On The Road and In The Rain
Rain! Such a frustrating word. Even more frustrating when it has done nothing but rain for the last three weekends. I was ready to get out on the bike but yet again the forecast was calling for rain. It is one thing to get caught out in the rain on the bike, it is not something you plan to do. It was Wednesday and the forecast was calling for rain again this weekend. I always hope the forecast will change and watch it closely because this is Michigan and the weather can change in the blink of an eye (you might remember the hail earlier this summer) and sometimes for the better.
Friday arrived and the likelihood of rain was still out there but it was much smaller than what it was on Wednesday. Stacey called today and said if the weather report got any better she and Bob wanted to go for a ride in the thumb. My husband put out a group text to see if anyone else had any interest in riding. Tom and Cindy said they were up for a ride too. Tom suggested meeting tonight to hang out. The rest of our group had plans for tomorrow but they all were interested in meeting for dinner and drinks tonight.
We met at 6 and dinner was great. Getting to catch up and chat was always a fun night. As the night progressed I checked the weather forecast again and the rain was gone from the forecast, it looked to be a beautiful day for Saturday. Stacey was so excited she started debating where we should go. We finally decided on a few familiar stops and to meet in Sandusky at Approval Powersports because Bob was thinking about upgrading his Road King. We agreed to meet at 9:30 so Bob could have some time to shop before we were all there itching to ride.
We arrived at Approval Powersports at 9:05am (late again, he told Bob 9) so my husband could help Bob look, the store had just opened. Bob was going to ask for Chad since he had helped Mike and Linda but when they walked in Jon was the only sales person available. The store was already buzzing with business. Jon explained that Saturday's are always busy this time of year but he was more than happy to help him. Bob told Jon that he was happy with his bike but was thinking about upgrading, maybe just something newer. Jon showed him their selection of Road Kings and explained the differences in model years and had Bob sit on a few. Bob found the perfect bike and decided it was the one. Since Tom and Cindy had arrived, Bob decided to just put a deposit on it. Once Jon had all the information he needed he assured Bob that his bike would be here Friday when he was ready to finalize the paperwork and take home his Harley-Davidson Road King.
We headed out on M46 towards the lakeshore. We turned left on M25 and headed north up the lakeshore. It was hot and sunny so were were glad for the breeze from the lake. Stacey was behind us and doing great. She really had a good handle on her 1200 custom. Her shifting was smooth and she was quicker on take off which made her ability to stay in a group better. This is important because then you don't get other vehicles in between the bikes. We stopped in Port Austin at the Sportsman's Inn to grab some lunch and stretch our legs.
After refilling our tanks and bellies we were ready to ride again. Watching the waves crash against the shore and the boats bobbing in the water is so relaxing. The rumble of the bikes combined with the view puts me in my happy place every time. I turned to take a picture of Cindy and noticed Stacey behind me. She was smiling and laughing. She was so comfortable on her Sportster it made me smile. I made a mental note to ask her later what was so funny. We ended our ride at our house where we had a small BBQ.
Our evening BBQ turned into a campfire. I finally got a chance to ask Stacey what was so funny earlier. She explained that Bob is always giving her a hard time about stalling or jumping gears on accident. She was laughing during our ride because Bob had stalled his bike. He had recovered so well that none of us had noticed, other than Stacey, but she had and wasn't going to let him live it down. It was nice for her to feel like she wasn't the only one that made mistakes or had difficulties some times. Bob and Stacey left shortly after the campfire was lit because they had a bit of a ride to get home but Tom and Cindy lived close so they stayed. We laughed and joked and told stories late into the night. Such a great way to end a day of riding.