Thursday morning started early with an IHOP breakfast where our own Mr. WCVROC, "Wolfman" came out to start off the trip. We were also joined by Fred "Z-Man" as 10 bikes left our agreed starting point. The mid morning gas stop found 4 more joining us and we rumbled into the Mississippi River town for lunch to find Brillo waiting for us. Leaving lunch, and wishing Wolfman a safe ride home, started our now 25 bike parade, the same number as our total bikes for Boscobel 98, wandering north to our Wisconsin destination. We waved safe ride to Z-Man as he too headed his steed back home and we continued on, winding our way through the construction obstacles, including the road in front of the Sands. We unpacked to meet again in front of Snick's Fin and Feather where we filled the barricaded street with bikes. The party continued on into the early next morning back at the Sands and campground and started early again Friday morning for the ride briefing.

With the intro's and safety reminders done, our now 65 bikes headed out for our tour that "Cap'n Kirk" had arranged at the S&S factory. With tours complete and everyone enjoying themselves, we headed off for a lunch stop that Brillo had arranged, after which he led our squads back to the Sands where the party continued until the next morning. Brillo's pimp of pouring oil on and under Jesse's token Harley and then watch as Jesse nearly had a melt down trying to figure out how his meticulously maintained bike was leaking oil only led to the insanity. I doubt if Brillo got much sleep the rest of the weekend, trying to keep an eye on his own bike, only to get pimped himself. The repeat qualifications of NAMRA members led to the entertainment and dig Kenny quotient.

Saturday didn't start as early for most but the smaller group rides headed off in all compass directions and the group rejoined that evening for the Bar-B-Que in the park. A count found 76 bikes parked out in front of the shelter, 1 loaded on a Colorado pickup and at least 5 more left in the campground. 109 dinners were served and after bills were paid, $1036 was presented to the Boscobel Mayor to be used by the Parks board. He also presented a plaque of appreciation to our group that will be proudly displayed by Don Diehls. A donation raised through both a lunch and dinner contribution totaling $240 was then presented to Ken Bass to be used for the VROC server fund. Paying back to our own roots never felt so good and with Stoney's used car salesman's like encouragement, we more then met our goals. Shirts, Pins, Patches, Hats and even a VROC stain glass, thanks "Chunk" were sold or raffled and then our infamous "The Bulldog" entertained the revelers with both serious and outrageous presentations, to include the new inductees into the sacred "Dainty Poofta" Brotherhood and the inaugural but soon to be cherished "Chromed Tits" award. The party wrapped with hopes for a future Boscobel with new leadership, and once again continued at the campground, Snicks and at the Sands as the early morning found us smiling our asses off. "Saddletramp's" trashing of "LilRed's" car hood and his insistence of us carving our nick's and other moments of insanity into the hood with knives or other sharp body parts were only a part of the great entertainment of us few and brave that ventured to the insanity of the camper's lair. The real undiscovered Boscobel gem was that the true biker's party was at the campground, for those daring enough to find it, even though they did run out of beer. A big thanks to "Fly" for coordinating and seeing that the $99 rental of the port-a-shitters was collected and paid, even though someone did steal the small soap out of the even smaller sink. The campers presentation of Willie Wonka's birthday cake for his many many ...... did I say many? decades of existence was a real Kodak moment.

Sunday's blurry morning left over from Saturday's party, found many of us cussing the cantankerous Kenny of the Sands who tried his ever shitting best to ruin the party with his petty bitching, moaning and even calling the cops on us. Though many, including "Mustang Sally" and myself decided he and the rising heat were the signals to pack and hit the road, the overriding mood was one of great satisfaction of having been at one hell of a party. The few and brave that stayed on, hopefully didn't burn down the motel or string up Kenny, though we wouldn't have missed him.

Though I retire as the lead planner over the last 3 years, after following the Godfather of Boscobel, Don Diehls himself, I refuse to retire from Boscobel. The opportunity to ride some of the best roads in the Midwest with some of the best and truly most interesting and unique people I've met and ridden with over my last 34 years of riding won't end and I will return to Boscobel again next year as a mere meek, mild mannered and quiet participant......well fuck that quiet shit......but I will be there. I wouldn't miss the opportunity to ride with the friends I've met along the way. It truly has been an honor to be involved with planning the best biker party I've personally been to. I couldn't have done it without all the help of the local contacts as well as the valued assistance of Brillo, Bulldog, Cap'n Kirk, Don Diehls and all the support of all of you who came back year after year. Well enough with this sappy shit, here's hoping all made it back safe to their homes with smiles that they can't wipe off their faces until the next ride.

