Our Harley Days
Our Rides... Our Adventures... Our Family and Friends...
Traveling free and easy down a road that never ends...

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Dad's BOO Ride

October 31, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Dad-Hallowe'en 2009 Wichita Falls, TX - The Folks were out and about today treating the employees of Red River Harley-Davidson with cookies and stuff. The employees were decked out in costume, even Jim, the Harley-Davidson Salesman (dressed as a Harley-Davidson Salesman).

I admit, we're a bit jealous to see Dad riding while we are still digging out and thawing out from the heavy snow storm a couple of days ago. No BOO Ride for us this year - just BOO!

Mom took a few photos so I'm sharing them.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Birthday Snow

October 28, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yeah - it's my birthday. I woke earlier than usual this morning. I was having a dream about a birthday ride (motorcycle ride) and in the dream it was time to get up and go... In my dream, the sun was shining and the road was calling. Didn't happen. Nope. The reality is we have snow. Lots of snow.

Birthday Coffee It started snowing last night about 8 pm. It is still snowing. We are in the midst of the first major winter storm and it's a doozie. So, we rose this morning, made the first of three pots of coffee, lit a fire log and I opened a few packages and cards filled with lots of nice things.

The packages started arriving last week but didn't get opened until today because of Tim, otherwise known as the official it-is-not-your-birthday-yet grinch. Noooo, around here your day is your day. Ha! The Folks called first (they always do) and it was great to chat with both Mom and Dad. Since, Mother Nature more or less cancelled the birthday ride to Vern's for breakfast - Tim whipped up a batch of his famous eggs-in-a-basket which suited me just fine.

I have opened many fine gifts and cards, received great emails and Facebook messages, and talked to the Folks, the Daughter, my brother and my 98 year old Grandmother.

The rest of the day is mine to do as I please until Tim gets off, although I expect a visit or two from friends this evening. Tim isn't feeling well, so as soon as he left for work, I went out to shovel the first 6-8 inches of snow from the drive and sidewalk. The fact that I did, will probably get me a birthday spankin' - but, he has to catch me first. Not to worry, I love being out in the snow - next to riding the Harley, snow is one of my favorite things. And, if we can't be riding the Harley - it might as well snow.

Like I said, so Far, so Good. Here are a few pics...


The day isn't over yet. I have yet to cut the cake. Right now, I'm off for another stroll in the snow... Stay tuned.

Birthday Wishes from Mom and Dad

October 28, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

No birthday ride today... too cold... sooooooooooo...

I'm sharing a great Daughter-Mine birthday letter written by my Mom... Thanks for this look through your eyes... because when all is said and done - the reflection of a person - in the eyes of those who love them and whom they love in return - is really all that matters.



Our Daughter is 54 years old today
October 28, 2009

Happy Birthday Vickie Lynn
From: Mom and Dad

Once upon a time, in a land in North Central Texas,
there was an Air Force base by the name of Sheppard AFB
located nearby a city of Wichita Falls, Texas.
In this city lived a very handsome Air Force guy
by the name of Ted
and his young, pretty, and shy wife
by the name of Gertrude ”Inez”.
On October 28th, 1955,
this pretty, young wife gave birth
to a beautiful, dark-haired,
browned-eyed baby girl
who was named Vickie Lynn.
Her parents, very young at that time,
fell in love with this beautuful baby girl
wrapped in soft pink blankets.
Now this little girl has grown into
a mature, very talented, patriotic,
wife, mother, grandmother, daughter
and friend.
She can do anything she sets her mind to.
She met and fell in love with her husband, Tim.
Tim takes such good care of Vickie.
Her Dad and I could not ask for a better
partner for life for Vickie than Tim.
They ride Harleys together, shop together,
decorate together.
Where you find one you will find the other.
Vickie, you are our daughter
and we love you so very much.
You are such a very important part of our lives.
How you recognize your Dad
in all of his endeavors is remarkable.
He loves everything you do and say about him.
He knows you take a lot of that from him.
Thank you our daughter for all you do
to honor your Dad.
My daughter,
you will always be my soft baby girl,
even though you never liked
pink and lace and frills.
I accept that, and step aside for you
to be your own person.
I adore you and I love you.
You are my best friend, my daughter,
my soft place to fall when I need you.
You have always been there for us
and for that we are very grateful.
God bless you on your special day.
We miss you and wish you were here
To celebrate your special day,
but the miles are quite a few between us.
So have a fun-filled, happy, loving,
and special day and remember you are
our little girl named Vickie Lynn
born to us on
October 28th,1955
And, we would not change anything about you.
We love you just as you are.
Love you forever,
Your Mom (Inez) and your Dad (Ted)

