Lesson Learned

It's taken 5 years, but I've finally learned my lesson. I will never again try to organize another ride or meet and greet. EVER.

A couple of years ago, I started a group on Facebook called Riders in Oklahoma. The logic behind it was that I know riders who know riders who know riders and it would be nice to have a group where everyone is welcome. A group where we can share events, stories, or just ask if anyone wants to go ride. The group has grown a lot over the years, but it hasn't spread like wildfire. And, that's okay. We started doing small meet and greets every once in a while. The first one was hosted by a rider at his home in Blanchard on a cold January day. I remember that ride. I even believe it has its own post. Anywho, I decided to offer my premium farm location for a summer meet and greet. 

Everyone thought it was a great idea to get together again. Some people said in advance they wouldn't make it. That's cool. I get it. BUT a lot of people said they WERE coming. So I planned a whole BBQ for about 20 people for this day. Burgers, sides, and drinks were bought (on my tiny budget, that was a small fortune). The grill and picnic tables were scrubbed. The lawn was mowed. All set.

Show time rolls around and no motorcycle engines can be heard in a 5-mile radius. Two hours later, I pack everything back up and leave myself. I felt as though I should have been wearing a prom dress. Figures that I'd be stood up by 20-25 people.Of course, Facebook makes it nice and easy to see what people who said they were coming are actually doing. I was especially mad when I found out one of the riders was partying down at the Lake not three miles from my house. 

Promises, promises, broken promises. The point of this rant (finally) is that if you're waiting on greener grass or you don't want to go then don't say you're coming. It's that simple. Why do people not say no? Is it because they want to leave as many doors open or because they don't want to hurt someone's feelings? Saying no won't hurt somebody. Saying yes and not showing up will, however, hurt someone. I hate when people say things and don't keep their word. Isn't there a saying about only being as good as your word?

I still managed to get a nice short (70-80 mile) ride in. Found some purple clover. I had to google it to make sure they were clovers since I didn't believe it. Random fact of the day: the leaves and roots make a great general immune-boosting tea.

In the end it all worked out, I was able to throw an awesome party for people I actually like a week later.

A short ride in the rain

So yesterday after it rained in the morning (which, by the way, was not predicted), it looked pretty clear for a ride. I get on Blueberry, and I'm a mile into a hopefully 120 mile and it starts to sprinkle. Okay, no big deal. Major showers were not predicted until later in the afternoon.The roads were still kind of wet from the morning rain so I just took my time.

Nothing but rain on my 25 mile ride into town to the meet-up location. By the time I got there I was soaked through. Thankfully, my camera and cell phone are still functioning even after getting wet in my jacket (water resistant my foot). Also learned that my tires probably aren't in the best condition to be riding in rain. The roads got really slick in Lawton. And, people were still driving and tail-gating as if the streets were dry.

Almost no dry spots on my jeans.

Was happy to see a couple other people crazy enough to ride on my way in the rain. All cruisers, though. No other sportbikes seen. Not surprised. The other rider that was supposed to ride with is a new rider, so I didn't think conditions were good for a newbie to be getting comfortable on his bike. Maybe I'm too cautious, but better safe than sorry. I'm starting to think that a lot of motorcycle accidents could be avoided if riders knew their limits and realized that  riding skills come from a lot of factors, but mainly from experience and logging miles. Just my two cents from 5 years of observing riders of all types.

By the time I got home, the rain was back to a sprinkle, and the sun was starting to peak out. Figures. But, it was still a little chilly and it did look a little rainy off to the west. Oklahoma weather. Gotta love it. After that little whatever it was moved off to the east, there was no more rain to be had. So much for that rain in the afternoon prediction. I think somewhere in the forecasting process, the weather people got confused.

Route 66...well sort of

A title of Pop's Diner would be more appropriate. So we had a meet and greet for the Riders in OK group; only 11 riders made the effort of meeting up at Pops. The 6 of us who rode out from Lawton logged about 280 miles. That's what I call a decent ride!  Had to take I-35 to help cut down on time (it was already a 2 hour ride one-way).

