Week Before Memorial Day / da Weekend / Starting da Week After Memorial Day

Back up to Northern Minnesota... was up here last week.

Back down in southern Minnesota taking the RZR to town for groceries.

My pet Wood Tick...

Wood Tick forest habitat.

Fortunate 

After traveling back to base camp in southern Minnesota for the weekend, headed back up to northern Minnesota for 3 days.

The sunset did not disappoint...

Out exploring around Wolf Lake.

Garage 

Memorial Day chicken dinner on the front ramp deck on the trailer.

Snacking around the campfire.

Ride on!
 

Me & My Moto

Snack off the seat... 

 

Spring Tune-up / Jeff Hall Racing / River Ride

 Starting the spring season by replacing worn out parts from the previous year. New chains, sprockets and cables. A bit of grease here and there, checking the brakes and cleaning the grime off, so as to start with a clean bike.
  

 My 29er got all new running gear and cables along with a brand new rear derailer. Jeff Hall donated it to me from his stash of gear that he won at the Chequamegon over the years. It's great to have spare parts from all the years of racing.

 Jeff Hall
Jeff's even wrenching on his bikes now adays. With his kids riding and his commuting, he had to start doing a bit of maintenance as I did for him all those years on the Pro Mountain Bike circuit.

Jeff raced on the National and World Cup Circuits from his age of 14 till 32 years old (1990 - 2008). He raced on the USA National MTB Team at 2 World Championships. With an 18th place in the 1994 World Junior MTB Race. A 17th place and top American at the 1996 World MTB Championships in Cains, Australia. First U23 Pro National MTB Champion in the USA, 1996. With 2 top 10 seasons, a 14th and several top 20 seasons on the USA MTB circuit. In 2007 he finished 3rd and 7th in 2 Austria National MTB races. Jeff gained much respect in the MTB world over the years. The announcer at the Nationals referred to him as the Prairie Schooner.

Along the way he had much success in the upper Midwest of the USA. A Chequamegon 40 MTB winner, 2 time Short Chequamegon winner. Won The Ore to Shore MTB Race, a 48 mile point to point race in Marquette Michigan. Many State MTB Championships in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa over the years.        

 The little Man keeping his eye on the bike stand and me as I wrenched on the bikes on a sunny Spring day.

PART 2: The River MTB Ride

 Looking across the Mighty Mississippi River on a brisk damp Spring day.

 Lets go there!! I'm ready for anything. The big 29er is ready to roll with all new running gear.

 My friend the Tree within a Tree. Huge old Cotton Wood Tree.

 A spy photo in the murky river bottoms.

Mans best friend with wheels in the river bottom woods. In the old days, (1970s and early 80s), my cycle had a motor on it. 350 Big Horn Kawasaki, DT 400 Yamaha, KDX Kawasaki Enduros and TT500 Yamaha. Now it's the stealth ride, Still doing the knobby tire bogey after 40 years.

It's all "GOOD TIMES"!!  

Kawasaki Green...Ya Gotta Love It

1100 miles of riding the KLX 250 this summer and a few memories of the motorcycles through the years.

The first motorcycle I owned was a Kawasaki 350 Bighorn back in 1973, same green. Some great riding on that 350, it was a powerful 2 stroke with about 5 or 6 inches of suspension travel...The time I was hammering up 494 at about 70 MPH and seized the motor, or trail riding at Bald Mountain and tearing down the path along the railroad tracks. I learned how to rebuild the motor top end and was hooked on motorcycles from those early experiences. I went on to trade it for a 1974 Kawasaki 500 triple that just ripped. I saw 114 MPH on that rocket between Chaska and Waconia one summer evening. The next year I traded the 500 in on another enduro, a 1976 400 Yamaha, bright yellow and black. That bike was the street legal enduro rage, power and handling. I hit every river valley trail between Shakopee and Carver and used to find deer trails and blaze my own trails. There is a trail along the river that I would take home each evening from work along corn fields and right on the river bank, always wide open throttle. As I roared between corn fields the flocks of blackbirds would fly out of the fields and I would duck my head and feel the birds bouncing off my helmet and motorcycle, That was a learning experience to not flinch with unexpected obstacles. Those early experiences stuck with me and have save my life several times...don't flinch.

It was becoming a pattern, large enduro motorcycle one year and the next year fast road bike. In 1977 I found a new 1976 500 Kawasaki triple again, I would like to ride one of those rockets again. Early crotch rockets. My theory behind this was that I craved the speed of the fast road bike and became too comfortable with warp speeds, 100+ MPH, so the next year ride a dirt bike. Gain handling skills on the trails then ride fast on the road. AK Kenny Roberts, the primo racer of the 70s and 80s. The next bike was a TT 500 Yamaha, tiny head light and tail light, full knobbies, street legal, barely. Worked nights, so rode that dirt bike back and forth every night, 40 miles round trip from Shakopee to Hopkins. That bike, I learned to lean it over on the edge of the knobs on the roads and feel the slide. Then I took the big ride, a 1976 900 Kawasaki. That bike, set it up with narrow, low road race handlebars and a 4 into 1 exhaust. That bike ROCKED!! Got to the point where I could throw it into a 95 MPH power slide in the corners. This is the motorcycle that I started the back road trips through southern Minnesota, find the curviest roads and ride, also started plugging in a radio ear phone, still do this to this day. I came up with a system of cornering speeds, if it had an arrow and indicated a speed of 50 MPH, I would double it and throw the bike in and go. If the corner had an arrow and no speed indicated, it was at least 110 MPH. With the 900 Kaw I wore out a couple pairs of boots because they were used as lean indicators. The next bike acquired was another crotch rocket, a 1981 GPZ 550 Kawasaki...this was a giant killer. It was as fast as my 900 Kaw, 140 MPH, more ground clearance, lighter and had superior braking power. I rode with a radar detector mounted on the handle bars, it satisfied my need for speed. These were the bikes of the "good old days".

This is just a partial list of the 22 motorcycles I have enjoyed over the years.

This 250 KLX is a blast, fast enough for the highway. It will run up to 85 MPH+ if need be, with over 11 inches of suspension travel front and rear. Looking forward to riding it off-road this summer.
Kinda back where I started 37 years ago on a Kawasaki Green Enduro. GOOD TIMES...

Corinth Jump by Robbie Maddison & My New Ride

CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE!!
Picked up this KLX 250 Kawasaki last week. It's a blast.

Don't think I'll be jumping over any canals any time soon, but Robbie can.