A Bikers Farewell...

One of the riders in our sometimes biker group passed away this week. While I didn't know him that well, I saw him at many of the occasional group rides and knew him as a friendly, soft spoken guy who always seemed fine with everything and everybody. When someone you know passes it certainly gets you to reflect on your own mortality and how life is short, enjoy it while you can. So I was glad to hear that another friend was organizing a ride out to Chatanika Lodge, one of our all time favorite ride destinations (Back in the Day...8/17/18), for a celebration of life, as he called it, for friends and family. The highway to the lodge passes over a steep ridge north of Fairbanks, Cleary Summit, with several switchbacks and s-curves that provide some of the best riding in the area.

Here's the bikes parked at the lodge. There was quite a crowd there when we arrived, so I waited until pretty much everybody went inside before taking some pics. But my skill with Andy's I-phone are limited at best; next time I'll bring my old digital camera. There were at least a dozen bikes and the one that led the ride was a Ducati owned by the deceased, ridden by his best friend. A fitting send off for fine fellow!

Here's a pic of the Guzzi parked at the far end of the line. I usually ride near the back at these events to avoid the crazy riders who always need to be in front of the pack. I had the I-phone camera on video, by mistake, so it just took a while to get it converted into JPEG.