The Rainy Day at Tri-County

Posted on by

So, I was eager to get out on the quad now that the snow has melted, and riding season is once again starting.  I am a member of the ATV Connection Forums, and there is several guys from Minnesota that are members also.  GCExtreme (Glenn), his brother Matt, and myself set up a group ride for the Tri-County ATV Pit for this weekend. 

Now, Glenn and Matt are two displaced Arkansasans now living in the urban Siberia of Alexandria, Minnesota.  They have been here for only a few years, and their southern drawl still comes through strong.  Glenn and Matt are both new to quad riding, but were ambitious to try the varied terrain that Tri-County has to offer. 

We got geared up, and got out to Tri-County at about 10:30-11:00 a.m. or so, and it was just starting to rain.  I unloaded my Scrambler 400, and Matt unloaded his Raptor 660 from the trailers.  While we were waiting for Glenn to finish unloading his Honda 250EX, Matt and I headed down the main path between the parking lot and the pit at nearly full throttle … just testing out the waters for later. 

After all three of us were ready, we headed into the pit. 

The pit mostly consisted of sand and rocks.  There is a trail that circles the top of the pit, and many steep decents (greater than 45 degree angles) that go to the bottom of the pit, probably 75-100 feet or so below.  There are many U-shaped berms on these steep hills to whip around on, if you care to play with the benefit of centrifigal force.  In the bottom of the pit, there are several smaller sand mounds to ride on and jump off. 

We were taking it pretty easy in the pit at first, as everyone was adjusting to the new riding area.  Naturally, when you get 3 guys with quads in a gravel pit, someone is going to start the progression to more challenging obstacles.  Through the next few hours, we all had our close calls getting up on two wheels, almost rolling.  As the rain picked up, the right hand grip on my Scrambler slid off when hitting a berm, almost making it a bad deal for me. 

Easily, though, the award for the “closest close call of the day” went to Matt on his Raptor 660.  I was following right behind him with my Scrambler on a large hill, about a 30 degree incline, with a grove of trees and brush just down to our left.  Just as we were cutting sharp to the left to sidehill it uphill from the trees, Matt’s brand new Holeshot tires start setting up roosts of sand down the now rain-soaked hill.  The damp sand on the hill is starting to give way!  The more he gives it throttle, the more his rear end starts sliding downhill.  Even though his front wheels are pointed uphill, he is heading down sideways, fast!  I come to a pretty fast stop, just in time to watch his quad slide about 5 feet further down the hill, now to an area with about a 45 degree decline.  The quad STOPS, with Matt still on it, just inches from rolling!  Smart ass Brian, as usual, needs to make a comment, so I do. 

“Need a new pair of pants?”, I ask.  This was easily Matt’s closest accident ever, and he was definitely shocked at how fast it happened. 

All three of us approach the Raptor with it’s front-right tire slightly in the air.  For the next 15 minutes or so, we pull, push, and lift the Raptor out of its situation, and to a safer area.  Naturally, since I was right behind him with my Scrambler, we need to do the same for my heavy ass quad.  By the time we’re done, we’re pretty tired, and need to take a break! 

By this time, it is POURING!  You might think we are ready to leave, but we’re not.  Matter of fact, we can’t figure out why there’s no one else down here having fun!

Finally, after another hour or so of follow-the-leader, muddin’, and havin’ fun, we finally see a few more quads in the pit.  Ironically enough, another ATV Connection member, MN250R, had his Suzuki Quadracer LT500 out there, along with a friend of his with a newer Scrambler 500.  These guys were insane, and obviously have been riding for quite some time.  I saw the Scrambler go up large hills I’d never think of climbing.  Unfortunately, it all caught up about 15 minutes later…  Hitting some object buried in the dirt while coming down a hill, the Scrambler rolled 5 or 6 times, bent handlebars, broken plastic … amazing more damage wasn’t done.  He was alright, but had some repairs to do in the pouring rain. 

We called it quits at about 2:30 in the afternoon, loaded the quads back up, and headed home.  We grilled out on my very-ghetto “gas grill on a big black barrel in the garage”, as pictured below.  Unfortunately, because of the constant rain, I wasn’t able to get ANY action shots like I wanted to (although I came prepared for anything).  I have included a few shots of Glenn, Matt, and myself below. 

Overall, it was great fun, and my arms, legs, and back still ache as I write this.  Once quad riding gets in your blood though, you know you’ll be back next weekend doing it all again!  Thanks for coming down guys, and thanks for the good time!

