Alternator back in

I finally got around to getting my alternator fixed and back in the bike. I can say now that I would recommend S&H Auto Electric. The guy new it was off a goldwing without even being able to really see the back end that would let you know it isn't off a car.

My brushes were stuck and I had them put new brushes in since they were getting pretty worn and I didn't want to deal with it in the spring.

They turned the job around in one day and it didn't cost that much. $37 was the bill and for what I am told it takes to do them yourself, I think it is well worth the cost.

So now I just need to finish up some minor details and I'm ready to ride. Of course now it looks like riding will not be any time soon.

Snow day

Well today, most of the city of Des Moines as well as many other communities throughout Iowa came to a stand still as we got walloped by a major snow storm. Last report I heard was Des Moines got about 15 inches of snow from this storm. Man it was a whole lot of snow.

Pretty much everyone I know got to stay home if they so chose to do so. My full time job was cancelled. I spent most of the night out trying to plow snow. It was not fun. Really hard to move that much snow. Had one lot I was having trouble getting around in even when I wasn't pushing snow. Rich had as much trouble as me in that lot. We did what we could until the sun came up and the lots started to have a few people come in. We will head out again tonight I assume, now that the nasty weather is done for now, and try to get things cleaned up.

I hope everyone was safe and warm today and didn't have to deal with this stuff too much. I had to shovel the drive and it wasn't a lot of fun.

Amanda the Panda Dinner

On November 30th, many in the chapter provided a dinner for the support groups at Amanda the Panda. If you are not aware of Amanda the Panda, this is an organization that helps people, especially children deal with terminal illnesses, most prominently cancer as well as suicide and other things. All this is done at no cost to the clients. They have camps and other stuff throughout the year to help the people get through these tough times in their lives.

A number of members donated their time and food for us to go and give these people a meal. It was very well received. We had a variety of good food for them to eat and everything went over very well. They were most appreciative that we did this for them. It is a nice feeling to be able to do this for those who need something like this in their life at this time. Kudos to everyone who participated.

Cup of Tea

On November 24th, a Tuesday night, 9 of us from the group got together at Vaudeville Mews in downtown Des Moines to watch Donna's youngest son play with his band, Cup of Tea. This group is made up of ISU students and one ISU professor.

There were about 4 other bands that night but it seemed that we were the only ones to show up to support any of the groups. That was kind of sad really.

Cup of Tea was pretty good. It is interesting to watch Donna's son Mike play as he is self taught on all the stuff he plays. He plays guitar, banjo, ukelele, harmonica and probably other stuff I have forgotten. One member plays a thing called a cohon that takes place of the drum. It is interesting to watch that being played.

All in all, it was a pretty good time. Afterwards, we went over to Fong's Pizza and had dinner. This pizza there is very very good. Worth your time if you happen to be in the area.

Nebraska Fall Follies

8 people from Iowa went to Grand Island Nebraska for their Fall Follies on November 13th - 15th. Donna and I, Pam and Glenn, Ben and Sherrill and Jo and Bryan from Chapter P. For those that did not attend, you missed a really good time. The attendance was down from previous years but that did not stop this group from have a fun time full of activities and friendship.

There theme this year was famous couples and these people go all out. They really had some fantastic get ups. Archie and Edith Bunker, Morticia and Gomez Adams, two sets of Thing 1 and Thing 2 from the Cat in the Hat. The Blues Brothers made an appearance. Colonel Sanders and Wendy were there. There were many more. All of them were great. It is really fun to see how much these people get into it.

They had an auction to help the state budget and also to help defray costs for the Family of the Year. They took in a pretty good amount to help out their causes. The dinner was quite good. They had a lot of little, quick, easy games to play as well. We may have to incorporate them into our events at some time. They also did some roasts and they put a lot of work into that as well.

Then there was the time just sitting around visiting and getting to know new people or to reacquaint with ones you don't see often. I think this was the best part for me. We were up till after midnight on Saturday just talking and laughing.

If you have never been, or have not been recently, you really need to plan on doing so. These people know how to put on a good time. They have the same kind of event, called Spring Fling, February 26th - 28th next year. You might consider going on over for that.

