2008 Golden Rule Rally Awards Banquet and Ninja 250 National Meet

2008 Golden Rule Rally Awards Banquet and National Ninja 250 Meet

Ride Report: May 16-17, 2008 -- The family and I attended the 2008 Golden Rule Rally Awards Banquet and Ninja 250 National Meet at the A to Z Guest Ranch near Smithville, Oklahoma. It was decided ahead of time that the 2005 Ninja 250 would be trailered so Victoria and Nathaniel could trade off pillion during the scheduled Saturday group ride.

Tam Pho and John Shuler (riding Sarah Woo's yellow 250R) of the Ninja 250 Riders Club met at our home in Trenton. Tam and John assisted Nathaniel and I as we loaded up the Escort. Naturally we were running late and I got into a rush. We finally headed out and picked up Joleen and Victoria at Trenton High School. We headed toward Oklahoma via Paris, Texas. Naturally we could not pass by a Wal-Mart and stopped at the Wal-Mart in Broken Bow, Oklahoma.

As we approached the A to Z Guest Ranch we got a call from Michael Hickman of the Ninja 250 Riders Club to see if we could grab some charcoal as they were running out. We stopped by a convenience store and paid more for charcoal than I ever have in my life.

Upon arriving at the A to Z Guest Ranch we discovered that I had forgotten all the ingredients for the cinnamon rolls that Joleen had set aside to cook the group for Saturday morning breakfast in my rush to depart Trenton. I was mentally kicking myself until I learned that Michael Hickman (bless his heart) had forgotten the pork chops for Saturday night dinner.

We visited Friday evening over hotdogs and hamburgers. It was a treat to meet so many members of the Ninja 250 Riders Club. Joleen and Marilyn really hit it off great. The Golden Rule Rally award was given to Michael Hickman by Marilyn with John Shuler officiating. Sara Woo received the "Spirit of the Rally" award.

The logging road to A to Z Guest Ranch was awful (in fact Sara Woo dropped her Ninja 650R on that road Saturday morning). We decided that leaving both the Ninjette and the trailer at A to Z Guest Ranch and avoiding traversing the road on two wheels would be the most sensible approach. This enabled the four of us to go to and from our cabin at Big Cedar RV Park and Cabins by travelling in the Escort. Another group of 250 Rally attendees including John Penner and Tam Pho stayed in the cabin next door. The cabins were clean, comfortable, and reasonably priced with very good road access. We will stay there again when over-nighting in the area.

Saturday morning broke cool and pleasant with a heavy dew and a hint of low lying fog. We arose, took our time packing and enjoyed the morning. Breakfast went fine back at A to Z Guest Ranch by scrounging eggs and some prepackaged items. More visiting took place over breakfast as we waited for everyone to get gathered.

Once up the road we staged for the group ride at the intersection with US 259. Nathaniel and Victoria planned to swap out pillion on the Ninjette during the ride. Joleen and Marilyn continued their on going conversation by "riding sweep" for the group in the Escort. The safety of this number of riders demanded we divided up into smaller, more manageable groups with Michael Hickman and Alan Bennet taking the two faster groups while I and my pillion offspring lead the slower group. We rode to the Queen Wilhelmina State Park Lodge for the lunch buffet and took in a bit of the Talimena Scenic Drive on the way. Judging from the attrition rate from my group it would seem I was going too slowly for most of the "slower riders".

After lunch the visiting to moved from the lodge to the parking lot where we were treated to a variety of sights including a Honda Rhune and a flying crane. From the Queen Wilhelmina State Park Lodge we continued down the Talimena Scenic Drive to Mena, Arkansas for fuel. We filled up at the Valero on the corner of Arkansas 88 and US 59. Tam and we said our goodbyes as we needed to be back to Texas for Sunday obligations and Tam had projects at work. The remainder of the group continued toward Wilburton for some more riding and then back to A to Z Guest Ranch for dinner and more fellowship.

Upon arriving at the intersection of US 259 and the logging road to A to Z Guest Ranch we left Tam, Nathaniel, and the Ninjette while Joleen, Victoria, Marilyn and I took the Escort on down the road the pickup the trailer. We said our farewells to Marilyn, picked up the trailer at A to Z Guest Ranch, and began the task of clawing our way back out of the valley via the logging road. Once back on more level ground we loaded the Ninjette on the trailer and with Tam riding behind us we headed back to Texas. At Boswell, Oklahoma we stopped to enjoy dinner at the Backwoods Cafe. After dining we finished our trek back to Texas.

A word about "Flat Stanley" -- Nathaniel's sixth grade English and Social Studies teachers used Flat Stanley as a device to assign several cross curricular explorations. In this assignment Flat Stanley was to go on an adventure and the student give a multi-media presentation to the class. Nathaniel thought Flat Stanley would like a biker weekend.