Dingo's flight from Indy was being held due to local thunderstorms, so I took off on my own Thursday afternoon for Boscobel. Took me an hour to just get out of the south metro (damn your traffic is rough in the south metro!), but finally hit the 55/52 split around 5:00 and hauled ass the rest of the way. Made it down without incident and rolled onto main street by 8:30. Good sized crowd, but it was apparent Thursday that the numbers seemed to be down from the previous year. But even with that, I saw many old friends from Sauk Valley and Windy Cities as I wandered main street and Snicks. Long day, so checked into the Super 8 and called it a day.

Friday morning started with a staple of attending Boscobel ... a breakfast at the Unique Café with several of the River Cities crew! The Unique is your typical, small town café with a counter, booths and historic pictures of the community plastered on every available wall space within the café. And their breakfasts are second to none! From there it was over to the Sands for the 8:00 meeting of ride leaders and getting the bikes lined up, ride instructions and route plans. Dingo called, he finally got out of the Twin Cities around 7:00 and had made it as far as Black River Falls and would meet us at either Viola or the Sands (ended up meeting up at the S&S Plant). Blackchrome does a nice job of walking all the riders (whether new or experienced) through some basic but important tips on how to ride and communicate when in a large group. Our route took us out of Boscobel and up one of the nicest curvy roads around (131) which led us into Viola and the S&S parking lot! S&S did a real nice job of making us feel at home even though outside of an air cleaner or so, we really don't fit their customer profile. The VP of Sales presented a history of the company (not as old as you might think...), then we split into several groups. Groups visited their on-site museum (very interesting!) as well as a full tour of their manufacturing facilities. Overall we spent about 2 1/2 hours at the plant then took off on more curvy roads around the Amish country side (and a near miss with a rouge mutt who jumped out on the road causing Brillo to lock'em up and raised everyone else's concern that followed ... damn dog!), around the Wild Cat Mountain area then through Sparta for lunch. By 3:00 the River Cities group was ready to take it back to Boscobel, gathered and started to rollout. Seems others had the same idea and we led a group of about 30 bikes back to Boscobel.

After a dip in the pool the River Cities folks headed out C Road to K Road and down to Fennimore for dinner. K is one of the nicest roads that I've had a chance to ride. Nice graceful sweepers as well as a few posted 35 - 40 mph twisties. Since most in the group knew where we were going, Dingo and I high tailed it down K to push the bikes a bit through the curves (after a day of the mellow group pace, the girl just needed to be opened up a bit). What a blast! 35 mph curves at 60! Sweepers at 70-75! Beautiful countryside! Slowed along the straight always to make sure that the headlights behind could catch up a bit, then WOT again <G>!

We rolled into Fennimore and had a good meal a the Fennimore Hotel. Don had stories to tell (which we'll let him tell when he gets back) and we enjoyed our meal. Then it was a pitch black ride back to Boscobel ... night riding is always a bit more stressful, but in an area of twisted roads and lotsa critters, it just becomes a bit more so. Got back into town and back on main street to partake in a few beverages at the Double K Bar. From there we had to check out the scene at the Sands and found a few folks sitting out front enjoying the very warm evening. A few rides by the expected exhibitionists then back to the Sands to hit the hay. Long warm day and most were pretty beat.

Saturday am started with another breakfast at the Unique. Then Dingo and I departed for the Twin Cities while the rest of the River Cities group gathered for a ride that probably ended up in Galena, IL. Dingo and I followed the Wisconsin River over to Prairie Du Chen, then up Hwy 35. The ride was pretty comfortable until we got past Lacrosse. Then the heat started to hit us ... heat from the engine, heat from the wind blowing on us and the heat of the sun beating on us as we rode. Lotsa water and Gatorade! We mad three stops along the way for fuel and refreshment ... once at Prairie, at Alma and at Prescott (Prescott only to get more water to cool down but also used the stop to top off for the final 60 miles home).

Our Alma stop was both amusing as well as a chance to add another member to River Cities! The amusing side came as we were sitting outside getting the bikes ready to go again. Two guys came out and asked Dean who made his bike. They liked it ... but one said "you're bikes nice, but your buddy's Dresser is really really nice!". Ummmmm .... Hey dough head! They're exactly the same bike except for color! Anyway we didn't say anything .. thanked them for their comments and laughed at their ignorance after they left. I think the missing tank badges were enough to through these guys off ... whatever.