PGR Mission

Last night, Donna and I decided to attend the Patriot Guard Riders mission of escorting the Honor Flight Veterans from the Holiday Inn on Fleur to West Des Moines where they had supper. It really wasn't a bad night. It rained on us a little and got a little cool but not bad all things concerned. It was really pretty cool to see all these men and women load and unload from the buses. Many of the veterans were really quite moved and honored to be able to take part in this venture they were about to embark on. We wish them all the best in their trip.

There really were a lot of bikes there to help escort them. I'd say 50 anyway. Got a lot of help from both Des Moines and West Des Moines police. They escorted us the whole way.

If you have never done this, consider doing it some time. It is a very nice feeling to be part of something like this. Sometimes it is very moving. A very worthwhile thing to do. A simple way to show your respect and support.

Thanks to another couple in this big old family of ours, we got to ride in this event. Our bike is still down but Ernie and Louise let us borrow theirs to do this. That is what is great about being a member of this chapter and being it's director for the last couple of years. Our big Chapter I family is always ready to help out anyone that needs something. It is not often so, that this happens, in many other groups. I am so proud of this group. This is what this group is all about.

Ride to Apple Orchard in Ft. Dodge

Today Joe Larson let a ride to the Community Orchard and Apple Orchard Cafe in Ft. Dodge. What an absolutely wonderful day to ride and what great rodes he picked. And then the treats were fabulous.

This group was a conglomeration of people from different groups. That was really neat to meet new people and check out their rides and to swap stories.

17 people on 11 bikes and in one car took the trip. I wasn't there for the first part of this adventure but I know some met at Country Kitchen on NE 14th to have breakfast. After breakfast those that ate and those that just came along for the ride took off. I believe their route was around Saylorville and through Polk City out towards Madrid. After Madrid, they swung through Ledges Park where some went around and some went through the park. They left there and came north to Boone where Donna, myself, Ray, Judy and their daughter Debbie met up with them. We took some very scenic roads out of Boone and all the way to Ft. Dodge. We hit Doliver Park and went through Lehigh and just had a wonderful pleasant ride.

Getting to the orchard, I think everyone tried at one of their treats. My pie and cinnamon ice cream was fantastic. Several had apple dumplings and I heard no complaints. Joe and Carl both had two different treats. The turnovers they had after their dumplings looked excellent and Joe says they are a must.

We grouped up afterwards and headed back Hwy. 169 towards town. The Busch's and us split off at Hwy. 30 and headed back for their house to pick up our car. Ray and Judy were nice enough to loan us their old 1500 while they took the 1800. Ours is down right now with a bad alternator but I have it off and just need to get it fixed and put back in. What great friends we have that they would do that for us. The trip was so much more fun on two wheels instead of four.

Haunted Forest

Donna and I along with Ray and Judy went to the haunted forest in Ames last night. Didn't have a clue as to what to expect since none of us had ever been. Hell, maybe this was the first year for the forest, I don't know.

After getting over the shock of the $11.00 per person entry fee, we stood in line for about a half hour. This really wasn't too bad. Line moved pretty quickly. We got there at a good time. They said the line was a lot longer before we got there and after we were in line, the line got really long again.

This was really an event to go to. If they have it next year, I would recommend you go. They spent a lot of time, effort, and I'm sure money to set this up. It is probably about a 20 minute walk through this conglomeration of maze work and some outdoor set ups. The actors are trained and they did a really good job. They really put in a lot of time and work into making this a good time for all that attended. While it is pricey, I think it was worth it.

HallowWing Campout

The first weekend in October, a number of us met at Don and Kathy Thomasons house for a get together just for fun times. This would be the 2nd annual and for the second year the weather did not really cooperate. At least the wind was not as bad as last year but the temps were cold and with all the recent rain, it took all the riding spirit out of everyone. We still got together and had a good time.

We actually had at least 15 people. Joe and Brian from Chapter P came all the way from Griswold and we had a couple from Chapter A (although they live around Grinell), Ron Lillie and his wife, and it was nice to meet them.

As usual, the food this group put on was great. Don and Kathy provided the main course, condiments and other stuff and the rest brought side dishes. Plenty of food and it was all very, very good.

