Pull up a chair and grab some suds.....I got a tale to tell.
I awoke to dark clouds on Fri.
morning. I checked the weather, then
e-mail. The forcast didn't look good, and lots of folks in the
path of
Isabelle were going to wait til Sat. to head to Vermort. A quick
check
in with Bill G. and the decision was made. Isabelle wasn't going
to
stop us! YaaaHooo!!!
I met Bill at the designated spot and we headed out.
We had a real nice ride despite the weather. We went from rain
so hard
I thought my face was bleeding, to wind that if I had put on the
windshield, poor Doc would have been going backwards! Then 5 minutes
later, bright warm sunshine. Weird. The clouds were moving so
fast, it
looked like a fast forward movie. I can't wait for the opportunity
to
ride those roads when we aren't in the middle of a hurricane!
We stopped for some lunch at this great little spot called The
Den.
Who knew maple syrup was good in corn chowder!? Only in Vermont.
I was
holding to stopping every 100 miles for gas. I had run out at
125
miles before. I should be getting better gas mileage with the
rebuild,
but I didn't want to chance it. We had decided to stop in another
40
miles. Poor Bill....I saw this cute little gas station, beeped
my
horn, waved and then pulled in, way before our planned 40 miles.
He
traveled a ways up the road before realizing I was missing. lol
It
turned out to be a good stop as the guy in the gas station turned
us
on to this great vintage bike shop up the road. Had a nice visit
with
the owners. They both ride hacks. They checked out my bike, showed
us
some pics of theirs, gave me some tips on right hand turns, then
it
was time for us to head out. Very nice stop.
As we neared our destination, we could see it was bright and sunny
up
ahead. We arrived at Vermort to one of the prettiest fall days
I had
ever seen!
Introductions were made, bikes were checked out, other folks arrived
and the drinking and lieing began!
I got to see Tud and Bep's Triumphs. I know very little about
them,
and was very intruiged to watch them starting up and riding. Beautiful
machines!
I really liked Poser's Pan too. I got to see the *Moose killer*.
Holy
hell, I had never heard that story before! WOW! Tailgunner showed
up
on an incredibly space age looking Beemer.
OK OK I know most of you have seen each others bikes. I'll just
admit
to being a bikeaholic and get on with it. :)
I have to say, tho it has been said by many before, if you have
never
been to an IRL you MUST go! Wonderful people, bikes, wrenching,
"grapes", green jello shots (bleck...who drank all those??)
a really
nice car show, an excellent dinner, I even ended up with an
Asshole(tm) in my sidehack at one point!
Dayum...what a weekend! Many thanks to Ken and Cathi!!
All too soon, it was time to get ready to go. I had missed Aitch's
arrival the night before, and had the pleasure of meeting him
in the
morning. Jeez, I think he really liked those PBR's. LOL Hope to
ride
with you again, Aitch!
We all packed up and headed out to breakfast. I was still full
from
the great dinner, and _maybe_ a few too many jello shots, but
a couple
eggs and coffee would be great. I have to admit, I was kinda breathing
a sigh of relief. I've heard the stories of the pranks pulled
on
happily oblivious drunks. I was feeling pretty thankful no one
had
reprogramed my prosthesis to break dance backwards. lol
Len saved me the seat at the end of the table so's I wouldn't
trip
over everybody. Jeez...wasn't that nice? We all ordered and the
food
came out pretty quick.
OH ~gag~ maybe I was tripping...dayum...those eggs looked
green....hmm...maybe the extra shots Cathi tried to convince me
to
take home?? No...no one was laughing. OK. I had to suck it
up....wouldn't do to tell my new friends I was seeing green...maybe
just a little yolk and toast. Yup, that'll be the ticket. Just
a
little..no one would have to know. OK I'll just poke the damned
thing
a little....
**BAM** HOLY HELL...the damned thing blew up....ewwww, it was
all over
may face. OMG I was covered with green slimy stuff!! Now _everybody_
was looking. I tried to scrub it off...I looked over at Len and
he
was....smirking!!! Dayum!!! I'd been framed! I'd....I'd been
SLIMED!!!!
That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :)
The ride home was incredible! Banker took us down some fabulous
roads.
Some of the pretties views ever. There is nothing like fall riding.
Just cool enough for leather, not cool enough for gloves. I love
it!
Bill, Bear and I parted from the group and headed towards home.
The
weather couldn't have been nicer or the company better!
I had a few electrical problems and scared the hell outta myself
when
the bike backfired once, but we figured it out and Doc held up
for me.
Bill called my bike a rat bike. :P lol
Bear cut off soon after that and headed to the highway to slab
it home
and Bill and I continued on to my home town where we parted on
Rt. 9.
It's always nice to get home to my darlin angel, but dayum was
I sorry
it was over!
I can't wait til the next one!!!!
I think I should pass on the green jello shots, tho. ;)
--
Traci aka sybil
'81 FLH w/sidecar "Doc"
http://eddiekieger.com/
ŠAH#122