Poor illumination, but we're back @ K's. Another great night! To be doubled, tomorrow!
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Friday, May 24, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Thundernin' Down The Road
Tomorrow is DC departure! The weather looks like it'll be ass for most of the ride, but the weekend itself has potential to be decent. And, the week after that (in NC), looks to be decent as well. So I'm not complaining at all. Billy, Ed and Greg are meeting me @ my house at 5:30...which means Billy'll be there by 10 of 5. Greg will be early as well and Ed...Ed's good too, so let's hope he doesn't get too fired up watching the B's tonight. :-D
K has some fun things lined up for us down there, and Billy is working on getting us a tour of the CapitOl Building. Aside from that, we'll be paying our respects at the Vietnam and Korean Memorials, maybe Arlington National Cemetery, too.
Sunday will be the official Rolling Thunder run, and we'll be watching on the sidelines again (by choice). I'm going to flee after a couple of hours and catch up with Jan and Steve, and the three of us are going to make a break for it while everyone's attention is still focused on the run. (Hoping for a cleaner, quicker exit that way.) The rest of the boys will hang out with K again for one more evening, and then make their way home on Monday...
...Monday...where I'll be pulling up at Jan and Steve's sweet house just down the road from Tail of the Dragon! 318 curves in 11 miles. I'll be leaving some metal behind on some of those curves for sure!
After a few days of amazing roadways, it'll be our turn to point our front tires northward. If we're feeling particulary ambitious, we've already agreed that we'll do the return trip in one shot. But Dave, that's over a thousand miles...that means... That's right; it'll be another Iron Butt! (Subject to how we feel after almost a week on the road, mind you.)
So right now, life doesn't suck! And, to lift the spirits even more, check this out!
That's right - early admission to the 'Vous! And you should see the contraption that Aaron is working on. He's definitely stepping things up! Good things lie in wait and I'm ready for them. Here's hoping everyone has a great week+ (and for those I"ll see tomorrow, we're gonna have a blast!) Ride Hard, Take Road Trips!
K has some fun things lined up for us down there, and Billy is working on getting us a tour of the CapitOl Building. Aside from that, we'll be paying our respects at the Vietnam and Korean Memorials, maybe Arlington National Cemetery, too.
Sunday will be the official Rolling Thunder run, and we'll be watching on the sidelines again (by choice). I'm going to flee after a couple of hours and catch up with Jan and Steve, and the three of us are going to make a break for it while everyone's attention is still focused on the run. (Hoping for a cleaner, quicker exit that way.) The rest of the boys will hang out with K again for one more evening, and then make their way home on Monday...
...Monday...where I'll be pulling up at Jan and Steve's sweet house just down the road from Tail of the Dragon! 318 curves in 11 miles. I'll be leaving some metal behind on some of those curves for sure!
After a few days of amazing roadways, it'll be our turn to point our front tires northward. If we're feeling particulary ambitious, we've already agreed that we'll do the return trip in one shot. But Dave, that's over a thousand miles...that means... That's right; it'll be another Iron Butt! (Subject to how we feel after almost a week on the road, mind you.)
So right now, life doesn't suck! And, to lift the spirits even more, check this out!
That's right - early admission to the 'Vous! And you should see the contraption that Aaron is working on. He's definitely stepping things up! Good things lie in wait and I'm ready for them. Here's hoping everyone has a great week+ (and for those I"ll see tomorrow, we're gonna have a blast!) Ride Hard, Take Road Trips!
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Service Time
Did a full fluids service on the bike last night, complete with a coupla new plugs for good measure. Hopefully that'll keep 'er happy so she doesn't mind carrying me to NC from DC next week.
Nothing like working in the garage with a full-blown thunderstorm going on outside the door. I enjoyed the sound effects, but the clouds took the daylight away too quickly and I was working by flashlight by the time I was done (yes; I need better lighting in my garage - McCarthy's on it, it's just a matter of me finding time).
Next up; gotta do some finagling on the flag setup. I'm running out of time. Departure is in two sleeps and I still need to pack.
Cinco de Roasto last weekend, DC this weekend, NC next week, a Shovelhead bike show when I get back, a couple of bike runs after that, Rendezvous around the corner, and the Olean pig roast isn't far off, eitther. I'm not complainin' at all. I love a hectic schedule - provided it's hectic because of bike trips.
