Son of SMEGMA in Bethesda, MD
October 1-3, 1999

Note to reader:  I've written this in such a format where each photo will have to be clicked and/or downloaded to view as there are nearly 65 jpg files to view.  I thought this might be easier rather than waiting for all 65 pics to download.  The average size of each of these pics is around 40k to 60k in size.  They should all download fairly quick... even with a slower modem (like mine).  Enjoy.

Thu (09/30):

My day began with me putting in a full day at work.  I had spent all week prepping my bike.  Installed driving lights (JCW specials), added an extra inch of fork oil (front end was diving a bit, no progressives... yet), had the front brake pads replaced and calipers completely rebuilt (special thanks to local 'maggot and lurker Phil Huml), changed out the electronics in my instrument cluster (both turn signals bulbs were burned out and the glass was cracked) and changed the oil.

I left home around 1530 local time with my destination Harrison, OH to crash (not literally) at Kevin Kirkendall's abode.  I arrived there just after 2200 local time to see the garage door opening.  Kevin said he heard the sound of a V4 approaching.  I guess at 2200... things must be pretty quiet.  I spied a black ST parked in his garage thinking this was his friend Linda's bike who was supposed to accompany us.  He mentioned that Linda was not here (and might not be able to make it) and with a $hit-eating-grin on his face he said that the ST (a '98 no less) was HIS!!!  He bought it last Monday.  Lucky bar-steward...

Fri (10/01):

Our day began somewhat early with a projected 0800 departure.  We actually made it out around 0815.  Not too bad for SabMag time.  We took turns leading on the slab since we had to rely on our scanning ability to detect any LEOs wanting to provide us with performance awards.  You see... Kevin had his bike for such a short time he never got around to hooking up his V1.  We continued on to New Stanton, PA where we were to meet up with David Ryder, Janine Brannon and Ray Campbell around 1400.  We arrived just after 1300 so we had time to relax and grab some chow.  Kevin paraded around the Bob Evans in his long underwear... really.  Like clockwork... David and Janine arrived just a few minutes past 1400... without Ray.  Seems they got split up along the way.

After David, his two daughters and Janine finished their chow... we got back on the road sometime after 1500.  We continued on all-the-way until around 10 miles from the I-495 DC Beltway where we split up.  Kevin and I continued onto Richard's place whereas David and Janine had to drop off his two daughters.

Upon arriving at Richard's place (it took a while to figure out which direction to go on Old Georgetown Road)... we immediately noticed the presence of bikes in front of his house.  We parked our bikes at the bottom of his steep driveway and quickly removed our riding gear in order to start mingling with some old and new faces.  Making our way through his house... we find Richard and Stephanie (Chris Long's SO) relaxing in the family room.  Noticing a free spot on the sofa... Kevin rests his tired young body.

Upstairs I find Carl Custer and Venka BS'ing to each other.  The other guy pictured is Richard's new R1 buddy.  In the kitchen (where else) we see David, Matt Osborne and his (ahem) roommate Becky, Bob Cuttler and IBM.  In the next shot... we see his Philness, Janine's back and Bob Peloquin.  From another angle we see Becky and Bob again... and now Ray Campbell.  After much BS'ing and pizza eating... everyone suits up and we head out for our DC strafing.  Other LMs have provided the details of our events.  Hanging out near the edge of Ronald Reagan airport watching the commercial jet(s) fly by was quite a thrill.  Other than our group getting split up (getting caught by the lights and actually obeying some laws)... everyone made it back to Richard's place without incident.  I noticed by 2300... the crowd was very thin as I believe some LMs actually wanted to get some sleep for a full day of riding on Saturday.  I left a bit later to my in-laws (who only saw me a total of 1.5 hours all weekend) in Silver Spring, MD.

Sat (10/02):

Morning:

Upon arriving at Richard's house around 0730 on Saturday... I saw a tent city in his backyard.  Can definitely fit a ZimBob garage back there... From his back door, we can see (from L-R) Curtis Hintze's Red Rooster, Kevin's new (to him) black ST, Ray Campbell's V65M and Russell Stephan's red ST.  Moving into the kitchen... we see Robert Nelson and Curtis.  Little does Bob know how much he'll need to be talking to Curtis later in the day.  Next to the kitchen island, we see Matt (in the same position as last night), a portly Kevin Kirkendall and Russell Stephan's back.