The Folks and Me


Being a good daughter is only possible because I have such great parents.

Just for the record... only my Mom is allowed to talk about me like this... so, Biker Dudes beware your tongue... LOL!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Inez & Ted (aka the Folks) Celebrate 55th!

October 26, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Wichita Falls, TX -- Here are our most heartfelt wishes for the FOLKS... aka Mom and Dad (aka Inez and Ted). Have a wonderful day Folks, as you celebrate your 55th Wedding Anniversary.

Happy 55th Anniversary Ted & Inez - 2009!

I think you know how much we appreciate you and I know I've said it before, but it bears saying again. Thanks for the most excellent example of your relationship - not just the mile-marker days like today - thanks for the daily inspiration... because how you get to 55 years is day-by-day through laughter and tears, triumph and heartache. And, you've done it so well and looked so good doing it -- despite the speed-bumps along the way, and despite a couple of ornery kids and their little life dramas, too.

More than anything - thanks for showing the world that you can never be married too long, that life is but a series of adventures and most importantly:
You are never too old to have fun.

Happy is What You Make It
Always has Been
Always Will Be

We love you!
Vickie & Timothy

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Folks and Friends Attend Petrolia Fun Run

October 24, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

We did not get a ride in this weekend. Work. Not so great weather. Tim is down in his back. But the folks attended a Fall festival and bike run in little ol' Petrolia, TX that looked like lots of fun. Mom says she took over 400 photos so we'll be a few days sorting them out.

Wichita Falls, TX - Mom says they had over 100 bikes for the First Annual Petrolia Texas Festival and Motorcycle Run. That's an excellent turn out for a first annual anything. Festival and Fun Run proceeds benefit the Petrolia Volunteer Fire Department, Senior Citizens Center and City projects.

Goat They had a really good time. The event T-Shirt was awesome... Petrolia Pirate on a motorcyle. The photos below include some of the petting zoo and a guy with a goat (which Mom loved and I'm surprised she didn't try to bring home).

Several other pics (compliments of friend John) are of Mom with other men. Dad has had his picture take with other women, lately. He got grounded last week. Tim said of the photos of Mom with her new boyfriends... Look out Ted, paybacks are hell. Ha!

Friday, October 23, 2009

John's Breaking in the Harley Ride

October 23, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

John on New Harley Wichita Falls, TX - I R loving it!! says friend John about his new Harley. John has been talkin' and plannin' and schemin' to get a Harley for a good while now. He found a 2001 Softtail Heritage that won his heart a few days ago. Now SO sits beside John's Vulcan known as Ms. Clone. SO = Sierra Oscar. Sierra Oscar is military phonetics for Significant Other... Explains John -- Janice is the wife but the Harley is my SO.

So, today John and a few friends, including Dad (Ted) used the excuse of escorting riding buddies, Gary and JeanAnn part of the way to Austin, TX. to have a break-in-John's-Harley-run. The all day ride starting out with temps in the 40s (Yikes! That's cold for TX) included lunch at Hard Eight BBQ (I'm thinkin' we need to get over there to eat sometime) in Stephenville and a ride through Hico and across the Brazo River Bridge to Jacksboro for ice cream at the DQ of course and eventually back to Wichita Falls (where Mom was waiting not altogether patiently to clean Dad's ride up for the Petrolia Fun Run tomorrow).

