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DEALER GUIDEARIZONASouthwest TrikesPhoenix, AZ602-374-3510ARKANSASArkansas Trike CenterClarksville, AR(479) 754-4326COLORADOUnique RidesFt. Collins, CO(970) 416-5986FLORIDAThoroughbredMotorsports of DaytonaDaytona Beach, FL(386) 255-1999GEORGIAR & R Trikes and BikesJasper, GA(706) 692-2382INDIANAAll AmericanThoroughbredEvansville, IN(888) 824-6566LOUISIANALoewer PowersportsAlexandria, LA(318) 487-9495MARYLANDCycles & Trikes ofFrederickFrederick, MD(301) 662-9447MASSACHUSETTSThoroughbredMotorsports of BostonPeabody, MA(781) 603-2754MICHIGANRathbun EnterprisesClayton, MI(866) 842-9221MINNESOTATrikes by DeweyPerham, MN(218) 346-3920MISSISSIPPIFrank’s TrikesLaurel, MS(601) 425-1283NEBRASKAMotor Trike CentralNorfolk, NE(402) 379-2243NEVADATrike ToysHenderson, NV(702) 856-0308NEW YORKStan’s Harley DavidsonBatavia, NY(585) 343-9598OHIOBlackburn’s Inc.Medina, OH(800) 424-0008OKLAHOMANutting Custom TrikesAfton, OK(918) 257-8795Trinity TrikesMoore, OK(405) 794-3935PENNSYLVANIALeola Motor TrikeLeola, PA(888) 656-7531SOUTH CAROLINACMJ MotorsportsSummerville, SC(843) 376-2020TENNESSEEBoswell’sNashville, TN(800) 475-0737TEXASFun MotorsLongview, TX(903) 663-9100Mitchell’s TrikesGatesville, TX(254) 865-2731Tim Grimes Motor TrikeBrady, TX(325) 597-0404VIRGINIAThoroughbred of VirginiaSterling, VA(571) 237-2581I-877-3RIDE4YOUI-888-783-3348WWW.THOROUGHBRED-MOTORSPORTS.COMin Atlanta we met a Wing-riding judge whowas looking forward to going back to Texas toeat at the “best BBQ restaurant in the country”…yup,The Hard 8.TX-M falls within the Home District ofDistrict Director Ken Peterson, a dear andcharming man with a flowing handlebar moustacheand a voice politicians would kill for. Heinvited us to a very special event that was takingplace at their state rally in May.Arrangements had been made to put hundredsof Gold Wings on the flight deck of theretired aircraft carrier USS Lexington.My dad had served 30 years in the Navy,including some time on the Lex, and my latehusband was in the Marine Corps for 19 years(100% disabled vet) and had flown from theLex. In addition, my son Steve was a reserveNavy medic attached to the Marine Corpsunit that was in the last flight of planes to takeoff from the Lexington. Wow! I thought, That isa trip we absolutely had to make. Plus, the Texasriders are wonderful folks, and we reallylooked forward to seeing them again.On the way, we stopped in New Orleansto visit the Carrils and the Heberts, GoldWingers we had met on the GWRRACaribbean Cruise in February. What food inNew Orleans! They made a crawfish boil thatcould have fed an army. We actually had towaddle our way from there to Corpus Christi.We found that in Texas you fuel up morefrequently because there are unannounced140-mile stretches between stations. Plus, wehad 30 knots of wind gusting up to 50 mph forabout 450 miles of plains, so the gas stopswere nice little breaks.And we’d like to say “Hats off to everyonewho was involved in making this such anexcellent rally”. There weren’t as many vendorsas Florida events usually have, but theones who were there were excellent. Wewere pleased to find good old reliableBenchmark there—glad to see them! (Joanneand Greg are Wingers out of South Florida,totally honorable merchants, and extremelysupportive of the Gold Wing community.We’llsee them again at Wing Ding.)The Holiday Inn prepared an excellentvariety of mesquite-grilled foods every day,and folks were lined up around the whole areathroughout the event for the Lexington T-shirtconcession.Twenty of the 22 Texas GWRRA Chaptersmade gigantic, beautiful gift baskets to raffleoff. Each one had a list of the contents and thevalue to help folks decide where they wantedto invest their tickets. Doug didn’t want me toenter. “How will we get it home if you win?”he asked. I kiddingly explained he could packall the stuff in the trailer, and I could wear thebasket upside down over my helmet.Well, you guessed it.We won one. It was afantastic assortment of goodies, and Doug didhis part and got all the wonderful stuff into thetrailer. I did not and gave the big beautifulempty basket to the nice lady at the hoteldesk who wanted it far more than I did. (I figuredthat thing was just big enough to getboth Doug and me airborne along the way.)Doug entered our bike in the light competition,and it took First Place in its class andBest in Show.Wow. At the bike show the followingday, it took First Place in its class. Thekid from Florida did all right in the land of theLone Star!And then we staged to ride onto the ship.The sea of bikes lined up in a huge portsidearea. Doug’s 3x5 American and POW flagswere flying in the wind and his sound systemwas playing a patriotic medley that really setthe mood. It was quite an experience to beasked to lead the bikes onto this proud andhighly decorated ship. About fifty Wingsexpertly aligned themselves on the big elevatorplatform that had raised countless planesto the great expanse above. As if this wasn’timpressive enough, when the upper deck cameinto sight, planes from World War II up to thepresent were parked in lines the length of theship.No one spoke. It was surreal. We parkedthe bike and were looking out over the waterand the city beyond when, like Phoenix risingfrom the ashes, up rose another 50 GoldWings. It was an incredible sight, and overwhelmingemotion gripped everyone.Those few hours were absolutely priceless.A delightful dinner was efficiently served to allon the hangar deck and we had a chance tolook at the museum exhibits on display. It waslong after dark by the time we started ourengines to reluctantly depart the area, and thebeautiful variety of lighting on the sea of bikesand trikes was truly amazing. I’m surprised weweren’t reported as having landed from outerspace!Our bike was first on, so the front wheelwas inches from the edge of the elevator platform.One little nudge from behind and theWing would have been taking a flying lesson.As we descended, Doug lightened themood by shifting from patriotic music to “TheLove Boat”, and then we were waving goodbyeas our bike led a “flight” of Gold Wings ashore.They said this type of gathering will neverhappen again but, if it does, you really must go.It was an unforgettable thrill for all of us.(Submitted by Laura Roberts,GWRRA #271529)●16 Wing World