Ride Hard, Take A Breath
Next up; gotta do some finagling on the flag setup. I'm running out of time. Departure is in two sleeps and I still need to pack.
Cinco de Roasto last weekend, DC this weekend, NC next week, a Shovelhead bike show when I get back, a couple of bike runs after that, Rendezvous around the corner, and the Olean pig roast isn't far off, eitther. I'm not complainin' at all. I love a hectic schedule - provided it's hectic because of bike trips.
Ride Hard, Take A Breath
Monday, May 20, 2013
Cinco Exhausto
What another fantastic weekend! I'm definitely getting older, and can't revound as quickly as I once did. The brain isn't working too well today, but let's see what I can whip up for a write up.
The Olean crew arrived safely on Friday, and they even brought a great surprise with them. Myszka! Apparently he made a last-minute decision to make the trip out. And when I say "last minute", I mean it; he took off on Friday morning and rode all the way to Cobleskill to meet the rest of the crew - who had spent the night at the 'Vous motel - and then made the rest of the trip with them. Now that's riding!
They also had another surprise for me; bottles and beer signs! How cool is this!?!? Talk about going above and beyond!
After they got settled in and set up, we headed off to Chickie Flynn's for dinner and drinks. There was a nice collection of bikes in the parking lot when we arrived.
After our bellies were filled and our livers were kickstarted, we headed back to the homestead for some one-card and laughter lasting long into the evening - far longer than was wise for the evening before the annual Cinco de Roasto!
Oh yeah; Bob and Zig had some helmet stickers made up to help mark the event. Check it out; 12th year pig roast stickers!!
The next morning, the rooster crowed early. (I'm not sure, but by the sound of it, that rooster didn't have much life left in him.) Anyway, we met up with Nellie, Scott and McCarthy at the farm to pig up the pig. The customary morning beeverage, and things were moving along nicely.
The Olean crew arrived safely on Friday, and they even brought a great surprise with them. Myszka! Apparently he made a last-minute decision to make the trip out. And when I say "last minute", I mean it; he took off on Friday morning and rode all the way to Cobleskill to meet the rest of the crew - who had spent the night at the 'Vous motel - and then made the rest of the trip with them. Now that's riding!
They also had another surprise for me; bottles and beer signs! How cool is this!?!? Talk about going above and beyond!
After they got settled in and set up, we headed off to Chickie Flynn's for dinner and drinks. There was a nice collection of bikes in the parking lot when we arrived.
After our bellies were filled and our livers were kickstarted, we headed back to the homestead for some one-card and laughter lasting long into the evening - far longer than was wise for the evening before the annual Cinco de Roasto!
Oh yeah; Bob and Zig had some helmet stickers made up to help mark the event. Check it out; 12th year pig roast stickers!!
The next morning, the rooster crowed early. (I'm not sure, but by the sound of it, that rooster didn't have much life left in him.) Anyway, we met up with Nellie, Scott and McCarthy at the farm to pig up the pig. The customary morning beeverage, and things were moving along nicely.
From there, it was back to Walpole, and the customary breakfast...
...after which, it was time to get the last minute touches done and out of the way. Stock the ice luge table...
...and get the pig going. The sun was out, the food was cooking...it was gonna be a great day!
I think the only hiccup in the day was when my can opener broke.
Which of course happened right when I needed to get the beans ready. That wound up costing a few precious minutes, as I had to use my P-38. Every try to open three huge, thick metal cans with a 2 inch piece of metal?
Anyway, soon the food trays were laid out and the lines were moving well. Scott and McCarthy did a great job again and as usual, and everyone commented on how good it was. Thanks guys!!
Another great surprise on the day; Russ Jr pulled out a little something he'd been hanging on to; an official homebrew bottle from way back in the day when King used to brew! King was also impressed with it, and said it's quite likely the last one in existence, as all the other bottles have probably long since been broken or tossed out.
Here's two awesome bottles that my buddies got me. First; Joe and Artie procured this tequila revolver (I used the Crystal Head vodka as a prop to help hold the revolver up).
And Aaron came through with this semi-auto (also Tequila filled) rifle. How cool is this!
The rest of the day went well (as you can see from the photos all over Facebook), and we were soon stacking more wood onto the fire to ward off the encroaching darkness. When it was just past dusk, we held our moment of silence...which was the best one yet, because there wasn't anything silent about it at all! Folks were tossing out names left and right, and it was great to hear so much participation!
