Highway peg installation: a sort-of how-to

Steve gave me a set of highway peg mounts and footpegs for Mother’s Day, so we had the idea of making a video showing how easy they are to install. Don’t even THINK about pointing out technical errors – I never said I knew what I was doing, but we did have fun making the video!

Ride to eat… and shop!

I’m trying to remember what year it was that my friend Shirley started riding (I think she actually started in the 1970′s, but then she RE-started maybe 7 or 8 years ago.) ANYWAY, point being that in all the time I’ve been riding, we’ve somehow managed to never take a ride together, just the two of us. So this weekend, since Steve wanted to work on his Corvair project and I really wanted to ride, I called Shirley to see what she was up to. Turns out Garry was at the swap meet hunting for hot rod treasures, so Shirley and I decided to take a lunch trip and be back in time to attend a “purse party” (more on that later).

Temps were to be in the upper 70′s so I layered up and topped off with my new HD mesh jacket (more on THAT in a future post – short version: LOVE IT), and headed down to Carlisle to meet up. (I am always a “scenic route” kind of gal so I took some backroads to get there.) We left Shirley’s house at about Noon with a plan to ride to Lacona, a small town about 40 miles to the south where we intended to snap photos for the Des Moines HOG Chapter’s 2011 Scavenger Hunt. We also thought we might catch lunch somewhere.

Our route took us a short way down Highway 5 to Palmyra Road (county road S23), then south down S23 to Highway 92. This is the route we usually take to Indianola Bike Night if we are stopping to pick up Garry & Shirley – it’s a very pretty back road that prevents us from having to turn left with poor visibility and without traffic controls onto a major state highway.

ANYHOO – south down S23, then west on 92 to a spot just outside of Ackworth where S23 picks up again, and south again. This bit of S23 is that one I mentioned awhile back that uses the “Pavement Ends” method of way-finding. It’s very scenic, but you have to pay a bit of attention to where the road curves or you could go flying off into gravel.

We arrived in Lacona around Noon-forty, and to our surprise there was a sign by the local restaurant that said, “Welcome Bikers May 7.” Since we hadn’t been sure we’d find any place open to eat once we got to Lacona, we were quite delighted to find that Rudy’s Rendezvous (a place we’d stopped once before to ask directions) was actually open for lunch. In chatting with Erica, our server (whose dad Rudy owns the place), it turns out that Rudy’s is going to be open each first Saturday throughout the summer for the “Ride to Rudy’s,” which basically just means “Ride to eat – we’re open!”

We had a great lunch (inexpensive too), snapped a few photos in front of the restaurant (“Hey Shirley, lean against that post cowboy-style…”) then headed up the hill to the Post Office where we took our identifying photos for the Scavenger Hunt.

By this time we were late for the purse party (hey, we’re bikers but we’re biker CHICKS – we reserve the right to shop!) so we headed back up S23 toward Carlisle and Shirley’s sister’s house. Now we all know the love-hate relationship we have with those home parties… Pampered Chef, Tupperware, etc. … well this party was better because it was simply an “open house” – come on in and shop – which we did, and I bought this CUTE little black-with-pink-polka-dots number which I think, at $15, was the bargain of the day. LOVE IT!!

After the purse party it was back to Shirley’s for a stop-and-chat, then the quick ride home. Thoroughly enjoyed the day, and I hope we can get a group together for the next “Ride to Rudy’s” on June 4!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Quick, easy (but still scenic) Martensdale loop

It’s been a tough year around our house as I’ve been mostly unemployed for the past 12 months. (That job I got in late November? Yeah, laid off after 60 days.) This week, however, I’m starting a new job with an amazing company in a field that I love, so I’m looking forward to the return of some sense of “normal.”

Of course, this means I am once again relegated to hoping for good weather on the weekends to satisfy my riding itch, so this past weekend I took a short little solo ride just to get out and enjoy the sun and 60+ temperatures – both of which have been largely absent this past month.

