New Website Active

We have been working for the past couple of months on our new website. We loved our old one and Wes did a great job of keeping it current and entertaining, but the one thing we felt like we needed was online shopping. Well, we now have online shopping with the new site and we are excited about the changes.

We use our website not only as a shopping and information tool, but as a means to promote the fun of motorcycling. We will continue to do this. Please browse around the site and send us your feedback.

12 Days of Christmas Savings

If you have been getting my emails, you know that we are in the middle of our '12 Days of Christmas Savings' event. Every day there is something on sale AND you get something free just for shopping with us and spending $25 AND we will gift wrap your purchase for you! How's that for making your shopping experience easy. So, don't waste time, stop by between now and Christmas and let us help you get your list complete.

Also, don't forget that the incentives from Victory expire at the end of this year on 12/31/09. So, if you are even slightly considering purchasing a new bike, dont' let these incentives pass you by.

We are now on Twitter under 'cruisin66cycles'. We will use Twitter to keep everyone who signs up posted on last minute events, rides and sales. I'm not sure if second by second action is a good thing or not, but we are trying to keep up with the newest marketing techniques.

Toys and Santa

Thanks to everyone who rode in last Sunday's Toys for Tots ride. I don't know what final numbers were, but the parking lot was over full as were the toy trucks! (Jack, I stole this picture from your Facebook!)

Thanks to Rick Williams for being our Santa for us last Saturday. The little ones who came in were so cute sitting on his lap and going down there list. We had a few furry friends come in for their pictures with Santa, even a cat! This is always a fun event for me, as it reminds me of how exciting Christmas time is for children.

You still have plenty of time to come in and fill out your Wish List for family and friends to shop from. You all know we will be glad to help you get what you want this year!

Toys for Tots

Yesterday, Thanksgiving Day, at 8AM, Sharon and I ran the 5K Turkey Trot in downtown Springfield. (I know, I know, you are right now saying to yourself, they run? But, that is a BLOG for another day!) Yes, it was cold, hovering around 32 degrees, but that did not keep 6,000 people from showing up at $25 per person for this fundraiser for Developmental Center of the Ozarks and Springfield Parks Scholarship Fund. That's a gross of $150,000!

When I got home, I told Tim, can you imagine if just 1/2 of those same people showed up at the Springfield Toy Run on December 6th, how many toys and dollars could be collected this year? I know that a lot of the people who ran yesterday also have bikes because I saw you there!

So, here is my challenge to each of you. Show up on December 6th for this year's Toys for Tots ride. It's on a Sunday at 2PM, it last about an hour, so there are no excuses of it's too early, it's during church, it takes too long, etc. You cannot even use the excuse that it's too cold, because you can always drive your car and drop your toys and/or cash off at the end of the event at Strafford Elementary in Strafford. It's not important how you get there, it's important that you just do it.

Even if you cannot make it that day, please go to Springfield Armory off of Glenstone and Division and drop off a new toy for a child this year. Or, if that does not work for you, drop it by here and we'll get it there for you. If you don't know what to buy, they will be glad to take a cash donation.

Just give, it will keep you from being a Scrooge this Christmas!

In Any Other Business.....

If you have perused our website, you know my quote is "In Any Other Business That Might Seem Strange". We experience things on a daily basis that might seem strange to others but feels normal to us.

If you have been in the store, you know that both of our restrooms are decorated with things to keep you entertained, so to speak. Yesterday, in the ladies room, someone left us a thank you note along with a 10cent piece from China. That's a first. We usually just get comments as folks leave the restroom. This was our first 'tip'.

I guess with the value of the dollar in China, we could probably buy a burger at McDonalds with that China dime!

As I always say...In Any Other Business....

Is it June or November?

Wow, can you believe this weather. It has been a while since I have been able to sit at home with the patio doors open letting in fresh air in November! Wouldn't it be great if it just stayed this nice all winter. I think we earned it because I am pretty sure we had spring weather all summer.

It's great to see everyone out taking advantage of our mid 70's temperatures and riding their bikes. I hear that the turnouts at the recent toy runs has been awesome due to the great weather. Santa will be good to the kids this year!

Don't let the nice weather keep you from remembering Christmas is just around the corner. We are already stocking for the Holidays and we have just received our shipment of 2010 Victory apparel. Stop in and see what we have, start your wish list so that we can help your family put what you want under the tree this year.

