Saturday, July 18th...The biker games!

I first woke up that morning and thought, "that's interesting, the band's still playing!" It was about 5:45 am at this time. I'd had a whole 4 1/2 hours of sleep (wouldn't have had any had I not had my ear plugs!) and I was ready for another day! No one was up in the camp at this time so I thought I would light up my little camp stove and make a coffee in my little one-cupper.. Forget it! I couldn't get the darned thing to light and gave up trying after about 20 minutes. My horrid camp stove experience was saved the the camp waking up and putting on the 20 cup perk.The day before I had bought "bribery muffins" for breakfast for my saviours. I figured that it was the least I could do to thank them for being such great hosts. It didn't take long for them to disappear either (the muffins, not the hosts!)

After a lovely coffee, I wandered over to see if anyone was awake at Bee and Bry's camp and there was! They also had some blessed coffee on and even wanted to share too! After visiting for a while I decided to go and jump in the creek again to cool off as the temperature was rising quickly! It was a little chilly when I got up in the morning and had started in sweatpants, but within the hour it had to be up to 24 degrees and I was ready for shorts! I was planning on spending the afternoon in camp so I had great reserve and cracked my first beer at noon...

By the time I wandered back, Jenn, Len, Ed, Sue, and Bill had woken up and were having a coffee with Bee and Bry. Seating was becoming a rare commodity and we were playing musical chairs for the afternoon. Jenn wanted to touch Len, but Ed kept getting in the way!

Watching the biker games was a HOOT! I'd never seen them before and everyone kept saying, "You can do that!" to me and I think that next year I'm going to enter them! It looks like WAY too much fun!

The first game involved picking up a potato from the cone and dropping it in the bucket then going over two see saws.

The second game was rolling a keg in front of the bike while keeping it in control, but the weenier competition was one of my favourites of the night! As you can see, the pillion had to chomp on a hot dog while balancing and not using her hands! Only one crash happened and the one that took the biggest bite won! After this, Bee, myself, and Sue went to go and get some dinner. I LOVED my perogy and sausage dinner that I had! I figured for 10 bucks it was worth not having to cook in the 34 degree heat!

I think next year I'll get Sue to do this one as she really wanted to do it this year...

This is the potato game where bikes have girls on the back that dive into a stack of hay to find a potato. Lots of wrestling seems to happen during this game! I guess some eyes get poked out and some fists get swung, but I missed it this year

And of course there has to be a burnout competition! This was the second guy that got the people running! The smoke was so thick and the smell of burning rubber is not one of my favourites!

Soon after this the bands started. I was REALLY looking forward to the HOT BUNS contest that evening and kept yelling, "BRING ON THE HOT BUNS!!!!!" By this time I had about 11 beer and was having a great time! I had to get through the wet t-shirt contest first before getting to see the buns. It sure brought me back to the days when Pete worked as the bartender in the strip bar (which BTW may be where the two guys knew me from...)

So, the hot buns competition begins and there is one ADONIS of a man up there that was just a pleasure to look at. Before the good stuff begins, some A-HOLE in the crowd decides that he's going to throw a beer bottle up on stage and ends up whacking the announcer on the head who then requires a whole lot of attendants, and an ambulance pick up later. The girls in the crowd were disgusted with the entire thing and I decided to call it a night, disapointed that I didn't get to see Adonis' butt! Meanwhile they were trying to figure out who did it. I sure wouldn't want to be the guy responsible for that!

So after borrowing Bill's flashlight (again...) I settled in for the night after organizing my stuff in the tent a bit and sticking in my earplugs again. I think between the 12 beer and the heat of the day, I fell asleep in about 10 seconds!

Friday, July 17th...The first night of the party

Who said you had to sit on your motorcycle seat? Not these guys obviously! The evening started with a stellar bike jumping display by two very brave young gentlemen. You have to be young to do this stuff as I'm pushing 40 and look at it and think, "YOU"RE CRAZY!"

It sure makes those mountain twisties look lame!


After these brave souls entertained us for about half an hour, I cracked another beer (probably about my 5th for the day) and settled down to visit a bit more with Bee, Brian, Jenn, and Len, Bill, and everyone else who wandered along to say hello. I'm thinking that next year I have to be up on the grounds to take in the entire experience and I'm going to drag my sis along!

The band began to play and they were good. The music was alright but not my genre. Had I been about 10 years older I would have probably enjoyed it a bit more. I kept waiting for more upbeat tunes. I guess the last band of the night was the one that I was waiting for, but I had long since gone to bed before they started. That was at 1am!

I learned that night that there are some things that are extremely important to enjoy your weekend. The first thing is a cooler full of beer and the second is EARPLUGS! I guess the third would be a swimsuit to jump into the creek with!

Friday, July 17th...good morning

Friday morning began with a need for sustenance. Marianne was kind enough to have some coffee on so I stayed and chatted for a while then I headed up to the grounds to hunt down some breakfast and to meet up with Jenn and Len. I got the pleasure of meeting Bee and Bryan who were wonderful hosts.

I wandered over to Mom's to get a sausage and egger and was pleasently surprised at how little the cost was and thought that I might as well eat at the vendors rather than buy groceries and try and make myself something to eat every day.

I was of course on holidays, so I had to buy myself a "little something" or 3 and I had to get a "suck up" gift for hubby. I got some great choices as the vendors were just opening up and were fully stocked (and they took visa..)

