Back in May was when I first heard about Ride with the 40. Someone who was involved in planning the ride contacted me and told me what it was all about, which I found inspiring and promptly wrote about.
http://www.ridewiththe40.org
Over the weekend I was wondering how that ride turned out. I was excited today when I found this article from the San Diego Source:
Fight 93 victims remembered in San Francisco
By JASON DEAREN, The Associated Press
Friday, September 11, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — About a dozen Harley-Davidson motorcycles ridden by relatives and friends of United Flight 93 passengers and crew members roared into San Francisco International Airport on Friday, ending an eight-day journey that mirrored the doomed plane’s intended path.
The 40 people on Flight 93 died on Sept. 11, 2001, after the aircraft crashed in a western Pennsylvania field after being commandeered by terrorists. They were hailed as heroes in tributes for their bravery in confronting the hijackers.
The motorcyclists, led by Ken and Dale Nacke, whose brother Louis “Joey” Nacke was on the plane, left Newark Liberty International Airport on Sept. 3. They pulled into San Francisco just after 11 a.m. Friday, the same time the plane was supposed to have arrived eight years ago.
Jack Grandcolas watched quietly as the motorcycles rumbled in. His three-months pregnant wife, Lauren Catuzzi-Grandcolas, was on Flight 93.
She had called him from the plane after the hijackers took control, leaving a message on his answering machine that there was a problem. It was the last time he heard her voice.
“This is an inspiration to me,” he said, his voice quivering. “The symbolism of this, it finishes the trip Louis and my wife Lauren never got to finish.”
The gruff-looking bikers dismounted their “hogs” and immediately hugged, tearing up as the engines were turned off.
“We made it,” said Ken Nacke, wearing a black leather vest and a doo-rag. “The flight of 40 are home.”
The motorcycles were tailed by a U-Haul truck carrying a replica of the makeshift memorial that sprung up near the crash site in Shanksville, Pa. The memorial was a plain, wooden fence adorned with signed T-shirts, hardhats, plaques and written notes.
The ride also raised money for construction of the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville. The $58 million memorial is scheduled to open on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
Linda White, Louis Nacke’s cousin, stood near the mini-memorial with tears in her eyes, her head covered in an “Easyriders” doo-rag.
White rode on the back of her husband David White’s motorcycle on the last leg of the trip, and was overwhelmed with emotion as they pulled into their final stop.
“I was overcome with the feeling of the 40 people as we came in. They were giving us a big thumbs up for this and a thank you for finishing the journey,” she said.
I actually teared up while reading this article and I’m glad they saw support from others during the ride. The Ride with the 40 website also posted this update:
The ride concluded when the core riders, accompanied by a group of local riders, reached the Western Terminus of the Lincoln Hiway in San Fransisco, CA. The total distance from Newark International Airport to the Western Terminus of the Lincoln Hiway is 3,250.7 miles. Special thanks to all those who showed their support throughout the Journey.
Stay tuned for more updates including pictures, videos, and information on T-Shirts.
I shall do that. Again, if you’re interested in making a donation to the memorial you can do so on the website.
The 2nd Annual Million Mile Monday will take place on Monday, June 29th, and is a day which encourages H.O.G. members to ride to reach this year’s goal of 5 million miles, exceeding last year’s accomplishment of 3 million miles.
It’s simple, just ride – ride to work, at lunch, around the block, or even take the whole day off to ride. Many will be using their return trip from CLUB H.O.G. OKC for their contribution. Non-H.O.G. members can join now, just in time for the event.
Participants worldwide can log on to http://members.hog.com to record their miles, read the blog, submit their photos, explore others’ photos, and more. Those who can’t ride can watch the progress of others with a virtual odometer which will be updated throughout the day on harley-davidson.com and hog.com.