Believe it or not we have already put up one of our Christmas Trees. We lucked into an old aluminum tree from the 60's that most of us remember having in our homes growing up. Sharon calls it our Chrome Christmas Tree to go with all of the chrome on the bikes.

Friends in Iraq

Today I received a wonderful surprise from one of our Victory riders, Carlos, who is currently stationed in Iraq. Carlos rides a 2007 Victory Kingpin and always tries to ride with us when he is stationed in the area. Anyway, Carlos sent me a beautiful rug from Turkey. What a great gift!

I hope it doesn't hurt your eyes, but here is a picture of me with my flying carpet!

Year 7 Here We Come

Our 6th Anniversary Celebration on Friday, the 30th and Saturday, the 31st was a huge success. We had old friends drop in that we had not seen in a while and made many new friends who had not been in before. Many thanks to Bud and Carol of the Route 66 Riders (The Victory Motrcycle Club) for cooking hot dogs for us on Saturday. And to Tammy for keeping the coffee flowing!

The winner of our drawing for a $250 gift certificate to Big Cedar Lodge in Branson was Darrell Rader. As soon as he comes in to pick up the gift certificate, I will post a picture here.

Again, thanks to everyone who has given us support during the last 6 years. We could not have done it without you.

For some great costume pics click here http://www.cruisin66cycles.com/halloween.htm

Happy Halloween!

This weekend is not only Halloween, but it is the 6th Anniversary for Cruisin' 66. It's hard to believe we started this adventure 6 years ago (well, ok, sometimes it seems like it's been MUCH longer!). We also use this weekend to kick off our Holiday season leading up to Christmas and the New Year.

So, if you are out and about this weekend, stop in with your Halloween costume, have a hot dog and a piece of cake and celebrate with us. You just might find that 'deal' you've been looking for and get some Christmas shopping done at the same time!

Beautiful Fall Ride

Today was our '3rd Sunday of the Month Ride', which, by the way, is not always on the 3rd Sunday. We only had 4 bikes show with 7 people, but that's ok. It is football season and baseball playoffs and it has been VERY cold. I believe is was 28 degrees this morning when we got up.

But, for those of us who went today, it was well worth it. The temperature hovered around 57 to 60, the sun was shining without a cloud in the sky. We took a leisurely ride down Hwy 125 to Forsythe and had a great lunch at Danna's BBQ. We do like Danna's and they enjoy motorcyclists!

So, if you missed the ride today, join us next month and I guarantee a great ride and great company.

Only Jack

Many of you know our Golden Retriever, Jack and how 'active' he is. Well today, Jack had been outside in the yard for a while and I decided to bring him in. I went outside and he wasn't in the front or back yard, so I called and called thinking he had wandered off following some turkey or deer or he had gone playing in the creek. No response to my calling, which isn't unusual for Jack. We knew that if anyone took him they would bring him back!

I decide to drive around the neighborhood thinking he decided to take himself for a walk. Still no Jack! Tim took the truck and went to the neighborhoods to the north of us to see if he went over there. I went out to the garage thinking that maybe he had got locked in the cats food room (why they need a food room is a whole different story). Sure enough, the door was almost closed, but the foot rest at the bottom of the door would not allow it to open back up and there peeking at me through the crack was Jack. He was so happy to be found! I think the cats lured him in and pushed the door shut!

Could he tell me why he couldn't bark or make any kind of noise when I was calling him for the last hour, oh no, just a happy face and lots of wags like there was nothing wrong! He's lucky I found him, as we were leaving for a motorcycle ride in another hour and he would have been locked in there all afternoon.

Of course, he had plenty of kitty food, which is always a treat, and water.

Definately Feels Like Winter

Ok, I don't like cold weather. It keeps everyone inside and makes me want to eat more! I think the high today is supposed to be around 48 and the low tonight around 35. What's with that? It's October not January! At least it appears that it will FINALLY stop raining. We got 3.5 inches at our house yesterday in about 5 hours. Enough already!

Speaking of winter, are you thinking of riding all winter, then get some heated gear. Ask anyone who wears it, they won't leave home without it with these temperatures. It is well worth it.

Where Did The Summer Go?

Apparently I was busy during the month of September as I haven't updated my blog since the 6th. Let's see if I can recap some of the things that happened last month.

We held our last bike night on Thursday the 17th. After a little time in the parking lot, we all went to Dairy Queen and continued to enjoy each other's company long into the evening. This has been a fun and relaxing event for us this year and we plan to do it again next year.

