GeorgiaPeach and SonOfGeorgiaPeach enjoying their morning cocoa.


L-R: PlaneDr, STrider, me.


My steed for the weekend thanks to Mrs STrider, who wasn't able to join us. Honda XR250R. Tall enough that I don't feel like my knees are up by my chin like some of the smaller bikes, but not too much power for a newbie.


STrider gives me the abridged version of the kickstart routine.


Max came along, of course.


He didn't come out on the trails with me because he didn't want to get dirty. Good thing he stayed back - I went rear end-first into a mud puddle with at least three people behind me to witness the entertainment...

...and then to clear the flooded motor and get it started again :giveup:

Hanging out and having a good time.


We'd form up groups haphazardly and head out to nowhere. I was so confused, I stopped trying to figure out where I was or where I was going and instead just followed the person in front of me.

Thing is, I was unaware of the possibility that the person in front of me might pick a difficult section or path at a split that I should avoid....

...and so it was that I went up onto the "dirt hiccup" :lol2: in the middle of the field, I rolled over the first bump and caught air on the second. As I defeated gravity, I knew in my head that "this can't be good". I never thought to ask about body position during a jump (I had no plans to try to jump anything), so I stayed put over the tank and came down on the front tire. STrider might be able to fill y'all in more, but all I know is I landed on the ground on my right, knee first, then shoulder, then head. Ouch.

I quickly wiggled all my fingers and toes and knew I was Ok, but it hurt. Irondawg came and stood over me and asked what hurt.

My knee
Which one?
[I tapped my right leg with my hand]
On the inside or the outside?
huh? inside meaning bones and outside meaning skin or inside/outside like the sides of my leg?
Just move your leg
[I dragged it across the grass side-to-side]
Ok, just lay there a minute and catch your breath.

I got up, walked around on it, and decided I was Ok. In my nearly three years and 45k miles of riding, I had yet 'till this day landed on the ground. Apparently I'd stored up crashes somewhere and cashed them all in since I'd found lots of softer places to land than pavement.

Seven times.

Yup. On at least seven occasions (heck, I might even be forgetting some?) my body became one with Mother Earth. Some wet, some dry, some sand, some mud, in the woods, in the field - I really wasn't picky about where I'd crash.

When Vern brought the quads out, Snoopster and I went for a few laps, and traded off driver/passenger. She may never be able to take me on the back of her bike, but after the way she handles that huge machine today I can say she's braver than I am!

As darkness fell, we settled in for dinner that Blue Bomber and Mini Mom brought over from Huntsville. :eat:


They brought over brisket, potato salad, beans, and all the fixins. Beth even baked us a cake and some brownies! :clap:


Thanks to GeoriaPeach's laborous effort, we had a fire going and the chairs just magically appeared from the darkness.

L-R: STrider, Woodsguy, Pokey Mon, Justin, Triumph (the dog), Irondawg (the other dawg), [?], Tourmeister


L-R: Lois (MotherOfTourmeister), Vern (FatherOfTourmeister), Blue Bomber, Snoopster, [?], Mopower

The carnage...