After that, it was time for the Toast of Life! But in my eagerness, I jumped the gun; I'd forgotten to call all the virgins up to the front! So we had to slam the brakes on, get everyone to surround the newbies, and then we all belted out a raucous rendition of the beloved poem.
Normally, that is pretty much the end of anything coordinated, and the rest of the evening is just folks kicking back and having fun. However, my friends had a surprise in store for me. Remember the Easy Rider, Captain America helmet I blogged about a couple weeks ago? Well apparently they felt that just the helmet alone wasn't enough, they now needed to get me the jacket as well. So as I was preparing to release the crowd to their own doings, Aaron stepped up and gathered everyone's attention and then presented me with the coolest jacket in town! (They made me go in and get the helmet to put on, too.)
I'll tell ya, that was very moving and made me step back and really appreciate how lucky I am that I have been blessed with the best group of friends around. Thanks to everyone!!
With that, it was then time for everyone to enjoy the rest of the evening as they saw fit. Jerry recited some stories for us, there was laughter aplenty, and the ice luge weathered the onslaught for long into the evening.
As the time passed along, more and more folks made their exits, and it was soon just a handful of us assembled around the fire. We agreed we were all set with the luge for this year, so a little more wood was tossed on, I grabbed the luge, and it was tossed into the pit. Cinco de Roasto 2013 was officially complete.
A bit later, I took a stroll up through the house to make sure everyone that had been tucked in already, was still doing ok, then strolled out front to check on the bikes. It was a nice scene, the sky in the background was starting tho show signs of brightening, slowly illuminating the bikes in the driveway...wait...brightening sky? What time was it? I checked my phone and saw it was 4:30 - yikes! I been running low on sleep for the past week already, and now I'd pulled a 24-hour stint. I needed to get me some shut-eye! I said my 'nites to...I think it was just Bob left at the fire at this point, and then I headed in and crashed out hard.
A mere few hours later, it was time to get up and start the cleanup process. There were a few bodies already out there, helping out, and I'm very appreciative of that! When things were squared away nicely, we rode over to the breakfast place again with the NY Crew to grab some grub. Oh yeah - Myszka had allready left, earlier in the day. He was doing a straight-shot back home and needed to get rolling. (He arrived home safe and sound.) As for the rest of the crew, we had a nice hearty breakfast, ambled out to the parking lot for the customary morning-after photo, and they were off.
Back to the homestead with the rest of us, we did a little more cleaning, then headed off to the Post to watch the B's play another great game of hockey (now leading the series, 2-0!!). When the game was over, I felt my body really registering the exhaustion from the past week, so I bade my farewells, headed home for some dinner, and then sacked out hard.
Word on the street is that everyone had a blast. Final headcount tally (from memory and looking at Facebook photos) is 140 - the highest number yet. Let's see if we can break 150 next year!
Word on the street is that everyone had a blast. Final headcount tally (from memory and looking at Facebook photos) is 140 - the highest number yet. Let's see if we can break 150 next year!
It was another successful Cinco and I can't wait to do it all over again next year! But there's no time to sit back...we ride for DC in 4 days! And then on to NC from there! Wa-Hoo! Miles and Smiles are a-coming!!
Ride Hard, Take Chances
Sunday, May 19, 2013
It's What Time??
Good lord it's late! Another successful pig roast (and the luge leftovers are on the fire)...time for a bit of sleep...
Friday, May 17, 2013
Shining In The Moonlight
King's bike in the night light. The other bikes are behind his. The weekend has started.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
The Olean Curse Continues
Once again; we were supposed to have great weather today, tomorrow, and for the weekend. And once again; the skies look terrible.
The Olean crew is on their way...
Monday, May 13, 2013
Frank's Ride
Saturday's forecast had been calling for heavy rain and wind all day long, but we'd talked it over ahead of time; rain or shine, we were riding. Our American Legion Riders brothers in Waltham were holding a memorial run for the chapter president's brother (Frank), and we'd show our support.
The morning dawned very wet and grey, but the forecast was now calling for a bit of a window in the middle of the day. With any luck, we'd avoid most of the nasty stuff - and as things turned out, we didn't do too badly.