An all-star roster of celebrities, world-class bike builders, cigar aficionados and artists have signed on to participate in the second annual Legends Ride to benefit Black Hills charities. Special Guests in the 2009 Legends Ride, which will be held Monday, August 3rd to kick off the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, include Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler, and a host of the nation’s top bike builders, including Roger Bourget, Christian Clayton, Brain Klock, Michael Prugh and Paul Yaffe.
Aerosmith will be performing live at the Legendary Buffalo Chip, Wednesday August 5th and according to Dirico Motorcycles publicist, Aerosmith frontman, Steven Tyler and Dirico Motorcycles USA will take part in the 50-mile escorted Legends Ride that will take participants from historic Deadwood, S.D., through the Black Hills, and will finish at the Legendary Buffalo Chip in Sturgis.
Aerosmith's Steven Tyler Confirmed for 2009 Legends Ride
“The Black Hills have long been known as rider’s paradise, and the Legends Ride takes it one step further. You start in a town that’s infamous – Deadwood – ride through some of the nation’s best territory, and finish in the granddaddy of all motorcycle dreams – Sturgis and the Legendary Buffalo Chip; and you benefit charities,” said Rod Woodruff of the Legendary Buffalo Chip. “Every participant in this year’s Legends Ride is going to be talking about this very special event for the rest of their lives.”
The Legends Ride is hosted by the Legendary Buffalo Chip and the Deadwood Chamber of Commerce. The Legends Ride is a fundraiser for the Children’s Home of the Black Hills and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame. Last year’s event raised nearly $40,000 for charity.
Registration for the 2009 event is open, and tickets are going fast. They can be purchased at www.legendsride.com or by calling (605) 347-9000. The 2009 Legends Ride is a $150 contribution, 100% of which goes to the charities. Contributing riders not only get to enjoy the ride but also a special souvenir gift pack, special parking privileges in Deadwood and the Legendary Buffalo Chip, meet-and-greet opportunities with master builders and celebrities, food and drinks at an invite only reception scheduled to be recorded for broadcast in a network television series and, to top off the experience, concert performances by rocker Lita Ford and country music superstar Toby Keith. The Legends Ride reception will be highlighted by a live auction featuring “The Deadwood Special,” a unique custom motorcycle built by Kyle Shorey of Shadetree Fabrications and a pinstriping demonstration by Buck Wild.
The 2009 ride begins at the Silverado-Franklin Historic Hotel and Gaming Complex on Deadwood’s Main Street. Other stops in Deadwood include the Deadwood Tobacco Company, where riders can enjoy a stogie with the Stars of Cigars including Christian Eiroa, Jonathan Drew, Nish Patel and many other of world’s top cigar aficionados. The Lucky Nugget Gambling Hall will showcase the works of the
motorcycle industry’s and Black Hills’ top artists including Michael Lichter, David Uhl, Eric Herrmann, Rede Ballard and Kristi Goodell as part of the Buffalo Chip’s 2009 Essential Artists of the Black Hills Rally.
The Legends Ride would not be possible without the generous support of Anheuser Busch, Inc. Coca-Cola Bottling Co., the Deadwood Chamber of Commerce, Dirico Motorcycles USA, First Western Bank, Interstate Batteries, Metzeler Motorcycle Tires, Progressive Motorcycle Insurance, the South Dakota Pork Producers, Sucker Punch Sally’s and Taser International.
Ride with the 40 is a cross-country motorcycle ride that will benefit efforts to raise money to build a memorial for Flight 93, which you all may remember crashed in a Pennsylvanian field on September 11, 2001 after passengers courageously launched a counter-attack against hijackers, preventing them from reaching their ultimate target of Washington, DC.
Ride with the 40 is being led by Kenny Nacke, a Baltimore police officer and the brother of Louis Joseph Nacke II, one of the passengers on board Flight 93. He and four other Harley-Davidson riders will complete the journey of Flight 93 by departing on September 3rd from Newark International Airport, where the plane departed, and arriving in San Francisco on September 11th at the flight’s scheduled arrival time.
