End of the 2010 season

Okay, I put the BMW to bed for the winter.  I kept the virago out in case - I was hoping to ride it to George's funeral.  But Mother Nature had a different plan.

We'll have snow now likely until March at least.  So much for riding.
But, Kyle and I will start building a new project this January.  We're going to start building an airplane.

George, may you ride on forever

I am deeply saddened by the passing of our club patriarch, George.

At 73, George had done it all.  He was an original member of Hell's Outcasts.  He worked security at the Oshkosh air show, and with a friend built a gyro plane.  His trips to Sturgis were legendary, and he made it again during the last year of his life. He was the first tailrider for the Twin Cities Motorcycle Club, and left his mark on the club.

He lived his life to the fullest, and helped make us better riders and brought a spirit of true brotherhood to the club.

George, I hope you ride on forever.

And some pictures from George's farewell party.

TCMC Fall Colors Ride

Saturday, October 9 the Twin Cities Motorcycle Club went on it's annual Fall Colors ride.  173 miles through the western Wisconsin countryside, through leaf tunnels and along winding roads.  The colors were a few days past peak, but the temp was near 80 - fantastic for this time of year.  We had 46 bikes on this one.

TCMC Party!

Last weekend was the TCMC end of summer party.  I was in charge of it - I hate being in charge!  Worked out OK - we cooked a pork shoulder in a wood broiler, a great site (The Gas-Lite in Trimbelle, WI).  After the pig was done it was drinking time for me - yea!

A couple of Pics:

The Gas-Lite

The camping area in back, w/ the Trimbelle river running through it

The Pork shoulder (my first!)

We had a couple of banners - and some interesting places to put 'em.

Pics by Don the Road Captain

Late for the ride

Okay, so Saturday it was my birthday, and the club was doing a ride.  I loaded the map into the GPS, filled the tank, and set out for the start point, Denny's.  I got there at 10:30, and there was only one bike.  Turns out  that, unlike our other rides, this one started at 10 AM.  The other bike was Tara, and she also thought the ride started at 10:30.  But the road captain had moved the time up, because the days are getting shorter.

So Tara and I are at least 30 minutes behind the ride.  So I thought about where we could meet them.  Then I thought, well we have the map, and we can do the same ride, even if it's just two of us. So we did.

We did it kind of fast, and just before 12:30, we caught up to the club when they all stopped for gas.

I'm glad I had the map, and experience leading rides before.

Filght to Grand Marais and Back

Okay, so this posting isn't motorcycle related.  My bike is in the shop, getting some much needed maintenance that I've been putting off since the Arkansas trip.  The downside of a bike with 94,000 miles on it is that the money you saved by buying used is doled out in repairs, the death-of-a-thousand cuts thing.  And my mechanic has the civilian version of my bike, with only 19,000 miles on it, which he is restoring (that's kind of his gig).  But no, for now I'm sticking with Pepper, and she's going to get everything she needs to be road worthy.

So this week, my friend Diane and I flew up to Grand Marais MN - a beautiful little town on Lake Superior.  I flew the Gobosh, and the weather was beautiful, except for strong gusty winds.  I usually try to avoid those, and the timing of the trip north went OK, but the trip back, well, strong gusty winds which were across the runway made for exciting take offs and landings.  I was thinking of working my way up to handling that kind of wind by going with an instructor on a windy day, but it turns out it was me and a first time passenger.  What does a passenger think when the pilot says "fuck!" in the middle of a takeoff?  Diane handled it pretty well, but I'm sure I had her a little worried.  Anyway, it was fun and we made it OK.

So it's like motorcycle riding, in a way.  You need to put yourself into situations where you learn to react.  I spend a lot of time planning flights to avoid weather I'm not comfortable with, but the only way to get better is to try it and survive.  And with gusty winds, you set up for takeoff, and then when the wind changes and the plane swerves or dips you react - hopefully the right way.  Like what you do when a deer jumps on the road in front of the bike, or a cage driver cuts in front of you.  You need to train your reactions, and hope that training works the first few times, and then you have good instincts.

Anyway, I'll put up some pictures later - Grand Marais is beautiful, and Diane took some pics of the flight.

VBecky

The Porcupine of Damocles

Okay, so I'm not on the motorcycle, and not in the airplane.  We're hiking along the Anvil trail in the Schoodic portion of Acadia National Park.  The kids are ahead, and my son notices, perched right over the trail, a porcupine.  He stops my daughter from going under, then takes these videos.  At the end, notice that we take another path.

porcupine over the trail

As you can see at the end, we went another way....