We had the hay rack ride again. This was fun although a bit cool. My bad, I should have dressed warmer. We just talked and joked and sang some. It was a lot of fun.

As usual when this group gets together, we have a fun time. Be sure to put it on your calendar for next year. Maybe we can get some nice weather.

Fall out and about

This morning Donna and I, after sleeping in a bit, something I rarely get to do, took off for Gabby's in Prole for breakfast. This is one of my favorite breakfast joints. There almost every weekend if I'm not otherwise engaged. Ed and Madeline Buchanan (they ride with the GWRRA and Honda Riders Club) decided to join us and that was fun. We don't know them extremely well but it was fun to just sit and vistit. They are nice people and it is becoming more and more fun to do things with them. We spent two hours just eating and talking.

After leaving there, we came back home so I could finish getting the bike out of the back yard. It was pretty wet before breakfast and I ended up just spinning and couldn't make it up the hill. At least I didn't slide back down the hill and hit something in the backyard. After putting down some kitty litter on the still slick spots, I was able to get up and out into the driveway. We packed up and headed out.

Went down through Norwalk and out the Cumming Road to Hwy 169. From there, we went north and toured the town of DeSoto. A quaint little town. Continued north to Minburn where I took F31 west of town. Went west and then came north into Perry. Tooled around town a little. Found the restaurant that Jim Castleblanco told us about where he and Judy had a good meal. It is salvadorian. Much like mexican. Might have to try this out. We also checked out a place that Harry had told us about called the Mars Dairy Bar. Harry said they had good ice cream and he was right. They also have sandwiches and the one we tried was excellent. Also had some chili. Donna liked that better than I did. This is a nice little place and I'd recommend if your in the are and looking for a place to grab a bite, stop in and give them a try. We may try and have a get together there as an impromptu sort of thing.

Leaving there, we headed north again and went up through Ogden to Don Williams Recreation Area north of town. Kind of a nice little campground. Nothing special but just nice. Came back into town and went east to Boone and into McHose Park. This is a nice park. Came back west to Seven Oaks Recreation and then south before coming east again and then back north into Ledges Park. Left there and took a ride through the little town of Luther. Coming east from there, then south, then east again into Kelley and then on to Hwy 69 and back into town and home. Burned up a full tank of fuel today. It was a good time. A little cool at times but not really bad at all. Passenger got a little cold I could tell by all her fidgeting but she toughed it out.

Fall colors were not as impressive as I had hoped and thought they might be. It was kind of disappointing really. Ledges Park was OK but even there it wasn't as nice as I have seen and I had hoped to come across. Oh well, still a nice day to get out and enjoy a ride. Not many more of those this season.

Get out and have fun while you can.

Colorama / Falling Leaf Rally

This past weekend there were a couple of events going on that some of our people attended. Donna and I and Don and Kathy went down to Harrison Arkansas for the Colorama Rally there. Always a good time there. Really pretty scenery and good roads to ride. We didn't bike it down as the weather was just plain crappy when we were leaving and it wasn't forecast to get any better. They have new facilities this year and it is going to be there next year. I think this is going to be a good move. It won't be like when it was in Forsyth, MO. when Jack and Denise ran the campgrounds but this is just about as good. The owners are wonderful to work with and are trying to really make this place a place to go. They have owned it for about 3 years and are making some improvements as time and money allows. Nothing major is wrong with it, it just needs little things here and there. They have a motel and another building that can be used for meetings, dinners and whatever. There is a small restaurant also. They have a big parking lot to have some riding drills. They have some motel mascots if you like animals. We had both the cat and the dog in our room the first night. They just took to us and decided to sleep with us. There was talk of some bad dealings with the campground that they used so now it looks like the owners of the motel where Colorama was held are also going to try and get their campground reopened and up and running for next year. They had about 80 people attend this year. Not a huge crowd but considering weather, it wasn't bad. They had a good dinner from the folks at the restaurant. Catfish, pork and lots of other stuff. Definately a place to go back to. They are already taking room reservations at the motel for next year.

