Screenshot of BikerEventsMap.com

There’s a new website to help you find great motorcycle destinations. It’s called the Biker Events Map and it takes a visual approach to checking out whats going on. All that you have to do is enter your dates and click search. It lists motorcycle events as points on a zoomable / panable map. You’ll find rallies, expos, poker runs, motorcycle shows, parties, and more. All conveniently displayed on the events map.

BikerEventsMap.com is also the one stop shop for promoting your upcoming motorcycle event. Add it to the events database with a few simple clicks. And the best part is its free.

The site is currently in beta, so there’s new constantly new features poping up. Check it out at: BikerEventsMap.com

It’s the un-official first ride of the year: the Defrost Your Nuts Run. It always kick’s off at the Mallalieu Inn in Hudson. Once you get there make sure you grab a route map because it changes from year to year. The turnout this year was big, especially considering the April 11th tempatures. We were maxing out at fifty-ish, but I guess that’s warm enough for eager riders. It’s at least warm enough to keep frost off your nutz? Right?

Here’s a few photos from the excursion:

Mallalieu Inn, Hudson

Stop #2: Look at all those bikes

Downtown Emerald

Head’em up and Move’em Out

A snapshot of Maiden Rock from the 2007 Fall Flood Run

The 43rd Annual Fall Flood Run Is Saturday September 20th 2008! Get yer motors run’n! It starts at the Beach Club formally known as the Beach Bar (same bar new name).

2030 St. Croix Trail
Lake St. Croix Beach, Minnesota 55043
ph. 651 436-5065

Breakfast starts at 8:00 am
Run leaves the bar at 10:30 !

Brian Zepp from KQRS, City Heat Motorcycle Club, and the10th district American Legion Riders Minnesota Chapters will lead the run.

Description from the Official Flood Run website:

(www.floodrun.org)

“Over the year’s, the Flood Run has grown and gone thru many changes as one of the oldest and larger runs in America. The original run went down Minnesota highway 61 to Winona to help sandbag during the 1965 floods.Through the years, many people avoided the traffic of Hastings MN. and Red Wing MN. by riding down Wisconsin 35. Now the run has grown to a massive number of motorcycles and to alleviate the congestion going into some of the towns, we are adding the original nostalgia run down the Minnesota side. It incorporates the whole Mississippi River Valley because after all, it floods on both sides of the river.

The Flood Run has always been a charity event. From throwing sandbags in 1965 to buying a Benefit Wristband to support a great cause! Proceeds benefit the kid’s at Gillette’s Children’s Hospital.

With the $10.00 Benefit Wristband you get a discount at every stop at any business listed down the Flood Run. Many Minnesota and Wisconsin businesses have jumped on board to help with some great discounts making your $10.00 Benefit Wristband worth hundreds of dollars if you hit every stop.

All motorcycle makes and models are welcome!”

Examples of specials along the route include:

Redwing, Mn. If you run the Minnesota side go down highway 61 to Redwing and be sure to stop at the The Roxx Bar & Grill 310 Plumb Street, Red Wing MN. We open at 10:00 A.M. ready for action! Hamburger & Fries…Reg.$5.50 … $4.50 with Benefit Wristband Domestic Beer & Rail Drinks…Reg. $3.00 … $2.00 with benefit wristband. We have a Meat Raffle at 2:00 and Karaoke starts at 9pm and goes until 1am.

Lake City Mn. Where we have three great places offering discounts with a wristband. Old Bank Bar and Grill At The Old Bank Bar we will give you $1.00 off any menu item with a Benefit wristband. Live music ” Outland” will be playing Friday and Saturday night from 9:00 P. M. till 1:00 A. M. No cover! Bronk’s Bar and Grill $1.00 off any menu item with your Benefit wristband. For Pete’s Sake Bar get $1.00 off drinks all day and night with your Benefit wristband.

