Boy, it was surely nice to have a 5 week time off since the last ride.  The only thing bad about the timing was we had the time off in Alabama...in August...UGH.  Karen, Barb, and I spent three weeks there and the temperatures didn't get below 100 during the day...and the mid 90s in Alabama is unbearable with humidity in the 4000% range.  But we did get to see the grandkids and Karen and I rode almost everyday...from daylight to 8:30 to beat the heat of the day.  Really enjoyed riding the tandem on the Saturday club rides while we were home. 

We left Alabama on the 27th of August...we just couldn't stand the heat anymore and we were supposed to stop for a day or so in Sun Valley to see Ted and Candice Witt, ABB alumni and good friends from rides past.  But as all good plans sometimes go awry, Ted called me a day out and said they were evacuating his area due to forest fires that were bearing down on his area.  Now our concerns were of them and their safety rather than a day of golf and sightseeing.  As it turned out, we stopped for a couple of days in Boise.  We were able to do some route changes into town and do a little sightseeing that we never get to do while we are there on a ride.  We also got to see an old friend from the Air Force who has retired up there.  We just have someone in every port.

We finally arrived in Oregon to stay at Karen's for a couple days before the ride started...great riding and beautiful riding to relax before the West Ride started.  But now the party's over and the guests were arriving on Saturday the 8th. 

We've met some characters already and are looking forward to a great ride with a few laughs.  There are several returning riders (13 out of 19 full time riders) that always makes the rides enjoyable for us...seeing old friends again.  They all think this is a downhill ride...well, it does have over 75,000 feet of descending, but unfortunately there's 74, 820 feet of ascending to get to it.  But never despair, there's plenty of beautiful scenery to take everyone's mind off the climbing. 

 It was great meeting the new people and seeing the returnees again.  Dinner time was a rousing social while waiting for our meal.  I think this is going to be a great group.  I'm anxious to get started...tune in tomorrow and kick us off.  See you then.  M