Ten Years, The Anniversary Edition - 2021/12/25

Ten years ago to the day I started something new, that new endeavor being the creation of this Blog.  It sounded and looked like fun, something that I'd enjoy and I most certainly have.  The how and why of what started all of this.....well....the following says it all...

Doug,
 Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog! It's nice to know
someone reads it.

 I started my blogs because my riding buddies would always ask, "what
year did we ....?" With the blog, I can note some of the daily
activities from our anual Sturgis trips. I also spend a lot of time
riding solo, and the blogs are a great way to keep track of, who,
what, where, and when, and it makes it easy to share info with them.

I'm guessing that you found the link to my blog on the MotoCampers.com
web site? I really need to spend more nights camping and fewer nights
in hotels, but staying in hotels on a road trip make it so easy to
pack. I enjoy the camping that we (my riding buddies) do in Belle
Fourche, SD. But after the rally is over most of the guys go home, and
it's usually John and I going somewhere for a week or so. I have to
look into UPS'ing the camp equipment out and back home to make packing
easier!

If you haven't started to blog your trips, you should. Blogspot.com
makes things very easy. It's pretty much pick a design and fill in the
words and pictures.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Erik ......123456@gmail.com>	Sat, Dec 24, 2011, 5:34 PM

Erik,

I've looked at so many blogs and wondered but then wrote them off.....that is until today and something about yours (maybe the holiday spirit??) made me determined to do something.  I take lots of photos, mostly ride alone and need a better format to write what I see and do, something a blog should do.  

My photos are here, this year's highlights were my week down in the Flint Hills.  I trailered down, other than a weekend up around Bayfield this summer, was my first try at that and I'll definitely do it again.  Been doing brand rallies in the region, getting very fond of the people I've met and befriended there.  I enjoy everyone's compnay in the morning and in the evening, but go out and ride alone during the day.

Thanks again for the inspiration.  Doug

 

Here it is, my first one and not as long-winded as so many have been.  As you can see by the Posting date, I did not dally.  As Erik mentioned, I picked a design, have not changed it and will not.  If you see that the Layout has changed, we've been hacked.  I then filled in the words and pictures.  No ads, no $$, I'm far short of 1M subscribers and we all know that will not change (more on this below).

 

So there you have it.  Erik and I made the Blog connection and from there I was quickly and very warmly welcomed into his circle of bloggers.  A few of them are still very active, some others appear to be off and on.  As can be expected a few have disappeared, at least from what I can tell.  When Blogger changed the format of the home pages, access to my blog friends required one extra click of the mouse and sadly, I've been negligent and too lazy to always make the effort to check up on everyone.  Not in any way justification but as an explanation, over these last few years when I sit down to compose, report and publish my recent antics, the process goes fast, the time I spend on the blog posting seems to get pinched more and more with the other things that occupy my Computer Time.

 

Erik and I have actually met face to face (his wife too) more than once.  Richard & Bridget, VStar Lady and A Redleg's Rides have been part of my 'actual' world as well.  All of these fine folks entering my neighborhood rather than me entering theirs.  I'm grateful for their efforts and honored to have actually met them for real.

 

For the most part I'm a Point and Shoot photo taker, my writings and composition are the equivalent.  But then if you've spent any time with me, you already know that.  By far and away most of what has appeared here is motorcycle related but as I stated from the outset, other topics might appear.  An overriding goal has been to enjoy some exploring, have fun sharing the story and let mom know that I'm avoiding any big, dangerous trouble behaving myself.

A few things I've found fascinating as I examine some of the stats that Blogger keeps track of shown below.  As you've seen, I don't go out of my way to title each Post with very accurate headings or titles, a choice that has been deliberate and I appreciate that quick searches end up here at my 'Corner that weren't necessarily interested in my writings.  It's only obvious that searches for "...that motorcycle guy in Minnesota with poor grammar and sentence structure...." would in fact end up here.  150 hits in 2 minutes from Russia were not all that interested in my chicken knowledge, GPS Tracks or mileage ridden for the day.

 

There must be some mistake....5469 Comments??  Though I missed a few, not certain about responding in the early days, it didn't take me long to decide that I'd answer every single one, something I've tried to faithfully continue.  With that, 49.98% of those comments are mine.  You'd expect that I'd have calluses from Commenting alone.  310,942 / 3650 = 85.2 visits / day and that's anecdotally what I'd have told anyone....something under 100 hits per day is what I see as an average.

 

I understand that not every one of these hits is a 'real' visit to my blog, that the search algorithms and methods aren't necessarily bringing visitors that truly intend to visit ol' Coop but even at that, these source locations fascinate me.  

Really, these are my most popular Posts??

 

I'll quote the famous motorcycle rider Chico who once quipped, "Motorcyling has been berry berry good to me".   I couldn't agree more Chico, I'm certainly the richer for the people, the roads and rides that I've so enjoyed, that content the majority of everything that has been shared here.

Thanks to all of you visitors, you Subscribers especially who for the most part have stayed with me.  I'm so looking forward to 10 more years.

One more time, thanks Erik.

Our First Real Snow - 2021/12/07

The snow is light but steady this morning.  I went out to let the chickens out and for the first time since they've been in their coop, they refused to go outside.  Normally they dash outside, ready for a chicken snack before heading off to explore the estate.