John sends me pics of Dad on the rides they make together and posts other pics on his excellent North Texas Bikers motorcycle blog. He takes some of the best photos of other riders, while rolling, from the saddle of his bike I've ever seen.

Nubbin w/Rice One photo had me curious. It depicts a friend (Nubbin) sprinkling rice near John's new bike. John hadn't posted to his blog yet, so curiosity got the better of me and I asked Nubbin. What's the deal with the rice? Nubbin explained that John had been riding a rice-burner for so long, they brought along the rice so John would feel more comfortable on the Harley. Whew! I told Nubbin they had me worried that the rice was part of some weirdo biker blessing. As it turns out, it was more of a rice-burner banishing. Too funny!

What follows are a few of the photos (thanks again John).

Lil' Motorcycle Dudes

October 23, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Both of my Grandsons have been Motorcycle Dudes for Hallowe'en in the past... mostly because their clever Mom saved the costume. Of course they've moved on to ghouls and goblins and screamers and other iconic characters from popular culture. I believe this year Stewart is going for the Mummy-Look. Chevy says he isn't dressing up... he turned 13 this year and if he knew I was posting this pic - he'd be squealing oh GrrranmaaaAAAaaaaAA... little does he know that I saved him from a fate crueler than death that year because he came within the hair's breadth of being a Tele-Tubbie... a purple one... oh man!

Chevy Man - 1998
Chevy-Man
Stewart - Mr Kool - 2005
Mr Kool

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Boney Biker and more Boo-Stuff

October 22, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

No, not exactly a motorcycle post (as in ride) but there are motorcycles...

Boney Biker In case you haven't noticed... the Biker Witch video should have been your first clue... Fall is my favorite time of year and Hallowe'en is my favorite holiday... I (actually WE since Tim is such a good sport) deck the place out in spooky splendor... the whole place - inside and out - nearly every room.

This Boney Biker was last year's BOO-Gift from our friends and, as it happens neighbors (the Browns).

Mummy Mom 2001 Much of our Hallowe'en decor (inside and out) is manufactured by friends, family and ourselves. The excellent silhouette yard signs that are the foundation for the yard decor were made by The Folks back in 2000/2001. That's my Mummy Texas Mom in 2001 in the photo. The signs have traveled from Texas to Wyoming and now, Colorado. Year before last they got a new coat of paint, but otherwise are holding up well.

Hallowe'en Yard The scarecrow frames are made by Tim. He makes something new every year. One year he made giant jacks out of tree trunks. Those are inside. This year's addition is five evil punkin'head (the ones with black heads) trick-or-treaters. (Last year the evil tots were on giant springs.) This is the project we kept putting off because it was such great riding weather. I've dropped a hint that I wouldn't mind a stick cat to go with them. Let's see how I do. Ha! If the weekend isn't good for riding - it's a sure bet. Otherwise, who cares? Let's ride. lalalalalalala...

My contribution to the chaos is primitive Hallowe'en witches, cats and other critters with a somewhat gothic (dark) look. These creations are scattered throughout the decor. Otherwise, my job is to get it out and make it look good or rather spooky or at least gothic.

So, in case you are stuck in the house - with nothing better to do - here is some eye candy of the house and grounds.

Spookin' the Yard

Spookin' the House

Spookin' the House - continued

Believe it or not... this isn't all of it... stay tuned

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Honoring a Veteran

October 20, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Dad - Patriot Guard Wichita Falls, TX - Dad and fellow Patriot Guard Riders honored a local veteran today on a Patriot Guard Mission for Fred Tibbets (88 yrs old). Tibbets was a 20 year veteran of the US Navy and US Air Force. He was also a veteran of the Korean Conflict & Vietnam War.

The funeral was held at Evangel Temple in Wichita Falls, TX. Interment was at the Highland Cemetery in Iowa Park, TX.