On Thursday, the 24th, Tim and I went to downtown Springfield (boy that's a long trip!) and heard Oliver North speak. What a powerful message he has regarding the wonderful young men and women serving in our military. If you ever get the chance to hear him, don't miss it.

My goal at the beginning of this year was to have a ride each month. We started with a ride on New Year's Day and have been successful in having one a month until September. The weather wasn't as friendly as we like or charity ride events were scheduled on available days. We still have done 9 group rides this year as we did 2 in January, one being the New Year's Day ride and the other being the Polar Bear Ride, so I think we are still on track for my goal. If you have not been able to attend one of these rides, they are always a lot of fun and sometimes an adventure!

Sharon has started bringing in winter apparel, which with the cool weather, is about a month earlier than we normally do. If you are in need of winter riding apparel, stop in and see what is new for this year. There are some new colors both subtle and vibrant. Neon yellow seems to be in every line we have looked at. I am always amazed at the new innovations each year that make jackets and pants warmer and yet less bulky. We have brought in heated jackets, pants and gloves, so don't let the cold weather stop you from riding all winter.

AHHHHH - Nothing Like A Good Vacation!

Many of you know that I went to the Mayan Riviera (Cancun) area in Mexico with my sister last week. I thought about posting to my blog from there, but could never seem to get away from the beach long enough! There's nothing like a good vacation with your sister to re-energize. Boy, did I do that!

It rained a little every day which didn't really seem to cool things down, it only made it steamy! We had to make 'redneck' rainsuits one night when we got caught in an evening downpour!

I talked to a lot of people while I was there and most of them were not Americans. Apparently Americans are afraid they might either get the Swine Flu or get kidnapped! We found everyone there was very glad we were there and always willing to help us get what we needed (well, maybe a couple of people weren't very helpful). The vacancy rate at the resorts in the area is at 50%, which explained why we never had to really wait for anything. The resort seemed empty which was ok with us as we never had to fight for a beach chair!

We took a 3 hour bus ride to Chichen Itza, a Mayan ruin in the central Yucatan area, and never felt uncomfortable, other than the heat (it was 110 that day), or threatened in any way. The Mayan ruins are fascinating and was well worth the trip. The snorkeling was great right off the beach and I could not get enough of that. But most of the time we spent on the beach relaxing.

Unfortunately riding season will very shortly come to a close and a winter season will once again be here. We will batten down the hatches and hope for a mild one so that everyone can keep riding all winter. We only have 3 more bike nights left this year, so stop by and visit before they end. Who knows, maybe I'll need to go back to the beach in January!

Perfect Day For A Ride

What more could you ask for - sunny skies and low 80s - those combined with great friends make for a perfect day for a ride.

We left the Cruisin' 66 parking lot at 1:30, we just never seem to leave on time, but then again, we are never in a hurry. We headed up H highway and made our way to Pomme de Terre Lake. I didn't think I had ever been up there, but Tim reminded me that we were there in 2002 or 2003 with a boat that almost sunk! Ahhh, memories.

Anyway, today was much more memorable. Even though it was only 60 miles, with the stops and twisty roads, we rode for about 1 1/2 hours and ended up at Mr. Ed's in Nemo, on the east side of Pomme de Terre Lake. We had 99 cent burgers and $1 HUGE ice cream cones while we relaxed in the shade on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Wes did a great job of leading the group of 20 bikes along a great route. Carol took a lot of pictures, and I can't wait to see them this week. Check our website.

After leaving Mr. Ed's, Tim and I, along with Bob, headed to Bumsteads in Nixa. Joan and Ron were celebrating there 15th wedding anniversary and we wanted to stop by and say hello. It was a great ending to a great riding day.

Oh yeah, did I mention after leaving Mr. Ed's we got pulled over by State Patrol for speeding just north of Buffalo? Luckily we got off with just a warning! Geez!!!!

Cool Evenings and Good Friends

We had a good turnout for bike night last night and what a beautiful evening it was. It's hard to believe it is August and by the time the evening was over we needed light jackets (well, some of us did!).

We hung out here at the store until about 8:00 and then once again headed over to Dairy Queen for some 'treats'. I so enjoy doing this as it gives us all an oppotunity to just sit, tell stories and enjoy each other's company. If you have not had the opportunity to join us, please don't let the summer slip by without at least stopping by once.


If you receive my emails or watch our website, you know that we got in 12 2009 Visions this week. We received these at a discount and we want to pass this discount on to you. Some of these units are priced as low as $16,000. Whether you have a bike now or need to trade yours in, don't hesitate to come and talk to us and let us see what we can work out. Don't let this opportunity to own one of these great bikes at a great price pass you by.



