26.03.25
Oh glory be to the first warm summer day of early Spring, when melancholic vitriolic Minnesota March decides to cut us some fuckin’ slack and give us a sunny 65 degree day between the feet of snow.
A day like today calls for windows down, airing out the accumulated car-farts of a long winter while Maria Takeuchi serenades me at a volume just high enough to cut through the wind of the interstate, cutting out of work 15 minutes early and enjoying the sunshine. Smiling at strangers and feeling five months worth of dopamine flow through my veins.
It also calls for some Springtime Motorcycling. Yes, the abject pleasure of Winter Motorcycling no longer a thought to contend with, it is now time to charge the battery and check the tires and clean the chain and embark on a Mission. An Objective always lends itself to a good time when going for an otherwise aimless motorcycle ride after work.
Objective One: Obtain a Malt.
Schooney’s delivers. A real cherry malt from a real malt shop. I was even legally parked! (There is a motorcycle-sized gap between the end of the last parking spot and the start of the yellow curb)
Objective two: Find a Train.
The historic Soo Line depot in Osceola, Wisconsin, built in 1916, serving passenger rail from the Twin Cities until 1961, and added to the national register of historic places in 2000, now home to scenic passenger rail excursions between May and October. The locomotive was nowhere to be seen, not sure what’s up with that, but they left a nice passenger car and a caboose for me to look at. But truly, the star of the show today, the highlight of my week so far, was the 1980’s-ish ¾ ton Hi-rail Suburban. Holy god damn, I have never seen such an object of beauty in my life. A truck AND a train, two hyperfixations rolled into one. It had a blue vinyl interior with manual windows and all three rows of seating installed, and 51k on the dash. Judging by the total lack of rust in the body, that may even be original. It had an automatic and what I can only assume is a big block under the hood, but there was no way for me to determine that without touching it. I love this. The registration was from last year, if I had to guess the historic railroad uses it to maintain this otherwise-unused rail spur.
With the mission accomplished, I had but to ride home, with the sun setting and the cold of spring creeping back in, reminding me of the time one must borrow when it comes to riding in the early spring. A wonderful way to spend an evening, 3 hours of goofing around and exploring on scenic backroads in the St. Croix River Valley, and 75 miles ridden.
