NumbBuns

When I was at Paddy Malone’s Irish Pub celebrating St Patrick’s Day and Alan pulled out a pen and wrote on a napkin I wasn’t sure if they would be able to do it. Alan had sustained a volleyball career ending leg injury. IF he hadn’t had this, there was NO DOUBT in my mind they could do it. Heck the 1,156 mile ride proved that!

“The Napkin” said San Francisco was the starting spot. I was VERY apprehensive about this as I don’t ever want to go there again! (I would like to visit Donner’s Pass and where they wintered). I started “THE SPREADSHEET”….a document which outlined the route according to Google Maps. I had the guys riding about 60-70 miles each day. I put on starting and ending places. I also found ham radio repeaters along the route to program in my radio. When I had it finished, I shared it with the guys and Alan said we were going to change the starting spot & route. I edited the spreadsheet to make the required changes. Alan sed the information to find lodging along the route. I wasn’t convinced of the lodging so I brought a tent and camp stove along.

They drove to Oregon in two days…LONG DAYS in the car! We made it to Astoria and spent a couple of days there. We ate sea food both nights. It didn’t agree with some of us! They rode on! A little rain couldn’t stop them once they got to Hwy 12. They rode to Chehalis, WA and ate lunch at Kelly’s Kountry Kafe. They met Nona! What a sweet person! When married they traveled everywhere and sang. They even sang in Branson MO!

We met one of Alan’s friends, George who used to be on the staff at MU and is an avid biker. The guys rode on a trail across ID. Before we left Missouri, I made contact with a Ham radio station in Idaho and looked up his information. The name of his city sounded familiar and it was one of the ending spots on the trip. I contacted him and told him the guys would be passing through his area. He said for me to holler at him on the radio when we were close. We did and met Joe for dinner! Joe is active in his local VFW Post.

Montana…SEVERAL Days of riding! PIE and Hot Soup for lunch before climbing over a pass!

As some of you know I waive at other drivers while I’m behind the wheel. It’s just a finger, but a waive non the less. The folks in South Dakota also do this! At Morristown Alan wanted lunch, I didn’t think there was anything here! He saw about three vehicles parked at a building….a bar with food! We asked the employee if there was a place near to spend the night. He said there was a place about 10 miles east, in Watauga, the right direction! He called and was told there were vacancies. We got over there and were told there was one other person who was staying there. His name is Jim. He said he was a retired VFW employee from MN. We invited him to dinner back in Morristown, he accepted. We also invited him to breakfast at Brenda’s Tumbleweed Cafe close to our lodging location. Brenda is a movie star! She was a stunt double in Dances With Wolves! IF you are in the area go in her place HUNGRY! She will lay out enough food to fill even the largest stomach! Jim was in SD prairie dog hunting. The guys rode on….Bowdle! What a fun place! We stayed the night in a haunted hospital which was converted to a hunting lodge. We met with the mayor and his family for dinner. ALL of them were full of useful knowledge!

West of Minneapolis we stopped at Bob’s Bike Shop for an adjustment. We thought it was a bike adjustment, but it was a route adjustment. He said to avoid Minneapolis at all costs. We rerouted to the south to bypass it. We also rerouted to bypass the southside of Chicago!

There was a LOT of mouthing going on all trip long! Buck had told me one of our HS classmates lived in Madison WI. I called his office at the university and got NO WHERE close to contacting him. I bet Buck I would find him, he said NO WAY! My mother calls FaceBook a big class reunion. I contacted the classmates sister in law and she gave me his number. Buck called it and set up a meeting. Jim & Judy drove up to ride with the guys. It ended up that they only got to ride a ½ day with them. We had to suspend the meeting & ride due to a death. When we resumed the ride, we met our classmate! What a fun evening it was.

The guys rode trails around Chicago, IN, OH, and hit the GAP trail in Pittsburg….TRAILS on into DC!

What a fun time with my friends! There has already been talk about the next ride! WHO WILL JOIN THEM ON IT?

IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE UNITED STATES, GET OFF THE AIRPLANES & INTERSTATES!