Arriving just before KSU time, I rolled in just behind a couple of other bikes. We set our stands and shot the breeze a little while we waitied for the other two members who were going today. One of the guys we were waiting for (Ed), was our newly-elected Road Captain, and we joked about whether he'd be ready for this, his inaugural ride in that position. When he pulled in, I asked him if he had a route picked out for us and he smiled and pulled out a printed sheet of directions from his pocket...which he'd only printed out a few minutes earlier. (He admitted later that as he was walking out the door, his wife happened to ask him if he knew how to get there and it hit him that he'd be leading and needed to map out some directions, pronto.) But all was good, we finished our water/juice/coffee and headed off to Waltham.
Pulling in, there was a decent turnout there already, given the uncertainty of the day's weather. We parked and then made the rounds, saying hello to the Waltham officers and making small talk with other members who were milling around the parking lot.
There were the usual pre-run announcements, a quick prayer, and we were off. Now Waltham is a city - not of Boston size, but heavily populated none-the-less. Instead of scenic roadways, they have stoplights and lots of traffic. Fortunately, they had secured 5 or 6 motorcycle cops to do blocking, and between them and the support from local township cruisers, it was a smooth run - roughly 35 miles, and we only hit sprinkles a couple of times.
Arriving back at their Post, we all dismounted and scattered - some for the portas, some for the inside lounge, and some for the food line. When we took our spot in line for food, we encountered something we've never seen before; they were serving a hot turkey dinner! At a bike run! Now I've seen all kinds of food at runs before, from the usual burgers and dogs, to chicken, pig roasts, clam boils, etc. But never a hot turkey dinner. Green beans, mashed taters, stuffing, thick slabs of turkey, gravy, butter and rolls, and mini pies! They had a fantastic assembly-line kind of setup, with a person at each of the food stops, serving each food and keeping things moving extremely fast. We were quite impressed, and will be tossing this idea around for our next big run.
We looked for a spot at one of the tables, but since we'd been one of the last to hit the food line, they were full up. All the better, actually, as we we're used to being relegated to the outskirts (dirty rotten unwanteds that we are).
And after the food, it was beer time! Mmmm, beer! (Ed, having had a rough evening the night before, looks on with uncertainty, but he gathered himself together and settled right in with the pace.)
The occasional sprinkle had picked up to a light, but steady plink-plink-plink, so we made our rounds again and then mounted up to head back to our Post for 'one' self-congratulatory beerverage. As we were pulling out, the skies opened up and we thought for sure we were in for a good dousing. Thankfully, though, it petered out quickly and we dealt with little more than a steady drizzle on the ride back.
A couple of the riders had other plans for the remainder of the day and hadn't returned to the Post, but the three remaining Amigos assumed our spots in the front, as usual.
A quick shot of the pantlegs for posterity.
See? Not too wet, overall. It was a decent half-day excursion and we'd shown some love to a fellow Post. Good things go back and forth, and we look forward to seeing them in a little over a month's time for our own support run. Hopefully we can have better weather on that day.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
The morning dawned very wet and grey, but the forecast was now calling for a bit of a window in the middle of the day. With any luck, we'd avoid most of the nasty stuff - and as things turned out, we didn't do too badly.
Arriving just before KSU time, I rolled in just behind a couple of other bikes. We set our stands and shot the breeze a little while we waitied for the other two members who were going today. One of the guys we were waiting for (Ed), was our newly-elected Road Captain, and we joked about whether he'd be ready for this, his inaugural ride in that position. When he pulled in, I asked him if he had a route picked out for us and he smiled and pulled out a printed sheet of directions from his pocket...which he'd only printed out a few minutes earlier. (He admitted later that as he was walking out the door, his wife happened to ask him if he knew how to get there and it hit him that he'd be leading and needed to map out some directions, pronto.) But all was good, we finished our water/juice/coffee and headed off to Waltham.
Pulling in, there was a decent turnout there already, given the uncertainty of the day's weather. We parked and then made the rounds, saying hello to the Waltham officers and making small talk with other members who were milling around the parking lot.
There were the usual pre-run announcements, a quick prayer, and we were off. Now Waltham is a city - not of Boston size, but heavily populated none-the-less. Instead of scenic roadways, they have stoplights and lots of traffic. Fortunately, they had secured 5 or 6 motorcycle cops to do blocking, and between them and the support from local township cruisers, it was a smooth run - roughly 35 miles, and we only hit sprinkles a couple of times.
