RickkciR

Fallen Bikers Prayer It hurts so bad, to say goodbyes Pain is felt, with tear filled eyes The news we dread,want not and fear Suddenly reality, becomes crystal clear Knowing the risk, and chances we take We start up our motors, the trip we do take With freedom, and passion, the wind in your hair You may not have made it, but I'll meet you there I'm not sure when, but I'll see you my friend Making sure that your journey, never will end Ridding beside you, our spirits let free All of us bikers, together we'll be !  Attended a funeral today for one of our local Brothers here.  Known Joey for upwards of 9 years.  He'd done a lot of work on my Road Glide.  Most of the work on my Bobber.  Hard working dude.  I've known his Dad just as long.  Earlier this week an old lady pulled out on him and killed him. She didn't' even know she did it.. was driving away.  How does someone not know?  Well, at 92 I'm guessing she shouldn't have been behi...

For the past three years, we've ventured up to Colorado for our "Nationals" event.  First 2 were just north of Durango at the Iron Horse Inn.  Last year's was 25 miles further north at the Purgatory resort.  We'd all talked about the location changing every few years, so this time it was put up to a vote. Three locations were put up for vote.   Myself and others pushed for one of those options to be the Hill Country here in Texas.   Voting has been going on internally within the IIRA Forum and closed last night. Lets just say I have a smile on my face.  As voting progressed, it became obvious to me that Texas was a major player/option for next year.  Preliminary checking though brought up an 'oh shit ' moment.   It's easy to just go grab a shit hole motel , get a $50-$75 rate, and say .. 'there you go!'.. but...  there is more to it than that. Location, location, location first of all.  Then, a shit load of rooms ne...

Funny thing.  I'm not a fan of these 'parade' rides.  I've spoken up about these time and time again after being in one back in '16.  Hell, I'm not a fan of large group rides, riding with hundreds or thousands of folks you don't know.  And yet, when you pull into the parking lot for 'The Ride' .. there's a tension .. an excitement  .. in the air.  It's no longer just you and your buddies or small group.  You're suddenly in this huge group, about to take over the highways .. and .. feels good! Back in '16 my bitch was simple.  I'd realized the Guinness ride I was involved in was a Parade, not a Ride.  What's the difference?  Well in this case ....   it's a short route ..say . 2.5-4 miles long .. that allows you to get a specific number of bikes out .. and back ... for the sole purpose of being .. counted.  Now, it's more than that of course, but that's' the bottom line.  I've got some opinions on that I...

Guinness World Record bike ride(s).  Interesting..  -I did one back '16. It was okay. I participated ..... 'just because' -Last year same group, same ride; I didn't participate. They barely up'd the previous. -Few weeks ago, Racine attempted the same one, but rain and drama ( from two previous rides/events) didn't help. Fell short of enough bikes -IRIP talked about doing one last year to best it ... then decided it was too much effort to go for it This weekend I participate in an HD version ... weather looks iffy and may cause an issue ... but it's on track for now to best the previous one from 8 years ago. Should be interesting. I've heard Racine may give it another go in '19. Should be interesting. They put together a great Rally overall.  Here we go! To me .. it's not the ride itself, but the good times that surround it. Racine was a huge success in that area. Now.. . .. what is prompting this post... he...

For those that ride, many set up a vest ..a "Cut" ... to show their pride and possibly, allegiances?  You know.. what brand one rides, what type of bike ... or a group or MC they may belong to.  Some are just into the 'swag' .. you know... a crazy amount of patches covering the entire vest making it look like one's grandma quilted it.  Or, covered with so many pins that it's a scary one to walk next to a strong magnet.   But what I'm referring to is .. ... the main back patch.  The one that ties one to a specific group. Over the last decade, I've joined more than my share of groups for various reasons. Hell, I belong to the VFW, American Legion and NRA as well; lifetime member of each.   But in the motorcycle world, it tends to be MC (motorcycle club), generic riding group, or brand related riding group's patches that end up on the vest.  Me personally, my heart is tugged by two entities.  First is the Iron Indian Riders Association wh...

I've mentioned before, I started this Blog approximately a decade ago.  It spans events that are trivial.  Some are important.  Some about death of friends and/or family.  Some about the good times I've spent with friends.  Often I discuss things that are important to me on a given day.. that seem trivial to me weeks or months later.  I've even blog'd about situations...issues.. that have hit a nerve with many.  Whats interesting though is when you take a quick glimpse.. snapshot... into 'traffic'.  You realize what is 'important' to others.   Funny thing happened the other day.  For the umpteenth time I got a threatening message. Sometimes people, think you're writing about them.  But, I'm writing about me.  How things have affected my life.  Sometimes, how they affect many other's lives.   And the stats... give you a perspective into that.  I don't have a 'web counter' that shows hits.  But, I ...

Heard it was a great one! Man....  I wanted to go, for a variety of reasons.   People I've met over the last 1/2 decade were rolling in.  It was timed to co-exist with HD's 115th Anniversary and festivities.   This dealership is one of the more upscale ones; Large Showroom floor, Restaurant upstairs with a full bar and from what everyone says, treated the customers well. Problem is ... they kicked it off wrong.  With the failure of the MN annual event that preceded it for a few years, they ran with an opportunity to do a good thing and for no better words... .stumbled.  It's got to be a tough one, doing something like this over Labor day weekend (folks have other plans?) , same weekend as the Davenport IA show ( they lost a few folks that would have attended), but in my opinion out the gate.... they tied themselves verbally to the previous entity that failed.   Dozens if not hundreds of riders stepped back not wanting to be tied to i...

For over a decade, Iron Indian Riders descended upon Branson for an annual get together.  I myself didn't start going until 2011.. missed two years, then ... attended in '14 and '15.   I'd found a new rally to attend and made some new friends as well as connected the 'virtual' dots between names and faces within the IIRA.  This was now on my calendar for the future.  Then, it all came to a screeching halt.  Around '14 and '15 we had a ..... situation.  That situation had a few folks leave and and head a different direction (see ya!).   History would show  '15 as being the last time we attended as an organization, and then looking for a different location other than Branson which had also gotten 'old' for many, year after year attending. In '16 we'd see two things happen.  The IIRA would now 'officially' have their own annual event now referred to as the 'Reunion' and some folks closer to Branson created a regional ev...