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Kentucky Chapter P Ride-In |
KENTUCKY
CHAPTER P RIDE IN
We got up early in the morning put on all of our leather and
headed for Blue Licks State Park in Kentucky for Chapter P's
Ride-In. We were excited about going because this was the first
opportunity in awhile to attend a Ride-In due to work and other
obligations. Although our ride was cold, the reception we
received when we arrived was far from that. As we got off our
bikes and headed toward the registration table, the smell of
freshly brewed coffee and donuts greeted us. The women at the
table were very friendly and helpful. We also got to meet Linda
Gooding, the one who sent us the information about the event in
the first place. It is so nice when we get
to meet those of you in person who e-mail us. After registering,
we ran over to get some hot coffee and donuts. My fingers were so
numb from the cold, I could hardly fix my coffee. But I managed
and then we found a place in the sun to sit. We hung out for
awhile watching all the people coming in on their bikes. They
were just as cold as we were and seemed to make a beeline for the
coffee as well.
After a short while, we were all told to gather around for
instructions and maps for the pinch run. (No we didn't go to
every stop and pinch each other) The maps were given out and we
were instructed to break up in groups. We somehow got lucky and
ended up in the group led by the person who set up the ride. Now
the worry of getting lost was no longer a factor, we could
concentrate on what we had to do. The object was at each stop we
had to get a pinch of sequins and put in a baggie. The object was
to get as close to the amount that was in the
"official" pinch run bag that was already put together.
The ride was very nice and being the co-rider (it was too cold to
ride my cruiser) I got to do the pinching. It was about a 70 mile
ride, and we got to to parts we'd never been in before. With my
sequins grasped tightly in my hands, we made our way back to the
park. I headed over to the
registration table to hand in my baggie when I was informed that
I had to count all the little sequins in the baggie. David and I
found a chair and started with our task of counting. We finally
got done and returned with our baggie and the number amount that
we had collected.
After all that counting, we were pretty hungry so we headed to
get something to eat. They had lunch catered in that consisted of
hot dogs, hamburgers, baked beans, and all kinds of other yummy
things. We found a place to sit and dug in. We chatted all the
while and got to know some
more of our GWRRA family. Once we were full, we headed back to
the registration area to await the on bike games.
We didn't have to wait long when the announcement came to suit up
and head over to the gaming area. The games consisted of balls on
cones, slow ride, and balloon toss. Also, each game you entered
you were given an extra ticket for the door prize drawing. David
tried his luck on the slow ride and did pretty well. It was now
my turn to do the balls on cones. We had to take off three balls
from one set of cones and put them on on the opposite side. The
third game was the balloon toss. David told me that if I got him
wet I would be walking home, so I took care and caught the
balloon. But during the elimination round, I dropped the ball as
the saying would go. At least he didn't get wet.
Then the last and final game which did not require a motorcycle
was the tater races. I bet you wonder how a bunch of taters can
race. Well we sure didn't get on all fours and blow on their rear
ends like we did the frogs at Region D. It was the good ole'
tater in the pantyhose that you
had to tie on your waist and swing it so it hits the tater that's
laying on the ground and move it across the finish line in record
time.
I am not good at this sport, so I opted to sit on the sidelines
and watch. I think everyone else had the same idea because the
first one that got up to race was up there alone and didn't have
a partner. Well I didn't hide well enough because Linda looked
around and spotted me and coerced me into racing. I reluctantly
went to the starting line and started my race toward victory.
Well I took so long, I think the potato started growing sprouts.
Anyway, needless to say, I didn't win that one. They told me
later that they had great video coverage. Hopefully my segment
will get accidently erased. Well after we were through, other
people got up there and tried their luck knowing for sure they
couldn't do any worset han I did. But, it's pretty funny to watch
and amazing how the guys are much better at it than the women.
Finally, everything was done, the winners announced and we headed
back to the registration area for the drawing of the door prizes.
With tickets clutched in my hand, I eagerly awaited my numbers to
be called. Soon, they called out my number and I went and claimed
the prize. It was a really nice black hat with Gold Wing
embroidered on it. I saw David looking at it with a long face and
offered to give it to him but he told me to keep it. Well since
we had a few extra tickets due to the fact we got one each game
we entered, my ticket was called again, and I got another hat.
This time I gave it to him so he wouldn't feel neglected. They
had a BUNCH of door prizes so inadvertently my tickets were
picked again and I got a T-shirt. If they kept this up, I would
get a whole new outfit.
Finally the door prizes were all handed out and it was time to
pack up and leave. We visited a little more and then said our
good-byes. They were headed out to dinner then they were going to
line up for a light parade. We unfortunately had to get home so
we were unable to attend that part of it. We received e-mail
later from Linda who said they had 53 bikes in the light parade
and it was enjoyed by all.
All in all it was a great day. It was so nice to meet the people
from Kentucky, Chapter P. Everyone was so friendly and made us
feel right at home. We are already making plans to visit their
chapter meeting in the winter. We were told that this was the
first ride in that they ever
hosted and I must say they did an excellent job. Everything
flowed together and turned out just great. If you weren't there
you missed a great time!
Lori Rowland
E-Wing News
Photos of the Ride-In can be seen at:
http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/track/7798/kychp.html
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Bike Down |
It's Friday afternoon and I should be at Wings Over the Smokies enjoying the roads, the weather, and being the proud owner of a bunch of new accessories, but instead I sit here at home in front of my computer with a broken foot and a busted up motorcycle. I never even made it out of Ohio. There were 5 bikes in our group that headed out about 3pm and wanted to get into Kentucky on day one. Around 7:30 it was a perfect evening for riding, I had the tape player cranked up and was thinking how wonderful it was going to be getting into the hills and curves, enjoying good roads and wonderful company for the weekend. I had put almost 2000 miles on the bike and was really feeling comfortable with it.
