Mena Arkansas 2007
Here's the whole gang. We all met at my house at 6:30 am and headed out at around 7:15 am. I had warned my neighbors that it would get pretty loud around that time in the neighborhood. We had 29 riders leave that morning on the Mena ride. The largest group ever yet and I only had two guys on com radios ( myself and Checo ) to help keep the group together. Keith lead the group that morning with Checo behind him. Keith did a great job keeping everyone together as we rode through Denton, Tx on the way out to the back country roads. I stayed in the rear reporting if all had made it through the lights. We had a great bunch of riders. All the different types and makes of bikes, as well as different experience levels of riders made the ride just that much more fun. Everyone made it back safe and every bike made it back, too ( Believe me, when you ride in a small or large group and everyone makes it back safe... with their bikes... That's a good ride! ). We had two bikes break down, but both were fixed and on we went. We had three riders go down that weekend. Not one got hurt. I think only one got a small scratch on them and that was it. As for their bikes, we were able to bend parts back out and with a little bit of fixing they were on the road again. NOW THAT WAS SOME LUCK ! Arkansas' winding roads are fun ( Routes like 23, pigs trail, 123, as well as 16 and .... ) but as I explained to the group every morning, they can bite you in the butt if you're not careful. All the turns vary in speed. One turn can be 45 to 50 mph then the next one can be 10 to 15 mph with a drop elevation in the turn. It's like this for miles in some parts of Arkansas. Anyway it was a great time, and it's always great being around friends and good people and that's just what we had. Thanks to all for coming! 
Here's Brad as he says , " Dude, who came up with meeting at this hour...It's still dark !"
Here's Checo saying to Andy, " What do you mean you don't have a com radio on your bike, Andy you're a pilot.... What's up with that!" 
Here we are admiring Randy's packing job. We all voted him with the packing award. Hey Randy did they not tell you we were only going for 3 days not 3 weeks, LOL . 
Here's Andy with that zombie look saying as he walked around the neighborhood, " coffee, I need coffee... Oops, sorry Andy, in your case that would be tea , I need tea. ( dude, I still say real bikers don't drink HOT TEA, LOL ). 
Here's Sarah saying to Craig and James, " What do you boys mean you want me to ride on your bikes... I brought my own." 
Here's me trying to keep the group together... " No , No guys, that's not my house that's the neighbor's home. Stop trying to mooch coffee off the neighbors." 
Here we are at the riders meeting, " Ok guys, there's 29 of us this morning... let's see how many we can end up with in Mena later today...GOOD LUCK !" LOL !!!! 
Here we are lining up. You can see Keith saying to the guys, " Ok now, you guys know that your supposed to follow me....right ?" 
Here's JT, Craig, and Beth. You can see Craig laughing at JT trying to do the Hang Ten sign. It's a good thing we don't have gangs in our neighborhood. JT is doing the Gang Banger sign. 
YO , JT. This is how it's done. 
Here's Mike saying to Brad, " Hey, are we stopping here at Bath & Body Works for the girls or for those two tea drinking bikers on the trip?" Brad replies " Oh, you mean Andy and JT, Yep I think it was for them." LOL !!! 
You can safely bet these boys didn't bring any Hot Tea with them... Bad Boys , Bad Boys....
NO, I really do love Har... Really, I do ! LMAO !!!! 
Ouch ! This is what happens when you look so hot on your bike that you start melting parts on the bike. 
Oops! Sorry guys wrong turn. 
As far as you can see is our group. At times we were streched out over a mile. 
Here's Lori and Beth looking good. This was Beth's first ride with a group and her very first motorcycle trip. 
Here's Sarah with " Oh, I have to remember this camera shot." 
Here is the Beamer family . They rode two up the whole trip on a very nice BMW. 
Andy saying " Look, food ! " 
Here's Andy still crying because we wouldn't let him eat the spider. 
Here's Sarah and James in a Kodak moment. James, I don't mean to burst your bubble but... we all took turns taking the same picture with her. 
Here's Lori saying to Beth, " What do you mean you have more blisters on your hand because you've been riding harder... Who's been up front riding with those crazy idiots... Checo, JT, Andy, and Elio... Uh Ha.... Thank you !" 
Ok, we just rode 350 miles on a motorcycle so don't #@!%&%$ with us! 
Here's part of the gang. You can see Calvin on the far right with this " How in the world did I get hooked up with these people" look. 
YEAH BABY ! I'm da man ! 
Here's Sean and Henry. You see Sean saying, " Hey, check out my ride, It's probably the only time you'll see it. " 
Lori, " Hey, where did everybody go? Man this new helmet is a bear to see out of." 
