Coop's Corner: Wisconsin Moto Guzzi Rally 2013

Monday, August 5, 2013

Wisconsin Moto Guzzi Rally 2013

I was there. Taking Friday off, it was a relatively early start on a cool, lovely early August morning.

The ol' Ascot (TranZalp) with Lake Pepin, the wide spot in the Mississippi River.

I met Dave down in LaCrescent, MN and we stayed on the west side of the river, taking a break just north of Marquette, IA.

Pretty sure Louie is wondering why anyone in their right mind would ride that thing to a Moto Guzzi Rally.

Half of the attendees in this photo are from Nebraska, one real member of the Wisconsin MG club and one from MO?

John once again trailer-less.....

Thankfully, we're all quite neighborly.....

I got a short ride in Dave's CSM sidecar....

The private Lake Joy......

Registration for new arrivals....

A panorama view of the main 'upper area' grounds; the 24/7 beer trailer featured at the beginning.

We three rode up to Highland, WI for breakfast at Grandma's Kitchen. I'd have taken a photo but my lens wasn't wide enough to cover the plate.

Besides Dave's sidecar rig, Rick was there with his 750 Breva, an actual Guzzi at the rally.

Both on the way to and then again from breakfast, we found lots of up/down, narrow lefts and rights blacktop. Here we stopped at The Big M.

After lunch with some friends in Mineral Point, the 3 of us headed out for another loop, this time down to the river at Potosi Point, a man-made narrow peninsula stretching for what seems like half way across the wide river. Once used as a way to access deeper water for loading the area's mined lead into boats, now it serves as a convenient boat launch and fishing spot.

Some Guzzi's and an Italian infiltrator.

A new, modern Adventure bike (non-Guzzi) in the background with a machine (Guzzi) that normally would have seen more than its share of Adventure in its day.

The Traditional decorated and well-lit Golf Cart Parade on Saturday night, put on by the campground's seasonal campers. I heard someone counting but lost track, though I believe there were 20 or so carts.

The parade was led by this Lead Dog cart, complete with air horn (loud) and flames shooting out the two exhaust stacks (bright).

A really fun rally, 624 miles on the Honda, fine rides down and home again. Though friend Gene didn't attend the entire rally, he stopped by on Saturday afternoon to share lunch with us and it was very much appreciated. This Madison group of Guzzi Rider's work tirelessly to make sure that we attendees never get hungry or dry during our stay; they truly put on an incredible gathering for just over 200 people.

16 comments:

VStar LadyAugust 5, 2013 at 9:36 PM
Golf cart parade??? It all looks like great fun.
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DebAugust 5, 2013 at 9:51 PM
What's a "guzzi"?

Anyway, looks like a fun time!
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SonjaMAugust 6, 2013 at 3:55 AM
Moto Guzzi, in Europe known as Italian Harley (that was at a time when you would spend more time wrenching than riding...)
I have always been a Guzzi admirer but I rather ride a Harley, as it is more reliable ;-)
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Martha August 6, 2013 at 6:59 AM
Another well spent weekend. I hope we have another chance to cross paths and meet.
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TrobairitzAugust 6, 2013 at 7:52 AM
What a fun weekend. I was wondering how it went.

It looks like you had some great weather and great riding with friends too. The golf cart parade looks interesting. Who knew there would be that many there. Nifty idea.
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RichardMAugust 6, 2013 at 1:47 PM
Another rally! BTW, the video you have in the post is private so it can't be viewed.

You don't have a Guzzi stashed with all of the other bikes?
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mrsnesbittAugust 7, 2013 at 7:55 AM
Wow! Sounds great fun! We are looking forward to some Guzzi events! Thanks for popping by.
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LuckyAugust 7, 2013 at 10:18 AM
Wait... Wait...

Did I read 24/7 Beer Cart?

Shoot. Think they would be OK with it if a Triumph showed up next year?

Looks like an awesome time!
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Coop a.k.a. CoopdwayAugust 7, 2013 at 12:27 PM
You in fact did. There must have been half a dozen Tigers; the owner of the campground rides a '69 Trophy.

I wouldn't miss it if I were you.

