New things

I guess it's been a while since I've put anything on here. I keep forgetting to be perfectly honest. So here's what's new as of late.
My wife and I have been fixing up a house for her grandparents to move into. It's definitely been an experience but in a good way.
I've finally joined a band again. They're out of the Spirit Lake area. We have no name as of yet but the guys have all been playing for 20 plus years (in some cases much more)and are very talented. We're going to be leaning towards bluesy classic rock stuff like The Allman Brothers and Gov't Mule. I hope it works out. I'll try to keep you posted.
My stepson broke his arm pretty bad on Friday so we've been dealing with that. Doctors visits and surgeries...YAY!! He's doing really well though, he's a tough little guy. He had four pins put in yesterday and it sounds like things are going to heal just fine. We're just going to have to have to let his body do it's thing.
It's short and it's sweet but it'll do the trick (that's what she said)
Enjoy the day!

Anticipation

So as I mentioned at the end of my previous post Algona is fast approaching. If none of you have ever been to the ABATE of Iowa Freedom Rally in Algona I highly recommend it. When I was younger and before I met my wife I used to frequent as many rallies as I could fit in. Over the years with age and responsibility the number has fallen considerably. Algona is one that I will never let go of though. The rally grounds are nice and well cared for. The people (for the most part) are respectful. The nudity and lewd behavior is the perfect amount. It's there if you want it but if your not into that sort of thing you can find places to get away from it.
There tends to be enough people to make the rally interesting and have the big rally feel while keeping everyone spread out enough to not make you feel like your camping on top of one another. There was however a group camping near us last year that was doing some interesting things after a few cocktails and none of us cared that they were camping close. We didn't even have to go to the main stage area for entertainment!
That's about all I have for an endorsement at this time. So in closing if you're looking for something to do over the fourth of July weekend and you want to have some adult biker fun head to the Freedom Rally in Algona. I've never had a bad time there!
If you go drop me line and let me know if you're going and what you think of it. LATER!

RUN!!!!!!

Last November my wife decided that she wanted to run a marathon. It was an item on her bucket list. Some friends of ours that happen to own the gym that we go to go to Duluth every year for the Grandmas Marathon. Janele runs it and Troy is there for support and whatever else she needs. Leesa asked me if I thought that it was something that she could/should do. I told her that it was so she started to train. She did amazing. She trained hard, dropped 20 pounds and got into great shape. It all came together last weekend when it was finally time for the run. The hotel that we stayed at was a stopping point for the shuttle that takes the runners up to Two Harbors for the beginning of the race which was nice because we could sleep in that much longer. We still had to be up at 4:45 a.m. so she could be on the bus at 5:30 a.m.
Troy and I brought our bicycles along and rode the course from Duluth up to mile 20 so we could meet our wives and give them their needed supplements and whatever else they desired. After Leesa stopped and I gave her her necessities I had to take off back to the hotel to drop off my bike in order to get to the finish line to see here cross. Which she did at approximately the 5hr and 30min mark. In the grand scheme of things some people may not think that that is a great time but I for one think it is fantastic. She did a phenomenal job. In my opinion anyone that can run for 26 miles gets my utmost respect and admiration.
Also, I generally tend to stay away from people and I despise crowds but I was very impressed with how organised things were there and how entertained I was by just watching people run. There are alot of things to and alot of things to see. I would be tempted to go even if my wife wasn't running in it. So next year if you're trying to think of something to do for Fathers Day weekend check out the Grandmas Marathon in Duluth. It's a pretty good time.
Oh, I almost forgot. Check out "The Duluth Grill" too. They have some amazing food that is actually good for you. I can't remember the address but it is right off of 35 and I think that it is by a Motel 6.
The Iowa ABATE Freedom Rally in Algona Iowa is coming up in a few weeks for all of you Midwestern bikers out there. If you've never been to it check that out too. I'll be there just like every year.
Enjoy the day!

Vegas and a Round Oak

Ok, so it's been a while since I've been here but I've been busy. I'll start with our trip to Vegas. My wife and I went out to Vegas for Memorial weekend for a friends wedding. I've been to Vegas before and I love it. Nevermind the fact that I hate crowds and am not a fan of people. Something about that town makes me happy. I think that it's the big ornate buildings and the fact that I can walk down the sidewalk with a beer and don't get hassled by the fuzz. My friend Scott got married to his lovely fiancé Ammber. I suppose now she would be his wife but at the time she was still his fiancé. I did learn a valuable lesson though. Never go on memorial weekend when there is a UFC pay per view fight as well as a UFC Fan Expo in town. It was like the perfect storm. Too many people and too many drunken college idiots trying to be tough for all of the little girls walking around trying to catch a glimpse of the juiced up meat-head with the Ed Hardy shirt. There I got that out of my system. A good time was had though, and I will go back. Just not on a holiday weekend.

Now lets move on to our next adventure. Every now and then my wife works for an auction service and this past weekend was one of those times. She told me that there was a Hoosier hutch there that she might want to buy and she wanted me to come and look at it with her to know how I felt about it. Now, I love antiques and this cabinet was no exception. It was in great shape and I gave her my stamp of approval. Needless to say we ended up buying it and we both couldn't be happier. Not to mention how excited we both are to restore it.
Before I left the auction to go work on the farm she asked me if there was anything else that I might be interested in. I noticed an old cast iron pot belly stove. I said that I liked the stove but knew that they usually go for quite a price so I joked and said "If it goes for 10 dollars or less I would take it". Well to my surprise about 3 hours later I got a call and was told that I just bought a stove...for 5 dollars! I was ecstatic! Apparently since it was raining there were very few people at the auction so no one was there to bid on it. Either that or no one wanted to move it. So now I get to restore this stove as well. It's looking like between the hutch and the stove my wife and I have our free time in the summer spoken for now. I'll just have to take some motorcycle trips to wherever they have parts that I can buy for our purchases. Here are a few pics of the doors on my stove.

