Gophers and Cheese

OK, here's my last post from Mama Tried 2017 and it's a REALLY good one.  Like 2016, the weather was a bit warm so there was no "official" ice riding on Sunday.  Also just like 2016, a small group found a [mostly] frozen lake to go play on.  This time it was Sinnissippi Lake, about an hour northwest of the city.  Like the previous year, I tagged along.

2017 was the second and final year Mama Tried Show was held in the Lindsay Bros. building.  The lighting inside was both beautiful and challenging.  As always, the selection of bikes on display was top-notch.  Like 2016, I was thankful for the chance to get some photos before the crowd filled the building.

Flat Out Friday returned in 2017 for a second year of good old-fashioned fun and mayhem.

2017 was the 3rd year in a row I attended the Mama Tried Motorcycle Show .  Like the previous year, I had a lot of photos and a write-up included as a feature on ChopCult . Those old features are no longer available on ChopCult and, even when they were, they only included a small portion of the photos I took.  Since Mama Tried 2024 is only a few short days away, it's time for a look back to 2017 to help the time pass.

The weather for Mama Tried in 2016 was relatively warm so the official ice riding event known as Slippery Sunday was cancelled.  That didn't keep a few people from finding an alternative place to go.  It takes a long time to stud a tire and I'd understand if people didn't want that effort to go to waste.  Here are Matt & Mark posing for pics.

The Mama Tried Motorcycle Show 2024 is only a few days away but Mama Tried 2016 coverage continues right here.  We'll start with the Mama Tried Pre-Party at the Harley-Davidson Museum on Friday night.

2016 was the very first year of Flat Out Friday at Mama Tried .  Here are over 250 photos from the mains including a bunch of crash sequences.  Can a blogpost hold over 250 photos?  We're gonna find out together.

Back in 2016 & 2017, a lot of my photos from  Mama Tried and Flat Out Friday were included in a pair of ChopCult features.  It was pretty cool. So why am I am posting photos now (7-8 years later)?  Three reasons: (1) The 10th year of Mama Tried is this coming weekend (Feb 24-25, 2024) and I'm excited, (2) ChopCult re-platformed their website and all the old features I wrote and the photo galleries are gone ( click here for more info ), and (3) I took WAY more photos at these events than ChopCult wanted to use and I want to (finally) share them as we lead up to this year's show. We'll start with Friday, February 19th, 2016.  I had a press pass so I got a bit of a sneak preview during set up.  This was truly the calm before the storm.

Here's the last batch of Full Tilt Boogie photos from 2019.  Better late than never!

Here are more photos from Full Tilt 9 in Monticello.  A bunch of great vans showed up, in addition to all the awesome bikes.  It would still be a few more years before I would find and buy my 78 Dodge to take to Full Tilt.

Full Tilt moved venues in 2019 to The Nordic Brewing Co. (now Nordic Brewpub ) in Monticello, MN.  As usual, I rode my Sportster there.

Here's the last big batch of photos from Full Tilt Boogie Chopper Show in 2018.

Here are a lot more photos from Full Tilt 8 , starting with Jace's bike.  The paint, the seat, the engraving, the vibe, the matching shirt... what can I really say?  I was blown away - it was just so different and so fun.

Full Tilt returned to The Joint in 2018.  As usual, I rode my Sportster.

Here's one last big batch of photos from Full Tilt Boogie Chopper Show , 2017.

More photos from Full Tilt 7 at The Joint :

There were 3 years in a row where I never wrote up blogposts from the Full Tilt Boogie Chopper Show , 2017-2019.  Well, it's time to finally fix that.  Back in 2017, Full Tilt was in its 7th year, moved from St Paul to Minneapolis, and was held at The Joint .  I rode my Sportster.

Here's a bunch more photos from the last big van get-together that I attended in 2023, Autumnmatic.  I'll start with photos of my van because it's my blog - I do what I want.

The 2nd Annual Autumnmatic was held on the last day of September in the legendary Triangle of Tranquility.  It was a lot warmer than the prior year, evidenced by the shorts & t-shirts instead of jackets & winter hats.  Once again, it's a very low-key event where people just show up, hang out, and make their own fun.

The last bike night I attended in 2023 was First Tuesday at Forgotten Star Brewing , hosted by The Litas .  There may have been a thick blanket of clouds and a little drizzle, but you really have to squeeze all the days out of the riding season that you can around here.

Here's the last batch of photos from the Twin City Vans Good Times Truck-In.  I joined the convoy as we left the fairgrounds took a cruise north towards Rochester, MN.  Randy and I needed gas and I totally forgot to put my gas cap back on.  I had to call the gas station and pick it up on the way back.