Bikes Blues & BBQ 2014 (Day 4)

I failed to mention where the Whooooo came from.
Well, our new friends Bonnie and Curtis aka Clyde...seems as we were riding through Siloam Springs, he pulls up on his bike and lets out this big ole WHOOOOOO....not once, not twice...but multiple times.
Yes, everyone was looking....and not really sure why he did it other than he was having a good time.

Bonnie and Curtis (Clyde)

Doesn't take too much to amuse this group....and as soon as we made it to the hotel Thursday...we all started doing the now famous Whoooo.....all of us.....Like I said, we are very easily amused!












Now back to our ride.
We aren't in a big hurry this morning, and it is over cast and a bit cool as we pull out from the hotel a little after 10am.
Chuck wants to ride a different road and bypass Siloam Springs....whooooo!!!!!
It was a very nice bypass, and kept us from all the stop and go traffic.
The ride is going well, until Diana comes over the mike and says we have no one behind us.
Where did they go????
They were just there.
I start to text Lynn and she has already sent me a comment.
Seems Doreen's bag was working its way off, so they had to stop and put more supports on it.
So glad that was all that was wrong.
Man, sure makes your heart skip a beat when you don't see anyone behind you.

I was also told in the text that Doreen would appreciate a potty break.
We are just a mile from an exit, so that is easy to do.
Bladders are empty and the bag is secured again...so we head on towards Tulsa.




Lunch is at Mexicali's in Tulsa.
We are able to sit outside and enjoy the cool breeze.

OK...so all the fun is over now...time to get home.

The clouds were beautiful today

We do make one more stop at the midway to say our goodbyes.

Hugs are given and everyone is instructed to text when they get home safely!

Oh what fun we have had this weekend!!!
Plans are already being made to make sure we get the same hotel for BB&B 2015..
Can't wait  :)

Mileage: 840...glorious Ginger miles!!!

Doreen and Allen's "rocks"  

Carla's rock...but where is Larry's??!!  

Lynn and Keith's "rocks"

Bikes Blues & BBQ 2014 (Day 3)

Yesterday while we rode the train the conductor gentlemen was telling us about the ride to Devil's Den.
As far as I know, none of this group had been there.
Allen is going to lead us to Devils Den today.
The weather is perfect, so lets do some riding.

















Our leader gets us to Devils Den without any u-turns.
We stop at the visitors area to make a potty break.
As we are standing there talking, Doreen and Allen see a couple that they know.
















Another couple had ridden up with them, and as I looked around, I noticed it was Carolyn and Mark Scoggin's.
Our last trip with them ended with some unhappy people, and they were one of them, and we hadn't spoken since we rode to Canada a couple of years ago.
Carolyn and I go way back...all the way back to high school.
Me being the person I am...(ROFL) decided to go over and say hello.
They were just standing there very awkward, so what the heck.
We had a nice little visit, and lots of small talk was made.





As Carolyn and I stood there, this huge oak leaf drifted down between us.
I was so taken by it, I took the oak leaf.
I will take it home and mod podge it and save it.
Some of the most simple things mean so much, but really the leaf was beautiful, and since we are officially into Fall now, what a perfect gift from nature to remember this trip.

We get back on our bikes and continue to ride the beautiful curvy mountain roads.
The conductor didn't steer us wrong, that is for sure!
Chuck & I are next to last bike, as we had been since we started out today.
Lynn and Keith are going to exit the group and make their way back to Dickson Street and we will catch up with them later.
After Lynn and Keith leave the group, Chuck and I are enjoying being at the back of the group!
It continues for quite a while, until we hit the so called fork in the road.
Allen isn't sure if we should go left or right, as we are heading to War Eagle Mills.
Chuck pulls it up on Lupi, or wonderful GPS and looks like we are lead bike again.







As we make our way to War Eagle, we travel some roads we haven't been on before.
The road to War Eagle I was familiar with, but was amazed at all the homes that have been built since we last traveled it.






We cross the newly re-done bridge into the War Eagle Mill, and I was pleasantly surprised that is wasn't totally packed with bikers.
There was actually room to park....and what is this....the volunteer fire dept. is cooking food!
What a great idea that was...a picnic at War Eagle.
The people serving the food were so friendly and wanted to make sure we saw the "homemade" cinnamon rolls they had for sale.
We got our food and found a nice couple of tables, and we sat and ate!
Carla and Diana got turkey legs...and Carla tells us this is a "first" for her.












We gobbled our food down so we could have dessert!
Yummy is all I can say  :)

War Eagle Mill

After we eat, everyone goes their own direction, and Diana and I go into the Mill.
The pottery is really cool, and I had to purchase a couple of soup bowls for my mom and dad.
I will probably wish I had bought some for myself....but hey, I can come back, right!!!!!
I would love to come to their big art festival they have in a couple of weeks, but I have always heard it is soooo big and congested down here.
Just one of those things that sounds good, until you really decide to do it.





