Good morning America.

How are you?

Good morning St Paul.

- Ride North

Nostalgia and ice cream

I bought my first street bike in River Falls, Wisconsin. Some clever soul had parked a spray painted black, 1982 KZ550 in the lot on Main Street and Division. The three digit number on the for sale sign caught my eye immediately. A thorough inspection found that the seat cover and chrome were in good condition so a deal was made and I was on the road.

The bike would only start if it was parked in the sun. I have great memories of driving to work in North Hudson on sunny afternoons, then returning the next day to pick it up. It ran well enough for long enough to entertain the opposite sex on occasion, which was important. The woman who would later become Mrs. North was known to putt around town on it.

I took out a loan at the local Credit Union, these were very understanding people.

Today, memories drew their own purple lines on the GPS. My trip from St. Paul to Selma's ice cream parlor in Afton passed through River Falls and Prescott with a stop at Kinnickinnic State Park. I haven’t been on M and MM for years, I forgot how good they are. The fields and barns are all still there, only the farm dogs have changed.

Bob Ross was painting today.

The USGS crest gage on the Kinnickinnik River at County Road F. 

River Falls saw 5 inches of rain this weekend. 

Native prairie restoration.

Lake St. Croix, where the St. Croix river joins the Mississippi.

After all that, I did remember to stop at Selma's for a cone. Zanzibar in a sugar cone. I even found a new road out of town. Sometimes I'll take a road because I like its name. Any road named Indian Trail is worth a 180. I knew where it ended up but I didn't know it wound around some hills, wetlands and a small lake.

- Ride North

Good morning Saint Paul!

Poppa needs some quiet time.  

To that end, I’ve been taking the long, long way to work lately and squeezing in some much-needed exploration time. 

Mounds Park, St. Paul

Down Town St Paul from Dayton's Bluff

The Airway Beacon came many years after the Phalen case.

500 CCs to freedom!

 - Ride North

Road songs

Who knows where they come from? They just appear.

Oh Lord wont you buy me a Moto Guzzi.

My friends all drive Beemers and red Ducatis.

Ride through the corners across the country.

Oh Lord wont you buy me a Moto Guzzi.

- the Rooster

Oh Lord wont you buy me a Triumph that's blue.

My friends all drive Thruxtons and I'd like one too.

Ride through the city avoiding the bars.

If I had a Triumph, I'd know I'd go far.

- Ride North

Oh Lord, won't you find me a smooth curvy road.
Without any traffic so I won't be slowed.
My tires are scratchin' a twisted speed passion.
Oh Lord won't you find me a smooth curvy road.

- the Rooster

Todd and the Rooster somewhere in Arkansas  

Riding slow bikes on the super slab

5 tips for riding slowly on the 4 lane super slab

Sometimes you just can’t avoid the freeways and bypasses that dominate urban infrastructure. They are often the  only means of traversing a major metropolitan area, or in the case of Minneapolis/ Saint Paul, two. This, more so than our wide open landscapes, is why Americans love big motorcycles. It's a survival tactic. We need to cruise at 75 miles an hour and have enough left in the tank to accelerate out of harm’s way. (not the best technique, but it’s always good to have options)

What if you’re not the proud owner of a big-bore, bread for the American West, road burning machine. How do you safely navigate the distracted driving, boy racer, fun fest that is our highway system? This was the question I faced if I wanted to arrive safely, on two wheels, at a Memorial Day BBQ. I’m currently rebuilding (insert anything you can think of with 20 year old rubber components here) on the Trophy so my 38 year old, 500 cc Yamaha was to be the beast of burden.

The little bike will do 60 mph all day in comfort thanks to its counter balanced engine. It will even hammer down the road at 70 when asked. I just didn’t want join the race for pole position on this beautiful day. A nice relaxed cruise was called for, and the challenge of doing so safely sounds like fun to me. Below is a list of things I put together to help me stay safe at slow speed.

Good mirrors. One of the biggest hazards any slower-than-traffic vehicle faces is the rubbibn’ is racin’ amateur sprint cup driver. Know your enemy. Anyone who is overtaking you at a faster-than-traffic speed is not your friend. They will have a difficult time judging distance and the rate that they are overtaking you, they’re probably pre-disposed to tailgating as it is.

Choose your roads and times carefully. My go-to route for this particular trip it the interstate, 6-8 lane freeway. I just couldn’t bring myself to deal with that level of crazy. A quick look at Google Maps revealed that I could link up some secondary roads on the front and back ends of the trip and take the 4 lane, 55 mph Crosstown bypass instead. This road is almost always less crowded than the interstate.

Don’t push it. Your bike should be comfortable at 5 under and capable of 10 over when needed. Most freeways have a minimum speed limit for good reason. If your bike tops out at 50 mph don’t go bombing down a 65 mph road. The difference in speed between you and the truck fast approaching behind you is just too great.

Take advantage of other slow moving vehicles. (and even moderate traffic.) I worked this one out on the fly. Don't ride behind them, speed up and jump in front of them. Then settle into their pace after building up a cushion. Don’t tail gate! You stand a good chance of an approaching driver looking right through you and only seeing the car that you’re following.

Lane position. This is a tip I picked up from a commuter friend of mine. When riding in the right-hand lane, position yourself just right of center. It puts more room between you and the tailgating over-taker (if they are passing you on the left). I move around a lot in my lane, as the situation calls for it, but this took some getting used to for me. My default position is usually left of center, the idea being that I’m more visible. (If you're worried about visibility, I can't recommend high-vis yellow enough, or anything other than black.) 

I put these strategies into full effect and arrived to a nice, relaxing cook out at a nice relaxing pace. I don’t do a ton of this kind of riding but it’s good to have some of these tools in my toolbox when the situation presents itself. One of the funny things I found myself thinking is, “Wow, I’ve got this road all to myself, now I can ride slow!”

-          Ride North

Cafe racing

I hopped on down to the Spy House for an over-priced ice coffee while Mrs. North and the child took their naps. What do you know, there was a bike show going on next door.

Coffee at the Spy House.

It's not every day you get to park next to a Moto Guzzi Quota.

The Ton Up Boys were putting on their annual Rockers Spring Social. I was only able to make a quick stop in but I talked to some good people, and the bikes were amazing. They had a land speed Vincent that they fired up at drove around the block. It was a symphony of open headers among the tall buildings. The lot was thick with Guzzis from the 70's and 80's, 4 and 2-stroke vintage Japanese iron (alloys?) and a /7 with a single sided swing arm. To top it off there were about a dozen old flathead Indians lined up on the side walk, one of which I was kicked to life and thundered on down the motorway. 

I couldn't bring myself to go full paparazzi on the show. I was just walked around and talked bikes with folks; you'll just have to stop by next year if you want to see the bikes. (or visit the VJMC Minnesota Facebook page)

One of these days I'll get around to posting about my spring ride to the Wisconsin Dells (via Iowa) and the work I've been doing on a family heirloom.

- Ride North

Good morning Saint Paul

Another fine St Paul morning commute.

Happy belated Mother's Day!

- Ride North