Standing the Flag Line
Dad and Joe
Handshake
Dad - Flags Flying


Source: Photos compliments of John "Snapshot" Bailey who writes an excellent biker blog called North Texas Bikers out of Wichita Falls, TX.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Biker Witch

October 19, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

The most recent addition to my Hallowe'en Witch collection

Slide Show movies and videos take a few seconds to load so -- patience please.
FYI: Sometimes after blogger maintenance, the code for the movies embedded in the posts gets scrambled... but a duplicate is always posted in the Movie section at the bottom of the page... enjoy.

Biker Witch 2009

Sunday, October 18, 2009

October Sunday Ride

October 18, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

October Day in the Foothills What a beautiful day! The sun was shining with only high wind clouds marring the skies. After sharing about a pot of coffee, we rode out of here about mid-morning with nothing on the agenda beyond a late breakfast at Johnson's Corner. We took the long way around down familiar country lanes until we arrived at Johnson's Corner. A cinnamon roll was not going to do the trick today. We both had a full breakfast. YUM! The place was full of motorcycle riders.

We spent the rest of the day riding and junk-tiquing around Loveland. It's one of our favorite things to do. At this time of year, we scout for vintage or unusual Hallowe'en pieces. We didn't have much luck in that regard but we did have a lot of fun. We brought home a few, small items including a witch for my collection. I try to add a new witch every year.

Kicking the leaves up In between stops we rode. The winds were supposed to howl today but we only encountered that a few times. The cottonwoods are finally dropping their freeze-dried foliage so we rode leaf strewn roads kicking them up in a fury behind us. In the city, we looked for other people's Hallowe'en decorations and found a few. Halfway through the afternoon we made a stop at the DQ for a dipped cone and a cherry coke. The day warmed considerably. The leather jackets and chaps we needed this morning were almost too warm in the afternoon. Because the day was so pleasant, we stayed out longer. Eventually, we wearied of shopping and took the long way home, east to Greeley, north for a spell and eventually west through Windsor and home to Fort Collins. East of Fort Collins heading back in, the view is spectacular. The Rockies already have lots of snow, an arbiter of winter days to come - much sooner than we would have them.

We rode in as the day was waning. Tim began work on his Hallowe'en project and I started lighting some of the display.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Clay County Chrome Cruise

October 17, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Mom Wichita Falls, TX -- The Folks attended the Clay County Chrome Cruise Motorcycle and Classic Car Run out of Henrietta, TX today. The proceeds (entry fee) benefited the Clay County Firefighter's Association. The event included a concert and hot dogs on the square after the approximately two hour run through Clay County. Mom picked up a couple of boyfriends while loitering on the square. One offered her a ride in his pretty red mustang. Little did he know, Mom drove a pretty little black Mustang a few years back. She could put it through its paces, too. The other was really friendly, says Mom. Ha! Looks like a great turnout of motorcycles and the Folks say they had a good time.

Mom shot a few pictures:

An afternoon ride... everything else will keep

October 17, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Tim riding in We had every good intention of finishing the Hallowe'en decorating after Tim got off work. I had tinkered around with it outside and the longer I was out there, the prettier the day became.

Oh me... About the time he was due in, I gave up trying to be good and when he wheeled up to the drive, you could see him grin and shake his head as he realized I was standing there in motorcycle boots, ready to go.

Ten minutes later, we rode off to enjoy what was left of the afternoon. After all, it isn't Hallowe'en yet. Ha! We rode for about two hours and found a couple of country roads on the north end of town that were new to us. Our world has turned all golden brown since the hard freeze a few days ago. Corn and sunflower fields are gold and brown respectively, ripe for harvest. We saw many trucks carrying gnarly loads of turnips and sweet potatoes and crinkled our noses at the pungent aroma of onion fields as we rode by. Pumpkins, the few that survived the summer hail storms, much to my delight dotted fields in various shades of orange. And people were scouting the long rows at U-Pick-Em harvest farms, trying to find the perfect globe to adorn their porches.

