Thursday.
suddenly it is 9am PST and I’m at the airport sucking on the first bloody mary of the day to curb the previous evening’s lapse of judgment, trying to decide if I want to eat something off the terminal bar’s menu based on how it will taste on the way back up. gunna be boarding a Max8 in 45min for the quick rip to Sky Harbor where the second leg of this journey begins. Quick call to the misses to share a smile; a check in with Desert Yeti to secure transport from the airport to his place where all my shit arrived a week prior; and a second bloody mary that ended just in time to stumble down the concourse into the hermetically sealed tub that housed 160 of my closest friends at 500mph. swear to gawd it always starts like this.
don’t even really remember the flight, whether it was the libations poured upon the previous evening’s shenanigans, or maybe I snored like a bear with a sinus infection while plowing through clear blue atmosphere with the beauty of the desert I adore 35,000 feet below. maybe whoever was sitting next to me had a clue as to where I was and what I was doing, but in reflecting back I still have absolutely no idea. and again, seems this is my MO so why would it be any different? I remember the last time I did this trip, the fist full of mushrooms had me plastered to the window while my heavily influenced imagination held me outside the plane in a state of enamored bliss. that was awesome, but unless you are fully prepared I’d certainly suggest you not follow my example.
bump. tires screech. reverse thrust. stomach contents remain in my stomach. taxi. full stop. emerging from the concourse, I bee lined to the chariot awaiting me. a quick stop for things TSA frowns upon and I’m building my bike and sorting gear while Desert Yeti finalizes his work day and we’re off for Flagstaff to dinner and drinks with friends.
as soon as we breached the end of commercial zoning, the desert opened up before us, with saguaros standing at attention like sentinels. gawddamn it was beautiful, as always. memories of riding the Black Canyon Trail to ride the Whiskey 50 with the DC Fam flooded back as we passed Black Canyon City where after running out of water hours prior I sucked down a pitcher of water and a pitcher of beer before reinvigorating my pace to get to Cleater before the bar closed. then SSAZ in Bumblebee many moons ago where BHard set a bar I do not believe can be attained again. conversation, laughter, plans ideas thoughts all of everything filled the station wagon in anticipation for what we were about to undertake… hosting rights for SSUSA 2025. we have one hell of a plan, and if we can make it happen, well… I for one will be pleased to the absolute fucking core.
first stop at sunset was meeting up with Flagstaff fam for dinner, drinks, laughs and schemes so we could pass the time until Justin was ready to depart. who would have thought there would be killer Japanese food there, but it was, and it was good. and in the vein of typically single speed event planning, we swung by the adult fun shop to pick up a dildo to enhance everyone’s weekend experience in Salida. unfortunately for me, even a modest dong was gunna set me back $60, so when I asked if there was anything cheaper I was met with, “you want something cheaper, go get your dildo at Goodwill!” then the shop owner opened a cabinet of used / returned schlongs and vibrators… “This is doesn’t vibrate anymore so I’ll take $10 off.” so we left empty handed and without the need for an STD test.
Justin was ready so we headed to scoop him up and get to gettin’, and at 10:30pm AZ Time the three of us piled in the station wagon and headed east to cross the Rez.
the pitch black night engulfed us, and the moon did very little to light the way. it was a straight plow, heads down, focused, hammerfest across the desert, through four corners and into the mountains of southern ColoRADo. I don’t think any of us remember the entire drive, but under pressure and in the right state of mind, the three of us could certainly piece it together.
Friday
7:30am MTD we roll into Salida and grab coffee trying to figure out what where and how do we get there. a short while later we roll into the campground to find Karl rousing with a handful of others dusting off the previous night’s brain slime, and find our parking spot / campsite for duration of the event.
as family peeled their eyes open to the day, they stumbled through our site as we happened to be in the path of the exit, and honey buckets. hugs, smiles, gleams in eyes, a gin and tonic in my hand, and we all settled in for one of the very few events in the lower 48 that is not built around consumerism, marketing, or profit. it is a family reunion.
after a few more hydrating and dehydrating drinks, a handful of mood enhancers, a puff or six, and a small crew of us began our pedal into town for the next task on the agenda; party time!
and it happened. it was here that the mixture of mood enhancers coupled with being awake since two hours prior to the previous morning’s airport bar libations and everything ingested since led me to having “A Moment”. deep in the mood surrounded by loving family in one of my favorite parts of the country, the stresses of life fled as if chased away by a pissed off, whiskey drunk silver back wielding an aluminum baseball bat. note: I’d apologize to the Overlander Douchebag that stopped, interrupted, and tried to get involved, be he had it coming so there. I gatta be me.
and this Moment is what we all need. the calm, the serene, the sweetness, the air, and the beauty of it all. THIS MOMENT is what I strive to encourage everyone to have. this is what it is all about. it came upon me without warning, and engulfed me completely, and the other side was better than imagined. with all the world’s billboards and ads and 10×10 branded tents and free samples and brightly colored NBG and pushy sales and aggressive marketing very VERY far away from this event, everyone was able to be there to ride bikes and have a good time. This is what it is all about.
I’m not going to hash out everything that happened at SSUSA 2024 here, partly because when logged on to write this I saw Dirty was in process of a recap, and partly because I’ve typed enough for you to be wiping right about now. and if you have to flush twice, good.
HOWEVER, because these types of events are few, what I am going to do is urge you to find, create, build, join, or help make happen an event like this. one where it doesn’t matter if it is a person’s first time attending, or if a seasoned veteran tows the line. it does not matter your bike, your creed, your religion, your gender, your anything.
all that matters is you ride a bike and want to be part of the family because we need a lot of more of this.