Arriving back at their Post, we all dismounted and scattered - some for the portas, some for the inside lounge, and some for the food line. When we took our spot in line for food, we encountered something we've never seen before; they were serving a hot turkey dinner! At a bike run! Now I've seen all kinds of food at runs before, from the usual burgers and dogs, to chicken, pig roasts, clam boils, etc. But never a hot turkey dinner. Green beans, mashed taters, stuffing, thick slabs of turkey, gravy, butter and rolls, and mini pies! They had a fantastic assembly-line kind of setup, with a person at each of the food stops, serving each food and keeping things moving extremely fast. We were quite impressed, and will be tossing this idea around for our next big run.
We looked for a spot at one of the tables, but since we'd been one of the last to hit the food line, they were full up. All the better, actually, as we we're used to being relegated to the outskirts (dirty rotten unwanteds that we are).
And after the food, it was beer time! Mmmm, beer! (Ed, having had a rough evening the night before, looks on with uncertainty, but he gathered himself together and settled right in with the pace.)
The occasional sprinkle had picked up to a light, but steady plink-plink-plink, so we made our rounds again and then mounted up to head back to our Post for 'one' self-congratulatory beerverage. As we were pulling out, the skies opened up and we thought for sure we were in for a good dousing. Thankfully, though, it petered out quickly and we dealt with little more than a steady drizzle on the ride back.
A couple of the riders had other plans for the remainder of the day and hadn't returned to the Post, but the three remaining Amigos assumed our spots in the front, as usual.
A quick shot of the pantlegs for posterity.
See? Not too wet, overall. It was a decent half-day excursion and we'd shown some love to a fellow Post. Good things go back and forth, and we look forward to seeing them in a little over a month's time for our own support run. Hopefully we can have better weather on that day.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Ya Gotta Regatta!
This past weekend found us out in one of our favorite spots in the world; Olean! How did we find ourselves there once again? Last year, Myszka was talking up this event that he's done in the past. It's called the Great Valley Fireman's Regatta. It's a fundraiser for the fire department and attracts people from all over. After looking up the website (www.yagottaregatta.com) we said absolutely! We gotta check this thing out! But, we didn't want to drive all the way out there on Friday, only to get there on Friday night all tired from the road, and still needing to set up camp. Ok, the decision was made to head out on Thursday...sweet, an extra day! And to make things even more enjoyable, Mark and Mary opened their house to us again - all 8 of us! (Ok, there were 11 of us that made the Regatta, but three folks weren't able to get out there until Friday.)
After a "rather" uneventful trip out there (we had a quick pit stop to change a blown trailer tire), we pulled up to the spot where the Thursday night partay was going on. And what was there to greet us? Why a load of folks already kicking things off, tables of food, a grille all fired up and ready, tents set up for us (so we wouldn't have to break ours out just for one night), chairs surrounding a fire pit, a giant tub of frosty beers, and a huge jug of "Yucca"...which contains grain alocohol, vodka, Jack Daniels, and some other ingredients that I don't remember. (I asked where the name "Yucca" came from but I don't think anyone knew. If I had to guess, it came from the sound you make when you throw up after drinking too much - which is exactly why I stayed away from that stuff! One taste and I knew it would be nothing but trouble!
Ok, let's throw some pics in here...
First, the festivity grounds...
Yay, tub of beer!
The aforementioned jug of Yucca juice...
And all of that was just on the outside! Inside, there were bottles of various alcohols lined up for the ready. And we soon made ready with them!
Apple Cinnamon Pie!! Yeah, this stuff didn't stand a chance with me and my giant forehead around!
Of course, no party at Mark and Mary's is complete without a fun game of hide-the-beer-cans! They were ready for us to some degree, though. There was a very large mixing bowl they had recently acquired, and which they had secured flat to the ceiling as a means of storing it. Well, it was an obvious mark to hit with an empty or two, but low and behold, when we took it down, what did we find inside?
Ha ha!! Love those guys! But since they were willing to step up their game, I had to step up mine! I present to you, the latest version...
That's right; putting them into Mark's vise and crushing them flatter than a drink coaster. Now I can hide them almost ANYWHERE! MUAH-AH-AH-AAHHHHH!!!! Mary has already been posting the ones she's found. I hid three flattened ones and I think she's only found one so far. They'll find the second one in due time, but the third one...yeah, it'll still be there the next time we're out there. Oh yeah, Bill crushed a can down into a cube and stuck it into one of the ice cube spots on an ice tray in the freezer. (Is it any wonder they keep inviting us out there? Actually...yes, we sure wonder, LOL.)
