Five riders left Kmart at 6:15 p.m. Thursday for the ride through Wayne and Oakland Counties to Royal Oak. We were planning on a 6:00 p.m. departure, but we waited for a couple of FMC members who were assisting a 6th rider, who was planning to join us for the ride, but his reliable, dependable, BMW wasn’t feeling very energetic that day (dead battery). He did get it running before the end of the day though so all was well in the end, except for him missing the ride.
One of the two roads (Beck) under construction the last time we rode North (Ortonville Bullfrogs ride) was thankfully completed, so the Pontiac Trail roundabout construction was the only necessary detour. The roads in general seemed very crowded Thursday, but once we were east of the M-5/Pontiac Trail intersection, traffic cleared up considerably.
Arriving into Royal Oak, with daylight quickly waning (the reason for our early departure), the great “Meter Maid in the Sky” must have been looking down on us, as we turned onto Main Street and immediately saw a solitary motorcycle occupying a metered parking space with over an hour left on the ticker. We squeezed all 5 bikes into that space and threw a few quarters in for good luck before heading into Mr. B’s.
Shortly after ordering, we were joined by a late-arriving member at our table who had to work late, but the Mr. B’s staff ensured his order arrived as quickly as possible. After his beer arrived, we toasted our dearly departed FMC members Allen Hewitt and Jim Nail. We rode in remembrance of them that day. Nothing extravagant, as I bet they would have wanted, but just a mention of them and their service to the club, and a toast, so that all members, past, present, and future, will never forget them.
Next scheduled ride is Thursday this week. John Janci, the ride leader for this week’s ride, will be forwarding details separately.