Triumphrat

doodledog

Thanks for the posts and pics really good to see your progress. :-D

__________________
I went to a restaurant that serves 'breakfast at any
time'. I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance

http://stickerchick.com/images/AD455-th.jpg

plowboyzzt

Whoa!! Top level posting by Jason, a bunch of encouraging posts, an insane number of viewings....and here I sit at an antique computer on dial-up unable to get my pics into the funny looking box and it'd likely take all day to get them uploaded if I did. I'm guessing this old HP has Windows 3.2 or something....won't download drivers or recognize my Canon....so I'll tell you a bit, BS a bit, and call it a day, hoping not to disappoint anyone too greatly. Pics and descriptions will follow at the earliest opportunity.

I fear a bit the MO, IA, MN stretch will be a bit boring as it's so much family stuff on a personal level, and the usual attitude towards the midwest is that it's filler between the excitement of the coasts and suitable only for traversing quickly on the way to the scenic country.

After Paula's sister treated us to a great outdoor version of 'Grease' somewhere in St. Louie (Sorry Cat, just not enough time to stick around for the Harley get-together), we left Monday for my folks in Mt. Ayr, IA.

Headed north to Hannibal, birthplace of Mark Twain (I think) and took what our antique atlas showed as mostly 2 lane...Hwy 136 west. It's now mostly 4 lanes, but did have some nice parts that hadn't been upgraded yet. That 30 or so miles was the first time I've ever had the feeling I was driving across a jigsaw puzzle....something I don't think a photo could convey...where the pieces were 2-20 acres. The nature of the land is such that you can see quite a ways across the rolling hills, but the views are incredibly broken up by fences, trees, ravines, crop changes, and houses. Sure wish I knew if this were country I could tell you is great to ride through...or whether I only like it because it's the landscape I grew up in. Sure, the midwest gets pretty boring blasting across on the slab, but if you can slow down on the smaller roads and take in the variety of homes and sights on a more personal level, it's worth it.

So...Monday-Friday in Mt. Ayr, Friday night/Sat doing Paula's 35th class reunion around Ames,...Saturday night in Conrad seeing a guy I used to party and go on bicycle trips with (hadn't seen him in 20 years)...Sunday night near Omaha with an old high school buddy...Monday getting the oil changed at Baxter Cycle in Marne (Mar-ney), IA and riding to SW MN where I lived for about 20 years...brings us up to date for location. I'm leaving out some details in the interest of accompanying them with some pics.

Baxter Cycle....shameless plugging here...the only thing that I slightly 'blinked' at here was paying shop price for the oil...but that was WAY more than covered by everything else about the business. We pulled up sort of unannounced as no one remembered my call last week or had planned for the work....they had us on the bench in 10 minutes. We were out in 2 hours....technically not the full service as in checking the valves, but quite thorough otherwise as the tires were aired up, new air filter, and the 2 cups of dog food stored by a mouse inside the air filter removed (the little b****d had chewed 1 1/2 'panels' out of the plastic grid on top of the filter......I hope he got sucked into a massive cylinder, flash fried, and shot out of a cannon ala some Looneytunes cartoon). I tried to dicker on the price saying I'd plug them here and was rewarded with one of the Triumph patches we'd selected as a freebie.....and sorta felt guilty...labor was a whopping $25. I'm gonna plug 'em again when I can get the pics up....a great experience all around.

Too many words...not enuff to look at...catch ya later...and thanks for enjoying this.

ttbonnie

thanks for sharing this experience w/ us.
what better way to spend the summer than cruising around the USA!
I have always thought that the country always looks better with a cycle in the fore ground!
cheers
tt..

__________________
Ai removed , ARK, 19T counter, TOR's, 140 main 42 pilots 2.5 turns out- and a cleaned up body

heres she is
http://www.triumphrat.net/memberalbu...php?photo=1448

plowboyzzt

What with some of the more exotic places we've been the past few years, it's somewhat amazing to me the level of satisfaction we're experiencing with this trip...just really enjoying rolling along at a relaxed pace and taking in the details. Reminds me more of touring Iowa on the BSA and being able to accept the fact that the T'bolt really liked 50 mph best, so that's what I usually rode...very peaceful way to travel.
Also....if you've never bicycle backpacked, you've never done the ultimate in wringing the most out of a vacation. Walking may out-do it, but seems it might be a bit too slow. Pedaling has a way of being slow enough to catch literally every detail w/ the bonus of a reasonably speedy change of scenery.
Best ever in that mode was 800 miles/10 days. Amazing experience.

