IBR etc

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IBR etc

Postby Hello Kitty » Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:25 pm

So, as most of you know, Walt and I rode out to St. Louis (Chesterfield, MO actually) to support Don's Iron Butt Rally effort. We left Baltimore early (around 5 AM I think) on Thursday, August 23rd. It was COLD and foggy, especially in the mountains in western MD. But once it warmed up, we were wishing for the cold!

This was a great stop. :roll: What a weird place. There was a HUGE Santa in the parking lot too. I took a cell phone pic and sent it to Tina. She might remember what town this was, but I don't. Somewhere in IN that she used to go shopping.
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We got to the IBR hotel late morning on Friday and I got busy working with Jim Pucket to ferry bikes for service. Once Don called to say he wouldn't be in until around 7 that evening, we milled around talked to other folks, checked out the bikes, etc.

Don got in about 45 minutes into the penalty period, but that's okay, it all worked out. Walt got busy with the oil
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while I hung out with Don, tried to help him with his paperwork, but he had it pretty much together and didn't really need much help. While Don was in being scored, I ferried another bike for service. By the time I got back, he was asleep.

Don left the following morning and we headed to Memphis. Kind of a boring ride, but Memphis was quite nice. Of course, we went to Beale St - there was a street car right near our hotel that took us right there. Beale St is a bit of a tourist destination, but we enjoyed it. We ate at a BBQ joint and were a bit disappointed. There was a hole in the wall place that was PACKED right near our hotel that we should have gone to, but we just headed to Beale St. Oh well, lesson learned.

Next morning we went to Graceland. Quite a place. The decor makes it worth seeing! this was just after Elvis week, still loads of flowers around.

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We stayed a night in Birmingham and hung out in the 5 points neighborhood. Very fun town! Met some cool people and went to see some live music at a little dive called Marty's which was suggested by a local we met after dinner. It was really good! We decided to go to the Hank Williams museum down in Montgomery before heading to Barber. The locals warned us about the awful rush hour traffic between Birmingham and Montgomery :roll: I didn't say it, but thought "Dude, I drive in DC traffic every day, Birmingham don't scare me!"

The traffic was nothing to speak of. There was an accident on the northbound side that snarled things up pretty good, but that'd happen anywhere. Saw this sign and laughed. I know I've seen it before, just can't recall where. Along 95 heading south maybe?

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We hit some steady rain on the way to Montgomery and I had left my raingear in St. Louis! But alas! A Bass Pro Shop!!! Decided we'd hit that on the way back north. The Hank Williams Museum was wonderful. No photography though. If you're a fan at all, you should go there. It was really worth the 200 mile detour.

On the way back north, we stopped at the Bass Pro Shop. It had just opened less than a week before. No one knew WTF I was talking about asking for Frog Toggs. The place was PACKED, but not so much for shopping. More for the scenery inside the store. They did have a cool fish tank that had a crowd three deep around it! I finally found my raingear on my own, got them in PINK!!!

Next stop Barber. GREAT place. If you are ever remotely in the area, you must check this place out. Side story - the guy Jim Puckett who organized the service for riders who didn't have anyone to help them knew George Barber as a youngster. George was a couple years older and their parents were in the same social circle. They weren't friends, but Jim did almost drown in the Barber family swimming pool as a young teen!

I have seen one of these before...
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Oh yeah, in my garage a few minutes ago! We were thrilled to see one. The one brand that we noticed was missing was KTM. Wonder why.

Next day we headed to the area around Deals Gap. Stayed at the Two Wheel Inn near Robinsville, NC. Great place. A little bit far from the Dragon (20 miles) but each room had a bike barn that locked and everything right next to the room. I thought we took pictures, but I don't see 'em so I guess not. The Dragon was a bit disappointing. Not my kind of road really. Maybe the pick up truck coming well into my lane on one of the first turns ruined it for me. In fact, I know it did. I stayed far to the right after that as much as possible. I'm not much into those super tight twisty roads anyway, I much prefered the Cherohala Skyway with open sweepers and beautiful views. The foothills Parkway was quite nice too. As was 441 coming down out of Gatlinburg!

