Road Diary

We were awake a little earlier this morning, and Matt began preparing a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage, while Justin was trying…

We awoke in Cloquet to a pancake and sausage breakfast made by Justin and Matt, and we had a plan. Sometimes plans work better on…

The 13th Annual Merchants Bank CEM900 is officially underway!  The ride is starting a day early this year to accommodate schedules, and we will have…

While John, Dennis and Jay were sitting around the campground this morning, Brian told us that he had a very odd experience during the…

This is the largest group we have ever had on the CEM, and we were actually supposed to have one more. Jack had intended…

We reconvened at John’s house this morning with a brand new crew. Most joining John and Dennis are returning riders on the CEM, including…

Somehow nobody remembered that the USG manufacturing facility is just across the river from our campground in Cloquet. All night long there was a…

The sky was clear as we emerged from our sleeping quarters one by one, the smell of coffee in the air. Soon Doug started…

Jack, aka Batman, has made his return appearance to the CEM900! Doug and Zack referred to Jack as “Batman” regularly on last year’s ride,…

We awoke to another beautiful morning lakeside, a virtual repeat of yesterday’s start. While the rest of us relaxed, Matt cooked some breakfast sausages…

Oh, what a glorious morning, clearly a Top 10 day in Minnesota. The sun shone brightly, reflections clear on the glassy lake, birds singing…

After a fabulous sendoff luncheon sponsored by Merchants Bank and Kids ‘n Kinship yesterday, we convened at John’s house at 7:30 this morning to…