Gophers and Cheese

This year was the 50th Annual Flood Run and the weather was excellent for both the Spring and Fall runs ( click here for my blogpost from the Spring run).  In fact, if you re-read my post from Spring, Fall was practically a repeat, and that's a good thing.  Once again, we had our babysitter for the whole day so my wife and I got to enjoy the day by ourselves. Instead of starting the day at Bob's, we had breakfast at the Downtowner in St. Paul.  Then we headed down the MN side and crossed into WI at Prescott but didn't stop until we got to Maiden Rock where we bought our wristbands.  Always buy a wristband!!! Then, like last time, we hit a bunch of Wisconsin back roads just off WI-35 between Maiden Rock and Fountain City.  We once again found our way to Buckuckles . We split a sandwich but also tried the albino eyeballs (deep fried bacon-wrapped cherries): We also made our way over to Hansen's Hold-Up . Just like last time, I took photos ...

I haven't forgotten about the hundreds of Mama Tried photos I took (I'll get back to them) but wanted to knock out a few more recent and upcoming things first.  The 50th Annual Spring Flood Run was just over a week ago.  Not only was it a beautiful day, but I got to spend it with my wife on the bike as we had our babysitter booked all day.  This was my 12th Flood Run (7 Spring & 5 Fall). We started our day at Bob's Java Hut in Minneapolis. After enjoying some coffee, we headed to the Beach Bar for the start of the run.  However, we didn't stop because I got yelled at for attempting to park where I wasn't supposed to.  I know he was probably a volunteer and I was probably the hundredth person he had to tell not to park there but I just rolled up and I've parked in that same spot nearly every year without issue and his tone just pissed me off.  We headed south and through the large crowd in Prescott and stopped in Maiden Rock. While I nor...

We still have 2-3 months of riding weather left but the number of events is getting smaller.  Here are some highlights for the month of September.  As usual, you can see lots of blog posts and photos of these events using my Guide To Local Events page. 9/4: First Thursday at Dulono's Pizza / Moto Mania at the Uptown VFW This Thursday!!!  This year, I've been parking at the VFW and walking back and forth between these simultaneous events.  Overall, it's the biggest local bike night by far so don't miss it. 9/5-9/6 24th Annual SCVR Chili Feed I haven't been to Chili Feed since 2011 but I want to go back.  It's the SCVR's annual fundraiser and it's a really fun time.  Bring your tent and eat all the chili and drink all the beer you want on Saturday.  Live music, bonfire, mechanical bull, etc. etc. etc. 9/6: 4th Annual Konawerks Bike Show This event is held at Grumpy's in downtown Minneapolis.  I went last year and there were a lot of...

The 2014 Spring Flood Run was cold but definitely warmer than last year.  I layered up and rode my Road King.  I left the windshield at home and opted for my Gringo and smoke bubble shield. I arrived at the Beach Bar a little before 10am, snapped a few photos and left before the crowd (the run officially starts at 10:30). I arrived in Diamond Bluff while vendors were still busy setting up at the Nauti Hawg . I continued south to Maiden Rock.  There was a strong wind off the lake and waves were crashing against the shore. In my opinion, the Wisconsin side of the run is much better than the Minnesota side.  I prefer the roads, the views, and the towns. I reached the southern point of the run, Winona, MN. I headed north on the Minnesota side for a little bit but cut back into Wisconsin at Nelson.  At this point, the towns were quite busy and the sun had come out but that was short-lived.  As I continued north it got ...

The Spring Flood Run is next Saturday, April 19th (no, it doesn't move because of Easter). I have ridden the Spring run 5 times since 2008 and ridden the Fall run 4 times.  It's always a good time and a fantastic area to ride.  You can find lots of photos and blog posts on my Guide to Local Events page. Last Spring's run was REALLY cold.  Here's a photo and, yes, that's fresh snow on the ground. Let's hope for much warmer weather this year.

Once I reached Fountain City, I felt like I was back on the Flood Run .  After only a brief ride on WI-35N, I took another excursion.  I like County Road O near Red Wing so much that I decided to check out County Road O (a totally different road) near Cochrane, WI.  It's yet another fun curvy road.  These shots were taken where it meets WI-88. View Larger Map I rejoined WI-35N and followed it all the way back to Prescott.  The ride back was really nice now that the sun was out and the sky was clear. Once in Prescott, the No Name Saloon was packed. I think this is Donnie Smith's bike. I tend to prefer more classic paint but these skulls were well done. These appeared to be homemade saddlebags. I crossed back into Minnesota at Prescott and rode through the cities to get home.  Here's Minneapolis as the sun was getting close to setting. Like I said, start-to-finish was 435 miles over about 11 hours.  I didn't stop...