 

So we took the back roads up to I-35.

 

Pop's was CRAZY busy. And, since we couldn't agree on what to do, we waited forever on a table. Next time I will remember to back a granola bar. Yeah... my priorities before leaving the house were 1) coffee, 2) workout, and 3) check tire inflation (yes, I learned my lesson).

 

These two Lawton riders' bikes almost make me want to buy a chopper...I think I'd look like a dope on one, though. The bike on the right has some pretty bad-ass detail (see album).

 So after we ate, OKC and Lawton riders went separate ways. We caught I-40 (never been on this hwy) and rode out to Hinton. Finally got to see the other half of Hinton. I liked the first half better. With some more time, we could have taken the back roads to Hinton, too. But, time was fleeting. Had some riders who hadn't been out this way before so I had to take them down into Red Rock Canyon State Park. From I-40 and the hwy going through Hinton, you'd never guess such cool landscape existed.

Even got to ride through Apache's Rattlesnake Festival. I need to mount a camera holder on Blueberry somehow so I can take pictures while I ride (sounds safe, doesn't it?). We rode through Binger, Fort Cobb, and some other places where I usually would have wanted to stop, but, yeah...

More pictures are on Facebook!

Nothing special

So Riders in Oklahoma is doing another meet and greet this weekend! I cannot tell you how super duper overly excited I am!!!! Says the girl who never rides. Yes, that oughta be my new nickname. Or the girl who stays home. I've kind of traded in my time with Blueberry for time with a John Deere. I think I get that from my Granddaddy. He always did say he'd be happy to die as long as it was on his John Deere. Low and behold, he was found on his JD deader than a doornail. But, I digress.

And even with all my time spent on the mowing grass, I'm still not done. The best part? I can start my rotation over next week since the grass seems to be on steroids. Anyhow... This meet and greet will be up on Route 66. Looking forward to finally being able to post a route and pics.

The Beginnings of a Blog

Hi! And, Welcome!

First off, I'd like to introduce myself. The name's Dani. I'm a college student at a university no one has heard of in Oklahoma, USA. This is my first blog ever. Yeah, I know, what kind of 20 year-old am I? I'll tell ya, one that has no technology savvy. I do, however, usually manage to find the power button.

Anyways, I have two...um...addictions. I'm a coffee addict. And, motorcycles are my obsession.

Motorcycles + Coffee = Bliss

^that right there is as good as my math gets.

When I was 13, I saw two idiots doing wheelies down a main road in town. I bought my first bike magazine that day. Took me a year of convincing my mother daily that I wouldn't kill myself on a motorcycle. On my 14th birthday, I found a motorcycle helmet sitting on the table. After a year of searching for a bike, one that was in my price class (cheap), I found my bike; it was a 1998 Yamaha fzr600. I was so excited!

Unfortunately the bike wasn't as excited about me. I spent 2 years fighting with it (with my budget) trying to get it running. '07 was my year,though, and that's when my riding career started.

The yami was...a...um...problem child, a pain in the ass, a piece of...sh...work (to say the least), but that's a story for another time. I bought a 2007 cbr600rr July 1, 2009. And in that year, I've put 18,000 miles on it. My cbr goes by the name Blueberry because every good vehicle needs a name.We've had some amazing times. I've found over my riding time, that you can find the neatest roads, towns, and places when you get off the "cruise" in town, and just ride. I've also found that most people don't know of the awesomeness we have in the area. I've taken it upon myself to find out by putting down the map and getting wonderfully lost by wandering.

I'm finally coming to the point of my blogging: to record the rides and maybe inspire others, when in the area, to ride some of these neat routes (okay, okay maybe I just needed something to justify my gas-guzzling hobby...). Or, maybe even inspire other dedicated riders to do the same.

So, follow Blueberry and me on our adventures as we wander!