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Wow...I did it again. This past weekend Bill and I were gearing up to go for a ride. As the bikes warmed up, and we geared up, I asked him;"Honey, how many miles do I get again on a tank of gas?" I always forget cuz we don't always take 'em to empty. If I'm going on a pretty big ride, I just top off so I know I have enough. We weren't going anywhere major that day, so I wanted to know if I'd have enough. He shot some number out to me, I looked at my trip meter and decided no trip to the gas station was neccesary. I was off to take a few pictures today.

The first one I wanted take was under the "bridge" I am always talking about.The one way you can get into my town. It expands the Wisconsin River and there is a dam for the paper mill too. I do have a picture of it for you, and will post it up here right after I tell you, I had to pull into the parking lot of the Mill to siwtch over to reserve. (about 1-2 miles from my house) Right in the middle of the bridge I started chugging....I am not to graceful at reaching the reserve while riding, I had to pull over to make the flip. Bill pulled in behind me, asked what was up. I said, "It just died." He gave me the oooooops! look. Well, I switched it over and she fired right up, so I went to the gas station, filled up, then came back to take the following 2 pictures. By the way, I get about 140-150 miles before I need to fill up...just for future reference


This is our bridge, nothing major, but now you know what I am speaking of when I talk.

When taking this next pic I simply turned to the right after taking the bridge pic and this is the view

After getting those pics we mounted up again and started riding with no particualr destination in mind. We were heading out on some familiar and usual roads so everything was going as it usually does. We were on an access road that runs alongside the freeway. That took us to a road we were on just the day before. As we started down it, speed limit was 45, we were doing that or maybe 5 mph over, but we were relaxing and enjoying the ride.....all of a sudden I see a orange sign that reads "LOOSE GRAVEL" oh crap! The sign was placed right where the old black top stopped and the new gravel mixture started. Thanks for the warning village of Kronenwetter!!!!

It seems the village has been laying a loose gravel mixture over all its beat up asphalt roads, then laying an oil over it to make a form of hard packed road. Only right now, it wasn't so hard packed!. I just held on and let the bike go down the little dip from one surface to the other. I was scared, kind of white knucked it while I let the bike gradually slow. I didn't want to downshift suddenly and send the wheel slipping so I took it easy and about 2 miles later was to the end of the road, at the stop sign. PHEW! I made it! We crossed the intersection and I pulled over to take this pic looking back on the road, just to have something to document that moment.


We mounted back up after I took that pic and we shot out to a VFW just east of town. They have an AH-1 Cobra Helicopter, and I think the tank on display was an M60A1. Anyways, we ride by it all the time, and have never stopped to look, so this time we did. Besides the tank and copter they have memorial plaquards and such. We spent some time reading stuff and just having fun.

This is the copter



This is Bill in front of the tank


And here are the bikes


After we left the VFW we made our way home and spent the evening with some friends. All in all, it was a good day.....well, after I learned how much gass my bike holds

Sweet pics! Sounds like a good time.

WOW...it's been a million years since I have visited my blog. It's winter here in Wisconsin, and reading about all you guys out there still riding....well, it makes me damn jealous!!! So I do my best to keep myself occupied with other stuff. It is pretty hard though, cuz Bill is researching his next bike purchase, therefore most talk around here is still about riding. Makes me kinda twitchy!

I have found a new aircleaner I want for my bike..and I am still searching for the king of all aftermarket seats. Also, not sure if you guys remember, but I installed some small engine guards on the front of my bike this past summer. The whole intention of that was to be able to install highway pegs...well, that's not going to happen. They are too small, and upon further inspection, my shift lever hits slightly if I push in at all when I shift. O well, guess I need new bigger better bars, shucks !! Bill and I got each other cool shirts for Christmas too.....the one I got has a group of riders on the front and it says "shut up and ride" and the one he got has a lone bike on a winding road and says " all who wander are not lost" you have no idea how perfect that is for him..(he gets lost very easily )


On a personal note, I am once again going to try to commit to a sorta fitness/health thing this year. Maybe I'll stick with it, maybe I won't, but I won't know unless I try right? A few years ago I lost 51 lbs, only to put it right back on again a year later....This time I am taking a little different approach...and I am not looking for dramatic instantanious results, so maybe this time it WILL work....who knows......but if any of you guys see me at a fast food place, eating anything but a salad or a turkey sandwich, KICK MY BUTT FOR ME!!!!


Just had to let you guys know I was still alive and all is well here. Just waiting for spring to emerge.

Well....the air is getting a bit warmer here. Now I really have the itch to go riding! It will be a while yet though. Bill and I never bring the bikes out until after it rains a few times. It takes the salt and sand off the roads from winter. Oh yeah, and it is suppose to snow again later this week . All this sunshine and warm temps the past few days have me going though.

One of the kids I work with rode his Ninja in today. I asked him if he had a different jacket for the ride home, and of course he didn't. We work second shift 2pm-10pm. It was about 45 degreees F this afternoon on the way in. Tonight, with the sun down, it was about 25-30 degrees, and the dork had a mesh jacket on. Kids. We still have about a foot or so of snow on the ground....so in 45 degree weather it melts all over everything.....in 25-30 degree weather, all the melted stuff freezes. I just hope he made it home all right.

Getting the itch bad here too. Sounds about the same as there. Temps in the 50's this week with rain to melt the drifts but, snow by the weekend. Going to be warm enough to finally do some work on the bike in the garage though!

