The Torch Ride

Just as I predicted by 6:30 a.m. I was wide awake. It never fails, if I'm riding my subconscious knows and the anticipation makes me wake up very early. One look out the window told me it was going to be a perfect day for riding. I got ready and by 7:00 a.m. I was hitting the road. First order of business was to make sure those tanks had enough gas to last me the whole day, then stop at the bank to get some money for those cool souvenirs that I may find at BikeFest. It wasn't cold at all, all I needed was a tank top and a long sleeve shirt, which if was a smart man would have kept on all day.

I got to Chester's Harley Davidson and already there was a sea of bikes staged and they just didn't seem to stop coming. I staged mine and went to the registration booth to get my packet, which included a magazine, a commemorative event pin, and the very important ticket to go into BikeFest. It also included that night's concert but after a whole day of riding and drinking (I didn't say getting drunk, don't panic) who wanted to go see George "Bad to the Bone" Thorogood play. Obviously thousands did but not me. lol

A sea of bikes is what this fairly big parking lot was. Last year 1900 bikes participated this, this year that mark was clearly passed.

I was amazed and surprised at how well the pre-registration went.
Went back to my bike to put my stuff away and right away I found a friend and coworker of mine. It turned out we were parked almost in the same lane and since I was riding solo I gladly joined him and his friend. It would be almost another hour till the kick stands went up so we caught up on current events while we sipped on some H2O.

Of course I had to check out his awesome ride and capture some images of it, I will share this one with you.

This ride is indeed Bad to the Bone.

When the ride started, the escorts tried taking the riders in groups of 500. Well we all know that wouldn't work so they turned us loose, I am sure there were lots of irate drivers on the road as all our lights were turned to green for us, that only means red for crossing traffic. I am sure the whole group from beginning to end took a long time to pass.

Bellow are some of the bikes I liked. Although truth be told I like them all.

"I'll bury those dirty cockroaches. What did they ever do for us?"
A John Deere trike.
No matter how you cut this. This is a sweet ride. The baby blue and white combo is awesome.
I guess metric bikes have some potential.
I would so like to own a bagger like this one. This one looks like made for Kermit the frog.
This Paul Yaffe original has been around for a while. I still say it looks hot. The style is timeless.

This bike when turned on will attract every body's attention and immediately will be surrounded by people taking pictures of it. Yep, guilty as charged, as I am one of those curious people. What is so special about this bike you may ask? Well you might as well think there's a plane landing as the engine on this bike is a jet turbine. It sounds like a plane and it's loud and you will cite insanity for any soul that dares ride it.

Jet turbine powered bike.
Just look at the size of that exhaust pipe.

Well, I will post a second part to this so I can publish a few more pics. I hope you all enjoyed this ride... I know I did but with reservations, as this is what happens when you think the wind will not burn you.


OUCH!

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The Torch Ride's Eve

So this Saturday I will take my first organized ride since I stopped riding some five years ago. Every time I am going to take a ride like that the anticipation starts mounting way before. Getting the bike ready is a ritual. It has to be washed and shined, then I have to decide what to wear depending on the weather. The ride for me starts very early as I have to ride from Avondale to Mesa, and I usually like to get there at least an hour before kick stands go up. That means jackets and sweaters are required, the problem is that the ride ends at Bike Fest and by the time we get there it will probably be hot.

The problem is BikeFest requires lots of walking, and who wants to be carrying leathers and sweaters for the next two or three hours. I have to figure something out before Saturday.

This is going to be the only escorted ride for Arizona Bike Week. The beauty of this is that we have police escorts that block all traffic so that the long line of bikes (around 2000 are expected) go through the streets. We never stop. Now the ride begins in Mesa and ends in Scottsdale, that is quite a few miles of pleasurable riding.

This particular ride will benefit Special Olympics Arizona! and I will be more than happy to participate. So, hopefully I will be able to capture some images of the event on Saturday. If I do I will be more than happy to share them with you.


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