night, since we spent all of our cash getting ourselves and Mystry's 16 year old into the dance only to have him disappear for most of it. I was a bit pissed about that one.
There were a few little runs we took since then, but nothing worthy of posting here, but stay tuned to "Crash's Road Blog" for next weekend's posting. We'll be riding to a Vets benefit run that I donated a painting to. I'll try to remember to take my camera and get alot of pictures.
After a while, some of the other club members showed up to ride back over to DeSmet for the second street dance of the weekend. One of my friends' bike didn't sound too healthy, so we hung out till the problem got fixed.
I rode over to DeSmet with the guys, but they were going to another house in town than where I was going.
Let it be known that when you ride with a club you better be able to keep up! These guys don't fuck around on the highway! We were going 80 MPH at one point. I gotta say it was pretty exhilarating! Except for my leaky fork seals, which made for an interesting ride through the turns we took at 75. We got to town and I waved to the guys as they turned off to where they were going.
During the dance I saw most of em again. I didn't get to drink anything that night, since we spent all of our cash getting ourselves and Mystry's 16 year old into the dance only to have him disappear for most of it. I was a bit pissed about that one.
There were a few little runs we took since then, but nothing worthy of posting here, but stay tuned to "Crash's Road Blog" for next weekend's posting. We'll be riding to a Vets benefit run that I donated a painting to. I'll try to remember to take my camera and get alot of pictures.
After The Rain...
I don't remember the date for this one. But its a fun tale, anyway.
It was a slightly rainy afternoon one Saturday in June. OH shit! I just made that sound like a poem! Anyhoo! My Ol lady, Mystry, and I were sitting at home being bored. We actually had some cash handy, so I suggested maybe we go on a "supper" ride.
We have a couple friends in Mitchell, SD we haven't seen in a bit, so we decided to ride down there to the restaurant they both work at.
It had just stopped raining minutes before. It was one of them nice rains. Not a torrential downpour, but just a nice bit just enough to get the road wet and make the air smell that nice smell.
So, we fired up the "Wing" and hit the road for a nice 40 mile run. Thanks to the rain, the temp was nice and cool and the air smelled fresh. A great ride!
Well, it was great until I hit Highway 38 east of Mitchell. That road SUCKS! A tip to all you readers headed for Sturgis this next couple weeks, stay off that stretch of road!! I-90 is just a couple miles down, so stay on that.
We hit Mitchell and got to the restaurant and talked to our friends. After a nice steak dinner, we decided we'd crash at their place that night.
Before they got off work, we decided to ride downtown to my favorite bar in Mitchell, The Jackpot, I highly recommend it! There was supposed to be a "fox hunt" contest put on by a local radio station, but that took way to damn long. We got to our friends' place around midnight.
Had a great ride back, too! Got home and took a long nap. lol
Stay tuned for more road stories!
It was a slightly rainy afternoon one Saturday in June. OH shit! I just made that sound like a poem! Anyhoo! My Ol lady, Mystry, and I were sitting at home being bored. We actually had some cash handy, so I suggested maybe we go on a "supper" ride.
We have a couple friends in Mitchell, SD we haven't seen in a bit, so we decided to ride down there to the restaurant they both work at.
It had just stopped raining minutes before. It was one of them nice rains. Not a torrential downpour, but just a nice bit just enough to get the road wet and make the air smell that nice smell.
So, we fired up the "Wing" and hit the road for a nice 40 mile run. Thanks to the rain, the temp was nice and cool and the air smelled fresh. A great ride!
Well, it was great until I hit Highway 38 east of Mitchell. That road SUCKS! A tip to all you readers headed for Sturgis this next couple weeks, stay off that stretch of road!! I-90 is just a couple miles down, so stay on that.
We hit Mitchell and got to the restaurant and talked to our friends. After a nice steak dinner, we decided we'd crash at their place that night.
Before they got off work, we decided to ride downtown to my favorite bar in Mitchell, The Jackpot, I highly recommend it! There was supposed to be a "fox hunt" contest put on by a local radio station, but that took way to damn long. We got to our friends' place around midnight.
Had a great ride back, too! Got home and took a long nap. lol
Stay tuned for more road stories!
This blog's about road stories...
Hello, y'all!
This blog is going to be mainly road stories. I got myself, or rather my Ol lady got it for us, a "new" bike this summer! A 1977 Goldwing. I dig it! Some readers out there may think "this dude ain't a biker if he rides a Goldwing". I think I'm MORE of a biker than I've been for the past two years since I finally get to ride!
With that said, enjoy the road stories!
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