Riders across the country are invited to join them for a leg of the route, sponsor a mile or more of the route at the symbolic suggestion of $93/mile, or just spread the word to friends and family.
I think this is really cool and the word needs to get out. It deserves as much support as the motorcycle community can possibly give. If you’re interested in donating and staying up on the latest news, make sure to visit http://www.ridewiththe40.org.
The Seminole Hard Rock Roadhouse announced it will be featured at the Easyriders V-Twin Bike Show to help kick off the first annual New Orleans Bike Week from May 6-10, 2009. In addition to showcasing some of the best bikes from the industry’s biggest names, the Roadhouse will feature some new additions, including a collection of customized Hard Rock Fender guitars that were debuted during Daytona Bike Week.
In honor of the long-standing relationship between motorcycles and rock-and-roll, the Hard Rock Fender guitars will be on display exclusively at the Hard Rock Roadhouse. Guitars were customized by some of the motorcycle industry’s most recognizable talent including:
Ami James of Love Hate Choppers
Athena “Chickie” Ransom of Vagabond Choppers
Bill Dodge of Bling’s Cycle
Christian Clayton of Sucker Punch Sally’s
Dave Perewitz of Perewitz Cycle Fabrication
Eddie Trotta of Thunder Cycle Design
Keino Sasaki of Keino Cycles
Pat Patterson of Led Sled Customs
Paul Cox of Paul Cox Industries
Paul Wideman of Bare Knuckle Choppers
Russell Mitchell of Exile Cycles
Steve Broyles of Stevenson’s Cycle
Taber Nash of Nash Motorcycles
Of course, the Roadhouse wouldn’t be complete without custom motorcycles. Attendees will have the opportunity to see the latest works from some of the world’s hottest custom bike builders. The photography exhibit will feature work from world-renowned motorcycle photographer Michael Lichter, Josh Kurpius and others. A traditional rock’n’ roll Hard Rock Guitar Smash will kick off the New Orleans Bike Week on Thursday at the Morial Convention Center.
“We’re excited to support and be part of New Orleans’ first annual Bike Week,” said Carrie Repp, producer of the Hard Rock Roadhouse and owner of R&R Promotions. “We’re working with some of the best in the industry including New Orleans Harley-Davidson, Broken Spoke, BikeWeek.com and Easyriders Bike Show Tour to put New Orleans back on the map of the country’s best motorcycle rallies.
The Seminole Hard Rock Roadhouse will be open daily during Bike Week. For more information on the Seminole Hard Rock Roadhouse and New Orleans Bike Week please visit www.hrroadhouse.com, www.easyriderevents.com, www.bikeweekneworleans.com, www.neworleansh-d.com and www.hurricaneh-d.com
Now that I don’t have a full time job to go to every day I’ve been thinking about all the places that I want to ride to this year. We have some favorite East Coast rides that we do every year, but there are more and more rallies popping up that seem like lots of fun. Since the Myrtle Beach/New Bern rally is such a cluster F, I think there are other rallies that could be a blast; like Bike Week in New Orleans.
I think I’m going to write off Americade this year. We went last year, the weather is always stupid hot and humid, I hate camping and it’s kind of lacking in excitement. I will most likely hit the Laconia rally, as I do almost every year. While I spent the better part of a week up there the year before last, I think I’ll probably just go up for a day trip this year. Laconia is fun but sometimes the weather doesn’t co-operate and it typically pours the whole time.
My husband really wants to check out the Gettysburg rally. He’s fascinated with the history of the location and we’ve never been. Have any of you been and if so, what’s it like? And hey, bitchin’ Molly Hatchet is playing! Yeah.
Since I live on the East Coast, getting out to the Sturgis rally is always on the list to try to attend, but it’s such a logistical nightmare to drive 2K+ miles on I-90 that the thought of it makes me want to kill myself. But this year I’m GOING. We need to hammer out the details but it’s looking like it’s a definite GO.
