Representing CA at NAFO

With the vacation bank fairly depleted, it did not allow me to ride out to the NAFO gathering but I didn’t want to miss is so decided to fly and ride. I arrived Thursday afternoon. Rick had kindly arranged for a local, Carolyn (chrisflock's wife), to pick me up at the airport. Dropped my stuff off at the airport and then off to 2Brothers to pick up my rental. I'd been pitching Ben to rent a Spyder to me for this event and he not only made good on his word to do so but, since they sold their demo unit the week before, he then gave me a brand spanking new RT with 9 miles on it... oh darn!

I rode it back to the hotel and visited with folks as they were rolling in before heading to dinner at Digger's Sting with a group of about 40 others... many thanks to MNFJR05 for arranging it... the food was outstanding and the company even better.















Marty has a style all his own...



Fun photos on the walls of some of the greats of times past...







Next up... new friends and fun for the Rally Rallye!

Back to the hotel for a nightcap before hitting the sack as the next day would start early for the Rally Rallye. I decided to pack up the bike before the riders' meeting at 7:30am and was greeted with a reward for my efforts.





I had routed several different options and finally chose one. There were a few folks who hadn't had the time to put something together so we became a small posse as we headed out for what would be some fun and fascinating locations... my crew for the day was TripperMike, El Toro Joe, Andy & Susie (bikergeek), and Tim & Grace (NorthwoodsSnowman). It was not a challenge to keep this group in my sights with all that dayglo and yellow...





The weather report had indicated some rain earlier in the week but that dissipated and we were off on a cool, clear morning with high hopes for bonus points...



Our first stop was in the town of Grove, MN to find a Viking statue with a blue shield which we missed the first go around and then looped back to get... Spring Grove is the first Norwegian settlement in Minnesota and with a large population of Norwegian-Americans living here, so come the celebrations of Norwegian traditions and Viking statues...



I liked the other one that was nearby... reminded me of Doug/bugnatr cause he says "Oof da!" all the time...



Big smiles all around...



Next up a tank in the tiny town of Mabel, MN...



Then my third state in just a couple of hours...



Some views on the way to the "Welcome to MN" sign...





Feeling it for sure...



Lots of straight on this part of the route...



Found it! Are there really 10,000 lakes there??

Very Nice Tyler! Thank you!

And you represented CA very well, even tho you cheated in comparison to the Doug-Bug at EOM.

Great RR and pics...keep it coming Tyler...I know there's more.

And then to the place that was the highlight of the day for everyone... yeah, I know y'all are jealous... I just couldn't see how I could be that close and not visit this place...







Next stop... Pietenpol was a self taught mechanic and ''tinkerer'' who lived 'most all his life in tiny Cherry Grove MN. As a young man of twenty or so he became very interested in flying and built a number of small airplanes. When the Model ''A'' Ford was introduced in the late 1920's, Pietenpol experimented with its engine in his airframes. He produced the first really successful two-place airplane to be powered by a relatively inexpensive and readily available automobile engine. These were sold as kits and the plans can still be purchased today.



Little house on the prairie... plus one...





On to the Jailhouse Inn in Preston, MN, which is renovated jailhouse now B&B with rooms like the cell block suite complete with bars ...



Looked like it would be a fun place to stay but we had more hunting to do so off we went back down the torn up street laden with dirt and gravel... every biker's favorite thing... NOT! But everyone made it through unscathed...



Our route was supposed to take us on 16 but there was a detour which actually was a good thing as we landed on some really lovely curved roads... after all the straight we had endured, the curves were most welcome...

Next up was Ernie's Garage in Whalan, MN... the bridge entering the town bore proof of its patriotic nature...

Clear enough?







Think folks kvetched about the price of gas back then too??



The garage was a fascinating display of antique signs and items of an era gone by... no one was there but the place was open so we spent a good 15 minutes just wandering around and ogling all the goods...

Then we dashed off to Rushford to find the overlook which was a bit exciting as the "road" the overlook was dirt/gravel but it was quite beautiful too... and this group didn't even blink twice upon encountering it...







Once we reached the top, the view was lovely as we surveyed the farmland below...



The paved part heading back down...



At this point it was 3:30 and we were supposed to be back in La Crosse no later than 4pm in order to finish... after checking the GPS and seeing it would take 45 minutes if we did a straight shot back, we realized that we would not make it back in time so decided that we would continue our quest for the additional bonus spots we had left and just enjoy the journey... we notified our illustrious Rally Master and then continued on our way...

Tim had taken the lead after TripperMike went in search of his son and we ended up on a whirlwind tour of Rushford that seemed as though we would never get out of the town... every turn had a detour due to road construction and we kept finding ourselves back at the same intersection from every different angle possible... it was a little like a Twilight Zone episode... "Rushford... the town you enter but NEVER LEAVE!!!" (*begin maniacal laughing*)...



Fall colors were starting their show...



I love the farmland and barn structures we saw along the way...

Awesome photos! I'm very happy to have you as a friend now. See you at the Reuben Run if not before.

0Face said:

Awesome photos! I'm very happy to have you as a friend now. See you at the Reuben Run if not before.

Click to expand...

If you slow down long enough, maybe we can share a few (s)miles too...

Next stop was the Money Creek Cemetery... seems that vandals had desecrated the headstones and graves there so they removed everything and decided this...



The residents that still lurk below ground level...



There was a field of tall cornstalks behind the cemetery... Tim said how it creeped him out because he felt like he was being watched... I knew exactly what he meant...





The ride back was quite windy and we watched each other fighting the gusts along the way...



Next to last stop was to meet the Culvert Man which luckily was well supported so it wouldn't topple down on us in the strong crosswinds...



Road 12 between Nodine and Dakota is heavenly... the only thing wrong with it is that it needs to be about 10 times as long!



Our final bonus stop for the day...



Even though we DNF'd, we had a spectacular day sightseeing and getting to know new friends... thanks to Rick for all his hard work on putting it all together and to my traveling companions for the day... you made it that much more special!



But wait... there's more!!! B)

Great pictures and prose Tyler... keep it coming.

Awesome RR Tyler. Wish I could have made this and EOM

Uffda, nice report. Keep it coming.

Hope you have some cow pictures.

You know the look girl, this I would have liked to have done!

Good times!

BikerGeek99 said:

Good times!

Click to expand...

Right on bro, how could you go wrong?

Excellent! It was over way too quick.

Another most excellent RR by Tyler.

Waiting for the rest of the story