Ummmm, Scones!

The weather has started to turn to Spring and we are having five days of nice sunshine. Saturday was one of those days. Jan has been working hard on costumes for a play (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and was ready for some stress relief. Like they say, you never see a motorcycle at a psychiatrist's office.

This was going to be our first opportunity to take a ride further than in the city, so, we chose to ride down the west side of Utah Lake to Santaquin and back. While in Santaquin, we stopped at a local restaurant called the Family Tree and had dinner, which all come with their famous scones. The scones are the length of a loaf of french bread and delicious.

As long as the weather cooperates - our next planned ride is out to Wendover to see Ronnie Millsap in concert.

Grandkids!!

The weather shows signs of spring every once in while and with it comes the chance to take some shorter rides at least.

One of the things that I've looked forward to is when our older grandkids would be old enough to start taking on rides. Mom and Dad have decided that the two oldest (both boys) are now big enough for some short rides... so, Sunday I took each of them for a ride around the block. Long enough that they could say they went on a ride but short enough to not tire them out or have them get scared. Both had a good time and we'll see if they liked it enough to want to go again in the future.

Mom was able to get this short video clip of the younger of the two:



Someday they'll be big enough to spend the day with Grandpa on a day ride.

My (Her) Not So Little Pony

After looking at bikes for 8 months and with the warm weather threatening to come, it was time to replace Jan's bike. We looked at Kawasaki Vulcans, Yamaha V-Stars, Suzuki Boulevards, Honda Shadows. We looked for both new and used but Jan never found the bike she liked until....

On January 28th, we took our son to the Missionary Training Center to start his LDS mission. After we had said our good-bye's, Jan wasn't in the mood to just go home so I suggested that we stop in at the Lindon Harley Davidson dealership. The dealership was built using much of it materials from the old Geneva Steel plant that was demolished across the street from their new facility. It is ready pretty neat looking to see all of the old wood, trusses and sheet metal and how it was incorporated in to the new building. While we were there we also looked at a number of the bikes and soon she came to the Sportster. Lance, whom we were chatting with as we looked, suggested that she sit on one (not what you normally want to do in a skirt). That was it! She loved the weight, height and especially and narrow profile of the engine and fuel tank.

So, last Saturday, we went back to Timpanogos Harley and purchased a gently used 2008 Harley Sportster Custom. Can you see the smile in the pics?








The bike is 1200 cc, V-Twin, fuel injected, belt driven. It also has a custom paint color that changes depending on the light, windscreen and sissy bar (on order). We plan on adding a JMCB-2300 CB radio so that we can communicate on trips. She says that she doubts she be on the back of my bike much any more.

When we left the dealership, we got on the freeway to go home, Jan on the bike and me in the car. After we got on the on ramp, I looked up to see tail lights at the top of the ramp and me at the bottom. I don't think she'll have any problems keeping up.

TRA Christmas Party

With the colder weather, opportunities to ride are pretty much gone, so, the bike sits in the garage awaiting warmer, drier times.

Being on the road is only part of the enjoyment that comes from, as Audrey says, being an "old man in a motorcycle gang". It's the company.

Last Saturday night we joined with other members of the Temple Riders Association for our Christmas Party at the Gathering Place in Gardner Village. We had a nice meal and got to visit with friends that we sometimes only see on occasion but one of the most enjoyable parts of the night, was the "entertainment". I don't think entertainment is really the best word but it will have to do.

President Calder from the SL Temple presidency, using a guitar for accompanyment, recounted the life and sacrifice of the Savior by quoting scripture and Christmas songs. It was a special, touching experience he shared with us. This is what Christmas is truely all about.

Secondary Shirts

The skull with color looks like the main shirts that will be offered as well as a patch for the participants. We also are planning to offer a second black & white shirt. The most likely artwork for the second shirt looks like the horse with a bike overlayed.

Next Fall - Venturerider Roundup

Next fall the Venturerider.org group is going to hold a rally (roundup) for the members of the group that live in the western part of the US and Canada. The roundup is going to be held in Cody, Wyoming, home of the Buffalo Bill Cody museum.

Jan and I are working on the commitee and will be in charge of ordering and distributing the t-shirts for the event. Jan has a really good contact to have the shirts silkscreened from her days ordering this type stuff for the school she worked at. The design is most likely:


Cody will provide good access to Yellowstone Nat'l Park, Beartooth Pass, Chief Joseph Senic Highway and other fun places to ride.

The first day of the roundup is our 30th anniversary - how do buffalo burgers sound for dinner?

Youth Fire Side

Sunday was a balmy 39 degrees in our area, we even had some snow fall. Monday cleared up and the temp came up a little to the mid 40s. I tell you this, just so you can get a mental picture of want was happening in the days just prior to the Tuesday evening youth fireside the TRA was invited to put on for the YM/YW of the Willow Creek 2nd Ward.

Tuesday came, the the temp had made it up to 54 when Jan and I were suppose to leave for the meeting place. We donned the cold weather gear, fired up the bike and headed out. Fifty four degrees really isn't to bad of a temperature, maybe a jacket, sweater or heavy long sleeve shirt, but when you jump on a motorcycle and go down the freeway, it can be down right cold.

We all met at the Rite-Aid a block away from the church house. Given the temperature and the oppotunity many had to go see Michael McLean's "The Ark" on the same night, I thought that participation would be on the light side. Twenty plus bikes showed up, including at least three from the Ogden area.

A little after 7:00 the YM/YW were taken outside to greet us as we rode up and parked. The youth (and the leaders) milled around the bikes for a little bit and some of them took the opportunity to check out how the seats felt. One YW leader even took a short trip on the back of the trike that was there.

After moving inside, we heard some information on how the TRA started and what it's goals are. Also, we heard of some of the special experiences that members of the group have had and one sister talked about the special challenges that the women have while on a motorcycle (going to the temple and changing from pants and skirts and of course, helmet hair)

The main point of the fireside was to teach the youth about protecting yourself with the "whole armour of God". This was demonstrated by the use of the riding gear used to protect you while riding.

I don't believe I had even heard (or maybe I should say - not heard) the youth so quiet during a fireside.

The TRA has done a few of these fireside but this was the first that we were able to participate in. It was a great experience and I hope that we do many more.