So, I mentioned last week that some poll action would be coming up soon. Take a gander over there at the poll in the right column and pick a place that you guys think I should ride to this year. If there’s a rally not on the list that you absolutely think should be there, let me know!
If you are a regular reader of this blog you know that I’m not one of those “I am woman hear me roar”-type girls. I’d like to think that when I write about riding, or the motorcycle world in general, that it’s from the perspective of a biker first and a woman second. That being said, sometimes I enjoy the attention that comes along with being a woman rider.
I’ve seen plenty of guys people do double-takes when they see me on my bike. And I’ve received occasional props from people when they find out I ride my own. It’s 2009 and I’m still surprised at the variety of feedback I get because of my gender and motorcycling hobby. I wonder what it might have been like almost 100 years ago.
Back in the day, before women could vote and we were under the thumb of “the man” (any man really), two intrepid sisters had a dream. New York “society girls” Adeline and Augusta Van Buren (descendants of our 8th president) dreamed of serving our country by being motorcycle dispatch riders. With America’s entry into WWI looming on the horizon, the time was now (or then, actually) to prove that women could do it.
Adeline Van Buren
Augusta Van Buren
On July 4th, 1916 “Gussie” and “Addie” set out from Brooklyn heading toward the City of Angels. Now you have to remember, (as my husband is so fond of saying to me) prior to the Eisenhower interstate act of 1956 there was “no way to get there from here”. In fact it wasn’t until three years after the girls made their trip, that Dwight D made his trip in a truck convoy as a young army officer, which planted the seed of our future highway system.
Imagine crossing this country on a series of dusty, unpaved country roads and only seeing asphalt, brick or cobblestone when in a major city. That would be like riding 5,500 miles on conditions that today we go out of our way to avoid. And while were talking about the conditions of our country’s infrastructure, lets talk about the machines they were riding.
Back in the early part of the 20th century there were over 200 motorcycle manufacturers in the U.S. and at times the biggest of them was Indian Motorcycles. After sweeping the Isle of Man TT in 1911, most serious riders found themselves on an Indian. Although Harley-Davidson was a solid brand, it wasn’t so until WWII that they left Indian in the dust. Like other serious riders, Gussie and Addie Van Buren were no exception to the Indian rule. They both chose to ride the top of the line Indian Model F with the Power Plus 1000cc twin.
From Brooklyn, the pair headed north to Buffalo and then west to the big city of Chicago. After leaving Chi-town not only did the girls really find themselves in rural America, but on occasion they found themselves in handcuffs being arrested for wearing men’s clothing! But for the most part, they were able to talk their way out of most situations as they trekked through Omaha to Denver.
While Gussie and Addie were not the first women to ride across the USA on a motorcycle, they were the first to summit Pike’s Peak. I’ve ridden up Mount Washington on crappy asphalt, stone and packed dirt with no guardrails for your safety to an above the clouds height of 6,288 feet and that was fairly harrowing. They climbed more than twice that to 14,109 feet and made history becoming the first women to ever summit Pike’s Peak (a ride I’d like to do some day…).
Like most motorcycle journeys, the women found themselves in unplanned situations. Some roads were washed out, at times they dumped their bikes, they even got stuck in the mud and lost in the desert west of Salt Lake City. But just like happenings of today, they were helped out by fellow riders, good Samaritans and friendly town-folk.
Mexico or bust
Late summer in 1916 saw the girls ride into Los Angeles, completing their trip on September 8th. Apparently they were hungry for a little Mexican and since Baja Fresh hadn’t opened just yet, they rode down to Tijuana for good measure.
One of the best parts of a road trip is meeting new people and telling them your story. I’m sure that in the summer of 1916 two slender women in men’s clothing, on a transcontinental journey was a scene that turned plenty of heads. Stories like this inspire me to travel and seek out adventure. I might never be inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, or the Sturgis Hall of Fame, but that doesn’t mean that each time I take the road I shouldn’t ride like I’m seeing the world for the first time.
