Re: Ride to Mammoth 3/7/20

Hello Duane + all Blues Angels,

I would like to thank the members of Blues Angels for coming out to the car show at the Resort RV park.  We all enjoyed a great breakfast together followed by a walk down memory lane as we looked at all the old, beautiful restored cars and hot rods.

Unfortunately, Claire and I found out the next day that we had to leave for home immediately due to the Corona virus pandemic declaration being a national emergency.  Our medical insurance company gave us 10 days to get back to Canada (deadline - March23, 2020) after which our coverage would be cancelled. (Apparently, they do not cover pandemics) 

We are presently in Sutherlin, OR, 500 miles from our home in Surrey, BC.  We should cross the border on Sunday and then be self quarantined for two weeks.  Every day on the road the traffic gets thinner.  The Can/US Border has been closed except for essential travel and returning citizens.  We will not be allowed back into the USA for the foreseeable future.  

I just wanted to thank Duane, our leader and all the Blues Angels for another great season of riding and camaraderie.  I hope and pray that a cure is found for this Covid - 19 - virus.  Until next season, try to enjoy what will now be the new normal and hopefully, the old normal will be back by next fall.

Ride safe, Derek Hudson 

On Sun, Mar 8, 2020 at 10:19 AM Duane Switz <ddswitz@gmail.com> wrote:

16 Bikes with 24 riders assembled at the Chevron for today's ride. There were 1 or 2 more groups of motorcycles also there, heading to different destinations.  We discussed our upcoming picnic and reminded everyone that tickets needed to be purchased by the weekend of the 14th, so we had an accurate count to order the correct amount of food. We split into 2 groups, with Dennis leading the first group, with Jay on the tail. Garry & Anne led the second group, with Derek on the tail. Dennis went down thru Florence to Oracle and up to Mammoth, while Garry elected to go thru Superior and down thru Winkleman. It turned out to be a 20 mile difference in the routes. Dennis had called the restaurant on Friday, advising them that we anticipated about 25 riders. They said that would be fine and they could accommodate us, but, it turned out differently!  Several of the riders waited 1 1/2 hours, and still had not been served food! The service was very slow for the rest of the group, with the restaurant running out of coffee and even coffee cups! The food was good and plentiful when it was finally served, but. We may have to reconsider that place on our list of restaurants.

We headed out up 177 back toward Winkleman, noticing the abundance of yellow flowers along the roadsides. After a stop at the Shell station for fuel, we headed up the highway toward Globe. The ride from Winkleman to Globe has got to be one of the most scenic routes of the many we ride, which Bonnie tried to capture with her camera. We also stopped at the overlook at the top, which is named El Capitan Pass. The plaque told us that Kearney's Army of the West passed thru here in 1846, with Kit Carson as the scout! We continued thru Globe, with the temperature rising as we descended into the valley. We arrived back at 2:45, having ridden 189 miles.

Wednesdays destination is to Payson, but the weather guessers are saying rain, so we'll see. Starting Saturday, the 14th, we will change to 8 AM starts, with our ride to Mt Lemmon.  We will also have an alternate for that day, for those who prefer a shorter ride. Derek Hudson's park has a car show from 8-12, with breakfast served ( eggs, ham or sausage, toast or pancakes, coffee, juice for $5 ) It is located at 1101 S Ellsworth Rd & Southern Av. Then a ride destination could be determined. Also, I have had several inquiries about going on the Rim Ride. That is scheduled for the 18th.

I am sending the pictures of the ride in a separate e-mail, as I am trying a different method of transferring the pictures from my cell phone to e-mail.

Duane