Here's a picture of us at a pull off near the north end of the Dragon
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note my favorite Tshirt John!

After we left the Dragon, we hit Nashville. LOVED IT! Stayed right on Broadway near the strip of bars, restaurants, etc. Hung out and listened to some music, had a few beers. Walt stayed out, but I wanted to get to bed so I could get up at 2 and leave for St. Louis to be there for Don. Long, dark ride! LOADS of deer! Got to St. Louis around 7, Don was in being scored. When he came out, we hooked up with Ed Phelps and had some breakfast. Don hadn't really had a meal in quite a while so he got his money's worth out of that buffet! :lol:

Rider's trickled in, stories started and before we knew it, it was getting close to the start of the finisher's banquet. We had a couple drinks with Ed in the hotel bar
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The dinner and ceremony went by very quickly and I really enjoyed it. We are so proud of Don and all the riders who finished! We sat with Jim Bain, rally master for the Cape Fear who I absolutely adore and am so very proud of as well. We plotted all through dinner about our next prank on the unsuspecting, oh so easy to trick, Tina! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

After dinner, Don was tired, but wanted to hang, so we sat on his trailer and drank the booze I had bought him as a finishing gift. Look at this face!
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note Don's tshirt - you'll have to come to his dinner party (see the RTE thread) to hear about Mono Hot Springs!

After Don went to bed, Walt and I hung out in the hotel bar a little longer with some of the rider's and their friends and family. It was great fun. John Tomasovich's wife, Laura is always fun to talk to and they were going to stop in Ohio and get a new puppy! So exciting! Vance fell asleep in a comfy chair. I wish I had a camera to get a photo, he looked so peaceful, like a little baby!

Next morning, Walt and I parted ways. He was heading to Charleston, WV for the night and then home. I was originally planning to go with him, but my sister's husband decided to come back to Michigan (most of you know, he's terminally ill - was going to stay in Finland until he died, but they found a doctor in MI they thought might be able to at least make him more comfortable - story for another day). So I headed to Ann Arbor for a visit.

the kids are getting huge and are adorable and I could have eaten them up they were so cute. I had already posted this pic, but here it is again - Helena and Tapio (4 year old twins)

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Helena with Belle (her big sister's pet rat)

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And Tapio being silly

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The twins are so cute when they speak English - they're only just learning and especially Helena has a very thick accent. Tapio is a smart little bugger. He started speaking Finnish to me when he was tired and I told him I don't speak Finnish, so he switched to English. A little while later, I said something in Finnish - I know a few words - and he said (in English) "You speak Finnish" :lol: :lol:
Of course, I don't let grass grow under my tires for long. I got there around 5 on Saturday, rolled out around 2 on Monday morning cause I just had to stop here

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Man! That was a FOGGY ride for about 50 miles I'd say, but quite pleasant. I'll bet that's a beautiful area to pitch a tent for a night or two!

Twelve days, 4400 miles, 14 states and fantastic memories.
Kitty
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Postby Dough Boy » Thu Sep 06, 2007 11:15 pm

Nice, I wish I could have been there. I'm sure Don really appreciated the support.
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Postby Bicyclist » Thu Sep 06, 2007 11:34 pm

+1

And I agree with you about the Dragon. Vastly over rated, nasty road. The Skyway is much nicer, though the speed limit is a pain.

It took me three tries to get to Long Bottom because the river road was washed out.
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Postby DUKR » Fri Sep 07, 2007 10:37 am

Nice report, Kitty - thanks for sharing it..
The kids are beautiful - gave me a big grin looking at those mischievous faces!! :lol: Glad your sister's family is home again, too. I hope events go as well as they possibly can given the circumstances..
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Postby Chiba » Fri Sep 07, 2007 11:08 am

Great pictures! Further proof that "Walt" exists :lol:

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Postby Unity » Fri Sep 07, 2007 11:14 am

DUKR wrote:Nice report, Kitty - thanks for sharing it..
The kids are beautiful - gave me a big grin looking at those mischievous faces!! :lol: Glad your sister's family is home again, too. I hope events go as well as they possibly can given the circumstances..

Exactly what I wanted to say.

