Riding Season Officially Begins

Yesterday was the official riding season opening day. We met at the dealership for a safety inspection on the bike. Gary also signed up for the mileage contest with the local chapter and we also signed up for the mileage with the national HOG.

The safety check consisted of checking to make sure the headlight, turn signals and brake lights work and we had the correct tire pressure and tread. We are fine, but will probably need a new front tire next year. Filled out all the paperwork for the mileage contests.

The national mileage contest is for every 5,000 miles you get a patch and a pin. We need to be verified at the dealership, so you just don't get to put any kind of miles down. Even though I am a passenger, I also get credit for all those miles.

The local chapter mileage contest begins in April and ends in October. The chapter gives out prizes for the winner, 2nd place and average. We also get credit for every 1000 miles we travel. At the end of the year, we will get a ticket for prizes. You get a ticket for every 1000 miles traveled, again as a passenger I get credit for the ticket miles. Gary knows he won't win the actual mileage prizes, he is not retired. There are too many retired guys who can ride all the time. Some of these guys get 20,000 or more miles in the short six months. We would like to get as many tickets for the drawings as we can get.

It took them a couple hours to get the safety checks done, there were 45 bikes total. Off we went to Ballentine for the meeting. During the riding season our meetings are held in bars at the little towns we stop in. We are getting to know where these little treasures are hidden. Also traveling with the group we stay off the interstate and take the two lane roads to our destination.

In Ballentine our meeting was held at the Long Branch Saloon, we sat out on the patio after getting a drink. Had a short meeting, got all the scoop on upcoming events. Gary won one of the door prizes, he won the Harley Davidson bottle opener. It is really nice. After the meeting we rode with the group to Hardin.

We laugh because we had a nice escort home. There were 16 people in total who rode to Hardin. We ate at the 4 Aces Bar, the best chicken in town. Had a great time, the weather was perfect for riding, not too hot and not too cold. Best of all no wind.

Said our goodbyes to our friends and then we went home. We put on officially 100 miles yesterday. Too bad we can't count the 50 miles we put on earlier to get to the dealership. This ride is one of the few times when we get to go home early. We usually have the extra miles to go.

Here is a photo of us at the dealership, waiting for the safety inspection.