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:

  1. 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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    1. Dar, the grey and dark do get old I'm sure; they certainly would for me. Fighting the snow every few days can as well. Maybe it all balances out??

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  2. 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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    1. Richard, this event is primarily to show off "Style" though just about one of everything possible makes an appearance. Old, new, modified, spoofs, etc.....it's just about all there.

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  3. 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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    1. Thanks Brandy,
      If I could bottle some of that color and tuck it away and then pull it out in mid-January I would. Going back to the photos and memories of those roads and my rides seems to do the trick, serving the purpose well enough.

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  4. 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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    1. Karen, for all of the holes in my memory, there are some old things that I do remember. That old discovery of mom in the woods is one. Tromping around in our woods here on the farm with our kids brought the story back years ago and typing it in the blog made me smile once more.

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  5. That tailpipe/seat platform looks HOT! lol

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