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The 88 series International tractors set a new standard industry-wide when they were introduced in 1981, featuring radical styling and innovative technology. This 1984 model is the last year of production, not to mention the last year for International Harvester, which was purchased by Tenneco. This particular 3088 has been meticulously restored by Mark Parker of Burlington, Kentucky. The…
The cub was one of Farmall's strokes of genius, a small tractor widely reputed to have been designed for tiny one-horse tobacco farms in the south. The machine worked well on small farms, and was snapped up by farmers big and small during the machinery-hungry 1940s. The tractor's usefulness on small acreage plots and the fact that it's light and easy to tow and store makes it an essential…
The Regular was the first Farmall and, for that matter, the first commercially successful row-crop tractor. The Regular was one of the key models that helped the tractor ultimately replace the horse. This Regular spent 73 years on a ranch near Boerne, Texas, before being purchased by Harold Sohner in 2000. This 1927 production year has special significance, as Ezra Sohner, Harold’s…
The earliest International Harvester Company tractors are in short supply today, and this Type D 25-hp is one of about two dozen such machines known to exist. The machine weighs about 8 tons, and is powered by a 25-horsepower single-cylinder engine that fires only once every 20 revolutions. The tractor has a gear forward and gear reverse drive, and top speed is in the 3 mph range. This…
This 1466 spent most of its life working a 100-acre farm in northwest Indiana. The DT-436 turbocharged six-cylinder diesel engine had only 2300 hours on the clock when Bob bought it. The tractor came to him when a little old lady contacted a friend of Bob’s, looking for someone to purchase and care for her late husband’s baby. The 1466 wears original paint, and is shown with owner Bob Zarse…
Interstellar brings Case IH combines and tractors to the big screen in a movie that provokes questions about life on Earth. Set in the future, a crop shortage and second Dust Bowl combine to make life increasingly difficult for humans. Matthew McConaughey plays Cooper, an aeronautical pilot turned famer as the need for basic crop production increased. The film opens with real life interviews of…
By the time I left the day’s fires on Friday, January 15, I was fried. I wanted to ride a trail low on technical challenge and high on fun: Walnut Creek Park was just the ticket.
On the north side of Austin, Walnut Creek Park offers fast, flowy trails that are atypical here in the land of rocks and ledges.
The park had been renovated since I had ridden it last. I had avoided it due to the…
Friday morning, January 8th. Holidays done, over, behind me.
I’m good with that.
No more trees and lights and gifts and cookies and family. All fine things . . . but done, and a new year is beckoning. Time to get back to making books and making things happen.
Boost the sales reps. Keep the designers and developers on track making the new website sah-wheet. Shoot. Write. Travel. Wheel, deal,…
Another late start, dammit. My plan to ride Pace Bend switched to something closer. I decided to drive over to Westlake, park near the top of the Hill of Life, and ride some of the trails on either side of the the hill. The Hill of Life is a beastly, ledge-filled climb on the north end of Barton Creek Trail. It’s technical as hell to climb or descend, and gains 300 feet of elevation in about one-…
So the first 50 Fridays ride of 2016 happened on January 1st! What a great way to start a new year.
Sadly, it was cold and wet and a miserable freakin’ day to be out riding. But hey, a bad day of riding is still a good thing.
Joan and I bundled up and got ready to go. I put on a hat under my helmet—which looked utterly ridiculous—and topped the ensemble off with a neck gator.
Off we went,…