I was bike 4 and
riding the outside line. We entered a series of 4 curves marked
at 25mph. I don't know how fast I was going as I was just keeping
pace with the group. As I entered the third curve which turns
left I leaned into the curve and here is where I get uncertain as
to exactly what happened. I remember my footpeg making contact
with the pavement and I believe this may have startled me and
caused me to overreact as I had never scraped a peg before. I
leaned up to bring the bike off the peg which took me to the
outside edge of the road and I next remember sliding in gravel
and I'm not certain if this was gravel on the road or if I was
just off the edge of the road. Here I made the mistake of looking
to my right and seeing the guardrail coming at me. I was sliding
on my side at this point and slid into the guardrail and came to
a stop. I can remember thinking as I was sliding "Oh man I'm
scratching up my nice new bike". I pulled my left leg out
from under the bike and rolled over in the roadway to sit up and
my ankle was at about a 45 degree outward from my leg. Seeing
this I thought sure it was broke but as I lay there I was able to
start bending it and moving it around. The squad got there very
quickly and hauled me to the local hospital 8 miles away and that
was one miserable rough ride. My ankle felt every bump of the
road. The x-rays showed a broken bone about two inches back from
joint of my big toe. They said they couldn't put a cast on
because of where the break is and that I would need to see a
specialist, so I'm off to one at 2:30 today. I'll find out then
how long I'll be laid up and off work. Looks like my riding
season has come to and end.
In all of this I cannot say enough good about all the people that
were involved in this with me. I was riding with folks from GWRRA
Chapter B out of Mansfield, Ohio and their response to get help
was immediate and their presence with me as I lay on the road was
a tremendous encouragement. I felt so badly about the delay and
inconvenience to their trip by my mishap but they could not have
had a better, more supportive attitude than they did. One of the
guys with us made arrangements for another member of the chapter
to come down the next day with his van and trailer to get me and
the bike back home. We dropped the bike at a local dealer for
estimates and he got me to my house where my wife was shocked to
see me pull in the driveway. I had not called her the night it
happened as I did not want her to drive in a panic down to where
we were at when there was really nothing she could do. I figured
it would be easier on her to find out about the accident and to
immediately be able to see that I was all right than to be
sitting at home in a panic until I got there. She took the news
real well with no mention of putting an end to our riding. She
did mention later that she might just sell her bike. I must also
say I have never had such a pleasant experience with an LEO than
I did with the state trooper that handled my accident. Once he
was certain I was OK he joked along with the rest of us about the
situation, he called the post and had them get room reservations
for us at the local motel, he gave me a ride to the motel, and
escorted one of the guys with us who rode my bike to where we
were going to keep it for the night. The folks at Brown County
Hospital and the EMT crew were also as friendly, helpful, and
responsive as you could ever expect. It's sure been proven to me
that having good people around you in the middle of a bad
situation can make all the difference in the world.
Ride safely,
Jeff Dellinger
Willard, Ohio
[email protected]
1999 Region D Rally |
Friday morning the alarm clock went off around 8:00am and after
showers we were ready to head out for the Region D Rally in Lima,
Ohio with no rain in sight. We packed the camper and bikes a
couple days ago to avoid the last minute rush so all we had to do
was get on and go. With tire pressures checked on both bikes we
headed out on a short 136 mile ride to the Allen County
Fairgrounds and a weekend of frogs and fun. The trip to the
fairgrounds was uneventful with Lori and I taking turns leading
up I-75. The State Highway Patrol were out in full force for
Labor Day Weekend and we saw about 11 cruisers ( most of them
were busy writing tickets) during our morning trip. We arrived at
the fairgrounds around noon and after stopping by registration we
set out to find our friends Chris & June Deczkowski from
Pennsylvania who we met at the Michigan Rally.
Chris and June arrived on Thursday and we had made plans to camp
with them again. After riding around the fairgrounds we found
their bikes and camper among the many others who had already
arrived. They were up visiting the numerous vendors at the rally
so we unhooked our camper and shortly were setup and making a few
final adjustments when they arrived back. It was really good to
see them again. The four of us really hit it off and wished that
we lived closer to one another. Chris has a real sharp 1000 Gold
Wing that he shows and June rides a 1500 that they are in the
process of adding chrome to and getting it ready to show in the
future. After visiting for awhile Lori and I wanted to hit the
vendors since with all of things going on Saturday and Sunday we
knew there would probably not be another opportunity. One of our
very first stops I found something that I had been looking at for
quite some time and made arrangements to have it installed which
would take a few hours. (I will tell you later what it was). We
checked out the rest of the vendors and ran into a lot of old
friends and made a few new ones.
We headed back to the camper to
meet up with Chris and June to go out for supper. Chris was busy
working on his bike trying to fix a problem with his front brake.
So we sat and visited some more and watched all of the Gold Wings
coming in and setting up camp for the rally.Some of the outfits
that people bring with all the decorations, canopies, are quite
interesting to see. Chris finished up and we headed to Ponderosa
who was offering a discount to all GWRRA members just for showing
their cards. The food was very good as so was the service we
received. We finished up and headed to K-Mart for a couple of
odds and ends and then it was back to the fairgrounds. More tents
and campers had popped up while we were gone and looked like it
was going to be a good turn out for the rally. Chris and Lori
both had planned to enter their bikes in the bike show so we
started the task of cleaning every nook and crevice. Of course
when anyone walked by they volunteered to let us clean their bike
when we got done but little did they know we never finish
cleaning. We cleaned on the bikes until it got too dark to see
and then set up our chairs to visit some more and talk until it
started getting late and then headed to bed. We had a pole light
next to us that lit up the inside of our campers and in the
morning we agreed to check to see it there was any way to shut it
off. Some of the other lights had switches on them and they had
been shut off but we were unable to find such a switch.
