Gophers and Cheese

Over the past year, I've really been thoroughly enjoying the 1978 Dodge Tradesman I bought last October, but it's not my first van.  It's my second.  I mentioned it a long time ago ( here ) but I was feeling nostalgic and felt my first van was worth revisiting.  I bought my first van in February 2015 and it was a 1999 GMC Savana conversion van (conversion by Jayco).  It had a 5.7L V8 and about 110K miles on it.  I bought it from a guy in St. Paul.  All the photos in this blogpost are from when I listed the van for sale later that same year... more on that in a bit.

Here's the last big batch of photos I took at the 2022 Twin City Vans Good Times Truck-In.  Of course, we should start with airbrushed murals...

Ready for lots more van photos?  Good!

While I've been going to Chariots of the Gods for years (usually on a motorcycle), I attended my first proper "truck-in" in my Dodge van since buying it last year.  I headed down to the Filmore County Fairgrounds in Preston, MN for the 45th Annual Twin City Vans Good Times Truck-In (June 10-12, 2022).  I wasn't really sure what to expect but the weather was good and everyone was really friendly.  It was all very laid back, which is probably what I should have expected.  This is my 1978 Dodge Tradesman B200:

Wrapping up coverage from Motosota 2022...

 Lots more pics from Motosota !

The 6th annual Motosota "A Motorcycle Farewell to Summer" was held on September 24, 2022 at Bauhaus Brew Labs in Minneapolis.  I had just picked up a new (to me) bike, a lightly used 2022 Honda Grom (which is very fun) and I decided to ride it to the show.  It was quite the adventure as it was the farthest I had ridden the Grom and I had to be sure to avoid highways and interstates.  Weather wasn't ideal - very cloudy with spotty showers, but there was still a very strong turnout.  Motosota attracts a great mix of bikes (vintage, cafe, chopper, moped, you name it) and features lots of vendors, music, and of course the brewery.

I'm not quite sure what the official name of this show was... Antique Motorcycle Show... Vintage Bike Show... Vintage Bike Addiction Show... but it was the 3rd annual of whatever you'd like to call it.  It's organized by Kevin Baas and Wild Turkey Customs and was held at Doherty's Tavern in Prior Lake, MN.  Rainy weather on Saturday pushed the show date to Sunday July 24th, which was much nicer.  The show featured a ton of cool old bikes, a few choppers, live music, beer, food trucks, and the whole setup and vibe reminded me a bit of Sturgis... not downtown or current day... more like what I'd imagine a crowded roadside bar somewhere in the Black Hills might have been like a long time ago.  Anyway, here's a bunch of photos.  Enjoy!

Time to wrap up coverage from Full Tilt Boogie 2022 with a bunch more photos...

Full Tilt Boogie 2022 coverage continues...

More photos from Full Tilt Boogie 2022...

Full Tilt Boogie returned to St. Paul on July 9th and was held at Clutch Brewing Co. in the Keg and Case Market .  It was the first time it was held at that venue and the weather was absolutely perfect.  There was a large parking lot for custom vans and choppers.  There was lots of space outside for vendors, a mechanical bull, and an outdoor stage for live music.  Overall, it was a fantastic day.

Friday night before Full Tilt , there was a pre-party at the White Squirrel Bar in St. Paul.  There was beer, cocktails, a food truck ( El Norte Kitchen ), bikes, a movie screening on the patio, and live music inside from Loadie .  It was my first time there and place was really cool.

 Day 1 of 3 of Full Tilt Weekend started with Heavy Thursday at The Joint in Minneapolis.

I finally made it over to First Tuesday Motorcycle Night at Forgotten Star Brewing , hosted by The Litas Twin Cities .  If you haven't been, you might be intrigued to learn Forgotten Star was recently named coolest taproom in the entire world .  There was a solid turnout in spite of a pretty large rain system moving through south of the cities.  Moon Motorsports and Royal Enfield had some displays set up.  There was a good mix of bikes, delicious beers, and it was nice to run into a lot of friends.  As if that wasn't enough, it was also the last stop on the Wango Tango Show tour!

While most rodent-and-dairy themed motorcycle blogs might shy away from this topic, it seems especially fitting to dive into on the 4th of July...  I attended the 2nd annual Ride for Reproductive Rights yesterday.  Yep, buckle up...

Wrapping up coverage from Vintage Torque Fest 2022 in Dubuque, IA with more photos of the Tuff Mudder Mini, some mini bike flat track, and the mini bike parade.  There are some 4-wheeled vehicles somewhere in this post too.

The next morning it was time for the Tuff Mudder Mini event at Vintage Torque Fest , hosted by Mini Bike Weirdo .

Time for some dirt oval action from Vintage Torque Fest 2022!  Vintage racing, chain racing, and flame throwing are all jam packed into today's blogpost so buckle up!

 Lots more photos from Vintage Torque Fest back in April...