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Aug. 17th, 2008 10:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
growler_southWe're back from the Border Riders run to Lewis and Clark state park, Washington. My experience with most bike clubs is that they're friendly to guests but in a reserved way. I guess I was expecting the same here, but I was happily mistaken as the Border Riders seem genuinely delighted to have new faces along for the ride. I think nearly half the attendees were guests, and everyone seemed to get along just fine.
The ride to Lewis and Clark revealed a few shortcomings of Brian's bike's rear seat, namely that it's too small and hard for my delicate arse. Brian maintains that calluses will develop in time, but I'm not so sure I want calluses down there. Quiet in the cheap seats, please. Though my level of discomfort may have had something to do with the amount of time we spent crawling along the jammed freeway (see previous post for ironic laughs.)
---danger, loud audio of wind noise and Cher---
Video from the back of Dusty'sHondaBago Goldwing, which was actually really nice to ride on.
Border Riders runs are held monthly, a remarkable feat that is amde possible by the fact that they all eat at restaurants. No catering keeps the organisational overhead down while overwhelming small local eateries keeps the comedy value up. 'Confusion' is defined as 20-odd big leather bikers turning up on short notice and eating the kitchen bare, all the while complaining about the amount of salt on their margaritas and debating the merits of Cher's latest album.
Heading out to Mt StHelens from breakfast.
The morning following Friday night's meat and greet found us feeling a little flat, so breakfast was most welcome. Luckily the diner featured vast quantities of coffee and friendly service to set us up for the day, and everyone was perky and alert as we departed for Mt StHelens.
Dusty's bike made a great platform for taking photos from.
Perky and alert gave way to hot and sweaty as the reality of blazing sun, dry landscape and black leather made itself known. 55mph wind usually makes for pretty good air conditioning, but not so much when the air is already 95F. The spectacular scenery more than made up for any discomfort though, with the effect of the eruption clearly evident and awesome in its scale.
Pretty! And flattened by ash!
A dodgy looking, but very friendly, lot.
The combination of heat and not-so-accommodating seat on Brian's bike saw me jumping ship after we left the visitors centre. The big cushy seat on Dusty's Goldwing was looking mighty attractive, and he kindly offered me a ride back, which I happily accepted. Of course it didn't hurt that Dusty is a generously-bearded daddybear with a killer smile, but Brian didnt seem to mind too much either.
There's not a lot of mountain left on that mountain. Talk about impressive.
Saturday night we were all a little dehydrated. Dinner and club meeting were at another nearby restaurant, followed by rehydration and icecream back at camp. Merrily rehydrated, we headed off to bed, and Brian left the tent open so we could watch the stars. Which was fine until, with a mighty rumble and dramatic lightning, the storm started. Ugh. Small tent, heavy rain, bright lightning and deafening thunder- I didnt fancy my chances of getting any sleep, and I almost got halfway through thinking that very sentence before I passed out.
The ride home today was mostly uneventful. Packing up the wet camping gear was unpleasant, but the rain had stopped and the roads were dry again. Saying goodbye and thankyou to everyone took longer than I anticipated, and I'm really glad I'm still going to be here for the next run in a month's time. A real shame we dont have a group like this in Auckland.
The ride to Lewis and Clark revealed a few shortcomings of Brian's bike's rear seat, namely that it's too small and hard for my delicate arse. Brian maintains that calluses will develop in time, but I'm not so sure I want calluses down there. Quiet in the cheap seats, please. Though my level of discomfort may have had something to do with the amount of time we spent crawling along the jammed freeway (see previous post for ironic laughs.)
---danger, loud audio of wind noise and Cher---
Video from the back of Dusty's
Border Riders runs are held monthly, a remarkable feat that is amde possible by the fact that they all eat at restaurants. No catering keeps the organisational overhead down while overwhelming small local eateries keeps the comedy value up. 'Confusion' is defined as 20-odd big leather bikers turning up on short notice and eating the kitchen bare, all the while complaining about the amount of salt on their margaritas and debating the merits of Cher's latest album.
Heading out to Mt StHelens from breakfast.
The morning following Friday night's meat and greet found us feeling a little flat, so breakfast was most welcome. Luckily the diner featured vast quantities of coffee and friendly service to set us up for the day, and everyone was perky and alert as we departed for Mt StHelens.
Dusty's bike made a great platform for taking photos from.
Perky and alert gave way to hot and sweaty as the reality of blazing sun, dry landscape and black leather made itself known. 55mph wind usually makes for pretty good air conditioning, but not so much when the air is already 95F. The spectacular scenery more than made up for any discomfort though, with the effect of the eruption clearly evident and awesome in its scale.
Pretty! And flattened by ash!
A dodgy looking, but very friendly, lot.
The combination of heat and not-so-accommodating seat on Brian's bike saw me jumping ship after we left the visitors centre. The big cushy seat on Dusty's Goldwing was looking mighty attractive, and he kindly offered me a ride back, which I happily accepted. Of course it didn't hurt that Dusty is a generously-bearded daddybear with a killer smile, but Brian didnt seem to mind too much either.
There's not a lot of mountain left on that mountain. Talk about impressive.
Saturday night we were all a little dehydrated. Dinner and club meeting were at another nearby restaurant, followed by rehydration and icecream back at camp. Merrily rehydrated, we headed off to bed, and Brian left the tent open so we could watch the stars. Which was fine until, with a mighty rumble and dramatic lightning, the storm started. Ugh. Small tent, heavy rain, bright lightning and deafening thunder- I didnt fancy my chances of getting any sleep, and I almost got halfway through thinking that very sentence before I passed out.
The ride home today was mostly uneventful. Packing up the wet camping gear was unpleasant, but the rain had stopped and the roads were dry again. Saying goodbye and thankyou to everyone took longer than I anticipated, and I'm really glad I'm still going to be here for the next run in a month's time. A real shame we dont have a group like this in Auckland.
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Date: 2008-08-18 07:05 am (UTC)Who you callin' cheap...?
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Date: 2008-08-18 07:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-18 07:44 am (UTC)Yay!
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Date: 2008-08-18 08:58 am (UTC)Yours?
ROTFLCOPTER
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Date: 2008-08-18 09:40 am (UTC)So happy you're having a good time in the exploded mountains!
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Date: 2008-08-18 01:35 pm (UTC)I would have loved camping in the storm!
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Date: 2008-08-18 03:00 pm (UTC)HWAT HWAT!!!
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Date: 2008-08-18 04:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-18 06:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-19 02:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-04 01:03 am (UTC)