Destination Ride - Laughlin 2017

Approaching Laughlin and yes, I did fix the my crooked
horizon for later ride segments

Outbound destination ride completed February 10, 2017 to Laughlin, Nevada. A destination ride is one which is taken for the purpose of arriving at a particular end-point for a particular purpose; Laughlin was the particular end-point, the particular purpose was – is actually since I’m in my room at the Aquarius Casino Resort as I type up this report – to gather with friends, renew old acquaintances, make new ones, enjoy the amenities of the hotel/casino, take a ride for enjoyment… I’m sure you’re getting the picture here.

Don’t misunderstand me; riding for the purpose of arriving at a spot on the map is, nevertheless, riding. I’ve taken my bike to plenty of places I needed to be or otherwise would have gone via some other conveyance. I’ve ridden to Merlin, Oregon to visit my parents, ditto to Klamath Falls, OR. I ride to church from time to time to worship and add a certain a coolness factor to the parking lot. When I worked in an office, I used to commute to it. The overall sense of riding is rarely lost altogether. Sometimes it’s dimmed due to the event or shaded with emotions because of the event. For instance, memorial rides. And, I once rode to Fresno for an Aunt’s memorial service. While we like to call them celebrations of life they are infused with a sense of melancholy while we remember the lost and thus the ride is shaded somewhat, neither good nor bad.

For the ride out to Laughlin, it got progressively better as the ride went along. I left my home fully dressed for rain to arrive a bit early at the meet spot in Santa Clarita where I was joined by six others – Tim & Bev, Jed & Sue, Shawn, and Todd. We rolled out in a nice tight grouping and headed up the pass toward Palmdale to skirt the desert community along the Highway 138 out to Victorville. I love riding with these people (and the others I rode with later in the day) who ride with an easy discipline that is comfortable even when I end up stretching my comfort zone.

At Victorville we doubled our numbers as we added five bikes including two two-up couples – Dale & Jeanie, Andy & Jane, along with Karen, Steve, and Keith. The final bike tally for our ride out was 1 Can-Am Spider, 1 Harley Electra-glide, 1 Victory Vegas, 5 Victory Cross Countries, and 5 Victory Visions. We made a short hop up Highway 15 to Barstow for my best meal of the day at Oggi’s Sports Brewhouse.

When our twelve bikes rolled out of the service station we encountered our only problem for the group as we merged on to a busy section of Highway 15. As a testament to the group’s skill and demeanor, it took a short five miles to regroup without any heroics or dangerous and inconsiderate riding. These people are awesome!

Our ride up the 15 was without incident and we eventually left the freeway for two-lane highways which included a gas stop at Ludlow, CA. where I took an unplanned trip down memory lane as we reformed to continue on to Laughlin when I hopped down to take a look at an AT&T radio site that I used to do the planning for. It’s still there and in good shape.

Regarding my choice to ride fully outfitted for rain: I did that in order to forestall the need to actually ride in the rain and it worked pretty well. I peeled it off for lunch at Oggi’s but judiciously donned it once again before heading out. The weather reminded me that our truce was a tenuous one at best and I maybe should have left the suit on during lunch. I caught about twelve drops while moving up the onramp. However, I felt sufficiently respected by the weather for my efforts and stripped the suit off for good at Ludlow and did not have rain the rest of the weekend while riding.

As we approached Laughlin riders peeled off to their various accommodations for the weekend to gather later for dinner, music, and some little high-jinks. All in all it was a good day on the road and in the destination with a bunch of quality people.

That evening we indulged in pursuits commensurate with our stated purpose at our intended destination. Larger groups gathered for dinner and camaraderie at various sites in the town. The most interesting gathering for me was in the Jed and Sue suite where each person to come through the door was greeted with a rousing cheer.

Keep it real and keep the iron side up.

Peace

jerry

aka - Shakespeare