The Double "GG" Motorcycle Ride......

Hubby and I did a motorcycle ride today, a fundraiser for the marching band at one of our local high schools. Although Sweet Girl graduated from the OTHER school, she spent her first two years at this one, and her best band memories (I suspect) came from her freshman and sophomore years.

It's called the Double "GG" Ride because the mascot of this school is the Bulldoggs. That is not a typo; they actually spell it with two G's. I think the motto is, "The extra 'G' is for extra effort," or some such crap, but personally I find it embarrassing. I get it that their colors are red and black, their fight song is the same as UGA, so they wanted to distinguish their mascot in some way, but still... Perhaps it's the grammar snob in me. Or maybe (just possibly) it's just dumb.

Anyway, their marching band has been invited to play in the Chick-Fil-A bowl game (formerly known as the Peach Bowl, and I'm not very happy about THAT either) on New Year's Eve and the parade before the game. It will cost each band member approximately $250 to attend, even though it is only in Atlanta, so they are having fundraisers to try to offset the costs.

I really like organized motorcycle rides. They are police-escorted, so we ride in a double staggered line and don't have to stop at red lights or stop signs. I sometimes feel guilty because I suspect the folks pulled off on the side of the road probably think it's a military tribute or a motorcade escort of some kind, but it's just ordinary folks like us, using a fundraiser as an excuse to get on our bikes.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect. High around 70 degrees, brilliant blue skies, low humidity. It was such that we needed leather jackets to ride, but they were a little much when we were off the bikes.

Most organized rides travel about 40-50 miles, stop somewhere for a restroom and/or fuel break, then return for music, food, door prizes, etc. Today's ride was non-stop, approximately 90 miles, but it was fine. By the end I was ready to get off the bike, but I wasn't miserable. I was actually pretty GLAD that we didn't have a turn-around point, because I didn't want it to turn into an all-day affair. Anytime you allow a group of people to mill around, it takes forever to herd them together again.

An organized ride is a little different from just getting on the bike and tooling around or using the bike for transportation. I don't really get the opportunity to look around and take in the scenery (but today's ride was so scenic that I intend to go back and cover some of it again on my bicycle), because I have to concentrate on keeping the proper distance from the rider in front of me. I tend to take the line next to the white line, especially since the motorcycle cops "leap-frog" at each intersection, and they come roaring up to pass and get back to the front of the line. I KNOW they're coming, and still about 50% of the time they scare the daylights out of me, screaming past with sirens blaring and blue lights flashing.

This is another time I wish I had photos to document the occasion. I've learned at the knee of Rozmo how to take photos when I'm on my bicycle, but there's no safe way to do it on a motorcycle. I'd love to show you how cool it looks with motorcycle stretching out as far as the eye can see both in front and behind. I'm sure it sounds pretty awesome, too, but all I can hear is my own bike.

I was a little concerned when we first left home. It's been MONTHS since I've been on my bike, and I didn't know how confident I would feel on the bike. It all came back to me, however, and it was a very pleasant ride. I'm glad Hubby and I got to do it together.

Now tomorrow I really need to get back on my OTHER bike before I forget how to ride that one.

Police Blotter Blogger Fodder Part 7.......

It's been a while since I posted any of the scintillating events from one of our town's newspapers, and since I had my own close-up and personal encounter with one of our city's finest today, I thought it appropriate for tonight's blog topic.

Here are some recent .... uh .... crimes? .... reported in our town.

• Missing adult on June 9. A resident told police that his adult daughter had been missing since the previous day. The female was located at Wal-Mart in [a nearby town]. Shouldn't they always check Wal-Mart first?
• A woman reported a missing friend whom she had not spoken with since late June 7. An officer checked with the ______ County Detention Center and was informed that the woman's friend was incarcerated there.  If she's not at the Wal-Mart, she may just be locked up.
• A man told police he has found his back door open on several occasions and he was missing two ballpoint pens and approximately $3 in change. Raise your hand if you would notice two ballpoint pens missing from your house. And $3 in change.
• An office [sic] reported he found two bicycles on vacant property. So I should call the po-po when the neighbors' kids leave their bikes in our yard?
• A man told police his tan and orange bicycle was stolen between 7:30 and 8:30 PM. Check the vacant property in your area.
• Deceased person on June 11. There they go again, trying to arrest the dead.
• An officer responded to a harassment report and found a man sitting on the front porch who told him that his father's friend touched him inappropriately. When the officer talked with the man in question, he told the officer that the complainant was crazy. I'm not making fun of this situation, but surely this wasn't the end of the story?
• Dispatch was advised that a man was last seen in the area near the railroad tracks taking pictures and video of the trains going by. A police officer spotted the man taking pictures of the passing trains. The officer reported that the male identified himself as a student at Georgia Tech who was taking pictures because he likes trains. [I wonder if anyone has ever told this dude that is NOT the kind of engineering they teach at Georgia Tech? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha]  Dispatched [sic] advised that the FBI and CSX Corporation both told the man not to be on CSX property. The officer reported that the man was standing about 5-10 feet from the train tracks. He was issued a citation for criminal trespass, city violation and told not to be within 25 feet of the trains. Hubby and I are convinced this is the officer we had the **cough cough** pleasure of speaking to today. 
• A man reported that he had received a letter directed to his attention, but directed toward an employee of the SSA in ______. The letter referred to Hell, a "nuke," an "A-bomb," and "F-bomb" causing a "big bang." The reporting officer gathered the evidence from the man, which included an envelope with a return address on it, and turned the items over to investigations. I don't know what's sadder: the fact that the writer thinks an "F-bomb" belongs with all those other incendiary devices, or the fact that he put a return address on a letter containing terroristic threats.