Wabasha, Mn. Great benefit wristband discount on the patio Offered at Slippery’s Bar and Grill. Where ‘Grumpy Old Men” was filmed. Fantastic view from the patio.The best stop on the run, The Pioneer Club there is free food till it run’s out, Live music, The band Kick Back will be playing from 8:30 till 12:30 Great stop!

Minneiska, Mn. Where the old main stay’s ~ Buck’s Bar and Grill offer wristband discounts. Bucks Bar will be serving your choice of Hamburger, Grilled Chicken, Brat & Kraut, or BBQ pork Sand. with Beans and Chips for $5. Armband discount will be $1.. We have also added Chocolate House Premium Ice Cream to our menu. KWNG radio will be live at Buck’s Bar from 3:30 to 5:30 for a late afternoon blast! Stop in and say to Terry and Jeanie and the D.J. you may end up on the radio! Rebel’s Rollin Inn Entertainment all day and night, with Getaway Entertainment. They will be doing a keg lift along w/other fun games. The party starts w/DJing outside from 2-7, then moving inside doing karaoke and DJ till close. Bars will be serving $2 cans of beer all day and night, with Flood Run benefit wristband get one dollar off a can of beer or cocktail.

Minnesota City, Mn. The L-COVE Minnesota City, MN will be having a lot of awesome stuff going on. As always Benefit Wristbands welcome with discounts at the inside bar. Our Tiki bar will be open at PM weather permitting. (you can smoke out there!) Also going on outside will be our famous barrel toss contest starts at PM, volleyball, and horseshoes. Camping will also be available with big fire pit. Campers must comply with local noise laws. The always fun and beautiful BUDWEISER GIRLS will be here. You can get your picture taken with them all money going to the children’s hospital. Local guys Brian & Andy will be here for an open jam they are great guys with great talent!! Also for entertainment we will have the local band Whiskey-n- Wimmen will play from 7:30 to 10:30 and Jaymz Dank Band will play from 10:30 PM to close. Featuring music from Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter, Clapton, Hendrix, Allman Brothers, Johnny Lang, Stones, Cream and many many more. For those of you interested in little food we will have chicken with wild rice soup and chili. Plenty of safe parking over night if you would like.

Winona, Mn. If you are leaving from the southern part of the run you can meet at Winona Harley Davidson. We will also have coffee and donuts for the riders in the morning and we will grill brats from 1-5 for anyone stopping in the afternoon. Wristbands and Flood Run T-shirts available at our shop. Anyone with the wristband will get 20% off any 1 Motorclothes/Collectible.

Prescott, Wi. The No Name Saloon is home base for the Flood Run in Prescott. You can get your Official run support discount wristband and Official run merchandise there, Official run shirts, Official run pin’s……….just outside the No Name Saloon. Be sure to use your Benefit Wristband at every bar on main street for a discount. Scabs Place, Broad Street Bar and Grill, Pilot House Boat Drinks, Muddy Water’s Bar and Grill, The old Steam Boat, The No Name Saloon

Diamond Bluff, Wi. Stop at the Nauti Hawg, for food, drink, live music and a discount Formerly the Gem Bar. One Dollar off of any food item with a Benefit wristband. Free beer out side till it run’s out with the same Benefit wristband! Karaoke at 7:00P.M. The North Country Bull Rides will be here setting up around the same time. The band this year is called “Slippery Elm”. They are an Americana Roots Rock Band (The Beetles, Jackson Brown, Grateful Dead, etc). They will be hanging out for most of the day starting at about 10:30 or 11:00 and playing when it gets busy. Al Hauser (Al’s Custom Cycle) will setting up his booth again! Must see! We will have the big tent. Food this year BBQ’s, potato salad, chips & a pickle. North Country (Mechanical) Bull Rides will be at the Nauti Hawg from 10 am to 3 PM or so. St. Paul Harley Davidson will have their accessories trailer set up at the Nauti Hawg

Hager City, Wi. Don’t miss The Border Lounge go east on highway V V 2 blocks for that eye popping entertainment. ( Benefit Wristband gets you in FREE. ) At The Harbor Bar you can get a great discount worth stopping for!

