I'm not feeling creative enough to come up with typical "Lurleen" vernacular this morning but I do want to share some thoughts on my first rally experience.
When I first met Eddie and he told me of this "strange" custom of motorcyclists coming together to ride out across the land with little idea of where they were going while attempting to gather the most points by visiting the most bizarre little roadside attractions with little or no sleep - I thought what most people think - Why?
As I started hanging around you folks more and more and seeing that you were all apparently having a huge amount of fun - even under the worst circumstances (after all that is what makes great stories..) I was pretty sure I had to try this rallying thing for myself.
I really did want to win. Eddie told me not to over expect on the first time out. He'd never done 2-up before, you never know what might go wrong, blah, blah, blah. No matter - I was ready for anything.
We got off to a bad start when our entire route disappeared off the GPS while we were in the riders meeting. Neither of us is a fan of the GoldWing Navigation System and even less so now. So it all had to be reentered and we were 25 minutes late getting started.
But I had Eddie and he more than made up that time within a few hours and we were knocking down the bonuses. But Bart just had to send us to "his favorite place" or whatever the hell it was. Yes, it was very pretty Bart, but it also did a major number on our fuel tank. About an hour and a half of Eddie lying on his back in a sweltering parking lot trying to fix it and we were back on the road again.
And then there was the STORM FROM HELL. You people in the mid west don't mess around with your thunderstorms, do you? It has to cause all kinds of Old Testament type damage, doesn't it? Wind, hail, floods, rain that actually draws blood. I'll take a good old Georgia tornado any day, thank you.
Once the Gods finished torturing us, we were back on the road but never quite got back the steam from earlier in the day.
Oh well... I loved every minute of it. Spending 24 hours straight on the back of the luxurious GoldWing with the funniest man on the planet was pure heaven and I can't wait to do it again.
Thanks, Lurleen. It was great to have you and Eddie here and really going for it. I'm sure next year you two will really be ready to deliver a can of whoop ass (and we'll put that stupid sidecar team in expert class).
The gravel road leading to the Loess Hills Forest Overlook is the place you referred to, and it is truly one of my favorite places (Aaron Petty posted a photo on one of the other threads). It's best there in the fall, but any time is very cool. A number of riders reported not liking the ride out there much, though rain didn't help I'm sure.
The Mount Pisgah National Landmark near Thayer, IA proved to be a source of discomfort for a number of riders as well. And the Locust Creek covered bridge, and the Tharp cemetery near Seymour, IA, and...I must not be a very nice person.
Over the years, I am sure many a rider has not been thinking that, as Eddie sent them down some forgotten road, to a forlorn location. The Gods should punish you (at least a little bit)
I agree most of the time Eddie is full of funnies...
The story about Eddie, his Dad, and Big Daddies hot sauce nearly made me fall off the stool laughing in the Two Rivers Saloon last Saturday night.
Funny or not, ya gotta admit Eddie is "one of a kind"
Like all things, funny is in the eye of the beholder. Eddie makes me laugh even when he isn't trying. Watching him get flustered, dropping 3 things while attempting to answer his cell phone then tripping over something he just dropped is always a magical moment for me.
But you make a good point. That karma thing might have played a hand in our poor showing. I don't think all my extra effort to balance things out will do much good with the BL 5 coming up. We may already be screwed for next years MN1K.
Be glad you weren't there Lurleen!
I saw this coming and figured it was time for me to go. On the way down I passed a couple of riders headed up. Later I asked one of them, Allen Wilson, what it was like up there when the storm hit. He said, "the word scary comes to mind!"
Good to know that my power to conjure up severe weather hasn't diminished. It was such a lovely day in my garage on Saturday, sunny with Stella Artois to keep me company.
Luckily for me when I arrived there were two people taller than me already there. The lightning was only feet over my head, ( not much of an exageration!). Someday I'll go back and actually look around, I do remember trees, and lightning, lots and lots of lightning. It sizzles and crackles like nothing else I've heard before.
I always make it a point to include Bart's favorites,each one has put a grin on my face and usually used the sides of my tires.
Thanks again to Bart and the volunteers for a great time!
Allen
P.S. Bart----------- could you ping me at: allen@donahuehd.com
Eddie & I loved it up there. The ride up wasn't bad and the weather was beautiful when we got there. There were two guys walking their very happy & friendly dogs. All in all, we understood Bart's vote for favorite spot.
I suspect our fuel tank was just waiting for an opportunity to go wobbly on us.
I think I ran across the same thing out side the "Friendly Forest". I think the guy I was bugging for directions was getting a little upset with the constant stream of motorcycles rolling through with really bright lights.
