Sunday, June 5, 2011

SKUNK Rally 2011 - Sidecars!

This weekend was the 8th annual SKUNK Rally. SKUNK = Side Kars Up North Klub. It’s an exclusive club. To become a member you must live Up North. North is defined as any place North of a South place.

SKUNK Rally 2011

The event was Friday night through Sunday. I had originally planned on going and camping out on Friday night, but changing the tires and some other maintenance on the Ural took a bit more time than I planned. Instead, I left on Saturday morning and made the ride to Cameron, WI – about 100 miles one way. The rally was held on the grounds of the Pioneer Village Museum -- a neat place. As you can see from the photos, the weather was perfect. It was sunny and about 80F.

SKUNK Rally 2011

They had quite a lot of exhibits, and I ran out of time trying to look at them all.

SKUNK Rally 2011

You can even learn how to use a loom.

SKUNK Rally 2011

Old stoves:

SKUNK Rally 2011

Old washing machines:

SKUNK Rally 2011

Old gadgets. I like the old telephone switchboard in front of the red chair.

SKUNK Rally 2011

Woodworking tools from the last 150 years.

SKUNK Rally 2011

I arrived just after lunch and was the 21st sidecar there. There were five Urals there, and as I arrived the 2011 Gear-Up left. In total, 22 sidecars attended and about 70ish people.

SKUNK Rally 2011

My 2009 Ural Patrol dressed for summer:

SKUNK Rally 2011

A neat Triumph rig.

SKUNK Rally 2011

A Burgman 650 sidecar rig (more pics of this one in the full album):

SKUNK Rally 2011

The errant two-wheeler even showed up.

SKUNK Rally 2011

a Harley rig:

SKUNK Rally 2011

Kevin’s transportation for the rally:

SKUNK Rally 2011

Note the yellow dust in all the photos? It’s tree pollen from the pines.

SKUNK Rally 2011

SKUNK Rally 2011

Amazing how much pollen these trees were putting out in the few hours the sidecars were sitting there.

SKUNK Rally 2011

SKUNK Rally 2011

I like this sign: “Ural – 50 Years of Impeding Traffic”

SKUNK Rally 2011

Lilacs were also in full bloom and smelled great.

SKUNK Rally 2011

Cool custom sidecar frame on this Moto Guzzi.

SKUNK Rally 2011

The second lever is for the sidecar brake. Nice!

SKUNK Rally 2011

I love his backrest too.

SKUNK Rally 2011

Kevin from Scrambler Cycle (Orange) giving advice to Jeremy (left). This is Jeremy’s first sidecar -- a mid eighties sportster rig he built two days ago. Congrats!

SKUNK Rally 2011

Dinner! Lasagna, bread, salad, and ice cream for desert.

SKUNK Rally 2011

This guy “won” the gnome for riding the furthest to the rally – 416 miles. I was surprised he beat the Canadians on mileage.

SKUNK Rally 2011

Jeremy “won” the goofy hat for being the most inexperienced sidecarist at the rally – two days! The honor was almost mine as I only have about two years.

SKUNK Rally 2011

This was my door prize. A patch from the now defunct 3rd Wheel club.

SKUNK Rally 2011

The organizer (and cook) at the museum was presented with this hat. Yea, it’s a raccoon and not a skunk. She REALLY liked it.

SKUNK Rally 2011

I had a fun time shooting the breeze with the other drivers (you drive a sidecar). Talking about riding, trips, and sidecars all afternoon was a fun time!

Full flickr album of all 71 photos including every sidecar there: 2011 SKUNK Rally.

YouTube Video:

12 comments:

  1. Looks like a fun event. I Get the feeling that you'll only run in to interesting people at a get-together like that.

    Brady
    Behind Bars - Motorcycles and Life
    http://www.behindbarsmotorcycle.com/

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  2. Nice set of hacks. Having a soft spot for Triumph's I guess my favourite would be the Tiger sidecar.
    I like the exclusive definition of the SKUNK ;-)

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  3. That looks like a fun time Chris....glad you got the Ural back in time for it.

    Thanks for all the pics too, always good to see what other folks come up with in terms of sidecars.

    dom


    Redleg's Rides

    Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner

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  4. Brady: It was a fun time!

    SonjaM: The triumph rig was striking.

    Dom: Maybe you can ride out next year and show off Vikki. No prob on the pics. I like looking at the interesting things people do. So many variations when it comes to sidecars.

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  5. Hmmm, a Sypder and a Burgie w/ sidecar . . . See, I was paying attention :)

    Loved the goofy hat.

    Thanks for the share,
    ~k

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  6. Keith: :) the hat was fun. he was a good sport for wearing it the rest of the night.

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  7. Dear Chris:

    While you Ural always cuts a dignified figure, I loved that Triumph Hack Rig. I watched your video with great interest... I loved the choice of music too.

    Great post tonight.

    Fondest regards,
    Jack/reep
    Twisted Roads

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  8. On another note I'd be interested in hearing how your first class went. Us being fellow instructors and all, now!

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  9. You've assembeled such a nice set of pics--looking forward to seeing the series on flickr. Also, I love that Triumph sidecar! Really nice!

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  10. Dear Jack: Thanks Jack. The Triumph was a nice rig. The owner had spent considerable time customizing it for his needs. Glad you liked the video too.

    irondad: I just finished my first mentored BRC this past weekend. I didn't write anything about it yet. My "first" class was at the end of the RCPC. You can read about that one here: http://www.everydayriding.org/2011/05/ridercoach-training-day-10-rcpc-finale.html tomorrow night I teach my first solo class.

    Sharon: Thanks :)

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  11. whatever happened to SKUNK ? since Yahoo shut down groups.

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    Replies
    1. Not sure, think they are gone. Maybe try reaching out to scrambler cycle if he is still in business.

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