 We started the ride in Olympia with 22 riders on a perfect sunny day for the shortest leg but by far the hardest part of our journey. We stopped in Aberdeen, WA to visit Tim Davis’s mother Sally. Her appreciation toward us for honoring her son touched us all very deeply. We then found out that she has a daughter who is serving down range as a flight nurse. She is an incredibly strong lady and it was an honor to meet her. We then motored on to Silverdale to stay where we were able to reconnect with our brothers around a bonfire on the beach with great cigars provided by Bob Rankin and Al Avalo. We had a few new riders that I have been trying to get to come with us for years and unfortunately had to leave a few of the usual suspects (Chris and Amber) because they had a wedding to attend (theirs’). Mark Nevatt was the winner for the rider who rode the farthest to be part of the Loop. I watched him take copious amounts of notes to help him plan his SW Loop which is going to take place next April or May. After Silverdale we rode north to Pt. Townsend to catch a ferry to Whidbey Island. For all you old SCBUA team members The Tides Inn is still standing and looking good. If you have never put your bike on a boat and rode across the Sound it is a pretty neat experience. Our next amazing stretch was across the mountains on the N Cascade Hwy which is an incredible. Especially when the weather was perfect and not a cloud in the sky, it happens about 4 days out of the year. I was grateful for such a great ride, a great memory for those who are about to go back to work in the desert. Our last leg was from Winthrope to Leavenworth with some different routes to get there. I was with the group who missed the turn to the Grand Coulee Dam, (OK I was leading the group). Like all operations, the plan went out the window pretty quickly. We recovered with some homemade ice cream in Orondo and then a cold one in Waterville. The other half of the group made it through Chelan and thought that might be a good stopping point for another loop ride in the future. Leavenworth is just a great town to celebrate in. The town is done up in a Bavarian Style with lots of good food and beer. The louder you can sing, and as we found out thanks to Mike McGreggor dance, will bring good things. Tony Bryant is still the funniest stand-up comic and can work the crowd like no other. The majority of the group feel Leavenworth is by far the finest stop over we make. The bottom line is that we made a total of $3226 for the SOWF having a great time and spreading the word. Dave Smith made up some flags with the SOWF logo to put on our bikes which I believe he still has a few left for sale. Tony Bryant also made up some CCT shirts that turned out great. He might have a few left. We sold every one of our shirts, so if you made a donation before the ride your shirt is in the mail. Can hardly wait for next to do it all again and hope that we will get a few new riders to come with us and share the experience. My camera went tango uniform after the 1st day so my
pictures are pretty limited. I am asking all of you that went please post yours
on Facebook so I can copy and paste them to the NW Loop page and show how much
fun this ride is.  |
