Iron Oyster

With the loss of my job at the end of November, it has put a damper on my plan to make a run from Mesa, AZ to Anacortes, WA in September.  Why would I want to make such a run anyway?  Well on the 4th Sunday of every September is the nearly legendary Oyster Run in Anacortes.  It is the biggest bike run in the NW, and brings in about 25-30,000 bikes every year.  Now this is a cool reason to make the ride to Anacortes by itself, but when The Horse Backstreet Choppers magazine announced they wouldn't be doing a Smoke Out in the west anymore, it got me to thinking....

Why not get something going to bring as many of the hardcore riders from the western US up to the NW for Oyster Run?  It sounded like a reasonable idea to me, and it didn't take long to round up a starting point.  Now, before you get the idea this is just going to be a mellow cruise of 1500 miles (or a bit more), let me set the record straight.  This is an every rider for themselves run along a course that wont be set until the day before the start.  This is not a group cruise with stops at all the scenic viewpoints.  This is plain and simple a get on the road and ride sort of thing.  Whether the whole route takes you 24hrs, or 48 is up entirely to you.  The plan is to leave Medusa Cycles in Mesa at Ohdark:30 on the Wednesday before the Oyster Run and be on the road to Anacortes, and get there before Sunday's big shindig.

At least that was the plan...

Right now I have to get my dirty ass back to work.  That has become my top priority right now.  Taking care of the homestead first, and keeping my shit together.  But that doesnt mean I am calling off the Iron Oyster Run.  It just means, for now, that I probably wont be making the week long trip down to Mesa, then turning around and coming back up to Washington.  Who knows, I might win the lottery between now and then, but I doubt it.  So I am going to probably miss the first running of the Iron Oyster.  Which pisses me off, but I am just going to have to deal with it.  I can still at least make the Oyster Run, and work the finish line over the weekend.

The route wont be finalized until a day or two before the start due to having to cross the Cascade mountains, and depending on weather, the pass I want to run the route through can be closed for the winter by late September.  But, for the most part it is laid out.  Spending as much of the route as possible in "free" states where you dont have to wear a damn coconut on your head if you dont want.  It will run north out of Mesa/Phoenix up into Utah, and Idaho before crossing into Washington.  I am working with a couple people on getting trophies for the 1st three riders to make it built.  I was going to have patches made for anyone who completed the route during the run, but might have to hold off due to funding for now.  There is 9 months to get this figured out, and on the road, so I am still hoping it will turn out to become something cool for the riders to want to keep doing. 

See you on the road.