Saturday morning at 5:45 am we were awakened to the sound of
electrical wires shorting out on the light pole beside our
campers. It was quite loud and I expected to see sparks flying
when I looked out but it had stopped. We had a power surge which
took care of the pole light and momentary shut our electric off
but then came back on. It was so loud that I looked out to make
sure June's bike wasn't on fire, but everything was ok. Well that
certainly took care of the pole light for the rest of the
weekend. Since we were up, Lori and I decided to get showers
before everyone else got up and while the hot water was still
hot. A few others had the same idea but we got right in and
didn't have to wait. At 7:00am I met with the vendor again who
was already working on our bike, to double check what we actually
wanted done. It wouldn't be until 2 or 3 pm before he would be
finished. Only problem with this was that we would miss out on
the Top Gunn practice and On Bike Field Events. Not having any
transportation we checked out a couple of the food vendors who
were open for breakfast so we decided to give them a try. We sat
on a 3 foot high concrete wall around some shrubs which gave us a
view of the vendor area and watched it quickly came to life as
Gold Wingers started searching for that special bargain on a
piece of chrome or other accessory they have been looking for all
summer. After a while we headed back to the camper to find Chris
out polishing his bike and June still asleep. I started to do the
same thing on Lori's bike but was informed that it looked fine
and to sit down and relax. I reminded Lori that it was not what I
call "show shined" yet and it would have to be done
sometime.
We sat around until it was time for opening ceremonies at the
grand stands at 9:00. While waiting for opening ceremonies to
begin we visited with several friends and got to see some of the
National Staff, Mike Wright included. During opening, the Ohio
District Staff came in all dressed up in humorous outfits
carrying frogs on rakes, stakes, and in frying pans - just having
fun with the rally theme of Leap Into Fall. I don't think the
theme was how to best kill and prepare frogs, but you know what
pranksters the Ohio District Staff are! Once the crowd (Ohio
District Staff) settled down, we heard from officials welcoming
the GWRRA members to Lima and the Allen County Fairgrounds which
made everyone feel right at home.
After opening ceremonies it was back to the camper for a quick
stop and then onto the vending area. First stop was the Popper
Hopper Contest. This is where you take a popper (looks like a
small hollow ball cut in half about 1 inch across) turn it inside
out, lay it on a angled piece of wood on a table aiming it toward
a group of cups that are worth different amount of points. The
popper will take a moment and then pop, jumping into one of the
cups. You got three tries for a quarter to get the highest score
possible which was 2400 points. I was able to get 2100 points and
was told to come back at 5:00pm for a pop off unless someone else
got a perfect score. The prize was a big ceramic frog bank.
(picture in the photo gallery) Usually Lori is the lucky one but
she wasn't able to beat my score. We then moved on to the Hoop
Shoot where you try to make as many baskets as possible with an
arcade style basketball game in a certain amount of time. Lori
had a good time with this one, basketballs were flying everywhere
and she managed to get 12 in before time was up. I think the high
score at the time was somewhere up in the 20's, but she did do
pretty good. It was getting close to noon so we headed to one of
the buildings where seminars were being given to see Terri Sue
Stumpf talk on "How to pack a motorcycle" We picked up
some really good suggestions on packing and how to save space.
It's really something that with our first Gold Wing, a 1982 1100
Interstate, we were able to pack everything we needed for a trip
inside the trunk and saddlebags and now we can't leave home
without our trailer and it's full too! I know we will never get
rid of the trailer but with the tips we picked up from Terri Sue
we can better organize our bike.
After the seminar we watched the pinstripers do their magic on
the different bikes. We admired their work in progress. At 2:00
we headed for the frog jumping competition. This was something
you just had to see. There were big frogs, little frogs, and
everything in between. Everyone wanting to compete had to bring
their own frog or could rent one. You tried to get the frog to
jump three times and then the distance was measured from the
starting point to the last jump. Not all of the frogs went
straight. Some went sideways and some started to turn back but no
matter what direction they went it was something to see. Some of
the frogs jumped as soon as they were set down while other just
sat there while people tried everything to get them to move. We
saw grown men and women on their hands and knees doing the
funniest things to make them move, including blowing on their
butts! I'm not sure who was laughing harder the people laughing
at the frogs or the frogs laughing at the people. Lori stood back
watching the contestants waiting for her turn. She turned to me
and asked if she had to actually touch the frog. I guess she
didn't realize that she was the jockey and had to do all of the
work, including touching a slimy frog. If you ever get a chance
to see a frog jumping contest be sure and do so, it's pretty
funny.
Afterwards we picked up our bike from the vendor doing the
install work and everything looked fine. (I'm still not going to
tell you what it was yet) It was now time for the bike show
classification so back to the camper to get Lori's bike out of
the add-a-room, or as we call it our add-a-garage. We waited in
line visiting with others and checked out some of the competition
as we moved along until Lori's bike was classified. It was then
back to the add-a-garage to put her bike away. While back at the
camper we heard a Michael Rowland announced over the PA system to
come to the vending area for a Popper Hopper pop off. Oh......oh
I'm not Michael but I should be in the pop off and we had
completely forgot . Lori finished parking her bike while I
hurried up to the vending area arriving just in time. I believe
there were 2 or 3 of us with the same score and there was no
Michael. So after getting that taken care of it was now my turn.
Lori arrived just in time with our popper hopper (she picked it
out earlier and felt is was our lucky popper) and I took my pops
and got a good score. It was now time for my last popper hopper
pop and it would be the deciding factor if I needed to clean my
trunk out because this ceramic frog was pretty good size. I made
my last pop beating the high score. We were now the proud owners
of a big green ceramic bullfrog which now sits in our living room
as a reminder of the great time we had at Region D Rally. (Lori
said that the money put in the frog was going to be her GoldWing
fund).
Next it was time for the bed races. Two special beds had been
built for the event and the teams were ready. This was a timed
event with 5 persons in each team. Four people would push while
one rode in the bed to the end of the course where they would go
around a barrel switch a pusher for a rider and vice versa and
also put pajamas on at the same time while wearing helmets. The
teams all seemed to have game plans only some worked and some
didn't. This was another must see event.
With the bed races over it was time to go and get a bite to eat.
We were told about a real Mexican restaurant just up the road by
one of the other rally goers who said it was real good if you
liked Mexican food. Always wanting to try something different
Lori and I rode off and found the restaurant not far from the
fairgrounds. The parking lot was full but we managed to find a
place to park the wing anyway. The restaurant was decorated to go
along with the Mexican theme and we were seated quickly. Service
was quick and the food was good. We will be sure and stop again
when in the area.