Then we met Dave and his wife from Coon Rapids. They had been riding down the river on the MN side and were returning up the WI side and had also stopped for some refreshment. We talked bikes a while and he told us of his recent trip to Colorado and the great rides out West. We asked about who he rides with then I gave him one of my River Cities cards and told him to check out our group. He seemed very interested and I hope we see him around these parts again.

Finally got home around 3:00 ... beat, tired and pretty sunburned (even with all the goop we put on through the day). After a nice cool shower, we started moving stuff over to the storage unit (which was a short lived exercise due to the heat). Then another shower and a trip into Rogers for the local celebration (Rockin' Rogers Days) where we hung out in the beer garden until around midnight. The band was Johnny Holms, the beer was cold and we ended up bumping into a bunch of local friends. A long, very tiring day. But wouldn't change a thing!!!

Sorry some of you couldn't make the trip this time around. There will be planning going on over the next months on setting dates for next year and I highly recommend you do what you can to attend at least one Boscobel rally. The area is fantastic for riding, the locals are great and it's fun to have our group together and away from home so as to have a time to really hang out for a while.

Steve Molander...

<<Hi Don, Sorry I missed the picnic, Mayor Wetter said he really enjoyed himself. I had made plans to take my grand-kids and family to Green Bay to ride "Thomas" the train at the National Railroad Museum, and to visit the local amusement park. We had 11 of us on the trip and I'm pleased to report that no one killed anyone else or drew blood, so I guess it was a success.
I want to thank-you for the generous donation, after we cashed in the Canadian currency we ended up with $1,039.14... unbelievable. The money is ear-marked for electrical upgrades for the city park shelters. We've had complaints for years that the breakers would release when coffee makers and food warmers were running at the same time.
Thanks for the great mug too ... I'll probably run more ice tea through it than beer, but I'll be sure to have a cold MGD in your honor.
We've enjoyed having VROC as guests in Boscobel the last five years. If you decide to do another trip to Boscobel - let me know. Good luck on your future rides where-ever they may lead you!

Auggie VROC #4700

Deb's and my day started off with ZOOM showing up an hour early in Bellevue to ride down with us to Savanna to meet the BC and the Windy City group at 12:00 for lunch before heading to Boscobel. ZOOM said he just went faster than anticipated but I think he was just pumped up for the run and couldn't wait any longer to leave home. We arrived in Savanna about 45 minutes earlier than expected so we spent some time in Poopys checking out the ink flash, chrome and the leather until we went outside to see the Windy City group come rolling in with BC in the lead. With the bikes all lined up in front of Poopy's we had a pretty impressive bunch of Vulcan's to show off to the local HD riders. BC demonstrated his prowess with the bullwhip and scared the shit out of one of the locals which thanks to Wolfman.  Click here to view the spectacle.   After meeting old members again, also some new members and eating lunch we were off toward Boscobel! I finally got to ride with Ken Bass again since I missed the opportunity at ES last fall.

Leading a group of 24 bikes we arrived in Boscobel at around 4:30 after dodging the construction on Hwy 61 with Rev's wife Katie getting stuck momentarily in front of the Sands Motel in the sand from the road work. Katie I think you could use a tire with some sand paddles on it but it may take a little more hp to move it. ;-) After throwing our junk in the room it was time to head down to Vale and Snicks for some much needed chow and something to sooth the parched brain cells from the hot ride. As usual I was later than most getting downtown but that way I get to see more bikes there when I pull in. There looked to be about the same number there as the year before but I failed to get a count of the bikes. We had quite a few new members attend this year and a lot of the earlier Boscobel members returning for their 4th and 5th times. Much of the first night was spent soaking up suds, checking out bikes and shooting the shit until the wee hours. (2:15 to be exact ;-p) Chunk was nice enough to make up a stained glass VROC logo to raffle off with the proceeds going to the Yellowstone gathering in 2003. I thought it was kick ass of him and still want one of them only larger in size bro.

