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- May 4, 2015
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- Bike
- BMW R1200GS Adventure
Day12: Pierre to Marshall
Route: 14E to Florence the 23 to Lynd and Marshall.
We will leave South Dakota and enter Minnesota today and looking at the map we can expect lots of twisties today. Well, actually no twisties but plenty of cross winds.
It is cold and we stop to fill up, this is clearly a farming community: Ford, Chev and Dodge RAM trucks everywhere…
Schumacher Custom Boots and Saddles in Wolsey SD, if only I had more space….
Vaughn locates Bucky’s Restaurant and Lounge in Huron. I ask him what the speciality is and he replies, “There was only one review and it just said, “OMG””
While we wait for our food Vaughn assists in tracking my FedEx parcel which is (supposedly) on the way to Maryland. I’m curious about the soundbite that is used as introduction to REO Speedwagon’s “Tough Guys” and ask him about it. The actual sound bite goes like this:
-Alfalfa, will you swing me before we have lunch?
-Sure, Darla.
-Say, Romeo. What about your promise to the He-Man-Woman-Haters-Club?
-I'm sorry, Spanky. I've got to live my own life.
Now I must confess. Where I grew up, English was only used for self-defence. (And when we played rugby against the English speaking schools in our areas, the main aim was not to learn the language; the aim was to inflict as much pain as possible). So when my sister bought the REO Speedwagon tape in the 80s, this is what I heard when I listened to Tough Guys for the first time (and lets not hold back on the confession…., what I kept on hearing for the next 30 years. Until Vaughn corrected me in Huron)
Aunt Alva, would you swing me before we have lunch?
Sure darling.
Say Romeo. What about your promise to the human-woman haters club?
Human-woman??? Okay, so that is embarrassing, let’s move on….
Vaughn explains that this is an actual sound bite from the 1930s TV series, Little Rascals. He rattles off the names of the characters, Darla, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Chu …” I interrupt him: “Buckwheat??!!!” Yeah, that was the name of the little black boy in the show…..” he stops, thinks for a while and then continues “Yeah, now that I think about it, it probably would not be politically correct these days, wouldn’t it?”. “Sure as hell it wouldn’t !“. “Buckwheat!!”
We stop in Brookings for a coffee at McDonalds. A neatly dressed old guy walks past and says:
“I used to ride those bikes when I was younger but I don’t ride anymore”.
“Really….?”
“Yes, the correct pronunciation is actually Bee-Em-Vee” (he gives a perfect German pronunciation) and not Beeemdubbleyoo as they pronounce it over here”.
“Yes, but I don’t ride any more. I am too old now” he says and swiftly walks into the restaurant. End of conversation.
We get ready to get on the bikes when I see a young lad and his mom exiting the restaurant. The youngster points towards the bikes and drags his mom in our direction. With his mom’s permission I lift him onto the bike, take a picture and then Vaughn lifts him onto the RT. He is clearly comfortable sitting on a bike.
I can see that he recognises the Oldsmobile van that pulls up next to us. “It’s Grandpa”, the young one shouts and points in the direction of the Van.
An old guy in a red jacket and cap opens up the back door and lifts the blue “Walker” from the trunk. The right front door opens and his wife starts to slide out to the Van.
But the bikes distract him, and he totally forgets about his wife who is clearly waiting for her walking aid.
We start to talk about bikes. Well, actually he starts telling me about all the bikes he had. He says that he has two at the moment: A Honda Gold Wing and a Kawasaki. He fiddles in his pocket and pulls out his wallet and shows me pictures. He talks uninterrupted and with great enthusiasm. Then he looks at the boxer engine and says that one of his friends had one those. One day he phoned me and said I must come over and have a look…. When I arrived he took me into the garage where he had opened up the engine. I had a look at the thing and said jeez that can’t be…. No that can’t work…. Those pistons are moving in the wrong direction
Vaughn is suited up and ready to go, the old man’s wife is still waiting for her walker but we talk bikes….
He says that he doesn’t ride that often anymore. I ask him how old he is. He looks at me for a while as if I asked him a trick question.
Then he asks: “What is the date?”
“It is October 1”, I reply.
He thinks for a while and then he responds: “October 1 ?”.
“Yes Sir, the first of October 2015”.
“Oh yes, then it is my birthday today, I am 80 years old today”.
