Author Archives: cindysowden
Ride Minnesota Now Available on Kindle
Yep, I’ve gone and done it. Ride Minnesota is now an e-book, available for download on Kindle. Not only is it available here in the U.S., but also in Germany, Italy, France, Japan and India as well.
My husband gave me a basic Kindle for my birthday last year. I wanted it primarily to see how it works, realizing that I can capture a wider audience with an e-book. Although the paperback edition came out first, Ride Minnesota was written with Kindle in mind.
The motorcycle route maps are still there, and I’ve added more photos (if you have a Kindle Fire, you can see them in color). I tried to make the book an interactive experience with embedded links to websites for places mentioned in the book, so readers can “visit” before they actually visit. (Enable Wi-Fi to “go out” and “come back” to the book.)
The book is exclusive to Amazon and Kindle for 90 days. You can download it for $5.99. Just type “Ride Minnesota” in the line next to the shopping cart.
Signing My Life Away
No, I haven’t been recruited by the devil. But it seems like the fastest way for me to sell my book, Ride Minnesota, is to do a book signing.
At the moment, I have two scheduled. One is this weekend at Motoprimo for their Vintage Motorcycle Day, 11:00-1:00.
The next one is my own neck of the woods, Northeast Minneapolis. I’ll be developing writer’s cramp (physically, not mentally) at Diamonds Coffee Shoppe, 1618 Central Ave. N.E., at 6:30 p.m. Members of the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club will be there, too, with their bikes (it’s actually their monthly meeting). Diamonds is a great place to hang out. They have good coffee, and the pies are mighty tempting! The signing will take place August 12.
The Gift of a Day
It’s a gorgeous summer day in Minnesota: 80 degrees, lots of sun, humidity well within the comfort range, and a nice breeze. Minnesotans recognize this kind of a day as a gift, one to be enjoyed and cherished, especially after a seemingly unending winter. It’s important to take advantage of this type of gift.
Motorcyclists understand that. As I pull up radishes that matured too quickly (no crunchy red roots to munch on!), I hear them traveling on 35W, about a mile from home. Cruisers, choppers, crotch rockets–they’re all out there, roaring down the freeway, soaking up the sun.
It’s a perfect day to take the motorcycle to work, as Ralph did. Or to explore a part of Minnesota you haven’t seen before. To visit Paul Bunyan in the Brainerd Lakes area, or pose for a photo next to Smokey the Bear in International Falls. It’s a great day to ride along a lake or river and let the breeze off the water cool you down.
It’s a great day– a gift– so get out and Ride Minnesota! If you’re not sure where you want to go, buy a copy of my book and choose a route.
Traveling by Ear
When you play a musical instrument “by ear,” you hear the melody in your head and match it. In jazz, you take it a bit further and improvise on the melody. Many of our motorcycle trips have been improvised. We pick a route to explore, but stay prepared to explore the unexpected.
We’ve found restaurants this way. Some were great; others, as Ralph likes to say, “don’t make my socks roll up and down (like a cartoon character’s).”
Traveling by ear also means taking chances on places to stay. When you travel without reservations, you can’t always be too picky. Last summer we were in Grand Marais at the time of the Grand Rendezvous in Grand Portage. It was a beautiful August weekend, and hotels were booked solid from Two Harbors to the Canadian border. We found a room at a decrepit motel on the hill before Hwy. 61 descends into downtown Grand Marais. The front office looked as though it had recenlty been remodeled, but the rooms were adequate at best. The only other occupant at the time we checked in was a border patrol agent (so identified by his car).
Another time, along Hwy. 38, we came upon the Timberwolf Inn in Marcell. It’s truly one of the nicest places we’ve stayed. It was another picture-book Minnesota weekend, but they had room at the inn, which is comfortably decorated in northwoods-style. The attached restaurant offered up terrific food–a lot of local lake dwellers showed up for dinner–and the staff was very friendly. When we arose the following morning, these deer were exploring the back of the property. That’s an amenity you don’t find just anywhere!