Enjoy the day!

It may have been me.

On Wednesday I came down with a bit of a cold. Actually that's an understatement, it was a fucker of a cold. My head was plugged up, my throat was raw as hell and I couldn't sleep at night. Unfortunately another side affect of this cold was a dramatic lack of smell, which brings me to the purpose of this post.
About Wednesday night my wife started talking about an odor that she was noticing in the basement, not much else was said about it until today. Due to my lack of smell I hadn't noticed a thing but she hadn't forgotten about it. So before she went to work today she told me that the smell in the basement just had to be the batch of homemade wine that I was making. I told her that it was doubtful since it's only 1 gallon and that 1 gallon wouldn't smell up the whole basement. So while she was at work I figured lack of smell be damned I was going to find the culprit so I didn't have to get rid of my wine. I proceeded to move everything away from the walls, throw some shit away, sweep up the dust and dirt and still I couldn't figure out what the hell she was smelling. I almost started to think that it was my wine! Then I found it. On top of our freezer was a grocery sack that I had never noticed before. As soon as I opened it I knew what she was smelling. I don't think that there is a cold in the world that can keep the smell of rotting chicken breasts out of a persons nose. I wonder if they would have smelled better if the skin and the bones were still with them. It's hard to say which one of us put them up there but my guess is that it was me. I sometimes do things that I forget that I've done. Thank goodness I have a very understanding and forgiving wife.
So that's how I spent a perfectly good day that could've been spent riding. Hey but at least I get to keep my wine!

Good intentions and a decent base

So all last week was spent religiously watching the forecast hoping that Sunday would be nice enough to go for a ride, well it was. All of my hard work was rewarded by a ride on the Minnesota Valley Scenic Byway. My friend Doug, my brother Darin and I left town at 11:30 and boogied up to New Ulm to catch the byway and ride it back west. Then we went through Sleepy Eye, Cobden and Springfield on our way back home. All in all it was around 150 miles round trip. Not huge but a good time nonetheless (that's what she said). We stopped off at the bar in Searles for a burger and some beers which was a very good decision. The food was great and the beer was better. Of course anyplace that has Schells and Grain Belt on tap is aces with me. Up in that neck of the woods it's probably harder to find a place that doesn't have it though.
Before leaving that morning I made it a point to tell myself that I was going to take at least one picture along the way to put on here, I forgot. Maybe I was having too much fun to think about it or I've killed too many brain cells. Either way the thought was there and the intentions were good.
Even though I didn't get any pictures I did get a good base for my summertime coon eyes, and that's where it all begins.
Enjoy the day!

I'm sorry

I'm going to have to apologize to every biker in the tristate area. I'm pretty sure that this shitty weather is my fault. I just had to go and get a different bike last August that I desperately want to ride. If anyone from another part of the country is looking at this just take a gander at the weather in Minnesota and South Dakota lately. Wet and cold sums it up pretty good. I think I saw that Lead South Dakota got like 6 or 7 inches of snow over the weekend. I know there was snow in Duluth, and I had to scrape frost off of my windows on Sunday morning. We are rolling somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 degrees below normal. I understand that the snow doesn't really stick around for very long this time of year but c'mon, it's May for fucks sake. I just want to ride, is that so wrong?!
Anywho, I'm done now. Sunday is looking like 70 degrees, and I will take it.
LATER!

That smells wonderful!

So last night I had to help my friend load some hogs. Not the motorcycles but the animals. Now I grew up on a farm and have been around livestock of some sort my entire life, let me say that I just can't get used to the smell of pigs. It gets into your skin and stuck in your nose and that's all I can smell for 3 days after working with them. They actually loaded pretty easy and things went very smooth but for the love of Christ I can't get the smell out of my nose. Don't worry about me though I'll be fine. I'm just venting. Maybe I'll go for a ride tonight, that might help. Later!

Oops

Well I don't know if anyone is reading this or not but I feel bad anyway. I haven't written in here in quite some time. I'll start by saying that I have been riding quite a bit considering that it is April in Minnesota. I think that I've put on somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 miles. Like I said, it might not be much for somewhere like Florida but for me in Minnesota it's not too shabby.
Not too much else going on that's blog worthy at this point. There will be plenty more as soon as the summer hits a bit harder. This is going to be a busy one so hopefully I can keep this updated in case anyone cares to read it. Have a great day, I'll talk to you soon.

And away we go!

So today my beautiful wife and I got to go on our first decent ride of the year. We hopped on my scooter and took a ride over to Hadley to pick up her Sporty. I can't say enough good things about Mr. Kim Nelson of Circle N Cycle Works. He's a great guy and a fantastic wrench. I've been a customer of his for many years now and he's always willing to do whatever you need whenever you need it without bending you over like the HD dealers. Anywho, that's really all that I have for today. Have a great evening and an even better tomorrow.

Finally!

Well it appears that winter is finally loosening its grip and allowing some warmth back into my little corner of the world.

I made it to the Donnie Smith Swap Meet last weekend and aquired a new seat for my scoot. On Sunday I put the seat on, put new speakers in the fairing, put a new windshield on and changed my fluids. It was a good day. I even got to go for a little ride.

Today they are talking about it hitting 70 something. I can assure you that I will be putting some miles on. Hopefully you will stop reading this and do the same. Have a good day. I'm going to try to attach a pitcure of my baby. If it doesn't work you'll have to use your imagination. Later!