Time to head towards Dickson Street and meet up with Lynn and Keith.
The ride back was just as good as earlier.
Love these roads!

Getting closer to the festivity, the traffic starts getting more congested.
We make a slight detour to save ourselves from sitting in traffic.....it was only a block early, but it sure did make a difference in the waiting time.
I have been in contact with Lynn, and we park in the church parking lot just as we did last night.
They are sitting in the shade on Dickson Street, and we make our way to them.
Front and center is all I can say.

Diana and I getting ready for the parade  :) 

We make it there with just about 45 minutes to spare...spare for what you ask....
The Parade!!!!










Yep...perfect timing...and we get to do some people watching while we are at it.
Next year, we really need to plan on being in the parade...I think the girls could all wear mask and throw out candy....now that could be fun!
The parade is over, and our little group wants to head back to the hotel and think about dinner.












As we walk, we talk about just ordering in something for dinner and have them deliver!!!
Sounds like a plan.

Back at the hotel, I write down their food of choice, and call in the order.
We are told it will be about an hour and a half before we get it.
Perfect...we can sit and chill for awhile.
Back down at the dining room, we arrange table to accommodate our group.
Keith even entertained us with a movie....he had been filming with his Go-Pro, so it was a treat to watch.

Food was delivered by the nicest guy, that we actually saw come back 2 more times that evening  delivering for other people.
It was so nice to be able to sit and laugh and talk about our adventures.
Diana had bought some really cool worry rocks while at the Mill, and she gave each of us girls one.
The had "friend" etched into them.
Such a sweet thing for her to do....I love it!

My leaf with our "special" rocks 

It didn't take Chuck very long to come up with a token for the guys....you see there is a cute small flower arrangement on the tables, and there are pebbles in the containers instead of water.
Yep, you guessed it...he pours out one of the containers and gives the guys each a pebble.
We all got a big laugh out of this, because I think there is someone in the group that is absolutely going to have no idea tomorrow why he has a pebble in his pocket of his shorts  :)








I asked my question that I always ask..."What was the best part of the trip"....and everyone gave us their thought on it.
All I can say is that this is a really "special" group of friends and we really do enjoy everyones company.
Thanks to everyone that participated, and so glad to be able to call you "friends".

Time to go to bed, for tomorrow we ride home!
Goodnight!

Group Pic at Devil's Den  

Bike Blues & BBQ 2014 (Day 2)

Our plans today are to ride the area.
We meet everyone that is at the hotel at 9am to get this day going.
A few other people were out at their bikes, and one guy comes over and ask Chuck if he knows how to turn that "limp" mode on his bike. (parade mode or whatever else you call it)
Chuck being the good guy he is, went over and showed him how to do it.
As he gets back to our bike and gets ready to start her, the alarm keeps going off.
Before you know it the seat is off, and Chuck is trying to figure out what is going on.
His thoughts go the the gizmo that he had installed yesterday.
After checking fuses and tracking down wires, he goes to his new gizmo.
He had attached the "charging cable" on it, but didn't plug in his phone.
After he pulls out the charging cable, the bike will start....hmmmm, interesting!
Guess you have to have the phone plugged in for the bike to run....might be a good kill switch for the bike...who needs a security system....LOL.



This is Carla & Larry....waiting patiently for Chuck to get Ginger running.











This is Lynn & Keith....they are also waiting!















This is Doreen & Allen....see how happy they are to be waiting for us to get Ginger going  :)












And last but not least...Diana & Chris...
waiting...waiting...waiting.  :)












Our plans are to make our way to the Harley shop and check out the vendors that are there.
















There are quite a few vendors set up, and we make our way through, and make a few purchases along the way.
Lunch has been decided and we are riding to Eureka Springs to eat at Grandma's Beans & Cornbread...Yum!!!!
As we make our way through the beautiful winding roads, we notice that the bikes coming towards us are telling us to slow down....way down.
We come around a curve to see several bikes off the road.
I never saw the bike that had gone off the mountain, but some of the group said they saw one and maybe even two bikes down.  Hope everyone is ok...sure hate to see this happen.










Lunch was as good as it ever is.
The dessert was even better!!!
The little leather shop next door was visited by us as well.














Seems Larry found him a new USA Jacket....he had been wanting one for years.
It is just a little bit too warm to be sporting it today, so he packs it away on his bike.

Time to head back towards Dickson Street.
We plan on riding the train back down to Braun Stadium, and get our Harley pins at the Harley pin stop.
The train ride is very short, but it is always fun.
We had a very chatty conductor so we enjoyed listening to him tell us about the area.

































