ABATE Freedom Rally, Algona Iowa

Bo the Pinstriper

Deaf couple with new loud horns on their bike

Fireworks

Butt dude - not a good sight



Clown man. Surprisingly, skinny compared to many here.

SUPER 8 MOTEL, ALGONA, IOWA - I have been without Internet for nearly a week - ergo, no postings and pics. The rally here has ended and it was a really good one for us. Constantly busy the entire time, in major heat wave, too boot. Here are the highlights: Made a good new friend in Bo the Pinstriper. He was our neighbor and we spent the evenings with him when the shops closed up. He brought two fun dogs with him, Hannah and Gizmo. He used to work in the back shop at the Arizona Republic so we had plenty to talk about. He was one of the last people to see Don Bolles alive (reporter working on mob stories in Phoenix who was blown to pieces in his car. Usually an entire textbook chapter for college j-majors).

We met a nice deaf couple who had us install screaming loud horns on their bike. Another young couple from Chicago area (he's in the refineries and she's a 911 operator) were at our site for several days, waiting for Ding to do a whole lotta work on their ride. She was one of the women who wore little or nothing - crazy nudity but harmless.

The fireworks show was a good one, and the rally overall was fun - busy enough that we had our tire distributor make two dumps for us in five days. I swapped a T-shirt with rubber drum and tomahawk guy and got four pairs of earrings in the deal.  

On the last day I grilled a mess of food on the cue and we reveled before heading to town to get a room and drop off truck. Despite dropping a new tranny in the truck before starting the tour, torque convertor shot. We will likely be stuck in Algona another week and possibly miss Nebraska rally - bummer. Also, we will be heading directly to Sturgis, passing over Beartooth rally. Couldn't work a deal with those folks so we will head to Sturgis - Belle Fouche, to be specific - and start prepping and marketing.

Very tired and sore - Ding's fists look like those of a prize fighter, swollen and balled up from so much work and heat. He got his chicken friend steak and hot fudge jumbo malt for dinner and is currently flopped with Thumper and watching T.V. We will likely head back to camp tomorrow and slowly load while waiting on word from Dodge dealership on status of truck. The Iowa ABATE folks have been very gracious and are letting us stay at the park as long as we need to. Haven't quite figured out how we will stuff Bob and Thumper in the saddle bags. Ya gotta keep in mind, we're on the Red Sled until truck gets back. If we make it work, I'll shoot pics.

More soon. From the front, Hol, Ding, Thumper and Bob