Gophers and Cheese

Here are a bunch of fisheye photos from the Show & Shine at Ivan & Jane's Vantasy Island .

Saturday morning at Ivan & Jane's Vantasy Island , I woke up early, left the farm, and headed into nearby Maple Lake for the Gear-Head Get Together .  It's another annual event that I've heard only good things about but had never been to.  Cars, bikes, and assorted vehicles lined the streets and I followed the big sign to the swap meet area.

I went to Ivan and Jane's truck-in in Howard Lake, MN for the first time in August.  It was hosted by Northwestern Vanners & Naughty but Nice Vanners .  They change the theme every year and 2024 was "Vantasy Island".  I heard so many good things about this particular truck-in that I wanted to check it out.  Kenny's farm is like a field of dreams for vanners, from the idyllic setting to the oversized van-themed games.  I brought my son along, stayed Friday and Saturday night and took a ton of photos.  Here's Kenny:

In September 2024, Zac assembled a truly remarkable amount of his Heavy Clothing items that he has made and sold over the past 10+ years and hosted the Cult of Heavy Art Show at Neverest Studio in St Paul.  It lasted 2 days, September 6th & 7th.  I attended the night of the 6th.

While not an official Twin City Vans event, Tommy organized a Fall Cruise on September 28th for both vans and not-vans.  It was beautiful sunny day.

With the last bike night of the year just around the corner, I figured I should get photos from this month's bike night at Forgotten Star , hosted by The Litas Twin Cities , on the blog.  The weather cooperated again and there was a good turnout at the brewery.

Saturday morning, I packed up the tent in Elk Mountain Campground and headed north, spotting some buffalo along the way.

The weather was still quite nice in mid-September and I decided, rather last-minute, to take a couple of days off and ride to the Black Hills.  I left on Friday the 13th.  I opted to avoid I-90 and take a slightly northern route through Pierre, SD.  This is Apol's Harley-Davidson in Raymond, which is along the way.  My Road King was loaded with supplies and camping gear to make the trip comfortable as I knew I'd be in for a lot of miles in a short amount of time.  I even dusted off the ol' windshield and threw it on to reduce fatigue and act as a bug shield.

Wrapping up coverage from this year's Chariots of the Gods van and vintage camper show .

Coverage from Chariots of the Gods continues!  I've been bringing my fisheye lens to van events this year and I think it's a fun way to capture interiors.  The first photo is my '78 Dodge.

Chariots of the Gods was in its 11th year and was held, as usual, in the "triangle of tranquility" in Northeast Minneapolis on August 10th, 2024.  This is the event that really got me into custom vans.  It's not a traditional vans-only truck-in as it's open to the public.  There's no big event schedule, no judging/awards... it's just a very laid back event with a couple of vendors and some live music too.  For many years, I attended by riding my motorcycle there.  It's only in the last few years that I've brought my own van and stayed the night.  Here is one of the license plates you could buy commemorating the event.  It pretty much tells you all you need to know.

The last Heavy Thursday  Summer Tour pop-up bike night of the year was held at the White Squirrel in St. Paul on August 8th.

Two weeks ago on August 6th, bike night was held at Forgotten Star Brewing , hosted by The Litas Twin Cities .  The weather was perfect (finally!) and there was a huge turnout.

Full Tilt Boogie 2024 coverage continues...

Full Tilt Boogie is always my favorite show of the year.  This year, it moved venues (again) and was held for the first time at Forgotten Star Brewing .  It was a sunny and hot day on the asphalt.  Thankfully they had cold beer inside.

On July 19th, 2024, the Full Tilt Boogie Pre-Party was held at the White Squirrel in St Paul.

Here are few shots of my Schwinn Stingray lit up at night.  The original bicycle only came with reflectors and I looked for LED lights with a similar shape.  I especially like how the taillight tucks up under the banana seat.  I didn't bother adding a brake switch so I wired it up at full brightness as if the brakes were applied.  Taillight wiring runs along the inside of the rear fender and I ran the headlight wiring through the frame along with the handlebar-mounted kill switch wires.  Lights are simply powered directly by the battery (fused, of course) with a tiny on/off switch.

The  Dennis Kirk Garage Build Bike Show  was held at Running Aces Casino on Saturday, July 13th.  The Garage Build Bike Show has been around for a few years, held in Sturgis and Daytona, but this was the first one in Minnesota.  For the first one and some threat of storms, there was good turnout.

The 3rd pop-up location of  Heavy Thursday Summer Mystery Tour was Disco Death Records in the Uptown area of Minneapolis on July 11, 2024.

July 2nd was First Tuesday bike night at Forgotten Star , hosted by The Litas .  Last month was pretty much a rain out (but I went anyway).  This month certainly had clouds and a small threat of rain, which might have kept some people home, but it turned out to be a nice evening with a solid turnout.  Here are a bunch of photos: