4th of July Shenanigans

I hope this finds you all coming off a good weekend of celebrating our Nation’s Independence with family and friends.

 

Independence Day

We had a great one around here!

Thursday night the hubs and I rode down to Malvern, Iowa for dinner at the Classic Cafe.

Beautiful evenings for a ride!

 

Harley Sunset

 I love riding at sundown.  So peaceful and relaxing. 

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Friday we packed up the trailer and headed down to New Market, Iowa for the 4th of July parade.   It’s been years since we’ve celebrated the 4th in Iowa, so we were pretty pumped to get back!

 

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Clint’s trailer is definitely a looker, eh?  He created this baby in 2008.  I thought it would fall apart.  Maybe I was hoping it would fall apart???  6 years later, two hauls to Sturgis, one haul to Milwaukee and multiple hauls around Iowa and Nebraska and this thing is showing no signs of slowing down.   The stupid thing has actually grown on me.

It is so Clint.

 

4th of July 2014

An obligatory selfie before hitting the road.

First stop: New Market for the parade!  Kyle usually rides his horse in the parade, however, this year he drove his grandpa’s tractor.  He was pretty stoked about that.

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After the parade we stopped to stock up on some beers.

What to do when they don’t all fit in your saddlebags?   Strap ’em to the top of the trailer of course!

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Next stop: a friends house for afternoon shenanigans including but not limited to:

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moonshine ↓

Moonshine

 

Gravel travels ↓

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Canon Balls ↓

Canon Balls

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Bullshitting ↓

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Chilling

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Photo Attempts (impossible with these two)

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RZR riding

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Backseat selfies on the way to fireworks

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Back Road Firework Waiting

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We had a great Friday night, celebrating with multiple friends.

Saturday morning got off to a slow start due to storms rolling through.  We just camped out at Kayla and Jade’s until around lunchtime before heading out on the bikes back to Omaha.   The ride was an interesting one, to say the least.  50 buzzards, road kill galore, cold, hot and rain.   I was happy to get home!

Saturday night we  spent the evening doing some front porch drinking and cuddling cute kids at our friends Sara and Troy’s house.   Nice, relaxing evening with good friends.

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Clint caught me taking the pic, so a stupid face was what he chose.  And you are darn right I’m going to use it.  🙂

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Lil Miss Kaeleen.  What a dolly.

Kae is now a BIG sister!  Baby sister Ady was born two weeks ago at 5 weeks early and is doing so great.  She is such a little peanut.  No pics this time.  Maybe soon. 🙂

Sunday was pretty typical- laundry, book reading, gym time, basement work, meal preps…

and the Monday dread.

😉

Cheers, friends!

Holstein Harley Davidson Women’s Run

Holstein Harley Davidson

Omaha, Nebraska

All Women’s Run – May 31st, 2014

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Each year, Holstein’s Harley puts on a Women’s Only cruise.   It’s a tradition that is holding steady and each year more and more women turn out for it.

Our 2014 route took us through Oakland, Iowa -> Harlan, Iowa -> Neola, IA -> Council Bluffs, IA.

 

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The event is organized by Kristen, Holstein’s Motorclothes Manager.    She put together a flawless event this year, covering every detail imaginable.  From creating a route with the least resistance, fuel stops perfect for those with peanut tanks, solid 25 mile or more distances between each stop, lunch details to raffle prizes – the girl had it all.

Unfortunately, Kristen’s father passed away unexpectedly the day before the event.   As Kristen dealt with the loss of her father, numerous women stepped up to the plate to help out in anyway possible.   Kristen’s dear friend, Suze, reached out to Tyree to help her lead the pack and Tyree in return asked for my assistance as the route hit up all the Iowa bars that I was used to.   Several ladies stepped up and helped with the check-in and announcement making.

A biker community banding together – one of the many reasons I love the two-wheeled life.

Good people.

After we dedicated the ride to Kristen and her dad, we loaded up and headed out.

Thanks to Holstein Harley for the first three pics

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There we go!  Front of the pack!

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Watch out fellas.   Us chicks know what’s up.

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Thanks to the Riders for Christ in the road blocking assistance.  We made it out of Holstein’s safely!

The first goal of the ride was to just get out of the Omaha Metro area.  We crossed the bridge into Iowa and stopped briefly to get the girls back together again.   Street lights in Omaha are abundant!

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Marcy’s Posse 

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This is Marcy and her new man, Jared.   😉

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Next up?  Oakland, Iowa!

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Shenanigans

(thanks Traci – I swiped your photo)

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Marcy’s Posse (Thanks Kim- swiped your pic too!)

Next up: Harlan, IA

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Clearly the red cage didn’t get the memo

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Thanks Lora for the pic!

Next up: Neola, IA

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Last Stop: Salty Dog, Council Bluffs, IA

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The day was a big hit and a ton of fun!  New friends, many miles and memories to last a lifetime.

 

Thanks Tyree for letting me be a co-pilot with you.  I think we did alright!

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I’ve got you, babe.

The Weekend in Review

A weekend full of two wheels, friends, small towns, watering holes, ice cold drinks and a little 5K fun.

Friday night found us in Waterloo, NE at the Dog House Saloon.  I had a craving for their Watermelon cocktail as soon as work was over.   These babies are just simply the best cocktail around.

 

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While at the Dog House we ran into a few people we met while out riding last season.  We quickly found our original plans of a short ride out West and maybe a little dinner turning into a late-nighter.  Which is a-ok by us!

Our party of Two turned party of Six chose to head on over to Gretna, NE  where we hit up a small watering hole called Brag N Rights.

Brag N Rights

We all took over the back patio, grabbed a bite to eat and enjoyed some cold Bud’s, good music and easy conversation.

Next up: The Waterfall Lounge in West Omaha.

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Pretty sweet waterfall set up behind the bar.   If you live out in the Millard, Gretna, Elkhorn area, I’d definitely recommend swinging into this place.

We stuck around this location for a few hours before calling it a night after the midnight hour.

 

This is yet another reason why I love my two-wheeled lifestyle.

You never know who you will run into, where you will ride or what you will find out on the road.

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Saturday morning had me up and going fairly early as I had a 5K to run.

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The Color Me Rad recap can be found here.

 

The afternoon quickly slipped away and soon enough we found ourselves back on the bikes for an evening out.

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Dinner at our local Hy-Vee!

Now, before you make fun of us, we should tell you that this is not your normal Hy-Vee experience.  “Our” Hy-Vee has gone under some serious construction within the last year and they recently opened up the Hy-Vee Market Cafe.   You get the full experience of a restaurant right inside the grocery store.

And what’s this about a bar?

Yep, full bar service.

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Chinese and Beer.

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Drinking beer at the ol’ Hy-Vee

Who knew?

Next stop: Two Fine Irishmen to meet up with a couple friends for a little conversation and live music and then closed out the evening at the 21st Saloon where we met up with two more friends.

21st

The 21st is owned by a good friend of ours, Scott.   If you like Blues music, then Thursday night is your night to hit them up.   If you are into 80’s metal, then head out to see 3D in Your Face.  They are a staple on Friday evenings!

Sunday?   A no make-up, ball cap, running shoes, grocery shopping, laundry kinda day.

And sadly, the weekend is over.

Already.

Seriously.

I need more weekends in my life and less week.

Who is with me on this?

This is also my last week before the Lincoln half-marathon on Sunday the 4th.   Most people taper their workouts leading up to big races, however, I have 8 fitness classes to teach this week, so this girl is going full force!

Just a day in the life!

I LOVE it!

Cheers

 

Oh, You Ride a Motorcycle?

We’ve all been there.  We meet someone new and we attempt to start a conversation.  Often the conversation starters default to career choice or the weather.  Other times the topic might be connected to something more personal, like what the person is wearing or what they are driving.

And then you have the conversations revolving around the fact you ride a motorcycle.

While I  respect the attempt at striking up a conversation, there are just some things better left unsaid.

In the spirit of keeping this lighthearted, take my opinions with a grain of salt

and a shot of tequila.

Keep Talking

Top Annoying Questions to Ask A Biker

1. Can I Sit on It?

Checking out motorcycles is what we do.  Whether at the store, outside a restaurant, bike night or a rally; bikers walk around, look at others rides, dream, take mental notes, make wish-lists and maybe even snap a few pictures.  Guaranteed you will find someone making lovey-dovey looks at another persons bike.

That is where the admiration ends.  Don’t be that guy and ask:

“Can I sit on your bike?”

Maybe next time I get that question I should answer with —>  “Sure you can sit on it!  Can I have the keys to your car as well?  I’d love to get in it, maybe take a few selfies behind the wheel, turn the radio on, roll the windows down… you know”.

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2. Did You Ride Today?

Maybe a few coworkers know you ride.  Or, you’re at the grocery store and you have some Harley-Davidson gear on.   Outside, it is noticeably miserable and not ideal riding weather.    Naturally, someone will ask

“Did you ride today”

…..as they chuckle and give you a little elbow nudge.

Yep, buddy.  Sure did!

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3. “YOU know how to ride THAT?”

Oh, no, no, no.  Don’t be silly!   It has this cute little button that when I push it, the bike magically goes VROOM down the interstate in the direction I want it to go.

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4. A little too much power for a woman, don’t you think?

What does that even mean?

Please, let me introduce you to these lovely ladies, who, as a matter of fact ride their own machines.

Now, what was that question, again?

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5.  So You’re An Organ Donor.

I don’t know how many times I have heard “You know that doctors and nurses call bikers organ donors don’t you?”

Great!  But, please tell me how riding a motorcycle makes me any more of an organ donor then a runner, or a cyclist, or a person walking across a major intersection, or a person changing their tire on the side of the road?   At any time freak accidents happen.  Aren’t we all essentially walking organ donors?

But, thanks for the heads-up on what other people say about us.  I was very concerned.

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6. Don’t Crash

Well shit… There goes my plan for the evening.

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And Lastly:

7. What About All the Bugs That Hit You?

They Die.

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Trying to find a way to strike up a conversation with a biker?  Perhaps, when did you start riding, might be a good place to start.

Or even better… Why do you ride?

We may stick around to tell you all about it!

 

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Your Turn!

Have any you’d add to the list?