Over the dam The temperature drops fairly quick here, once the heat of the day has broken so much too soon we reluctantly aimed The Ride towards home, taking the long way around over the dam. We dropped off the bike and finished the day off with a meal and margaritas at our favorite Mexican Food restaurant in Fort Collins, Tortilla Marissa's. After that, we weren't much good for anything but watching Young Frankenstein for the umpteenth time.

Fortunately, the plans for the day weren't set in stone... nothing ever really is around here - at least, not since we got the Harley. The brief ride was well worth the sacrifice of whatever menial tasks didn't get done. As I said to Tim, when he mentioned it - not to worry, we had a great ride, we ended the day with a smile on our faces... everything else will keep...

'Bout this time last year...

October 17, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Tim-Vik-Ride-Boo! About this time last year we were doing the same thing we'll be doing this afternoon. As soon as Tim gets in from work, we'll be trying to stay off the Harley long enough to finish spookin' up the yard and get it lit for all the little (and some big) ghosties and beasties in the neighborhood.

We are the Hallowe'en People as one of the daycare Moms put it... this, when she was asking our neighbors (the Browns) if we were going to decorate this year. Decorate seems a mild term for converting the yard into the equivalent of a gothic flea market - but, there ya go. The theme is classic Hallowe'en, the foundation of which are these great yard signs the Folks made years ago. Every year, somebody tries to buy them. Tim makes great scarecrow frames and things like that. People try to buy those, too. He is also the muscle and the electrician. My job is to pull it all together.

Yesterday, a couple of women sat in front of the house for about fifteen minutes, taking photos with their cell phones. I should have advised - we're not done yet... oh well!

Today we are the Hallowe'en People. Tomorrow we will be the Harley People, because tomorrow - we ride.

I'm off to buy some pumpkins... later!

P.S. The Folks are in Henrietta, Texas today. Dad is riding in the Clay County Chrome Cruise. If Mom still had her beautiful red Chevelle show car, she'd be out there, too because this ride is for motorcycles and classic cars. You know they are having fun - can't wait to see the pics.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Green Frog, DQ and Fort Belknap

October 15, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Dad Wichita Falls, TX -- Dad and a few of his buddies (John, Bud, Nubbin, Gary and Joe) were out and about today on, as one friend puts it - a clear the cobwebs ride. Texas weather has been rainy, cloudy and cool for a couple of weeks now I think. Their ride took them through Jacksboro and a mandatory stop at the Green Frog Restaurant, Olney and another mandatory stop at the Dairy Queen and to Fort Belknap where there is a great little museum that we went to a good many years back. I'd like to go there again sometime - maybe next summer.


John is a friend and as it happens a great photographer. Pictures (I embellished a couple of them) are compliments of his talent and generosity. Thanks, John. It's good to see you out riding again.

Update: If you see the comment below this post by Nezzie then you need to know that a couple of the riders took Mom seriously since they didn't hear from Dad for a few days. Understand. They live in Texas. I live in Colorado. I was getting emails from scared bikers wondering if Dad really was grounded. Oh me!

Texas - Clay County Chrome Cruise

October 15, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

This sounds like fun!

Clay County Chrome Cruise Wichita Falls, TX - Inez says: HEY, FOUR STAR AUTO RANCH, IS CO-SPONSORING THE "CLAY COUNTY CHROME CRUISE" -- A MOTORCYCLE AND CLASSIC CAR CRUISE THROUGH SCENIC CLAY COUNTY ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17TH, 2009. THE CRUISE WILL BEGIN AT 11 A.M. AT FOUR STARS AUTO RANCH AND END AT 1 PM AT THE CLAY COUNTY COURTHOUSE IN HENRIETTA, TEXAS.

