Motorcycling is good.

Duh, we knew that all along as we learned that philosophy from Andy Goldfine, who developed the Aerostich Roadcrafter riding suit. And he's been named motorcyclist of the year by Motorcyclist magazine. Congrats, Andy. Well deserved. Your gear earns pretty high praise down at the Red Wing Ironworks Motorbike Club house in downtown metropolitan Red Wing.

Nice story in the Duluth News Tribune, here:
Goldfine motorcyclist of the year honors

Mr. Goldfine, right, gets to know some of the riff-raff from our humble club.

I do believe this is what they call....

the great expanse.

Random motorcycle picture of the day

Pan-O-rama of the recent Konawerks bike show in Minneapolis.

Big-Burn prep work.....

1) Two kegs of Rush River Beer (for the record, Unforgiven amber ale and Bubblejack IPA. Good shit, Sherlock.). In the house and ready to rock. Check.

2) Thirteen kiln dried pallets read to burn. Check.

3)Fair Marie making food prep plans already. Check.

4) Jumbo pack of Solo cups. Check.

5) Motorcycle themed sculpture built and ready for combustion. Check. (Thanks for the chairs, Scot.)

6) Forecast for Saturday: sunshine and 70. Check.

Damn near good to go for the 123th Red Wing Ironworks Motorbike Club's Big-Burn/Octofest.

Test run of the custom made beer drinking table
 constructed of scrap wood reclaimed from the city dump.
That's 'Merican ingenuity, right there, all right.

Random motorcycle picture of the day

Why it's a trophy girl.... Might have something to do with the Octoberfest Big Burn on Oct. 1.

Great bike show put on by Konawerks in Mpls.

All kinds of goods stuff showed up; big bikes, little bikes and all sorts of crazy stuff in between. If you didn't go yesterday, well Bub, you missed out and you'd better get your ass there next year. We need more bike shows like this that are an alternative to the generic gathering of samey-same black Harleys. Don't get me wrong, there were some sweet Harley's present, but the cool old stuff that strikes more to the heart about riding vintage iron than promoting the "lifestyle." There is a difference and shows like this highlight all the crazy bikes out there and the do-it-yourself-ethos. Rant over. Anyhooo, this bike show was held in Grumpy's on South Washington and officially sponsored by Konawerks Hair Shop to promote prostate cancer awareness. Without further ado, photos, yo.

Cool helmet; ugly bike. Of course, it was in the Ugly Bike Category.

Very sweet vintage Honda, re-done top to bottom.

Bad ass dash.

We've seen this one before, but can't help taking pictures of it because it is so cool.

Don't be hatin'.

Didn't get the low down on this one, but probably the smallest bike at the show.

Whatever happened to hookers and blow? Times are changing.

Airhead.

Good crowd turned out.

Actually, a Benelli badged by Wards and sold stateside. See photo below....

And here is the entire bike in its original unrestored condition.
L.A.Nik rode this bad boy in. We thought the helmet was cool, too

This is what we're talking about, Willis.

L.A. Nik, author, entertainer, the unofficial Mayor of Minneapolis
 and all-around Benelli lover, with some schmoe from the Ironworks Motorbike Club.

Snake River Canyon? Piece of Cake

Stuntman Eddie Braun nails motorcycle jump over the Snake River Canyon. Evel tried it in '74; didn't go so well....

http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/state/idaho/article102301942.html

Ride alert, ride alert

Not so much a ride, but an event. Here goes: Saturday, noon at Caribou. Depart at 1 p.m. River Road route from RW to Minneapolis where we attend the Konawerks bike show at Grumpy's on South Washington Ave., and a beer or two at the fabulous Dayblock Brewing, which is right next door, where a very good bartender works. There it is.

Yo, Adrian, that's fast.

