Green Lake Bike Show Overview

 On Sunday I took my sportster to the show in Green Lake and had a pretty good time.
 On the way to the show the bike was making an odd noise coming from behind the primary cover and during a restart I got a sense that things weren't meshing as smooth as they should be. I'll investigate when I get a chance.
 Some of the bikes in the show included these three Hondas owned by some local young guys. After talking with them I got the impression I'd be seeing more cool custom work from them in the future.

 For me, the best bike in the show was this green flamed Honda. For whatever reason, he didn't place well in the show despite the obvious huge amount of time he'd spent working on this bike. Life ain't fair sometimes.

 I was approached by one of the show organizers and asked if I would fill in for a judge that couldn't make it there. Of course I said yes and grabbed the clip board and began scrutinizing the bikes in the European class.

 These were some of the older Triumphs in that class which also included newer Triumphs and BMW. How do you judge a near perfect 60's or 70's restoration against a few year old Rocket III? Well I did my best despite the fact that the only rain we got was while I was examining these rides. In the end, the right bike won (in my opinion).
 An how about my bike? Well first, I didn't realize the Rat Turd had such a big following because a lot of people asked why I didn't bring it. The bike I did bring got a second place award in its class but more importantly it got the peoples choice award!

  The next surprise I got was when they drew the 50/50 raffle. You guessed it, I won that too. Because this event was a fundraiser for the local animal shelter and because that shelter accepted a cat after my mom passed away, I donated my winnings back to the shelter. I know, what a guy.
 Sunday is the Slimey Crud Run. I gotta figure out what bike is capable of making the journey and whos going. Maybe I'll see you there.

Later.

Never Forget

 Wednesday I told you about my desire to paint the sporty and enter it in todays bike show. I know its not a show bike but so what. Run what ya brung.
 I was gonna just repaint the bike black but ran into a few issues. In fact I got quite frustrated in my efforts. When asked how the painting project was going, these are the words that came out of my mouth...
 Have you ever walked through the woods in the dark and have your flashlight puke out? A few steps further a tree branch slaps you in the face and then you fall into a deep hole. You struggle but can't get out of the hole. After many attempts you just accept the fact that you will play out your days in this hole. That is how my painting project was going.
 But then I heard a voice. It was my wife and she encouraged me. Of course by then I had already lost my cool and sprayed the entire tank in gold glitter as a protest. So now what? The show is days away and the bike I want to take is painted like a cheap piece of costume jewelry. I said screw it and decided to just free style the paint job. With the eagle sissy bar it was easy to come up with a patriotic theme and just start squirting paint. It's definitely a forty foot paint job. Any closer and it looks like ass but I had fun with it and it gave me some ideas for a paint job I would ultimately like to do on this bike...when I have more time.

 Ya, its more of a 3rd grade art project but its on there and its dry.

 Because I spent so much time dickin around with the tank paint, I didn't get a whole lot else done. The eagle is back on after cutting off the whole lower section of the old rack system. The rear fender was chopped flush and the front fender got a splash of color. I also relocated the plate and wrapped the pipes. I think the wrap looks good but the real reason for doing it can be seen by the holes in my riding pants and two pair of work pants.
 So if you are looking for something to do today, why not come to Green Lake and check out the bike show. I'll be there.

Later.

100 Grit

 I told you my plan is to take the sportster to the bike show this coming weekend and that's still the plan. The problem is that the sporty is in pretty rough shape. After removing the eagle sissy bar I wasn't able to haul a bacpac so I was using a magnetic tank bag. Well that bag wore through the paint on the tank so now the bike needs a fresh coat of Rustoleum. After removing all the tins I started sanding everything down. My wife caught the moment...

 As I was sanding off the layers of paint I found the old lightning bolt paint job. That's what the white lines are in this pic.

 As you can see, the world is my paint booth. I gotta say though, the city garbage cans are just the right height for this type of work. Ya, I don't take painting very seriously. By the time I got around to painting the tank, it was dark outside and I was trying to swat skeeters while painting. This morning it's obvious I'm gonna be a day behind because I need to sand the tank back down and squirt it again. I don't expect perfection but it was pretty bad.

Later.

On the Road

Today's post comes to you from Janesville,  wi where I just woke from a night of live music and adult beverages. OK maybe I'm not fully awake. We rode the big Ultra down here to watch our friend Jay bang his drums in a Kiss tribute band. Once again he kicked ass.
Yesterday was the Watson Street bike show. I dropped the rat turd off there in the a.m. and then went to work till 2. When I finally got to the show I was able to check out the iron and to be honest I was a little disappointed that there weren't many new entries.  Because of that I've decided that for next week's show in Green Lake I won't be bringing the rat. I thought about taking the Ultra but don't really want to take a stock looking bike to a show. The BSA isn't ready yet so that means the sporty is up to bat. My wife told me she wants to see the eagle back on the bike and I agreed but not in the exact form it was in before.  I'm not yet sure what that means but I have a week to figure it out. Sorry, posting from my phone still means no pics but if I could post one maybe it would be me and AL posing with our bike show awards or his wife holding a trophy in front of her vette. Or maybe it would be a scenic shot from the road on the ride down here or possibly an action shot of the band jammin out.

