The Parade Run -- STAR 117 Forum

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Date Posted: 14:49:23 02/24/03 Mon
Author: Bill
Subject: The Parade Run

The Parade Run

First off, let me say we had a great turnout for this event.

We had 9 Bikes and 12 folks that made this event a great outing.

Howard Andrews
Dan Findley
Tim Jolly
Brent Smith
Perry Trahan
John and Roxane Coleman
Bart and Sally Koepke
Dennis and Sue Schlitter
Bill Branning

A few folks, which will remain nameless, went over the night before and missed out on the early morning run. But, that�s ok some were just smarter than others. Ha Ha

Well the day or shall I say night, started out at 4:30 am with the first group meeting at the Waffle House in Niceville. We departed there about 4:40 am and proceeded to Crestview to meet up with the rest of the folks for our journey. Once in Crestview we topped of our tanks and headed out in to the cold dark night. The first part of the ride was cold to say the least. Our first stop was planned for Spanish Fort just east of Mobile. We arrived there around sun up at 6:30 am and as we were approaching the top of the ramp several folks were having doubts on whether or not their legs and hands were going to function enough to stop their bikes but they did. We pulled into the store for gas and to thaw out before proceeded on to Mississippi. Some had coffee; some hot chocolate and some had cold beverages but, all warmed back up enough to continue on.

We were back on the road at 6:50 am heading west for our next stop in Gulfport, MS but, we had to make an unscheduled stop because, someone couldn�t hold their hot chocolate so we stopped at the first rest stop in Mississippi for a quick break. By this time it was beginning to warm up just a little but not a heat wave by any means.

After our brief stop we headed back out on our way to Gulfport. Once into Gulfport we stopped for gas again only to be detoured due to a chemical spill. From there we headed onto the parade site without any other interruptions. We were the first to arrive and at first wondered if we were in the right place but soon found out that we were. So while we waited for the others to arrive some polished their bikes while others headed to McDonalds for a little breakfast and some even went to Kmart. It wasn�t long before other riders began to arrive first from the local Gulfport chapter and even some from Lafayette, LA. We had quite a wait before the parade began o we all mingled around talk with the folks from other chapter and just people watching. Well it wasn�t long before the parade began and what a parade it was, people everywhere some even walking in the middle of the street while the parade was going on. The parade lasted about 45 minutes for us and then we were off to eat at the Cracker Barrel before our travel back. The ride back was a very nice one, even though we were caught by darkness before we got in. It was an outstanding day and we met some very nice people while we were there and hope to see them again in the very near future.

This ride is the longest to date; somewhere around 425 to 435 miles but it was a great ride. Until next time, keep the rubber to the ground and the wind in your face.

Bill Branning
Sergeant At Arms

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