Bay City, Wi. At Mike’s Bay Town Bar and Grill it’s buck off day. ( Anything in the bar, you get a $1.00 off. ) Stop say hi to Mike and show that benefit wristband for your buck off!

Maiden Rock. Wi. KWNG 106 FM radio will be live all day from Maiden Rock Park, Stop by and say hi, you might end up on the air. Maiden Rock Fire Department as always, will be serving up some fantastic chow you can’t miss. In the park we also have a Official Flood Run Merchandise booth selling Run shirts, Woman’s spaghetti strap shirts, Skull caps and official Flood Run pins. Don’t miss Ole’s Bar where you can get $1.00 off a drink with a Benefit wristband. Very HOT Bartenders! “There will be Karaoke from 5:30 till 10:00″ We are happy to add The Lakeside Bar to the Flood Run. Be sure to stop in say hi and ask about the special they have with your discount wristband. Maureen’s sewing will be selling Official Flood Run patches as always’. Maureen has a huge selection of patches and accessories to check out! She can sew them on for you. Be sure and get yours! Sport Motors Harley-Davidson of Chippewa Falls WI. will be in the park displaying their merchandise. Come and check out several Harley-Davidson and Buell Motorcycles as well as the BRAND NEW Spyder Roadster from BRP. We will have lots of Genuine Harley-Davidson Motor Clothes and Harley Licensed Apparel FROM 10-40% OFF !! Also, stop by and meet Miss Sport Motors. Old Man River Your Benefit Wristband earns a $1.00 off a burger !

Pepin, Wi. This Old Bike™ is one of the official stops. We will be having live entertainment, vendors, food and wrist band discounts. Dave and Sandy Dykema owners of This Old Bike™ Shop in Pepin Wisconsin will be having a fun filled afternoon for all who stop by. We will be having The Love Buzzards playing live Biker Blues/Rock-n-Roll from 11:00 am to 3:00 PM, Vendors Selling Motorcycle Stuff, Mr. Goodies making up Cajun Gumbo and Buffalo Burgers w/ Chiefs Concessions having Hot dogs, Hamburgers and Fries… 50’s Style! Tattooist Slinging Ink with Ralph and Mary’s Bar selling your Favorite Cocktails. Great River Roasters Coffee House will have the very best in Exotic Coffee and Food.

Nelson, Wi. At The Nelson General Store and Deli ~ You get $1.00 off anything on the menu. Ice cream cones are a buck! Do the math! We will miss Ida at The Top Hat Bar! Thoughts are with her family. Stop in and ask for the Flood Run discount and throw one back for Ida! Enter the Back Water’s Restaurant ~ And don’t forget to ask about your Benefit Wristband discount. Fantastic chow at the Lions Club stand! They donate a percentage of sales to Gillette’s Children’s Hospital.

Alma, Wi. At Traxx Restaurant and Bar, get your Benefit Wristband discount of $1.00 off any item in the restaurant. The Burlington in Alma will have a $1.00 off any drink or food item with a benefit wrist band for the flood run. Its the big red brick building just north of the dam. We have great bloody mary’s. Hope to see you there. Have a safe ride.

Wisconsin Dells Bar

Day #1: Twin Cities to Dells: Headed out of Twin Cities on sunny Wednesday morning and wound our way down to Durand, Wisc and got lost on windy roads on the way to Independence and Whitehall, and a lot of other small towns…Ended up staying at the Dells…a good 300 mile day.

Costal Road along Lake Michigan

Day #2: Dells to Sturgeon Bay: Have to admit we didn’t find many good roads as we worked our way to Lake Michigan, or maybe we were just hungover…if anyone has good suggestions, let us know. We ended up popping out to the Lake around Sheboygan, and road all the way up to Sturgeon Bay…Once again, not great roads…we need suggestions, as the Driftless Riders were out of the Driftless Region.

