750 Shadow ACE For Sale

The wife and I have decided to let go of her Shadow.  It hasn't been ridden much since she got another bike and it's become a chore for me to ride it every month or so.  She calls the Shadow "Princess" and its certainly a pretty bike.  Princess runs great and has never given us any problems.   I recently switched to a smaller rear sprocket which seems to give the bike a nicer feel.  Bike is sentimental because it was my wife's first motorcycle.  We are asking $3K for it. Getting ready to post it on Craig's list with the following description and photos:

Black 2002 750 Honda Shadow ACE - American Classic Edition. 36k mi. Newer Memphis Shades quick-removable windshield and lowers. Phat risers, sissy bar, throttle lock, luggage rack, reusable air filter. Includes rear seat and engine guard (not pictured - both in near new condition). There are some light scratches which are visible when you look close, I think they can be buffed out. There is a paint chip (about 1/4" wide on upper right side of tank. Brakes and coolant service 2 years ago, last valve check at 22k. New quality chain and 38t sprocket set. Tires in good to great shape. Battery replaced late last year.  Ready to go.

Photos here

Second Favorite Cat

After have three weekends on the road at the GLMC's Bonzai, BMWMOCM's Hiawatha Rally, and Pure Stodge Iowa Rally, I finally got to spend a weekend at home this past weekend.  I didn't get too much done, but I did have time to visit my second favorite cat, "Beemer" at Bak BMW here in Sioux City.  I'm one of the few people she will let pick her up.

I'm still trying to figure out the rest of my summer, but the GLMC's Barn Bike Enduro and family reunion is going to be on the schedule in July along with the Husker Rally and Baxter Open House/Campout in Marne Iowa in August.  Also contemplating trips Colorado and Red Lodge.

Saw this come through from BMW Newsletter.  I haven't watched the whole thing (I'm at work), but it looks pretty interesting.  I have always be fascinated by the BMW R90S, one of the quintessential and iconic motorcycles of the mid 1970's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KatnmWWUNDM&list=PLDE00A011E0071F1B&index=4

Getting ready to Bonzai...

The BSR Spring Campout (May 18-19) is done.  We had a determined group of campers this year, but not as many as the past couple years.  There was a lot of cross wind on Saturday, but everyone made it in safely.  We had about 10 campers with maybe another 10 or so stopping for lunch or visiting us at the campground.  The temperatures dropped to about  26 degrees in the campground Sunday morning before sun rise.  By sun up our sodas were frozen and I had a hard time cleaning the coffee out of coffee pot filter because it froze (should have done that the night before).  We had a great campfire Saturday and Jeff didn't get very wild.   Jeff made his regular call to his wife about 11 PM, to tell her he was fine but Frump was a bad influence on him.  My speculation is that is the worst he gets, she is can not entirely unhappy with my influences, but I have never met this woman so who knows.  Good company and a warm fire, doesn't get much better then that.

Heading home on Sunday with Jeff, we stopped in Springfield, SD to look at process on the ship.  Jeff had never seen it before and seemed somewhat amazed.  Some spring on the way home from the campout, I'm going to stop to see the boat and it will be gone.  That day will be both disappointing and gleeful.  I will most likely never see the boat again, but I will be happy it is where it were it was meant to be and the builder is living his dream.... somewhere far from Springfield, SD.  Next year I'm going to to contact him and see if he can give us a tour.

Album: Picasa Photos From Trip

This week getting ready for the Bonzai Road Rally next weekend.  NE Randy R. is going with me (a new riding partner - SD Randy R still riding, just busy helping his son move on Bonzai weekend and Dave W is not going).  Big Jim is also going to the Rally, but I don't know his plans yet.  I have to get the oil and transmission fluid changed this week and do a valve check.  Also need to get my Garmin rewiring project completed and maybe even put the new HID replacement system back in.  Lots of traveling going on for next 3 weeks.  Might even get Piglet (the Wee Strom) and Mighty K into the action.

Happy May Day... Arrrrgh!

Not going to drone on and on about the weather, just wishing everyone a Happy May Day.  I think of May Day as the festive day on May 1st, not the somber day in 1886 Chicago when angry labors protesting for a 8 hour work day threw dynamite at the police.  Today....

(shoot, this has been sitting in my drafts since May 1st).

Home?

Going from 60 to 85 degree days and green every where last week to this... 

When will it end?

Home!!

I got home about 5:15 PM Sunday (yesterday).  The ride home from the IBMWR Branson Blitz (in Branson, MO) was about 500 miles.  It was a pretty uneventful.  I got the a little damp - not from the light rain or such as I thought at first, but from sitting on the bite valve of my camel back water bottle for about 100 miles.  I'm not tired today, just a little sore and and banged up.  I'll post my photo gallery and a little synopsis about our adventure in a day or two.  Randy came up with a brain storm of doing our own reality TV show on the way home about our adventures... I suggested "The Adventures of Dump and Frump" as the title, but I don't think he liked that idea.

The Big Sioux Riders have a club pizza party at a kid's shelter coming up next Sunday.  It's fun because the kids really liked the motorcycles last time.

Looking forward to the next trip.

Our campsite today

We had a little rain last night. Luckily we moved to the hotel yesterday. Our campsite today whats under water this morning.

Almost setup at Roaring River State Park in Cassville, MO

Randy has is the special tent up at Roaring River State Park.  Resting in the shade now.  Going for a ride in a bit.

