TK Cancer Free Ride and BBQ

I set out on Sunday morning to meet up with some other riders from the Minnesota MSTA (Motorcycle Sport Touring Association). One of our members, Ray, had organized a ride and BBQ to celebrate TK’s (another member) recent cancer free status. I don’t do many group rides, but this one sounded good. TK is a real nice guy.

Ray (organizer):

TK (guest of honor):

More than thirty bikes showed up at Black Water Coffee in Maple Plain (west of Minneapolis about 30 miles).

 

We broke into smaller groups to make the ride more manageable. I went with some sport bikes led by Lloyd.

Before we left, I spent quite a bit of time talking to the owner of another 1st gen SV650. She had done a lot of custom work on her bike including replacing the front end, rear suspension, and a pile of electrical gadgets. It was a very clean setup; I was slightly jealous.

  

and I thought my dash was crowded. This is the other SV:

 

This guy has a ton of gadgets! I thought his camera mount was clever.

The roads were pretty decent for being so close to the city.

 

Some of them were even gravel. With just me, the SV handled very nicely, and I was easily able to go 40+

  

It would have made a nice dual sport route with just a few more gravel roads.

The route passed a few lakes and rivers too.

 

We stopped for gas midway through the route. It was another chance to chat with the other riders.

Lloyd did a good job leading our group considering he didn’t make the route and hadn’t looked at it before the ride. We were the first group to leave, but took a wrong turn and ended up behind another group a few u-turns later.

 

Following the other group,

we made a few extra u-turns.

  

Then on our own, made a few more!

 

I was glad to have practiced u-turns in a parking lot!

Eventually, we made it to Ray’s place for the BBQ. Some riders left right away and other had showed up just for the food.

  

Ray knows how to throw a BBQ. I think everyone had a good time chatting and eating.

 

This hitch-hiker had to go before I went home. Garage to garage was 212 miles.

Congrats to TK for becoming cancer free! Thanks Ray and Lloyd for a fun day!