It’s Severe Weather Awareness Week, and I guess I’m kind of a star, again.

Posted on by

Enjoy!  — Brian 

https://www.skywarn.us/features/stories#h.p_WxiJzBRTw2M_

Eyes on the Skies — Time Out!, By Pauline Schreiber, Daily News Staff Writer

FARIBAULT — When severe weather threatens, teams of volunteer skywatchers in different areas of Rice County prepare to go out in the field for observation. 

Unlike the early days of skywatching, John Rowan, Brian Klier and Adam Bjorklund have modern technology to help guide their observations. 

The three are members of the Faribault/Rice County skywatch group. The Lonsdale, Northfield and Morristown areas also have groups of volunteers ready to go into the field when a severe weather watch is issued by the National Weather Service. 

Rice County’s Emergency Management Department trains skywatchers, and when severe weather threatens Rowan acts as the observations coordinator. He goes to the basement of the Rice County Law Enforcement Center and uses equipment that enables him to track the location of the skywatcher vehicles in the field, communicate with them verbally, and watch National Weather Service radar on computers. 

Meanwhile, field observers like Klier and Bjorklund, with wireless, portable computer terminals in their vehicles, drive toward the inclement weather. They watch the National Weather Service radar report on their computer screens to determine where the severe weather is headed and drive to that location to observe the clouds. 

“Why you still need ground spotters, even with the sophisticated weather radar they have today, is that radar can only predict where a tornado might be forming,” Klier said. “Radar can’t tell if there is a wall cloud, a funnel cloud or a tornado on the ground. That’s why skywatchers are still very much needed when severe weather threatens.” 

Bjorklund demonstrated a portable wind meter, another tool used by field observers to report back wind speed, direction and barometric pressure. This information is helpful in determining where severe weather is headed. 

Skywatchers report their sightings to Rowan. If a tornado, straight-line winds or other life-threatening severe weather is sighted, he reports the findings to appropriate emergency-management personnel, such as Mike Monge, Faribault’s director of fire and code enforcement; Rick Rabeneck, Rice County’s emergency management director; and emergency management supervisors in Lonsdale, Northfield and Morristown. 

“Most of all of us are volunteers. The equipment we carry in our cars we buy. We do this because we enjoy watching the weather, and by doing so help warn people of the county so they can take shelter before a tornado or other severe weather hits,” Rowan said. 

The skywatchers are helped by deputies, other law officers and firefighters who also take the county-provided skywatch training each spring. Even experienced skywatchers like Rowan, Klier and Bjorklund take refresher courses every two years. Rowan has been an weather observer for 14 years; Klier since 1990, when he was a junior in high school and his father piqued his interest; and Bjorklund for the past five years. 

“We have footage of the 2000 tornado by Northfield that we use in our training,” Rowan said. 

In 1998, on March 29, the night of the famous St. Peter tornado, another tornado touched down in the northwestern part of Rice County, including the city of Lonsdale. 

Klier also remembers the night of the Faribault Heritage Days parade that same year, when he was out watching some very “serious weather” headed toward Faribault from the west. “They quickly canceled the end of the parade, but a lot of people got drenched with the heavy rains. There was also strong winds and dime-sized hail in places. It was quite the system.” 

All three warned when people hear the severe weather sirens go off, they should seek shelter and not go outside and look at the sky. 

“In this county, sirens are only sounded when a tornado or straight-line winds are coming our way,” Rowan said. “People shouldn’t be outside gazing at the sky. They need to take shelter.” 

Tornadoes have occurred at all hours of the day, Klier said. However, right before supper time is when more form than any other time of day. 

“We do this because we really like weather and enjoy watching it develop,” Klier said. “But, we also do it because we’re giving something back to the community, in a small way, by helping protect people.” 

When the severe sirens go off, Rowan said, “people can turn (on) their radios … and listen to the weather advisory. They should not call 911. Unfortunately, too often, when sirens sound, people call 911. That ties up that emergency phone system. Instead, listen to the radio, or more importantly, take shelter. Go to the basement or into a room without windows. Take weather warnings seriously. The decision to sound sirens are not taken lightly. There’s a real weather threat when they go off.”

Weather week 

Monday, April 18
Warning system: Severe weather warnings are prepared and issued by the National Weather Service. A severe weather or tornado watch means conditions are such that a severe thunderstorm, hail, straight-line winds or a tornado could develop. A tornado or thunderstorm warning means they are imminent and to seek shelter. 

