The official official day 1. Where we actually move to a different location.
Mike completed 145 miles yesterday. He started in Portland, Maine to Keene, New Hampshire. The start was at a Harley Davidson store called Big Moose. They had a breakfast available and the crowd was HUGE! One of the rules being part of the support crew is that we are not allowed to come into contact with the riders unless told we can. We have certain routes we have to take that are different from the bikers and that may not be the quickest route. Anyway, we were allowed to go to this Harley Davidson. Once we got there, the look on Mikes face was pure panic. It definitely scared the living crap out of mom and me. Thankfully with the help of his brothers and our Ireland friend John they were able to fix it before the start.
The start of the race was neat. The crowd made lines, they would count down and then the bikers would go — they did have to go slow in order for the officiants to grab their numbers. It was exhilarating. If there is any way to pump up a biker, it’s bringing a crowd to cheer them on and gawk over some antique bikes. He was off to a great start!
As we were driving to the next location with the truck and trailer, mom was constantly checking her phone to make sure he was still moving. We put a tracking device in his bike incase someone tried to steal it — haha. He called at their first stop giddy and happy because his bike was driving great!
Our drive was laid back, we took a road that was under construction. We saw some breath taking views with some rocking brooks. I also did call for some Moose, because I wanted to see one. Unfortunately for all of you reading this, you don’t get to hear it. If you see me or Mary in person, we may be able to be bribed to do it. We have had lots of practice already throughout our rides and our NEED to see a Moose.
Let me tell you about how challenging it is to back a trailer into an area with your mom yelling with frustration to go this way and that way, then you do that and then she tells you to go the other way. It’s just terrible. Anyway, someone offered to park it, I am learning guys and gals. IT IS NOT AS EASY AS IT SEEMS! Don’t judge me.
We went to check into our room at 3:00 pm, the room wasn’t done. Isn’t that bonkers? Apparently, their check in is 4:00 pm but they weren’t ready until like 4:30 pm. The struggles of a different hotel every night.
We headed over to a different hotel to watch Mike come to the finish line of the first day, and he came in with a smile on his face! On the way back to our hotel we were able to see other bikers come by! It was such a cool experience. You start to have this bond with people and are excited for them when you see them getting to the finish like, or near it. You could literally jump up and down. We saw our friends Charlie and Tom on our way back to our hotel and we all cheered!
Back at the hotel we (okay the brothers) worked on the bike and the rest of us ran errands and did other things. Then we all (Steve, Mary, Mom, Mike, Larry, Cindy, Michael, Britt, Nash, Brie, David, and myself) went to dinner at a cute little place called Tillie’s. It was delicious! Toward the end of the night, the table decided it would be a wonderful idea to set me up with the waiter. This was the worst idea of the night. Cindy asked him if he was single, how old he was, blah blah blah. The waiter, Anthony, played along well and fully played into it, said that it was nice to meet the family so soon, that he didn’t have kids to complicate things, blind date was going well, etc. Oh my gosh, it was the most embarrassing thing ever. My face was redder than a tomato. I wish it was on video because it was so funny and entertaining and everyone was playing into it. When we FINALLY left — my mom said “bye son” and he said “bye mom”! #soawkward.
Oh yea, I don’t know if I have mentioned this — Mary has been trying to set me up the whole time we have been on this trip. She’s been scouting the single guys for me. Thats actually how she’s been introducing herself to people. “Hey, know any single guys?” The kicker? She has no standards for me — haha. Brings for some interesting men.
Anyway, it was a late night, on to day two!
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