We returned to the fairgrounds to find Chris and June who were
busy putting on new chrome they had purchased. They wouldn't be
able to make the Grand Parade which was already lining up. We
headed to the back of the fairgrounds to line up and were almost
at the end. The Grand Parade is one of our favorite things at the
Rally. With all the lights, motorcycles, and people waving, to me
it is one of the most positive image makers for Gold Wingers
there are. It helps to get rid of the motorcycle gang image that
people have in their minds from all the movies on television that
they have been watching for years . We zigged zagged around the
town and were constantly greeted by smiling faces and waving arms
from the youngest child to the most senior of senior citizens.
Everyone had a front row seat it just depended upon which view
you had being it a lawn chair or from the seat of a Gold Wing. As
always we end up back at the fairgrounds and it was time for the
light show. The show arena was used which provided seating and
easy entry and egress for the bikes. Each bike went through
greeted by Ohhhhhs and Ahhhhhhs while the judges walked around
scoring the bikes. Now its time to tell you what I had installed.
Strobes. We had 12 strobe lights installed all around the lower
half of the bike in red, white, and purple. The only problem with
strobes is that it put us in the class with moving lights. (The
same class with Neon Leon) We knew that we didn't have a chance
but we were doing it to have fun. Besides we still had a secret
weapon. Lori and I always do everything together and this was no
different. We rode in with Lori operating our secret weapon. A
multi-color retractable light sword powered by a 2 C-cell
flashlight. (Bet you haven't seen that before in a light show.) I
just knew that everyone else in the class was worried. Wait a
minute I got that backwards we worried that our batteries
wouldn't last because we had used it all during the Grand Parade,
but the kids loved it. We pulled up to the judging area with
strobes strobing, light sword waving, all to the tune of Danger
Zone from the movie Top Gun. I'm sure it was a sight! The judges
walked around the bike and I think Lori almost bonked one of the
judges on the head with the light sword. Judging was completed
and it may had been my imagination but something might have been
said about hard hats next year..... but anyway we pulled out and
parked with the rest of the bikes outside of the arena to watch
the last few bikes of the light show. Surprisingly we didn't win.
Maybe next year we will use a D-cell flashlight instead. With the
light show being the last event of the night we headed back to
the camper to visit with Chris and June and then it was off to
bed around 1:00am
Sunday morning we awoke to our alarm going off at 6:30am and
headed for the showers just a little bit slower than the morning
before. Lori had a sore arm from all the sword waving from the
light show the night before. But it looked like another perfect
day and after getting all cleaned up it was time to head to
Shoney's. A few other wingers were already there who had gotten
up just a little bit earlier than we did and were enjoying the
breakfast bar. We took our time and relaxed knowing that the rest
of the day we would be very busy.
First stop for us was the Top Gunn Competition. Several riders
had shown up to test their skills on the Top Gunn course. There
were also several spectators watching from the shaded area around
the parking lot. I dropped off Lori and went to warm up a little
in a empty parking lot close by since I missed out on the
practice yesterday due to the install of our strobe lights.
Another winger was already practicing circles and figure eights
so I moved on to another lot and started getting ready to ride
the course. About 20 minutes later I headed back to sign up and
waited my turn to run the course. Every year I always ride Top
Gunn at Region D and Buckeye Rally and my skills keep improving
because of it and all the parking lot practice I do, plus it's
really fun. Next time you are at one of the Rallies give it a try
you just might be surprised how well you do. I had a good run
tieing for first place with Gary Lippold of Indiana Chapter J-2
in the experienced class. When a tie happens they use the slowest
time in the slow ride as the tie breaker and Gary did it slower
than I did so he took first place and I received second.
After that was over and awards were passed out, we headed back to
the camper to get Lori's bike ready for the bike show since we
still had some cleaning to do. Around 12:30 we finished cleaning
and headed up to the bike show staging area. The bike show was to
be held inside one of the buildings to get out of the sun. There
was only one problem and that was a large amount of staples,
nails, and other items were found laying on the floor. A closet
full of brooms were found and everyone pitched in to sweep the
floors and it was cleaned up in a short amount of time. The bikes
were then brought in one class at a time and to our surprise they
all fit. We had been asked to help judge a couple of the classes
and were more than happy to help out. Just as we were finishing
up Lori's dad and grandfather age 97 showed up at the rally. When
have been trying to talk Lori's dad in to coming up to the rally
all year and were surprised to see him show up, especially with
her grandfather. Lori's dad is retired and rides a 1400 Intruder
and her grandfather also use to ride back is his younger days on
a Henderson and can still tell some adventurous motorcycle
stories. This was the first time either had seen this many
motorcycles in one place. Lori's dad had been driving around for
an hour in search of us, but couldn't find us due to the fact we
were inside judging the bike show. He finally went to
registration and a very nice lady (Unfortunately, Lori did not
get her name but would like to thank her for all of her help with
her dad) helped find Lori and they were able to meet up. They had
drove up from Columbus to see the Drill Team perform. Since we
had to finish judging the classes we were assigned, we told them
that we would meet them at the range where the drill team had set
up. Her dad and grandfather sat in the car waiting for the drill
team to do their stuff. Since her grandfather can't stand for a
long period of time, they sat in the truck and watched. Lori
would like to thank Linda Peck and Wayne Stewart who both helped
her father find a good vantage point to see the drill team up
close. We were told that they were very helpful and considerate.
They had no idea that that was Lori's dad and grandfather, but
they were nice all the same. It just goes to show what good
people Wingers are!
They were really impressed with the Drill Team performance and
Lori's grandfather is still talking about it today. Afterwards
they headed home and we went back to the bike show to see how
Lori had done. Most of the bikes were gone and Lori had gotten
first place in the open class. She was excited about her win and
we got on the bikes to head out of the building but saw several
people around Chris & June's bike at the front of the
building. They had won first in their class and had been voted
Best of Show. This was their first Region win for them. Now they
were really excited. We took some pictures and all four of us
headed back to the campsite. We decided to go out to celebrate at
the Olive Garden with a nice dinner. The only problem was many
others had the same idea. We finally got in and ate quickly as to
make it back in time for the closing ceremonies at 7:30pm.
