OFMC 2019: Sort Of Back To The Beginning
The OFMC has gotten small again.
The OFMC started out in 1989 with just three of us: Bill, John, and me. Over the years we’ve been joined by brothers, sons, friends of sons, and a few other assorted relatives. Once or twice the group was as big as 11 or 12.
And now we’ve come full circle. There will three of us going on this year’s OFMC trip in July. Bill will be coming, as will I. John will not. Dennis will be. Actually, Brett would be coming with us this year–and presumably will be with us next year–but he recently changed jobs and has to work a full year until he can take vacation time.
So it’s going to be a lot like the old days, only not so much in at least a couple ways.
Back in the beginning we all carried tents, sleeping bags, and foam pads or air mattresses. We may have only used them one or two nights each trip but we had them in case we needed them and there were times we did, indeed, need them. Back then we made no plans or reservations, so it was inevitable that there were times when we would roll into some town and find no room at the inn. Time to find a campground.
We won’t be camping this year. Judy and I still love camping but all the guys have gotten old without us. They don’t camp. Of course, that frees up space on the bike, a whole lot of stuff you don’t need to carry.
What does get back a little to beginnings is that with only three of us we have been able to make arrangements to stay in only one room. In some cases we’ve secured rooms with accommodations for three or even four. In other cases it’s a matter of arranging for a roll-away or a futon. Whoever made the reservation made the decision and takes the roll-away. In the old days our approach was a little different. If we had only two beds, we would take turns with one sleeping on the floor. That’s not going to happen now. Did I mention the other guys have gotten old?
On the other hand, another way things are different is that we will be staying in some fairly expensive places. Back in the day, we were pretty poor and we would go out of the way to go cheap. Standard practice was to roll into town and each of us head to one motel and ask about rates and availability. We would meet back up and make our choice and go check in. Now we’re all retired and money just isn’t the issue it used to be.
And we definitely have made reservations all along the way. You might think (or I might suggest) that with only three we might go back to making it up as we go. You can’t do that when you needs beds for 8 or 10 people but with just 3 . . . Uh-uh. These guys don’t camp and they don’t go off without motel reservations. I told you, they’ve gotten old.
So where are we going? It’s going to be a good trip (when is it not a good trip!?). And I’ll go over the itinerary in my next post.
Biker Quote for Today
Anyone can go fast in a straight line: try going slow in a figure 8.
Tags: traveling by motorcycle
