Aloha Intruder Family and Friends
WELCOME TO INTRUDER SUNDAY MAY 24, 2020
After last week’s ride, I was beginning to believe that our club was taking their first real ride together, I wasn’t wrong! The club is up and running, or riding if you want to be more specific. Each week on Sunday mornings I gear up and can only hope for the best, that I won’t be the only one riding that day. Today’s ride was and is the last ride, before our club’s president Ray and his wife Sparky leave for Ohio. Their cross country lives, between Hawaii and Ohio have become the norm, which leaves us to carry on without them. We are all okay with that, because we all understand that our families come first, and that some of our Ohana live on the mainland.
For today’s ride we have our President Ray, and his wife Sparky; our Vice President Kimo and Genny; Marc our Road Captain; Cooper our Sergeant at Arms and Bridget our Secretary; me Kanuk your Road Guard; Henry; and Ben. Now this is a line up worth shouting about, cause with all the hubbub going on with this pandemic, getting together with ten or less people is mandatory, so we continue to stay within the guidelines and still keep that six foot distance, which as a motorcycle rider isn’t that hard. We all have our face masks, or riding sleeves to keep ourselves and each other safe too. The smile on my face is evident, and I see that I am not alone, in missing my Intruder family. Let the ride begin.
We are still meeting at the Hele Hele gas station in Mililani, which provides plenty of space for us, and luckily it is only a few blocks from where I live, how convenient . Once we were all there, we spent a bit of time, yes longer than usual, catching up on each other’s lives. This day is normal but not, because we are all caught up in a situation that affects each and every one of us. There is normal, like before, and now, normal in a whole different way. Yet, I know that most of us are yearning for familiar connections, where we can feel safe and secure, without all these new boundaries. So with the intros and connections reestablished, we decided to head north toward Haleiwa. Let the Memorial Day ride begin, and hopefully provide all of us with some wonderful new memories.
We arrived in Haleiwa and made our way to our normal stopping place, at the North Shore Marketplace. The ride over was smooth, with no major traffic or obstacles to detain us. We hydrated and spent a few minutes chatting and deciding on our next stop. It was decided that we would try to meet up with some other riders at the Texaco gas station, not far from Ted’s Bakery. As we left Haleiwa Town, the traffic was beginning to pick up, and more people were either heading for the beaches, or already there. This part of our ride is always tricky, because of the road conditions. There are numerous pot holes, long trenches of irregular pavement and of course our favorite mixture of gravel and sand. These obstacles are a motorcycle rider’s nightmare, and as a Road Guard, keep me in a state of unending pointing and posturing to point them all out. It’s a truly humbling and educational method to improve your skills and awareness of what’s around you. Luck or not, we all survived the gauntlet of hazards, and made it to the next stop.
While some of our riders filled their tanks with gas, the rest of us sought some shade, and a quick drink. At this point Jack and Roy showed up, and decided to join us on our trek around the island. With everyone ready to go, the engines were started, some of them humming and a few were even growling. Ya just gotta love the sound of a finely tuned motorcycle engine, and how each and every one of them is just a bit different. On a good day, it’s like listening to an orchestra tuning up, then finally letting loose, and making music that lifts your heart. Okay, I may be taking this a bit far, but then again, it’s the way I feel about riding and everything that goes with it. So either you embrace this, or stop reading and find something more mundane to do. We are heading to Kahuku, and planning on another regular stop at the Sugar Mill. Not much there at this point, the gas station and its general store closed, even before this pandemic started. But, it has lots of parking, and also restrooms for those who need them.
I believe our next stop would be in Waimanalo, and yet it didn’t quite work out that way. As we continued riding around the island, you could see that a good majority of our population was also out and about. The roads were becoming crowded with traffic and the beaches were packed, more than I’d seen in a very long time. For the most part, this wasn’t too much of a problem for us. That is, until we reached Valley of the Temples, and then all sorts of singular incidents happened. The first situation happened at the intersection by the Memorial Park Mortuary entrance. There was an influx of traffic, lane convergence and us trying to stay together. We were able to cross the intersection and then move ourselves into the single lane, yet to explain all the different movements involved would be impossible. We were all together, except for Ray and Sparky, who was one vehicle ahead of us. It was when we came to the next traffic light, that things started getting confusing. First there was Cooper and Bridget motioning that they were taking off, that went fine. Then, the light changed to green and some of the other club members started to move, and next thing I know, Ben pulls up to Kimo, says something, then takes off, not sure where he was going.. I am there watching some of our members leave, and watching Kimo turn tail and head back the way we came, and still not sure what is going on, or what had been said to Kimo. The next thing I know is that I’m pulling over to the center median, along with Roy, Jack, Marc, Henry, and Genny. We’re all sitting there trying to make sense of what happened, and where Kimo went, where the rest of the club went, and what we were going to do. I found out that Genny had an issue with her bike, right after the last intersection, and she had pulled off, and then caught up with us. This I hadn’t seen happen, and after a couple calls, we found out a little more of what transpired. Ben had told Kimo that Genny was having problems with her bike; so naturally, he turned around and went to help her, not realizing that she was already back with us. We finally reached Kimo, explained what happened, and that we would wait for him, where we were. The rest of the riders with us would meet Ray and Sparky at Burger King in Kaneohe. So, Genny and I waited for Kimo to return, and then the three of us met up with the remaining club members.
After all this confusion, we decided to keep to our original plans, and go to Waimanalo. There were no further complications, and we made it to Jack-In-The-Box all together. Some of the riders entered the fast food restaurant, and ordered a quick bite to eat, or something to drink. Our local homeless man was there, like he’s been there almost every week, and seemed to be happy to see us. But, that may be more to the pint of vodka he was pouring into his sprite bottle. Either way, the man was yakking up a storm, whether you wanted to listen or not, and I find it best to let people be the way they are. This was our last stop for the ride, and we all said our goodbyes, and hopefully seeing each other next Sunday. Ray and Sparky will be gone for a few months, but the rest of us will continue riding, as usual. It was a good day, in spite of the minor mishaps, and we all got home safe and sound. This job writing the Intruder Bio has been extremely entertaining, and allows me to interact with you all, on a level that I really didn’t see coming. Like everyone else, staying at home and isolating from the population around me, has left a significant void in my life. But now, I am finding this a perfect outlet for my riding and creative needs. I look forward to putting our weekly rides onto paper, sort to speak, and share my perspective on how things went. Yes, I also enjoy being able to comment on other topics, when given the opportunity. But please know that I am not here to judge, or make up things, or even overlook what does or doesn’t happen out there. So, with that being said, I will wrap it up for now. As usual, may all the Gods watch over us, our family and friends, keeping us safe and ever respectful of those in our lives. Kanuk over and out.