Safari Motel

Day #3: Door County to Wabeno: Well, well, well…let’s just say the Driftless Riders were somewhat unimpressed with Door County, but we did happen to find a cool old lighthouse to climb. Ended up on a death march through Green Bay and into the Great Woods on northern Wisconsin and stumbled on a gem of a town that goes by the name of Wabeno. I can best some it up as a small town, with many bars, a motel by the name of the Safari, and pole shed party with dollar beers sponsored by the local EMS, illegal fireworks, and regrets for drinking Absinthe.

Kick ass road through the woods

Day #4: Wabeno to Hurley: If we didn’t defile ourselves enough in the small town of Wabeno, the granddaddy of them all lie ahead..that’s right, Little Vegas…you might know it has Hurley. If you don’t know what Hurley is, you shouldn’t be able to call yourself a ramblin man.

After a night out in Hurley, you’ll feel like this too…

Day #5: Hurley to Twin Cities: Licked the wounds, got the bikes up over 100 MPH on GG, and flew oursleves back home to the cruel reality of the year of our Lord of 2008.

Harley Davidson Ride Planner Interface

Harley Davidson recently launched a new ride planning website. The idea is that you can input locations and waypoints and it will chart a course for you. There are also extended features that allow you to find good roads, Harley dealerships, hotels, events, and fuel stops. There even 105th anniversary routes preset for out of town’rs headed to the big show.

Check it out at: http://www.harley-davidson.com/rideplanner

The concept is just what I’ve been looking for – but upon review I’ve discovered that there are a few pieces of the puzzle that are still missing.

The core component of the site works alot like Google maps. It’s easy to pan around the world and look for roads – both user generated and Harley approved “Great Roads”. You can input address data or right click on the map to create way points that join together to plan a personalized “My Ride”.

One of the best features that I found was it has the ability to join roads to “My Ride”… so for example you can simply plan a route from one city to another and then view the nearby “great roads” and if it looks like this road is worth a detour, you can add it to “My Ride”. The site will recalculate all the associated information.

Sharing your saved rides or routes is possible via the website by using an email input form. Unfortunately I didn’t see any ability to link directly to a route or embed your saved maps into a webpage or blog.

The biggest disappointment is the events functionality. I was hoping for a map that displayed events and rallies by location and date, but the events listed are limited to Dealer events, Harley-Davidson Motor Co. events, and H.O.G. events. So don’t expect to find the defrost yer nutz run or the dam saloon bikini contest listed on this site.

The hotel listings show only Best Westerns. Fine for some. Not acceptable for those of us who seek out the classic small town motels.

I didn’t see any indication that the website is available on mobile devices, which is key for us riders, but it does have import and export functionality for GPS systems in a .gpx format. (Haven’t tested that yet)

Summary:
The Harley Davidson Ride Planner could be used a good resource if you’re route takes you into unchartered territories and you want to rely on route suggestions from those who have gone before you. I like that this website has the potential to harness user input and opinions, but unfortunately its not the end all solution for rider information. Perhaps it will evolve to meet my expectations.

Side note:
In the future I expect some type of low jack system installed on all Harleys allowing the brethren to see, in real-time, a map of where everyone’s riding. Without crossing the “invasion of privacy” boundaries I’d like to be able to see where my friends are at, catch up with a rally that I don’t have a map to, or just watch the convergence on Sturgis. Who’s with me?

Get’n out of Dodge
If you’re like a Driftless Rider, you’re likely headed out of the Twin Cities metro area as soon as you start your engine. The map above shows some of the routes and stops that we like that are all reachable within a hour or so.

First of all, let’s talk about getting out of the Twin Cities. Of course there’s all four directions you can head, but we’re the Driftless Riders and that means we usually head east to the St. Croix & Mississippi River valley. So east-wise… our most widely used route takes us down to Newport and then east on Glen Road or 70th Street South. If you keep going you’ll eventually get you to the St. Croix Trail, a great road, north or south along the Minnesota side of the St. Croix River.

We prefer this route out of the Twin Cities because it’s the quickest way to get clear of heavy traffic and start enjoying the countryside. It also leaves you poised to take a short scenic ride to either of the nearby river crossings – north to Hastings or south to Prescott.

