We Love Our Wing

written by: Angela Ferguson

Yesterday was the first installment of the 2014 Green Freeze and I was soooo glad to be back on the bike.  It was requested that members arrive early, at 9:30, to help set up, but when we arrived at 9:35 everything was already done and they were checking a crowd of people in! It was a beautiful, clear sunny day and people were taking advantage of the opportunity to ride.

Hinshaw’s – being great supporters of Chapter V and riders in general – offered this year to provide breakfast for the chapter and all our guest riders at each of our Green Freeze events so we were treated to a hot pancake and egg breakfast made and served by Hinshaw’s staff!

After check-in and breakfast we stopped by Hinshaw’s service department to ask for an estimate on a big maintenance check-up on the Wing.  (Need her roadworthy for all our planned adventures this year https://weloveourwing.com/2014/01/01/looking-ahead-2/).

Necessary business taken care of, we stood around chatting then spent a good deal of time trying on jackets.  There are now far more options available for jackets in the bright and see-able safety yellow color and we each found one we liked.

Just as we were finishing up, who should walk in but our friend Bill from DamTour.  He said we was driving by on his way to snag some BMR sites when he saw all the green and Gold Wings and figured he might find us there! After spending a few minutes with him, we figured we’d better mount up as it was now quarter to 11.  

As we walked out the doors, one of our chapter members busy selling raffle tickets asked if we were going on the ride as there was a gentleman looking for someone to follow.  We said sure, introduced ourselves, and he said it would be just a few minutes as a couple buddies had gone to fill up their tanks.  We mounted up and shortly he came over and said they were ready.  As we pulled out of our spot and waited for him and his friends to line up behind us, we were shocked to find it was a large group from the riding club Twisted Riderz of Seattle (http://www.twistedriderz.com).  We weren’t just leading 2-3 bikes, but rather about a dozen! Luckily, we had looked over the ride instructions and knew it was all familiar territory.  We headed out from Hinshaw’s, down to Sumner, through Puyallup, skirted around JBLM through Lakewood and down to Steilacoom, through University Place, over to Ruston and the waterfront, onto 509, then up Norpoint Way to Jimmy Mac’s in Federal Way.

Once we arrived at Jimmy Mac’s we checked in, pulled our poker chips and sat down to once again fill our bellies.  As I’ve mentioned before, food and this chapter go hand-in-hand.  Or is that hand-to-mouth?  We had left Hinshaw’s so late, the group tables were full so we ended up sitting just with each other, chatting about our day before heading out to where we had just been – Sumner – to visit the woodworking store, from their we enjoyed a leisurely ride home.