John, Carl, and Craig all braved the elements and rode to Potosi, MO. for the Falling Leaf Rally. I am told it was a pretty good time but the weather really put a damper on the fun. It sounds as if the riding there is very good but probably wasn't as good this year due to weather. They think there was 200-300 people. I guess that is a low number for them but with the weather, I'm not sure you could expect more. Others I know wanted to go but had to attend a funeral for a friend who passed away suddenly. Too bad that happened and too bad they didn't get to go.

State Line Rally

Donna, myself, Ben and Sherrill, and Jeff and Sally went to the State Line Rally in Keosauqua this year. It is always the latter part of September. It was a nice time. More mild mannered than Hawgstock or Conesville. They had some vendors but mostly it was just a big get together. We spent a lot of time around the campfire in our area with the new friends we met there.

There was a poker run and a sled pull and some other activities. They had races on Sunday but we didn't stay for that. On Friday and Saturday night they had a ride out of the fairgrounds and into town, then to the state park and back into town and to the fairgrounds. This was a site to see. We didn't do the ride on Friday night but did on Saturday. We stopped counting at 400 bikes and I'm sure there was 500 or maybe more. They blocked off all the streets and just let us do our ride. People lined the streets to wave and watch. Some tossed candy to the children along the street. Weather Sunday was a little foreboding so we packed up early and headed for home.

While there we didn't do the poker run but took off on our own ride. We visited Eldon where Grant Wood painted American Gothic. That was fun. We toured some of the scenic roads in the area.

There was a wonderful little place to eat. It is called Misty's Malt Shop. They have very good ice cream but also wonderful food. Very generous servings and great prices. If you are in the are, be sure to stop in. Very friendly too.

A good weekend and a fun rally. Something to think about for next year.

Labor Day Weekend Trip

Donna and I, Pam and Glenn, Ray and Judy, and Carl and Donna all left on Friday before Labor Day and headed up to Postville to ride the roads in the area over the weekend. Pam and Glenn and Ray and Judy left earlier in the day and the rest of us left after we got off work.

We set up camp at a little Mom and Pop motel owned by a young couple that just purchased the place recently and is working on fixing it back up. It needs quite a bit of attention but they are slowly working on refurbishing it while tending to their young children. It's no Ritz Carlton Hotel but for the price, it was an OK place to stay. Hopefully they will be able to keep working on it and if we get in the area again, we can use the place to stay at while we look over the area. The couple was very nice and worked really hard at making our stay as pleasant as it could be. I hope they can make a go of it. It is hard to keep something going in that area with all that was lost from the pork plant closing.

Both Saturday and Sunday we took off on rides that ended up being a couple of hundred miles long. Weather was fantastic. Cool in the morning but then got nice. Not too hot though. Saturday we kind of took a northern route along the scenic byways. We found a nice local place to eat. Food and ice cream was good. For dinner we went to Gunder and the Irish Shanti for the one pound gunder burger. It was worth trying just to say I'd done so but I don't think I'll do that again. Pam got a ham dinner that I think could have fed us all. It was absolutely the biggest piece of ham I have ever seen on a dinner plate. It was about an inch and a half thick as well. She gave us some samples and it was very very tasty. With salad bar and potato for about $11. A heck of a bargain. I know Judy had shrimp and she said it was very very good as well. I can' t remember if anyone else had anything but the burger but we all had good food. Such an amazing place to find in a town that boasts of a population of 27 persons. I highly recommend you stop in when you are in the area. That night we settled down and just sat outside talking. Very peaceful.

Sunday we took kind of a south eastern route. Ended up at Pikes Peak Park and then down into Guttenberg before heading back towards St. Olaf to the St. Olaf tap to try the huge tenderloin. It weighs in at just over one pound. In St. Olaf, we were met by Randy and Deb Heath. They had been to J & P Cycle and decided to come on up and join us for the rest of the weekend. After St. Olaf, we headed back to Postville and just sat around and talked again. Another relaxing, peaceful evening. Good times, good friends, good fun, good stories.

