40th Three Flags Classic – 2015

23 Sep
2015

Finally!! It’s time to pack, load the motorcycle and be ready to head out on August 26th (at the very latest). This year it’s the 40th anniversary of the Three Flags Classic rally which is always run on the Labor Day weekend. Three hundred bikers will be participating in this ride from San Diego to Victoria B.C. this year. All riders that hit all the checkpoints and finish this ride on time in Victoria will receive one of the coveted Three Flags Classic belt buckles. Here’s my 2014 buckle, it’s time for a new one!

2014 Three Flags Classic commerative belt buckle.
Since 1976 the successful Three Flags Classic Alejandro Villanueva Authentic Jersey finishers have been given a commemorative belt buckle.

Life is so good! My son George, who’s currently living in Victoria, was able to get enough time off work to join me again this year. He rode the Classic with me in 2009 for his first time and we had a super trip. So my first stop is Victoria and while George is finishing his last shift on Thursday, I’ll be making sure the bikes are good to go.

So to mix it up a bit and help make this ride even more enjoyable we’re going to take both my big bikes instead of George riding his R1. So part of today’s chores included putting new street tires on the Super Tenere as well as replacing the Michelins on the FJR.  This will give us a comfortable 200 mile/3 hour range per tank of gas and then we’ll swap bikes for the next 200 miles. And of course the added bonus of being able to stretch out the legs on the Super T makes it even better.

Leaving home in Gold River.
Leaving Gold River, c/w toilet seat for Nanaimo tenant.
Leaving George's house in Victoria.
George & I leaving his place in Victoria.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday-August 28th. We had reservations on the 10:30 ferry to Port Angeles and had to be there 90 minutes before for the customs check. So George took his girlfriend Kyla on the back of the FJR and we got down there around 08:00. Right across the street from the ferry dock, in Victoria’s inner harbor, is the Day’s Inn where we had some breakfast. I ordered a bacon and cheese omelette and I just couldn’t believe how good it was! The bacon and the cheese were as good as it gets. I will be coming back here for sure when we get to Victoria in a few days. After an enjoyable meal and the parting farewells George & I headed back to the bikes and Kyla headed home.

The Empress Hotel.
Victoria’s Empress Hotel, our Three Flags destination this year!

There were five motorcycles on this boat and the trip across was one of the better ones. I only say that because there have been times when it is so rough on the water going across that “all” the motorcycles on board fell on there sides and many of them were vintage models. My good friends Brian & Jackie were on that trip and his mirror was broken off of his BMW. JB Weld was the perfect fix for his mirror, but some of the only guys were not so lucky. So this is one of the biggest reasons that I am always a bit reluctant to ride on this ferry. Today’s trip was nice and calm so uneventful. The customs check is also much better than driving through the border at Blaine, WA. Motorcycles get off at the front of the line and it’s all of five minutes to be done.

WSF to Port Angeles.
In rough water the motorcycles are not always safe.
Cruise ship parked near Victoria inner harbor.
Leaving Victoria’s inner harbor, a cruise ship destination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

South on Hwy 101 to Olympia and then on the I-5 slab. Our goal was to get as far south as we could. In other words, as far as we felt like driving. Well Roseburg, Oregon it was. Motel 6 with a restaurant right next door makes a good fit. For our first day, 425 miles (two tanks of gas) was a nice easy start. George hasn’t been riding much lately so he had to “retrain” his butt anyway. From here to the Carmel Valley was close to 600 miles. Since this was our goal we stayed on the freeways all the way and arrived at Brian’s place around 19:00. Yes it was a boring drive, but what a wonderful bonus it was to be able to swap motorcycles whenever we felt like it.

Sunday was a relax day and we didn’t do much, but I’ll tell you that we ate extremely well. Fresh vegetables right out of the back yard just can’t be beat!

Monday now and today we drove around Carmel and its beach on the way to the Monterey Aquarium. Also tried driving through Pebble Beach but the gatehouse guard told us that motorcycles were not allowed… imagine that.

Carmel, California beach.
The beach in Carmel California.
Monterey Aquarium fish.
A resident of the Monterey Aquarium.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jellyfish at the Monterey Aquarium.
There were hundreds of residents on display, including these jellyfish.