Closing ceremonies were quite entertaining especially when the
winners ofthe hollering contest demonstrated their winning
hollers. Things also got quite lively when Leon Rogers started to
auction items off with the proceeds going to Rider Ed. National
Staff got involved in some of the bidding and it got real
interesting before it was all done. After closing ceremonies we
headed back to the camper and a lot of people had already left.
Some were concerned about the possibility of rain coming in due
to the hurricanes down south but we had decided to stay another
night and visit with friends.
Monday morning we woke up around 6:30am and were greeted to dense
fog. We got our showers and waited for the sun to dry off the
campers along with the help of a few towels. We sat around with
Chris and June making plans to get together for next years
rallies. We had gotten quite close and really hated to see them
leave. About 10:00am the campers had dried off. We packed up and
decided to stop at Cracker Barrel before parting ways. We had
breakfast and checked out the giftshop before finally saying our
last goodbyes. Chris and June headed back to Pennsylvania and we
started for Southern Ohio. A short 136 miles later and we were
home without any problems. We had a great time and already
looking forward to next year.
We tried to make all of the events and goings on at the rally,
but unfortunately we didn't make them all. If you have a story
about your weekend at the Region D Rally be sure and send it to
us. We would love to hear about it! See ya next year!
October 1999
David & Lori
1999 Michigan Rally |
Since Dave Dulin, E-Wing News Project Editor was unable to attend
the Michigan Rally due to other obligations, we will be the ones
to tell you all about our time at the Michigan Rally.
Wednesday morning, bright and early I jumped out of bed bright
eyed and bushy tailed. The sky was clear and the sun was just
starting to show itself in the sky. There was a gentle breeze
coming from the west that caressed me as I pulled on my riding
gear to start our 400 mile trip. NOT!!!! When the alarm blared in
my ears, I really couldn't believe it was time to get up already
as I crawled to the bathroom to get my shower. When I finally got
ready (after my little nap in the shower), I was mostly awake and
ready for our trip. I grabbed my bike keys off of my dresser and
bounded outside. Of course David already had the trailer packed,
hooked up and had my bike pulled out of the garage warmed up and
ready to go. (You know how it takes some women to longer to get
ready) I don't know why I bothered to try to look good because by
the time I got on the bike, I was hot and sweaty, and my hair was
plastered to my head by my helmet. The sky was bordering on a
gray/black, but my husband assured me that it wasn't going to
rain. (per the weather site on the internet.) Since when do we
trust weathermen anyway????
We finally pulled out of the driveway with the dogs announcing
our departure. I'm sure the neighbors loved that! We started our
ride toward Michigan. David and I usually always go south when we
ride so this is one of the many states we have not made it to
yet. We were excited to be able to go to the Michigan rally this
year. With work obligations, it is sometimes hard for us to get
time off.
Our ride consisted of mostly interstate. The good thing about the
interstate is that you get there quicker and faster. The bad
thing about some interstates is it is nothing but fly by the seat
of your pants with the wind whipping around you going in an
endless straight line. Plus, no
matter how fast we were going, there were those in cars who are
passing us as if we were sitting still.
I led for most of the trip due to the fact that I ride an 800
Vulcan Classic and when I get behind David on his 1500 Goldwing
and our portable house (Bunkhouse camper), I get a lot more wind
turbulence. It is during this turbulence that I sometimes wish I
had purchased a Goldwing instead. (Not to mention the comfortable
seat compared to mine). But, I am a cruiser woman, so I guess I
will just have to get me a Valkyrie next time!
Anyway, after a couple of hours of this, I'm ready for a butt
break, not to mention something to eat for I am STARVING! God
must have heard my silent prayers because as we were riding down
the interstate, in the distance were black clouds and they were
moving our way. We were coming
upon an exit and David signals on the CB to get off. It just so
happened that this exit was my favorite type of exit. Restaurants
everywhere! We hurriedly stop in the parking lot of the first
restaurant we come to, which happens to be a Big Boy. We jump off
the bikes, for by this time thunder is roaring in the sky, and
lightening bolts are crackling above us. We jump off our bikes
and rip our covers out of their storage places and throw them on.
Of course I can't find the little tag that's marked BACK on my
cover. Why is it you never have trouble until you are in a hurry?
Anyway, I finally got my cover on with a little help from David.
We make a beeline
for the restaurant. I'm not sure if I was motivated by the storm
or my growling tummy. We just make it inside the door when
buckets of rain come pouring down. Whew, that was close!
We had a great breakfast. Fortunately there was a buffet, so we
could take our time and go back as often as we wanted. If the
storm didn't let up, we could also get lunch! After about an
hour, the storm let up to a drizzle. We paid for our breakfast
and headed toward the exit. As if by cue, the rain started coming
down just a little harder, but at least there was no lightening.
We decided to go for it. I asked David to go out in the rain and
get our rain suits because there was no sense of us both getting
wet. And he was the man wasn't he?
Finally got the rain gear all on and headed out the door. We took
our drenched covers off of our bikes, and put them away. My cover
protected my bike pretty well, but David might as well had left
is uncovered. The rain went clear through his thin GoldWing cover
and his bike was soaked, especially the seat. Well, by this time
it is just drizzling. Not enough to get you wet, but enough to
get the bike real messy. About a mile and a half down the road,
David comes over the CB and informs me that I'm about ready to
lose my little mascot. He is a cute little blue gorilla that I
have strapped to my sissy bar. I got him two years ago actually
by accident. It was at Ohio P-2's auction. They were auctioning
off this cute little basket. I had my eye on it from the
beginning. One of the guys who was holding up the items for the
auction stuck the little gorilla in it as well. Well of course I
had my eye on the basket and was wondering what I would do with a
blue gorilla. I didn't want a stuffed animal, I just wanted the
basket. Well I did get the basket and here is this blue gorilla
looking at me as well. After the auction, we
go out to get on our bikes and I lay the blue gorilla and the
basket on the seat to open my saddle bags. When I looked up to
get him, I realized that he matched my bike perfectly in color
and that he looked very cute sitting there. So there you have it.