Monday we got up and took a leisurely trip to Balltown to eat at Breitbach's Restaurant. This is the oldest bar/restaurant in Iowa and has been plagued by fires twice now. Hopefully their bad luck will end here. Donna made a reservation for us so we got in quickly. Good thing as they had a pretty good crowd. Unfortunately, we were a little disappointed with the place. The waitress seemed miffed that we decided not to eat off the buffet and the food was not up to par. Mine was OK but several noted that theirs was cold or just not too good. They also had run out of pie and that was not a good thing. From here some split off from the group and made their way home by themselves. The rest of us came back with me in the lead and maybe that wasn't such a good idea. I had a few problems finding the roads I wanted to take so the trek home was much longer than I had planned. We wanted to take a scenic ride home but didn't want to take the side treks I unintentionally took. I do apologize for that.

All in all, I think it was a great weekend. I do believe everyone enjoyed themselves for the most part. It was fun to have the group we had out having a good time. Next time, I hope more of you can come out and enjoy the fun as well.

Fun Fest 2009

A number of us went up to Storm Lake this weekend to attend Fun Fest 2009. This is Iowa GWTA's state rally to raise funds for the state directors to be able to fund their activities throughout the year. This is their only budget.

There was a good crowd there this year. Around 60 people and it appears that everyone had a good time. All the chapters in Iowa were represented and we had several couples from Nebraska and I think maybe Missouri had people present.

We left with the Green's on Friday night and went up to Ray and Judy's to pick them up. They had decided to fix us dinner so we wouldn't have to stop on the way to eat. As usual, Judy put on a heck of a spread. Lots of food that they pulled right out of the garden and whipped us up a meal with. As usual, this fat old man ate way way too much but it is so good, it is hard not to overeat.

As we got ready to leave, Ray suggested some sights to see on the way up and wondered if we'd like to go a few miles out of our way to see them. We said sure and he led us on a great ride through Doliver Park and around the town of Otho and that area. Wonderful riding. Then we made our way us highway 7 to Storm Lake. I suppose we got in to the motel around 9. Those out at the campground had been messaging and wanted us to come out so we did. They greeted us at the campgrounds laughing and clapping and cheering. I am sure that alcohol had some influence on that. We spent time talking with old friends and new aquaintances before deciding to call it a night.

Got up the next morning to moderate rain and the forecast was not looking good. We walked on over to Storm Lake Honda as it was only about a block from our motel. The gang and Storm Lake put on a breakfast pizza feed that was pretty darn good. They spent a ton on money on pizza, juice and coffee. As usual, they were very hospitable to us and went out of their way to help anyone out in any way that they could. They made some sales, especially on rain gear.

Finally, the weather cleared up and it looked like a good time to go out on the poker run. We took off and other than some gloomy skies, wind and some rain first off, the ride was wonderful. Barry Frum did a good job at planning the route. It was very nice, lots of scenery. After the ride, we went to the campground and just sat around talking. We met a very nice couple from Panora who are members of chapter H. They were the only ones in that chapter to attend this year. They have an embroidery shop and we are working with them for patches and other things the chapter may like. It was very nice to meet them and to get to talk to them for some time. During this time, there was door prize giveaways. Lots of stuff. I think they were able to give everyone a door prize. It was nice that our chapter members donated a lot of stuff to be used as door prizes and auction items.

A little later, Don and Kathy got dinner underway. Food was great. People brought lots of side dishes and Don had been able to procur 100 pork chops from the Iowa Pork Producers. The pork chops weighed in at about 1 pound a piece. These things were huge. Don Thomason and Don Douthit worked the grill and did a good job of grilling up the meat in a timely manner. Baked beans were provided by one of our favorite restauarnts, The Sunrise Cafe in LeGrand. Otherwise we had pasta salad, cookies, and other desserts and lots of good stuff.

After dinner, Dan Dolan and his wife Joyce (Nebraska), headed up the auction. We had a lot of nice stuff to auction off and the auction raised a little over $600 which I think was more than most expected. I came away with a boot dryer that I had been wanting and it only cost me $10. I'm just tickled pink.

Some awards were given out for the poker run. Ernie got $50 for second place and Pam got $25 for third place. They actually paid first, second and third place and had some fun gifts for those who had the worst hands. Ben Ress was the big winner in the 50/50 drawing getting $135 dollars which he promptly used to pay off his auction balance. He got some good stuff at the auction and was a major contributor to the auction fund so it was nice to see him win that so he could not dig so deep in his pockets.

