Glad I'm not a father day ride 6/19.

The great thing about not being a father, let me rephrase that. One of the many great things about not being a father is that I can do whatever I want on Father's Day. Now this is where fathers everywhere are attending brunches, lunches, dinners, barbeques and pool parties set up by their wife and kids to keep them from the golf course, the fishing hole or the TV to watch the ball game, the race or whatever and basically from the peace and quiet relished by those of us who enjoy such moments every weekend.



A friend was flying home from work for the weekend and sent me a text message Friday asking if any rides were planned for Sunday. As with many in our riding group he doesn't have any kids either, so I posted up a group ride on the other side of the valley, close to his home to accommodate his tight schedule. The poor bastard still got roped into one of the many obligations I listed above and bailed on me. While his bike sat in his garage, the weight creating flat spots in his tires I went for a ride.

This is the same route Rick, Trobairitz and I took last year, but this time Trobairitz wanted me to go without her and to enjoy the ride without a newbie... so I did.

I took my usual route across the valley, which is the same route I take to work but this time I was a bit ahead of schedule to meet the guys so I stopped to smell the flowers. Normally I ride past fields of grass seed and through clouds of pollen but this year a company in North Carolina has planted several fields of Meadowfoam to use in perfume and cosmetics. Much more pleasant and aromatic to ride past than grass pollen.





Good thing I am not afraid of bees as these hives were quite active.



I was on my way and still arrived early so I went past our old house in Lebanon to see how the landscaping was coming along. We chose the design and layout of the house and had it built for us so the yard was a blank slate.



I can sure tell which plants are hardy and which ones weren't. Where's the...and what happened to the...?



Obviously, the new owner doesn't own a pair of pruners or shears. Too bad everything is overgrown, it was perfect when we sold it 5 years ago. Meh, I took the money and run.



I met the guys down the street, a fellow Tiger rider and another friend on a nicely detailed GSXR (justa750) whom I hadn't ridden with in some time. We met at an old corner store and I discovered this old time machine and costume changing room. I donned my helmet, checked my watch, stepped inside for a bit and sure enough when I stepped out it was the future.



We hopped on our bikes, rode out to Sweet Home for gas then it was across the dam... oops I missed that turn, across the bridge to Quartzville Road. We had to watch for campers along the roadway as it meanders along Green Peter Lake and camp spots are right along the narrow road.

The road was twisty with a few mossy spots, fallen rock had littered several sections and last winter's frost heaved the pavement but it was nothing the Tiger didn't devour as I pulled away several times from the track bike. I felt like a Jackal out running the GSXR.

Until the elevation got the best of us and we ran into snow at 4135 feet, the same elevation I froze my ass off on Memorial Day weekend. At least today was sunny and 20 degrees warmer.



We had to stop Andy from making an attempt and got him to turn around.



We stayed awhile, soaked up the sun and BS'ed when Kenny rolled up on his Buell Ulysses. It is sure great to know other riders in the area from bike nights.



We were stopped a mere 10 miles from Hwy 22 and had to ride back the 40 miles of twisty roads, oh darn.



It was a fantastic ride down the hill and I played in the corners all the way down. A great day, a great ride but it was getting late and we didn't make it to our lunch spot so we were getting hungry.

There are no flat spots on our tires or new neckties in our drawer.
Happy Father's Day....


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