Ciao!

Mopeds of Hazard

06.30.2003

Cincinnati was amazing. Fifteen Decepticons from Kalamazoo caravaned to visit The Bombardment Society for the "Mopeds of Hazard" rally. In total, about forty mopeders met up during the weekend for riding, food, partying. It was great — even though I got horribly sunburned (and I thought I wasn't supposed to burn).

Friday:
We loaded up the bikes and were on the road shortly after 10am. One pickup truck, one large van, two Volkswagen Golfs (another pickup truck followed at 3pm). Two rest stops and seven hours later, we arrived in Covington and began unloading. Brandon and Bianka from South Dakota had arrived shortly before us. Chris Salmonson and Justin, coming down from Dearborn, would meet us later at Brian Philip's house.

About a half dozen TBS members met up w/ us at Chris Rice's house and we rode down from there to Habañero's for burritos. Later, we rode all over Cincinnati. There were so many of us, we took over the streets. A hornet's roaring swarm descending on an unsuspecting populace, too dumbstruck to do anything but smile and wave from the sidewalks.

Saturday:
After dispersing to three different houses to sleep, we gathered at Brian & Casey's in the morning. A few bikes needed tinkering after some problems from the previous day, but nothing too serious. At least not yet (Dan's Carabela would take a fatal blow later that day, a shattered front sprocket).

We rode to breakfast/lunch at The Anchor Grill, a Cincinnati legend, where I had one of the best hamburgers in my life. The Anchor's been open 24 hours non-stop for the last 57 years. It was the epitome of the small, local greasy spoon.

A sizeable Vespa and Lambretta scooter escort joined us as we rode from one Cincinnati park to the next. Frankly, I prefer to ride w/o an "escort" — we're Moped Army, "we take care of our own!" I was proud each time Abbey, Caleb, or Dave threw themselves into an intersection, blocking traffic while the rest of the pack went through.

The late afternoon was beautiful, as a much-needed gentle breeze rolled in; our sunburned bodies took a break from the punishment. We slowly wound our way back towards the Kentucky side of the Ohio River, towards Devou Park. The grill was lit, the food arrived, and it was a laid back barbecue. Sporadic groups took off to explore the park, engines roaring.

The rest of the night was low key. A few of us rode out w/ Emily, Kelly, and Kelly to Graeter's Ice Cream, which was advertised to us as "the best ice cream ever". Yeah, it was good. Wow.

Just before midnight, some of us went to Plush, a sort of "neo-mod" dance club. I was tired, but knew I made the right decision walking into the red room, seing the chandelier, and hearing The Stone Roses' "Elephant Stone" churning up. It's been a while since I've danced w/ such frenzied abandon.

Sunday:
The last day. We dragged ourselves out of bed (or couch, or floor) w/ reluctance. Brian Phillips lived a block down from Sunflower Coffee House & Beer Garden — thank God! Simon and I walked down for our necessary caffeine fixes.

From there we rode back over the bridge — away from Cincinnati for the last time — and back into Kentucky. While some people went to Waffle House for grits and whatnot, I managed to taste Skyline Chili, a Cincinnati landmark. Chili on top of spaghetti tastes much better than it sounds. Much better.

Our last moped ride was a 34-mile round trip tour along the bank of the Ohio River on Highway 8. It was a glorious summer day, and we pushed our bikes to the limit, racing independently along the course. It was a great ending to a weekend rally.

We were sad to leave, but we packed up the vehicles and headed back to Michigan. Thanks to everyone in Cincinnati for showing us a good time. You guys are the best. ♥

Posted by Miguel at 02:47 PM

Comments

Posted by: sam at July 1, 2003 09:27 AM