After all this, we had some talks and announcements by National and Region Staff and by chapter directors. Then for some reason, I was ganged up on and it was decided they needed to roast me for some of my errant ways. It was all done in the spirit of love and fun and I truely enjoyed all the comments and the gifts I got. I'm stocked up for Christmas, I don't need anything else. And I actually got some stuff I can use.

Things started winding down then. Clean up and putting away of supplies. Some people started getting things packed away for the trip home. We stayed and talked at the shelter for awhile and then a lot of people went over to the bonfire at the campsite. I am told they had a big group and had a great time. We went back to the motel and pretty much just crashed. I was pretty wore out. Wished we hadn't missed the campfire but maybe next time.

Got up this morning and it had been raining and looked like it was going to be a soggy ride home. Forecast was for some strong storms but later in the day and we were hoping we would avoid them. Got our group together for breakfast and many more for the campground showed up. After we finished, we grouped up and headed south. We were going to make a couple of stops to see some things but with the forecast, we just decided to make a run for home. It was pretty gloomy when we left but he farther south we got, the better it was looking. By the time we got to Perry, it was bright sunshine and really warm. I was afraid this was going to bring on more storms but as of this point, none have materialized. Everyone is home safe and sound.

My thanks to all those who attended and who helped to make this event a success for Don and Kathy. Being their first state event, I think they did a heck of a job and they got a lot of support not only from Iowa but from other states. These type of events are what you make of them. If you go to have fun, you will and I think we all had a good time. Next year will be in Winterset (a popular choice among all who attended this years rally) and it should be a great time as well. Put the third weekend of August on your calendar and come out and have a good time.

Baxter Bike night

On Wednesday the Busch's and us got together and went up to O'Kellys in Baxter for their bike night. It was a nice night for a ride and we had a good time. The musician playing wasn't exactly real good but he was tolerable. At least it wasn't excessively loud and it wasn't head banging music.

We ate some food, talked for awhile and looked at the bikes. i think this was one of the bigger crowds I have seen there. Something I haven't done all year and it was a good time.

Give it a shot some time. If you don't' like the destination, at least getting there can be fun.

Chaper J Fun Run

5 couples from here went to the Fun Run in Clarinda over the weekend. Us, Ress', Guenthers, Thomasons, and Greens.

Ress' and us met for breakfast in Redfield at the American Legion Hall. This is a good place for breakfast. All you want to eat for 6 bucks. They are only open for this on Saturdays and they only do it early. They serve from 6-8:30. It is a fun time if you are one that can get up early enough. It is always a fun ride.

After breakfast we took a leisurely drive down the white pole road. Stopped in Adair for fuel and then off again toward Anita where we picked up hwy. 148. Took that to hwy. 2 and into Clarinda. Stayed off of hwy. 71 since they were asphalting it. They did finish that on Saturday night. It was a good ride over.

After checking in to the motel, we got ahold of the Douthits and Don came over and took us on a short ride to Shenandoah where we ate lunch at the Depot. Nice place with good food. After lunch, Don took us the long way back showing us a number of sites. He was the perfect tour guide. Too bad not everyone had a CB and could hear him describe everything.

We got back into Clarinda and spent the rest of the afternoon at the Douthits chatting and waiting on other. Don and Kathy and Pam and Glenn arrived mid afternoon and more talking went on. Around 5 we took our bikes back to the motel and all hopped in cars to go to Bedford for dinner. Just too hot to ride. Bedford was great as always. Home cooked food and great ice cream and strawberry shortcake. Worth the drive. Not too far for a Sunday ice cream ride. At least not for me. At the dinner, we presented Don and Kim Douthit with the Golden Heart Award that the chapter (specifically Pam) sponsored for their work, support and caring they gave Jay and Sherry Liniger after he went down on his bike on the way to Gold Rush. It was great to be able to do this and they were very touched.

Got back to Clarinda and we all split up. Ben and Sherrill and us were at the motel and we just sat around and talked. We went to the pool and hot tub for awhile then decided to call it a night as the long day and heat had gotten to us.

