Family is Friends...and a Show n Shine..

I was away for the weekend and had an absolutely fantasmagorical time!

There's something just magical about being with good friends and having a planned event go off with virturally no hitches...after weeks of rain...the day dawned bright and sunny...volunteers showed up...things got done yadda yadda yadda

but what I really wanna mention is the people...

Some of these people have known each other for a few years...there were people there from all up and down the island and from WA state...I can't tell you how it makes my heart swell to see all these people and know that they are my friends.

I rode up there after work on Friday and was made inexorably welcome to their home by Gator and Ali...on an aside...I gotta say...there's something precious about these two people and the way they treasure each other. For a beat up old canadian biker of 66 to have found his soul mate in a smart, classy, substantially younger little spitfire from the midwest of the US only moments after she'd lost her partner of over 20 years...makes a tired old bald broad like me think that maybe there's hope for me yet.

Then again...after the past weekend I just had I could happily spend my time watching these people love each other...and for now...that would be enough.

There were ton's of my riding club members there Friday night: Pam and her MIA husband and kids, Kiffy and Denny, BonBon and Ripper, Jaffa and BearCat, the list goes on. And leave us not forget the Yanks! Gadget, and JoMoma, Cowboy and Monique....by 8 pm I'd been laughing for hours...so much so that my sides hurt and my throat was sore.

The event itself was a raving, knock down drag out success...and I won't go into all minute details because...well...I've put on/developed/chaired so many of them I get it. I'm not jaded, but I've more important ideas to get down here than the workings of the machine.

Suffice it to say, good planning, good leadership, good volunteers, and a good idea paid off in dividends at the end. We certainly couldn't have asked for better weather...all things considered...the turnout was tremendous...as a result of the hard work of 180 in prepartation and 443 who just pitched in as they arrived and got the job done...having put on one or two events in my time I gotta say Congratulations! to the club for a job well done...I looked around the parking lot at 7 pm and there was nothing left but a few cigarette butts.....now that's takin care of bidnezz! (ok - a few stat's - the little Show n Shine that could had 66 registered entries in 14 categories and estimates are that at any given time there were 400 riders there with as many as 600 in total all day....not bad for 5 mths' work eh?)

Too cool...as I said earlier, I started laughing on Friday night and I still wuz still laughin Monday afternoon...except of course for 3Wheel's attempts at ruining my reputation by making me cry in public not once but twice on the Saturday night! (note to self...when 3Wheel starts speachifying...leave the room to save tuff biker broad image!!)

Here's another aside, a year ago 3Wheel (my best male friend) and I attended a rally in Salmon Arm called the Summer Stomp at which time I, in passing, introduced him to my best female friend Bee. Saturday night...while standing in front of 40-50 of our closest friends (bikers all) he proposed to her and she accepted.

I don't care what them tough old fools say...there wasn't a dry eye in the house...lord that man turned out to be a romantic...and there are pictures of big burly bikers quietly wiping a tear from their eye...now that's brotherhood...no...better yet...that's family!

No sooner did we all get mopped up and commence laughing again and the silly old fucker presented the daughter of one of our brotherhood with 5 crisp 100.00 bills to fullfill a commitment that he made to her. Last fall when she was contemplating leaving high school he told her if she graduated she'd get'em...and by gawd she did! Not only did she graduate...but she graduated with honors and got a scholarship to college! I can't imagine how proud Bear and Teddy (her parents) are...I can only say that I couldn't be prouder of her if she was my own.

...and there wasn't a dry eye in the house again!!

All of this was followed by a dinner for approximately 50 volunteers...and what a dinner this was...fresh home made clam chowder (made with patience and love eh Bente?) fresh Pacific crab, fresh oysters steamed on the barbie to just cooked, and a metric ton of fresh shrimp...and fresh Pacific scallops wrapped in bacon....thought I'd died and gone to heaven I did!

And again with the laughing...Takela Gurl showed up from WA state on Sat..."surprise" and by the end of the day Sunday earned herself a new nickname...isn't that right LooAnn?

On the Sunday a group of us rode up to Port Alberni to have lunch on the quay. Once again, I've gotta say...the ride is awesome...and the sight of 15 or 20 bikes in formation on the road ahead of my trike just makes my heart go pitta pat!

We stopped at the Cathederal Grove for a photo op on the way home...whereby I scared the virtual crap outta everybody by trying to have a nap under a car!...turns out the knee is fine...albeit purple to my ankle....but that's ok cos it matches my palms! The things a girl will do to get attention away from them big beautiful old growth trees eh?? oh yeah...and thanks to my friends for keeping that guy from running me over whist I was examining the asphalt up close and personal like... In spite of all this the pictures turned out lovely...those magestic old growth trees made even us crusty old bikers look fine...

I met soo many people this weekend that more and more I think it's time for us to have photo pages and nick name tags so we can remember them all...to all my new SCRC friends..Well Met! and to those of you I see regularly...thanks for making this weekend soooo special...WHAT A BLAST!

I made it home safe and sound...as did all the rest of us...and here it is Tuesday night...and I'm still basking in the afterglow of wonderful people and an event that put the SCRC on the map!

At the risk of repeating myself...THIS CLUB ROCKS!!