Ok! After a long-into-the-evening partay which found Mary the sole survivor/last person standing at something like 4am, it was time to get up and hit the road the next morning. We had a regatta to head off to! After hugs and handshakes all around, we were soon on the road and following Myszka off to the campground for the next stage of this grand adventure.
Before long, we arrived, got our registrations taken care of and began setting up camp. One of the Myszka's friends (Everett) has an old parachute he sets up every year. It offers great shade from the sun, as well as protection from getting wet (provided it isn't raining TOO hard), and, if offers a perfect landmark for folks looking for the campsite.
We soon had that set up, the tents set up, the boats loaded into Steve's rented truck (what a great idea!) and were kicking back into party mode. Wait - before we do that, there's the issue of securing a porta-john for the women. Ok, wish granted; Everett drove up to where the porta-john was located, hooked a rope up to it, and dragged it back to our camp site.
Only when he got back did he realize he probably should have checked to make sure there was nobody inside it first! (Luckily, no one was.)
So we had the porta john, but how to hide it so folks don't know we stole it? Let's hide it behind the rental truck and then wrap it in a tarp!
LOL, yeah, that'll fool everyone. Nothing to see here! Certainly not a stolen porta-john!
Anyway, now it was full-on time to get the party going. Oh, did I forget to mention that Sped (Special Ed, a buddy of Myszka's) had brought over 1,000 jello shots?? Good lord, son, it's only a two-day event!
Never one to miss an opportunity, Aaron was soon launching the jello shots to everyone within slingshot distance. What's that? You've never heard of a jello-shot slingshot? Neither had we, but where there's a will, there's a way...
Nothing beats taking a bit of a rest after all the work we'd done so far. And what better way to kick back than having a seat in the biggest camp chair in the world...all while wearing a 70's-themed wig on your head, and cradling a pink headpiece in your lap...
Once we'd gotten a bit of happy-place feeling going, it was time to do a walkabout in the other, main camping area, and see what the freaks were up to. Most folks had either not arrived yet, or were still in the setting-up process, so there wasn't much to see at this point. (We did go back once it was dark, and the party was in full mode. One thing we all seemed to come away with for an opinion; what a sausage fest!!! Thankfully, the women came out in force the next day, on the river, but at the campground? Yeah...whole lotta men.)
Anyway, we did spot a very cool smoker;
There were some sick puppies out there, too! Check out this debauchery!
And who the hell thinks up something like this???
LOL, ok that second one was at our site. And since we weren't content to leave well enough alone, we had to step it up a little;
But don't worry, we didn't leave the poor sheep alone with the blow-up doll. I taped him to the front of my kayak and withstood some interesting comments from folks along the route the next day. But that's ok, because it's the regatta!
Oh yeah - King's daugher Marsha was in attendance, too. She and her friend Kimberly have apparently attended this for several years, but haven't done the river, proper, yet. They avowed they would do it with us next year, though! We did catch up to them on Friday night and they joined us for the late-night walkabout on the campground. It was a long night night of more fun and frivolity for all!
The next morning, we were up and ready - excitement filled the air! It was regatta time! We packed up our coolers with food and beer...mostly beer...and it was off to the "crick" we went!
I'm afraid I don't have any pics from the regatta, itself. Cindy had her waterproof camera with her and was snapping a lot of pics, but unfortunately it fell out of her pocket at some point. :-(
So here's a quick description for ya; you put in with 2,500 of your newest, best friends, and then spend the next 7 hours smashing into each other and smashing the hell out of your liver. The water level was quite low (we were told it was the lowest they've seen), so there were a number of spots where we had to get out and drag the boats across rock beds, but there were also spots where it was deeper, and moving fast enough, that if you didn't pay attention, you'd wind up in the drink. Especially the end spot - there was a huge tree hanging out into the water, and it claimed probably 40% of the boats that tried to maneuver around it. We all agreed that next year, we're going to have to bring scorecards with us and flash scores like a panel of judges.
I did well on the day, I only flipped into the water once, and that was because I leaned too far to catch a jello shot that someone had lobbed at me. I overextended and the kayak rolled out from under me...but I made the catch and held on, coming up out of the water with the jello shot held high, to the delight of those around me...who then dismissed me completely as they continued on down the water, leaving me splash to the banks where Zig was waiting to help me flip and drain it.