Sunday we got up and had breakfast at Vaughn's in downtown Clarinda. Another good place to eat if you are in the area. Then we met the rest of the group at the city park. Ernie and Louise made it down in the morning and joined us. Some of the group stayed at the park and talked while getting the lunch we took down ready for when the fun run was done. Ress' and us decided to go on the ride. It was beginning to look like bad weather and stuff was forming in the Omaha area but we were able to do the ride without getting wet. It was a nice ride down into Missouri and back. Only bad part of the ride is Donna got stung by something as we left Bedford and headed back into Clarinda. She's OK, just hurts her some.

After getting back we had our lunch and conversations with the various members from different chapters. Then they gave out the awards and door prizes. We presented the award to Don again so that all the attendees could see it. It was well deserved and was nice to let all the people who came see this presentation. The group was very thankful for our attendance and for the fact that we were willing to bring down food and feed all the people. Jay was very moved by this and it was great be able to do this for them.

I want to thank everyone who did anything for this event. If you sent money, if you went and helped set up the lunch, if you provided something for the lunch, if you just showed up and did the ride, if you just showed up at all, my sincere and profound thanks. This meant a lot to them and it meant a lot to this group to be able to do that for them.

My thanks also to Pam and Donna specifically and to anyone else who helped out in getting the needed paperwork pushed through to Helping Hands so quickly so that Jay and Sherry could get a check for $500 to help tide them over in this trying time for them. Every little bit helps and they really appreciated it. Also, thanks to these people again for getting the Golden Heart paperwork turned in so that we could give that to Don and Kim.

Friendship is what this chapter is all about and it really showed here.

After the awards, we got word that nasty weather was moving in and we had better be heading home. Those going to Nebraska were heading into bad stuff and we were trying to outrun it. We stayed south until we got to Mt. Ayr and refueled. We checked the radar and it looked like we were in the clear so we headed north on hwy. 169. As we got close to Winterset the sky looked really bad but we had no bad wind or rain. Ben and Sherrill split from us then and headed north into what looked to be the worst of it while us and Ernie and Louise headed east hoping to stay ahead of it. We came up from Martensdale into Norwalk and back to home. Got home just in time to get stuff unloaded before the weather cut loose. Glad we got inside. However, Ben and Sherrill got caught up in it but were able to get under cover in Adel and wait it out until they could make it home. We are very thankful for that. Pam and Glenn were in their truck and still had to pull off and wait it out at the New Virginia exit. They said it was really bad, I am glad that no one on bikes had to deal with that. Hopefully, everyone at the Fun Run got home safe and sound. We have been in touch with our people and we all got back OK.

Consider going to this run next year. They put on a good time.

Steak Center

We rode with another group the other night to State Center and found out that Steak Center is no longer Steak Center. It is now Woodrows Bar and Grill. Food was ok, service was just so so. A place to try again I guess and see if we like it better the next time.

Carol's in Conrad

We ate at Carols in Conrad on Aug 1st. Many from the group attended. Several had tenderloins. They are hand breaded and she makes the bun homemade to fit this monster. This is half of the tenderloin with all the trimmings. The thing must be 4 inches thick.

This is a top view of half a tenderloin. See how it still fills up the plate.

This is the full tenderloin. The straw is there for reference sake. This thing is huge. I measured it and it is about 6"wide by 9" long.

Would you believe that Randy Heath ate this whole darn thing (with the trimmings) plus the salad that went with it, plus spinach that went with it and then had the audacity to order pie to top it off.

This was a fun night. 17 people on 9 bikes and one car took a trip from Bondurant to the restaurant. Other food had was chicken fried steak that looked really good. I had a seafood platter that was good and very plentiful. Definitely a place worth visiting again. We could even make this a dinner ride location. Would have to meet on the east side and make it a hot shot but the ride is a little less than an hour and is doable.

Owner and waitress were very friendly and the service was very good. Prices are very good. The loin only cost like 8 or 9 bucks with all the extras. If you are in the area, stop in and give them some business.