Not today.....this is NOT what they signed up for after leaving Missouri.

This is how they prefer to spend their days.....I didn't see them anywhere and had to thus go exploring.

A lot has been going on, we aren't Just Chickens.  I was out in what we call the Tree Field, formerly an acre of cropland that we 'converted' to a bunch of soft maples (weeds in mom and dad's garden) not long after we moved to the farm.  These limbs fall with just the slightest breeze, many of them never make the ground, still leaning against their host.  

Here I'm harvesting short lengths to burn in my camping stoves....

 Their eventual target....

To see more of how this happens and an example of where.....

Not everything has been happening outside.  Lots of shop time, working on Christmas presents and general long overdue tidying up.  Sawdust, very little grease and oil, nary a motorcycle touched.  Speaking of little grease and oil, Peg's spiffy laptop needed a new battery and I was immediately available.

Look at this spiffy tool kit that came with the battery.

I've joined the Goodhue County Historical Society and spent one quick afternoon there but plan to spend a lot more time there this winter for an endeavor that I'm working on....known in some circles as Doug's Secret Project.  Nothing more will be divulged at the present time.

An example of the many treasures located there.....this 1877 plat book page of our neighborhood.

Not everything's been pleasantly rural.  Hanna was able to obtain some Comp tickets for the Minnesota Orchestra's presentation of Toy Story in Minneapolis.  Peg was down in Georgia over Thanksgiving which meant that I had 3 tickets to share so I did.

From one of Minneapolis' Skyways, my 3 friends on the sidewalk yonder ready to enter Orchestra Hall and meet me on Sunday afternoon.

This is a lot of fun and truly eye opening to those of us that watch movies and don't listen.  I believe that I counted only a few minutes when music wasn't accompanying the antics on the screen.

After the concert we walked across the street to Brit's Pub for some English fare.  Molly's Sunday Roast looked just as good as my Shepherd's Pie tasted, possibly even a bit more.

This character was nicely bright in Peavey Plaza as we left.

Hopefully there will be more music, more picnics with some motorcycle time soon!

2021 Mileage Results Are In - 2021/12/04

This year's pie is ready to be served!   The ground is getting white this evening as I prepare this blog Post, by midnight the lawn will no longer be green.  All of the motorcycles with 2 wheels were put away a couple of weeks ago, none of them will run again until the road salt has been washed off.  The sidecar rig is a different story.  It is parked right in front of the door and when conditions warrant, one quick push of the button will see it thumping away, anxious for a spin on nearby roads, just possibly on nearby ice.

It's been a great year for riding and I have to admit that I was very surprised.  Last Spring's rides were few and far between, my schedule, the weather and the lingering pandemic all played a part.  I knew things were picking up, the miles increasing this fall but I truly was not expecting how the totals have turned out. 

As you can see, Wisconsin seems to be my epicenter of activity.  There are more than a few reasons for that, anyone familiar with the area and its proximity to the place the machines are parked will understand.  The Tracks where the trailer played a part are obvious and while it may seem impossible for the colored lines to be any more dense than they are but there were many rides this year, especially this fall when my focus was to quickly jump on and go.  My patience for connecting the Ram links and moving the GPS from where last used was short, the result being that many rides left no Tracks at all.

Here's the South 'half'.....

and the North side....

Here are the slices....

Check out this scientifically mathematical trend line!  If this isn't To Infinity and Beyond what is it??

Above each year's notation is the number of machines that contributed to the total.

I had to dig deep to remember that there were two Trailer Rescue trips this year, both very close to home so I'm not sure they really count.  The Elite 250 wasn't acting very elite and the 400 Auto ran out of battery, both events less than 10 miles from home, a piddly amount not worth putting in the record books, right?

Miles accomplished on the sidecar rig will roll over to next season's total.  Upcoming plans were abuzz at the coffee table this morning....Eric's been sending photos....Targets we're aiming for.  It is never too early for planning.  With that in mind, I've got to get busy since my winter projects are stacking up, Spring will be here before we know it and I'll have something to strive for.

Holiday Stroll Red Wing Minnesota - 2021/11/26

After not attending last year's event it was great to be back for the 20th Anniversary of the Thanksgiving weekend community event.  Sponsored by local businesses, it's an event spanning a few days with most of the activities happening on Friday after Thanksgiving.  The weather was actually quite nice; the winds finally calmer, no precipitation liquid or solid, the temperature right at the freezing mark.  I arrived right at 5 PM and stayed until the end of the fireworks just after 8 PM.

I very comfortably put my steps in....with much praise that my numbers were up, even trending higher this year!!  There's a parallel with some other numbers soon to be made public so don't spoil the surprise.

 

The video is here....

 

2 Wheelin' Is Done For '21 - 2021/11/24

But there may still be glee with 3.  The pie slices are coming soon, it's simply too early, not even December yet.  I have seen a Preview, the news will shock you!

Today an almost mild afternoon....but change is definitely in the air for tomorrow.

STILL no ice!!!

I hope and trust that you all will have a Happy Thanksgiving!

No Ice!! - 2021/11/20

We looked and looked but what did we expect with these balmy temperatures!?!

It wasn't a long ride but the quest for water kept it in striking distance.  No matter where we stopped, only liquid.

At the launch...

There were a few 'cubes in the cup....as close as we got to solid water.

These days shall return.....

 

 

The grade out here slight....