Lady Luck

  This past weekend we participated in an informal ride called "Ride the Circuit".
The owner of our H.O.G. sponsoring dealership, Mike Davis,  also owns two other dealerships in Ohio, one in Sandusky, and one about an hour South of us in Dover Ohio.

  "Ride the Circuit" was a contest for people to visit (ideally via riding) all three dealerships between when they opened (9:00 AM) and when they closed (5:00 PM).  I told Julie I wanted to do this, since it seemed like fun - AND they were going to have three drawings for $500 Harley Davidson gift cards (one from each visited dealership) PLUS one lucky person was going to win a $1,000 gift card.

  I kept an eye on the weather forecast for Saturday all week, and it was looking pretty grim: cold and wet.  I routinely ride when it is cold, and I will also ride when it is raining if needed, but I really dislike being cold AND wet at the same time.

  Friday night it rained a lot - on waking up early Saturday morning at 6:00 - the rains had gone and weather RADAR was clear.  It was ON!  Our plan was to leave the house at 7:30 for our first dealership visit - which was the furthest one away in Sandusky.   The plan was to arrive just about the time the dealership was opening - so we would have the maximum amount of time available for us to hit the other stops.

  The temperature was barely in the 50s - Julie deferred wearing her heated clothing since the forecast was in the 60s by early morning.  This is a decision she would come to regret...
A half mile from the house - we ran into some sprinkles - so we decided to break out our new HD rain suits and continued on our way.  As luck would have it - that was the only rain we would see the entire trip.   Even after riding out of the rain - we kept the rain suits on for their added insulation from the cold.


  I had skipped breakfast, since the flyer advertising the ride mentioned the dealerships would be serving breakfast.  With my stomach growling the entire way, I was anticipating some pan cakes and sausage like we were served during the lead up to the 'Bikers for Boobs' event a week earlier.

  We rolled into the first dealership a bit behind schedule at 9:15 - and actually met some other folks who were also riding the circuit.  Due to the weather, there was not a great turnout.  That was a shame, since other than the temp - it was a nice ride.

  Other than a few fellow bikers - Mad River HD appeared deserted.  This was not good - I had double checked my email that morning to verify that they had not canceled the ride due to weather.
Peering through the front window - we saw some folks inside - so figured they had opened early just for the riders.  Walking around the building rewarded us with finding a side door that wasn't locked.
This was the service department entrance - which was deserted inside.  Making our way to the front of the building that we had viewed through the window - we saw the other "bikers" were actually store employees holding their morning pre-opening meeting - which we stumbled into the middle of.  Whoops :-)

  Luckily the service manager saw us and she asked if we were riding the circuit - and lead us back to the service department where she gave us the paperwork for the contest.  Just as importantly - she informed us that breakfast was in the nearby break room - a box of donuts.   Not the pancake breakfast I was hoping for - but any port in a storm...

  One nice thing about not having a large turnout and having to wait in line for pancakes - we were out of there fairly quickly, before 10:00.  Since we had afternoon plans - I was hoping to wrap up the ride around 2:00 - and so far, that deadline looked to be very possible.

  Normally, I'd opt for a nice ride down state routes - but since we were on a schedule and it behooved me to get Julie home and warm early as possible - it was time to head back onto the turnpike...
Speaking of warm - a quick detour to a rest area allowed us to nab a mug of hot chocolate - which while incredibly weak - was resplendent with one vital ingredient - HEAT!

  We made it to our second dealership around 11:30 - got our papers stamped and wandered over to where they WERE serving a nice pancake breakfast.  I managed to save two pancakes from being pitched while they were cleaning up - but never did get the sausage links I was craving...

  If nothing else - the food was definitely starting to look up - Box of Donuts at Mad River, and some cold pancakes at Rubber City  :-)  As in most  endeavors - timing is everything...

  After our requisite warmup period elapsed - it was back onto the highway for our last stop of the day - Adventure HD in Dover Ohio...  If you have ever been down I-77 South of Akron, you'll eventually pass alongside Adventure HD.  It is in a really nice location - kinda out in the middle of nowhere - which is a nice break from the insane traffic around Rubber City in the Chapel Hill area.

  As part of the relaxing atmosphere at Adventure, along one side of the dealership are a row of nice rocking chairs where weary riders can sit down and take a load off - and shoot the breeze with fellow enthusiasts...  Mike Davis - the owner of the three dealerships in the circuit - really knows how to cater to his clientele.