Thanks to my husband for being such a history buff and kicking my butt to write this post!
If you want to learn more about Adeline and Augusta VanBuren check out vanburensisters.com, a website maintained by their kin.
Hey all! Slackey McSlackbag is here back in action. I feel like Rip Van Winkle, or Rippin Van Winkle as the case may be. All of a sudden I looked at the calendar and realized I’ve missed half of the month, my day job is slowly eating away my soul and I’ve seriously been neglecting my blogging duties. So for that, I apologize.
February is my least favorite month of all. Even though it’s short it just feels…so…long…But I’ve snapped out of it and I am raring to go.
Here’s a few interesting bits of late:
All ladies summer tour through Alaska
MotoQuest Tours is planning an all women, 9-day, 1200 mile trip (on all paved roads), with lodging-through Alaska from June 26th to July 4th. An average day will be about 250 miles so everyone can take in the scenery and all the riders will be followed by a 12 passenger van to schlep all the luggage and provide snacks and refreshment. Full details and information can be found at http://motoquesttours.com/09ladiesintro.html
Sons of Anarchy, Season Two
There’s very little to report lately about the next season of SoA. Writer and creator, Kurt Sutter, posted in his blog a month or so ago that they were back in the writing room working away. Shooting allegedly begins in April, with new episodes hitting the air hopefully in September.
Jesse James News
No, it has nothing to do with Jesse’s appearance in the next “Celebrity Apprentice” or his show “Jesse James is a Dead Man.” This video is of Jesse winning a pie-eating contest at the Tennessee Vally Fair. Just because I think it’s funny.
Like many of you, there are times when I ask myself “Why do I live here“?
Those times come mostly in the winter once that holidays are over and it starts getting really cold and snowy. It’s compounded when the local news is showing ice storms and power outages where I live and my friends that live in the south are talking about how great their H.O.G chapters are or how fun the Galveston Rally was.
With all the subtlety of former WWE champion and current UFC heavy-weight champion Brock Lesnar, my husband has been filling the DVR with shows like Road Trip: Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone, Motorcycle Mania: Sturgis and any other road trip programming he can find.
I fire up my computer and in the browser is a google maps trip plotted from here to the Black Hills and back. I find articles about the Fly & Ride program that just happen to be left out on the table for me to discover. Sigh.
Those of us who live up north and don’t have the luxury of riding all year round get our fix in throughout the winter by working on our bikes, whether it’s adding more chrome, perhaps a new paint job or plotting out our good weather riding.
As you know I own a 2004 Suzuki Volusia and over the winter my project list includes:
a new air filter
new exhaust pipes (I can’t decide which ones, though)
maybe some additional lights
new pegs
maybe new grips
My husband, on the other hand, is focusing on where he wants to ride this year:
What’s the latest on the Myrtle Beach Rally?
Sorry, hon. That rally is a matter of history.
Do you think I can ride to Florida for a weekend and be back to work on Monday?
Umm…good luck.
Can we take a detour to Yellowstone on the way home from Sturgis?
Yes? I guess so…
How much vacation time does he think he has? How much vacation time does he think *I* have?
It’s only just January and I’m wondering how I’ll get through the rest of winter. I figure I’ll get to read a few books about motorcycles. Last year I read some of Sonny Barger’s books, but this year I’d like to focus on a few books by female authors. Sasha Mullens has a few books out that I’m interested in, if you know of any good reads let me know or send one my way and I’ll do a write up on it.
So how do you get through the winter? Are you like me, reading the catalogs and looking for just the right pipes and braided cables? Or maybe you scour the web looking for off-beat locations to ride to? Do you anxiously await your next biker magazine to show up in the mailbox? Something else?
What keeps your motor running through the long, cold winter?
Over the past few months I’ve been trying to keep up with what’s been going on with the Myrtle Beach rallies. At one point, I even had a Myrtle Beach newspaper call me to get my POV on the rallies from a blogger in the biker community.
