What a great event. I'll go ahead and give you some of my highlights in this post.
The real joy of any event like this is meet the people and building relationships. I have a few new friends now that I didn't have when I first started this trip and I got to spend some time with some old friends.
It was really cool to be able to take pics and videos along the way and upload them from the phone as we traveled. I had a good strong at&t signal the whole way on 40. :doorag:
I spent most of my time in the parking garage meeting members and working on Spyders. I had a wild hair about a shirt idea while I was there and had Mark at CAT make them up for me. I had 50 made up and they went like hot cakes but you can still order them through the store.
http://www.catspecialties.com/Spyder-Rock-Star-T-Shirt-P3167C314.aspx
I did the Jay Leno garage thing and that was just too cool. They didn't let us take videos or pictures so that was a drag but it was great to see what my shop would look like if I had Jay's money. :2thumbs:
After we got back I got involved with a SE that had some issues and got to work along side of the head tech guy "Kurt" from BRP. To me that was better than seeing Jay Leno in the parking lot of Bob's Big Boy. Seeing I never made it out of the garage till 12:30am it was a good thing I like that kind of stuff. :doorag:
The next day was outstanding. We had a great breakfast at the Hard Rock cafe and I got to spend some quality time with Fred Rau. This was another highlight for me to sit and chat with one of the most well respected writes in the motorcycle world. Fred and I are talking about doing some things in the future together on the website. :doorag:
After that we did the awards thing and had a nice little pep talk from all the BRP guys. They really did a great job on this event and appreciated our being there for it.
The movie was great. The Spyders didn't have a lead roll but it was still very cool to see them.:doorag:
From there we were lead on a ride with the West coast Spyder guys and that was a great ride too. Some of us got a little lost but we did make our way back to the picnic area.
Once again BRP put on a great feast for us and we had a chance to sit and reflect on the great time we just had. Like I said a lot of new friends were made and a great time was had by all.
Sunday I headed out late and took the long way back to San Diego. I went by way of the Ortega Highway through Lake Elsinore and then up to Palomar Mt. From there I went to Julian for some apple pie and then back down to El Cajon.
Oh and I dodged a major bullet on the way back from Julian. I got stuck behind a motor home and the guy would slow down to a crawl on the hills and then speed up on the only places I could pass. I got frustrated and passed him crossing a double yellow line. As soon as I was coming back into my lane a CHP was heading the other way. It couldn't have been worst timing.:yikes:
I knew I was toast so I just slowed down and waited for him to turn around and red light me. Sure enough he did and I pulled over and we went through the routine. I told him I knew I was wrong when I did it and I just let my frustration get the best of me. After a few words he decided to let me off with a warning. You see he drives a Wing and was looking at the Spyders for his wife. I am very thankful he let me go and I was a good boy the rest of the way home.
I don't expect to post much more but I will say it was well worth the 2300 mile ride one way for a burger and a movie. The people I got to hang with was the best part for me and making the drive on the Spyder was just icing on the cake.