Category Archives: Minnesota
Online Book Club Gives Ride Minnesota 3 Out of 4 Stars
I recently uploaded an electronic copy of Ride Minnesota to Onlinebookclub.org and waited patiently for the book review to appear on-screen. It didn’t take long, only about a week. I’ve never been sure just what to expect from my brain-child, so I was pleased to learn that it was awarded three out of four stars.
The anonymous reviewer sounds British (“Having never been on a motorbike or considered one, I was not sure quite what to expect …”), but I don’t hold that against him/her. Five years ago, I was a non-rider myself. Despite the reviewer’s inexperience (I’m sure he’s a he!), he recommends the book to motorcyclists who are thinking of touring Minnesota.
I especially like his last sentence: “The book is written in a very easy to read format and while it may fall into the category of travel guide, it almost feels as if you are speaking to an old friend who recently took the journey and is offering wholehearted recommendations for you to enjoy.”
I consider that high praise! To read the entire review, click the link above.
Hot Weather, Hot Bikes
The temperature is supposed to go into the 90s today here in Minnesota, with high humidity. Major stickiness. One way to cool off might be a take a ride on a hot bike. Northway Sports in East Bethel is hosting the Victory demo truck today and tomorrow. Come out and try a 2014 Victory motorcycle!
No, I am not a paid spokesperson for Victory. I am, however, the author of Ride Minnesota: 23 Great Motorcycle Rides in the North Star State and I’ll be at Northway today and tomorrow to sign copies of my book. So ride on up to 21429 Ulysses St. N.E., right next to Fatboys Restaurant!
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.
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!
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
Push, push, push
Is there anything heavier than a toppled bike? A few years ago, Ralph and I took a trip down US 169 to old Rte. 66 and the Grand Canyon. We stopped for a traffic light in Altoona, Iowa. The bungee cord that held most of our earthly belongings for the trip broke, and the Victory went down. I scrambled to get off as Ralph struggled to keep the motorcycle away from the pavement. The guy in the car behind us got out and helped us push.
Last summer, while working on Ride Minnesota, the bike toppled again. We were in Aitkin, making a left turn from a side street near the American Legion to the main drag. As we started the turn, a local yokel in a pickup truck bounded through the intersection. It was stop or be killed, so we stopped. The motorcycle began its slow descent toward the ground. I hopped off and started pushing. Fortunately, another driver stopped and came to our aid.
Speaking of pushing, I got a call yesterday from Bill, the sales manager at Motoprimo in Lakeville. He wants to talk about book signings and sales. Says he’s “fascinated” by the book. That’s one salesman who has my ear!
Downtown Aitkin, approaching the only stoplight in Aitkin County!
Ride Minnesota Now at Northway Motorsports in East Bethel
Northway Motorsports, a Victory motorcycle dealer, has agreed to sell Ride Minnesota! The dealership is “way the heck out there” on Hwy. 65 in East Bethel. It’s next to Fat Boys Bar & Grill, a family-friendly biker hangout. I’m acting as the wholesaler to the final seller in this deal, a new role for me. Faith, the lady from Northway who called to order the book, said she thought it would “really move fast.” She also said I’d done a good job on the book–she wanted to get out and try some of the rides. Sweet music to my ears!
One of my favorite rides in Ride Minnesota is also “way the heck out there”–the Gunflint Trail in northeastern Minnesota. It twists and turns out of Grand Marais as it leads you to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. There’s only one way in and one way out. But you’ll have to read the book to learn more about it.
Here’s what the Gunflint looked like last August.
Ride Minnesota 