Coop's Corner: Slimey Crud

Monday, October 6, 2014

Slimey Crud - October 2014

Sunday morning was bright; the clouds did in fact clear, the winds moderated only slightly and that meant frost. I saw an official reading of 32; nothing lower than that. This is not dust on my seat.

By 8AM I was headed on my way south, winding towards Spring Green and then SE to Pine Bluff. I had a layer in reserve, also had my Warm Bib along but never put it on or plugged it in. The sun was up but cautious behind a light to medium cloud layer, so the morning shadows and light was subdued. There was great riding but not very many interesting photo and/or light opportunities so I mostly just rode.

Did stop here though to try and catch the fog lifting off this dammed pond. By the time I had my gloves off and the camera out of my pocket, much of the fog had already dissipated. The vines brought a smile to my face and every time I see them anymore I think of mom. My brother and I grew up on TV's Tarzan adventures, of course imagining ourselves swinging along with the guy on those vines from tree to tree. Woody vines such as these are everywhere in our area's woodlands; we've a bunch of them on our farm. When our mom told us long ago that even longer ago she'd swing on these vines as a little girl it was jaw-dropping news to bro and I. Imagining our mom, swinging through the woods from tree to tree, in a loincloth was more than we could fathom. I've since come to learn that there are vines and then there are vines.

I arrived in Pine Bluff about 9:30 and as seems to be common these last visits, right away bumped into buddy Bob. We walked into the bar, my fingers and my core needed some coffee. He'd ridden up from Illinois on his Stelvio and parked it prominently next to a pretty Norton; his Guzzi with a For Sale sign on it. Peter Egan hadn't arrived yet but did show up soon after.

The Green Brand......

It's always fun to see some new ones, this one a repeat that I remember seeing previously.

We were some of the first ones but they kept coming in, a steady stream from all directions.

I thought this one was fun and unique.

There were faces I expected to see in Pine Bluff that I did not. A few of them were seen in Leland however. Once again I was probably on the early end of things and left before many arrived.

I believe this is a new sign so I stopped to take a look. Vermont Church Road is often on my To or From route for the Crud run. The road is a good one, the location and setting of the church always inspirational.

Just to the west......

Tried a new road this time, Helena Road that parallels US14, tucked between the Federal highway and the Wisconsin River. Flat, straight and surrounded by sandy ag land. I saw more Sandhill Cranes along that stretch than I've ever seen in my entire life. I tried 3 times to gently and quietly roll to a stop to photograph them but the still silence always sent them flying. It had been a weekend of vast flocks of recently hatched turkeys, often flying at the last second across my path but the number of cranes seen had them beat in number.

I had barely parked the bike in Leland when I ran into Tom, one of our region's Guzzi riders. He was on his new-this-summer Stelvio. We had a nice time visiting and learning about the machines in each others' pasts. I only caught him when he was leaving.

There was a drone filming the action....

Rick, his son and some friends rode up; great to meet those of you I hadn't before. John and I finally ran into each other and did some looking around. Gary was someone I'd never met before; he showed up on a bright red Hyosung 250 so I had to go over and find out about his machine. Overall I'd call the crowd good but not even close to record setting.

There were only 2 stops made for photos on my twisty way back to Reedsburg. I eventually got back to the car and trailer, loaded up quickly and headed for home. My first real ride using the Tail Bag on the TW200 and once more, the Viking Sports Tail Bag provided solid duty, this time on my little adventure bike. This weekend brought the realization that I'm enjoying the actual Crud Run less and the weekend's riding more. Next May's version will see things stirred a bit differently I believe.

10 comments:

Dar October 7, 2014 at 12:55 AM
The inevitable frost is coming, for you though that means snow, for me it means endless grey and rain. Nice to get a ride in though.
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RichardMOctober 7, 2014 at 11:27 AM
There are some interesting looking bikes there though some look incredibly uncomfortable for the sake of style. Such as the BMW with the heated seat...
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TrobairitzOctober 7, 2014 at 12:38 PM
That last pic is a nice shot of fall.

I too was thinking that BMW with the brown seat looked mighty uncomfortable. Heated seat, good one Richard.

Bummer that the cranes and fog were elusive, but the pictures are still nice.
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VStar LadyOctober 9, 2014 at 7:31 PM
Coop - I kind of bottle the rides with photos too. I print several moments from the riding season and pin them up at work - every time I look at them I get a chance to smile.
Love the pond and the vines (fog or no). The fog on 'my' lake is elusive too - I've never been able to capture it.
Good for Mom for swinging from the vines, even if finding out about it has cost you and your bro years of therapy!
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DebOctober 11, 2014 at 11:46 AM
That tailpipe/seat platform looks HOT! lol
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Others say....

"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.

"You are Mr. ____". His name sounded strange in her voice, but she went on to tell her own.

"That's what they've called me the last sixty-eight years," he said, looking past her face to the hills fast darkening under a single star. "I reckon the woods are free for those that like to walk there."

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....."

Something deeply hidden stirred in him. "There's a stump up there, in the notch of the woods", he said slowly, "that before the timber grew so tall you could stand on it and see all over this country."

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)