Upon hearing the call to saddle-up... we see a few bikes parked outside Richard's house.  Taking a moments rest before a big day of riding... we see Chris Long and his SO Stephanie.  In the back we see Phil sneaking his V65S in the back with Janine and David already suited up.  Richard (RW) goes off to change as well.

Trying to snap a few more miscellaneous shots before we head out, I see tucked neatly away in RW's garage is one-hell-of-a tool chest.  Contact Bob Nelson (if possible) for one of these.  In this next shot we see Kevin Kirkendall using a Hondaline CD mounting kit on his ST.  On Curtis' V65M (aka Red Rooster) we see a pic of his electronic shifter mounted on the left side airbox cover.  On the right side of his bike... stands his massive SuperTrapp muffler.  You don't want to ride behind Curtis for any length of time unless you've got decent hearing protection... Just rolled out of the garage is RW's 1200 Bandit (aka Major Loftage).

Enroute to breakfast... we make an unscheduled stop while awaiting the fate of Bob Nelson and his bike.  No... he did not go down... just his bike.  Apparently it was clacking up a storm before the ride.  LMs who were riding behind him not only heard a POP... but saw smoke from the bike.  It was left in a local's front yard to be retrieved later.  In this shot we see half of Kevin's face, his Philness, Chris Long, IBM, Bob Cuttler and RW.  Still waiting we see Chris, David, Janine, 3/4ths of Kevin's face, Stephanie, Bernie Bazel's profile and RW.   This next shot shows the power plant in IBM's new VFR.  Hmmmm... wonder how often he has to reboot his bike...   Here we see RW's buddy Bruce standing next to RW's new ride, Black Diamond, awaiting his passenger (Bob Nelson).  If you look at this pic and compare it to last year's SMEGMA pics... this almost looks like I cut-and-pasted a "where's RW" shot.  BTW, the red VFR in the pic belongs to Bob Peloquin.  The new face in this pic belongs to local 'maggot Stan.  He later disappeared missing the a turn at 28 and 85.  I went after him for miles (at times exceeding the ton) and never found him again.

We all made it to the Roy Rogers dining facility around 1030.  These next few shots are of us suiting up and getting ready to split off into 3 groups; Nuthammer(s) led by RW, View the scenery led by Carl (this group had 2 additional riders) and somewhere in between led by everyone's favorite LM... David Ryder.  In this first short we see Carl talking with one of his 2 additional groupies Bob Cuttler.  Next we see Bernie's wife (sorry forgot her name), Bruce, Bob Nelson wearing his (leathers hadn't arrived yet) USMC field jacket (Semper Fi bro), his Philness, RW and IBM.  Now we see Russell with his helmet already on, his Philness getting ready, IBM putting his helmet on and Tom, a friend of RW.  With his back to us we see Cutie Pie Curtis and I think that's Bernie suited up with his racer boy graphics helmet.  Next we see Kevin again in his I'm looking for the mother ship outfit.  I mention this 'cause he actually hears that quite a bit.  In this shot we see Ray Campbell's V65M currently looking purple.  Depending on when and how you look at his bike... it always seems to be a different color.  Very nice paint job.

Afternoon:

After splitting off into our 3 respective groups... it didn't take us long to realize that we should have questioned authority.  You see... we were following the maps provided to us from RW and Carl.  If the yellow highlighted road is followed, one can see a dashed path indicated.  Silly us (at least me) thought the dashed line meant a scenic route or summat.  Not a chance!  The red arrow points to the area where we had our off road adventure.  Here we see our group talking to a couple of bicyclists who thought it was rather humorous that a bunch of folks on street bikes were trying to navigate the gravel trail.  I guess I shouldn't have been so convincing at the split.  The trail was clearly marked Gambrill Park Rd and I (we) ASSumed the map drawers knew what they were tracing.  What is shown in the pics of the road is actually quite smooth.  Believe me when I say the road was MUCH worse... especially going downhill where we had to navigate ruts and large rocks.  In the next shot we see Matt checking out the dust on David's ST.

