With my chain freshly cleaned and lubricated, I took the CB on an errand.
I saw a picture on Facebook of a poster which was advertising an upcoming flat track race near me. I thought the poster would look good on my garage wall so I sent a message to the page owner and they replied that they had several posters in their coffee shop in Milwaukee and why don't I stop by and pick one up; and so another excuse to ride was born.
Lately, Cheryl doesn't like when I ride alone. I think it's a side effect of her crash and I suspect her worries will wane over time, but I see no need to create any more stress in her life right now. Sunday's weather was going to be perfect for riding, so I had no problem convincing Mike G. to join me on my errand. I like riding with Mike. He's consistent, predictable, and relaxed on his Goldwing and he had room in top case for the poster.
We rode for breakfast at Full Moon Restaurant in North Chicago. This is probably the area's most popular motorcycle meetup spot and it's location was only a few miles off of our direct route to Milwaukee. We met with a group of distance riders I know some of whom had breakfast, but most of whom just had a cup of coffee in advance of their own morning ride. Moto-related conversations about Iron Butts and motorcycling literature ensued put me in a good frame of mind for the remainder of our ride to Fuel Cafe in Milwaukee. We exited to the parking lot, now filled with motorcycles of all sorts; everything from a brand new Triumph Tiger to an antique BSA (which parked next to me).
Mike and I followed our fellow diners west for a few miles after breakfast, but the I turned us north on a series of back roads. We arrived at Fuel Cafe about two hours later. They could not find any of the extra posters that were promised, but they let me take the one they had hanging on the wall which was just fine with me. Mike and I ordered coffee, his hot mine iced, and took seats in front where a few artists/musicians, obviously from the neighborhood, were hanging out using the wi-fi and enjoying their beverage and/or breakfast sandwich. For some reason, bikes started arriving with their riders dressed in Evel Knievel costumes. We could have asked why, but I decided that the occurrence was much more entertaining without any context. Fuel Cafe is a very cool coffee (and tea) shop and well worth a stop if you are in the area.
We took the fast way home so I could get ready to go to a family gathering and so Mike could work on his boat restoration project. We left for our breakfast at 7:00 and were home by 1:00. We packed a full day of motorcycling and motorcycle-related activity into a perfect late summer morning. In fact, we were home with time enough for me to enjoy a post-ride cigar. The poster is temporarily displayed on my garage's magnet board. It will be tacked up someplace suitable soon.
Oh...and I'm hoping to ride up to Elkhorn, WI on 10/1 to check out the race. If you're a CB rider in the area, you should plan to do the same.
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