No...this ain't just another porn photo....I'd hoped to find the old warning sign along this route before the I-35 days when this was a. main route to KC from the north. It had at least two bridges so narrow that trucks would lose their mirrors if they tried to cross at the same time...and the sign claimed it to be the most dangerous stretch of highway in the USA.



Crossing the border into everyman's land.

plowboyzzt

It's real hard to find photos of rolling hills and such that really catch the eye, so I'll pop up a few that I always enjoy seeing.





My home town....Grand River...or what's left...seems smaller now.

plowboyzzt

One of Paula's classmates is a 'Zen Shootist' who participates in old fashioned firearms contests. Here's a bit of the arena.



Passed though Des Moines on Sunday, July 8th and every stop on all sides was littered with people going home after a big car show. Here's the one that really caught my eye.



After an outdoor Shakespeare comedy on Sunday night (gotta recommend the tragedies, but it was fun) we headed out to Marne for the maintenance stop.

The back room....I took several, but got some blur...this is about 20%.

plowboyzzt

And this is about $60 G.


Marne really made me feel good....mostly cuz they were so obviously dedicated to customer service, but partly because they had oil pans under most of the classic bikes in the back room, letting me somewhat off the hook to get my Lightning drip free.

A couple more Iowa photos....some towns take an inordinate amount of pride in the smallest things.

For your sake, I hope we end up somewhere there are no barns soon...I've always thought a 'barn book' would make a nice volume for the coffee table.

Once my MN home away from home.

plowboyzzt

Ok, city folks....what is it?



Not a repeat, but a clip of what oceans of grain might look like...looks kinda neat on a windy day.


'Nother barn thing...this one refurbed into a business.

plowboyzzt

Toured the Norweigan Viking museum where, on the basis of this runestone, they claim to be the true founders of America...except they left.


....but put up this statue to the idea anyway.


Possibly the oldest Triumph in existence.


Sorry about this one....I just always enjoy it when people go to a lot of trouble to be creative and handy.


As promised...

The Naked Continuum...

WARNING***
*SEVERELY DIVERGENT THOUGHT PROCESSES*

Most likely, if you're the least bit thoughtful, there are things you've said you wish could
be unsaid. One thing I've been guilty of is thinking of myself as somewhat of a 'purist' as
related to motorcycling. Fortunately, it was mostly said to Paula and a few others of somewhat
like mind before I heard her and someone else say it, granting the objective viewpoint and
the current opinion. I'll proceed to make some excuses for myself and to relate why this
is actually a bit silly...for anyone.

Motorcycling, like all transportation, is intended to enhance transition, in varying degrees,
from point A to point B. Notable exceptions....crotch jockeys and Thruxtons, who tend to go
from point A to point A and never really intended to get anywhere in the first place....and
Harley Fergusons, who usually get from point A to the nearest bar.

*All stereotypes are in the spirit of entertainment...tho I prefer actually going somewhere,
riding in circles is acceptable entertainment,... and V-twins remind me fondly of the old John
Deere B (johnnypopper) I owned in my haying crew days just as the Rocket engine has great
similarity (in my mind only) to the in-line 4 on my WC-Allis Chalmers.

Perhaps on my 350 Honda, or unadorned 650 BSA I had some small claim to 'simplistic' or
'pure'...but only in my fertile imagination. What made it clear was trying to fit that claim
to a Rocket by keeping it to the 'essentials'...a windshield....oops, not on the BSA...a
luggage rack...fairly necessary...Corbin bags....starting to look a bit silly here...2300 CCs?
.....can you spell Lamborghini?

The real point here is that the only true 'purist' as related to transportation, is the one
who leaves point A naked as a jaybird...on foot, and the far end of the might be the Hummer
decked out with every techno-whiz known to man and carrying one passenger....compared to whom
we might all feel a bit morally superior as related to extravagance and use of resources.
Otherwise, I'd stick with considering yourself lucky to be a biker, trying to appreciate
everyone's ride, and playing the 'my toy is nicer than your toy' game with an open mind.

That said....I still can't help parking our bike next to others for the 'comparison' value,
and always hope someone wants a bit of a race. Idiot, jerk, egotist, or too much testosterone?
Nah...just wanna milk a bit of fun out of whatever comes along.

plowboyzzt

Another dang barn....


And to satisfy those who think the Rock isn't in enuff pics...


Garrison Keillor....If you don't know him, look around a bit....great dry humor about growing in small town MN....once said something about the Norwegians settling in MN because it reminded them so much of home...forgetting for the moment why they left that rocky, unforgiving place.


On the shores of Lake Mille Lacs...by the big walleye.