Tuesday, April 19
Hail and other damage: Nationally, the annual damage toll from hail alone is about $1 billion. Hail, thunderstorms, straight-line winds and heat waves cause extensive damage in Minnesota every year. High temperatures can quickly cause heat exhaustion, especially in children and elderly people. 

Wednesday, April 20
Lightening: Last year, 90 Minnesotans lost buildings and belongings because of fires caused by lightening. The damage totaled $2.727 million. Lightening kills and injures more people than any other summer weather threat. 

Thursday, April 21
Tornado Drill Day
The statewide tornado drill is set for this day. In Faribault, sirens will go off at 1:45 p.m. and 6:55 p.m. The first drill allows daytime employees and students to practice their emergency plans at work or school. The 6:55 p.m. drill allows evening and nighttime employees and families to practice emergency plans at home or work. Mock tornado watches will be issued locally at 9 a.m. for the first drill and at 4 p.m. for the evening drill. All agencies are responsible for giving the all clear notice when they have finished their drills. 

Mike Monge, director of fire and code and services for the city of Faribault, and Rice County Emergency Management Director Rick Rabeneck encourage all businesses, schools, medical facilities and families to practice their severe weather plan. Friday, April 22
Flash floods: On average, five flash floods occur in Minnesota annually, most of them in June. Half of flash-flood fatalities occur in vehicles.

— Information from Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management office.

The Final Farewell for Schwans…

Posted on by

Well, not that I’m surprised to be writing this again, but my new Schwan’s delivery driver didn’t make it to my place again on the scheduled delivery date. 

If I can reminisce for a second:  I have had Schwan’s delivery since I moved in to my place in 1999.  I have always had cheerful and prompt delivery drivers, even though being a delivery person for Schwan’s is hard work, and it must be hard to keep that attitude at times.  I always liked getting the special recipe pizzas, and who could forget the mouth-watering Chicken Rigatoni Alfredo Meal Kits!  Much of the food was pretty spendy, but most times it was well worth it, considering you pay for delivery as part of your food, and you don’t tip the driver. 

When your new delivery person doesn’t care about your schedule, and doesn’t show up at all, it is mighty hard to justify the expense of Schwan’s products. 

Unfortunately, it’s the end of a legacy.  SimonDelivers is here, and gives Schwan’s a run for its money.  There simply isn’t room in this town for the two of them. 

For your reading satisfaction, here’s the latest in Schwan’s “online chat”: 

A Schwan’s representative will be with you shortly. Please wait for a response before typing in the smaller window below. Hello my name is Jessica. How may I help you?
BRIAN: Hello Jessica. How can I go upon cancelling delivery?
Jessica: May I have your phone number with area code first so I can access your account information?
BRIAN: 507-xxx-xxxx
Jessica: Am I speaking with Brian?
BRIAN: This is him.
Jessica: Would you like to discontinue your service or just one delivery date?
BRIAN: My new delivery driver missed delivery for the second time, and I really don’t mean to be critical, but I really need delivery on a set schedule. That is why I’d like to discontinue service.
Jessica: I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. I will forward this information to the local sales manager and ask that they discontinue your service at this time.
BRIAN: Thank you very much.
Jessica: You’re welcome. Did you have additional questions or concerns about navigating our site?
BRIAN: That is all for today.
Jessica: Thank you for contacting Schwan’s Home Service. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance by visiting us at www.schwans.com, or calling 1-888-SCHWANS (1-888-724-9267).

The Maroon Minivan, and the Oil Leak

Posted on by

I have got to blog about this latest happening at work. I can’t find a more perfect example of how stupid someone can be. Also, perhaps, a reason why being a good Samaritan might not be worth the time or effort.

I was walking out to the parking lot, to get in my truck to head to Jefferson, when I noticed a trail of motor oil down the center of one of the aisles of the parking lot. This trail of motor oil was a continuous splatter a few feet wide, and curved off to the right where a maroon colored Chevy Astro Van was parked.

This, I had to see.

I walked over to the minivan, and looked underneath it. There was a huge puddle of motor oil underneath the engine, and it was still dripping as I was leaning down looking at it.
I thought to myself, I have to figure out whose vehicle this is, so I can warn them about them losing this huge quantity of oil.

I called Terri (Principal’s secretary) on my cell phone, and reported that there was this minivan in the parking lot with a trail of oil leading to it. She put out a building-wide E-Mail to alert anyone owning this minivan to call her right away.

