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[elizilla]

My original plan was to bring a passenger, devon, and to meet Mo and Dave for lunch in north central Ohio on Thursday. Unfortunately Mo had to cancel, which meant the only person to meet there would be Dave. And devon wanted to go to Iron Pony, so I decided to cancel the lunch altogether. Then devon had a little medical emergency on Wednesday night, and ended up canceling her plan to ride down with me, leaving me with just one traveling companion, Tom. Tom is from Florida, but he combined his trip to the Shakedown with a visit to his siter in northern Michigan. Tom had spent the night at the home of xtatic1 and mistrtoad, and was at my house ready to ride down with me at my target departure time, 9am on Thursday.

Fortunately he was very patient because I wasn't ready when he got here. Still we did manage to get on the road by 10am, which was quite a victory for me. Last year I scrambled around all day and still didn't manage to get out of here until after 5pm. This year I only forgot a few things: chain lube, the zipper pulls I had promised to bring for Carl. Oh, and I forgot to go to the ATM before I left town. I stopped at the motorcycle shop at exit 9 for the chain lube, but I didn't realize I didn't have the zipper pulls until Carl asked me for them.

While I was getting ready, Chris and his girlfriend Jenn arrived to pick up the plastic Chris had had shipped here. New fairing panels for his VFR, which he got really cheap from some mail order house in the USA. He saved a bundle on them by shipping them here instead of to Canada. We discussed whether to travel together or attempt to do lunch, but decided against it since Tom and I were riding out, while Chris still had to go out to Chelsea and join sendthewolf, who he was trailering with.

Tom and I got gas at the Shell station near my house, then slabbed it down into Ohio. We stopped at the Waffle House in Bowling Green for a late breakfast, and fortunately they had an ATM. Unfortunately it didn't work. Tom bought breakfast and insisted on loaning me some money so I wouldn't be completely without cash.

From there we didn't get on the freeway again. Instead we took the twisty road to Scotch Ridge, and 199 southeast to Fostoria, where we picked up 587. 587 was detoured at 224. Knowing that Ohio only detours state highways to other state highways, and not wanting to go through Tiffin, I picked some back roads to try to get around the construction. I succeeded in dumping us right into the middle of it. The one road through the tiny town of New Riegel was torn up and impassable. We had to turn around and try some different back roads. Eventually we got around New Riegel and onto 587 again. When 587 ended we successfully took another backroad southeast to 103 east, and then took 100 south into Bucyrus, where we checked in at Ray and Sherry's house. Sherry said Ray had left about 30 minutes earlier and that she'd be joining us on Friday.

We picked up 19 and followed it until it ended, and then we took back roads past a bunch of Amish houses and over to 13. We followed 13 into Mt Vernon, where I got gas while Tom teased me about the V-Strom's tiny gas tank. The pay-at-the-pump didn't work, so I paid inside with my credit card. Tom took the lead at this point and I followed him down 13. He stopped for gas at New Lexington, and bought himself a Subway sandwich, while I put on my rainsuit because it looked like it was getting ready to rain. But it didn't.

Tom pulled over and had me take the lead again when we passed the first entrance for Burr Oak, out on 13. I led him past that one, and past the three or four others on 13 and then on 78, until we finally got to the cabin entrance. We went down to our usual area and there were already a few maggots there, including Ray, and Dave, and Carl. How neat, to get in before 6pm, instead of after midnight!

Other maggots trickled in after us, and eventually I joined a little group that was going to the lodge for dinner. We walked into the empty dining room and persuaded them to give us a table for 16, even though there were only five of us to start. Sure enough by the time we finished eating, the group had swelled and taken up almost all the seats at the table. There's no ATM in the Burr Oak lodge, but I got several of my dinner companions to give me their cash, and I paid the bill with my credit card. I contributed all that cash to the grocery fund, since I'd get some more at an ATM tomorrow, right?

We went back to the camp and unloaded the groceries that Charlie Sutton had volunteered to pick up. Charlie and I then went back to the lodge for ice, and paid too much for too little firewood. At the lodge we met Chris, Jenn, and sendthewolf, who had arrived with the trailer and were just in the process of checking in. By the time we got back to camp the crowd was really starting to swell, and eventually someone managed to get the fire started. Sharon got completely plowed, and had me and Bob and Cheryl practically rolling on the floor laughing.

I had already gone to bed when I heard a Sabre pull in, and I went outside to see who it was. It was thatguychuck and renniekins, the final arrivals of the evening, pulling in at around 2am.

The best quote on Thursday: "They make scotch out of birds?" Maybe you had to be there, but I thought it was very funny.

People had asked me what time we were having breakfast. I told them the groceries were in my cabin and they should come on over and cook whenever they were ready, and that I would get up when I smelled food. This is what I said last year and the year before, and it worked out fine. But this year people were somehow overcome with politeness and I had to get up every morning and invite the morning people into the cabin before they would start cooking. Oh well.

Friday morning I was a bit short on sleep, and I knew devon (who had ridden down in the car with hotwire7 and Sharon) would not be up for a long ride either. So devon and I led a small group out 78 to the Muskie Bucket, where we stopped for picture taking. From there we took 83, which had brand new pavement, in fact we saw the crews paving the last little bit of it. Then 60 to 266 to Stockport, arriving at exactly 1:30, which was the planned time to meet a couple of the other groups for lunch. Our timing was perfect; we arrived just as BABD's group got there and went the wrong way, into the parking lot of the Stockport Mill, which isn't open for lunch on Fridays. But when they saw my group they joined us across the street at the other restaurant, which is more maggot priced anyway. hotwire7's group found us there as we were starting to order.