Which is why we chose the Timberwolf Inn qualified as the “best hotel” to highlight in Ride Minnesota!
Ride Minnesota Available From Eight of Top Nine Online Booksellers
People often ask me if Ride Minnesota is available in bookstores. The short answer is, “No.” In a bookstore, it’s just another book. That’s why my marketing efforts are trained toward the places bikers go–motorcycle dealers, biker bars, coffee shops. When I purchased publishing services through Amazon’s CreateSpace division, however, I did buy the expanded distribution package.
A check with TopTenReviews.com brought up the names of nine online booksellers which the website listed as the “best.” I’m happy to say that Ride Minnesota is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, AbeBooks, BooksAMillion, Alibris, Biblio (which says it has 107 copies on hand), Powells and TatteredCover.
The book has done fairly well on Amazon. Maybe with a little push of these outlets, they’ll start getting orders, too.
The weather here in Minnesota is drying out. Time to ride!
Exploring Minnesota Via Motorcycle
This is a do-over. I unintentionally hit the publish button in the quick publish mode. I will not use that mode again!
As I was saying, riding with a group of motorcyclists is fun, but I also find it confining. It’s a lot of work keeping track of the rider ahead of you, the guy on the side and the ones following (even though I’m not driving!). More so than in a car. And, of course, you end up sniffing a lot of motorcycle exhaust.
That’s why Ralph and I like exploring on our own, discovering hills and valleys, curves and straight-aways, new sights, new sounds, fresh air. Just us. That’s how I came to write and publish Ride Minnesota, to share our experiences other motorcyclists who want to get out and explore Minnesota. There are a lot of interesting places in this state, and we haven’t seem ’em all–yet.
I’ll be at Motoprimo in Lakeville tomorrow afternoon, in conjunction with the Victory Demo Truck Tour. I’ll have copies of Ride Minnesota on hand, ready to sign and purchase. Come and see me!
The Blessing of the Bikes
If you don’t believe in God, ride a motorcyle. Seriously. Because when you’re on a bike, you’ll find occasions to talk to a higher power. Take today, for instance.
We joined the Hosanna! Bikers today for the 20th annual Blessing of the Bikes. We met at Hosanna! Lutheran’s sprawling parking lot. Pastor Mike Swecker gave us a prayer and sent us on our way. I didn’t count the bikes, but there had to be at least 100.
We were headed south on MN3, making a left turn onto the Vermilion River Valley Road. A long stream of bikers is hard to miss. Nevertheless, as we headed into the turn, a man in a blue SUV made it very clear: he. wasn’t. going.to.stop. He bore right down upon us and didn’t even slow down! Ralph and I were directly in his path. I looked straight into the cab of his vehicle and his expressionless face told me he wouldn’t mind tiddly-winking a biker or two onto the highway. Somehow, by the grace of God, all of us made it.
“Jesus Martha!” were the first words out of my mouth, followed by “Thank you, God.”
The rest of the ride meandered pleasantly around the Cannon Falls area. The highlight of the trip was the dead end in which we circled around 20-ft. diameter grove of trees and headed back to Lakeville.
Back at the church, we listened to the Daisy Dillman Band (how did I live through the ’80s and not hear them before this?), ate hotdogs and had our Victory prayed over by members of the Christian Motorcyclists Association. Oh, and I sold four copies of Ride Minnesota. Thank you, God. It was a good day.
We literally met ourselves coming and going!
Looking Forward to the Weekend
It was a long winter. Then monsoon season. Now we’re pretty close to summer and it’s time to ride! Today is a gorgeous day. I hope the weather holds for the Blessing of the Bikes at Hosanna! Lutheran Church this Saturday. If it’s half-way decent, I’m sure the motorcycle crowd will be there. Ralph and I are going to be there, taking orders for Ride Minnesota, listening to the Daisy Dillman Band and, I hope, going on the ride.
