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Published: June 15th 2016
Hello again from Morgantown! Wow, three days in the same place. Pretty soon, I'll have to pay taxes here. I'm really enjoying myself but today, I felt the first stirrings of itchy feet. Soon it will be time to ride again. I'm not even half way through this trip as I still have 3000 miles to go.
Today I attended two Tech Sessions given by one of the VRCC members who has written several books about his journeys aboard his Valkyrie. Many of you who know me personally may find it strange that I would willingly listen to someone tell me how best to work on/care for a machine, as I tend to have a pretty good grasp of those types of things. In this particular case, I am more than happy to learn from someone who has successfully ridden the same bike I have for well over 200,000 miles with mostly original parts. That seems like the kind of guy worth listening to.
Later was the group ride (video and pictures below) to the Block Party. This was a ride to a shopping center here in Morgantown in which many of the establishments had agreed to give club
members a discount as well as donating a portion of the proceeds to a charity. This year's charity is the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They are helping a young man with Cystic Fibrosis achieve his dream of taking a Disney Cruise with his family. A worthy cause to be sure.
Two things stand out from the ride and block party:
First is how much I absolutely detest riding in a group. Hate it. Always have, always will. It eliminates any of the sense of freedom that comes with motorcycling. Today, (as frequently happens in group rides), the group broke up into several smaller groups, following no clear leader and going every which way. In the video you can clearly see us pull up to an intersection where bikes are turning every possible direction. Cluster. I ride alone and I like it that way. I'm not being anti-social, I just feel that in a group, I give up all control and a good bit of safety as I am not familiar with the other riders' riding styles or skill levels. For me, ride your ride, let me ride mine and I'll see you when we get there.
Second was a
totally unexpected encounter with a woman front Kuwait. Yeah. In a West Virginia strip mall, who would have guessed? Another member and I were wandering around the parking lot looking for a BBQ place when she approached us. She asked us very politely what the occasion was that brought a couple of hundred motorcycles to the mall. We explained that we were all owners of a very special type of motorcycle that was only made from 1997-2003 and that most of us communicate fairly regularly through the club's message board but that many of us had never met face to face. This event serves as a yearly gathering for us. She asked several other questions and then filmed us for a snap chat. After learning that some of the proceeds from tonight's block party would be going to charity, she offered to make us all a special kind of sweet from her country. When we told her that she shouldn't do that due to the cost of making them for 350 of us, she seemed sad. She said that she wanted to do something for us, as a way of giving back. Wow. I told her that what she could
do is tell people that she met a large group of bikers tonight and that they were really nice folks who care about their community. She brightened at this and said that she would do that. Perhaps one person's perception of motorcyclists was changed tonight and perhaps she will, in turn, help to change other people's perceptions of us. Maybe somewhere down the line this will result is someone paying a little more attention to us on the road or having a little less unease when we walk into a store or restaurant. Anything that gets rid of nth stupid Sons of Anarchy image is always good. She was a very nice woman, genuinely interested and it was a pleasure to talk to her.
Following this exchange, I found the BBQ joint and has some truly succulent smoked brisket. Good stuff!
Stay Tuned - Tomorrow is my last day here at InZane, as I will be departing for Baton Rouge Thursday morning. While I hate to leave a day early, I have some very good friends in Baton Rouge that I haven't seen in far, far too long and it's about time that the Mothership and I got
back to doing what we do best, making miles.
See you on the road.
Ride Safe,
Alien
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marc sapers
non-member comment
I understand why you ride alone
Glad you had a good day minus the cluster going to the gathering. Have a great last day today and a safe ride tomorrow on your way to Baton Rouge. Dad