Thursday July 5, 2012

Today was very eventful! I signed up for a GoldWing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) certified course on Trailering. It was 4 hours classroom and 4 hours range. They keep the classes to 10 bikes and we had 9 in my class. The range time was a bit toasty. Fort Wayne is experiencing record heat, in fact today it was over 100 degrees for the second day in a row. The last time they had two consecutive days of 100 degrees was in 1988. Figures we would be here during this record heat. Speaking of heat it was 102+ on the range with the reflective heat off the asphalt. As hot as it was doing the trailering course was a blast! You know the worst day of riding is better than the best day working!!! Well about 5:15pm I rolled off the range and back to the hotel to shower and get over to the Coliseum for a dinner and entertainment sponsored by J&M Motorcycle Audio. Myrna got a ride from the hotel shuttle as I was running late so she met me there. As I was pulling into the parking lot there was a huge thunderstorm heading towards Fort Wayne. I put my cover on my bike and headed into the coliseum for dinner. A few minutes later someone mentioned that it was storming outside and they were not letting anyone leave the building! After about a half hour a person made an announcement that a huge storm moved thru and several bikes were toppled. I left the dinner along with several others to check on the bikes. As I walked outside things immediately did not look good. Several branches had been torn from the trees and debris was everywhere. As I walked toward the parking lot my stomach dropped. I saw bikes laying on their side, windshields torn off, helmets rolling around and the worst thing I couldn't find my bike for the longest time! When I finally located it all was good. The cover was blown off, but oddly enough rolled up into a ball and crammed in the corner of the windshield and the instrument panel. God showed mercy on me and my Wing! I was so thankful that no damage happened to my bike. The winds were so strong that they completely pushed over several 932 pound GoldWings, tore the awning off the Bridgestone Tire trailer and the Roadsmith Trike conversion trailer. After I reattached the cover I went back into the dinner and entertainment. The entertainment was provided by Vocal Trash. They were very entertaining and had a unique sound using recycled things as instruments (such as bottles, buckets, trash cans) their vocals were amazing and their energy off the charts! Very entertaining and most enjoyable!

Psalm 28:2 Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your Most Holy Place.