Later.

Sunday Afternoon

 After the football game on Sunday my wife and I decided to go for a bike ride. What we couldn't decide on was where to go. With absolutely no destination in mind, I just started riding. Northwest seemed like a good idea. Back roads are in abundance in this direction and I just kept connecting quiet roads while we enjoyed the sunshine.
 At one point we passed through Mt Morris and went up to the county park which is on higher ground.

 I made good use of my selfie stick and caught an image of us getting ready to gear up and move on. As we passed through the small towns that dot the landscape, I was wondering how some of the footage I was capturing with the GoPro could be used in this blog. One idea was to do a two minute video on some of these places. Actually, I'd need a lot of filler footage to make two full minutes in many of these tiny towns. Anyway, each of these places has its own claim to fame...no matter how small.
 Saxeville is a spec on the map that we rolled through and I have a short piece of footage showing its main attraction.

 Its not much but its also something you don't see everyday. Later in the ride I saw a red squirrel and a big round bale of hay dressed up as a turkey. Nothing too exciting and I'm alright with that. It's really just about getting out and enjoying the ride.

Later.

Timeline Saloon

 If you follow this blog then you know I had a goal of getting my '67 BSA ready for the upcoming Watson Street Bike Show. Sometimes I see bikes online that kinda inspire me in this slow build and here is one that I think comes close to what I may end up with. This is as close as I got.

 Well ya can't say I didn't try but I suppose you could say I didn't try hard. There's always next year. Anyway, here's the flyer for the show. I'll take the Rat Turd and maybe I'll see you there.

 In other news, last night my wife and I went to the Timeline Saloon next to Docs Harley Davidson and had a nice visit and meal with a friend.

Click on the "timeline saloon" link above if you want to see a video of this machine in action.

 Football season starts today and unfortunately its gonna start during prime riding weather. I think after the game we'll sneak in a ride. Go Pack Go!

Later.

Blank Screen

  Sometimes when I'm ready to write a blog post I have content in my head that just needs to be converted to words. Other times I have a pic that needs and explanation. And then other times, like now, I got jack shit.
 I'm looking at a blank screen. I can tell you anything I want but I really don't have anything to report. The bike related stuff is minimal this week. I rode the sportster yesterday and met some guy at the shop that was telling me about a cool bike he saw with a tractor seat and barbed wire. Ya, I've seen that bike :-)
 Sometimes I hear things or make observations and record them in my phone. I look at them periodically to see if they are blog worthy. They never are and I'll prove it.
"The pancakes are just a carrier for the syrup". It's true I like the butter pecan syrup at IHOP. I even bought a gallon of it from them. So what.
 "How does the inside or a parts washer get so dirty?" You'd think it would be shiny clean.
Here's another one. The other day my daughter asked to borrow a hair tie. That just seemed weird to me. Weird enough that I wrote it down.
That's enough for now. It's time for you to meet Oliver.

 I know he looks like a cat but in reality, Oliver is a jack ass. Anyone who says different is a liar. If you give him the wrong type of treats he just turns up his rat nose, gives you a dirty look and walks away. The only reason he is in this pet carrier is because he knew we wanted to use it for something else. He's just being a pain in the ass. This is also the same cat that broke one of my daughters cds, just to be a jerk. Quite a feat for a cat. I call him Oliver Rodenzo, because he looks like a rodent. This rat cat can drop ass and clear a room in no time and is also an endless source of fur balls. Lucky for me he's an unsociable bastard and I rarely see him.

 I started watching the 3 part series "Harley and the Davidsons" on the Discovery channel. At the time of this writing I've only seen the first and second episodes. Things move pretty fast in this show and I don't know (or care) how accurate the portrayal is but I'm enjoying it. It's kinda neat to see how this sport we enjoy so much got started. It's about bikes and no one is building a chopper or arguing about deadlines. This is old school before it got old.

Later.

Chillin on the BRP

 Sit back, crack open a brewski and chill.

Your lesson for today...

Things aren't always what they seem to be. Take a good look around and don't be fooled.

 When I was on vacation my idea of chillin was just easing the big Ultra along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The beer didn't come till the end of the day when the bike was parked.
 This particular section is woodier than it is scenic but that doesn't change the fact that for me it's very relaxing. Nothing to do but enjoy the ride and play with the camera. No schedule and no pressure.
 I learned a lot about what not to do with the GoPro camera including expecting good audio with the sealed back plate on the camera box. The video is kinda boring with no unexpected surprises...just like a relaxing vacation ride should be.