2014 IBA International Meet - Having Fun - August 20-21, 2014

Wednesday evening was time for the Beer Reception and an opportunity to meet and mingle.  This event was well attended and a good time was had by all, even if they didn't drink beer!  In between gabbing with folks I managed to snap a few pictures of the fun.  Here are Robert Reil and Jim Boone enjoying a brewski.

One of my most favorite pictures is this one of Glen and Betty Copeland with their daughter RoseAna.  It seems that RoseAna and I have a special connection through our love of all things purple.

Ira Agins was busy taking pictures.

And I managed to snap one of him without his camera in his face.  What a good lookin' guy :-)

I was tickled to see Bucky Dent and his bride Rhonda.  On my first 24, the Utah 1088 in 2010, I ended up riding a large part of the rally with Bucky and Joel Rappoport.  Oh, we all managed to finish and not be last :-)

Tom Austin in a rare moment of sparkling smiles with Lisa Hart Stevens.

And then, the lady who is always all smiles and brimful of laughter is Heidi Still.  I met Heidi at my very first rally, White Stag in January 2010 and knew from the moment we met that we would be friends and perhaps big trouble if left alone together for too long!

Glen Copeland, Donna & Jim Fousek and George Barnes hanging out.

Here we have the line-up of unusual suspects, Diane Fox, Brian Bray, Betsy Young, Bobby Fox and Greg Fizer.  They are looking pretty happy here :-)  Well of course they are.  Who wouldn't be happy being at a meeting with folks who ride motorcycles!

Another trio of merrymakers, Garry Springgay, (so sorry, I forgot your name) and Alex Harper.

I manage to get a brief moment with Mike Kneebone, Mr. Iron Butt himself!

And Mr. LD Comfort, Mario Winkleman photobombed us!

After the beer social, folks moved into the bar for more libations, go figure.  Eric is deep in conversation with IBA #5 George Swetland while two time IBR finisher, Nancy Oswald (a/k/a Miss Kitty) appears to be intently listening to the unknown.

Here we show the true international flavor of this event, Maura Gatensby from British Columbia, Chris McGaffin from Ireland and Sarah Jane Eichenberger from Washington state.

Again Miss Kitty listening intently to the unknown while Justin Phillipson peruses the late night menu and Maura sets her neighbor straight on how Basecamp really works :-)

Alex Harper, (Yikes, I forgot names again, so sorry) and Randy Quam kindly pose for the camera.  Nah, they really just wanted to be in this world famous blog, hahahahahaha.  Dang peeps, they gave us name tags for a reason!

So, that wrapped up Wednesday.  I think we got to bed around midnight after an absolutely stellar day of visiting folks, checking out bikes, telling lies and generally having a great time.

Thursday greeted us with another sunny day and of course I had to go outside to the parking lot and see how many more bikes had rolled in.  The lot is getting more and more full as time goes by.  And, boy oh boy, are there some interesting machines parked out there.

John Cooper shows off his Goldwing GL1800.

Chris Sakala and Tim Masterson check out some of the awesome farkles on Tim's bike including a FLIR system and an all seeing eye.

A photo of some of the Long Distance riding Iron Butt ladies, me, Mona Loftus and Lorraine Hickey (my fully farkled F650 GS in the background).

Tom Sperry, Chuck Hickey and Amos Hickey doing what those guys do, smoke cigars, kick tires, tell lies and have a lot of fun :-)

Josh Mountain and Eric Bray hanging in the parking lot.

I love this picture, Becky Aikens (a/k/a Oldwhatshername) having some quiet time under the shade trees.

Another great shot with Eric, Dennis Powell (the Iowa Pig Farmer), Rick Martin and Roger Van Santen.

Rick and Barbara Bailey in front of their Goldwing, one of several bikes showcased in the Atrium.

A rare moment, Lisa Landry (Chief Organizer and Cat Herder for this event) having a sit down with Steve Hobart, Kirsten Talken-Spaulding and John Harrison (Mr. 203).

Time for me to finally stop socializing and take the Scorer's Certification Class and Test.  The room ended up being quite full.  The lecture, presented by Tom Austin (IBA all things technical guru) was thorough and concise.  Following the lecture was a test with results to be posted tomorrow.  Fingers crossed and hope I passed it!

 After my class it was back outside to see even more bikes

 I found this motley crew of noobs hanging around.  I think they are now hooked on long distance riding and farkles!  Here we have Jeffrey Heimburger, John Kemnitz and his son Layne.

 Some big dog veterans, we have Robert Bolger, Bob St. George, Dave Biasotti and Tom Sperry.

 More big dogs, Brian Roberts, Randy Quam, Chris McGaffin and Rick Martin enjoying a beer while waiting for their pizza.

 Jeff Augustine (Augie) exhibits his exuberance on the patio.

 David Smith and Eric Bray enjoying a cold beer and good conversation.

 There was no group dinner planned for this evening so a group of us went to a local New Orleans style restaurant, Pappadeaux.  Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, so much food.........Eric and I shared coconut shrimp, alligator bites, and yet another shrimp dish with dirty rice.  Man was it delish!  Here are a few shots of our dinner party.

Dean Tanji, Bob Hole, Dennis York, Colin Tanji and Robert Bolger are visible in this pic.

 Dennis and Karen York, Dean Tanji, Bob Hole and a bit of Pete Bansen.

 Awwww, me and my sweetie and a bit more of Pete Bansen!

Darn, we missed the motorcycle light show in the parking lot because we were out to a late dinner.  However, the quality of the company and the wonderful food made up for our loss.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow when the Meet gets into full swing with meetings, seminars, classes, demonstrations and all the rest.  I'm going to do some shopping with the Atrium Vendors and see what kind of mischief I can stir up.

Hope you follow along.  Oh, tomorrow will also be the Cop Cones Competition which is always spectacular! 

Cheers,

Cletha

PS - If you see yourself here and I didn't get your name, please drop me a note and I'll make the correction.  I apologize to all that I missed getting the correct name.