9.26.2014

Tonight Amanda and I took a trip down south to Minnesota's largest candy store in Jordan [pictured below].  They had any candy item you could ever think of.  After we picked out a few favorites we hit the road and headed to Belle Plain to grab breakfast for dinner at Emma Krumbee's.  Jake and Julie wanted to meet up for a cocktail so we told them to meet us at Maynard's patio.  We took the long way back since we wanted more seat time given the amazing weather and beautiful sunset.  Overall we logged about 95 miles.  I'm just under 8K on the odometer so I will most likely be changing the oil after the next trip or two.

9.20.2014

I rode up to Duluth today with a few members from the Target Motorcycle Club (TMC).  We met at the Holiday station off of county road 2 in Forest Lake at 9am.  I got there a little early so I swung by McD's for a little breakfast sandwich [picture 1].  Al and Misty were the only two that made it out so it was a small crew today.  Kickstands were up at 9:30 and we headed north on 35 to Sandstone.  We stopped for a quick stretch and topped off gas at the Victory station [picture 2] before heading northbound via 23 - note the new luggage rack holding my helmet.  The weather was beautiful and the sun was shining when we rolled through Duluth to our lunch destination Vitta Pizza.  Each of us got a Tomasso per the recommendation of the woman working the counter.  After our delicious lunch we headed back over to where we parked [picture 3] suited up and headed over to Aerostich [picture 4] because when in Rome, if you know what I mean.  I've seen all of their gear via the catalog but it was interesting to see the shop up close and in person.  After sifting through some super nice, albeit very expensive gear we saddled up and headed home the same way we came in.  Al decided to stop one more time about 1/2 way home at Banning Junction to stretch and gas up.  When we got back to town we went our own ways and I was lucky to make it home when I did because about 10 minutes after I got home it started pouring rain!  Total trip was 360 miles :)

  

9.13.2014

Brrr!  Its cold out there.  I decided no matter the temp as long as it was dry this weekend I was going to get on the six and make it happen.  I started my ride at about 8:45 this morning and headed out west and south ending up in Henderson via the scenic route.  Since I didn't want to spend all morning on county roads I wanted to see how the highway felt at speed with air temps in the high 40s low 50s.  The bike performed flawlessly and felt very comfortable between 70-85 mph.  The air temp didn't bother me too much except the wind around my legs was cool.  It is also worth mentioning that without the heated grips my hands would be icicles.  That being said my gloves are nothing to write home about - a gauntlet style glove with more insulation would have been better suited for the colder temps.  Gear...you gotta have the right gear, it makes all the difference!  I met Amanda for lunch at Wallys [parking lot picture below] a pretty regular occurrence on Saturdays [meal pictured below].

9.8.2014

With this streak of beautiful weather it is hard to resist another cruise.  Amanda and I headed down a similar path as I took yesterday down through Carver and hitting up some of the more fun roads in that neck of the woods.  We doubled back on the same roads up to 41 through Chaska to Excelsior and decided to stop in to Maynards for dinner.  Here are a couple pics of the bike at Maynards...there are usually more bikes out there but I guess everyone was out riding!

9.7.2014

Today I met with a few members of All Saints Lutheran and took an afternoon cruise.  The first sunday of each month the group gets together for a medium paced ride with some sort of casual food destination in mind.  Today we rode down to the Norwood Young America area and got some ice cream from Bongards Creamery.  Apparently their cheese curds are great but I didn't have any way of keeping them from melting on the cruise home so I had to pass.  It was an eclectic mix of motors, we had three japanese bikes and two british.  A single cylinder Royal Enfield, a Triumph Thunderbird 900 triple, an inline four Yamaha FJR1300, and then two Wings - a 1500 flat six and then my 1800 flat six.  Here are a couple pictures of us at Bongards:

9.6.2014

Another beautiful day which meant I need to pile on the miles while there is still sun and no snow on the ground.  I turned over 7K today which means I'm about a grand out before the recommended oil change but I don't think I'll hit that before the end of the riding season.  Regardless I've got my oil and filter ready to go before I put it away for the winter.

9.5.2014

I took the 6 into work today - parked at the LaSalle ramp which is much closer to the new office and makes for an easy walk.  The weather was cool on the way in, somewhere in the low 60s.  On the way home it wasn't much warmer.

9.1.2014

Labor day cruisin.  I spent about an hour and a half out in the far west metro, St. Boni, Waconia, Mound, etc.  I didn't have a destination or a sense of where I wanted to go - it was more or less just a "lets see where the road takes me" kind of spin.  I saw a ton of other bikes and a bunch of vettes but nothing out of the ordinary.  The weather today is beautiful, mid 70's partly cloudy with a slight breeze.  The bike was good.  I have been trying to dial in the tire pressure but my gauges read 2-4 lbs off from one another so I might need to get a new gauge to get a more accurate reading.  I'm trying the manual recommended 38/40 but some of the forums are saying to run 40/40 cold to reduce cupping on the front tire...I've only got 7K on the bike and front tire so I think as long as I keep it close I should be fine.