In two weeks we'll be at Money Creek Haven Campground for the MN Moto Guzzi Rally and you should be there as well. Not sure what I'm riding yet but expect to make it Friday evening.
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"it was auspicious to approach any situation from a deferential, inquisitive place. Conceding that there is much to learn is the best blueprint for discovering something new." ----B. Fuller

The Man straightened stiffly above the block of salt fixed to the stake and looked at the young cattle ringed about him. The pasture was holding out well and the stock was looking good. This bunch would be ready to sell in another month, maybe sooner if the market was right.

A stir among the cattle down near the river brought him round to face the swinging bridge he'd built years before. Someone was coming toward him from the bridge. Someone in breeches, but it didn't look like a man, somehow. What was a woman doing in his pasture this time of night?

He bent over the salt again; maybe if he paid her no heed she'd go on past and let him mind his own business. He heard her footsteps come nearer and stop. "Good evening," she said.

Her voice was smooth with book learning but friendlier than most, and somehow almost shy. When he made no answer she went on, "I've been sitting on your swinging bridge....I thought I'd like to say thank-you...." Her voice stumbled a little, then she tried once more.

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The unfamiliar voice laughed a little. "That's what Emerson said: the grove belongs to the man who walks in it with an open heart....On that basis I guess I've owned part of your woods for a good many years.....". She made a final effort. "I've always wanted to thank you....."

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He kept still a minute, remembering, then, "I used to stand up there an' look at things, an' wonder how they come to be like they was, an' how the hills was created, an' all the things in Nature.... I told my wife I guessed all the religion I ever had I got standin' on that old stump, a-wonderin'..." He turned his face away from her.

She helped him out. "I know about that, a little. This afternoon I saw......." Her account of a thing she had really taken time to look at eased him, and he answered with telling of the badger den at the foot of the swinging bridge.

When she had gone, he turned to watch her. After a moment she stood clear and unmoving against the sky. You could hear the sounds of the river where she stood. She was one that could stand still long enough, he thought, really to hear what a body was saying, or a river.

Then she walked down the farther side of the slope and was gone. ------Margaret Snyder from A Chosen Valley

Fall was the end of harvest, end of the growing season, a burst of color and sun-warmth before killing frost turned the land gray and cold. Fall was a moody time, full of both life and death, a time when we were reminded of the power outside of us, reminded that the seasons happen to us. We do not invite the change to come.-------Ben Logan, from The Land Remembers

When you get those rare moments of clarity, those flashes when the universe makes sense, you try desperately to hold onto them. They are the lifeboats for the darker times, when the vastness of it all, the incomprehensible nature of life is completely elusive. So the question becomes or should have been all along, what would you do if you knew you only had one day, or one week, or one month to live. What lifeboat would you grab onto? What secret would you tell? What band would you see? What person would you declare your love to? What wish would you fulfill? What exotic locale would you fly to for coffee? What book would you write? ------- Ben Tyler

We were also cautioned about journeying far from home. As an example of the dangers, the town had a badly crippled lady named Lucy, who as a girl had traveled to New York City. As she traveled along a sidewalk, sightseeing, she was struck by the outstretched hand of a suicide who had leapt from high above. Her spine had been shattered and for the rest of her life, she was to walk bent forward at the waist, tapping the sidewalk with two black canes. Whenever the subject of travel to a big city was raised, someone would say, "Just remember what happened to Miss Tripp." ---- Ted Kooser, from Local Wonders

"Steamboats are like wedding cakes without the complications...." ----Mark Twain

"It's not about having lots of money, it's about having lots of options......." -----Chris Rock

As the very proud father of three former ponytail wearers, hopefully I can get away with this....."For the past few years it's been fashionable for young women to wear ball caps and to snap the strap on the back under their ponytails. I like the looks of that, their shiny ponytails jauntily swinging, but it's hard not to think of the rear ends of horses. There's a piece of harness called the crupper that goes just under a horse's tail to keep its nose down. If the horse lifts its head to look for a way out of whatever predicament it's in, the crupper tightens and hurts the horse. But it's foolish for parents to think that a ball cap might keep a young woman from running away. Anybody can see they're made for running." ------Ted Kooser, Local Wonders

"I tell the guy's girlfriend that the only difference between the book's main character Phaedrus and myself is that I am neither brilliant, tortured or insane, she looks at my bike and there is an uncomfortable silence." --------ahendepe (a.k.a. Vermin)