While we were out and about today I did some experimenting with my new Sena 10C helmet camera and from what we saw tonight it looks pretty close to where it needs to be. We’re off down the coast on Hwy 1 in the morning.

So it’s now Tuesday and the four of us are heading out this morning for San Diego. We left Brian’s place in Carmel Valley just after 07:00 this morning and road down the coast towards Big Sur on Hwy 1. Brian, George, myself and Brian’s best buddy, Steve, (who’s going to do the Three Flags for his first time).

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The four of us heading out of the Carmel Valley on our adventure!

Dick, who’s lived next door to Brian for 25 years works in Big Sur and also rides his motorcycle to work every day so he joined us this morning and lead us down the coast. And what a ride we had! The traffic was non existent and when we did happen to come up on someone they would pull over as soon as they could and let us by, just the way it is supposed to be! Low lying cloud kept the temperatures between 16° and 18°C which was a refreshing way to start the day. Dick turned off in Big Sur and the four of us carried on south on Hwy 1 til we got to the Hwy 46 turn off going east.

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Going east over the summit of Hwy 46.

There was some very thick fog as drove over the height of this stretch but as we came down the other side and approached Hwy 101 the fog disappeared and the temperature started to climb. We hit I-5, then just headed south to I-405 and back to I-5 til we got to San Diego. So one of today’s big highlights was the fact that we drove right through Los Angeles without any stops. The timing was perfect and there was just nothing bad happening anywhere near us. None at all! We pulled into the Wyndham Hotel parking lot just before 17:00 where there were already at least 100 motorcycles parked. We checked into our 8th floor room that was overlooking the Pacific Ocean and also had a little outdoor patio. We’re planning to do the “ride to the fence” drive at 08:00 in the morning.

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Room with a view & 72°F, it couldn’t be much nicer.
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There’s a Navy Seals training base close by.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The “Touch the Fence” group, not many riders participated.
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A group of our ladies, putting on a show for the camera.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once this event was over it was time for breakfast so we hit a local IHOP and indulged. Afterwards we split up and I went shopping at KMart for some socks and an REM store for camelbaks. I’ve never claimed to be a quick learner and it’s only taken me forty years to add a camelbak to my riding equipment. Here’s a few of the riders I’ve met along the way or have known for years.

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John, who usually rides with his buddy Darrell.
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Darrell, who usually rides with his buddy John.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I met these two fellows years ago doing the Three Flags Classics and then again at the Hyderseek Rendezvous a few times. In 2007 both Darrell and John completed the forty-nine state ride in under ten days in Hyder, Alaska along with me and nine other riders. Darrell wears his “Hyderseek Forty-Niner” hat all the time. These special hats were given to us in Hyder by Ron Ayres (who sadly recently passed) for completing this Iron Butt Association sanctioned ride.

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Carroll Walker and friend.
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Randy, from Vancouver, usually rides with Carroll.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greg Kirchner in the parking lot at the Wyndham Hotel.
Greg Kirchner and I met several years ago.
Giovanna is an amazing woman that I was lucky to meet last year.
Giovanna helping out with banquet ticket sales.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Checkpoint crews worked very hard to make it all happen.
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Everyone was helpful and happy to be there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My hat goes off to all the organizers and volunteers that have made this major motorcycling event such a huge success over its forty year history. Motorcyclists are an amazing group of people and a very close knit family! This “Harbor to Harbor” tour that Blake Anderson had envisioned before he sadly passed last fall was unfolding as planned. A special thanks to Steve Shulman who was a huge driving force behind all the many volunteers. Blake would have been very proud!

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Being table #32 out of 33 meant our hamburgers were icy cold and the lady in pink only had to pay $90 US to eat them.

Wednesday night we had a “barbecue” dinner. The idea and intent were great but the last few to eat had very cold hamburgers. Unfortunately, my good friend DeeDee was also forced to buy a $30 SCMA membership on top of the banquet ticket just to be able to join us. Quite unnecessary I thought. All that aside though, it is always great to get together with the rest of “the family” prior to the ride. George and I had already decided that 3am was too early to leave, but 5am was more civilized. So when we pulled out of the Wyndham Hotel parking lot at 05:15 on Thursday morning there less than 20 motorcycles still there.