I'm Baaaack!! Yes I am! Yesterday Bill and I went for my first ride of the season. Bill got our bikes out a few weeks ago actually. He doesn't go to work until a few hours after I leave for work, so he had been dinking around with them from day to day getting them ready for the summer. He actually rode my bike a few times, before I did! (making sure all was good, airing up tires etc.) The weather was just not up to my riding requirements, and I had a LOT going on.....so my bike sat while Bill rode his to work a few times. Then we got more snow, so they both sat...but now, yes, now the riding season has begun!

I was amazed at how calm and confident I felt. I was also amazed at how calm I remained throughout the ride. You see, shortly after we left we had to stop for emergency vehicles to go through town. On our ride, we then came across those vehicles again. On the road I take to work, about a mile past my work there was an accident. Not real sure what happened, but as the cops waved us past there was a bike down in the middle of the highway. Large Yamaha cruiser of some type. The ambulance had left already, and no real signs of anything grotesque so I just kept riding. At the next stop sign Bill honked and pulled up alongside me. Apparently I left my saddlebag unlatched and it was flapping around. ( I thought I heard something ) He asked if seeing the bike down and mangled got me all jittery (If you remember, last year we saw an accident and it hit me kinda hard) I could honestly say that it didn't. It just reaffirmed to me why I needed to be out there, practicing and making myself seen to cagers. Also at that stop Bill informed me that he was on reserve now, so we headed back into town so he could fuel up.

The ride back took us over a lake at sunset, it was beautiful to say the least. I can say I wasn't totally smooth, and my starts had some wobbles, but it didn't phase me in the least this time around I just rode my ride...I think this year is going to be AWESOME!!!!

Great being back in the saddle eh? I know I'm loving it. Put around 100 miles on my bike this weekend.

Fantastic! Any day on your motorcycle is a good day to be had in my book.

Hi gang....another beautiful weekend here in Central Wisconsin, and of course, Bill has to work! O well, need that extra money to buy new stuff!

Quick update on my last post. The accident Bill and I Drove past last weekend, here is what we heard happened. ( I live in a very small town, you get all your news and updates through the grapevine sorta thing) There was a bus going to pick up a group of guys to take them out on a bachelor party. The driver was lost and looking for the address. He blew a stop sign and pulled out right in front of the bike. The bike was on a 2 lane hwy, speed limit 55. So things were worse than we thought when we drove past it. Then come to find out, Bill and I both know the rider involved. He used to work with Bill at his last job, and actually was someone we both talked to about bikes alot, all around great guy. He was taken to the nearest hospital, then Medi-Flighted to a specialty hospital where he still is today. Yesterday they upgraded his condition from critical to serious, so things are looking up. Poor guy has had a lot of troubles this past few years. First he was diagnosed with cancer, then lost his job when Bill lost his, (so he lost insurance) and now this....Keep him in your prayers if you would...he is one guy who deserves it for sure.

Okay enough of the doom and gloom and stuff....I rode my bike to work yesterday!!!! It was a kinda cool ride temperature wise, but worth it! I left a little early and didn't get caught up in any traffic, just a nice little jaunt. We have a whole 3 stop lights in the entire town, and I hit all three of them red. I just can't win sometimes. I still get a little nervous at lights (if people are around) that I will choke it off or something, but I am getting better, not letting it get to me too bad.

When I got to work, I pulled into a spot behind another bike. Our lot has nose to nose parking in one row. Ray had his Ultra Classic in the front, I pulled my Vstar in behind, they looked good together. Then I get inside the building....this is where I get frustrated.

We have another guy at work who rides, Bob. He is your typical white collar Harley guy, and I do not say that disrespectfully. He loves to joy ride on the weekends, every piece of clothing he owns has a bar and shield on it somehwere. He talks about his bike all the time, so the newer guys all know he has a bike, but have never seen it. Okay, I was talking to someone and had mentioned Ray's bike in the lot, and one of the Younger guys I work with pipes in"one of those bikes in the lot is Ray's?" I said yes, Ray rides the Harley in the lot. The guy then proceeds to irritate me. He says " Oh yeah, I saw the two Harleys in the far side of lot, I figured one was Bob's, didn't know the other was Ray's." Mind you, I am standing 3 feet from him in my riding jacket holding my helmet. I said " there aren't two Harley's in the lot" He continues to argue with me that there is. Describes to me just what each bike looks like and where they are parked. I have to politely tell him that YES Ray's bike is the one in front, it IS a Harley. MY bike is the one in back and NO it is NOT a Harley, it is a YAMAHA. He gets all irritated with me and walks off cuz a girl made him look stupid in front of the boys. He then comes back and starts to argue with me that if that is a yamaha and it is mine and the other is Ray's then where is Bob's? I was at my limit by now, but as nicely as I could I had to let him know that Bob didn't have his bike at work today cuz Bob said it was way too cold ride this time of year, and that it wasn't fun riding if he had to wear a jacket to keep warm. So again I let him know that the bikes are mine and Ray's and he could verify that with Bob, cuz Bob's bike looks NOTHING like mine, and he would attest to that! Uneducated people who THINK they know it all just frustrated the hell out of me!

All right I am done ranting now....back to some house cleaning so maybe Bill and I can ride when he gets home from work.