THE ENTRY FEE IS JUST $20.00 PER VEHICLE WITH TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR EXTRA RIDERS AT JUST $5.00 EACH. THE FIRST 100 ENTRANTS RECEIVE A FREE T-SHIRT AND EVENT PIN.

ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE EVENT WILL BENEFIT THE CLAY COUNTY FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION.

FOLLOWING THE CRUISE, A FEE CONCERT FEATURING TEXAS BONEYARD IS SCHEDULED FOR 3:00PM ON THE COURTHOUSE SQUARE. THERE ALSO WILL BE A HOT DOG FEED AT 3:00PM.

FOR MORE INFO CALL 940-538-5675 OR 940-538-4400
OR VISIT:
City of Henrietta

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Great play on words

October 10, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Some new friends in Texas rode their trikes across the south to Florida last week. This is the quote they posted on Facebook upon their return:

We are home at last and what a fantastic trip, 2430 miles on our trikes and we didn't even have a cross word to say to each other, so in the spirit of the day, I want to give A the Nobel Piece of Pie Award, I think she deserves it!

The Nobel Piece of Pie Award... I say it's a keeper.

Thanks for sharing A&N...

Friday, October 9, 2009

Snow

October 9, 2009
Fort Collins, Co

Watterson snowman We have snow, so no riding... which is OK once in a while. We like snow. We only have one thing about snow that we insist upon... and this is since we got the Harley. If it is too cold to ride, we want lots of snow - or as Bill Watterson said, Getting an inch of snow is like winning 10 cents in the lottery.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

WOW! A Veteran's Trike

October 8, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

We have snow today in northern Colorado and I have yet to get the pictures edited for last Sunday's Toy Run so how about I share with you the awesome photos of a Veteran's Bike (make that Trike) that just came to me in a forwarded email from the folks.


The photos are branded with fastcoolcars.com but the web site yielded nada on preliminary searches. If you are the owner of the motorcycle or know the owner of this motorcycle - I'd sure like to know the story behind this incredible paint job.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Toy Run - Fun but sorta Ho-Ho-Ho-Hum

October 4, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Life isn't about how to survive the storm
but how to ride in the rain...


Mother Nature was not on her best behavior again... We knew the weather was due to turn cold and wet today, but when we rode out this morning it was dry. Cloudy and cold, but not unbearably so. The temperature was in the low 40s.

We didn't have that far to go. Thunder Mountain is about ten miles from the house or perhaps a bit further if you take the scenic route. Registration for the Toy Run began at 9 am. We arrived about 9:45 am along with a good many other riders. I think most of us waited to see how the weather would play out this morning. We had about 75 to 100 bikes for the 22nd Annual Toy Run for Santa Cops. We registered and warmed ourselves with a cup of coffee and roamed in and out of the 2010 bikes, admiring in particular a 2010 Electra Glide. I was hoping to see the new Street Glide Trike but they didn't have one on the floor.

When Santa called for us to gather and announced the route, we learned we would be riding back to Fort Collins passing through only a few blocks from our neighborhood. This seemed rather odd since Loveland has many good rides and roads. I made a face when Santa said we would ride through downtown Fort Collins instead of downtown Loveland. Neither downtown is good for riding... cramped streets with back-out parking... too much traffic... too many lights. No scheduled stops were planned. We would ride a circuitous route back to Thunder Mountain to deliver the toys (which had us scratching our heads - uh - that didn't make a whole lot of sense - did it?).

We had a fire truck escort to Loveland's city limits, but no police escort which meant we had to stop at all red lights and stop signs and deal with regular traffic cutting in and blocking the procession. Weird. At one point, starting out, the fire truck led us into a Safeway/Strip Mall parking lot where we waited (most of us puzzled at the unexpected detour) for about a half dozen bikers to catch up. I guess. I'm guessing again that the leaders were trying to get us all lined out in a pack before heading to Fort Collins or maybe they didn't know about the road construction on this part of the route until they ran up on the signs. The traffic did not cooperate. We rode with campers and horse trailers and impatient people on their way to church or breakfast and other Sunday morning destinations.