Join us this Sunday as we head up to Pomme de Terre and have ice cream at Mr. Ed's. Meet at the store at 1PM. It's about 60 miles up there and of course we will take the leisurely route. See you on Sunday.

Catching Up

I just realized that I was a few weeks behind on updating my Blog. Well, it is August, time of relaxing on the porch with mint julips!

Our bike nights the last few weeks have continued to have a steady turnout of 'regulars'. This last Thursday, we went to Dairy Queen for some ice cream. We enjoyed this so much, we may do this more often. We had some new faces in the crowd and we missed some of our regulars who had other commitments. Bud and Carol and Bob went to the Victory Rally in Spirit Lake, Iowa - hope they are having a great time!

I did notice that the days are getting shorter and it is starting to get dark earlier in the evening. That means summer will be coming to an end all too soon. If you have not been to one of our bike nights, try to stop by before summer is over!

Victory Has Done It Again

It has been a hectic couple of days here at the Victory Dealer Meeting. I had hoped to get something up last night after the Victory reveal, but there were so many people surrounding the new bike, that it was impossible to get a picture of the bikes.

If you have not gone to Victory Motorcycles website to see the new colors of the bikes as well as the two new models, the Cross Country and Cross Roads I will give you a peak here. These two new models are to complete the Touring lines for Victory that began 2 years ago with the introduction of the Vision. For those of you who want the comfort and ease of the ride of the Vision, but don't want or like something about the Vision, then the Cross Country or Cross Roads is the bike for you.

Here are a few pictures from the meeting today, which might give you a different perspective than what is on the Victory webiste.

Me with Michael Song and Roland Sands standing next to a Roland Sands version of the Hammer.

Me on a Cross Country and a Cross Roads. Theese 2 new bikes are AWESOME!

Tim on a Cross Country.

I thought this blog posted on Thursday night, but apparently I was too tired to do it correctly. Watch for another blog this weekend after I recover and collect my thoughts.

Who Says A 'Bike' Must Have A Motor

If you missed Thursday Night Bike Night last night, you missed the opportunity to ride a 2 wheeler that was the hit of the evening. You just never know what will happen on Thursday nights in our parking lot. Click on the following link to see what you are missing!http://www.cruisin66cycles.com/2009bikenights.htm



The weather was perfect last night. It had cooled down considerably from the mid ninetys of earlier in the day after the brief afternoon thunderstorm that rolled through and I love the longer daylight hours. I do think the thunderstorms kept some bikes home, as I did not notice as many running up and down Glenstone as in the past few weeks. Too bad, as it was a beautiful evening.



There was much discussion among the regular crowd regarding our next two monthly Sunday afternoon rides. It looks like we may head to Jeff City for our 'Ice Cream Run' in August and maybe to Rogers, Arkansas for our'Fall In The Ozaks Ride'. If you are reading this blog, you know to watch for emails and our events website for the latest updates. If you haven't made it on one of these rides, you are missing out on some great fun. Check out the Gallery on our webpage to see some great pics!



Just a reminder, we will NOT have a Thursday Night Bike Night next week on Thursday, July 23rd. We'll be at the Victory Dealer Meeting in Minneapolis. See you on the 30th!

Good Friends, Good Food, Great Rides!

What a great week it has been. Tim and I went to South Dakota for the 4th of July Weekend to visit friends. We did some riding while we were there, saw a lot of corn and a lot of bikes. We could not have asked for better riding weather. It was great to get away and relax with good friends. Thanks Jim and Thea!

Our weekly Thursday night bike night, once again, had a great turnout. We cooked outside, but ate inside since temperatures were in the low 90's. This has quickly become my favorite night of the week as it gives me a chance to take the time to visit with everyone in a relaxed atmosphere. If you have yet to attend, you are missing a great time with a great group of riders. Not only do we cook hot dogs and sometimes burgers, but Pineapple Whip is available in the parking lot as well as Coffee Avenue with excellent fruit and coffee smoothies!

Saturday we had a 'Birthday Party' at the store to celebrate the July birthdays of America, Victory, Tim, Sharon, Bud, Dave, Jim and many of our other customers. If you missed the opportunity to 'celebrate' with us and have some cake, watch for a simular event in August.