Ed and I went out for a bit of a ride to Vernon and back and things started to get a little busier in the afternoon.

By the time we got back from our ride it was 34 degrees again and I HAD to get down to the creek to cool off or I was going to melt!

It was a LOVELY dip although I was so hot that the water felt ice cold getting in! I was unprepared for this and didn't have a bathing suit, but shorts and a tank top did just fine! I walked back to camp which was about 10 minutes away and couldn't believe that my hair was dry by the time I got there. It usually takes 8 hours to dry! I was really looking forward to the party in the evening. After I got back from the creek I left my bike parked and decided that it was time for a beer (or 12 as it turned out...), but that's another story!

The evening of July 16

Myself, Rusty and Pepsi (the worlds' worst little hooligans...har..har..not!), Keith and Marianne, Dan, Bill, Karen, Arlene Chris, Scott, Scott, Heidi and Jim, and Ed and Sue were all hanging around the "campfire" yacking away for the evening. I was greatful that Keith and Marianne saved us some camping spaces which ended up being in one of the best spots, right on the corner not too far from the grounds or the creek, although that didn't save me from getting blisters where my sandals rubbed on my heels, but that's another story...

I found out that night that I brought WAY too much stuff with me, now I'll know for next time as Keith and Marianne not only set up camp, but they had brought a complete camp kitchen with them as well! I was very impressed!

So although there were no campfires allowed, Keith had a snazzy propane fired one with briquettes and everything in it so it was great to sit around and tell horror stories. They don't call it the "geritol section" for nothing. I swear I saw an entire pharmacy come out that night as everyone had to take an assorted pill for something or other...quite amusing...

I think I headed to bed somewhere around 10pm. I was pretty pooped from riding all day but couldn't wait to discover what was waiting up at the grounds the next day! I had to borrow Bill's flashlight so I could find my flashlight (I know....) and my ear plugs. I had a feeling that between the bikes going by all night and the general chatting going on that I would need them.

Thursday, July 16th

What a great day!

Ed, Sue, Bill, and I all headed out to the ferry at 5:30am. Len and Jenn weren't too far behind, getting into the lineup about 10 minutes after we did. It sure is different being at the front of the line with no waits. It's a real treat.
So after learning about parking on the ferry everyone proceeds to book it upstairs to the buffet while I stay behind and yack for a few minutes.

After I find out where everyone is, I wait in line to get something to eat, and wait, and wait. I don't think the line moved for 20 minutes. I met a nice lady and her kids that were travelling back to Edmonton and was joking as another walked by with a coffee, "She has coffee! Get her!" The lady laughed and said, "If I was waiting for coffee I could go to the front and get it and that I only had to wait in line for food". DUH! Off I go to get a coffee and meet everyone who have been sitting down and have already eaten. I think they were wondering if I fell off the ferry. I'll now know for next time. I haven't been on a ferry for 4 years...

Finally we get to the other side and disembark into the great blue yonder.

The roads were spectacular! The scenery was breathtaking. We stopped by a rest stop around Hope and wondered if my tank had an eternal gas spring as I was at 205 kms and hadn't even hit my reserve. As we were stopped I looked around at the mountains and thought that they confirm that I'm only here for mere moments so I'd better make the best of it!

We stopped off at the log cabin pub in Spences Bridge or also called "the middle of butt-f**k nowhere" but it was really cool inside. They had an old harley on display as well as some other interesting articles. The beer sure tasted good as the temperature outside must have been nearing 30 degrees, but you won't hear me complaining! The burger I had was really tasty too!

After riding for about 12 hours we arrived at our destination...THE STOMP! I learned a couple of things here...

1. It's interesting trying to park your bike on uneven ground

2. That piece of metal that I brought with me sure came in handy, and

3. Setting up my tent at home was MUCH easier! Murphy's law...

Wednesday, July 15, 7pm

I left the house after putting the kids to bed and made it to Ed and Sue's place wihout much trouble. Have an early wake up to leave at 5:30am to catch the 6:20 am ferry.

Salmon Arm here I come!

I have successfully tested setting up my tent, I have tried lighting my little stove, I have packed my bike and I am READY to GO to Salmon Arm for the weekend!

This is going to be a lot of "firsts" for me. It'll be my first time on the ferry from Nanaimo, first time on the ferry with my bike, first time through the mountains, first time camping without family, and first ever biker party. This should be FUN!

I'm going to tuck the kids in and then head up to Nanaimo to Ed and Sue's place for the night then we are leaving at the lovely hour of 5:30 tomorrow morning to catch the first ferry off the island. I will update my blog on Monday or Tuesday!

:)

Canada Day Ride 2!

What a fun day that was! It's always a good day when you go for a ride and lunch with good friends! Last year there were 6 riders in town here and this year there were 16 riders. Last year it was a ride where the ladies came to meet me and it was my first group ride. This year, we took the kids and it was their first group ride! They LOVED it and did a great job being good little riders! Everyone was really good with the kids and it was nice to see Jenn's girl Kaylee out for a bit of the ride as well. It was Peter's first ride with my group of friends and I joked that he was our fighter pilot escort for the day. By the time we got to Sidney he wasn't the odd man out anymore as Mark was there with his Spyder and Bear was there with his tryke. Can't wait for next year's ride!