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Thursday morning at 05:00, not too many riders were left by now.

This year was also the first time in Three Flags history that we started on Thursday. It had always been a Friday start, in the early years it was Friday night and then to allow riders more time to finish in time we started leaving very early in the morning. It was also a good way to get out of southern California before all the holiday traffic got on the road. George & I drove for a couple of hours but then it was time for me to get breakfast. I am really fond of having at least two good meals daily, breakfast being the most important! We got in and out of Denny’s fairly quickly, then filled up the bikes and continued on to Oakhurst, CA and the first checkpoint. We rolled in just before 13:00, grabbed some snacks and visited with some of the other riders, including Steve and Brian who were spending the night here in Oakhurst.

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Steve, Brian and George at Chk.Pt.1 in Oakhurst, CA.
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Oakhurst checkpoint crew, friendly and helpful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

George and I were still fresh and the weather was great so we wanted to get some more miles under our belts. It was still very early. So we did have the entire route loaded into both of our GPS’s and when we left Oakhurst we headed north on Hwy 49. Somewhere along the way my GPS took us onto Rawhide Road and then to Hwy 49 again. I remember thinking as we drove along… these are super motorcycle roads but I’m thinking some of the Goldwing riders may not appreciate all these hundreds of tight curves. And then we were told by our lovely GPS to turn onto Hwy 4, which just happened to be another super road with very new pavement. We did find out later that day that we were supposed to go over Sonora Pass and instead we did Ebbetts Pass which runs parallel to Sonora just a bit further north. Did it make any difference, of course not! Along the way we stopped for a stretch along side of Mosquito Lake. It was gorgeous there and over 8000 ft. in elevation.

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It was a lovely alpine stop at Mosquito Lake.
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Some footprints of the local visitors to this lake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Across from the lake was a little camping area. It was time to snack and hydrate..

So now we’re on the way down from Ebbetts Pass and I went on reserve. We were still a fair distance from gasoline so I did some coasting as we wound our way down from the summit. We did get to a gas pump eventually but we drove over 50 miles each on reserve. As we were a bit “off route” we decided to spend the night in Carson City and then get back on track tomorrow.

With a solid eight and a half hours sleep and a nice sunny day happening outside, Friday morning was looking very good. We headed east on Hwy 50, then north to Fernley for some for gasoline. We were going north on Hwy 447 right through Gerlach, NV. It’s been twenty-two years since I’ve been in Gerlach. The last time in Gerlach we were participating in the “Bite the Bullet” motorcycle rally which was run by Reno BMW out of Bruno’s Motel in Gerlach. Ron Majors, Ross Kopas, George Barnes and I were the only ones to get all nine “bullets”, which was the maximum. This meant we got to shoot nine holes in our T-shirts at a local gravel pit using a 45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. A very fond memory!

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Bruno’s Motel hasn’t changed one bit.

So the annual “Burning Man” event was happening this weekend at a place very close to Gerlach so there were state troopers and local sheriffs everywhere. Just on the drive into Gerlach we saw no less than six Highway Patrol cars either parked with radar or driving with radar on. In fact, as we approached Empire, which is a small town about five minutes south of Gerlach, we saw the speed limit signs go from 55 to 45 to 35 to 25 mph. and then watched a local sheriff pull over the BMW car that had been following George & I for the last thirty-five miles. We did the quick photo-op at Bruno’s and carried on towards the next checkpoint at Alturas, CA. We were just getting ready to take off when John and his buddy Stephen pulled up to say hello. We had a couple of laughs and then the four of us headed out. This is where the day started to go a bit sideways for us. Between Gerlach and Cedarville is eighty plus miles and as we drove north it started to cool off a bit and then it got windy. Then we got some rain, but when I asked John if he wanted to stop and regroup he waved me on and just kept going. Then the hail came! John and Stephen had open faced helmets and stopped as soon as it started hailing. We said our good-byes.

