A No Fall Color Ride

I was feeling a little down today after yesterday's, not so enjoyable, trip to the dentist. What better way to lift my spirits and clear my head than four hours of therapy on the big Kawasaki.

This afternoon it was a cool 50 degrees, with a partly cloudy sky. While I geared up, I started the bike in the garage and let it warm up. I skipped the liners in both the Venture pants and Cortech jacket. When it gets another few degrees colder, I'll be needing those. I stopped in town for some no ethanol premium and headed east.

I noticed that the fall colors that were so brilliant the last week of September, have really faded. Only a few Birch trees still have color, and most of the Oak trees are hanging on to dry, brown leaves. Most of the other leaves are gone. The fields around here have been harvested, and almost all the corn and beans are gone. The only green things are the evergreen trees and a few grass fields.

No color!

This would be a nicer picture if I knew what I was doing and got the depth of field right...

On the way home, I stopped at a road side plaque and checked out the back side. That was almost 10 years ago, from one of the first motorcycle rides I brought Nancy on. I love you dear....

A little more color along the Mississippi River.

I got home just as the sun was hitting the horizon. The temps were falling fast!

Last Thursday, I put the Super Sherpa on craigslist. There is someone coming over Saturday morning to look at it. He's pretty sure he'll drive it home. Update Saturday...... He came here in a car with a friend. They test drove it around the block. He drove it home for $100 less than my asking price! I'm happy.... He's happy. He called me a few hours after he rode it away. He drove it home, an hour and a half away, in 40 degree temps. He said it was cold but worth it!!! I say, enjoy!!!!

Now, do I try and sell the FJR????? It's a great bike, but since I got the Zx-14, I just don't ride it as often as I should.

100 Miles Round Trip to Ride 10 Miles of Great Road

Yesterday, John came over and we went for a ride on some of the local "alphabet roads". I put about 100 miles on my FJR on that ride. It was a nice fall day, with cool air and bright sun.
We'd been riding for a while, when we found ourselves on County Road SS. A few miles east of Lund, at the start of a nice downhill run with fast sweepers, we had to slow down. There was a grain truck and 2 H-D dressers in front of us. I never ride as if the road is my race track, but the speed of the vehicles in front of us was depressing. By the time the grain truck was at the bottom of the hill it was quite a ways ahead of the Harleys, yet they were still dragging their brakes. AARRRGGG! I got the feeling that the grain truck wasn't slowing them down, if you know what I mean. We stopped along side the road at the intersection of SS and U. We waited for the truck and bikers to move a ways ahead of us before we continued. While we were stopped John and I decided to head back to my place. We cut short one of my favorite roads, and headed west.
When we got to my place I changed oil in the FJR while John and I shot the breeze.

Today, I went out by my self. I had the supplies to change the oil in the Zx-14 and wanted to warm it up before I started that project. I took a swing through town to try and gage the "biker" activity in front of the local bars. Weekends in Prescott can find the main street and bars packed with motorcycles. Today the turn out was light. It was probably due to the rain earlier and the Packers Vs. Vikings football game that was going to be on TV in a while. It was so nice to have the roads to myself.
I headed south on WI-35 along the Mississippi River. In the little town of Maiden Rock, I turned left onto County Road S, then right on CC and down to Lund. Out of Lund, I followed SS. Unlike yesterday, there was no one on the roads. I got to ride SS from Lund, past the Porcupine Cemetery, past the junction with D, down hill, all the way to N. That's about 10 miles of really nice sweepers and right angle, 30 MPH corners. Fun!!
I rode through Arkansaw, out to Hwy 10. I went west towards home, but stopped for a pop in Plum City. The cashier told me that the Packers were ahead, 27-17?. Go Pack!! I fed the trout in the city trout pond. They look like they're between 12 and 24 inches long!

After a short break, I drove non stop to home. I pulled in the garage and changed the oil in the Zx-14. Two down, one to go.


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Super Sherpa for Sale----SOLD!!!!

On Monday, I took the FJR out for a nice ride through the rural Minnesota countryside. I took the long way down to Plainview Powersports. I wanted to look at a new '09 Yamaha Wr250x that they have listed on Craigslist. They have it priced at under $5000 with no "freight and set-up" fees, and I'd pay the sales tax and registration fees when I register it in WI. The little Wr250x is still brand new, and sold with the full warranty. New 2011 Wr's are over $6299 plus the BS "freight and set-up".

It looks like this. (stock Yamaha photo)

I have an '01 Kawasaki Super Sherpa. It's a great little bike, but not quite what I'm needing. I picked it up in the fall of '07, and at that time, it had 6640 miles on it. Sadly, it only has 7300 on it now. When I take the Sherpa out for a ride, I keep thinking that it would be a blast to have street tires on it. There are so few unpaved roads in my area of WI.

I placed the Super Sherpa on craigslist today. If it sells before the end of the riding season, and the Wr250x is still available, I just might have a new bike.

Dulono's Pizza First Thursday. October 2011

I was able to make it to Dulono's Pizza for 1st Thursday this month. Last month I was in the hospital with a-fib. John and I rode the FJRs over. We got there fairly early and parked in Dulono's parking lot. I also learned a good lesson for next time. If possible, find a spot on the street, not the parking lot. We were blocked in and had to wait for other bikes to pull out before we could leave. There was a very large turn out this month.

John and I ate early to avoid the rush, we split the usual Dulono's Delite. It's a thin crust, pepperoni, sausage, and onion pizza. It's very good!

After we ate, we walked around and checked out the bikes. There were a few I recognized from before, but also a lot I'd never seen.

I'm normally not a huge H-D fan, but I can appreciate an original bit of mechanical excellence. I thought this was really interesting. It's an Electra glide trike, with an S-S motor that's mounted sideways, then a shaft drive to a transaxle and rear suspension from a VW bug. Pretty Trick!

There were a number of custom old Japanese bikes.

And quite a few nicely restored UJM's

I think I found my next bike... I'd have to sell the Super Sherpa, but this caught my eye. A Yamaha Wr250x. A supermoto, kind of like an off road bike with street tires. Hummmmm. Maybe....