Ride North: Kinnickinnic

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Kinnickinnic

It was a Yamaha night and it preformed flawlessly. The bike ran strong and I found what I was looking for, something to get me out of the house.

I've been working from home since March and I'm just stir crazy. Not that I'm complaining because a.) I'm working and b.) I like the people who live in my house. But, I have no place to be, nowhere to go, no commute to extend, and very few errands to run. I guess I'm a recreational cyclist now and I just need to embrace that.

The Yammie is a cruiser, the open country roads are just as enjoyable as the tight twisties, which it's really good at. It makes good sounds and good power. I bet it's every bit as fast as an 883 sportster, and, unlike the AMF sportsters of the day, it's still on the road. I always did like the 2004 883 that I rode, it was enjoyable, made good sounds (stock pipes), and you never expected too much from it so you were always pleasantly surprised. I guess I always was a cruiser at heart, I'm getting older and can admit that now.

My destination for this evening was the Kinnickinnic River at county road F. I just wanted to sit on the sandy banks and see if I could bust out of my rut. I have had many fishing adventures in this part of the state, I would pour over maps looking for new spots. I can't say, "the thrill is gone" but I haven't gotten after it in a few years. I have trout in the freezer and I know where to get more.

I wasn't sure if I'd be any less grumpy when I got there or if the pointless/aimless feeling would persist as it sometimes does. I think the Kinni wore down some edges last night. I didn't leave with that Alive! feeling but I no longer felt dead either. I was nice to see folks out fishing, trying the same flies in the same spots as hundreds of anglers before them. There was a new-to-me adventure in progress happening too, a small group of guys stand-up paddle boarding. It's 12 river miles from River Falls to F, maybe half that from the fishing access on FF. Looked like they were having a grand adventure.