BMW MOA Rally

After attending Gold Rush, Donna and I packed up and headed for Gray, TN where the 37th BMW MOA (BMW Motorcycle owners of America) Rally was being held. This was a great event from my perspective. If you have never been to one of their rally's, and we had never been, then I highly advise you to do so. These people really know how to put on a rally. Joe Larson said it was a cluster compared to previous rallys but I thought they had it well organized. Volunteers did everything from security to shuttling people on golf carts and hay racks to manning places to charge your phone or computer to gofering water and coffee. Almost 9,000 people were there. Hundreds of vendors, 3 buildings full (Gold Rush had 33 vendors). Lots of food vendors. A cyber cafe if you just had to check your email. One whole building to ship and receive goods.

Gold Rush '09

Donna and I went to Gold Rush in Lexington, KY. We didn't get very far the first night as I didn't get out of guard until late and then packing up the trailer took a lot longer than I thought it would. We stayed in Galesburg, IL. after getting there around 11:30. Got to bed a little after midnight. Up and at it in the morning but we still had a pretty long haul. It takes us longer as we can't go as long as some before we have to stop and take a break. It also didn't help that my left trailer light decided to come off. We were outside of Peoria when someone at a gas station let me know about the light ( I forget to check stuff sometimes) and we had to go find a place to fix it up. No brackets were available but I was able to rig something up and get back on the road in an hour or so. Rolled into the motel in Lexington late Sunday afternoon and met up with the others from the group who went down, Don and Kathy Thomason and Keith Zierke. Monday morning the rally got under way. It was an ok time. They could do some work to make it better in my humble opinion but I'm not sure what I would do if I was put in charge of it. Monday was spent getting our registration packets, opening ceremonies and then wandering through the vendors spending far too much money. I should have been out riding the wonderful country roads. Gas would not have been as expensive as all the add on's I bought. Tuesday we spent a lot of time out on the road. We went to the natural bridge down by the town of Slade. This is a rock formation that spans across and makes a bridge. It was neat. Chairlift took us up and that was a lot of fun. I decided to walk one of the paths down, About a two mile walk. It was interesting but also a lot of exercise. Not something I am accustomed to. It didn't kill me though. After that, we went around the Red River Gorge Loop. The Gorge was nothing to see but the ride around was wonderful. Such nice curvy roads and scenery. Also a tunnel cut out of the rock was neat to pass through. If you are ever in that area, I would highly suggest that you find this loop and ride it. After that, Keith mapped out and led us on a great ride back to the motel. From there it was dinner, conversations with all the fellow GWTAer's and to bed. Wednesday we rode with a pretty good sized group to go tour a bourbon distillery. It was interesting but not something I would probably do again. We should have maybe taken the lunch ride over to Virginia or just went and did some riding on our own. Wednesday night we got things organized to get packed up and leave Thursday morning to head to Gray, TN to a BMW rally. Spent time that night also shooting the breeze with fellow bikers. Thursday got up and had breakfast at the spot we kind of adopted. Waffle House near the motel. We found a waitress that was a hoot. If you get to Lexington, be sure to stop in and find Laura. She will definitely make your day. Next post will be about the rally in Tennesee

Murray and Prairie City

Lots of the members came out today to have some fun. We had 9 bikes and 16 people meet at Fenders and Harry led us on a great ride to the town of Murray down by Osceola to the Home Town Cafe. On Sunday from 11-2 they have an all you can eat buffet that Harry said was very good. He was not kidding. The fried chicken, noodles, mashed potatos, ham and many other foods was very good. For $10 a piece, you couldn't go wrong. Several of us left feeling miserably full. I would highly recommend going to this place if you have never been. If you have been, go back again. Very worth the while.

Tonight 21 people on 12 bikes converged on Goldies in Prairie City for ice cream. Some ate food also. One person said the chili was wonderful. The ice cream was good. Don Reeves led us on a wonderful route through Berwick and Colfax to get us there. An absolutely great night for a ride and some ice cream. The ice cream run is becoming pretty popular. I would expect those to continue so keep an eye out for those.

If you didn't make it for any of todays events, we are sorry we missed you. Hopefully you can make it to some other events that will be coming up.

Trip to Gold Rush

Donna and I are heading to Gold Rush this afternoon. I will try to keep this updated with our activities and goings on so that those of you that are interested can keep informed.