AER Autumn in Bonham, Sep 09
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AER: Autumn in Bonham, Sep 09



Though not an official event of the KAG vessel IKV Melota, this was an official event of the League of American Wheelmen. The Autumn in Bonham was an LAW sanctioned bicycle ride in which all wheelmen were invited to participate.



Lucky members of KAG vessels of the Cold Revenge Quadrant who are wheelmen managed to dust off the bicycles, pledge to get back into some semblance of shape, and ride the 14 mile loop of the Autumn in Bonham. Not everybody who wished to go was able to do so. We missed you.

14 miles is not very much. But for myself, the less than stellar management with the Company for which I work has not allowed me to bicycle to/from work for the longest stretch in my life. I am Grethor bent on getting my butt back on the bike and this was a step in the correct direction. My personal goal is to get back into cycling to the camp sites. In the DFW area, that means 20 or so to Cedar Hill State Park and right at 50 for Cleburne State Park. For my fellow cyclists, we all have our various wills and reasons to get back out there and ride. Dirt. Road. Self contained Camping.
That 14 was my longest stretch in five years.

Rotokq and Katokq arrived Friday and established the camp. My family arrived at 0300 Saturn's Day. After a quick tent set up, we crashed until the necessary hour of morning to join the ride. This made for a peleton of five. Rotokq, Katokq, Salek, Squeeze and Errol the Ferengi.



This is a normal ride, unlike the gigantic HHH. It was very well organized. There were a few vendors, a BBQ contest, and things for the kiddies to do. It was small and personal enough to get to talk to people, local and wheelmen. It was not so large that you felt to just be another one thousandth of a crowd.
We set off on the 14 mile ride and immediately made friends with some Trekkers from the west coast who will be moving into our area. Hopefully, they might join a KAG vessel in our area. We all chatted during the miles and attempted to encourage and assist. One of our possibles had a flat and had to take the sagwagon in. I was brutally reminded that after 5 years off of the bike, I need to get all of the support tools back onto the "Challenge". Between Rotokq and myself, we had every tool necessary to take care of our fellow wheelman except an air pump. ooooops!
The ride was flat. Little rise and fall in terrain. Minimal wind compared to the HHH and our Texas norm. We passed Fort Inglish and some beautiful mansions from the 1880s. Unlike the Graham Possum Pedal, this fort is a re-creation whereas the GPP has an original 19th Century Fortress still extant. There was literally a lot of shopping to be done on this little tour and the town made sure that stores were open. After the ride, Rotokq and Squeeze went back to shop the town.



A guest combatant of the 2008 Tournament was found. Penny, to be seen in the 2008 Batleth videos by Dr. Gizmo and also of Stowalkor studios, was present as a vendor. Later, with the business hat taken off, she came out to visit our camp and we all had a great time talking about fun, business, fun, real property, friends, and fun.

We stayed at Bonham State Park. This is a jewel of a park. It is small, but it has a lot of trails and other amenities to offer. I submit that any CRQ ship should consider Bonham State Park for a venue. It has, among other things an affordable group campsite with an open area for Batleth Competition, a HUGE concrete common table, and a mini-table that would serve as a stage or "altar". Click on the above link to see big pictures of the park.

The price for two nights of Class B group camping was nearly the same as five sites two nights of Class B camping at Purtis Creek State Park. This is worth thinking about.

Some lardbodies got out to start becoming hardbodies. This was a good start. I hope to see you next year at the Autumn in Bonham.


Strength and Honor,
Salek
Ship's Sore Butt


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