The Palm Tree Bikers Laugh in the Face of Rain!

Ha, a little rain cannot deter our stout group of riders... but, a lot of rain can!

You can also bet that the rain didn't dampen our lunch! Just to show you how serious we are about our bike rides, er, lunch, we had seventeen sign up for our ride to Celebration and twenty-four showed up for lunch. Our (normally) sedate group were in turmoil as to the choice of eatery we would descend upon. So, after one hour of deliberations, Googling, and some GPS searching we made "The Villagio Grill & Pizza" at Cagen Crossings our dining destination. (Plus, it's only 1.375 miles from Lake Magic!)

As The Palm Tree Bikers have grown, so too has the need to make reservations when we head out en mass to our "end-of-trail" eating establishments. Off we went. We were ready to proudly boast to the small and reserved restaurant that we're The Palm Tree Bikers and we're proud of it! (Even though our well seasoned riders didn't want any part of riding in the rain.)

Little did we know a group of Red Hat Ladies from Polo Park had already "set up camp" at the restaurant! Have no fear, we knew that they were no match for our "pumped-up" group. We out "talked" them and had a great time as well!

NEWS FLASH... My "spies" just provided me with a couple of real "nuggets of news!"
The restaurant may be the beginning of a new career for Ray! Donning his napkin on his sleeve, Ray makes an outstanding waiter. Serving pepper and polite conversation, Ray carried on like he had done this before. We look forward to having Ray "serve" us at our other venues! In addition to Ray's stunning performance, we find out that Pete's "spandex" undergarment matched the colorful napkins of the restaurant!We'd like to thank Ray for an excellent "floor show" and Pete for a rather uniquely different kind of  "show"! (When you see Peter be sure to have him give you a "show and tell!")

Toward the end of our lunch, our conversation turns to the reality of the time of year and that many of our riders will be packing their bikes onto their campers to head home. Our melancholy can be seen in our faces as we realize that our rides will soon be relegated to our memories. What memories they are. The great laughs we've come to enjoy. How our unique personalities melt into one fun-sharing time each week. And, yes, so many great lunches that top-off each ride. But most of all, our special, one-of-a-kind "group" friendship.

Some of us staying longer will keep up the spririt of our group and continue our weekly ride as long as we can. But, no matter what, we'll all be riding vicariously together as one "long, thin, blue line."

Our Blog doesn't have to end with the season. We have our PTB email list and I'd like to offer to all our riders the following suggestion; feel free to send me your adventures, special times, and "news worthy" notes over the summer. (Just remember, that I tend to embelish "edit" what I hear!)
We can put them together and keep our Blog going every couple or three weeks or so... in the song of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, "...happy trails to you, until we meet again."