We had 8 bikes and 9 riders, PLUS a party in the verrrry back with Toby, Road Queen and Sandy in the Coor (that's "Car" for you Northerners). Also, Hollywood Kenny was due to meet us in Sanford. We did the pre-ride and saddled up. PC 162 hit 421N at 10am.
We agreed that the first rest stop would be Spivey's Corner which was approx. 80 miles . When we got there, we had some very cold Cruisers. Pawl and Scotty got started on taking the seat off of Scotty's new VStrom and getting his heated gear working, while everyone else went into the store and huddled around each other in front of the bathrooms waiting to get to the hand dryer! I personally went for the heat lamps keeping the breakfast sandwiches warm. On a positive note, it DID warm up a bit from 41 degrees to 42 degrees...
Back on the bikes, The ride was 421N, followed by 421N, with a left turn on 421N, a right turn on 421N . When we got the intersection by Ron's Barn, we all split up at the light and met in the parking lot!!! Haha! I did not know how to get into Ron's Barn, so it was a bit of a mess! My apologies! BAD ROAD CAPTAIN!!
We were happy to see friends. The parking lot had a good number of Cruisers that rode in for the gathering and many drove cars. The meal was very good. It was a buffet with a variety of chicken, BBQ, ribs, chicken-fried steak, fried shrimp, cole slaw, mashed taters, corn, fried okra, fries, desserts, etc etc. We had a nice warm lunch. Deb and Toby circulated the 50/50 raffle .
After a full gut, State Professofficer Travis addressed the crowd with reminders of future gatherings and needs for the National Rally. It was kept short and sweet as weather was moving in from the west which was to include rain and SNOW. The 50/50 was drawn and Taz Man won $190!!!! Happy NEW YEAR!!! Damn! That means that $191 went to St. Judes!!!! Nice job opening your wallets Cruisers!!!
We hustled back out to the bikes and got geared up. PC 162 said their goodbyes and lined up for take off. We got into Dunn for a gas stop. Then hit the road hard with the next rest stop set for Harrells Country Store.
We pulled in and Ditch couldn't get awf his bike. Haha! We pried him off and helped him get his bearings. That guy froze his butt off all day! He and I both need to get our damn heated grips working! Rest stop concluded, we finished the run into ILM with folks pulling off at their respective exits until it was down to Gwynn, Pawl, Scotty, Travis and me rolling up Carolina Beach Rd.
Thanks to Preacher for tailgunning and the rest of ya for following me! 261.5 clicks for today.
'Til the Next Ride,
rePete
1st Officer
SCRC PC 162