Motorcycle Moonlight Run

On Saturday, June 10th, the Mountain Shadow Riders (MSR), which is a chapter of Women on Wheels, decided to have our monthly chapter meeting in the evening this month. Getting ready for the ride I had to switch out my dark shield for my clear shield on my helmet and wear sunglasses for the first part of the ride. Then I had to do my gear check for cell phone, money, camera, brain, etc. Once we had all geared up, my husband, son (age 11) and I left our house at 5pm. My son is riding on the back of my husband's Honda Nighthawk. First stop was to top off our gas tanks. Then we met the rest of the group behind Perkins Restaurant on Constitution Ave (not far from Powers Blvd). So much of what we do involves, of course, the motorcycles AND food, lol.

Here we are (above), lining up and getting caught up on what the others have been doing. Most of us haven't seen each other since the last chapter meeting. This is a great group of ladies. I found this group through their website when I was doing a search for a purple women's motorcycle jacket. I never found a purple jacket (including armor, if you ever find one please let me know), but I found something much much better!!!

While this is a women's motorcycle group, our husbands, men friends, & significant other's (and even our kids) can be support members and are always welcome to all the functions. We, my husband & I, enjoy every function we attend. They are an extension of our family.

It's hard to tell in the above photo, but we had many people show up for this ride. It was an awesome sight to see all those bikes lined up getting ready to ride out.

Here's a photo of a few a few of the members. We have (Rt to Lt) Paul S., Kelly S., Lee, my husband Bill hiding, and Christine F. (of Christine's Corner - link on my sidebar). Don't you just love Paul's helmet? It's behind him.

Here we are getting instructions on the route, how to drive and stay in formation and hand signals.

Here is our fearless leader for the ride, Christine E. She is showing the hand signals. Christine E. chose the route and then led us. She did an awesome job!!! At 5:30pm we headed out with Christine E. in the lead. She heads us out of town and into the countryside. We are quite a sight to behold. I should have counted, but there was about 20 or so motorcycles of all makes and models.

Along the way we even had an occasional car from the opposite direction honking their horns in "hi." We get into the farmlands and I'm afraid we scared a few cows & horses. The country roads were in pretty good condition. We had to dodge just a few potholes. At one point one of the roads got really bumpy. We were bouncing around for a good many miles. If I had false teeth, I think they would have rattled right out of my mouth (*chuckle*).

It took us about 30-45 minutes of driving to get to our destination. Our stop was Tao Pacific Grill in Calhan. This restaurant is on Hwy 24. There were a few patrons there when we arrived. We were such a large group that we kind of dwarfed them, but no one seemed to mind. We got a lot of curious looks. I don't know if he was the owner or manager, but he (sorry I didn't get his name) and the waitress did an outstanding job handling such a large crowd. If you live close, myself and others highly recommend this restaurant. They serve chinese food and it is delicious!!! While eating we had our meeting and got a lot done.

Once the meal and meeting was over, it was time to go. It was dusk and I thought it wouldn't get dark by the time we got home. I was wrong. The sunset on the horizon was a sight to behold. The soft glow of red/orange over the mountains was breath-taking and we were facing it all the way back into Colorado Springs. Within 15 minutes into the ride, we were in pitch black and there was a moon.

Now this ride had been planned probably 5 months ago and titled "Full Moon Ride." We actually had a full moon!!! The sky was clear and, I kid you not, you could actually see the Man on the Moon's face!! It was a beautiful, crystal clear night with a few white clouds outlined in the moonglow. We got home full from a wonderful meal, satisfied by a great ride and fortified by the camaraderie of the friends we have made in this group. Thank you to all.

Wishing you Wonderful Journeys in Your Part of the World,

Betty :)