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Mad1
10-06-2003, 11:28 PM
I just had the best weekend with my MM. (Took me a day to recover enough to post this story.)

I’m on the organizing committee for an MS Society fundraising bike ride, known here as the Bike to Jack and Back. About 672 bicyclists ride 50-75 miles from just South of Nashville to Lynchburg, Tenn., where we have party at the Jack Daniels’ distillery Saturday night. Jack Daniels’ (a long-time sponsor) caters the party with fried catfish and BBQ pork sandwiches -- and OF COURSE … an open bar serving anything you want, as long as you want Jack in it. (There is straight lemonade for those who avoid stronger drink.)

Then on Sunday, everyone rides back 50-75 miles to the starting point on Monday. Those riders who took full advantage of the open bar usually find the second day much harder for some reason. (Can you say killer hangover!!)

We’re hoping the ride will break the half-million dollar mark for money raised this year. Anyway, enough setup and on with the story …

One of our ride sponsors is FedEx, which provides a 48-foot semi tractor/trailer and a driver (he’s paid time-and-a-half). Each day, the semi will haul all the riders’ luggage to the end of the route first and then go back to the beginning of the route to collect garbage from each of the rest stops along the way.

There’s one catch … nobody can ride in the semi with the driver (insurance reasons), so the committee asks me if I’d be willing to lead the semi all weekend in my MM. I pretended to think about it and decide to quickly agree before I started giggling out loud.

Now picture this … I get a flashing yellow light bar to put in the back window and I’m running just ahead of the semi on the Interstate highways for the initial luggage run to the end. (We stay off the bicycle route as much as possible for safety reasons.)

Cars keep pulling up to pass the FedEx semi, but come around to see the MM with a flashing light. Before I know it, we’re running a parade because people are afraid to pass us. The semi driver and I, staying in touch via CB, are laughing at all the people who whiz by and then jam on the brakes.

After our luggage delivery, I get to lead this big rig into the back roads and twisty narrows to hit all the rest stops for trash pickup.
We had a couple of close calls (trailer’s wheels leaving the paved space for air space) on some of the sharper turns and often took up the whole rode to make it around the tightest curves.

Now, I’m driving without a co-pilot and keeping us on the route by checking the road hickies. (For non-bikers, road hickies are direction markers spray painted on the road at intersections that tell you which way to turn.)

This means, I’m racing ahead of the semi and trying to slow down to about 20 mph at each intersection to look for little marks on the side of the road. Then I need to either speed up again before being rear-ended or give the semi enough warning so he can make the turns. Thank goodness I was in a Marauder because I don’t want to think about what could have happened otherwise with something less nimble and responsive.

Eventually, we catch up to the riders and now I have to try to stay ahead, check the hickies and also call back when the driver has enough clearance ahead from on-coming traffic to pass the riders on this back-country serpentine road course. It was all I could do not to start calling him Snowman and make him refer to me as “The Bandit.” (That’s a 1970s Burt Reynolds’ movie reference for those of you under the age of consent.)

Together, the semi and I logged 375 miles on our two-day odyssey. No one was injured and I had the best time just cruising, while doing a little bit for my fellow man or woman.

As an added bonus, since this is Nashville, I got to see Amy Grant,
She finished biking the route on both days and she still found time to perform on Saturday night at the Opry’s Patsy Cline Tribute. That is some woman.

Happy trails, thanks for reading.

Jeremy
Mad1

RCSignals
10-06-2003, 11:33 PM
sounds like a fun time

SergntMac
10-07-2003, 06:48 AM
Hey Mad, if you're on this team next year, call up you buds here for some help? I'd be happy to drive down and give you a hand. I mean, I'd love to meet Jack...LOL

dwasson
10-07-2003, 07:10 AM
That sounds perfect Mad, a chance to do good and have fun.

Bigdogjim
10-07-2003, 03:12 PM
[QUOTE]Originally posted by SergntMac
[B]Hey Mad, if you're on this team next year, call up you buds here for some help? I'd be happy to drive down and give you a hand. I mean, I'd love to meet Jack...LOL

Good idea, anything for Jack!!!

Mad1
10-07-2003, 03:44 PM
Originally posted by SergntMac
Hey Mad, if you're on this team next year, call up you buds here for some help? I'd be happy to drive down and give you a hand. I mean, I'd love to meet Jack...LOL

Anyone who'd like to volunteer both days of the ride is eligible to attend the party on the hill. It's a small price to pay for so much fun. I'll let you know when we set the dates, usually the first weekend in October, for next year's ride. (That will be my fourth consecutive year on the committee, so I'll be lucky if they don't put me in charge.)

Jeremy
Mad1

jgc61sr2002
10-07-2003, 07:39 PM
Mad1 - A very wothy cause. You are to be commended.:up:

RCSignals
10-07-2003, 11:12 PM
No one can say Mad1 doesn't know Jack :)