Recently received a new Aerostich catalog which had this interesting chart inside the front cover. I put it up the wall near my my desk at work to remind me that there are only so many days out of the year to ride. Also has left me wondering about some life choices, but at least I have 20 days or so more days a year than a certain rider in Fargo.

Days in the chart are counted when the average high and low temperature are between 25 and 95 degrees F.  Chart reminded me of something my old boss talked about once.  He was estimating the number of days he would be able to golf before he was too old to enjoy it, taking weather, temperature  seasons, and work days into account.  He retired a few months after that.

Thanks Mother Nature

For April Fools Mother Nature sent me a little more snow and ice.  I got to spend 10 minutes scraping snow and ice off my car this morning and my patience for spring is running thin.   In two weeks I head to Arkansas to ride for a week.  We lost our free room accommodations there, so Randy wants to camp.  Not so sure how I feel about that this morning.

Bob's Bar Martinsburg NE Spring 2013

I received an email this morning from "Regular Guy" Johnson (former president of the Sioux Falls Autobahn Society). The Gary has been directed by the current AS club president (Marlin Wolter) to organize the Spring Ride-In and Meet-up at Bob's Bar in Martinsburg, NE. Gary has selected this Saturday, March 30, 2013 to be that day. Meet up with him and his "gang" at Bob's between Noon or so, all riders are invited. Hopefully the weather will finally comply and the Spring riding season can commence (better late then never). Get your cholesterol checkup and meet Frump there!

Gone, Not Forgotten

I'm thinking about the coming IMS Show and my old friend Kevin.  Kevin always had an adventure story or two to tell after visiting the Twin Cities (or any place for that matter).  Almost always motorcycle related.  I miss his stories.  It's been about two years since he passed.  RIP Kev!

Not my best cell phone typing, but one of my last messages to/from Kev

Sweet Potato Pie Recipie

Its time to come clean.  I dug up an old email I sent to my riding bud Loyd a year or two ago sharing Frump's Secret Sweet Potato Pie recipe   Many people believe pumpkin potato pie is the traditional North American pie, I care to differ with them.  Sweet potato pie is "the" quintessential American pie.  I support the contention that the rather bland and boring pumpkin pie arrived on the American culinary scene long after sweet potato pie.  The cultivation and consumption of sweet potatoes in the Americas can traced back to before the Mayan and Polynesian cultures.  Some experts even believe that dinosaurs were eating sweet potatoes as far back as the late Jurassic age.

You can bake sweet potato pie in an open flour crust, but there is a tradition of cooking it in cast iron pots without a crust.  I sometimes use a crust, but I often just use a large glass pan (I don't own a cast iron pot).  The best part of sweet potato pie is that its an easy pie to make from scratch and its also pretty healthy, at least until you add sugar, butter, salt, and cream, and then bake it.  

I integrated a lot recipes and ideas over the last several years trying to figure sweet potato pie out.  I think I finally really nailed it with these directions.  Whether you follow my recipe or change it, please keep one thing in mind. I have strong sentiments about mixing marshmallows with pie - its an abomination.  Marshmallows are disgusting and have no business being anywhere near any kind of pie.  Please don't adulterate my recipe by involving marshmallows with it.  If you have a compelling need to walk on the dark side and ignore my wishes here, then please keep my name out it.

Frump's Sweet Potato Pie Recipe:

Ingredients

• 7 average sized sweet potatoes
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream (or skim milk in my case)

Topping

• 1/4 cup butter, softened, not melted
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking dish.
2. Rinse and clean up sweet potato's.  You don't have to clean them up perfectly, just get the dirt off.
3. Rub the potatoes in light coating of veggie oil and then bake for about 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until they soften. Poke them to determine if they are getting soft.  Cool for a few minutes, then pull the skins off and mash in a large bowl.  Throw peelings away.
4. In large bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes, salt, 1/2 cup butter, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, syrup, and cream/milk. I used a hand blender on slow speed for this.  Blend slowly until most of the lumps are gone.  You can then prepare this portion in advance and then set the concoction aside in a sealed container for a day or two if necessary.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking dish large enough to hold, leaving a little space for topping. Transfer concoction from step #4 into the baking dish and cook til nearly done (about 1 hour in my case, you have to poke it with a tooth pick to check).  The pie will turn brown on top and the edges when its nearly done.  
6. In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Mix with a pastry blender or your fingers to the consistency of course meal. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture.
7. Bake for another 5 minutes or so, until topping is crisp and lightly browned.

Note: If you use pie crusts, you will need 2 of them for this recipe.

There you go pie freaks.

1/2 Pound Baconator

OK, I was in a hurry today at lunch and I was seriously hungry.  I drove to the Wendy's on 15th and Hamilton in Sioux City, a few blocks from downtown, and ordered the 1/2 baconator burger and a baked potato... total cost about $7.20 w/tax.  Verified it was the 1/2 pounder by checking the board.  I have been generally happy and satisfied with Wendy's fast-food, but today was different.  Got back to office and found a tiny, single patty sandwich.  The patty was about the size of a $1 Mac Donald's burger (3.5" by about .25") with 2 strips of bacon cut in half.  There is no possible way this thing ever weighed 1/2 lb, I seriously doubt it ever even weighted 1/4 lb.  I felt pretty ripped off and they didn't provide a receipt.  I don't like to call these places when they mess up, but made an exception this time.  Manager will call me back tonight.  I'm going to miss the baked potatoes because I've decided I'm not going to any Wendy's anymore.  I'll try to stick to local restaurants because they have a better product, equal or better prices and staff who communicate.

Seriously, where's the beef?

Rant over.