He became my mascot. Well after all the poor guy had been
through, I couldn't imagine him falling off my bike now, so I
reached around and was able to get him before he took the plunge
going 70 MPH on the freeway. Now that I had him in my hand, what
was I going to do with him? I couldn't put him in my pocket
because he would fall out and I needed both hands to drive a
motorcycle. So I decided the best place for
him was on my seat. Of course he can't hold on by himself, so I
had to sit on him. Poor guy! Must have been a very traumatic
experience for him. (would have been for me) Finally we pull over
into a rest area so I can get my little guy strapped back where
he belongs. By this time it clears up completely and the sun
comes out. Now we're hot because we got all this plastic on and
the storm didn't cut the humidity, but added to it. We tugged our
rain gear and put that back away. (At least I got another butt
break) We head back down the interstate and headed toward our
destination of Birch Run Michigan, which is about 50 miles
outside of Midland.
We left a day earlier than the rally was to start because we had
a night's stay for free coupon that we had to use by September.
David did all of the booking of the hotel, so I had no idea where
we would end up. I knew it would probably be just a one horse
town (as I call it) One gas station and one restaurant. Well, we
finally came upon our exit that said Birch Run.
I was happy to be there even if it was a one horse town. I
couldn't wait to get a shower and flop into bed. It was extremely
hot that day, and heat usually takes its toll on me. As we pull
off the exit, I started to look around. What to my amazed eyes
should I see, but an outlet mall just waiting for me! I couldn't
believe that David actually made hotel reservations in this area.
(Shopping is not one of his favorite things). We pull into the
hotel's parking lot and he jokingly commented on how of all
places he had to pick, he had to pick a place where there was an
outlet
mall. He thought there would only be a gas station and a
restaurant to eat at and that would be it. Fooled him! While I
wasn't expecting anything spectacular about the hotel (since this
was a free stay) I was pleasantly surprised. It was fairly new
and pretty big. We went inside and checked in. The place was very
clean and very nice, which after a long day's ride, all I care
about is a soft bed and a warm shower. We got unpacked and headed
back to the bikes to grab a bite to eat.
After seeing the outlet mall, I got my second wind (imagine
that), so we took a ride by the mall to see if there were any
good stores. David did this for me because he's a nice husband.
(Really....the real reason is that the next day he would be at a
rally where there would be lots of chrome and could use the
outlet mall against me!) The place was huge! We rode around a
little but I didn't see anything that I wanted to go to so we
decided to go and try to find somewhere to eat. As we were riding
down the road, we came across a sign that said there was a
Christmas store located in Frankenmuth which was 5 miles away. I
told David that I remembered someone at work telling me about
Frankenmuth and how it is so nice that I should go visit if I
ever get up that way. So we decided to head that way. When we got
to the Christmas store, it was the biggest place I have ever
seen. The parking lot was decorated in huge Christmas
decorations. It was
so big that after a long day ride we were just too tired to go
inside and look at that moment. We rode by a sign that said it
was open until 9:30 p.m. so we decided to go on into Frankenmuth
to see what it was like. It was very pretty. There were tons of
cute little shops (my favorite) with all kinds of unique
knick-knacks in them. Little horse drawn carriages were moving up
and down the street and for a modest fee you could take a ride.
The fee was a little too modest for us, so we decided to check
out some shops and then go eat. Of course one of the first shops
that caught my eye was a candy shop. We went inside and there was
the best looking chocolate candy all lined up waiting to be
devoured in glass display cases. So of course we had to get a
couple of things. Unfortunately since we were on the bike we
couldn't get any to take with us, so we had to settle for a
couple of pieces. I made a comment to David about not being able
to take any with us, and of course the lady behind the counter
recommended the fudge. She said it was guaranteed not to melt. So
we bought a slice of that. She put it in a cute little box
containing a cute little knife. The whole time she was packing it
for us, I was thinking to myself that I don't know why she is
bothering because that baby wouldn't melt because it probably
wouldn't make it to the bike. We went out on the porch and ate
the chocolate that we knew would melt very quickly. We were able
to sit there, relax and enjoy the sights. What David didn't know
was I was scoping out the next little shop that I wanted to go
to. With the chocolate licked off our fingers, we were on our way
to do more shopping. There were many neat little shops with many
neat little items. We walked into one which had a whole display
of ceramic frogs doing all sorts of things from sitting on lily
pads, to riding on motorcycles. I almost got the motorcycle one
as it would have gone well with the theme of Region D rally, but
I did not think it would make the rest of the trip in one piece.
There was another shop that sticks out in my mind. It contained a
lot of aroma therapy items. There was one display full of testers
of perfume that was made to smell like a certain things. I went
over and started experimenting with different fragrances. There
was a fragrance called
Martini, Chocolate, Grass, (not fancy names) and many other ones.
Of course I had to sample the Chocolate one. It smelled just like
Chocolate. But since I couldn't eat perfume, I put it back. Then
I sprayed the Martini one on me and then I couldn't resist the
Grass one either, so I
sprayed it on the other arm. I walked over to David and he said
that I smelled like a drunk who had been rolling around in the
grass eating chocolate. Ha ha. Well needless to say, I didn't buy
any of those fragrances. After we visited a few more shops, it
was time to go eat.
We ended up at one of the main restaurants on the strip. I can't
remember the name now, but when you go inside there is the same
menu but different areas in which you can pick to dine in. There
were also more shops located downstairs as well. We picked the
dining room we wanted to eat in and was seated. The food was
excellent. The atmosphere was very nice and we got to sample a
couple of things. We finished eating and went outside. Of course
I wanted to do more shopping, but the weather had different
things in mind. The sky was starting to darken, so we decided to
head for the hotel as we were to get up early the next day to be
at the rally before noon. We never did make it to the Christmas
store, but with a full tummy and after all that shopping, I was
too tired to do anything else anyway.
We just made it back to the motel when it started to rain. We got
our chairs out of the trailer and sat under the overhang at the
hotel and watched the traffic and watched the storm come through.
It turned out to be a very nice night.
The next morning we woke up. I slept very well and did not have a
whole lot of trouble getting out of bed as I was excited to get
to the rally. We had a very nice continental breakfast and made
our way to the bikes. After getting hooked up and getting our
gear on, we headed out of the parking lot. Good-bye Frankenmuth.
See ya next year!