The loop
My quick ride “loop” starts with the get’n out of Dodge path mentioned above. From there I jet to Hastings, WI. Sometimes I take the St. Croix trail north and other times I add a little extension by going down to Prescott and then taking the Wisconsin side up.

After a quick stop at Dick’s in Hastings, I continue north to Stillwater. If you take highway 35 it’s only a few miles, so to make it a little more interesting I like to go through Burkhardt on County A before venturing back to Minnesota.

A couple other notable routes
I’ve added a couple routes that deserve to be included becuase they’re in the proximity and they’re kick-ass roads. And by kick-ass I mean scenic, twisty, and deep in the river bluffs.

County Road O: This road is like what you see in motorcycle postcards (not sure if these exist, but they should). There are twists, dips, curves, nips?, single vehicle bridges… the works. There are trees hanging over one side and a brooke wandering down the other. It connects 35 to highway 10.

County 7 Blvd: If you’re ever going down 61 in or out of Redwing, there’s no reason not to take this little detour… you won’t regret it. The 90 degree curves lead you down in the valley, past Welch (ski) Village, and back out.

Bars:
The map also labels a few of our favorite watering holes. Some of these are pretty well known in the biker community, but there’s a couple that you might not have heard of, so if you’re looking for a destination maybe….

The Cave Bar – Its located in Hersey, WI, which isn’t much more than a wide spot in the road, but its worth a stop because of the friendly people, cold drinks, and it’s decor. As you might guess, its cave-ish. http://www.herseycavebar.com

Neumann’s Bar – Its located in North St. Paul, just off highway 36. Its been serving the thirsty since 1887. Every Thursday there’s a ride – be there at 6pm – leave at 6:30pm. Any rider that returns receives a coupon for a “buy one get one free” beverage. http://neumannsbar.com

Willow River Saloon – Located in Burkhardt, WI, it’s a big bar for such a small town. The word “saloon” really describes the atmosphere.

See ya’ll there….

I love the Flood Run. Here’s the quick 101: There’s two Flood Run’s. One in the spring and one in the fall. It starts at the Beach Club Bar right outside Afton, MN. From there it meanders down the river road, on the Wisconsin side between Prescott and Nelson, then on the Minnesota side from Wabasha down to Minnieska. It’s one of the largest local motorcycle rallies. Its thousands of bikers. Its kick-ass.

Here’s how the Driftless Riders do it:

Well, well, well…what can I say but…. my guts hurt, my ass is sore, I did throw up once, and my head is still ringing, but what the hell…it was all worth it! All hail the Flood Run. http://www.floodrun.org/ Guess there’s no where to start except the beginning:

7:00 a.m. Awake to overcast and 45 degrees (Its going to be a rough day)…Place Egg Bake in oven.

8:30 a.m. Driftless Riders arrive at St. Paul Headquarters, weather still shitty and cold, after some counsel we all decide to put on chaps and long underwear for the day.

9:15 a.m. After some good egg bake, links, toast and bloodies, bust out of town on I-94 to St. Croix Trail to The Beach Club, the official start of the Flood Run.

Beach Club Line Up

9:45 a.m. Arrive at the Beach Club just in time for the line-up…check out the pics. Now the actual run was scheduled to leave at 10:30 a.m. but the Driftless Riders got a little antsy and decided to get ahead of the group. This usually wouldn’t be the case, but we had a little wrinkle this year. It seems that one of the Driftless Riders, who will remain unamed (Chopper) has a wedding coming up shortly, and he agreed to his lovely fiancee to be back in Minneapolis by 1:30 p.m for the wedding shower…while he took some good natured ribbing about this, we all thought it best that we ride south to Prescott to take in the No Name Saloon… gotta love the Monkey Bar (it’s open air annex).

Streets of Prescott

10:00 a.m. I think it actually got colder and wetter riding to Prescott, and we all were pretty happy to roll into town, things were just starting to build-up…check out the pics.

