easter ride…

participated in the ray price easter basket ride saturday… first time i’ve joined in and it was quite an experience…

daughter and i headed out in the morning, starting the morning off right by filling out bellies with bo’s… after that, it was too the dealership to line up for the ride…

when we got to the dealership, i was informed by daughter that she needed to spend some of her hard earned money to buy mom a new set of gloves… she wanted to take a picture of a fellow rider that followed us for a short period of time. she took the glove off to get her camera out of her pocket and it went flying… oops... now mom has a new set of gloves… mom was kinda fond of her old gloves, which of course were a seasonal item. so we couldn’t get her those again. and picking out something mom likes is definitely no easy task.

after ordering the gloves, we cruised around the dealership killing time, waiting for departure…

ray price on his trike, posing for a short press conference…

 

some of the over one hundred bikes that rode along…

 

the national guard convoy that escorted us around. it was reported they collect over 600 baskets to be distributed…

bob, of bob and the showgram, lead the ride…

first stop… when you’re on a ride like this, you don’t really get a feel for how many bikes and riders there are until you make a stop and see the place packed with bikes…

i was a little surprised by the (lack of) turnout at the first stop. not sure why, but i was expecting more kids. especially with about six hundred baskets to deliver.

the activities started out with an entertaining lesson about easter, god and jesus from bob fowler of the child evangelism fellowship. after his talk, the baskets were passed out to the kids…

then it was time to head to the second stop, where the number of kids definitely made up for the lack of kids at the first stop… i had no doubt we’d be able to pass out all the baskets at this stop…

this little kid was so cute. the basket was a big as he was. i think the joy he was feeling in receiving the basket overcame any difficultly he may have had with the size of the basket.

this ride was a really special ride… i enjoyed being able to pass out baskets to underprivileged kids. but there was a dark side to giving. or more rightfully, the receiving. and i really saw it when we got to the second, larger stop.

as we were passing out baskets, i saw several children refuse certain baskets, asking, no almost demanding a basket with something else in it. i can fully understand requesting a basket specific for a boy or girl. but to turn down a basket with one toy in favor of another?? isn’t it satisfying enough just to be receiving something??

and then there were the kids that would grab a basket, hand it off to mom and go get another. and another. and another. again, isn’t it satisfying enough just to get a basket??

but it’s not for me to judge. all i can do is learn from the lesson and try not to make the same mistake. to be grateful when someone is there to help. not greedy, asking or taking more than what’s being offered. maybe it’s the place i am in my life right now. i’m grateful for where i am, the people that are in my life, for what i have. would it be nice to have more?? of course!! but the other side of the coin is it could always be worse. a lot worse.

so the ride was a good one. i really enjoyed it. it’s really about the joy you can bring to the many who are appreciative you’re there, appreciative that you care enough to think of them.

peace…

nothing to sneeze at…

or maybe it is…

passed by the bike today and noticed the tour-pak covered in pollen… and from the disrupted pollen marks, it appears someone else noticed it before me!!

at first i was embarrassed. then i thought what the hell, it’s not going to get washed any time soon!! the best i’ll be able to do is give it a good dusting. wonder if it will all blow off if i go riding??

gotta ride more…

got a chance to do a little riding this weekend, about two hundred total miles over the two days… as i was riding around on saturday, i realized how little i’ve put on this year – about five hundred by saturday. ‘course i could throw out a bunch of excuses: weather, too busy, werkin’ from home, etc. but that’s all it’d be, excuses. i just gotta start ridin’ more…

northeast mc expo…

went to the northeast mc expo in fredericksburg a couple weekends ago… the show seems to be getting smaller – most likely due to the crappy economy. was a good time, though, mostly because we hung out with friends.

pirates seemed to be the theme in the bike show this year… some pretty cool designs…

various other bikes…

a few from gravesend cycles…

a ‘47 knucklehead…

an autopsy themed bike…

even some cool custom sport bikes from custom cycle works…

family and friends… hell, with these guys, they’re all family…

and the after party at hooters….

frank handing out balloons to his valentines…

the little guy getting all the girls…

more fun and games…

sunday loop…

had a chance to take a short ride today… pretty much unexpected since i wasn’t really planning to ride today.

i decided to make some guacamole today and needed to go to the store to pick up the necessary ingredients. it was in the 40s, sun was shining, so i decided to take the bike… while i was gearing up, my wife suggested i stretch it out a little and take a longer ride. sounds good to me…

i needed to gas up the bike first, which ended up being a good thing. when i geared up, i decided, against common sense, to put on my chaps and wire up the ‘letrics. while i was okay making a short trip to the gas station or grocery, i have never made it on a longer ride.

after putting gas in the bike, i threw on the chaps and decided not to mess with the ‘letrics. that was a semi-good choice. definitely needed the chaps and would have been more comfortable with the gloves wired up. note to self, when in doubt, opt to stay warmer.

the tank was topped off and i was ready to roll… question was where?? i didn’t necessarily want to do the lake loop that seems to have become a ritual first ride of the year, but i didn’t want to just putz around town either… i decide to head up to the lake, but through louisburg.

i’m absorbing the scenery as i’m riding along the back roads. while the countryside is beautiful, i take notice of the run down houses, the old farms that are now for sale… i wonder how much of this is progress setting in?? how much of it is a reflection of our economy?? when will it get better?? will it get better??

as i approach louisburg, there’s a bit of new construction. housing, retail, new ground being broken. now i’m thinking maybe there is hope. maybe things aren’t really that bad… who knows??

all i really know is that i’ve been fortunate so far… it’s times like these i realize i should focus less on what i don’t have and be thankful for what i do have… i’m able to top off the tank and head out for the afternoon; i' have a roof over my head; i’m able to provide for my family; i have a wonderful family; i have an awesome wife…

about now, i’m heading into henderson, i’m missing my wife. i blow off the lake and point the bike back home. with a short stop, of course, at the grocery for ingredients.

it wasn’t a long ride, less then a hundred miles. but it was enough.

you can check out the 2009 ride map to see the route - this one in blue...

senate bill 22 - omnibus public lands bill…

from the american motorcyclist web site:

The U.S. House of Representatives could vote as early as next week on a wide-ranging bill that could shut off-highway motorcyclists and all-terrain vehicle riders out of more than 2 million acres of public land.

"This bill was on the fast-track in the U.S. Senate and passed swiftly earlier this year without public scrutiny or debate," said Ed Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations. "The measure is now being steamrolled through the U.S. House without giving the public an opportunity to fully digest its impact and debate the many provisions in the bill."

Moreland called on all AMA members, off-highway motorcyclists, ATV riders and everyone who supports responsible outdoor recreation to immediately contact their Congressional representative and ask them to reject the bill. The measure should be defeated because it unreasonably bans motorized recreation on 2.1 million acres of public land by inappropriately designating it as Wilderness, and because the procedures used for fast-tracking the bill through the U.S. Senate and House violate the spirit of open and democratic government.

take action (quickly) here…