Today, Sunday, we went on our monthly Sunday ride. We decided to attempt the Ferry Boat Run again and I must say this time it turned out to be a success. The rain tried to keep us from this ride again, but by 10AM it had moved east and just kept the humity high. Carol told me we should just do the ride whether it rains or not as that is why we all have rain gear. We headed south on Hwy 125 with 14 bikes, 23 riders. Some had been on the route before and some had not. I think going down 125 then to H hwy through the Mark Twain National Forest is one of the most beautiful rides and as everyone who has done it will tell you, it has some of the best twisties in the area. We ate lunch at Danna's BBQ in Forsyth. Danna's has quickly become one of our favorite places to stop. The food is great, the prices are reasonable, the staff is super friendly, but most of all they are QUICK! After lunch we headed on down Hwy 125 to the Peels Ferry to cross Bull Shoals lake into Arkansas. This is always fun, but today the temps were close to 100 so it would have been fun to take a dip to cool off. Thanks to everyone who went with us today, I hope you had as much fun as I did. Thanks to Bud and Carol for being tailgunners, it made it easy to know we had everyone in the group when the roads straightened back out.

So, if you want to meet some great people, eat some great food and enjoy a great ride, join us in August for our 'Ice Cream Ride'.

Firecrackers

Last night was a beautiful evening to be out riding your bike and hanging out with everyone. We did not have as many for bike night as usual, and I hope it was because everyone is gearing up for the 4th of July weekend.

We heard that Governor Nixon vetoed SB202 yesterday which would have repealed the Missouri helmet law for those of us over 21. Even though I always wear a full face helmet (The older I get the more I realize I must proctect my skin) I do believe it should be my choice. It is amazing to me that the House and Senate passed this bill by a wide margin and yet the Governor felt the need to veto it. I guess he thought he knew better than the House and Senate, who are voting as their constituents ask them to. Feels alot like what is happening in Washington DC these days. That's all I have to say about politics, I'll leave that to Tim.

So, if you have been putting off buying that new helmet, thinking you would not need one, stop by because you know we are the best place to get a helmet!

4th of July is one of my favorite holidays, as I love fireworks. I have a lot of great childhood memories as well as great memories with our kids that revolve around the 4th of July. When we sit in our yard and watch the fireworks around us and the smoke fills the valley in front of the house, I can only imagine what our forefathers felt during that turbulent time in America's history as they were fighting to free us from the control of England. Nothing gives me goosebumps faster than the 1812 Overture during fireworks!

So, as you enjoy this 4th of July with your family, please remember our soldiers around the world who are 'just doing their job' to keep America as free today as it was meant to be in 1776.

Did I Miss June and July?

Good Grief! It feels like August already! It's hard to believe that just a month ago I was whining that I didn't think it was ever going to warm up and now..... Not that I am complaining, I would rather it be hot than cold and rainy!

We had some of our diehards show up for bike night last night even though temperatures were in the mid 90s. We also had some new faces including Big Dog owners and some of our Sport Bike Crowd. Brett came and cooked hot dogs and we added hamburgers this week. I think he regretted his decision to volunteer to cook after just a few minutes of the heat next to the grill. Once again, I think pineapple whip was the place to cool off.

We have had some positive response from folks on their bikes who are glad we are open late on Thursday. There seems to always be something that someone needs after normal hours!

And just in case you think our bike nights are boring, check out this picture of Tim trying out a piece of exercise equipment from the thift store next door.


You just never know what can happen at bike night.

See you next week!

Boy - It's Hot Out There

With temperatures reaching close to 90 degrees, I was not sure if we would have anyone turn up for bike night this week. But, around 6:30, everyone began to pull into the parking lot. Many of you came in and hung out in the air conditioning for a while, but by 7PM, most everyone was outside as a breeze began.

Brett stood by the HOT grill and cooked hot dogs for us. What a trooper. I think the drinks were on me after that! I do think Pineapple Whip is doing better this year with the heat arriving in June instead of August!

Stop by next week and hang out with us.

Open House and Bike Blessing

WOW! We could not have asked for a more beautiful day today. The temperature was perfect and the clouds were just enough to keep it from being too hot. Dave Pantleo, the area motorcycle chaplain for the Assembly of God, did 89 bike blessings today. We have been doing this bike blessing for 5 years, I think, and he said this was the largest turnout ever.

We guess that around noon we had close to 200 bikes in the parking lot. When I went out at Noon to announce the winners of the bike show, I was amazed at how many people and bikes were in the parking lot. That is sometimes a disadvantage to good weather for those of us working inside the store. Some folks never come in. Our vendor reps, Joby, Mark, and Ryan along with a local fireman, Chris, were the judges of the bike show, so it was non-biased. They did a great job of choosing the 8 winners. Check out the winners pics in our gallery page.



