Enclosed you will find my IBET photo's. I hereby cry 'uncle' and admit defeat. My only consolation being the oft-quoted 'maybe next year'.

      My initial mistake (among many) was to underestimate the number of locations that would turn out to be 'losers'. In fact the list looked easy enough that I coherced fellow Motocycle Shop employees Doug Wirt, and Gary Biberdorf to enter.

     Donna and I were so confident that we would be able to get 50 places, that we took several trips before the IBET had even started, using up valuable vacation time, that would be sorely needed during the IBET.

      With Donna being pregnant, we had a limited timeframe that she could travel with me, so we wanted to get 25 hits out of the way with her along, and I could get the rest solo.  So we began out quest with a 4 day trip down through Iowa, into Missouri, across into Illinois, up into Wisconsin, and back through Minnesota to home.   We found Jacksonville Iowa on our way across Iowa, but didn't know if the sign was good enough, so we kept it on our list of places to get in Missouri.. Took the photo in Spirit lake Iowa in the pouring rain. Got lost in and around Sioux city (GPS saved us),  Found Santa Fe, MO at the end of a twisy backroad,  and saw more Samuel Clemmens memorial stuff than ought to be allowed. We found out that Pittsburg Iowa is no longer a town but got to talk to the fine folks who live there, and run the antique shop. They are from Texas and also do restorations of fine paintings. We also got to visit Monterey Iowa, and found that it also is no longer a town, but is still the home fo the Monterey church, and the Monterey Auction Company. Got to see a good chunk of Illinois, and get refused admittance at a campground because we were on a motorcycle. I didn't think that things there were places left in the U.S. that refused service to motorcycle riders, but I guess Illinois is still living in the past.

     We made it up into Wisconsin where we met up with a friend who ran the camera on our ride back across Minnesota to home, allowing both Donna and I to be in the photo's..

      One day trip we took was up to North Dakota, it was a casual 500 mile day, that allowed us to get Davenport, Fargo, and Buffallo out of the way.

    After af ew months Donna was getting too large to ride behind me, so we bought a '76 Moto Guzzi 850T3 and attatched a Velorex sidecar to it, this allowed us to continure riding. we then headed off to get a few more places in Northern minnesota and Iowa.  By this time Donna was wearing my jackets because hers would no longer fit her.

   Having not done much solo riding in my wife, I then jumped ont eh EV11 Guzzi and hit a few places in Minnesota . The most difficult one was Kingston Minnesota. I draped the towel over the saddlebag, and upon leaving, forgot it was on the bag, and rode off. I remembered what I did with it once back in Watertown, and my heart sank. I thought it was lost, but rode back to Kingston the next day to look for it. SUCCESS!! there it was, lying beside the road, right where I left it.  A nice 300 mile round trip TWICE.

    Teamstrange Minnister of Chronology Victor wanchenna even came over one day and  rode with me over to Toronto , South Dakota ,30 miles from here.  All in all, it was a great attempt, and I would have gotten my 50 places, however . . . . .I will settle for 35 or so.

       Donna is going into labor any minute now, and I really don't want to miss this event. There will be other rides, other seasons, and now that we have  the sidecar, its time to run the Minnesota 1000 in the Three-Up class. And on a Guzzi no less.  I aways enjoy Eddie's cracks about garden tractors, and wouldn't want to spoil his fun.  My IBET is done, but this whole baby trip is just beginning.  I see that neither Gary nor Doug is going to get even 25, so, in the end, this is probably a good refelction of my level. I am a little better than the average guy off the the street an long rides, but don't score very high against the big dogs who regularly participate in Teamstrange events.

  PS. since I origninally wrote this, baby Samantha Christine was born, 7lbs 13 oz. makes it all worthwhile. Seeya on the road.

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