His daughter (with the grandson standing next to her) smiles at us and replies:
“Yes, dad that is why we are here today……, to celebrate your birthday”.
I look at his wife, by now she is literally hanging from the doorpost of the Van waiting for her walker…. But she just looks at him sincerely and smiles. Now that is real love man!
On this trip I have met lots of guys wanting to talk bikes: Thinking back, I can classify them into different categories:
--Those who know nothing about bikes but want to talk about bikes…. (Actually they want to talk about themselves but just use the bike as a segway into the conversation…).
--Those who know nothing about bikes, never owned a bike, but are thinking about getting one. One day. Before they die… Maybe…. If the wife or girlfriend says it is okay of course…
--Those who has a bike and want to tell you about THEIR bike… Horsepower, torque, top speed etc etc
--Those who want to know why you are on bike and travelling on your own (just to checking if you are not a serial killer passing through town). “You know, you can’t really trust a biker”, attitude. There must be some Freudian character flaw somewhere deep down….
--And then you get the real bike lovers like the guys mentioned above. These moments are priceless….
I had two similar experiences later on in the trip which I will post later.
We head out and the cross winds are hammering us. I notice the wind turbines ahead and can confirm that it is now the ugliest site (apart from sand and mud) that you can see on a bike in this part of the world. It is living proof that there will be cross winds. Always! Guaranteed!!
Entering Marshall I see an innovative way of warning tourists about wild animals crossing. It looks to me as if there are motion sensors that pick up any movement next to the road. These are powered by solar panels and will turn on the warning signals when they detect any movement wanting to enter the road.
We were once again battered by strong cross winds go in different directions to our hotels. I can once again conveniently park in front of my room. Tomorrow would be our last ride together and Vaughn says we must go to a certain restaurant in Minneapolis where Lea would join us for dinner. Listening to his description of the menu I immediately start a 24hr fast to prepare my body for the gastronomic overload that was to come.
I take an early evening stroll through the neighbourhood and everything looks neat and well maintained.
An old Cadillac….
I’m not going to say, what I found behind the green door
As I walk back to the hotel I wonder what the economic engine behind Marshall is. I make a mental note to have a look on Google….
Route: 14E to Florence the 23 to Lynd and Marshall.
We will leave South Dakota and enter Minnesota today and looking at the map we can expect lots of twisties today. Well, actually no twisties but plenty of cross winds.
It is cold and we stop to fill up, this is clearly a farming community: Ford, Chev and Dodge RAM trucks everywhere…
Schumacher Custom Boots and Saddles in Wolsey SD, if only I had more space….
Vaughn locates Bucky’s Restaurant and Lounge in Huron. I ask him what the speciality is and he replies, “There was only one review and it just said, “OMG””
While we wait for our food Vaughn assists in tracking my FedEx parcel which is (supposedly) on the way to Maryland. I’m curious about the soundbite that is used as introduction to REO Speedwagon’s “Tough Guys” and ask him about it. The actual sound bite goes like this:
-Alfalfa, will you swing me before we have lunch?
-Sure, Darla.
-Say, Romeo. What about your promise to the He-Man-Woman-Haters-Club?
-I'm sorry, Spanky. I've got to live my own life.
Now I must confess. Where I grew up, English was only used for self-defence. (And when we played rugby against the English speaking schools in our areas, the main aim was not to learn the language; the aim was to inflict as much pain as possible). So when my sister bought the REO Speedwagon tape in the 80s, this is what I heard when I listened to Tough Guys for the first time (and lets not hold back on the confession…., what I kept on hearing for the next 30 years. Until Vaughn corrected me in Huron
)Aunt Alva, would you swing me before we have lunch?
Sure darling.
Say Romeo. What about your promise to the human-woman haters club?
Human-woman??? Okay, so that is embarrassing, let’s move on….
Vaughn explains that this is an actual sound bite from the 1930s TV series, Little Rascals. He rattles off the names of the characters, Darla, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Chu …” I interrupt him: “Buckwheat??!!!” Yeah, that was the name of the little black boy in the show…..” he stops, thinks for a while and then continues “Yeah, now that I think about it, it probably would not be politically correct these days, wouldn’t it?”. “Sure as hell it wouldn’t !“. “Buckwheat!!”