Two Sundays ago, we rode up to St. Cloud to join a ride that benefitted the St. Cloud Children’s Home. We paid $10 each to participate (the money from the wristbands went to the home), and had a wonderful chicken dinner at Shortstop. Then everyone jumped on their bikes and we rumbled decorously through St. Cloud. It was a gorgeous day–one of those perfect Minnesota days–with lots of blue sky and a few puffy clouds. Lilacs were in full bloom along the highways, and their scent wafted over the green earth.
Before hitting the backroads, the group rolled through the grounds of the children’s home to let the kids have a look at all the bikes. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be many kids around to view this spectacle. The guy on the Harley next to us was forced to drop out when the drive belt on his motorcycle suddenly broke. Thank God, this happened at 15 mph instead of 60 on the highway. He was able to pull out of line without causing any trouble.
We rode the curves and hills with the group until we got to Orrock. Ralph wasn’t feeling well–it turned out to be pneumonia–and we were half-way home, so we decided to ride Hwy. 47 back to the Twin Cities rather than return to St. Cloud.
I haven’t heard how much money the ride generated. It gave me and Ralph a chance to see a part of the state that we haven’t spent much time in. We’ll have to go back and explore it more thoroughly.
Here’s to good weather on Saturday!
Benefit ride for the St. Cloud Children’s Home
Big Rides
One of Ralph’s dreams is to ride the Victory to Washington, DC and join the Rolling Thunder rally. Honoring fellow veterans fires his imagination in a way that going to Sturgis doesn’t.
I have to admit, there is something thrilling about joining a big ride. We joined the Twin Cities Victory Riders for a cruise down to Spirit Lake, Iowa, a few years ago. We had the option of taking a tour of the Victory manufacturing plant, but it was a gorgeous day, too nice to spend indoors.
We did the Spring Flood Run a couple years back. Thirty thousand rumbling, snorting motorcycles. It’s a high-octane, testosterone-fueled event (although there were plenty of women bikers in the crowd, too.) We started all together in Lake St. Croix Beach. Some peeled off toward Winona, others headed across the Mississippi River to Wisconsin. Some, I’m sure, got no further than the bars in Prescott.
For others, like ourselves, it’s the ride. Once we hit the open road, we just have to see the next town, feel the next curve, climb the next hill.
On June 15, we’ll join the Hosanna! Bikers from Hosanna! Lutheran Church in Lakeville for their annual “Blessing of the Bikes.” The day includes a ride, lunch, blessings and music by the Daisy Dillman Band.
- Spring Flood Run 2011
And the organizers said I can take orders for, but not sell, Ride Minnesota. It should be a great day!
Riding in the Rain
All the rain we’re getting this weekend reminds me of the tail-end of our trip to the Grand Canyon. We left Valentine, Nebraska, behind a storm system that was destined to dump record amounts of rain on Minneapolis. It was gray, misty September day. Our objective was Aberdeen, South Dakota, and a straight shot home on US 12 the next day.
The previous day we’d left Colorado, its spectacular mountains gradually fading in the distance as we traveled the Great Plains. The hills of western Nebraska reminded me of a rumpled brown blanket; I half-expected to find a giant asleep beneath them.
The rain got a little heavier and a little colder as we rode north on US 83 toward Pierre. We stopped at a truck stop somewhere along the line. The farmers and truckers just glanced at us as we drank some hot coffee to warm up. We had no choice but to ride in the rain that day. We had to get home.
Yesterday there was thunder and lightning and driving rain. We had a choice, and we opted for my 2000 Saturn as we headed down 35W to Motoprimo to do a book signing. Sales manager Bill Bassett set up a table next to the Victory motorcycles, and Ralph and I spent the day chatting with folks from around the area. The local chapter of Women on Wheels had met at the store earlier in the week, and Bill had ’em primed and pumped to buy a copy of Ride Minnesota.
One of the book buyers was a lively little motorcycle instructor from the Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Center, Laura Shaffer-Munson. Saying, “Only an idiot rides a motorcycle in a thunderstorm–you’re nothing but a lightning rod,” she told us a story about a motorcyclist who was hit by lighting. Witnesses said the rider continued down the road for a while, then ran into the ditch. He was dead long before he reached it.
Ride Minnesota 