Angelfire to Burlington....errrr....Raton

Sigh, my last post was in June...how awful is that? Well, it's October, so not too good. I've neglected this blog for entirely too long.

It's early in the morning to be riding. Especially in Angelfire, NM!! COLD is definitely the word! Same routine as yesterday...up, shower, dress, put on sunscreen, makeup, pack, load up the bike, line up.

Put on makeup, really? Yes, Virginia, we do put on makeup. It's not a vanity thing, I promise (well, maybe a little)! Believe it or not, makeup does provide a physical barrier for my face! There have been many journeys that I have ridden with my friends and they come back with the reverse raccoon face...and very rarely do I have that problem.

Makeup. Now you know. Seriously, it's not about vanity. Ride a couple hundred miles and emerge wind blown all covered with bugs and road grime. Not a pretty picture.

This PSA has been brought to you by ~smile~.

I digress.

Ahem, I get my bike lined up and find my friends. I'm excited--it's a new day to ride. This leg is always 'fun'. One: it's a day on the bike. Two: TWISTYS. Three: RFTW. Four: No two up riding in the twisties.

Still, it's a challenge to not know the skill level of the people surrounding and ride with them. Also, even though the population of women riders increasing, there are still not a large quantity of women riders. I'm sure that had to give pause to some of the male riders in the group.

I did not worry long, as most of the folks more or less knew what they needed to do.

Except for Gold-Wing Guy.

It is a test of patience to deal with anyone that does not/can not get the concept of what the ride is all about. Who knows what the issue was. The Platoon Sergeant and team were wonderfully patient with this guy--and to help the group, he was assigned to me.

It's not too bad. I'm concentrating on the task at hand--doing my part in getting the group to the next stop safely. The first order of the day: attend the morning meeting.

First bobo action by Gold-Wing Guy....miss the 90% of the morning meeting.

Not that I haven't heard the safety drill, but the morning meeting is a connection of the entire group. We not only discuss safety, but talk about lessons learned from the prior day as well and hold a short Q&A session.

Gold-Wing Guy pulls up just in time for the Q&A...and basically decides to share his lessons learned. Except for the fact that everything that he's talking about has already been discussed. He would have known had he have been there, right?

He gets a talking to and is told that he will not be able to ride in the group if he misses another morning meeting. I hope he understands. I won't know if he succeeds or not--I won't be riding with the group tomorrow for Burlington is my last stop for The Run this year.

Meeting over, we mount up and head out.

The ride is quite enjoyable. We don't have the two up riding so I can relax a little and enjoy the process of riding.

Except for the cold. I think the temps were in the 30s that morning. Brrrrrr..

The ride was uneventful and we all made it up to Raton with no incident.

Not even Gold Wing Guy.

That's not the end of him, though.

Just wait.

Keep the Shiny Side Up

~The Rainbow Wahine