Coop's Corner: May 2018

Monday, May 28, 2018

Memorial Day Weekend - 2018

First of all and by far most important, heartfelt thanks to our Veterans, past and present. Some gave everything; all have sacrificed a great deal. A very special thanks to our son Ben, serving currently. When his choices were many, still he heard the call. 4 generations of Coop's and I'm the one that did not participate.

No real rides planned, instead some chores, some promises made this past Spring to follow through on around the estate. There was some gardening, some cleaning, preparation for our Soldier to come home for a visit in June as well as preparation for the upcoming rally, my week over against Lake Michigan and for the Road America AHRMA event in early June.

That doesn't mean there wasn't some riding accomplished on the very hot, late July/early August typical temperature days.

Friday a medical checkup, some chain oiling, tire pressure updates, the few remaining license tab applications on the bikes that hadn't been out in the sun yet. Saturday morning I met with a local contractor about the final cleanup of our fallen barn and hopefully some driveway improvements.

But after that, WaHooo!

Mississippi Valley and Minnesota in the distance.

The woods primeval....

Some very nice looking winter wheat...

113.7 miles for the ride.....

For an evening ride and temps that hadn't really moderated....

The new access to the future river bridge.

The climb up into Red Wing's Memorial Park. Normally I've got the sound on my videos turned off since the only thing heard is wind noise but at this slower speed, you can hear the little V-Twin. As I've said repeatedly, "I like this motor".

Viewing the Contour videos using their Story Teller software. The inset includes a satellite view and a graph that plays while the video does, providing feedback as to speed, elevation, etc.

The hazy, hot, sunset view into Wisconsin....the new river bridge being built.

The last tight switchback on the way down from Memorial Park

Out of Red Wing and on my way home, shadows long.

So these were the rides for the day, Green on the sidecar, Red with the Hyosung.

Zoomed in to show the Memorial Park detail using two maps, the first the Garmin map in Basecamp.

Same location, different map. These topographic maps are available for free.

Scooter Sunday.....and County NN

Julson Ridge Road....some almost Minimum Maintenance gravel a mile further on.

County BB trailing off in the valley below .....

Pretzel Pass.....

The intersection of Alligator Slide and Pretzel Pass

Looking back on part of Pretzel Pass from that intersection...

Eagle Valley Community Church....

Home by 1PM, lawn mowing, chores, items to the recycling center, etc. etc.

6PM, back out for a ride hopefully a bit cooler; it was after all, Scooter Sunday. Stopped at a nearby Historical Marker commemorating the area's former Clay Industry.

Sleek....Timeless ...... the quintessential ......right Mike???

After lo these many years, I guess this will have to be altered...or removed. I bet a strategic "NOT" would be a rather easy alteration. Watch for it.

Memorial Day, out before 7am on the Auto .....

We've got some neighbors up the valley that like Deep Mud and the sound of Big Eights; the Machine Gun Shoots a different weekend, different valley.

Breakfast on a Holiday.... the green, not a vegetable but in this case at least, a very good thing.

Needed the parking brake today....

The Whitewater River....

If you need a Steiger...... area code 507

Some more Up/Down this morning .....

There's a Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail (I looked it up) that just might be fun on the Honda 400 Automatic. I'm thinking that one of these just may be the ticket.... the 16" should bolt right up. Looks like I'm going to need some more ADV stickers....

Something discovered today, I can say with certain authority that our tar strips have turned soluble, especially so in the sweepers.

Finally, the big bike was out for a short loop, but not until after some bleu burgers on the grill and fruit salad ....

The Frontenac beach and boat ramp....

A full and enjoyable weekend all around. Hope that everyone got a chance to Remember and Thank those that have served.

This coming weekend, BMW's, rhubarb and the Royal Enfield with 3 wheels.

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Minnesota VJMC 2018 June Show

It's going to be big and unless you've got a VERY good excuse, you should be there. I covered it the best I could last year but there's no substitute for actually being present to witness and enjoy it yourself.

