Flood of 2008

It's been a little over one month since the flooding hit Cedar Rapids, and the surrounding areas. I didn't really start paying attention to the news warning of the flooding until I got to work on June 12th. I can look out of my work place (Verizon Business), and see the river. I had heard on the 5 AM news that many of the downtown businesses were closed due to the flooding. I had called to see if Verizon was one of them, and we were not. I got to work around 6:15. When I got off at my exit and turned to go down town to Verizon I was very surprised to see complete darkness when I looked at the downtown area. The Verizon building and those up from the downtown area had power or were running on generator power.

When I got up to 9th floor where I work, I looked out the windows that face West, but I wasn't able to see anything since it was still dark and there was no lighting. When it did start getting light outside, I could see the river slowly creeping up 1st Ave, 2nd Ave, and looking out to the South I could see the river overtaking many of those streets also.

Those of us who came into the office began monitoring the KCRG Website, and we were constantly looking out the windows to see how far the river had come up since the last time we looked out. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 12th Ave bridges were closed around 8 or 9 am. Around 10 am we found out that the levy had broken down by Check Town. We were beginning to wonder if we should leave work and go home.

Mike called me (he was standing on top of his companies downtown office building- I looked out the window and I could see him waving to me), and asked if I was going home. I told him that I was just waiting for the word. He had heard that they were going to be closing the Interstate. Management had also been hearing that the Interstate was going to close. Finally around 1:30 pm we were told to go home.

Mike and I had decided to meet and go and take some photos before we left town. Here is my Kodak link if you would like to look at the photos that we took of the flooding. There are also photos of our the little creek behind our house, and some other areas around Cedar Rapids that got flooded.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?UV=95030164262_840843107605&mode=fromsite&collid=927847692105.490827965605.1216574198200&conn_speed=1
We were deeply saddened to find out that Mike's Grandma Bea whose house had been in Time Check had water up to her second floor landing. And my nephew Mike who had his shop in Czech Village was also flooded. Neither Mike's Grandma nor Mike had flood insurance.

We tried to assist with the clean up for both Grandma Bea and Mike. It is a very depressing ordeal to have to go through. We hope that the future holds something very wonderful for both Grandma Bea and Mike.

Backbone??

Well, we did have one more ride before the snow started to fly last year. It was November 11th, 2007...

We left around noon today from our house- destination Backbone State Park. It was overcast, and in the 60s- a good day for riding. We headed up to Walker, then Independence, and that's when the trouble began. Mikey's ride shut down just inside the city limits of Independence. It appeared to be a wiring issue, like the last time. A rewire was done, and off we went again. We got about two miles outside of town, and Mikey broke down again. It was decided after much discussion, that it was probably the battery. I called around, and found an Advanced Auto that had a battery that might work. Mike and I headed into town to get it. Bad part was it had to charge for about 40 min. The good part was that when we got back and put the new battery in, Mikey's bike ran great! We decided to turn around and head home since it gets dark early now. We may still get one last ride before the snow flies- who knows with Iowa weather.

We didn't get a chance at any more nice weather last year, so the bikes got weatherized and bedded down for a nice winter's nap!

Ride To Poopy's

It's the middle of February, and from the weatherman's report it doesn't sound like it will be warming up any time soon! We may even be getting some freezing rain tonight. I just keep thinking March is right around the corner.

I've put together a photo slide show of our ride to Poopy's last November. I'd never been there before, and I'd never even heard of it, but it was worth the ride. It's a popular place for bikers to ride. It is located in Savanna, Il. The worst part about the ride is the bridge that you have to cross before you get to Il. Let's just say that I am glad that I was not driving my bike that day. And I really wasn't too happy being a passenger going over that bridge either. The bridge has groves running vertical all the way across the bridge, so if you swerve even a little you could lose control. Not good. I hated that part. But, once we got to Poopy's I forgot that part of the trip, until we left...

The food at Poopy's is great, the price is right, and there's alot of it! I couldn't even begin to finish mine, so Mike did :)

Here's a link to Poopy's- check it out- http://www.poopys.com/

I'm really having fun putting these slide shows together, and I think I'm getting a little bit better, and faster at it. I hope you enjoy it.

More Snow!

We are getting hit with yet another snow storm! We've already gotten about 8 inches, and the snow continues to fall, and the wind is picking up. It has been snowing since last night, and the forecast says its not supposed to let up until around 3 pm today. And it sounds like Interstate 380 may be closing soon. The good thing is my work decided that it would be better if we didn't try to come into the office today! I was very happy about that- I hate driving on the interstate in decent weather, and when the weather turns bad its a nightmare out there. I will happily stay inside and watch the snow fall, and continue putting together the pictures from our road trips last year, and keep thinking to myself that summer is just around the corner...

Our second road trip was to visit Cedar Rock, the house that Frank Lloyd Wright built as a summer home for businessman Lowell Walters in 1950. We all thought the house was pretty ugly, but the boat house was awesome. If you get a chance to visit Cedar Rock it is pretty interesting, and it’s just outside of Quasqueton, IA. Here is a link if you'd like to learn more about Cedar Rock http://www.iowadnr.com/parks/state_park_list/cedar_rock.html.

Here's a little slide show that I put together. I didn't take a lot of pictures that day because it was pretty cold and I was more concerned about staying warm! I hope you enjoy the slide show.

Welcome To The Bike Barn In Iowa

Welcome!

I hope you find something useful or entertaining from my postings! I have created this blog to share my stories, and adventures from several areas that are a big part of my life. I enjoy music, gardening, riding motorcycles, and life in general, so you should find something to relate to! Needless to say I am never bored! Life is an experience that should be fully experienced- good and bad. And I've had my share of both.

Since its cold, and I am anxious for the first warm days that we have so that we can get out and take a spin on the scooter, I'll share a little about how our riding experience started again. My husband and I had both ridden when we were younger, but had sold our bikes, and had not ridden in years...

We bought a couple of Harleys several years ago as an excuse to take some time to enjoy life. We are both workaholics. Last fall we started riding with a few friends. I began "taking the back seat" to snap pictures of our rides, and realized that as much as I liked being the driver, I also enjoyed taking photos just as much! I have nicknamed our little group "The Wind Warriors". The group started out with five of us who consistantly rode together at the beginning. I had originally called us the "Fab Five", but as our rides continued we picked up other riders, so the name needed to be more adaptable.

The main characters of the Wind Warriors are Mike, Mikey, Craig, Frank and Dusty. Mike and Dusty ride a 2003 Ultra Classic Electra Glide (side car sometimes), Mikey rides his rebuilt 1963 Pan Head, Craig rides a custom Sportster, and Frank rides a 2007 Ultra Classic Electra Glide. And when I do ride, I ride my 2005 custom Sportster 883 Low.

Here are the original Wind Warriors-



Frank, Mike & Dusty ,Craig, Mikey

Our first ride together last fall started out at my nephew Mikey's shop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. We wandered the back roads through The Amana's, Marengo, Victor, Belle Plaine, and eventually ended up at the local Saloon, The Chrome Horse.

I have put together a photo collage from our trip. Please forgive the imperfections, and any misspelled words. I have been working on this for months. As most of you can understand, when you work a full time job you take any free moment that you can to find time for the things that you want to do. And I realized that when I went to make changes on the slide show it caused things to shift, etc. So, I decided that I was publishing as is! I hope Lynyrd Skynyrd doesn't mind that I've used Red, White and Blue for my background music. It seemed the most fitting, and I can really relate to the song. Enjoy!