We stop in Brookings for a coffee at McDonalds. A neatly dressed old guy walks past and says:
“I used to ride those bikes when I was younger but I don’t ride anymore”.
“Really….?”
“Yes, the correct pronunciation is actually Bee-Em-Vee” (he gives a perfect German pronunciation) and not Beeemdubbleyoo as they pronounce it over here”.
“Yes, but I don’t ride any more. I am too old now” he says and swiftly walks into the restaurant. End of conversation.
We get ready to get on the bikes when I see a young lad and his mom exiting the restaurant. The youngster points towards the bikes and drags his mom in our direction. With his mom’s permission I lift him onto the bike, take a picture and then Vaughn lifts him onto the RT. He is clearly comfortable sitting on a bike.
I can see that he recognises the Oldsmobile van that pulls up next to us. “It’s Grandpa”, the young one shouts and points in the direction of the Van.
An old guy in a red jacket and cap opens up the back door and lifts the blue “Walker” from the trunk. The right front door opens and his wife starts to slide out to the Van.
But the bikes distract him, and he totally forgets about his wife who is clearly waiting for her walking aid.
We start to talk about bikes. Well, actually he starts telling me about all the bikes he had. He says that he has two at the moment: A Honda Gold Wing and a Kawasaki. He fiddles in his pocket and pulls out his wallet and shows me pictures. He talks uninterrupted and with great enthusiasm. Then he looks at the boxer engine and says that one of his friends had one those. One day he phoned me and said I must come over and have a look…. When I arrived he took me into the garage where he had opened up the engine. I had a look at the thing and said jeez that can’t be…. No that can’t work…. Those pistons are moving in the wrong direction
Vaughn is suited up and ready to go, the old man’s wife is still waiting for her walker but we talk bikes….
He says that he doesn’t ride that often anymore. I ask him how old he is. He looks at me for a while as if I asked him a trick question.
Then he asks: “What is the date?”
“It is October 1”, I reply.
He thinks for a while and then he responds: “October 1 ?”.
“Yes Sir, the first of October 2015”.
“Oh yes, then it is my birthday today, I am 80 years old today”.
His daughter (with the grandson standing next to her) smiles at us and replies:
“Yes, dad that is why we are here today……, to celebrate your birthday”.
I look at his wife, by now she is literally hanging from the doorpost of the Van waiting for her walker…. But she just looks at him sincerely and smiles. Now that is real love man!
On this trip I have met lots of guys wanting to talk bikes: Thinking back, I can classify them into different categories:
--Those who know nothing about bikes but want to talk about bikes…. (Actually they want to talk about themselves but just use the bike as a segway into the conversation…).
--Those who know nothing about bikes, never owned a bike, but are thinking about getting one. One day. Before they die… Maybe…. If the wife or girlfriend says it is okay of course…
--Those who has a bike and want to tell you about THEIR bike… Horsepower, torque, top speed etc etc
--Those who want to know why you are on bike and travelling on your own (just to checking if you are not a serial killer passing through town). “You know, you can’t really trust a biker”, attitude. There must be some Freudian character flaw somewhere deep down….
--And then you get the real bike lovers like the guys mentioned above. These moments are priceless….
I had two similar experiences later on in the trip which I will post later.
We head out and the cross winds are hammering us. I notice the wind turbines ahead and can confirm that it is now the ugliest site (apart from sand and mud) that you can see on a bike in this part of the world. It is living proof that there will be cross winds. Always! Guaranteed!!
Entering Marshall I see an innovative way of warning tourists about wild animals crossing. It looks to me as if there are motion sensors that pick up any movement next to the road. These are powered by solar panels and will turn on the warning signals when they detect any movement wanting to enter the road.
We were once again battered by strong cross winds go in different directions to our hotels. I can once again conveniently park in front of my room. Tomorrow would be our last ride together and Vaughn says we must go to a certain restaurant in Minneapolis where Lea would join us for dinner. Listening to his description of the menu I immediately start a 24hr fast to prepare my body for the gastronomic overload that was to come.
I take an early evening stroll through the neighbourhood and everything looks neat and well maintained.
An old Cadillac….
I’m not going to say, what I found behind the green door
As I walk back to the hotel I wonder what the economic engine behind Marshall is. I make a mental note to have a look on Google….