When we lived on the north side of Des Moines, our favorite short ride was “up around the lake.” Now that we are South siders, my new favorite shorty is what I call the Martensdale Loop. I took off down County Road R63 which is the route we usually take to Indianola, then turned west on 92 and picked up 28 just a few miles further. Highway 28 comes back up to Des Moines through Norwalk and past the airport. It’s about 45 miles total for the loop.

Martensdale is a wide spot in the road at the junction of Highways 28 and 92. There are a couple of restaurants in the area that I do hope to try soon – the Roadside Inn, and Gabby’s – but on Sunday I just rode the loop and didn’t make any stops. There were lots of bikes out (we are all sick of the rain and chill!) and it was a nice day to just enjoy the blue sky.  Good thing I got out there when I did, as next weekend’s not looking too good weather-wise. (And that’s the disadvantage of gainful employment!)

International Female Ride Day is May 6

Hey don’t forget, International Female Ride Day is coming up Friday, May 6! Hope you have a chance to get out for a ride – check out the Motoress website for info on how women riders around the world are participating!

Not the best April, but great stuff coming up!

We’ve had a hard time getting Spring underway here – it’s been cool and rainy for a long time, and just the past few days we’ve finally had some sun and temperatures barely over 60 degrees. I hope you’ve had better riding weather!

We did manage to get out to a local Bike Night event on April 12 – this was the inaugural “Gathering on the Grounds” which is a summer-long Tuesday night gathering of motorcycles and custom cars at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The event has been cancelled the past few Tuesdays due to crappy weather, but the kick-off event was fantastic – huge crowd of bikers and hot rodders, beautiful cars and bikes, great live music and State Fair food favorites. Looking forward to future “Gatherings,” Tuesday nights throughout the summer.

Sadly, the first Indianola Bike Night of the season was also cancelled due to bad weather (next one coming up May 20). A few of the brave rode to Big Barn Harley Davidson on April 16 for the Blessing of the Bikes – we attended the event’s chili feed hosted by the Christian Motorcyclist Association, but with morning temperatures in the 30′s we decided not to ride. Fortunately, there are a couple additional opportunities to get blessed coming up:

Sunday, May 15 – River’s Edge Church, 204 College Ave., Iowa Falls. Free will lunch at Noon, blessing at 1 p.m. All welcome!

Saturday, May 21 – Route 65 Harley Davidson, 1300 South Jefferson Way, Indianola, 11 a.m. All welcome!

Here’s hoping May is a warmer/nicer month than April!

Happy Easter!

Worst. Wind. EVER.

There’s wind…

and then there’s wind.

On Sunday, there was WIND.

Sunday’s wind was more than the kind that pushes you around on the highway.

It was more than the kind that makes you feel like your helmet’s being lifted off your head.

It was the kind that blows so hard it dries out the insides of your nostrils.

It was the kind that blows so hard it forces your lips to open and flap around, and then sucks the spit right out of your head. (Apologies to those riding behind me.)

Of course, this is the stuff you have to pretty much just endure if you want to ride in Iowa in Spring. Which we did, having forsaken the much nicer riding we could have had on Saturday in favor of doing yard and car work.

We took our first ride since the First Ride of the Season this past weekend, and put in a good 160 miles. We met for brunch on Sunday with Garry, Shirley, Howard and his new gal Jayka (great getting to know you, J – hope you will come out with us again!), and headed out at about 1 pm to meet up with Kristin and Teri Ann. Along the way we got an early taste of how bad the wind might be, and Shirley decided to head back home to Carlisle. (She has the “It’s only going to get worse from here” gene, apparently, that most of us lack… or ignore…)

We collected Kristin & Teri Ann (riding on Kristin’s new Road King – woot!!), and continued on to Madrid, where we made a potty stop and planned the rest of the day. From Madrid we headed north on Highway 17 (which was in terrible condition, by the way) to the junction of US Highway 30, and turned east. Highway 30 was also in terrible condition, with two sections under construction.