Dave and Brenda Pantleo also manned the cooking of the hot dogs, burgers and nachos along with the help of Brent. Carol S. took the great pictures you can see in the Gallery. Carol takes most of our pictures when we have an event and when we all get together and ride. She does a great job and is really good at capturing someone in a real moment.

Thanks to everyone who came to our event today.

Thursday Night Bike Night 6/4/09

The weather was perfect for a bike night last night! What a great evening to kick off our Open House Weekend. We had so many bikes coming and going, I couldn't keep up with the count.

Notorious and Johnny came and entertained us again with some great stunting on their sport bikes. Of course, I taught them everything they know!! (Not really)





The Pineapple Whip stand was busy serving up their cold treats and Brett was busy cooking up Hot Dogs. The parking lot was full of regulars and new folks, who came and enjoyed the evening. As always we had a great time catching up with everyone and look forward to seeing you again next Thursday; same time, same place.

Thursday Night Bike Night 5/28

I'm pretty sure it's May, but yesterday felt like October. What began as a cool drizzly day ended up being a comfortable evening for bike night. I didn't anticipate many showing up due to the cooler temperatures and the continuous confusion of rain or no rain so I sent everyone home except Tim and I. Needless to say, that was probably a mistake as we had a steady stream of bikes all evening long. I always enjoy bike night as it gives me an opportunity to spend a little more time just visiting with everyone but last night was a little too hectic for my relaxation pleasure! In other words, I had to work!

Even with the cooler temperatures, some still had their weekly Pineapple Whip fix. I'm still working on getting a replacement for the BBQ vendor who bailed on us last week. If you know of anyone who might be interested have them contact me.

If you are looking for some place to just hang out with other bikers, but in a non-alcohol environment, then stop by on Thursday's throughout the summer. Next week's bike night will be a kickoff to our Open House, so you will not want to miss it.


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We Still Got Wet Afterall!

I'm not a very good story teller, but at the end of the ride last Sunday, Carol suggested I write down our adventure in a blog. So, here goes my attempt.

If you follow our website, you know that we try to do a ride each month all year long. We try to avoid wet weather, but will ride even when it is cold (Except me, I always try to get out of it when the thermometer drops below 40). This past Sunday, the 24th, we had scheduled our annual Ferry Boat Ride. We were to take a leisurely ride down 125 to Forsyth, have lunch at Dannas BBQ and then take the Ferry across Bull Shoals into Arkansas. This is always a great ride. Needless to say, this ride was not going to occur due to the weather that day. None of us wanted to purposely ride in thunderstorms.

So, we decided to head north and end up at Smith's Restaurant in Bolivar. We headed out old Route 66 leaving around 11:30am to Phillipsburg and then north to Bennett Springs State Park. We decided to ride through Bennett Springs and have a motorcycle parade. We did get a lot of attention! After leaving Bennett Springs, we took a few back county roads and ended up on Hwy 32 which was to take us into Bolivar. Unfortunately, Hwy 32 going West was closed and we had to go all the way back to either Conway or Lebanon to be able to head back west. We pulled into a gas station just south of Bennett Springs and the lady asked if we were lost because she saw us go by earlier. No, we weren't lost, we just had to make a complete circle due to the highway being closed and no warning. By that time it was nearly 2pm, fuel for both people and motorcycles were running low.

We decided to head to Lebanon and eat at a Mexican Buffett that Tom knew about. We get to the restaurant and low and behold it's CLOSED!!!! Good grief! We then circled back through town and pulled into a little Italian restaurant that looked promising, but alas, was not. The service took forever, the pizza was great, but if you had some of the Blue Cheese dressing, you weren't feeling very well the rest of the evening.

It was close to 4PM when we left there and the sky was beginning to look ominus. We all headed out together, but some were smarter than others. Some put their rain gear on before we left the restaurant, some put it on after turning the corner towards I-44 and seeing the dark cloud ahead and some of us thought we could beat the weather! Those of us who thought we could beat the weather were very wet by the time we got home, but our rain gear was nice and dry! What started out as a perfectly planned ride and was still a beautiful day to ride, ended with a story that we will all still be talking about 20 years from now.

The next time you think you don't have time to take a ride with a group of friends, think again, as you never know what kind of adventure you could have!

To view Cody's helmet cam video of the ride in the rain click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fidrs_mmPAQ