  Speaking of catering - after hopping off the bike and tromping inside to get our papers stamped and turned for the drawing on Monday, we were directed to food table where they had a bunch of hotdogs already prepared and waiting to be gobbled.  Food was definitely looking up - warm hotdogs vs cold pancakes (our fault for arriving late) vs a box of donuts. (Disclaimer:  being on a diet, donuts just are not my thing)

  As a thank-you to Julie for accompanying me on this ride - amid temps that never seemed to get past the low 50s, I shooed her towards the apparel section with the instructions 'buy something nice' - while I turned my attention to more mundane tasks in the parts area.  I'm always needing this part or that one for seemingly never ending customizations to our two Harley's.

  Purchases paid for - bladders drained - and it was time for the last leg of our journey - the trek home.
According to the GPS - we were scheduled to be home around 2:15 - giving us plenty of time to get ready to head out again for a cookout at 5:00 later that afternoon.  True to the GPS's word - we arrived home right around 2:15, including a quick dash into a gas station to top off the tank.

  The ride was fun - as fun as a cold ride can be - but I felt that doing the ride using a car would have defeated the spirit of the contest - although how you travelled was never specified in the rules.
The ride was now over  - and would be forgotten about until the gift card recipients were drawn the following Monday...

***

  Fast forward to Monday, I am at work pondering how the organizers were planning on announcing the winners.  I assumed they would be mentioned on Facebook - but I have been avoiding FB as a test of my willpower - and succeeding.  Out of the blue, I get a text from Julie letting me know that she has just been informed that she was selected as the grand prize winner of the $1,000 gift certificate!
Woohoo!  Lady Luck was smiling - and Julie was also :-)

Breast Cancer - doing our part

Wow - has it actually been that long since I created an entry?
Thanks to a now under control Facebook addiction - I hope to have more time for this Blog.

The past two weekends have been pretty busy for us.

Last Sunday (9/16) was the third year in a row our Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) Chapter has sponsored the Akron area "Bikers For Boobs"  Poker run.

In case you are unfamiliar with the term, a poker run is a motorcycle ride with a series of stops.  At each stop, you receive a card.  Depending on the poker run - you may or may not get to keep the card.  (Hundreds of bikers means the organizers have to supply dozens of decks of cards!)

If you don't keep the card - then the organizers tally the card for you on a piece of paper - which you then carry from stop to stop.

You receive 5 cards in all - and whomever has the best hand at the end of the day - wins.

Some poker runs (like BFB) will allow you to buy an additional card in case your hand is salvageable.

Unfortunately - my poker hands are invariably pretty poor - I'd need to buy 3-4 cards to have a chance at a decent hand...

In 2010 during the first BRB, Julie and I were signed up to help with registrations - but they had plenty of overlapping coverage - so they didn't need us.  That year we just bought t-shirts - went on the ride, and had a great time.

In 2011, Julie was still recovering from her surgery - so we skipped it entirely - but Julie did buy a t-shirt to help support the cause.  We really missed it - and vowed that health issues permitting - we'd be back for it the following year.

In 2012, we volunteered again - for any job - and the job we were assigned was to pass out the first card at the starting point of the ride.

The sponsor of our H.O.G. chapter has a new dealership in Chapel Hill (large Akron area shopping center) with a very large parking lot (used to be a Circuit City) so everyone gathered there to sign up, and to draw their first card.  Luckily the parking lot is very big - since by the time the ride officially started, it was FULL of motorcycles!

Julie and I joined another couple for the first card drawings - since pairs worked best.  One person holds the bag with loose cards for the participant to pick - and the other person records the selected card on their tally sheet.

We had a continuous stream of people in line - a line that seemed like it would never end for over an hour straight, before things started to slow down.

  Around 11:00, while we were still passing out cards, we were told that the restaurant had food for 500 people, and we had over 700 registrations :-)

They had to scramble to line up more food...

The turnout was MUCH greater than anticipated, this ride just keeps getting bigger and bigger each year - which is AWESOME!  These are the kind of 'problems' that comes with success.

The ride was setup so the first bike out would be at 10:00, and the last bike out was at noon.  By 11:30 most people had gotten their first card and were on the ride - so Julie and I were able to set out ourselves.

We rode to three different stops to collect cards 2,3,4 - and then the ride ended after 107 miles at an Akron area restaurant that routinely puts on bike nights during the summer - so they had a decent sized parking lot also.

In 2010, the ride made $5,000 for breast cancer, and in 2011 it made $11,000.  This years ride was the most successful yet - and we were told it made $17,000...

All of the money goes to local cancer care centers in the Akron area - not to some big national thing like the Komen foundation - where half of the money may be tied up in admin costs etc...