And now the story that did NOT appear in today's police blotter because it missed the deadline. I'm sure it will be in there next week.

• Two middle-aged motorcyclists, one a retired Pepsi salesman and the other a teacher only one year away from retirement herself, were stopped today by a city policeman after they were spotted .... gasp .... riding side by side in the same lane for a distance of a quarter of a mile. After telling the couple that it is against the law to ride motorcycles in tandem due to safety issues NO FEWER THAN FOUR TIMES, the officer magnanimously stated he was not going to give them tickets for their flagrant violation of traffic laws. The citizens of our county can sleep better tonight.

Let me go on record here by saying that I am NOT one of those people who criticize the po-po for everything. My own niece is a law enforcement officer, and Hubby's former brother-in-law is also our former sheriff. I respect everything they do, and I appreciate their efforts to keep us safe.

Sarcasm aside, I also (reluctantly) acknowledge(d) that I was wrong. As soon as the cop said what the problem was, I immediately said, "My fault. I rode up next to him." He kept on and on, repeating the safety issue over and over again, even providing a detailed scenario of me being in the inside lane (I was) and having to dodge a car, and veering into Hubby, and the only place Hubby would have to go would be the ditch. (The officer was apparently unconcerned as to my outcome with the veering-out-of-lane, oncoming car.)

We. Get. It.

I said three times, "I know, it was my fault." That's in addition to Hubby saying, "That's your fault." I didn't even mind him saying that, because it was true. I refrained from telling the officer, "It's the only time I've EVER been able to catch him."

Here's the other part of the whole incident that irked me: The cop ignored me completely and talked solely to Hubby. Even with me saying three times that it was my fault. It was CLEARLY my error, since I was the rider who rode up next to the other one. I was next to the double yellow and (had been) behind Hubby. Even worse, I rode up next to Hubby because I wasn't paying attention. Not paying attention on a motorcycle is dangerous, to say the least.

But he kept talking only to Hubby, and he talked to him like he might be slightly retarded. Hubby's theory is that the cop WANTED Hubby to smart off to him. I was the one having to bite my tongue.

I had never been stopped on my motorcycle before. I can't believe I neglected to put THAT on my 50 Things to Do List.

You're Welcome, Florida......

I guess everyone in the free world has heard by now that yesterday was an historic day. There was snow on the ground in 49 out of 50 states, and if I heard correctly, that has never happened before. Come on, Hawai'i, get with the program! Don't you have any mountains with a scattering of snow on top?

I don't know how Florida feels about having snow on the ground, but they can thank/blame me.

Last May, Weesa and I went on a motorcycle ride to benefit the American Diabetes Association. Hubby is diabetic, and it was a motorcycle ride. Nuff said. Anyway, they had a silent auction, and one of the items was a certificate for two nights in a two-bedroom condo on the Gulf Coast. The minimum bid was $300, so I wrote my name on the first blank. I checked to make sure it was the Gulf of Mexico and not the Persian Gulf, because I was pretty sure I couldn't afford the airfare. The Gulf of Mexico, however, is just around a 7-hour drive, completely doable.

"What a bargain!" I exclaimed to Weesa.

"I'll split it with you and we can all go together," she said. This was becoming a better and better bargain. Now I was down to $75 per night for a condo ON THE BEACH!

Then I called to schedule our little mini-vacation. I like to plan really far in advance.

I found out you weren't allowed to schedule the condo more than 30 days in advance.

And the coupon wasn't good during "high" season. In Florida, that's most of the year.

It also wasn't good during Spring Break. That's the rest of the year.

Except for February.

Okay, that's not true. We could have used it starting in October. But Hubby was still working at the time, and he had to work on Sundays. I have to work on Fridays, and I'm guessing the resort folks would insist on our two nights being consecutive. So weekends were pretty much out.

Then Hubby retired at the beginning of the year, and I knew we had this long weekend coming up, with Presidents' Day on Monday. Therefore I called and talked to a VERY nice woman who scheduled our trip for this weekend. Everything was set.

Only Weesa and Sullen Teenager couldn't go. Something about work and a church trip. Bah. Then we asked another couple, a man and his wife with whom we've been on a number of golf and/or gambling trips. Since the condo was already paid for, we told them if they would drive and pay for the gas, we'd be even. Everything was set. For real this time.

And then it snowed. From here to Florida. It MAY have been okay to travel this morning, and it MAY have been decent enough weather in Panama City to enjoy the mini-vacation, and we MAY have had a wonderful time.

At least I can consider it a donation to the ADA. The only decent thing for them to do now is find a cure for Hubby's diabetes.