Monday, May 21, 2018

GR3 - Great River Road Rally - 2018

This was the 44th Annual event for the Madison BMW Club and it was a success, the Soldiers Grove Lions group, the Madison BMW Club and attendees put on a great show. We heard at the awards presentation that there were 260 registered. Rain was predicted....off, then on, then rescheduled, then changed again....and so on. We agreed that there were a few drops not long after midnight Sunday morning but by 8:30 this morning when I left, there was no real 'event' rain. I did ride in a light shower just after crossing the Iowa/Minnesota border on my way home but that was the extent of it. Friday and Saturday the weather was just about perfect, the cold front went through overnight, threatening the rain and bringing much cooler temperatures.

First of all, the inarguable facts....

I left home a few minutes before 6AM on Friday.....

and stopped where I often have along Lake Pepin.

Staying on the Minnesota side of the river, I stopped in New Albin which is right on the MN/IA border to check out the lovely flower baskets.

Then I went inside the City Meat Market to get never quite enough of the World's Best Pork Jerky.

Since I'd be sharing with friends, an Integrity Verification was performed right there in the parking lot immediately before leaving the location.

Crossing the river at Lansing.....

Early fun on County B.....

Arriving in Soldiers Grove around 9:30.....only a handful of rallygoers.

My tent hook up. Fly and footprint in one compression sack, the tent and 'porch floor' for my vestibule, Twin Headlight Ernie's 8" stainless steel stakes in one of his protective pouches and my 16" poles.

Friday it was Eric, my brother and I....weather astounding.

Friday's potential hazards were many....

My camera wasn't rolling; not sure if Eric's was. How the 4 geese in the road decided which one should come after me, I don't know. We easily could have witnessed and been part of a gaggle of down.

An odd story here...We were going downhill on a gravel section and moments later I felt something new, lightly pushing against my rear end, almost as if my wallet was finding a new spot. Assuming something but having no idea what, had come loose, I reached back to find this rock. Somehow, my rear tire must have thrown it, wedged it somehow, somewhere. I never felt anything on my foot, my leg, anywhere else, only that something new was directly behind me and ahead of that bump on the seat.

Ludwig's new HD

In and around the campground...

Free firewood provided by the Soldiers Grove Lions ......

Dave and Dan had a corner staked out....

While I continue to lose luster, Ludwig gains polish....he looks better than he did when I first met him.

Thanks Eric

I met Paul last year when he wondered if I was the Coop that had a blog. He came all the way from Kansas City....again and joined us Saturday for our ride.

Crossing into Iowa at McGregor

Thanks Eric

According to Wolftrax, this is the only fire tower in Iowa; he knew exactly where we were.....Yellow River State Forest.

More Yellow River State Forest. The last time I was here, a group from CO was riding through and one of their bikes decided to take a short nap in this vicinity. It was wetter that day.

Thanks Eric

Our health, always a paramount concern, saw us walking to the Ice Cream Place.

I assume that we learned that there's a place in Niger 5840 miles away.

I've ridden over the culvert and concrete spillway but it was a long time ago. It has been in this condition for quite some time. Kevin went through and Paul went over to choose which track looked the best.

Nice to have a Button....

At the drawing I was lucky enough to win 2 admissions to the Wisconsin Dells BMW Rally in September. I've never been before so now there's no excuse.

Saturday evening's Taco Bar and desert feed....I think we were all surprised at the beer and brats provided Friday evening, a first and appreciated yes ma'am!

When we're not riding, we can excel at this....

We packed up our tents and loaded before the rain we were sure would happen. I had about 5 miles worth of light drops, that was all.

Last stop on my way home, Winona.

Paul, great seeing you again and glad that you joined us for the Iowa loop; see you in Grand Marais in a few weeks. Bernie, your Tracks on their way soon. Jim, I'll see you at the RA gate, 6:30....you mentioned coffee???

In a couple of weeks, the Hiawatha Rally and the chance to figure out what we didn't last weekend.

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)