When we finally did come back out of the water at the end, Myszka's brother was waiting with the rental truck (did I mention what a great idea this was!) and then we boarded a bus to bring us back to the campsite. We cooked up some much-needed food, and then headed up to the fire hall to check out the band and do a little dancing.
We had one last surprise waiting for us up at the hall. Bryan was manning the back entrance, so we popped back out to say hello and shoot the breeze a bit more. He looks so official in his uniform - you wouldn't know we were partying with him just two nights ago.
And there you have it! The 2013 Regatta! It was our first, but it absolutely won't be our last! We're spreading the word as much as we can - who knows how many folks we'll drag out with us next year!
Paddle Hard, Ya Gotta Regatta!
After a "rather" uneventful trip out there (we had a quick pit stop to change a blown trailer tire), we pulled up to the spot where the Thursday night partay was going on. And what was there to greet us? Why a load of folks already kicking things off, tables of food, a grille all fired up and ready, tents set up for us (so we wouldn't have to break ours out just for one night), chairs surrounding a fire pit, a giant tub of frosty beers, and a huge jug of "Yucca"...which contains grain alocohol, vodka, Jack Daniels, and some other ingredients that I don't remember. (I asked where the name "Yucca" came from but I don't think anyone knew. If I had to guess, it came from the sound you make when you throw up after drinking too much - which is exactly why I stayed away from that stuff! One taste and I knew it would be nothing but trouble!
Ok, let's throw some pics in here...
First, the festivity grounds...
Yay, tub of beer!
The aforementioned jug of Yucca juice...
And all of that was just on the outside! Inside, there were bottles of various alcohols lined up for the ready. And we soon made ready with them!
Apple Cinnamon Pie!! Yeah, this stuff didn't stand a chance with me and my giant forehead around!
Of course, no party at Mark and Mary's is complete without a fun game of hide-the-beer-cans! They were ready for us to some degree, though. There was a very large mixing bowl they had recently acquired, and which they had secured flat to the ceiling as a means of storing it. Well, it was an obvious mark to hit with an empty or two, but low and behold, when we took it down, what did we find inside?
Ha ha!! Love those guys! But since they were willing to step up their game, I had to step up mine! I present to you, the latest version...
That's right; putting them into Mark's vise and crushing them flatter than a drink coaster. Now I can hide them almost ANYWHERE! MUAH-AH-AH-AAHHHHH!!!! Mary has already been posting the ones she's found. I hid three flattened ones and I think she's only found one so far. They'll find the second one in due time, but the third one...yeah, it'll still be there the next time we're out there. Oh yeah, Bill crushed a can down into a cube and stuck it into one of the ice cube spots on an ice tray in the freezer. (Is it any wonder they keep inviting us out there? Actually...yes, we sure wonder, LOL.)
Ok! After a long-into-the-evening partay which found Mary the sole survivor/last person standing at something like 4am, it was time to get up and hit the road the next morning. We had a regatta to head off to! After hugs and handshakes all around, we were soon on the road and following Myszka off to the campground for the next stage of this grand adventure.
Before long, we arrived, got our registrations taken care of and began setting up camp. One of the Myszka's friends (Everett) has an old parachute he sets up every year. It offers great shade from the sun, as well as protection from getting wet (provided it isn't raining TOO hard), and, if offers a perfect landmark for folks looking for the campsite.
We soon had that set up, the tents set up, the boats loaded into Steve's rented truck (what a great idea!) and were kicking back into party mode. Wait - before we do that, there's the issue of securing a porta-john for the women. Ok, wish granted; Everett drove up to where the porta-john was located, hooked a rope up to it, and dragged it back to our camp site.
Only when he got back did he realize he probably should have checked to make sure there was nobody inside it first! (Luckily, no one was.)
So we had the porta john, but how to hide it so folks don't know we stole it? Let's hide it behind the rental truck and then wrap it in a tarp!
Anyway, now it was full-on time to get the party going. Oh, did I forget to mention that Sped (Special Ed, a buddy of Myszka's) had brought over 1,000 jello shots?? Good lord, son, it's only a two-day event!
Never one to miss an opportunity, Aaron was soon launching the jello shots to everyone within slingshot distance. What's that? You've never heard of a jello-shot slingshot? Neither had we, but where there's a will, there's a way...
