Shayne's Run - 2015

The forecasts were calling for rain later in the day but we forged ahead with the day's plans - we had a run to put on!

I wasn't able to join the crew for the customary kickoff breakfast - I'd hoped to catch up on some zzz's to offset the jetlag (have I mentioned that I was in IRELAND!?!)  :-D

Alas, I was too excited to sleep in, so I ran a bunch of errands to get them out of the way and then met up with the crew at the Post to start getting things ready for the approaching rush.

When the registration period arrived, we had the same issue we always have; very light/slow volume for the first hour, and we all start looking at our clocks and commenting on how we'd thought there'd have been more by now, and then with about 45 minutes to go, the place jams up with an almost constant stream of arrivals.

We literally almost ran out of room in the parking lot this year - certainly a good problem to have.  From what I heard, there were minimal issues with the release of the parking lot, so that's good.  However, with next year being the 10th anniversary, if the weather is good, we are going to have to figure out something different - there's no way we'll be able to handle much more than we did this year.  (We're kicking around the idea of having the ALR chapters stage in the shopping plaza parking lot up the road a bit, leaving the full parking lot for everyone else.)  Anyway, we've got a year to get that figured out.

One thing we did try different this year was to have two sweepers at the end; Greg and Artie.  They kept an eye on the column and allowed both law enforcement, as well as bystanders/other cages know when the run was officially past, and they could begin resuming normal activity.

The weather held off for us and everyone had a great ride.  All I've heard is that one guy went down, but it was a "slow-speed stall, lay the bike down gently" kind of thing, with no injuries at all.  When we (at the back) went by him, he was just standing there, no damage, no injury, and Artie stopped to make sure he was all right.  He was, just that his bike had stalled and he didn't know why.  It started back up for him and rather than go back to the Post, he was just gonna head home to be safe.

Arriving back at the Post, the parking lot soon swarmed to capacity again, and the skies were still being kind to us; no rain yet!  The food flowed, the music poured out of the speakers, and the raffle ticket sales were fast and furious (I had a new high, and a new low this year.  I tossed $100 at raffle tickets (a new high) and won absolutely nothing (a new low).  Oh well, maybe next year.)

The after-party lasted well into the late afternoon and folks began to make their exits.  The skies were beginning to darken a bit more, which chased out all but the hardiest (dumbest?) of us still on two wheels.  Before much longer, the rain began coming, and that sent everyone who wasn't already inside, inside.  We made a last sweep of the grounds to make sure everything was cleaned up, and then we retreated inside as well for a bit.

But only for a bit, for there was the after-after-party to go to at Rex's house.  I contemplated heading home to change into dry clothes and swap two wheels for four, but said screw it.  The rain had petered out a little, and it was a short ride to Rex's, so I just headed there.

Those of you who have seen the video on FB know that while at Rex's, I performed my pie-in-the-face challenge as well.  I tell ya; I had no idea how oily and sticky that whipped cream was going to be.  "Oily and sticky"?  How can it be both?  Well, I'm not sure, but if you doubt me go grab 5 cans of whipped cream topping and spray it all over yourself, then tell me if you believe me.

And it doesn't come off very easily, either.  Rex was kind enough to let me shower at his house - ok, he didn't want to let me back into his house until I'd cleaned up - but even after showering, I was told I smelled like stale dairy.  One girl even said I smelled like baby puke.  Delightful.  Ok, I guess I should call it a night and head home where I can really scrub this stuff off.

It's been 5 days since then and nobody has said I smell like baby puke, so I guess I'm good to go.

It was another great day (despite being for a terrible reason).  I haven't heard what the bar's take was, but our preliminary net (not gross) for the run itself was over $10,000.  Sweet!

So in closing, once again; thank you Shayne for your ultimate sacrifice toward our freedom!

Ride Hard, Thank a Vet!!