After lunch, devon rode back with hotwire7, and I took Sharon as a passenger. thatguychuck and renniekins rode two-up on Grey Wolf and Ray was on Romy. We got gas there in Stockport. Ray wanted to get back early so that he would be there when Sherry arrived, so I just led them on a little loop. We went south on 792 to 676 to 555 to 550 to 329. At 550 and 329, Sharon asked for a break so we stopped. After the break, thatguychuck and I traded passengers, and I carried renniekins. We went up through Glouster and back out 78 to the park.

When we arrived, there were even more people there, including three riders who came because I had invited folks from the V-Strom forum. Bill had a new 650 V-Strom, and he'd brough his dad (also named Bill, riding a naked Goldwing) and his wife Lynn along. Lynn had already made friends with Sherry and was helping her make dinner. It was fun, comparing Bill Sr's naked GL1100 to Tom Blum's Adventure ST1100.

mistrtoad arrived and so did his friend from Columbus, who brought us a half a truckload of firewood, so the Friday night fire was much larger. Russell showed up with the Liquid Stoopid, but hardly anyone drank any; that's a lesson that this group has long since learned. Dinner was excellent and there were italian sausages left over to mix with the eggs at breakfast the next morning. Ed R showed up after dinner with two weird BMW riders who carried on the drinking tradition for the early part of the evening, by which time two very drunk young men had wandered in from another part of the campground to carry that torch. They had some Liquid Stoopid and listened raptly to Russell's stories. One of these guys was a perfect foil for Russell; it was funny as hell just watching his jaw drop.

Friday's best quotes were all directed at thatguychuck, insinuations about his big muskie. You had to be there.

In the morning I saw Sharon off with David, who had offered to carry her that day. Then I oversaw the tail end of breakfast while helping Chris and Jenn install Autocom headsets in their helmets. Then devon and I led Mo over some of my favorite roads. We were riding east on 78 when mistrtoad passed us going the other way. I told devon he'd turn around and catch us and stop us, and sure enough he did. He wanted to know if we'd seen Eric S. We had not. Eric had come off the tail end of mistrtoad's group and gotten lost, and mistrtoad was afraid something bad had happened to him. I didn't think it was likely; Eric's sensible. More likely was that Eric had taken a wrong turn somewhere, on 555 perhaps. mistrtoad wanted to know if I had Eric's phone number but I didn't. mistrtoad left to continue the search.

We continued west on 78 to McConnelsville where we stopped at the pharmacy so devon could get a battery for her camera, and I could visit the ATM. devon's camera didn't work even with the new battery, and the ATM refused to give me money, it said my card was invalid. But devon got some money with her ATM card and loaned it to me, so I was able to pay Tom back that evening. Then it was back on 78 to 83 (gotta inspect the new pavement, after all!) to Elk Run Road, to 339, to 821, to 145, to 565, where we stopped at Zwick Park. From there we took 260 over the hills to New Mat. On the way, we found a turtle in the road. devon had me turn around, and got Mo to take a picture with his camera, then rescued the turtle and put it in the grass on the far side of the road.

We stopped for lunch at the New Frontier restaurant, where the waiter, Rick, teased me for failing to send him a copy of the photograph mistrtoad took of him on the back of my bike last year. I told him to take it up with mistrtoad. :-) After lunch we got gas there in New Mat, and while we were getting gas Eric passed us, heading north on 7. He didn't see us and i had no chance of catching him, but I knew mistrtoad was worried so I called him and left a message on his phone saying we had seen Eric.

Then we went up to Fly and took the ferry across the river to Sistersville, because it's nifty and because devon had wanted to ride in West Virginia. But it was already getting pretty late, so we didn't stay in West Virginia for long. I led them upriver to the bridge at New Martinsville, and back over into Ohio, where we headed south on route 7 to 255. At the top of the hill on 255 I turned right onto a side road trying to find this really cool park I've been to before, with a great view. It wasn't the right road, but it was an excellent road, twisty and freshly paved and running along the ridgetop for a couple of miles, then winding back down almost to the river, into Hannibal, where we picked up 536 and went back up the hill again.

I found the road I was looking for, it was off 536 not 255, and I took them to the little park. We looked out over the river for a little while, then got back on the bikes. Mo carried devon this time. We went back out to 536. 536 is very twisty, with tight curves and plenty of gravel in the corners, so I took it slow. It took us a long time to get to 78. At that point it was a straight shot back, and I encouraged Mo to lead. He set a much faster pace than I had, and we were back at the cabins not much after 6pm, just in time for another fabulous dinner cooked by Sherry. Beef burgundy stew. And more tiramisu for dessert, yummy!

Chris entertained us all with a nice smoky burnout on his VFR, but stopped short of popping the tire. The park didn't complain. This is one reason that it's a perfect venue for us.

Saturday's best quote: "Every time you sell a motorcycle, god kills a weiner dog."

On Sunday, a group of us went to Ash Cave, then to Iron Pony, then had dinner at Quaker Steak and Lube. Back out on I-71, devon and I turned on the CB for the first time on the trip, and almost immediately heard truckers talking about us. "Check out that motorcycle driver, her ponytail is like three feet long!" "Looks like dykes on bikes don't it?" I didn't reply. What would I say to that, anyway? "No, we both like men"? Why? I don't care if they think I'm a dyke, and it's not like I'm embarassed to have strangers pair me with devon. I could do a whole lot worse. :-)

We stopped for gas in Findlay, not long after dark, and put on more layers. We pulled into devon's driveway at around 10pm.

It hardly seemed like a real Spring Shakedown. No crashes, no vomiting, no rain or snow. It's the bad things that the enter into the group lore, because they make the best stories. This was one of the best rides ever, which means everyone will forget about it quickly.

I have since discovered what happened to my ATM card. It expired at the end of April. I had a new one sitting in the unopened mail on my desk. Doh!