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Postby Hello Kitty » Fri Sep 07, 2007 11:25 am

Thanks. Helena was intrigued by the purring kitty on the bike (the hello kitty with a pull cord to make her purr (or vibrate as I like to say :twisted: ). Tapio was very interested in my BRAKE! light. Once I showed him how to hit the rear brake to make it flash he was off. It took him a few tries to realize that he couldn't hit it and then run around back to see the flashing lights. So then he taught Helena how to do it so he could watch. They took turns. It was fun. He even learned how to turn the bike on because he knew it wouldn't work unless it was on. I am very glad that the obeyed my order to not touch the bike unless I was with them. They even ran a neighborhood kid off and told him he had to wait until I was there and they ran and got me.
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Postby Blaster229 » Fri Sep 07, 2007 12:34 pm

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Who did he pour the shot for? I know he was sluggin out O' the bottle
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Postby Flash! » Fri Sep 07, 2007 6:20 pm

Thanks for the great pictures and ride report, Nancy--you make me wish I'd started riding when I was younger, and that I felt comfortable riding off on my own as you do! The pictures of Don and your niece and nephew were great, as was the picture of the fog.

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Postby Rick F. » Fri Sep 07, 2007 7:47 pm

Kitty,

Wow, when you stop riding long enough to take pictures and write it all up, the results are terrific! Sounds like one fun adventure after another, but I still can't comprehend how you (and a few others on the board) can manage to accumulate so many miles in such a short time. Very impressive.

Regarding Walt's existence--I, of course, knew that he was real, since I've had the pleasure of meeting him in person. But I'm glad the rest of the gang is gradually becoming convinced.

I'm also glad that you missed all the deer on your night ride and that you didn't get lost in the fog! Welcome back, and thanks for the write-up.

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Postby Hello Kitty » Fri Sep 07, 2007 11:28 pm

Thanks for the positive comments!

blaster - that was Don's "shot" he's far too much of a gentleman to swig out of a bottle!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Jody. you're a fantastic rider, just get a little confidence by doing some trips on your own and before you know it........ Ride to MI with me later this month if you want!!! we could split up by a mile so you feel alone, but aren't!

And, yes, Walt exists, though he prefers to keep that factual knowledge to a minimum number of people! I guess opposites do attract. As loud as I am, I guess someone quiet is my only option!!!

Rick, my pics pale in comparison to yours. I wish the kids lived closer and you could get some shots of them. Tapio looks so much like his mamma (my sis) in the picture with the lego in his mouth and the one of Helena and rat looks so much like me at her age. Something about the expresions. When the older girl, Sanelma (camera shy) was a wee baby, you could have held my baby picture next to her and no one would think it was a baby 30 years ago, you'd have sworn it were her. Good times! I can't wait to go back on the Yamaha so Tapio can point out all the differences. He'll shock me, I know it, but he noticed and remembered so many things. True that little ones are like sponges, they just suck it all in. Glad they are here to see it for myself. Hoping to go back last weekend in Sept.

May as well tell the story here. Juha took a medical flight from Finland. Said it was awful and was glad that he wasn't a "typical" (his words) cancer patient. He didn't like the fact that they had no clean towels, etc. If he'd been sick and puking, well, let's not think about that, thankfully he wasn't!

The doctor in Michigan who thought he could do something said the Finns did a great job and there was no more surgery to be done at this time to help him walk. They didn't do the surgery the same way the US doc would have, but he said the results were great! Good news! He's walking with a walker and doing a lot of physical therapy, but he's home with his family - in Finland, they kept him in the hospital. He had a few opinions about US vs Finnish hospitals. not very favorable to the US... But he's functioning reasonably well given the circumstances. We didn't talk about the inevidable, but it was present. He was interested in my trip and the Iron butt 09. It is likely he won't be here then, but we didn't talk about that. Okay for now, it's his battle, not mine.

So, he's doing very well and asked me to thank everyone again for the absolute selfless kindness that was shown for his family. I thank you as well. What an amazing outpouring of support. The motorcycle PJ's Tapio is wearing were from a coworker - a lot of support there as well!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I simply ask that you keep them in your prayers or positive thoughts - whatever works for you!!!
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