Saturday, June 28, 2014

Been Busy

We've been working longer hours, home later, then a few chores and before we know it, time for bed.  Even with the longer days, evenings seem woefully short lately.  It would help if it would quit raining since Rain + Early Summer = Mowing.  Once per week hasn't been enough and I'm not one of those yard fanatics either.  When I do get out there to mow, it never fails that it should have been done a few days previous.

Just a bit over a week ago, friend Dan wrote that a long time friend of his had a bike for sale.  The email went out to over a dozen people, addy's and names I recognized...."Bike for sale, thought I'd put the word out to help a buddy....."  I responded first, called and bought the bike over the phone, sight unseen. 

I've never owned a Kawasaki before; this a '95 KLR250.

We all know, now most everyone knows that I need another one about as bad as I need another hole in my head.  The saving grace may just be that I'm now at an even number and something else that we all know, odd numbers can be just that, odd.  So now that I'm up to an even number, I will have that going for me, at least for the time being.


Picked up from a Wisconsin farm within sight of Illinois, the 550 mile round trip last Sunday to bring it home was very much worth it.  Wednesday night I had it out the driveway and down to the corner a few times (2.4 miles) and today I took it to Lake City for some fresh gas.  There are some accoutrements on their way via online shopping that will hopefully make it even more suited than it already is right now for Coop Riding.  I'm pretty excited.

It was a farm bike that hadn't seen an excess amount of "farm" from the looks of things and even though the "Barbie" colors/plastic look actually quite good, some patina is present.  I won't be the first one to put a scratch on it or get something twisted out of perfection.



Lauren is back from Georgia, so today we headed down to the Nelson Cheese Factory for lunch to celebrate her return.  We had our food orders in and were waiting for our food to be brought out onto the patio when I saw friend Paul come around the corner, battling an ice cream cone that was yielding to the very warm and humid day.  I tried to do the talking so that Paul could concentrate on his more important task of saving as much as possible of the cone as he could.  A valiant attempt was made; most of the cone ended up where it belonged.

Good to see you again Paul and yes, the driveway has been a challenge off and on the last few weeks.

On the way home we stopped in Wabasha and I hopped out to take a couple of shots.  Remember this back on May 25?

 
Today it looks like this......compare the water under the distant bridge.  No boats being launched from here this weekend.


I haven't really had the black Yamaha Morphous out yet this year, so decided to do a bit more Mississippi River Flood inspection, this time north of us to Red Wing.


Again, remember this back on April 20?



Today, June 28th.......at least the trees are green.



Looking upriver, the river barge empty and waiting to be filled with grain.  The 'edge' of the river is where those poles are for tying off the barges.


More ducks........Red Wing's signature Boat Houses......don't want those river-going vessels to get wet.



I've got all of next week off......guess what I'll be doing??

15 comments:

  1. The Kawa looks kinda spiffy for an ex farm bike, but the colours...
    There you have its name: Barbie ;-)

    Flooding hasn't been a big issue for us (yet), as we didn't have a real winter but there is lots of rain in the forecast and its stormy out there, so I won't be riding much today.

    Enjoy your week off, and bring back pics, please.

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  2. Sonja, those years of KLR's had some interesting pastel colors that have become known as Barbie paint schemes. Real Men have altered them.....flat black, army green, desert tan, etc. I like it just the way it is :)

    Regionally we've been flooded with rain and the ground is saturated. our 'dry' ditch is wet and stays that way, the soils here are saturated and have room for no more. Last week we had a heavy shower, rain that normally would have just soaked in but flooded our driveway. It would be nice if we could send all of this moisture where it could be better utilized.

    Thank you! I'll have my tiny laptop along next week.

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  3. Well, yeah, I mean didn't you own a PINK Buddy?! :=)

    I like colors, of course I own a flat black Buddy which I am always trying to jazz up with color!

    Anyway, pretty nice ride! Enjoy!

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    1. Deb, that's what I say.....after pink, a standard that I'll be forever judged by, a bit of pastel won't hurt a thing. For the record, I've got nothing against the gloss or flat blacks and my Cafe project just may be primarily a combination of those.....someday.

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  4. Nice looking KLR! A friend of mine has a R100GSPD the same color. When I first saw it, it seemed like an odd color for a bike. A week off, eh? Must be a toad trip of some sort.

    We've had a record month for rain and it's all been in the last few weeks. Lots of minor flooding but nothing serious due to water getting diverted around town by the flood control project.

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    1. Thanks Richard, I've seen a few of those BMW's around, mostly showing up at the rallies. Yes, I plan to spend the week on 2 wheels.

      In a couple of weeks, many of us could be hoping for rain. As I often say, that's how averages are determined. I know that we could sure use some of that average now.

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  5. Your flood waters sure have been rising. Any idea when they will recede to normal levels?

    Nice looking KLR even if it is the Barbie colors. Somehow I just don't think you mind the colors. Real men wear pink so why not ride pastel bikes too.

    Have a great time on the trip. Will be looking forward to trip reports.

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    1. No real idea Brandy, this system of rivers that feeds the Mississippi right here is a huge area and the entire area has been receiving record setting rainfalls. They expect that the crest happened this weekend in Red Wing, but more heavy rain this coming week could bring it all back again.

      Agree about the colors; I should care more about the hues of the machines but that feature is just about last on my checklist of why they should be in the garage.

      Rough plans are made, packing has begun for next week.

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  6. I didn't realize you folks were getting so much rain and flooding like that. Hopefully it will turn soon and you'll have a series of nice sunny DRY days.

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    1. Thanks Canajun, the pockets of big rains haven't all happened locally but regionally have made a huge impact on the Big River nearby. We'll be ready for some dry weather.

      I'll be very ready for dry weather next week. :)

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  7. Doug I hope you have a nice relaxing time.

    I can't imagine having so many bikes. It would seem like a job just trying to award reasonable riding time to each of the bikes.

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    1. Thanks David, hoping that I've done just enough planning yet allowed for lots of dalliances along the way. I've been researching things I may be interested in or want to stop and see, so they'll dictate daily progress.

      Honestly, this may be surprising but your concern is becoming mine. We don't, even in SOUTHern Minnesota have enough weekends to give these machines their due. Possibly it's only a matter of better resource planning?? Retirement is still too far off.....possibly a different work schedule......

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  8. Coop:

    I've always wanted a dual sport 250cc something or other but it will never happen because of our inflated Government insurance where every vehicle has to pay FULL rate. Here they don't insure the driver, they make you insure each vehicle. Your KLR would probably cost me $750 per year

    anyway, have an enjoyable time away and snap lots of photos

    Oh, and keep away from the water unless you have KLR pontoons, or really large balloon tyres

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

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    1. Thanks Bob,
      I'm fortunate to live where a 250 DS bike can make sense. I don't have to haul it, can stay out of everybody's way on the roads I need and want to ride on.

      Thanks for the reminder about insurance, I need to make a change before next week. If I had vehicles as nice as yours, my expenses would be much higher. The only reason I can have, keep and maintain what I have is because other people either get tired of them or they're old enough to have little value.

      Water is something I hope to look at and not really be a part of. :)

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  9. Nice KLR! I am a bit jealous! It looks to be in pretty nice shape. Hope you let us know how you like once you have spent some time on it.

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