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Stephen, John and George with a coffee at the checkpoint. Ten minutes later we had thunder, lightening, wind and rain. Ugh!
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Part of the Alturas checkpoint team.
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We were happy for a few minutes, then it got ugly!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Don and Dennis (I think) before the rain hit.

 

We got out our rain gear and put on a couple of extra layers before leaving here. We were continuing north on Hwy 395 and got hit with more rain and hail after leaving Alturas. Oh well. It was just after 14:00 when we left and were already thinking that Burns, OR looked like a good spot to spend Friday night. We did stop for a couple of minutes along the shores of Lake Abert. There was a very strong salt smell in the air.

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Lake Abert, a salty oasis on Hwy 395.
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Looking back over the lake. Wasn’t much traffic out here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well we had another good night with no less than eight hours of sleep. Although when we went outside and looked north this morning, it did not look very nice. So we had a coffee and some snacks, got suited up and headed out. This was one of the saddest parts of the route for me this year. We were driving through John Day, OR which was just one of the many areas hit by major forest fires this year. There was so much destruction of people’s personal wealth and homes as well as the loss of forests and it covered a very large area. And there was just no rhyme or reason to the damage. One house would be completely intact and houses on either side would be burned to the ground. By now we were driving in rain and it was fairly cool outside, but we did see a couple of fires that were still burning, although they were quite small and isolated. We put on close to 150 miles to start the day off but I was ready to eat some real food. So in Baker City we stopped at the Geiser Grand Hotel on Main Street and settled down in their restaurant. A very old and classy building.

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The Geiser Grand Hotel in downtown Baker City.
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A bacon/cheese omelet, a bowl of fruit, my usual breakfast,

 

 

After eating and warming up a bit we continued north to La Grande, OR and then it was east going through the Wallowa Mountains. Superb motorcycle riding but the weather wasn’t Alejandro Villanueva Womens Jersey very friendly. Rainy and cold for the most part. You know it’s not very nice out when you start celebrating warming up to 50°F. Lewiston, ID was the next checkpoint and we rolled into the hotel there around 14:15.

short break for a stretch and some pictures
The Wallowa mountains, cold and wet all day. Oh well.
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The Lewiston checkpoint. Great volunteers.

 

 

George and I were still ready to do some more driving as we still had at least five hours of daylight. So off we went, north again and right through Spokane. Now we could have easily gotten a room in Spokane, but here was my first big mistake. Nelson was not that far away and getting back into Canada seemed like a good move, but we had no reservations in Nelson and we decided to take a chance. The border crossing was painless and we rolled into Nelson around 20:30, ready for a hot shower and a steak. The two ladies at the Best Western told us there were no rooms anywhere in Nelson, so they turned on the gas fireplace in their lobby and I was getting ready to sleep there for the night, but the ladies started phoning around for us, just in case. Well they found us one alright, taxes in it cost $288, ouch! Of course we took it and did get a good night sleep after our dinner, another $84, ouch. Eight hours sleep, a few morning snacks and we took off from Nelson with full gas tanks just before 08:00. Sunday is always the very best day to be on the road on the Labor Day weekend and today was certainly no exception. We pulled into Nakusp and Anderson’s Automotive for some gas and the all important receipt. Sheila, the owner, and I had a little visit and she did say that she was certainly appreciative of the extra income the Three Flags was bringing to her business. It was nice to hear as I am a huge supporter of small business! Ten miles later as we’re heading to the Needles ferry I realized that I forgot to ask Sheila about the ferry times. So just for fun, and because we could, we picked up the pace a couple of notches and I started doing the math in my head. I thought it was going to be close, but until we saw the traffic coming from the ferry would we know for sure. So then we saw the cars coming from the ferry and we knew it was going to be very close. Up one more little notch and we carried on. We pulled up close to the ferry and there was construction and cars backed up, while the ferry was at the dock. As we approached the cars were being waved through the construction area and pulling right on to the boat. So we pulled right on, wheels never stopping, and were the last ones on the ferry. As we put down our side stands they were lowering the gate and the ferry pulled away, literally. It is a cable drawn ferry. All this meant was we didn’t have to wait for half an hour for the next sailing. There were a couple of our women Three Flags riders on this ferry as well. I told them that once we get to the other side the only traffic on the road will be the few cars that were on this ferry. Not only was the weather warm and sunny, but this stretch of Hwy 6 between Needles and Cherryville is rated as the second best motorcycling highway in British Columbia. And to make it even better, as you go up and over the summit this pavement was all brand new this time last year. It was a fun fun ride! And being able to have a conversation with your fellow riders as you go made it all even better. So what I’m saying is I do love my Sena intercom system. So George and I decided that we’d just roll right to Kamloops Harley Davidson and the next checkpoint. When we arrived we were greeted warmly be everyone there. And what a checkpoint! Probably one of the very best I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen over one hundred and thirty of them so far.