Everyone I saw in the hallway, I was asking, “Do you know who owns the maroon minivan out in the staff parking lot?” Nobody knew who this mystery parker was. But I was bound and determined to find out, so I could do my good Samaritan deed for the year.

I called Terri again, and she hadn’t received a call from anyone, and no one in the office knew who it could be either.

Finally, I was on the way back from lunch, and a car, once parked near the elusive maroon minivan, was pulling out. I asked the owner, “Do you know who owns that maroon minivan over there?” I finally got my first clue. It could possibly be some guy working in the ESL (English as a second language) department.

I walked back into the Middle School, and once back to the office, I immediately called down to that department. The teacher in the room didn’t know off hand if anyone had a maroon minivan, but she would ask around and get back to me. Later, I received a voice mail that it wasn’t anyone in her area.

At this point, I was desperate. I got out a legal sized piece of paper, and wrote on it in red marker, “Do not start your engine! Oil Leak!”, with an arrow pointing straight down. I went back outside, and placed the note under this now famous minivan’s windshield wiper. I was now determined that the individual that had this Exxon-Valdez sized oil leak under their vehicle would be notified.

I called back to the main office an hour later to see if they had heard anything, and indeed they had! They had found the individual, we’ll call him Mr. Shitshispants, had been located, and was notified of his little car problem.

Ahhhhhh! It felt good to do something that saved someone the expense of a seized engine!

But, alas, this story is not over!

I received a cell-phone call from Andrea, my co-worker and friend, as she was leaving the building. Apparently, there was a vehicle blocking one of the exit lanes of the staff parking lot, with its hood up, two kids wondering around out, and the owner, scratching his head, trying to figure out what was wrong.

YOU GOT IT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! IT WAS MR. SHITSHISPANTS, AND THE MAROON COLORED MINIVAN! THIS BLOOMING IDIOT HAD IGNORED A BUILDING-WIDE E-MAIL, A NOTIFICATION FROM THE MAIN OFFICE, A SHEET OF PAPER UNDER HIS WINDSHIELD WIPER, AND AN OBVIOUS 2-FOOT WIDE TRAIL OF OIL LEADING DIRECTLY TO HIS VEHICLE….. AND PROCEEDED TO BACK OUT OF HIS PARKING SPOT, AND HEAD HOME. He made it approximately 25 feet, before his engine stopped.

In case I need to clarify myself further, there was a 2-foot wide trail of oil LEADING to this vehicle, and anyone with eyesight could put 2 and 2 together, and determine that their vehicle might have a SLIGHT problem.

I’ll be damned if I’m helping him anymore. This gentleman is supposed to be a teacher’s helper, and works one-on-one with kids everyday.

If you have a story of extreme stupidity worse (and funnier) than this, please share in my comments below!

A Chat with Corissa, the helpful Schwan’s Web Customer Service Agent…

Posted on by

Corissa: My name is Corissa, your Schwan’s Customer Service Representative. How may I assist you today?

BRIAN: Hello Corissa. My former Schwan’s delivery man’s last day of delivery was 2 weeks ago. My scheduled delivery is for tonight, but nobody has stopped by today.

Corissa: Could I have your telephone number starting with the area code so that I may look up your customer record?

BRIAN: 507-xxx-xxxx.

Corissa: Am I speaking to Brian?

BRIAN: This is him.

Corissa: I will forward your message to the local Schwan’s Department. Someone should be contacting you regarding your message. Is there anything more I can assist you with today?

BRIAN: That is my only concern today. It is disappointing because I had an order ready.

Corissa: I apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you for contacting Schwan’s Home Service. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance by visiting us at www.schwans.com, or calling 1-888-SCHWANS (1-888-724-9267).

BRIAN: Will someone be contacting me tonight, or will it be at a future time?

Corissa: Someone should be contacting you in the next two business days.

BRIAN: How will that help me continue my Schwan’s service with my scheduled stop tonight?

Corissa: I apologize that you were not serviced or contacted. I have forwarded your message to the local Schwan’s Department.

BRIAN: Is a credit or free pizzas too much to ask?

Corissa: I have forwarded your message to the local Schwan’s Department. Someone should be contacting you within the next two business days.

BRIAN: Thank you, Corissa. For my records, could I get your last time or an identification number?

Corissa: Unfortunately, I am not allowed to release that information. If you do have any concerns, please contact us at 1-888-724-9267.

BRIAN: OK, I don’t believe you have been any help to me whatsoever, but I do appreciate your politically correct talk. It nicely masks the inability to serve your customers. I will keep that in mind. Have a great night.