Don’t think I can blame global warming, but why is it that we can have drought and heat all week and then a deluge on the weekend? First plan for the weekend was the epicurean and riding delight that is the Wisconsin Guzzi Rally. But again, while no scientific evidence supports the theory, Guzzis seem to attract massive torrential flooding which is caused by some Italian atmospheric anomaly or god’s wrath inflicted upon Guzzi riders for some sin or other, depending on your belief system and it’s conspiracy theories. Looking at the forecasts I decide a 350 mile eastward trek wasn’t wise, and sure enough that route is now a series of flood warnings on the weather map. Throw in the tendency for rain to shoo motorcyclists indoors where COVID is thickest, and I also decided against a 150 mile drive to the old bike show at Moon Motorsports in Monticello, Minnesota where one of my favorite dealers even cleared the new bikes off the showroom floor and pitched tents so the bikes would stay dry.
So I fell back to the ol’ reliable Hanley Falls Threshing Show, which never fails to provide ol’ time good gearhead entertainment. Besides the usual selections of 60s Mustangs, Unibody F100, hit ‘n’ miss engines and weird variants of mostly ordinary tractors if not for them being orphaned decades ago, this year the theme tractor was Case and a bountiful selection turned out!
Meanwhile back in the summer sauna that is DC (now minus malaria), Congress finally passed a comprehensive environmental, health care, and inflation fighting bill. While the exact taste of this work of legislative sausage making hasn’t been detailed yet, it does contain long term certainty and some expansion of incentives for battery and plug in hybrid vehicles as well as incentives for renewable fuels and renewable energy for homes, businesses, and farms.
While that good news probably had Big Oil’s astroturf apologists who were very conspicuous at Farmfest crying in their bad beer, I talked to a couple 60ish farm boys at the threshing show who were already driving a plug in hybrid and looking forward to a battery electric truck… Looks like even rural folks can see clear skies ahead and welcome them!
GearheadGrrrl 