But first an update on my former partner Michael Porter. I went by and visited him and he is doing very well. His meld score dropped from 12 to 10 so now he is at much less risk of an imminent transplant. There is no cure so he will still have it at some point but that point is now looking to be farther away. His new partner has not faired as well lately. He wrecked his motorcycle last week and is still in the hospital. Two broke legs, broken tibia, and other assorted injuries. He was on a sport bike (crotch rocket) and the place he wrecked is a nice sweeping high speed turn but you do not want to get off line into the marbles. It seems he did.
So before I head out today on a ride. Three poker runs, Derby Ladies car wash, several car shows and our farmers market then these are some shots from last weekends ride.
It was a ride from Lawton to Hobart for Memorial day and it's called the Freedom Ride. Hobart is the home of General Tommy Franks museum and he was to lead us into Hobart for the parade part of our run.
So we expected temps in the 90's for the day but it was almost that as early arrivals started showing up at ProTeam Harley. 
A group of us (about 70 or so) decided to hit the road as soon as possible so we headed out. The route was to take us through the Wichita Wildlife Refuge , which I always enjoy , but halfway across we were stopped by Johnny Law and all pulled over. Not for loud pipes or speed but because they had about 1500 bicycle riders that were heading our way and they wanted us out of the way for them. Not sure exactly why since all cars were still being waved on. So we sat for about 10 minutes in the now baking sun.
We all know the area so we decided to back track about 20 miles and head around to the north of the refuge. Added about 40 miles to our trek but we still had more than ample time to get to Hobart for the parade arrival. Nearly 100 at this point but in the wind at 70 mph is cooler than sitting in the sun and they could not tell us how long we might have to wait. So we trekked onward.
We had the usual road kills to avoid but when a little red car pulled straight out in front of us then brakes were locking. No damage to anyone but the driver certainly got a lot of hand signals. I'm sure he understood.
So it's a poker run combined with the memorial day festivities in Hobart. This is at one of the stops where we lathered on more sunscreen and drank water like camels.
Our next stop was especially nice. We had been riding for about 4 hours so lunch was starting to sound good. We stopped in Blair, Oklahoma for some pulled pork. It's the best in Oklahoma. And probably in many other states. So tender, so moist, and so BBQ flavored. 
Poured on the hot sauce and topped off the gas tank before we moved on. Some of the rest of the bikes had now joined us so we parted with about 150 bikes at this point. People in Blair had their lawn chairs out and watched us heading out through their little burg.
Another stop to pull a card (it was a poker run after all) and these are two friends that I like riding with from Lawton. Ralph and Joanna. Very safe riders and those you like to ride with. 
More sunscreen and more water as the temps went over the century mark.
And a short interlude. We had a lot of women drivers. Not passengers on the ride. Seems like every ride we get more and more. I really like that. Here is one cutie on a very clean looking white sporty. She must have been about 80 lbs soaking wet. 
Heck. It's time to ride today so I better wrap this up.
We arrived at the Hobart Airport. About an hour before we were supposed to all ride into Hobart for the parade run. They had someone parking the bikes to line up for the ride and I guess they looked for patriotic bikes so Ralph and I with all our flags waving got seeded in the front row. We would ride in just behind General Tommy Franks on his Harley.
Joanna snapped a photo of me by the bike on the tarmac. Nice ride in the background but he was not on our run. 🙂 
So we had a little time to kill. More sunscreen and more water. 105 at this point. In another 20 minutes there were bikes as far as the eye could see. Maybe over 500 or so. 
Ralph and went and chatted up a man who had his glider on display. Very nice bird and probably the only thing quiet that day at the airport.
And we had so many bikes that this guy had to show up and move his plane. Nice looking bird also. Not sure what it was but maybe David can identify it. Twin screws but it looked pretty old. 
Sorry the picture is not closer but at 105f outside then the prop blast was like a furnace.
So the General shows up and we head out to Hobart proper. If you have never heard the sound of 500 or more bikes firing up and pulling out then it's a real treat.
Since we were in the front then we got into town first and got to park just across from the General's museum. No shade though and it was hot,hot, hot.
We saw shade on the other side of the street but 20 minutes passed and bikes were still coming down the road into town. Love that sound though. 
Heck. It's time to head out so I'll close this post.
107 f at this point and many of us still had 80 or more miles to ride to get back home. We bugged out. The beer tent looked promising but most of us were toast at this point and just wanting to get into something with air conditioning or with cold water (pools) so we pointed the bikes eastward.
I must have drank 10 bottles of water all day but I sure didn't expect the results at the end of the day. As we pulled into Lawton on the west side I waved as Ralph and Joanna turned off to head to their house. I still had a few miles to go but suddenly the arms and legs felt weak. I mean really weak like I could not stay on the bike. I pulled into the Toyota dealership, put the kickstand down and as I walked in their door my eyesight was almost a tunnel. Very close call.
