Stampede Dissertation

[Scar]

So, here it is, finally, an account of the days before, during and after the Stampede, complete with pix...

Please be patient...there are a lot of pix to load, and many days upon which to report...

Tuesday, 21 July
4:30a Depart (home) San Diego, stop to refuel and to eat.
2:00p Assaulted (literally) by a Harley Davidson pilot at a Chevron Gas Station (subject for another thread)
2:30p Arrive Peppermill
4:00p Meet with Sales/Banquet/Catering staff, inspect inbound freight.
7:00p Dinner with Raydog at Claim Jumper, Wasabi spent the night at Raydog’s place, and the ‘dog let me use his truck to commute back and forth that night from the Peppermill. ( thanks, bruddah)

 

[Scar]

Wednesday, 22 July
Raydog and I hit it kinda early, as I had to locate just the right spot for Rick Clemson to set up ‘shop’ for the action photo shoot scheduled for the following Saturday and Raydog (Doyle) is an expert on the area. We went to a variety of places, but I knew we found it (and Raydog agreed) when we hit the truck route in Virginia City. Later, it would be intimated, that Rick, himself, was very happy with our choice. Again, thanks, Doyle!!!

After we dialed that sitch, we reached out to Ozz and Ozz2 to see if they were available for a ride. Since those two were unfortunately unable to attend the Stampede, it seemed like the neighborly thing to do to look them up and see if they were interested in a couple rounds of throttle twisting. Lucky for us, both were ready, willing and able. So, Raydog and I hit it hard to go meet them. The four of us rode together for the remainder of the day. Near the end of our joint riding excursion, we stopped at this gorgeous lake…for good family conversation…and to bid each other farewell (‘til next time).

Side note: This is the "Wild Horses" thread...

 

[Scar]

More "Recon" pix... (Wednesday, cont'd.)

 

[Scar]

Thursday, 23 July
On Thursday morning, a group of eight of us got together at Starbucks in Carson City…we got kind of a late start (long story).

On hand were Raydog, CCBusa05, PaceMaster, BABusa, LCB, UncleSteve, Captain, and yours truly.

We headed out to the mountains, canyons, summits and passes for a full day of spectacularly scenic riding.

At day’s-end, we (the five remaining road warriors after the splitters split) found ourselves at Lake Tahoe enjoying a nice Italian dinner.

It was an amazing day, filled with spectacular roads, tasty food, and great weather.

 

[Scar]

More from Thursday...

 

[Scar]

And the last few from Thursday...

 

[Scar]

Friday, 24 July (Registration Day)

(side note: Andrew flew in from San Diego late Thursday night to assist... Meanwhile, back at the Peppermill...)

Andrew and I got to the Roma II at about 7:30a.

We set up the room and awaited the first of the registrants to show…before 10a, the scheduled ‘open’ time, there were a number of peeps ready to get into their wrist band, gather their rally shirt, and snap a couple of pix.

It was a great central place for everyone to hang out, meet the others, and start the weekend excitement.

After the Registration closed, Andrew and I packed and deserted Roma II and headed to the lobby “refreshment standâ€￾ for cocktails with the gang…

 

[Scar]

Saturday, 25 July (Let the Stampeding Begin!)

8:00a Official Stampede Photo Shoot (6th floor Peppermill Parking Structure).

10:00a Rick Clemson Stampede Action Photo Shoot (Virginia City)

Noon-ish: Back to the Peppermill for some much needed R & R. Went to the pool to hang out with the clan (see pix in Shoty’s awesome thread). A couple of cocktails and lots of laughs later, headed back to get ready for the Banquet.

7:00p Welcome Address

7:05p Singing of the Star Spangled Banner (video) Cactus Cuties

7:10p Stampede Slide Presentation

7:30-8:15p Awards Dispensing

8:30p Dinner (a little later than planned; Andrew was texting me that he thought people were getting hungry…when I wrapped it up, announcing that dinner was ‘served,’ everyone stampeded over to the buffet. Classic.)

I have uploaded a couple of what I call 'placeholder' pix here. I have received from Rick a cache of options for the "Official Event Photo." I haven't decided which to use, so I'm going to hold onto all of them and introduce them in a separate thread. In the interim, please enjoy a couple of images from Rick's site (Rick Clemson Sports Photography)

 

[Scar]

Sunday, 26 July (Wrap it up)
Many people left Reno in the early morning hours.