The wind was horrible going up 17 – we caught a nice blast of sand and road grit whipped up by a semi that was heading the other direction… and if we thought we were going to catch a tailwind along US 30, we were sadly mistaken. It was coming from the southwest, and was actually even worse going east. We took 30 all the way to Marshalltown (about 40 miles), but along the way Kristin and Teri said “screw it” and peeled off for home.

So by the time we arrived in Marshalltown it was just Steve, Garry, Howard, Jayka and myself. We took another break and topped off the gas – by now we were all feeling pretty beat up (aka “ready to be done”), but were still 60 miles from home. (Kind of the like the Suck It Up tour of 2009, but without the awesome destination as a reward for pressing on!)

From Marshalltown we headed south down the Washboard Highway (Iowa 14 – the road that keeps your dentist in business because it rattles your teeth so bad) into Newton, where we picked up Highway 6 going west. (Normally this stretch of 6, which becomes F48, is one of my favorite highways – I’m sure it was pretty in Spring, but to be honest I didn’t notice – I was too busy hanging on for dear life as we hurtled toward home.)

Took another break along 6 at Colfax where we compared notes and wrote our “You know it’s windy when…” one-liners, then continued on home from there along F48, through Mitchellville and Altoona. Garry split off for Carlisle just outside Altoona, and the rest of us cruised into Des Moines where we stopped off at Buddy’s Corral for a cold beer – like the cowboys of the old west who’d stop into the saloon after a hot dusty cattle drive. (Though, how they settled for hot dusty whisky is beyond me – my ice cold Bud Light Lime was so-o-o-o good!!)

Steve and I rolled into the driveway sometime after 6 pm, beat to hell and happy to be home, but SO glad to have taken the ride – primarily because the weather gods are actually predicting snow for the end of this week, which is supposed to bring us the first Indianola Bike Night and Bike Blessing events – guess we’ll see about that.

That’s Spring in Iowa for ya!

PS – Thanks to Howard for remembering to snap a couple photos!

Go, Dog, Go! Cool biker dogs hit the road!

I can’t help but notice that more and more of my friends are taking their dogs along for motorcycle rides. Now I don’t pretend to know a THING about this from a how-to standpoint (and I can say with certainty that my hundred-pound Rottweiler-mix Bugs would need a full-fledged sidecar to enjoy a bike trip)… but I do know from riding with some of these folks that the pups are as safe and secure as the rider – and everyone takes good care of the pooch while on the road by providing water and rest-stop exercise.

I thought it was time to share some fun pictures with you, of friends riding with their awesome biker dogs! If you’ve got a dog that rides, send me a photo via email and I’ll do another post soon!

First up, here’s Cuddles, riding with Cassie in a specially-made back pack AND wearing a bad-ass Harley hat!

Next, Susan (Dakota) rides with her little buddy, Road E. Coyote (Roadee) on an HD Street  Bob. That’s the Freedom Rock near Greenfield, Iowa they’re visiting with Susan’s husband Paul.

And here is Miss Sadie, sporting her bright pink Doggles and hanging out with Papa Stu. Sadie, Stu and mama Donna are enjoying retirement by full-timing in an R.V., traveling all around the U.S. Sadie blogs about all her biker dog adventures at http://sadiechats.blogspot.com.

Finally, here’s my original biker-dog pal Einstein, who rides in custom eyewear and an awesome bomber jacket with his friend Howard. Einy loves being in the wind… and I think he looks downright authoritative perched there at the Freedom Rock!

J&P gift card: we have a winner!

Thanks to all who left comments on the J&P gift card post! We had 23 comments, and I used the random generator over at random.org to select a winner. And that winner is….

WENDYVEE, comment #11!

Congratulations, Wendy – the folks at J&P will be in touch to get you the gift card!

I really do appreciate each of you who took time to participate, and all who spend time reading and commenting here! And, I thank J&P Cycles for thinking of me in facilitating their give-away!

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