The ride was painfully slow with lots of stops and starts. It was getting colder. We rode through Fort Collins, to the town of LaPorte (both of us thinking wistfully of hot coffee and warm cinnamon rolls at Vern's which was not far away) and on to the northern edge of downtown Fort Collins where we cut off to go to the house, take bathroom breaks, and warm up. We weren't the only ones peeling off here and there throughout the run. One of the HOG guys riding sweep said they lost about 50 bikes along the way. I couldn't help but notice at the onset that many of the bikers were not dressed warmly enough. We actually caught up with the remaining riders on the southern edge of Fort Collins and rode back to Loveland with them.

Like I said, it was getting colder and we rode several miles in a fine, mist-like rain. We had our toys protected. Many riders did not. Arriving at Thunder Mountain, we handed over our toys to the girls at the front desk. There were lots of toys and that's a good thing. I estimate the donations would fit in the back of a regular-size pickup with only a little room to spare. I finally got the grumpy Santa to smile for a photo. Then, we stood in line with the rest of the cold, damp group (most of whom seemed to be local HOG members) for what turned out to be a cold hot dog for me, cold chili dog for Tim, chips, cookies and a warm Pepsi. Naw - we're not complaining - we didn't ride for the food - although I did wonder about what was apparent lack of timely preparation.

The rain looked like it was setting in and it was coming down a little harder. It didn't take long for most of us on bikes (some had ditched bikes and returned in cars) to clear out. We rode home in cold rain that turned to tiny sleet that turned to snow flurries in the few miles back to Fort Collins where the weather improved somewhat. At least, the streets were dry. It took a good while and another pot of coffee for us to thaw out properly.

We're glad to help the kids and would do it again in a minute. In retrospect, I can't help thinking that after 22 years - this Toy Run could have been better organized and also it had a rather poor turnout for such a huge bike population as there is in this area. Perhaps the weather was a factor, I don't know. And, other than a soggy slip of paper with the map of the route (which, in the end, was not adhered to) we have nothing to show we attended the event. We haven't ridden in many organized rides so we don't have a large frame of reference. We have heard Dad and his buddies talk about some of the runs they participate in so, we had a few expectations.

The Toy Run in Texas we attended the last couple of years at Thanksgiving was much more fun, better organized, a pin came with the registration and t-shirts were for sale. Better yet, the Texas Santa was approachable... jolly and friendly, posing for photos with everyone. The ride was escorted by hard-working motorcycle cops and the food (BBQ not hot dogs) at the end of the route was actually cooked and hot when it hit our plates. More people than just bikers turned out at the destination. And the donations filled large delivery trucks. Yes, plural. There was even a 50/50 pot. Needless to say, I have made a few mental notes about how to screen future benefit runs.

Being mostly gray and damp, the day didn't lend itself well to photography but I did shoot a few stills and video clips. Enjoy!

Slide Show movies and videos take a few seconds to load so -- patience please.
FYI: Sometimes after blogger maintenance, the code for the movies embedded in the posts gets scrambled... but a duplicate is always posted in the Movie section at the bottom of the page... enjoy.

Toy Run – October 4, 2009

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Dad's Saturday

October 3, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Dad with his ride 10-03-2009 Wichita Falls, TX - Dad has been busy lately. He's ridden on several Patriot Guard Missions and in the Nuts and Bolts Run during FallsFest this year.

This Saturday had him on the road meeting buddies for breakfast and later in the day hanging out at Red River Harley Davidson where Mom reports he had his picture taken with a "bunch of women". Ha!

It's true, friend John snapped a few pics of Dad with a couple of women (including friend Janice) and a guy or two. All... harmless - right Dad? We all know Dad has only one lady in his life... well, maybe two if you count Molly of the four-legged variety... or maybe three, if you count the two-wheeled variety... ha!

This is a pic of Dad with his ride. Lookin' good...