It's Saturday morning and I'm sitting here playing around on the laptop. Left a video message for a buddy of mine who is taking off on vacation this weekend. Also starting to figure out this Tweeter thing. Heck I'm even on Facebook and learning how the two can intermingle. Sarch turning into a tech dweeb? Hardly!
It is nice to see the riding season kick back in. Last weekend the weather cooperated enough to allow my wife and I to hook up with my parents, my best bud and a new friend of ours named Larry for a day ride. Larry is the big guy in overalls. I'm pleased to have met this fellow several months ago. He is a salt of the earth, what you see is what you get fella from the flat plains of Kansas. I think he has truly fallen in love with our plush forests and hills here in Alabama. I consider it a privilege to add him to my list of riding buddies.
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We all met at our local motorcycle resort 29 Dreams. My folks and Larry showed up first followed by me and Tammy and then eventually Clem came rolling in on his beautiful Ducati.
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That was my first opportunity to see Larry's "new to him" Suzuki Boulevard. The last time I rode with him he was on a scooter. Picture if you will this big 'ol Kansan in his overalls riding his scooter. What a hoot! You gotta love a guy like that. I really like the black and blue paint scheme of his new ride.
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The weather was nice for the most part. There were moments when it was a little cool, but not enough to get my co-rider complaining at me....so all was well in Sarch's world!
After some hand shaking and a little catching up conversation we loaded up and followed my folks to Indian Hills Motorcycle Resort. We had never been there before. The resort is located just south of Sylacauga in the little town of Rockford, Alabama. It wasn't a bad place. There has obviously been a lot of work invested in trying to make this a good stop off location for the Alabama riding crowd. I will say it is a little rougher around the edges than 29 Dreams. We stopped there for lunch. I ordered a burger and fries (not great...actually not good). The server was friendly enough but there was no question we were in a biker bar, not just a restaurant. Even my razor sharp observation skills figured this out when I saw how the workers were dressed...oh yeah, and the dozens of bras hanging from the ceiling. My mom and wife were there and I found myself not sure where to look when the waitress came to the table and bent over to write down our order - LOL! The leather-clad, chaps wearing, bar brawling biker dude I am not, nor were the others riding with me that day. So there was definitely a bit of the fish out of water feel to the experience. Frankly that made it all the more fun. Riding is about EXPERIENCES....and it affords you plenty of opportunities to break out of your usual rut. Just one of the reasons I love riding so much.
We stopped in at the store there to see if there was any biker gear we couldn't live without, then saddled up and headed a casual relaxed route back home. The weather had warmed a bit more and man was it ever pleasant to be riding my Goldwing with my wife on the back. We were in no particular hurry so we could enjoy watching the world around us as we cycled through the hills and valleys. As we came up on one small town there was a glider plane slowly circling above us. I couldn't take my eyes off of the beautiful white craft. It literally glowed in the afternoon sun. It was so big, and so low that I could actually see the wings bend and bow as the pilot made his adjustments and rode the updrafts. Finally the thought occurred to me that I should probably have my eyes on the road rather than up in the sky. With an effort I returned my attention back to earth and the more immediate issues of piloting our two wheeler.
Lord willing this time next Friday morning we will be exiting the Jacks restaurant in Odenville, Alabama and donning our riding jackets to protect us as we head up to the North Carolina mountains for our annual Smokey Mountain ride. Think sunshine....no rain....warm temps. Come on Mother Nature, down let me down now!
