Last Ride of the Season #2

 

There was a modest turnout for our 2^nd Last Ride of the Season. I have since learned that the "official" name for the this very loose knit riding group is FOG or "Friends Of George". For those not familiar with George Rahn, he used to own the BMW dealership in Fairbanks since forever and now owns the Royal Enfield dealership. He is still the go to guy for problems with airheads and the older K bikes. He rode in on a K75 that he recently picked up from someones garage in town. Once the roads get slippery, he starts using his Royal Enfield with a Cozy side car. I had missed the 1^st last ride since I was still recovering from the Equinox last week. And if there is a third one next week, I'll miss that since I will be in Philadelphia for the Internet² Fall Meeting.

Since the real purpose for any of these rides is to find food somewhere, what better destination is the Hilltop Truck Stop up the Elliot Highway north of town. The Hilltop is known best for it's huge servings of diner fare and a their wonderful pies. I don't get out here very often as this is the road that head north ending up in Deadhorse. As is typical for this "group", once everyone knows the destination, people just start heading out in what ever direction they want with whomever they want to ride with (or not) until all arrive at the destination (or not). This is my preferred style of group riding and seven of the original ten showed up for lunch. The pie selection was dismal for the first time in my memory with only three listed on the white board.

As you may notice in the snapshot, our trees have lost all of their leaves and we are beginning that drab, colorless season that won't feel clean, fresh and bright until snow covers things up. It was unseasonably warm at 68°F  so it looked like we were going to get a reprieve from winter. Last night, colder temperatures blew in and this morning it was 30.3°F and wet so I opted to not ride in this morning. Since the Hilltop wasn't that far out of town, I cruised through Goldstream Valley and the Old Nenana Highway before heading back home.

I had taken this snapshot last week while walking through campus. The leaves haven't all dropped yet and the sunshine felt wonderful. We don't get all the wonderful variety of colors as in other parts of the country. Yellow and maybe a little orange on some shrubs is pretty much it.

George told me to stop by his shop as he thinks he has a used Cozy sidecar that needs cleaning and paint and possibly a DMC subframe that will work on my bike. The sidecar may be a little on the light side but with sufficient ballast it may be what I have been looking for.