When we actually arrived at the restaurant and received our last card - Julie won a nice door prize, but the line for food was so long and moving so slowly (they were overwhelmed) we went home to eat.

Other people has similar gripes about the food service so next year they are planning on trying a different strategy to make it more efficient.  While they put on weekly bike nights - they have never gotten this many people all at once, so were didn't know what to expect.

Since this was a motorcycle ride - it was of course very dependent on weather, and the weather on the 16th was perfect.  Considering that the ride was planned many months in advance (8!) this was phenomenal luck - especially since the weekend after had such poor weather in comparison.

***

This past Sunday (9/23) we attended a Pot Luck fundraiser in Bedford for the wife of one of our friends.  The husband is someone whom I worked with in the 90's and is now someone whom we occasionally attend GeoCaching events with.  He and his wife have been married now for 8 years, but have known each other for over 15 years.

This past Spring, his wife went to the doctor after finding a painful lump in her breast.  After having some tests (X-Rays) ran - they headed for home.  While they were still driving, the doctors office called to let them know they believe the mass shown on the X-Rays was cancer - and they wanted her to schedule a surgery to remove it ASAP.

 His wife had the surgery to remove the lump about a week or so later and the followup biopsy showed it was indeed cancerous.

This started an ordeal of surgeries including a followup surgery to ensure that all cancerous cells from the surrounding area were removed, and they also removed some lymph nodes for checking. (My research showed that the removal of lymph nodes is a standard procedure in cases like this)

Unfortunately, the story keeps getting worse, 8 of the 9 lymph nodes tested as positive.

Further testing revealed some traces in her lungs - which bumped her right to stage 4.  Stage 4 is when the cancer has spread to the surrounding organs - no matter how many - or how extensively.

She is only 42 (I think) and has no prior history in her family for breast cancer - so she always considered herself to be low risk.

She was originally fitted with a port for chemo - but later analysis of the lab cancerous specimens showed that (at least for now) her cancer should be treatable via hormones.

They are giving her medication to shut down her ovaries, and will be removing them entirely at a later date.

She has missed a LOT of work with all of these surgeries and the related recovery time - and even with him having a good job - house expenses were starting to add up - such as their basement sewer line breaking.

To help them out - some of their friends came up with the idea of a Pot Luck fundraiser and advertised it on Facebook.  We immediately accepted the event invite (yay for Facebook!) and we reserved that date (yesterday) on our calendar.

To raise money - during the potluck there were multiple 50/50 raffles and "The Big Board Reverse Raffle".  The latter was something I had never participated in before. It consisted if a  big board with 80 squares hanging from it - numbered from 1 to 80.

For $20 you could buy a square.  Once all of the squares were sold  - there were 35 (I think) donated prizes - so they would pick 45 numbers and throw them out.

So - unlike a normal raffle - if your number was initially called - you lost...

I bought '64' since we both were born in 1964 - and later when the board was down to just a half dozen or so numbers, I also bought '76' for 1776...  At this point - we didn't give a damn if they were winning numbers or not - since the money was going to cause near and dear to us.

Once the big board was completely sold (raising $1600!)  they started pitching numbers out - and both of our picks were NOT called.  So they were winners of something.  (Compared to the two 50/50 drawings we entered which we had no luck with) 

One of the numbers were three pottery vases made by a local artist - which I guess are very nice, if you are into that sort of thing.  Unfortunately, we are not - but I'm sure we will find a good home for them with someone who can appreciate them.

They other prize was a nice book put out by the Bedford Historical society - basically the history of Bedford.  I always enjoy reading these sorts of books - since it gives you a picture of how a town used to look 100 years ago.

***

Last Saturday(15th) , He and his wifeparticipated in the Cleveland Walk/Run for the Cure - which was a Komen foundation ??K Marathon or 5K Walk for breast cancer.

They each had their own team with a goal of raising $250 dollars.  We decided to sponsor them for $100 - and since he was at $175 and she was at $275 - we gave him $75 to get him to his goal, and then donated the remaining $25 to her team.

When we do our taxes - our tax program always tells me that I should have more deductions to lower our tax burden - so I figured that since the $100 is tax deductible - how could I resist?  It is money for a good cause and it reduces my taxes.  Win/Win!  In my opinion, tax deductions like this is one of the few methods you have available to specify how your 'tax' money will be spent.  If I hadn't donated the money - I would have owed $100 more in taxes - taxes that I have no say over their disposition.

We normally give money to local animal shelters and deduct those contributions also.