Of course it didn't take long to get to Midland from where we
were staying. We arrived at the fairgrounds around ten o'clock.
This was the first rally we have been to that we came in before
the gates opened. I was surprised to see the number of bikes that
were already there! We were way back, number 77 to be exact and
we had a couple of hours to wait. We had walked
up to the front of the line to inquire about the numbers being
given out. We saw the number two bike and rider sitting there.
David and I both wondered what time he got there to be in such a
great spot. As we got closer we recognized who it was. Neon Leon
Rogers! We went over to him
and asked him what time he got there and he told us 4:30 a.m. No
way! I needed by beauty rest. I was not going to get up to be
there by 4:30 a.m. He said after he got there people started
arriving at 5:30 a.m. After we chatted for a little while, we
were told that the numbers being given out had passed us as we
were walking to the front of the line. So since there
were more people pulling in behind us, we high tailed it back to
the line to get our number. We got our number and went back to
the bikes. This gave us a perfect opportunity to start cleaning
on the bikes. While in line we met this very nice couple from
Pennsylvania. There names were Chris and June. June came up to me
and started talking. We hit it off right from the start. Chris
was cleaning his bike as well getting ready for the bike show. I
think she was supposed to be helping him, but opted to talk with
me instead. Smart woman!
The wait was not long as June kept me entertained. Registration
for all of us went very smoothly and we were off to find our
camping spot where we would be living for the next couple of
days. Since this was our first time here, we were not familiar
with the campgrounds at all. Looking for a camping spot reminded
me of that movie Far and Away with Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise.
We all rushed in on steads, some with wagons, some without, to
find that perfect plot of land. I spied a nice cozy spot with
some trees and David was way ahead of me. He pulled in the spot,
but to our dismay, there was already a landowner on the ground.
He told David that he was saving this for 20 other people and
there wasn't room for us. At least he didn't have a shotgun like
the people in Far and Away. I was a little behind David and I saw
him turning around so I yelled across the way asking him what had
happened? He told me and I said well I guess we'll have to find
somewhere else to go. Well I didn't see him, but on the other
side of the occupied land was Chris, June's husband. The very
nice couple that we met in line. I must have looked like a damsel
in distress because Chris told us that we were more than welcome
to camp with them. They were waiting on some other people, but
there were plenty of room for us too. Although there weren't any
trees on this side, I thought it would be great to camp with
them, so we staked our claim. It was like a wagon train pulling
in. We all got our campers unfolded, our poles put out, our
stakes put in the ground. We were set! We were unpacked and done
in record time. Now time to go EAT!
Now here's David to tell you more about the rally... (got to let
the men speak sometime)
We then headed out for lunch about 2:30pm and stopped at
Benningans. Thank goodness for air conditioning! After lunch we
headed back to the fairgrounds to close up the camper in case of
rain and headed out toward Bay City to see the area. In Bay City
we came across a Rib Fest
going on and decided to check it out. (Well actually Lori beating
on the back of my helmet yelling let's go check it out! made the
decision for me) We got to sample ribs from different vendors,
see some racing pigs, kids playing in bubbles, lumberjack show,
and other entertainment. Lori got a tattoo of a tiger on her arm
to match her bike. (One of those stick on with water types). We
stayed there until about dark and then headed back to the
fairgrounds for some friendly conversation around the campsite.
Friday morning we both woke up about 4:45am and decided to get
showers while they were still warm. Afterwards we uncovered the
Wing and we headed for Bob Evans just across from the fairgrounds
at 6:00am when they opened for breakfast. We returned to the
campsite around 7:00 and Lori decided that after a full belly it
was time to take a nap. With no company, I ended up passing the
time by cleaning the wing for the next couple of hours while Lori
slept through the whole thing. She was still asleep I slipped off
to check out some of the vendors to do some price comparison on a
few items. It was about 10:30 when I returned to the camper and
Lori was just getting up. It was
starting to get hot and I don't know how she was able to sleep
with the heat inside the camper. (It must be from all the
practice sleeping she gets on our way to and from work when I am
driving during the week) We then returned to the Vendor Area
again running into several friends and making new ones until it
was time for a Rider Education Seminar on Turning & Braking.
It was very informative. Some of the things he went over were a
review for me, but there were a couple of points that had
recessed into my mind.
Since this was our first time in Michigan and wanting to see more
of the surrounding area we had noticed that one of the Fun Runs
which were a little over 90 miles in length ran past a Casino and
Resort called Soaring Eagle that was supposed to have a good
buffet. After hearing one of the vendors talking about it they
gave us directions explaining that we were only 20 miles away. It
was true that the resort was only 20 miles away but the vendor
told us the wrong route to take. We did see more of the
countryside than we had planned so after getting directions a
second time we arrived at the casino 60 miles later. I must admit
that the residents of Michigan are very nice in giving directions
to us out-of-towners. When we arrived we were escorted by valet
parking to a special area inside a garage for motorcycles only
and were informed that parking was compliments of the casino. We
also had to be escorted out of the garage since only valet
personnel were permitted to be in this area. Since the line for
the buffet was long we decided to try out the one arm bandits.
Being big spenders that we are, we searched out the nickel
machines but they were all in use by other big spenders, so we
moved on to the quarter slots but didn't stay long. The buffet
line was still long and a few wingers were already in line so we
decided to get in line ourselves. The buffet was very good with a
large selection of deserts. (That's the first place Lori went to)
After dinner we saw a Harley Davidson above some slot machines
that you could win and decided to give it one more try. Thought
we would trade it in for a wing. (Not really) Got close a couple
of times but decided to leave while we still had a few quarters
in our pockets. Since we came in the wrong way, we got directions
again from the valet attendant on how to get back to Midland. It
was now around 10:00pm. He told us to take a right turn out of
the casino and it would take us back to Midland. We followed the
road for a few miles and into a detour. Several other cars were
taking the detour so we followed it also. Next thing we knew we
in the middle of a 4-way intersection with nothing but sand for a
road. (thought maybe we ended up in a desert) I carefully turned
us around and headed back toward the Casino. We stopped at a gas
station near the casino because with the directions we had been
getting I didn't want to run out of gas along some back road.
