Epic Adventures, One Day At A Time

Rooster and I have had quite the epic month. We made it only 10 minutes late for the Future of Motorcycling Summit and Steve heckled me for it. Com’on though, it’s a 3-hour ride at the crack of dawn. LOL, I wish the turnout was more, but Krissy posted a Facebook live video that got a great viewing.

After the Summit, we hung out for a bit with some ABATE friends before going riding to a few places with Jen. We wound up at a clubhouse where I met a bunch of new really awesome bikers and quite a few of my friends showed up. But they didn’t get there until after Jen was boasting about my bike game skills and I was challenged. Oh boy, was I nervous! You wouldn’t know it, but I’m pretty much terrified by everything I do and that’s my drive to do it. I refuse to let my fears control my life. So back to the games. I only lost the slow race by about 6 inches. The barrel race was awesome despite them using a beer keg. Wow! That’s a lot harder than the big blue ones! I also only lost that one by a smidge. I won 2^nd place overall and impressed everybody there with my skills. Pretty proud of myself!

Speaking of barrels, maybe the games prepared me just right for hitting orange construction barrels, like when the semi in front of me hit one and knocked it right into my path on the interstate, driving 55 mph, heading to Sturgis. I slammed on my brakes, straightened out my handlebars, and hit it dead center. It deflected off my crash bar and out of the lane of traffic. I found a good spot to pull off up ahead and regained my composure. Yep, that was scary! Good thing I gave a big enough cushion between us, giving me enough time to react.

So on to Sturgis. I took Rooster through the Badlands because he’s never been there. I always forget how overwhelming that site is with your bare eyes. I really thought Bob was going to cry. A dude was chatting with us, and it was his first time, too. I swear I saw a tear in his eyes talking about it. If you’ve never been there, it’s a must see. All the pictures in the world could never justify what it looks like in person. It’ll pull at the heart strings for sure.

Wednesday morning, about why-the-heck-am-I-awake-this-early-on-vacation o’clock we attended the Sturgis Museum and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Deadwood. MRF’s Russell Radke was inducted with the Freedom Fighter Award. He gave the most powerful speech, captivating EXACTLY what we do and why everybody should join a motorcycle rights organization (MRO). I posted the video on my Facebook page, Junior Patriots, and the Region 3B page. Check it out! Man, it was so awesome being there with MRF family from all over the US. After that, we went for a family ride. I need to give a shout out to Dawn Riba from Minnesota and an MRF Board member, good leading on our ride. She kept a good pace, and it was a smooth adventure. Hardtail’s son, G-man rode his Sportster all the way to Sturgis from WI! Dang, I’m proud of that young man! He rode great and complained less than I do!

Getting late, Bob and I headed back to the campground and chilled the rest of the night at the bar there. The band was playing good tunes and the beers were only 3 bucks. Thursday, we went to the SD Social where MRO members from all over had a picnic in the park together. The new Executive Director/State Coordinator for ABATE of SD, taking the reins from Jiggs Cressy, Brad Bruns, gave a great, and quite nervous, intro speech, then handed off to Hardtail. Hardtail gave a condensed version of his epic and powerfully motivational speech, then handed it off to MRF Exec Dir, Mark Buckner. Mark gave a wonderfully inspiring speech as well. I have posted that video to the previously mentioned Facebook pages. I know it’s a 25-minute video, but it’s worth watching.

After the social, a group of us rode to the Hall of Fame. I’ve only known Hardtail a short time, but the humble in his eyes that day will stay with me for life. I took about 200 pictures of our trip and wonder if I had my phone out too much or if I didn’t take enough pictures. Hall of Famer, Gary Sellers, Hardtail’s wife and son, Becky and G-man Willard, Jim and Sandy Bengtson of MN, and Dave Dwyer were with us, too. It’s a shame Dave hasn’t been inducted yet. As we were saying our goodbyes from there, Jim said he hated that part. Thinking back to a couple of months ago, I wrote about that. We’re a very close family, spread across the country, only seeing each other a few times a year, it’s heartbreaking to say goodbye. So, I will just say to you all, “I love this family! I love you all! Until we meet again, ride safe, ride free, and never miss the opportunity to go on an epic adventure!”

Becky Zarling “Quiver”