End of the World Ride 2012

End of the World Ride 2012 took us on some nice backroads in the Weatherford and Aledo area of Texas.  The ride was focused on this possibly being our last group ride if the Mayans were right!  Did we really believe it?  Well, the turn out was 29 bikes on Sunday afternoon so.............maybe..........

Anyway, the day turned out wonderful, especially for mid December when we should be wading around in snow drifts getting ready for Christmas.  The high was 73 degrees and calm with riders in short sleeve shirts.  You could feel the sun on your chest throughout the ride. Overall, another awesome ride and hopefully the Mayans were WRONG!!!!

A couple months ago Margaret bought me one of those GoPro Hero 2 motorsport video cams.  I had been playing with it a bit but havent had much time to really work with it.  I had recorded a bit of riding footage but then ran into decent video editing software issues.  The device comes with format conversion software but not editing software that will allow you to piece together clips, add music, fades, slides, etc.  I had an older copy of Adobe Premiere 6.0 but it didnt have the capability of utilizing the HD1080p and HD720p that the camera was capable of recording at.  Fortunately my son mentioned that he still had Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9.0 that we had bought him a couple years back when he was wanting to play with video editing.  He never really got into it and hasnt used it so he offered to let me install it.  That solved the resolution issue.  The app is great and has very in depth features that Im going to have to learn.  I was able to take my clips from the End of the World Ride and make them into my first short riding video.  Its not the greatest and no one is doing any wheelies or stunts but I did try to use footage that keeps some interest while watching. Try using the 720p HD settings option for a sharp detailed video.
Enjoy!

End of the World Ride 2012 Slideshow

End of the World Ride 2012 Video

Fort Worth Harley Chapter Christmas Party 2012

December 8, 2012 brought about the chapters Christmas Party at Billy Bobs!  The dress code for the event was Ritz and Redneck.  There seemed to be a pretty good balance between the two dress styles for the night.  Margaret and I went Ritz.  That was a story in itself.  For a couple weeks before the party she was trying on old dresses trying to get the right look.  Every night she would whine about how she looked in a certain dress.  After being asked for an honest opinion on how she looked in one dress our boys said she looked anorexic.  She was crushed, and whined even more. So that being said, on the Friday night before the party we spent the evening shopping for elegant dresses.  After hours of shopping and failure, we happened to come across a woman’s formal wear store in the mall and found almost immediately the dress that would soon be hers.  It was complete agreement the moment we saw it.  Normally the shop will send it off to a tailor to have the length fit since they leave the bottom long but seeing as there was no time for that, Margaret did the sewing herself when she got home with one of her fancy sewing machines.  We also bought some cosmetic jewelry that matched the waist thingy that came with the dress.

Upon entry everyone received a raffle ticket that would later be used to win prizes and gift cards.  The evening began with a bit of socialization then.......foooood.  We had chicken wrapped in bacon, BBQ brisquet, mashed potatoes, green beans, and some fruit parfait thingy and I had a shiner bock, then another, then another, then......you get the point.

The entertainment for the night consisted of Casino games.  Showing our raffle ticket got us 20K worth of chips to gamble with.  The top 3 winners at each table at the end of the casino game time were entered into a raffle for prizes.  Margaret and I played blackjack and did fair.  She tripled her money and I doubled mine which was good enough to get us into the drawing.  Later I found out that Sue was slipping her chips so that She would be able to gloat about winning more than I.  CHEATER!!!!!! BAH.  I should have won by default from that.

The evening concluded with raffle ticket drawings for riding gear, accessories, and gift cards.  There were some VERY generous amounts of gift cards ranging from $15 up to $1000!!!!!  We both won a drawing and our total take was $65 for the evening in gift cards. 

This was our first chapter Christmas Party and we both enjoyed the experience immensely and Fort Worth Harley went above and far beyond with their generous contributions.

Here are a few pictures from the party.  I didn’t take a bunch of them unfortunately since I was drinking and having a good time instead of snapping pics.

Fort Worth Harley Chapter Christmas Party Slideshow

Fort Worth Harley Toys For Tots 2012

The day started cool and fresh.  A perfect beginning to a wonderful cause that Fort Worth Harley supports.  We all gathered at the dealership laden with toys for the U.S. Marine Corps. Toys For Tots.  65 bikes total turned out to take part in the ride to the drop off point.  The procession was quite a site going down one of the busiest commercial streets in Fort Worth.  Our road captains did a superb job guiding the procession and making sure our way was clear.  Upon arrival everyone donated multiple toys and we took a lot of group photographs with the Marines onsite.

Fort Worth Harley Davidson Toys For Tots Slideshow

Wise County Toy Run 2012

Destination- Decatur to Bridgeport!

We started the ride at Fort Worth Harley and rode parade style to Decatur.  It was an amazingly beautiful day with temps reaching 80 by early afternoon.  Even the ride to the dealership was warm at 10am.  The nice weather brought out a lot of riders that probably would not have considered coming out otherwise.  I didnt count but by the amount of bikes it looked to be about 80 chapter members.

Upon arrival in Decatur we either payed the $10 or presented a toy for the entry fee.  The meetup was at Decatur Intermediate School parking lot and it was jammed full of bikes.  MC's, RC's, RG's, Independants, and individuals from all over North Texas and Oklahoma were there to support the toy run.  I had a great time wandering around taking pics and looking at all the bikes and bike decorations.  Some people tied toys onto their bikes, others had decorated their bikes with ornaments and garland.  Every where you looked was color and cheer.  Santa hats were prominent, elf outfits were plentiful, and even the occasional reindeer horns could be seen sticking up above the crowd.

Once again, I didnt count, and couldnt count the number of bikes present but it was a great turnout.  Well over 1000 I would presume.  Once the procession began it took over 15 minutes for me to get out of the parking lot. There was a police escort for the entire ride and they blocked intersections for us to have safe travel.  The streets in both Decatur and Bridgeport were lined with people that had parked to watch the parade.  Even on Hwy 380 people were parked to wave and watch the bikes.  Some riders had candy that they would throw as they rode by to groups of kids.  It was funny to watch the kids scramble to get the treats and wave to the bikers in thanks.  A couple of times when the road condition was just right you would crest a hill and see the string of bikes as far ahead as the eye could see.  Visibility was perfect which gave a great view of the parade over the landscape.

The route took us through old downtown Bridgeport and many of the bikers were revving their engines as show for the onlookers.  Our Chapter parked together just outside of the park where the ride ended.  There was Chili for all the participants and it was at this time we gave our donated toys.  Our Chapter didnt stay for any of the events that had been planned, instead choosing to go to a local restaurant to get together and eat.  We went to Yesterday's which was a 50's, 60's diner.  The atmosphere was great and lively with eye candy everywhere.  It was however VERY busy due to the toy run and it seemed that the staff was overrun.  They were having a hard time keeping up and some of our group received our drinks but never got our food.  All was well though, I was one that didnt get my order but I understand how difficult it can be on the staff with a sudden onslaught of hungry bikers.

I left a bit early from the main group and headed home alone since it was getting late and I was hungry.  I couldnt wind down from the excitement of the day so I spent a couple hours going through the pictures and choosing the ones I wanted to use for the blog.  The slideshow worked so well on the last post I decided to do that again.  This time though I played around with some of the photos and did some graphic editing on a few of them instead of just having snapped digital shots displayed.  I am hoping it will give an interesting and different feel throughout the slideshow.

Enjoy!

Wise County Toy Run 2012 Slideshow