Once we FINALLY got out of the park area... thanks to some fabulous directions by the locals (ahem)... we continued on to the rock(s) overlooking Pen Mar.  This is the same rock that RW had his Bandit on before.  Yikes!  The next shot is just a general scenery shot.  Note the farmhouse and silos in the foreground.  This next shot is the 10x optical zoom on my digital camera viewing the same farmhouse and silos.  Not bad, eh?  Relaxing on the rock(s)... we see one of our favorite SabMag couples... David and Janine.  Let us know when the invitations are going out... OK?  Here we see Kevin contemplating life and yours truly.  And lastly here's our motley crew getting ready for the slab ride to Charlestown, WV for some lunchtime chow.

Upon arriving (late) at the George Washington Charlestown Inn (???) for lunch... we see our beloved SabMags lined up in front of the restaurant.  In case anyone wants some LOUD horns... you can always mount some air horns like Carl did on his Sabre.  I don't remember what everyone was checking out here... but we see Becky's back, Matt, Katherine Becker's forehead, glasses and nose, David and Janine.  Next we see Janine's profile.  Candid shots are always the best, eh??? And lastly we see Carl (standing), Bob (looks like me with a beard) and Kevin.

On our way back to RW's place... Bruce (local guy) took us across the Potomac River via White's Ferry.  Here we are parked awaiting our turn to board the ferry.  Cost (FYI) was $1.50.  These next 2 shots show our diligent SabMag crew attending to Janine's non-SabMag bike.  During a tight 180 degree downhill turn... Janine dropped her Connie on the right side (I think her favorite) and busted the foot peg mount and hard bag mount.  David looks like he's done this type of repair before... Here comes our ferry (note the spelling). Taking a page out of Jack Hunt's book... here we see Bob from one of the bike's side view mirrors. And lastly... we see the ferry operators making a killing off of us... considering how many bikes can fit in a car slot.

Evening:

With Bruce taking us on some nice scenic back roads back to RW's house... we finally got to settle in.  The dyno was already set up.  I can't see a bike... so I'm guessing Bob's just checking out some data here with Scott... the dyno guy.  In the next shot... we can see Curtis telling Bob how he's going to swap out his engine in 30 mins or less.  Wish I would have stayed for the mini clinic.  Waiting for some din-din... we see Chris Long, Stephanie and Katherine Becker swapping lies.  Swapping more lies we see Charles Sutton (aka the SnoreMeister) and his Philness.  Off to the side is Ray Campbell, Kevin and Russell (background, long hair, in the red) looking like he found some sustenance.  Next is Bob Cuttler shooting the breeze with Janine.  This next shot which resembles a weathered looking (old) sailor is our very own Curtis.  Partaking in some liquid refreshments is Russell and very soon to be RW.  Hey Richard... what's up with your tooth??? :-(  This dark close-up is the field repair David made to Janine's Connie so she'd at least something to rest her right foot on for the ride home.  Ever thought about keeping some spare mounting brackets in the hard luggage??? Now... this last pic Matt is going to have to explain to us as you can see CJ keeping Becky company at night... What's up with dat???

That's it for the pics.  I left Silver Spring, MD Sunday morning around 0930 local time and slabbed it home via 270/70/68/79/70/465/65 and back roads from 24 on in IN.  Just east of Indy... I stopped to call home to let TOWMBO know I'd be home soon and put on my rubber Totes and some rubber gloves since it looked like I was going to hit some rain... in the dark.  Local time about now was 1900.  No sooner than I hit Indy it started to rain... and HARD.  I slowed down to the actual speed limit for a while until I had some confidence in my rear tire (a Dan Jone's special).  I kept my acceleration smooth.  From this point... it took me nearly another 5 hours to get home in what should have taken 3.5 hours.  My toes and hands were very cold from the temperature (40's) as well as the rain.  The 'stitch kept me dry for the most part... but did a poor job of keeping me warm since I haven't invested (yet) in 'lectrics.  I ride all year around... even during the Shitcago winters.  Since my commute is less than 7 miles... I can tolerate the cold(er) temperatures even without 'lectrics.  I think this year I may consider otherwise.  Total mileage for this trip was 2016.

As others have already said... I wish to extend my GRATITUDE to Richard/Pat and Carl/Mary for allowing us to share their food and drink their beer/soda/juice/coffee.  As Kevin told me when I arrived at his place on Thursday... he was waiting all year for this event to (hopefully) occur.  I'm glad it did.  Thanks!

Questions? If so, feel free to drop me an email at v65@sabmag.org.

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