Gophers and Cheese

P.D. Pappy's is a great biker-friendly bar in Stillwater.  The only downside is that it isn't open all year.  Last weekend was the last weekend they were open for the 2011 season.  I headed there on my award-winning Sportster after scoring a 1st place trophy at Rad's Extra Sharp Motorcycle Show .  You can see that the clouds finally gave way to some blue sky. I was parked next to an awesome trike chopper. Here's another trike of a totally different sort.  I saw it earlier this year at the Bearded Lady . P.D. Pappy's opens again May 4th, 2012.  It's a really long time to wait.

Here are more pics from Rad's Extra Sharp Motorcycle Show last Saturday at the Bass Lake Cheese Factory in Wisconsin. Here's a really clean white FLH entered in the "Vintage" class. The paint on this bike says it all. I really liked this green 1969 FLH. Some well-used dirt and mini bikes... Badass bagger: Here's another view of many of the bikes entered in the show. As a reminder, I had my bike entered into the "Mild H.D." class. The voting wasn't done by the audience.  There were just a few select judges including Tom Rad himself that hand-picked the winners.  And the result of the "Mild H.D."class judging was... FIRST PLACE!!! How fitting that the Sportster on " Gophers and Cheese " wins its first bike show at a cheese shop in Wisconsin earning a cheese-shaped trophy and $20.  The trophy is machined aluminum and painted two shades of gold by Tom.  It's awesome.

Rad's 2nd Annual Extra Sharp Motorcycle Show was this past Saturday, September 24th, at the Bass Lake Cheese Factory in Hudson, WI.  Tom Rad of Rad Paint also puts on the Rumble On The Deck bike show each July in Stillwater. I rode my Sportster and my wife and daughter followed behind in the car.  While at the cheese factory, we enjoyed some of the local fare.  I tried a lot of fancy cheese but my favorite is still pepper jack. In spite of the cool weather and the fact it's rather late in the riding season (for Minnesota & Wisconsin), there was a really good turnout with a lot of interesting bikes.  There was live music, cheap drinks, and lots of door prizes too. I saw this hardtailed Triumph at the Rumble On The Deck earlier this year.  The lace panels on the tank are my favorite feature. I handed over $10 and entered my Sportster into the show in the "Mild H.D." class.  Others in class were nice, shiny, and clean with lots of chrome bits ...

The trip my father and I took to the Gunflint Trail in August 2011 was a lot of fun.  Here are a few selected photos from the last 6 posts that I think look great in black & white. Day One: Day Two: Day Three: Day Four: Day Five:

Day Five: All good things must come to an end.  We cleaned up the cabin and packed the bikes.  Here's the trash can that clearly illustrated two guys stayed there (beer cans, beer bottles, soup cans, pickle jar, and a coffee container). We took off and headed back towards Grand Marais, where we had breakfast. Heading south toward Duluth, check out the fog rolling in off Lake Superior. Here's a rare self-portrait of me taken while riding.  I am glad I was wearing the bandana as I got plastered with a swarm of tiny bugs. Heading back through the tunnels towards Two Harbors. There were storms up ahead but we let them pass while having a beer in Two Harbors.  We thought we were going to run into them and even threw on rain gear for a short time but miraculously managed to stay dry.  The weather improved and the sun came back out. Somewhere along I-35 near a Burger King, I took this photo next to another giant fake walleye. By the time we arrived back...

Day Four: The morning started off cloudy but if you look really close, you can see the hint of a rainbow. The rainbow must have been good luck because while fishing off the dock, I caught my first fish of the trip!  It's just a pudgy little bass but I was really happy. We didn't keep any of the fish we caught but for those who did, I thought the "fish surgery" sign was funny. Once again, we headed out for breakfast, this time at the Windigo Lodge.  We stopped at the Trail Center for gas. We did more fishing (this time with the motorboat).  Overall, I only caught two fish and my dad caught the one pike and handful of bass.  Round Lake was beautiful to look at but didn't seem like a great fishing lake.  We were told there much better lakes to catch fish in.  Oh well - more fish would have been better but I really didn't mind. In the middle of the day, I rode solo to the end of the trail and back since the curvy road was a lot of fun.  Here ar...