Pre Run Run

Tonight, before tomorrows run up to Eatonville and beyond.  My Brother T and I made a quick run through the portion of the Dice Run course I hadnt followed already last weekend.  We stopped at the Pour House in Eatonville, then headed out to Highway 7, and up through the La Grande Canyon back to Elbe.  We stopped at the Elbe Bar & Grill, and walked out back to the beer garden.  There, we ran into someone from both of our pasts.  The son of a major player in ABATE of Washington State up until his untimely death in the late 80's.

It is so strange, to see someone you knew 30 plus years ago, and your last memory is of someone with dark hair.  To see them with grey, almost white hair and moustache is something of a shock.

We had a nice visit, and then Tony and his Ol Lady rode with us up to Mineral to T's house.  Which turned into a blessing in disguise.  Tony's bike lost his oil drain plug along the way, and we had to try to figure out a fix for that on a late Saturday evening in the boondocks.  Then T didn't make it home...and I had to go look for him along the 3 block path home.

It seems since he was only 3 blocks from home, he didnt cinch down his helmet and it blew off his head.  As he tried to catch it, he lost his grip on the handlebars, and his bike turned off the road and into the brush.  Which is where I found him.  Sitting next to his bike trying to figure out what happened.  His helmet about 100 feet behind him in the road.

Alls well that ends well.  We scrounged up a bolt to plug Tony's drain hose.  T's bike was unhurt, and he rode it home after it took three people to pull her out of the ditch.  But hey, shit happens, and we all have to deal with it when it does.

I got a phone call from Tony a few minutes ago, saying they made it home safe after buying some more oil in Eatonville.  T was all set and ready to ride in the
Dice Run tomorrow.  So all in all, it was a good night. Strange to run into someone from our distant past, and take up right where things left off, but I have a feeling most of you have experienced that before.

I'll take it as a good omen.

Catch you on the road sometime...