Chuck stops at the booth he bought his gizmo at and ask them about his issue.
They had never heard of any bike acting like that....well, ours does!
They offered for him to bring the bike back for them to look at, but who wants to fight the traffic to get back down here.
We get our Harley pins and decide it is time to ride the train back to Dickson Street.










We would like to be back closer to the hotel before it gets too late this evening.
We got to see God's handiwork this evening as we had a beautiful sunset.






Lynn is in contact with Bonnie and Curtis, and we plan on meeting them at the Las Fajitas Restaurant
that is fairly close to the hotel.

When we get back to the hotel, we all meet back downstairs for a bit...but it is time to hit the hay...this girl is tired!
Goodnight everyone  :)

FNDR 7-11-14 and Ginger's 911 Call to the Dealership

Going to be a hot time in Oklahoma City, and what better way to enjoy it.
Burgers and motorcycles go together, right!
My honey and I took a spin on the Harley, to the tune of about 20 miles, before something happened.
Yep, Miss Ginger decides to have an issue, and not just a little issue, but a pretty important issue.
Our shifter shaft on our beloved 2011 Ultra Classic aka Miss Ginger BROKE!
Lucky for us that we were about 3 miles from our dinner ride, and was able to get off the highway, and make our way through traffic to a resting spot.

Upon inspection, Chuck tells me that zip ties or duct tape wasn't going to fix this little break!!!
Thank goodness Jeremiah
was at Fort Thunder and was able to get someone to come and pick Ginger up.
















She is officially at the dealership waiting to be fixed.
Poor Ginger....we can't even drive her 20 miles without something happening to her.









As we talked to our friends over dinner about all the issues this poor bike has had, the word "Lemon" kept coming up in the conversation.
Not sure how long a person has to deal with a true Lemon, but I think this one is getting pretty rank at this point!
Thanks to Tom and Seda for driving us home in their vehicle.
It really was a beautiful evening, and the "Super" Full Moon would have really been nice to see on the bike, but will just have to wait until the next one!
A lot of laughter was shared over dinner as usual!  
Enjoyed the group from Duncan showing up.
I think this is going to be a really fun trip to Sturgis this year.

Won't be long now.
And NO, we will not be riding Ginger to Sturgis.....want to make it there!
(sure hope I didn't jinks our trip by saying that)  LOL

Good Friday and Ginger the Harley

Yes, it is Good Friday.  We are all preparing for Easter with family and friends.  Our usual Friday group (FNDR) had a bi- week cause I just didn't want to plan anything this week.  Plain and simple.

The town of Duncan was having  their first car show of the year.  Our friends Lynn and Keith had mentioned it last week, so Chuck and I decided to go and check it out.

We didn't got on the road until about 5, and I think Ginger the Harley is glad to be out enjoying this weather too.   We grabbed a quick dinner as we rolled through Chickasha.   I text Lynn as we got close to Duncan to see where we would meet up with them.  According to her directions, we weren't sure where we were going, but I googled the tire company she referenced to and knew exactly where to tell Chuck to go....LOL

As we pulled up to the area, Lynn & Keith and their dog Bella were standing by the road blocks, moving them for us to park by them.  What a plan.  Of course Chuck had to give Lynn a hard time about her directions. ;)

The place was hopping with cars, bikes, and people.  They were doing burn outs in an area.  The noise from burning tires and car engines was making Miss Bella a very nervous doggie.  Poor little girl.

We walk over to Main Street and watch some of the cars that are cruising it.  It cost them $10 to get this privilege.   There a lot of beautiful cars parked for everyone to see.  Our friends Larry and Carla had their 55 Chevy truck parked for all to see.  Sure brought back memories of my childhood.  My dad always had one of those type trucks in the garage and it was our "winter" project.  Loved being a tomboy with my dad!

Some of the "bling" I got  :)

Lynn wanted me to see this cute store called Prairie Rose.  OMG,  you aren't going to believe it, but they are open.  A car show and retail therapy all in one swift getaway.  Doesn't get much better than this.

Of course I came out with a bag of stuff.  Imagine that.  I love coming to the small towns and shopping. What a catch! By the way, let it be known that they had Easter eggs filled with discounts, and I got an extra 25% off my purchase.  Big, big smile. ;))

Carla shows up and we had to go back in the store....oh my..twist my arm.  We oohed and aah ed a little bit more, but came out empty handed this time.




Almost 9pm and it's time for us to start back towards Yukon.  What a fun evening, just wish it could have lasted longer.  Now we know how our Duncan friends feel on Friday night when they have to leave and make the hour and a half ride back to their home.

We say your goodbyes, and hit the rode.  It's around 10:30 by the time we make it back to Yukon. Nice and different FNDR for us.  Hopefully the weather is going to start cooperating, and there will be a lot more riding in the future.

Happy Easter to everyone :)