Sadly, there will no longer be any rallies in Myrtle Beach. Done. Dead. Finito. Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way outta town, buddy. It’s too bad they decided to go this way. I have a sneaking suspicion that their issues are not with the biker community as a whole. I’ll just leave it at that.
Dear Visitors,
Myrtle Beach is no longer the location for two long-running motorcycle events. After many years, our residents grew weary of three weeks of noise and traffic congestion each May, and they asked City Council to end the events. As a result, the Harley-Davidson Dealers Association Spring Rally and the Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Bikefest will not be held in Myrtle Beach.
This was a difficult decision. Myrtle Beach welcomes visitors year-round, but the giant motorcycle rallies simply grew too large. Our staff, residents and businesses strained to keep up with these huge single-focus events. It may surprise you, but our economy is much healthier with a fully diversified visitor base, instead of a concentration on one or two extremely large events.
Please know that Myrtle Beach is not anti-biker or anti-motorcycle. We want folks to come on the vehicle of their choice and enjoy all of the things Myrtle Beach has to offer. We are ending the motorcycle-related rallies because they grew too big and lasted too long. The huge rallies even kept visitors away from Myrtle Beach, and that’s not good.
For everyone’s safety and welfare, City Council has added a few new rules and regulations. We believe these new laws will make Myrtle Beach a safer and more friendly destination. For example, with your safety in mind, we now require that all motorcycle riders and passengers wear a helmet and eye protection. We also have a 1:00 to 6:00 a.m. curfew for everyone under 18. These and other rule changes are explained on this web site. Thank you for understanding. As you know, Myrtle Beach is a great place to visit, and we welcome you at any time. I look forward to your next visit and am confident that you will have a great time in Myrtle Beach!
Sincerely,
John Rhodes
Mayor
The official Myrtle Beach Bike Week site is still up with the would-have-been dates and official bike week merchandise still up. You’d have a pretty sweet keepsake if you can actually buy some 2009 t-shirts. And you can still visit Myrtle Beach as a vacation spot, as long as you adhere to the new rules and regulations. You now have to wear a helmet, eye protection and have a “functioning” muffler for your bike. Oh yeah, and there’s a curfew. Let’s face it, not having those things is what made hanging out in MB fun!
I’d only gone once a few years ago, but I thought Myrtle Beach was really nice and I think back on that trip fondly because it was my first long distance ride. Before I had this blog I actually wrote about my trip on a personal blog that I kept. This was how my week went while I was there:
Friday- Day 1 of a two day ride begins when we hit the road at 7:30 a.m. The ride isn’t so bad but we hit traffic in RI, NY and DC. We grab a hotel room somewhere in Virginia. I’m so tired and achy that I take a Tylenol w/codeine and a shot of whiskey and go to bed.
Saturday- Day 2 of riding goes better with little traffic. We know we’re getting close when we see start seeing billboards for South of the Border, Cafe Risque (it’s a TOPLESS! TOPLESS! TOPLESS! donut shop) & the Ava Gardner museum (yeah, I didn’t know there was one either).
We make a pit stop at South of the Border because it’s just so cheesy you can’t not stop. We got an ice cream because it was hot outside, posed with Pedro and perused the trinkets before hitting the road. We arrived in Myrtle Beach around 5:30 and had dinner. Later that night we headed out to meet friends a local bar called Fatboy’s. There’s no open container law there, so drinking beers outside feels weird! The gang decides to head to Hog Wild and it appears that the entire attendance from the bar leaves.
Sunday- Caught up on much needed sleep! We lounged about for a little while & later that day we surveyed the area around us, grabbed lunch at a steak house and just chilled out.