Ok, you guys step aside and let me show you how it's done! 
WOW you guys, you got in the way. I was hoping to just get a pic of Ann-Marie. 
Here's Calvin saying to David, " What do you mean you think your Engine is bigger than mine?" 
Here's Andy trying to do the Hang Ten sign, what he's really doing is the ... CALL ME thing. 
Here's Lori saying to the girls. " Yeah , I was just getting ready to tuck in behind Terry when... Wham, he was gone. 
Here's Barry saying to the guys, " Hey Guys, do you see those girls at that other table!" Hey Barry, here's a news flash... They're in our group! 
By the smiles you can see we were all having a good time. 
I bet you guys thought Sean didn't stop for food. That's why he rides so fast, so he can get a head start at the restaurants.
Just doing what we do best. On the far right you see Mike, he's the luckiest one of the group on this ride. Also, at this restaurant it didn't matter if you orderd 2 or 3 tacos. It was still the same price... just ask Lori. LOL.
The sign says it all.
Here's David saying, " Ok, here is the luckiest road sign in Arkansas. Just a few more inches to the left and ....BAM It would be gone." See the skid marks in the grass, just left of the sign... WOW!
Here's Terry saying, " Hey, where did my bike go? Last time I saw it, it was right here." Hey, Terry, try looking in the bushes behind you. I think where you're standing is where you landed... your bike is back in the bushes. BTW he did not knock over that sign. That was someone else before him who was not in our group.
One of our annual stopping points.
It's the Four Amigos or is it Banditos... or all the above...LOL
Hey, where's the Party!
What? Another party ! Oh man, I need my sleep...Ok, who's room is it in this time?
Looks like Beth and Andy are telling the same story.
It is common knowledge among riders that there are those who have laid down their motorcycle and those who will. Well, these guy have already been there and done that, so they have a lifetime of fun, uneventful riding to look forward to.
Man, I knew I should have gotten more sleep last night... which one of these motorcycles is mine?
Living the good carefree life!
" What ! That's 17 miles away. How did you guys end up there? The gas station was just up the street. Henry was looking for cheaper gas... Oh, that explains it."
Here's a good reason to lock up your daughters when we pass through your town.
Don't worry about locking this one up... LOL !
Here's one good reason to get the Extended Warranty on your camera if you're a motorcycle rider
Sarah... Looking Good
Go Barry, Go Barry.....
Craig the Hog Man.
Andy, The Boy Next Door..... NOT when he's riding!
JT, The Wild Man.
Lori Da Babe ! 
Part of the gang with JT's bike.
Man I love these motorcycle trips!
I'd like to thank everyone for going. It was a good time like always. As you all know riding is one of my favorite things to do. And what better way than to ride with friends to share in the joy of life's simple things. I'd especially like to thank Craig for coming out. He flew in from New York just for this ride ( Craig is one of our regulars ). And a BIG thanks to Checo, my Cuz, for all the help on the radio in keeping the group together. GREAT friends make for a GREAT ride!
Here's the whole gang. We all met at my house at 6:30 am and headed out at around 7:15 am. I had warned my neighbors that it would get pretty loud around that time in the neighborhood. We had 29 riders leave that morning on the Mena ride. The largest group ever yet and I only had two guys on com radios ( myself and Checo ) to help keep the group together. Keith lead the group that morning with Checo behind him. Keith did a great job keeping everyone together as we rode through Denton, Tx on the way out to the back country roads. I stayed in the rear reporting if all had made it through the lights. We had a great bunch of riders. All the different types and makes of bikes, as well as different experience levels of riders made the ride just that much more fun. Everyone made it back safe and every bike made it back, too ( Believe me, when you ride in a small or large group and everyone makes it back safe... with their bikes... That's a good ride! ). We had two bikes break down, but both were fixed and on we went. We had three riders go down that weekend. Not one got hurt. I think only one got a small scratch on them and that was it. As for their bikes, we were able to bend parts back out and with a little bit of fixing they were on the road again. NOW THAT WAS SOME LUCK ! Arkansas' winding roads are fun ( Routes like 23, pigs trail, 123, as well as 16 and .... ) but as I explained to the group every morning, they can bite you in the butt if you're not careful. All the turns vary in speed. One turn can be 45 to 50 mph then the next one can be 10 to 15 mph with a drop elevation in the turn. It's like this for miles in some parts of Arkansas. Anyway it was a great time, and it's always great being