Ramble Tamble 2012

Ramble Tamble.  Nothing less than inspiring to see the collaboration of likeminds.  The Snodgrass brothers, Sally, and mother Snoddgrass where there to foster this pow-wow into a full meeting.  About 20 bikes from Milwaukee, Iowa, Chicago and about 8 more of us from Birmingham.  This place, Smoketown, could be the center of north america to us, 300 miles from Birmingham, 300 miles from Chicago.  The ride from Birmingham was hyperbolic green with lakes and rolling hills.  No rain.  We arrive before sundown with time to drink a few beverages and wait.  Wait.  Wait.  Wait.  No midwest.  Then the rain.  Buckets.  Pails.  Truckloads dump on us.  Hard thick black rain, and after Derrick started a barrel fire and Ivan said their was an icicles chance in hell.  Hells own rain.  Despite it, they trickle in, broken into factions of 1, 3, 4 or 5 cycles at a time.  Each in his own storm.  No one gave up.  The midwest made it.