Monday- We got up kind of early and headed down to Murrell’s Inlet where the old Suck Bang Blow (SBB) & the Beaver Bar is. There were lots of vendors all around so we looked at all the merch. I broke down & bought a pair of chaps. We spent a few hours there and then headed over to the Broken Spoke Saloon. They also had vendors there and Easyriders magazine had some show bikes on display. We saw Goth Girl there, who looked like she was setting up to play music but it started to rain so she scrambled to keep her equipment dry. When it stopped raining we used the opportunity to head back to home base for a little while.
The weather cleared up that night so we checked out the new Suck Bang Blow (I guess the building it’s in used to be a Lowe’s or Home Depot. It’s enormous!). We had a couple of beers there, checked out the burnout pit and the vendors in back. We called some of the guys that we knew were there and met them at another bar called “Sundown’s.” Bikes just kept coming and going the whole time we were there.
Tuesday- The sky was still cloudy this day but no rain. We headed north and stopped at Broadway on the Beach. It’s a mall-like area and there were supposed to be a lot of things going on there. We saw a lot of trailers but not a lot of people had things set up. ArtBiker had arrived from Texas & met up with us there. We stayed there for the bulk of the day and then we went to the Rat Hole. We watched a “biker rodeo” which just ended up being a bunch of games done on motorcycles.
That night we picked up a good friend of mine at her place and went back to the big SBB. We drank beer and chatted up some folks. ArtBiker met us there and we ventured over to the other SBB for a while. Then we hung out at the Angry Beaver for a few beers (the boys enjoyed stogies) until they kicked us out for the evening.
Wednesday- Back to the Broken Spoke Saloon where Billy Lane & Discovery Channel are filming a show. We got bored there after a while and hit the Harley shop where we had lunch and Forrest bought me a cowboy hat! That night the big SBB had the first round of the”Baddest Biker on the Beach” boxing matches. I’d never seen live boxing before so I found the experience kind of interesting. There was a lot of energy flowing while the matches were happening, the crowd was completely digging it. We stayed for a little while after the matches were over. More burnouts, more scantily-clad skanks.
Thursday-Checked out a bike show at the Dog House (south). Was a hot and sunny day so lot’s of PBR talls were had. On the way back we decided to hit Broadway on the Beach again because it appeared that everyone was set up. Exile Cycles was there. I immediately went into stalker-mode and got another photo of me taken with Russell Mitchell (and once again was reduced to a babbling idiot while talking to him). We also managed to get a photo of Eddie Trotta while we were there. So, it wasn’t a wasted visit.
Friday-The day threatened rain but we headed out anyway. We met ArtBiker in N. Myrtle Beach and went to Barefoot Landing- also another mall area with lots of vendors and stuff set up. Biker Billy was there doing a cooking demonstration promoting his new book Biker Billy Cooks With Fire. We got to try some of the food afterwards and it was so yummy & spicy! I’m totally getting his book. Now that I think of it, I should have gotten one there and had him sign it. Oh well.
As it were, it did rain on us sporadically but luckily never while we were on the bikes. We had all of these grand illusions of going out that night because it was our last night there. We were going to take a little nap to rejuvenate ourselves but we just never woke up. We were so tired from running around all week and we had to ride the next day.
Saturday & Sunday- full days of riding. Sunday sucked because it was cold and rainy. It rained on us from NY all the way home and we hit traffic in NY & CT and that delayed us about 2 hours. When we saw the “Welcome to Massachusetts” sign I got all teary-eyed because I was so thankful to be almost home. My feet & hands were completely soaked and frozen to the point of numbness. I had so many layers on under my rain suit that I could barely move, my body ached and I was so tired. When we got to the 5 miles to home mark, a little pebble hit me square in the middle of my forehead and sent me completely over the edge. I had a complete meltdown and started crying. I was hating life at that very moment.
When we finally pulled off the ramp at our exit my poor husband was stunned to see tears streaming down my face, ha ha!!! We made it to his house around 7:30 and I was so happy to be off my bike.
While that trip had it’s difficulties for me, I really did have fun. I’d hoped that I might get to enjoy that feeling again going to the MB rallies.