Friday morning came much too early as I expected with my head a little on the light side and a meeting at 8:00 am wasn't what I had in mind. With our squad leader/blocker meeting done and the extortion of the lunch money (thanks Sally) we were ready to descend on the S&S plant to tour their thundering V-Twin building facilities. We were greeted with a smile and and a hearty handshake from their managers upon seeing our Vulcan's pulling in on time filling the parking lots and then some. With a short meeting in the lunchroom we were divided into groups and given the tour of a most impressive factory with a seemingly very loyal group of people working there. I think if I lived closer I would put in my resume. ;-) Once we were done with the engine building part of the plant we were taken to the S&S museum where I was allowed the opportunity to sit in the World Record holding S&S built bike that ran 276? mph on the Salt Flats, it was a VERY tight fit in there. With the museum tour done we were taken back to the lunchroom for a little quiz session and prizes were handed out to the people with the correct answers. I never had any right answers to give since my head still wasn't working quite right yet, but I did get a shirt for being one of the VROCers to sit in the bike in the museum, C.T. Nicky got the other. On our departure from the S&S plant we got the thumbs up from the management and a lot more smiles as we cranked on the twins. Our tour took just a little longer than we planned so I called ahead on our lunch stop to inform the folks setting up the spread. When we got to Wilton some of the group got sidetracked at the turn and went to Sparta without stopping so they didn't know where they were going, with the help of Deb and Oly they found their way to the bar where we had lunch.

With people getting tired from the heat and riding it was decided to cut the run shorter than planned so everyone could get back and cool off. One of the groups wanted to ride the whole route so they left a little early with the rest of us breaking up into smaller groups and riding different routes back to Boscobel. Even with the change in plans it was an enjoyable ride back since there aren't many bad roads in Wisconsin. After a nice cool shower and a trip to the liquor store for more cold ones we retired to the front of the Sands for some relaxation, more bullshitting and bike ogling. This is when I remembered I had planned a little surprise for Jesse our one and only HD rider from Sauk Valley VROC. I had this planned for awhile and what better place than B5 to pull it off. ;-) I planned to "add" a little oil leak to Jesse's bike sometime over the weekend but had forgotten to bring along some oil since we know we don't ever need any. This is when I remembered Deb's bike had the overflow bottle on her 800A about full so I pulled it off right in front of Jesse and walked around the other side of the motel. I carefully added a small amount to the gasket on his points cover and let it drip down to the frame and to the ground where I put a rather large puddle. About an hour later he discovered his new leak and the look on his face was priceless. Of course when he told me about it I had no choice but to play it up first before letting him in on the joke. hehehe Your a good sport Jesse! Friday night was a late one again lasting until 2:30 so a later rising time was in order.

Saturday moring came too early and we went for breakfast at the Unique for breakfast before heading up to the Wisconsin Dells to check out the shops. On the way up we were lucky enough to find a sprinkler spraying onto the highway from an irrigation rig to cool us off momentarily. If there is water to be found the Rainmaker will find it. ;-) After a couple hours in the shops it was time to go back to Boscobel for the BBQ at the park. Yep you guessed it I was late again getting there. There looked to be around 75 bikes there with a few in the campground above. When everyone finished eating it was time for the awards ceremony and the donation to the city of Boscobel $1036 along with one of $240 to Ken Bass for the server fund which he said he was using for software to block Fly's posts. I don't know Fly he may not be kidding. Bwhahahahaha With many awards serious and some not so serious it was a great time to see who was lucky or not so lucky (read setup) I managed to get the award for dirtiest bike. Thanks I think. ;-) I would go into the awards but this is getting too long already and I don't know who got all of them anymore now.

With the awards finished it was on to the Sands for more partying! Deb had decided this was her night to party and bought a bottle of 100 proof peppermint to mix peppermint and 7. Not drinking a whole lot of it I started giving out shots to anyone who wanted one. (mean I know) feRONi's SO Steph had a couple too many and prayed for forgiveness in the bathroom. (don't know why she did that?) ;-) There were a few NANMRA runs this night and I do remember one where the sparks were flying on the turns that Bugsplat did. It was another later night that ended at 3:30 for Deb and I with others turning in earlier but Dave and Jesse stayed up til 5:30....man...... We awoke the next morning to find most everyone heading for home or gone and wishing I could have said goodbye before. With a small group left we headed for the Unique for breakfast once again and said our goodbyes to the remaining people that were leaving Paul, Nicky, Brad, Ron, Steph, Bugsplat,Shannon, Baloo and Savage. I'm sure I forgot someone there but I'm old......er.

Sunday was a laid back day for the ones of us remaining me, Deb, Jesse, Fly, Rock, Bartman and the two guys they brought with. Sorry guys I'm terrible with names til I meet you at least twice. With a short 100 mile ride at a slow pace we returned to the Sands to sip a few brews and turn in early for the ride home on Monday. It was another great time with the VROC family and I'm looking forward to it again next year even thought I won't be involved in the setup of B6. I know I forgot a lot of things but someone will fill in the blanks where I left off. ;-) Thanks again to everyone who made it one of the best Boscobels!!! Ride Safe everyone!

Brillo VROC 1992

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