around friends and good people and that's just what we had. Thanks to all for coming! Here's Brad as he says , " Dude, who came up with meeting at this hour...It's still dark !" Here's Checo saying to Andy, " What do you mean you don't have a com radio on your bike, Andy you're a pilot.... What's up with that!" Here we are admiring Randy's packing job. We all voted him with the packing award. Hey Randy did they not tell you we were only going for 3 days not 3 weeks, LOL . Here's Andy with that zombie look saying as he walked around the neighborhood, " coffee, I need coffee... Oops, sorry Andy, in your case that would be tea , I need tea. ( dude, I still say real bikers don't drink HOT TEA, LOL ). Here's Sarah saying to Craig and James, " What do you boys mean you want me to ride on your bikes... I brought my own." Here's me trying to keep the group together... " No , No guys, that's not my house that's the neighbor's home. Stop trying to mooch coffee off the neighbors." Here we are at the riders meeting, " Ok guys, there's 29 of us this morning... let's see how many we can end up with in Mena later today...GOOD LUCK !" LOL !!!! Here we are lining up. You can see Keith saying to the guys, " Ok now, you guys know that your supposed to follow me....right ?" Here's JT, Craig, and Beth. You can see Craig laughing at JT trying to do the Hang Ten sign. It's a good thing we don't have gangs in our neighborhood. JT is doing the Gang Banger sign. YO , JT. This is how it's done. Here's Mike saying to Brad, " Hey, are we stopping here at Bath & Body Works for the girls or for those two tea drinking bikers on the trip?" Brad replies " Oh, you mean Andy and JT, Yep I think it was for them." LOL !!! You can safely bet these boys didn't bring any Hot Tea with them... Bad Boys , Bad Boys....NO, I really do love Har... Really, I do ! LMAO !!!! Ouch ! This is what happens when you look so hot on your bike that you start melting parts on the bike. Oops! Sorry guys wrong turn. As far as you can see is our group. At times we were streched out over a mile. Here's Lori and Beth looking good. This was Beth's first ride with a group and her very first motorcycle trip. Here's Sarah with " Oh, I have to remember this camera shot." Here is the Beamer family . They rode two up the whole trip on a very nice BMW. Andy saying " Look, food ! " Here's Andy still crying because we wouldn't let him eat the spider. Here's Sarah and James in a Kodak moment. James, I don't mean to burst your bubble but... we all took turns taking the same picture with her. Here's Lori saying to Beth, " What do you mean you have more blisters on your hand because you've been riding harder... Who's been up front riding with those crazy idiots... Checo, JT, Andy, and Elio... Uh Ha.... Thank you !" Ok, we just rode 350 miles on a motorcycle so don't #@!%&%$ with us! Here's part of the gang. You can see Calvin on the far right with this " How in the world did I get hooked up with these people" look. YEAH BABY ! I'm da man ! Here's Sean and Henry. You see Sean saying, " Hey, check out my ride, It's probably the only time you'll see it. " Lori, " Hey, where did everybody go? Man this new helmet is a bear to see out of." Ok, you guys step aside and let me show you how it's done! WOW you guys, you got in the way. I was hoping to just get a pic of Ann-Marie. Here's Calvin saying to David, " What do you mean you think your Engine is bigger than mine?" Here's Andy trying to do the Hang Ten sign, what he's really doing is the ... CALL ME thing. Here's Lori saying to the girls. " Yeah , I was just getting ready to tuck in behind Terry when... Wham, he was gone. Here's Barry saying to the guys, " Hey Guys, do you see those girls at that other table!" Hey Barry, here's a news flash... They're in our group! By the smiles you can see we were all having a good time. I bet you guys thought Sean didn't stop for food. That's why he rides so fast, so he can get a head start at the restaurants.Here's David saying, " Ok, here is the luckiest road sign in Arkansas. Just a few more inches to the left and ....BAM It would be gone." See the skid marks in the grass, just left of the sign... WOW!Here's Terry saying, " Hey, where did my bike go? Last time I saw it, it was right here." Hey, Terry, try looking in the bushes behind you. I think where you're standing is where you landed... your bike is back in the bushes. BTW he did not knock over that sign. That was someone else before him who was not in our group.What can I say... You gotta love this girl !!!
Our GoodByes
Man I love these motorcycle trips!See you guys on the next ride. Stay safe, Enjoy Life, and love your Country !
Ps. If anyone has some pics from the trip they would like to add. Just e-mail them to me in Hi-res and I will post them. Also, if you wish to add any commentary to this posting about the ride, feel free to write something up and I will post them as I get them.
ELIO
posted by ELIO | 5:40 AM
|
0 comments
