Coop's Corner: July 2015

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Lorem Ipsum - 2015

A few years ago I almost didn't make the event due to my Slip'N'Slide. Last year I missed it completely, or rather Lauren and I did because the Helix decided to leave us stranded due to a bad bearing. This year we made it, the "we" being J.P. and myself.

I arrived at the arranged meeting spot a bit early....

J.P. was right on time though so we took off down the Wisconsin side of the river, stopping at a busy Pier 4 in Alma for breakfast. In no hurry, we finished our chow, taking some back roads south when it made sense. Buffalo City, Trempealeau, New Amsterdam, Holmen, West Salem, Barre Mills, Westby and finally Viroqua.

Chad was there, freshly back in Wisconsin after his awesome Alaska trip.

Older....

Newer.....

The Nimbus was back....

Ludwig and John came up from the BBC rally........

The old Tobacco Warehouse looks about the same, I didn't go inside for any book shopping this time, avoiding that temptation.

There were stickers.....

Fortunately for us, there was some shade.....

though this KLR apparently has seen mostly very direct sunlight.....

The ol' Flathead was there...

Glen was there with his 225, busy up here working on his Wisconsin property rather than on his other home piece in Texas. Not sure who the early model Concours belonged to.

The two of us left, made a few stops and some Long Way Around Loops, working our way mostly towards home. A gas stop, something to drink twice, a late lunch and home. J.P. had another hour plus to get back to St. Paul. We agreed that it was a good ride for a warm July day.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Iowa Moto Guzzi Rally - 2015

Friday's stated goal was to be up and on the road by dawn.......

I made it happen and when I stopped for this photo we were 20+ miles into the journey.

My very favorite time of the day is early morning and being able to be out riding, going somewhere at that time just that much more special. Normally by this time of our too-short riding season I've already been out for some dawn-ish rides .....but not this year....not until my trip to the Iowa Moto Guzzi Rally.

Until just a few days ago, the Breva (a real Moto Guzzi) was being prepared for this event. New tire, new windshield, fluids and pressures up to snuff. While in the garage, the black Morphous was way back in the corner, dusty and forlorn so I decided to change plans.

The early start had me in Elkader, Iowa at 9AM. This year's T-shirt, my choice was orange since that shade was all gone by the time I checked in last year. There were numerous, surprised but positive comments about my coordinated matching (Hiawatha BMW) Rally Cup.

J.P. and many others had arrived already on Thursday, some even earlier than that. On my way back down to the back end of the park area, the area we'd soon have our own small encampment, I stopped to see Dave and Dan, the Sidecar Guys. Both of the pooches were staked out and getting accustomed to rally life once again.

After getting setup, J.P. and I decided to walk downtown and while on the Riverwalk, noticed these enterprising and ambitious young men log rolling.

Back to the park, lots of new arrivals were in the common area.

I haven't caught his name but one of our enthusiasts does a wonderful job of both collecting and restoring these old Italian machines. This one is a Beauty!!

Bob was there with a couple of his machines, soon bound for Colorado and the MOA Rally in Billings.

John and Dave made it, I missed both of them actually arriving.

Our friend Rick couldn't make it for the weekend but was good enough to drive over from central Iowa for the evening, using his Jeep so that he could more safely drive home after dark and it was way after dark when he left our confab around the circle of chairs. We were all glad that he went to the trouble, thanks again Rick!

Saturday morning breakfast being lined up by the caterer. A pleasant morning, overcast and no rain.

Rodney readying the Green Hornet (his daughter's Pacific Coast) for our ride to the river.

Rick getting his Yamaha ready.....taking care of some communication as he worked.

Saturday's forecast wasn't the best though I don't think it ever got as hot as they'd predicted and that may have contributed to the gentler weather. Not sure how much rain had occurred in Elkader but our loop over to Balltown for lunch and to Guttenberg for ice cream turned wet.

On the way to Balltown we rode down to the river in Buena Vista, parked where we did last year but this time there was no train.

No photos of the amazing view from the Balltown overlook but we did get one of the wet machines from the porch at Breitbach's.....

and there was one taken in front of Joe's where we stopped for dessert in Guttenberg.

Back to Elkader, most of the rain had stopped. It was only mid-afternoon so I decided to suit up again and visit the Iowa Welcome Center on 13, south of Elkader.

A museum, Nature Center, arboretum, park, hiking trails, etc. I grabbed a winter's week worth of travel brochures to read for my next visit to NE Iowa.

This was fun.....just last week mom and I were discussing recent local stories on the decreasing habitat for Monarch butterflies and what's being done to turn that around.

Back to Elkader.....a cookie and something to drink. The coffee, lemonade, iced tea and ice water (plus cookies) are at the ready all weekend.

There were more bikes to check out.......like this MZ 500.

Before long it was time for our pork chop dinner, prepared by the local Pork Producers and the chops themselves served by the Pork Queen.

Thanks to Mike, I've photos of our Royalty to share.....that cooler was full, full as in was.

Ice cream was served once again by the Dairy Princess.

Barely after the evening meal had settled, we lined up for the Sheriff-led parade through town.

Ernie wishing me Parade success.......

The Opera House, no live performance for us this year......

Rodney sharing with me the fact that an observant young man had castigated him for being on a Honda during the Guzzi parade.

Back to our remote corner of the grounds.....

Mike later shared these with me......

Goosi was back this year......possibly an illness last year?? Maybe caught a chill.....stuff happens.

We posed in front of the sign before the engines had a chance to cool....proof of our attendance.

Back up to the Pavillion, I wanted to join the others in wishing Paul a safe ride home Saturday evening.

I don't think any of our group stayed up as late Saturday as we had Friday (the group is maturing). Sunday dawned cloudy though a bit sticky. We all were able to pack dry tents and gear.

George and crew put on a great show, always fun, good times for we attendees. I rode home in hazy and then bright sunshine, no rain.

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)