Cool bloggy thing by the PR flacks at Triumph on the bike makers efforts to set a speed world record at Bonneville Salt Flats this week. Driver Guy Martin - Mr. Motorcycle Badass himself - needs to haul a wicked amount of speed down the range to break the 376.8 mph record. Damn, Sparky, that's some mofo speed, I tell you what. Will he make it? Stay tuned for details. (Or you could read this story somewhere else first if you really wanted to.)

Triumph goes for speed record. Kabam.

Adventure riding sarcasm right here, Bubba.

Random Motorcycle Photo of the Day

'Suppose if your bored this weekend, you could do the Fall Flood Run...

This post sponsored by: Arrrggggh; I Need Another Bud Light.com

Or you could go and do this.....

The true mark of a great weekend riding an adventure bike in the woods....

is returning home only to have your wife say that you "stink." It was another spectacular year for the North Shore Shindig adventure bike gathering at the Wild Hurst Lodge in Finland, MN. Why, that's way the hell up there, boys and girls, in the Arrowhead Region of Minnesota. (That's the pointy part that sticks out into the Big Lake.) Rumor had it that we rode about 275 miles of northwoods gravel, logging roads, state forest roads, single track stuff and other lumpy passages. We rode right up to the Canadian border (Sorta looks like the DMZ between North and South Korea but with waaaaay more trees.) Go again next year? Ya, you betcha. Without further ado, here is the weekend in pictures.

The Red Wing Ironworks Motorbike compound within the Wild Hurst campground. Rob hydrating with a Fat Tire.

Bikes muster at Our Place in Finland before going who the hell knows where.

And this is what who-the-hell-knows-where looks like. But it's pretty cool

Shawn of St. Cloud crossing a river whose name I did not get.

Bikes with smaller tanks, like mine, benefit from a strapped-on gas can that sports a warning label from your mother. Don't play with matches, kids 

Honestly, Officer, there is a license plate under all that crud.

Roadside repair to straighten out a bent gear shifter. Yes, tools are your best friend.

Flat tire surgery in the field. Forty minutes later, this guy was back in action.

Mutha... as in Dirty Mutha

Mike, one of the group leaders, spies some illegal Canadians sneaking across the border. We let them pass; they had beer and smokes.

Same picture as above, only without Mike.

This is the 2017 Harley low rider, introduced at the Shindig. So low, it has no seat. Hey, cool is cool, right?.... Just messing. Belongs to Jim and its his Sherco Trials bike, a riding sport he recently took up.

No idea what this is about.

Out there, somewhere.

This Adventure Ride Sponsored by Evan Williams....

The Official bourbon of the Ironworks excursion to the Northshore Shindig adventure ride in Finland, MN.

,

Hey, look: it's blurry already!That's not supposed to happen until tonight.

Random Motorcycle Picture of the Day

Deep from within the motorcycle archives of the Ironworks Motorbike Club's HQ high atop the Acme Inc. Tower in downtown metropolitan Red Wing, we present's Bill's well used race leathers. Here is to you, Bill.

Random Motorcycle Picture of the Day

Get Yer Dirt On....

Northshore Shindig adventure rides starts this Friday in Finland, MN. Ride gravel, logging roads and pavement, if you chose, along Lake Superior and the woods of the Arrowhead region. We went last year and had a blast riding and hanging with some great peeps. Sorry, but you'll need to find a link on yer own for this event: writing this entry via mobile device and it sucks doing links things.

Random Motorcycle Picture of The Day

Spied on the streets of Nordeast Minneapolis, near Fair State Brewing, a recent Yamaha cafe racer build. Nice, very nice. The owner even started it up for me. That parallel twin sounds sweet.

Random Motorcycle Picture of the Day

Pope guy: Motorcycle bad ass. Probably rides a Ducati.

This Just In From the Activities Director....

There shall be a ride this Saturday; 9 AM Caribou, Red Wing to get all freaked out on caffeine; ride like maniacs at 10 AM. Direction TBD but I am sure it will be somewhere fun. It's Labor Day weekend, so get out and enjoy the fruits of your labor