The Nauti Hawg Bar and Grill

10:45 a.m. Roll-out to Diamond Bluff… Now this is where things started getting a little bit interesting, because unlike other years, there was a mechanical bull present. After a whiskey coke, low and behold, the bachelor of the day rode that mutha.

High Noon: On to an unsanctioned stop at the Boder Lounge in Hager City, Wisc… You all can fill in the blanks, but the highlights are the pork fat sandwiches and the scenery.

Let’s not forget Maiden Rock… we did stop here, too.

1:30 p.m. After the bachelor peeled off, the two remaining cowboys were left to plot the rest of the day’s devilish dealings… we did not fail… Usually our route would have us making a stop in Nelson, Wisc. This time, we decided to forgo this stoppage and head straight to Buck’s Bar in Minneska, Minn.

The view from Bucks Bar

2:30 p.m. We’ve reached the last official stop on the run. Buck’s (Bar) patio offers a great view of the river valley. This (with a cold beer) was a perfect cap to the Spring 08 Flood Run. We were ahead of the crowd, so we grabbed a picinic table, relaxed and watched the waves of bikes roll in. In the midst of all of this a unique event unfolded: There was some negotiating and I think that a hat was exchanged… long story short… we now have a photo of the Driftless Riders stickers being used as pasties. All in the name of advertising.

Driftless Riders stickers being used as pasties.

4:00 p.m. After the fun at Buck’s, we cruised down to Winona, fueled up, and headed across the river to the infamous Four Mile…This is a great place, good drinks, and a great place to layover, especially on a shitty weather day as this one.

????? p.m. Headed out of Four Mile to the Jailhouse Saloon… Full of bikers, cold beer and good burgers. www.jailhousesaloon.com/

Super-human Strength

9-ish Started getting dark, so we needed to hang our spurs up in the river town of Trempealeau, Wisc. There’s alot I can say but here are the highlights:

1. stopped at the historic and haunted Trempeauleau Hotel Bar (you can stay here, even though it used to be a hospital, or you can get a room down by the Marina…we chose the later)
2. got lost trying to find our over-night accomidations, talked to drunken fisherman who hadn’t ever heard of the lodging we were looking for,
3. found the Kingfisher (our room) less than 100 yards from the drunken fisherman;
4. walked a mile back to town to take in the two local bars;
5. witnessed a bad heavy metal band, talked to crazy local girls, and witnessed a hometown barfight;
6. went to Vet’s and met local girls who were gracious enough to take pictures of their cleavage;
7. ate a twice warmed pizza;
8. walked a mile drunk off my ass through a marina;
9. somehow made it back and fell asleep;
10. woke up at sometime in the morning and expelled the twice warmed pizza.

Trempealeau Cleavage

The Next Day: We felt shitty as expected, but what the hell, take a shower, suck it up, and get back on the horse and put her into the wind.

We managed to get our groggy selves to Centerville and Beedles Bar for brunch…Great place, good food, biker friendly, and nice folk. http://www.beedlesbar.com/

After eating we pretty much pointed ourselves home…we headed up Highway 35 to Nelson, jumped across the river to Highway 61 and then onto Highway 52 back into St. Paul.

Another awesome and memorable Flood Run.

Cheers!

All the county roads are pretty right on as you wind your way up and down through the valleys that are held down by generation old dairy farms and very small towns (Note: These people are working hard for a living, so these aren’t speed routes, take it easy and keep your eyes open for farm implements and trucks on the roads).

Your options for routes in this area are endless, but we usually make a ride east into the country and work our way back to the river…especially awesome roads are around the small village of Montana (roads C, CC, X and XX).

I might also mention that a great little town to hang it up for the night is Buffalo City, which is located on the Mississippi River backwaters…lodging can be tricky, but I recomend the Viking Hotel (you can’t miss it because there’s a huge Viking in the front of it).

Following is link to a nice road map: http://www.buffalocounty.com/Maps/travel%20map.pdf