Once again we were directed down the road and found route 20
nearby. This is what we had been looking for all along. We made
it back to Midland and stopped for a bag of ice and bottled water
and found the fairgrounds without any further detours. Our new
friends from Pennsylvania were still up so we ended up talking
until 2:00 am before turning in. I hope the campers around us
weren't too unhappy with us. We were amazed to see that we
weren't the only ones up. When we went to the restrooms before
turning in, there were still people up and visiting. The other
rallies we have attended, people usually are in bed by 10 or 11
p.m.
Saturday morning we were greeted by the call of Tarzan around 7
a.m. I wonder if he was kept up by our chatting last night or if
he was practicing for the hollering contest at Region D? We fell
back to sleep and didn't get up until around 9:30 a.m. We got our
COLD showers and afterward headed out for lunch. We returned to
the fairgrounds around noon watched the field events and got
ready for the bike show. A few more wipes with the polishing rag
and we were ready. Lori lined up with the rest of the bikes for
the show and were quickly placed on the field with the rest of
the bikes in her class. There were a lot of bikes in this show,
which is always good to see. We headed back to the vendor area
while the judges started looking at the bikes. This part always
makes Lori anxious. While we were looking around, a short rain
shower came through adding water spots to everyone's clean bike.
At least the judges had already looked at Lori's bike and all
that cleaning was not in vain. We walked around the vendors again
for awhile and then headed to the hospitality building that had
been set up to cool down from the heat and enjoy something cold
to drink. We then located some of the Michigan District Staff and
made sure we got our quad rally form signed for attending all of
the rallies in Region D. One more rally to go and we will have
another pin for our vests. We visited with several of our friends
and headed back to the bike show. Lori unfortunately didn't place
this time, but that's the way it goes. Lori rode her bike off the
field and put it away. Later we attended the best dressed chapter
and couples competitions that were being held in the registration
building and took some pictures for the web page. We met a couple
of the competitors and chatted with them for awhile. We were
amazed at the courage David Lee and Gloria Cowan had. They had
entered the best dressed couple riding class and were in full
leathers. Leather jacket, leather chaps, leather gloves. We were
afraid they were going to melt. If anything they should have
gotten an award for couple who sweated the most. We then headed
back to the camper to get the Wing to line up for the parade with
our friends from Pennsylvania. The bikes had already started to
line up and the sea of Gold Wings continued to grow. I made sure
I remembered where in the group we parked since it would be quite
easy to get confused. We then headed for the Grand Stands and
closing ceremonies with a slight hope of having our name pulled
out of the barrel for the new Gold Wing. We were really impressed
at the contribution that was given to the Make A Wish Foundation.
It made us proud to be a part of an organization that gives so
much to organizations like these and who are dedicated to helping
others. Awards were handed out and we even got a demonstration of
what to expect at the frog jumping contest scheduled for Region D
Rally courtesy of Jerry & Libby Richard along with the Region
D staff. Of course their frogs were still in training and had
minds of their own. There was also mention of Ian Holmes losing
his pants during the rally, but the details are foggy.
Well the time had arrived. A large barrel containing our ticket
along with just a few thousand others was the focus of everyone's
attention. To make a long story short we ended up riding home on
the same bikes we came up on. Some lucky guy in Tennessee won the
wing. Wouldn't it be something to get a phone call at home from
someone explaining that you had won a new Gold Wing for a ticket
that you had purchased and probably forgot about. Well maybe some
day.
With the closing ceremonies now complete it was time for the
parade. This is one of our favorite things at the rallies. With
everyone lined up and radio's tuned to a specific station playing
parade music it reminded me of a car race where everyone is told
to start your engine as the Wings came to life. You could hear
the clicking of light switches as riders started turning on their
auxiliary lights, There were strip lights, strobes, neons and
everything else you could possibly mount on a bike. There was one
rider with man's best friend in tow. He was riding a trailer that
was made to look like a motorcycle. Even he was caught up in the
excitement. He was barking as if saying "let's GO GO
GO!" Row by row we started to roll out of the fairgrounds
with air horns everywhere sounding the coming of over 300
motorcycles winding their way through the city streets. I have to
say we were impressed with the large number of people who turned
out to line the streets to see the bikes on parade. Our route led
as all around Midland and we eventually ended up back at the
fairgrounds for the Light Show.
One by one highly decorated bikes with lights of all types were
brought into the show area followed by oooooohs and ahhhhhhs as
everyone got into the competition of lights. Judges made their
choices and the trophies were handed out. There was also
ice-cream available for those who wanted some. We headed back to
the camper and got things straighten around to make packing up in
the morning go a little faster and headed to bed.
Sunday morning and everyone is up tearing down tents and saying
their good byes. Remember in the beginning when we had to set up
out in the sun due to the local land owners claiming all of the
shade. Well, they were now trying to dry off their tents and
campers with towels and anything else they could find before
folding them up because of the dew during the night. With them
being in the shade, the dew just accumulated and didn't dry. But
being in the sun we didn't have that problem and we folded up the
camper without having to dry it off and were ready to go. We said
our good byes to our friends from Pennsylvania and arranged to
meet them again at Region D Rally in Lima.
We were on the road headed home with a sunny day ahead of us and
no rain in sight. We only had one close call and that was on
Interstate 75 in Ohio. Lori was in the lead and a van being
driven by what what looked like a very young man learning how to
drive decided to change lanes unexpectedly just as Lori was going
by him. Lori went for her only exit and that was to head for the
edge of the road at the same time using her new set of dual horns
that I had installed recently to get his attention. They worked
beautifully and the driver swerved back into his lane and all was
ok. As I went by I noticed the boys father was indeed counseling
him on what he had just done and almost did. Hopefully he will
remember that incident and he will be more careful in the future.
At our next gas stop Lori and I talked about the incident. She
told me that her response was involuntary and she didn't even
think, but she just reacted. She credited taking MSF, ERC, and
attending Rider Education Seminars for her reactions.
The rest of the trip went without incident and we arrived at home
safely. It was a great trip and we plan to attend again next year
if all goes well, so if you see us be sure to say hi!
David & Lori
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