I woke up thinking that so many of my friends were already on the road heading home or to other destinations. I laid there and reflected on the great time I had, on all the smiles I saw and the laughter I heard; all the hands I shook and the new friends I had made. While I knew there was still a ton of work to do, I felt somehow satisfied that the Inaugural Busa Stampede had come to pass, and that the history around it would be written in a fond glow.

I’ll take this opportunity to once again thank everyone who assisted in pulling together all the threads of this event. There’s no way it could have been done by one person, nor any smaller a group than was collected for it. You have my eternal, undying gratitude. From my core, thank you.​

Andrew hopped on the shuttle to the airport and headed back to San Diego, and I suited up and headed out to meet Lamb and a grip of others for more exploring and riding.

We didn’t arrive back at the Peppermill until after 9pm on Sunday evening. It was another huge day of glorious Sierra Nevada riding.

Monday, 27 July (Shrink-Wrap the Pallet, Label the Boxes, Hit the Road).

By 8a, Monday morning, Lamb, Devil Dog, Rip777s and I hit the road and headed toward home.
It would be another day of spectacular riding. One of the highlights of this particular day was the traversing of Sonora Pass. What an amazing road.

After numerous miles later, we came upon the Little Dragon (US49) and spanked it for awhile.

I noticed that my rear tire was starting to ‘tire’ of the trip. A little concerned, I tried to find an open shop near Fresno (it was Monday, after all), to no avail. Decided to push forward with as little torque as I could forfeit.

We got within 30 miles of our overnight stop (Tulare, CA), when Devil Dog decided to press on and make the 5.5 hours trip home. We bid him safety, then headed to the hotel.

After a little ‘refreshing’ we hit the rack in anticipation of the next days super-slabbing back to our respective metropolitan areas. Rip777s in Orange County, and Lamb and I merely three blocks apart down here in San Diego.

At 10:30p+ I received a text message from Devil Dog saying that he’d made it home.


Tuesday, 28 July (Slabville)
We hit it (leaving Tulare) around 7am. At the appropriate split-point, Rip777s left us; Lamb and I continued south on I-5 and arrived in SD around 11:30a.

What a trip. What a trip, indeed.

 

[Scar]

A couple of random pix...

First one 'in'...Peppermill Parking Structure... You should have seen how this area swelled with beautiful 'busas from all across the country...

 

[Scar]

...and a couple more gratuitous shots of the Peppermill pool...ah, I wish I was there now...



There are numerous other threads containing massive quantities of images and video from this event...if you haven't already, please take the time to enjoy the writings of the attendees.

 

[Scar]

:love:

Big luv, all.

 

[skydivr]

Impressive job Scar, my congrats for all your hard work pulling this off.

 

[el stumpo]

Looks like a stampedin' good time!

 

[MO-BUSA]

Awesome stuff Scar, pictures are amazing, lots of happy friends there...

 

[raydog]

Great post Scar, kinda explains the "behind the scenes" parts as well. Doyle (I am dissapointed in how few pics of me there were, however)

be advised....this is the FIRST POST in my life that I ever used an emodicon!

 

[Warchild]

Great post Scar, kinda explains the "behind the scenes" parts as well. Doyle (I am dissapointed in how few pics of me there were, however)

But you scored mightily in the video scenes played during the banquet!

I seem to recall about every 4th-5th picture, I'd hear a big ol' "RAYDOG" yell coming from your table....

 

[Lamb busa]

The Sierra Nevada mountains are beautiful. The roads over the top of them are true works of engineering. Awesome riding and can't wait for next year.

 

[BUBBA]

Very nice indeed, you pulled off a great event, which I am sure you will not disappoint next time.
Thanks for the time line, and the sharing of the fun in your writing and pics.
Bubba

 

[Scar]

Great post Scar, kinda explains the "behind the scenes" parts as well. Doyle (I am dissapointed in how few pics of me there were, however)

be advised....this is the FIRST POST in my life that I ever used an emodicon!

I'm honored to be the author of the thread which would prompt you to emote, Doyle.