Rickreal Closed.... A special report from behind the lines...

Having been pre-wounded, I was the one and only candidate for driving the sag wagon on the way to Ryan's farm, the site of the 2007 Rickreall Closed...

I belive after the Coast ride incident of '04, and proven once again at another favored party, it appears the start of a lot of trouble comes in cars....

Slimming things down to those who ride there seems to be the perfect solution to this problem....

We met up at the Mill Street House at the stroke of ten......

Now to some, this means 12:30, as Lucky Pierre and Jen didn't even make it for the start of the ride out. Fox pulled up right before the leman's start was nixxed. So it would be a average ride out after all.

The dog and I went home to relax. I watched some european cycling, Tour de Italia. Did some laundry, fixed some stuff around the house.

I guess Ryan had said something about calling me when he had a corn dog, in Newberg.

I didn't recall this information, but randomly called him at one point in the early afternoon. He said I had to hold on, cause he was ordering a ............ corn dog.

Now, My timing had started out jut right, and was on the road to perfection with this happening.
What were the chances that I would call him right at the moment he was ordering a corn dog.

So, I took a shower, lollygagged a while, and drove the Audi down I-5, towards Gervais, where I would meet the at the Wheatland Ferry.

I pulled in, called them, to fid they were only 2 miles down the road. Personal Record. My timing was on the money, and the beers, Henry's, were ice cold in the trunk...

I was quite jealous not to have been able to ride down with them, but I will have many chances to ride around this summer.

We had to hang out for quite a while, waiting for everyone to group up. Lucky and Jen never made it to the Ferry while we were there.

Mason wanted to do backwards circles on the moving fairy deck, but the ever vigilant ferry workers shut him down.

I rolled on out, and took the fun route, Orchard Height's road, to the farm. It is a driver's road, and the Audi still seems to be running pretty strong. Up and over the hills west of Salem, and to the farm, where I started a fire, found some Ritz crackers to snack on... and waited...

I cracked a beer from the trunk.... And waited some more.

Fire is going great. Where is evrybody? Beer's gone. So I crack another one. tastes good and even colder than before.

I stake out a chair by the trunk, in the front yard, waiting, reading "Into the Wild". While looking into it, I realized there was only one beer left, and a store run would need to be made.

This meant the first one to Rickreal was the only one to get a cold beer.

And strangely, that person was Brett.

I half expected it to be R. Kelly, but, no dice.....

Brett enjoyed the frosty beverage, it was only mere moments from being on the bike to it being in his hand.........

People started rolling in, and the evelry continued. Fox drove for food, as I was tuckered out, and trying to help Brady build his bike, moments before riding to San Francisco........





Much food eating and beer drinking occured, and the whiskey of course came out. I know I was up until around 3 AM, and didn't really sleep until it was light out.....

Quite a few people stumbling around in the morning. I got sick near the orchard, then started making corned beef hash for breakfast. it was my first time making it from scratch, I think I did a good job.

The long haulers got ready to leave for the NACCC's in San Fran. We said our good byes, and abot half the Portlander's going home also got on their bikes. Chakra had a rental car, and showed up right before we left, to carry some gear.

I was glad to be home, but didn't get to nap due to mother's day proceeding's.... it was very fun though, and I slept very well later...