Nothing beats taking a bit of a rest after all the work we'd done so far. And what better way to kick back than having a seat in the biggest camp chair in the world...all while wearing a 70's-themed wig on your head, and cradling a pink headpiece in your lap...
Once we'd gotten a bit of happy-place feeling going, it was time to do a walkabout in the other, main camping area, and see what the freaks were up to. Most folks had either not arrived yet, or were still in the setting-up process, so there wasn't much to see at this point. (We did go back once it was dark, and the party was in full mode. One thing we all seemed to come away with for an opinion; what a sausage fest!!! Thankfully, the women came out in force the next day, on the river, but at the campground? Yeah...whole lotta men.)
Anyway, we did spot a very cool smoker;
There were some sick puppies out there, too! Check out this debauchery!
And who the hell thinks up something like this???
LOL, ok that second one was at our site. And since we weren't content to leave well enough alone, we had to step it up a little;
But don't worry, we didn't leave the poor sheep alone with the blow-up doll. I taped him to the front of my kayak and withstood some interesting comments from folks along the route the next day. But that's ok, because it's the regatta!
Oh yeah - King's daugher Marsha was in attendance, too. She and her friend Kimberly have apparently attended this for several years, but haven't done the river, proper, yet. They avowed they would do it with us next year, though! We did catch up to them on Friday night and they joined us for the late-night walkabout on the campground. It was a long night night of more fun and frivolity for all!
The next morning, we were up and ready - excitement filled the air! It was regatta time! We packed up our coolers with food and beer...mostly beer...and it was off to the "crick" we went!
I'm afraid I don't have any pics from the regatta, itself. Cindy had her waterproof camera with her and was snapping a lot of pics, but unfortunately it fell out of her pocket at some point. :-(
So here's a quick description for ya; you put in with 2,500 of your newest, best friends, and then spend the next 7 hours smashing into each other and smashing the hell out of your liver. The water level was quite low (we were told it was the lowest they've seen), so there were a number of spots where we had to get out and drag the boats across rock beds, but there were also spots where it was deeper, and moving fast enough, that if you didn't pay attention, you'd wind up in the drink. Especially the end spot - there was a huge tree hanging out into the water, and it claimed probably 40% of the boats that tried to maneuver around it. We all agreed that next year, we're going to have to bring scorecards with us and flash scores like a panel of judges.
I did well on the day, I only flipped into the water once, and that was because I leaned too far to catch a jello shot that someone had lobbed at me. I overextended and the kayak rolled out from under me...but I made the catch and held on, coming up out of the water with the jello shot held high, to the delight of those around me...who then dismissed me completely as they continued on down the water, leaving me splash to the banks where Zig was waiting to help me flip and drain it.
When we finally did come back out of the water at the end, Myszka's brother was waiting with the rental truck (did I mention what a great idea this was!) and then we boarded a bus to bring us back to the campsite. We cooked up some much-needed food, and then headed up to the fire hall to check out the band and do a little dancing.
We had one last surprise waiting for us up at the hall. Bryan was manning the back entrance, so we popped back out to say hello and shoot the breeze a bit more. He looks so official in his uniform - you wouldn't know we were partying with him just two nights ago.
And there you have it! The 2013 Regatta! It was our first, but it absolutely won't be our last! We're spreading the word as much as we can - who knows how many folks we'll drag out with us next year!
Paddle Hard, Ya Gotta Regatta!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Bleeding Out
The days have been sunny and warm, with temps in the high 60's, even touching an occasional 70 now and then. Beautiful!...but decpetive at the same time. Clear skies in the daytime allow the sun's rays to come in at full strength (for this time of year) - that's the upside. The downside is that clear skies at night allow the ground, still cold from the winter months, to purge it's cooler temps, leaving us with quite frosty mornings. I'm talking; frost on the blades of grass and vapor crystals when you exhale. It makes for some invigorating rides in the morning. But, come the end of the workday, the gear is stowed, the thin gloves are donned, and it's an enjoyable cruise along the streets toward home (and then beyond, to whatever the night holds).
So bleed your cold temps out, Mother Earth. We're on the downslope toward summer and can withstand chilly mornings for a bit longer. Soon, the winter riding gear will again be collecting dust in the back closet, and we're all looking forward to that.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
So bleed your cold temps out, Mother Earth. We're on the downslope toward summer and can withstand chilly mornings for a bit longer. Soon, the winter riding gear will again be collecting dust in the back closet, and we're all looking forward to that.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
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