They brought me water, wet towels, and even a frozen fruit basket. Gotta love the caring of Okies. Took me an hour to recover before I headed on home. Heat exhaustion I figure and luckily not heat stroke. I didn't do anything that strenuous that day so be careful with this heat.
Time to ride. Take care all.
That looks like a Twin Beech to me. A very cool airplane. The ramp is not technically a tarmac if it is concrete :-).
It's roughly March 15 weather wise here. The Jet stream is coming down out of Alaska bringing low 60s (at least 20° below normal) and rain showers, expecting an inch and a half this weekend, very unusual. California is usually dried out by now. I almost got the truck stuck trying to climb a wet, clayey road on Thursday. Truck skiing backwards back down the hill YEE-HAW! Try to slow it down by braking then release the brakes so I can steer (and not slide off the road) with subordinate employee spotting for me. We found a safe parking spot and walked up there. I will still be able to work on the project, it'll just involve more hiking due to the wetness of the weather.
Would Mikes new partner be Bryan?
Your pics are always a pleasure to see, thanks Deral!:-)
I believe the glider is a Genesis 2. I have had the brochure on this sailplane since the first model came out in 1993. The design was a collaboration with Burt Rutan, the famous aircraft designer and record holder. If you get a chance, go for a ride in a two seat glider at a local soar club, you may find yourself riding your bike down for lessons.
Yes, Bryan is his name but not the Bryan that first started with Michael (Bryan Hull). He had his first year anniversary with the city two days after his accident. You have to do one full year before you can take any vacation leave but you can use the accrued sick leave in your first year. Hopefully they will not give him any grief about using his two weeks vacation time because it looks like he will need it for sure.
Nice young man and I don't really know much about him but I've seen him run EP and in talking to him he seems pretty up on things related to surveying.
I'm not a plane guy David so I call anything not a runway surface the tarmac. So it's only tarmac if it's asphalt? Can I just call it the apron then or is that something else entirely?
The plane was cool and we all said "Wow! It's so quiet"... That's only funny if you picture 500 some loud bike riders after 100 miles at warp speed. A sonic boom would have seemed quiet. And little more than a distant pop!..
I've never been in a glider Gordon and I really would like to take a ride in one. The pilot explained the three different ways that they can be launched. At this airport they use a pulley system that has an extremely long cable. It's winched at high speeds to put the plane aloft. I should have take a picture of the instrument panel. Only had about 3-4 instruments but he had a Garmin fastened to the dash. He said that you really have to watch your height and how far you are from the airport to avoid and unplanned landing in a field.
I've raced my Lola several times in Hutchinson, Kansas. I think it's an old Navy base but at one time it was home to thousands of gliders. Must have been a major manufacturing facility but there are remains all around the place. I hit a chunk of a wing one time when I got punted off of corner 8 at a rather nice rate of speed. (around 150 give or take a few MPH). Flat as a board but all natural pasture that is about 4' tall. In the Lola it's like running into a maze. The corner workers had to come find me and guide me back to the track. 🙂
Deral - A high school buddy of mine still lives in Lawton and as I understand it is a Harley enthusiast. He's a dentist there... last name of Jackson. Great guy – real funny. He also graduated from OSU. I’m thinking he may have been on the ride since the last couple times we corresponded he was just going to or getting back from all sorts of Harley-pa-loozas all over the great plains and into the Rockies. If you cross paths with him say “howdy” from me. Y’all would probably be able to trade some good stories about coach/mayor Powell…
Pappy is no longer our Mayor. Hasn't been in a few years and he sold Pappy's corner. It's now torn down and going to become some fast food place.
I never went to school in Lawton but I did have to present stuff in front of the council from time to time. Pappy always treated me good in those cases so I liked him as a person. Can't say much about his mayoral duties though. He seemed to make a lot of deals that were beneficial to him and not so much to the city. Just my opinion though.
But our current Mayor strikes me the same way. We haven't had a good one since we had a retired Colonel from Fort Sill as our Mayor. He was the best and most impartial in all my years of service.
> He seemed to make a lot of deals that were beneficial to him and not so much to the city.
That doesn't come as a surprise. He was an interesting cat and I can see where he would have become a politician from the Boss Hogg School of Public Administration. He was a good football coach though. Tough on his players, but in a way that built a tight, cohesive group. He had everyone's respect as a coach. Not so much though as a school teacher or someone you’d want to hang around with.
My guess was a Lockheed Electra, but I don't know how many of them are still flying.
> My guess was a Lockheed Electra, but I don't know how many of them are still flying.
I tend to agree with you. It was the Lockheed Model 10 Electra that Amelia Earhart was flying when she disappeared.
I just looked up because of the tail configuration. It seems to match.
from that distance it is hard to tell.
The Lockheed Electra's horizontal stabilizer protrudes a little bit outboard of the vertical stabilizers. I don't see that in Deral's photo but it could be there:
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The Twin Beech model 18 also has the same tail configuration but the horizontal stabilizer does not protrude:
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Maybe Deral could post a blow-up of just the airplane.
