It's a blur...

The last few days have been a blur...working on getting the write up complete for the first couple of days and will post shortly...it's nice just sittin between two GS kicked back in my camp chair at the 40th '49er Rally. A conversation about BMW vs Japanese bikes going on not far from me. The sweet smell of cigar smoke in the air melds with the moist decaying grass beneath me and the warming spicy aroma of my Captain and Coke. The latter is to stoke the fire inside as this is the most crisp weather I have been exposed to since January in New England. Off in the distance, I can hear the joyous laughter of fellow travelers of the road. I see  fellow riders mill about looking for long lost friends and new fast ones they've encountered on the ride in this afternoon. Still others are looking at bikes that may have been theirs in year long past and harken back to earlier days. The bikes range from a BMW airhead to the newer liquid cooled models, Harley tourers, V-Stroms farkled out with the best off-road gear. There is even a bike that I could find no identifying marks on that appears to be held together with duct tape. Bikes at every end of the spectrum make everyone feel together even while being alone in this crowd. At 40, I feel as though I'm the kid at this BMW Rally.

A younger group has quietly decided they need a late night ride. Stealthily, so as not to wake those riders already in bed, they pushed their bikes to the edge of the pavement, waited for everyone to arrive and get ready to roll, and then fired up, almost in harmony. They were careful not to rev their engines more than necessary as they quietly coaxed their rides off the fairgrounds. Once on the road, however, it was a different story. Each of the bikes accelerated, rearing off the stop and down the mountain, giving it hell all the way until each of the eight riders had sped past the grounds and the tranquil sound of there engines disappeared into the night.