It was early morning around 4:30 on March 4 when the wind began to howl through the open windows causing the vertical blinds to slap together and blowing maps and papers off the dining room table and rattling the bedroom door in its frame. Awaking to this barrage of noise made me wonder if the Catrike rally Sunday ride on the Withlacoochee was going to take place. The front moved through in about an hour and a half but sleep seemed evasive so at 6:30 I got up and drove South to place directional signs and paint showing where to turn to get to the restaurant for lunch. On going to the shop, people were already there and friends brought up some snacks and tasty baked goods for the throngs about to arrive. Soon cars with trikes mounted in various ways started showing up. Before long the area around the shop was a mass of humans and trikes, phones and cameras clicking away, face book notices being sent and tech getting the word out that the ride was on. Off we were around 10:30 in a staggered start to River Ratz Paddlers Pub only 9 short miles away. Some did a fast run while others took in the scenery with a easy pedal. Some people were even lucky enough to see Gumby the camel.
There was a corn hole tournament under way when we got to Ratz but everyone seemed pleased with the food and service. I got a chance to ride the new rear suspension Road. Got the derailleur full of sand with a little off road excursion but a dip in the river took care of that. See the pic on bentrideronline.com. See the rear suspension in this blog. Anyway the weather and ride turned out just great and it was nice seeing so many Catrike friends again. We received an award for being in the top 10 of Catrike dealers, and the company gave trikes to most of it's employees who have made this fine company what it is today. I feel proud to sell such a fine product made here in the good ole USA. Thank you to all who helped out with this endeavor and all who showed up in spite of early weather gloom. As they say, "if in FL. you don't like the weather, just wait a bit and it'll change" this time for the better as it was a perfect day for a ride. See you all next year.