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Andrea Perrett, this checkpoint was dedicated to the late Larry Lamarche, a long time Three Flagger.

It was the first time we’ve ever had cake AND fresh vegetables at a checkpoint. Larry’s wife, Kathy and their son Steve were both out there cheering all the riders as they rolled in. And manning the checkpoint were other family members all doing their part in honor of Larry.

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Some of Larry’s riding days pictured in the background.
Steve and Kathy Lamarche at Kamloops Harley Davidson with Andrea Perrett.
Kathy and Steve Lamarche with Andrea.

 

 

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The checkpoint team at Kamloops HD. Awesome bunch!
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Andrea with the boys, we’re having sooo much fun!

 

 

Alejandro Villanueva Youth Jersey class=”wp-image-790″ src=”http://cwrides.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Al-PerrettSHRUNK.jpg” alt=”Al PerrettSHRUNK” width=”710″ height=”399″ /> Al Perrett, owner of the HD dealership and the guy that made it all happen! He just loves to ride, pictured here in Baja last March.

Well we’re almost done now, just a blast over the Duffy Lake road, a little jaunt down the coast, and a ferry ride to get us on the island and to the home stretch. The Duffy Lake road, between Lillooet and Pemberton is rated the third best motorcycling road in BC and it did not disappoint. Once in Pemberton we fueled up one last time for the home stretch and had a frisky drive down the coast to Horseshoe Bay and the ferry terminal. We sailed just before 19:00 and got to George’s place by 22:30. I dropped off a bunch of gear and headed down to The Empress for my first and probably last night staying there. I mean it is very nice but just a little too nice for me.

Ian Miller, checkpoint captain and his crew were fabulous. For me it was even better since my wife of 36 years, Joanne, had also volunteered to help. George’s girlfriend, Kyla, also stepped up when I asked her if she’d help. My best friend Harold, a Three Flags veteran, also stepped forward when asked. Some experienced gals, Marg and Cathy also chipped in to help and Mark a.k.a. Foggy rounded out the team. Foggy= Fast Old Guy Going Young. He’s always entertaining!

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Marg and Mark.
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George and Kyla.
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Ian, checkpoint captain.
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Harold & Cathy with riders.

 

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They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Do you think this newly arrived rider is very happy or having much fun?
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Here’s Terry, I forgot to give him his belt buckle. duh
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Richard and Danny, they’ve been doing this a long time now.

 

So it’s now Monday afternoon and Joanne had to take a little break so I stepped in to cover for her. Along comes Terry, my first ever check in rider, and I got through most of the procedure alright. I did get the day of the week and date backwards but not too serious. Signed it and sent him on his way, after shaking his hand and congratulating him of course. Then he says, what about my buckle? No kidding. Terry was a very good sport and is now one rider I will probably never forget.

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It was so darn nice to have Joanne join in the fun this year and DeeDee is always a hoot, regardless of her hair color!
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Victoria was a very special finish this year.
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Unfortunately David and Holly couldn’t ride it this year.

 

I’m pretty sure that Blake Anderson would have been pleased with how things went this year. It was something he’d been working on for a long time now. Hopefully we didn’t let him down. And while I’m talking about Blake, Steve Shulman, the fellow that followed up on Blake’s behalf with this year’s Classic did a wonderful thing with this year’s belt buckle. Blake’s initials, BPA, were added to the muffler on one of the motorcycles on the buckle. A very cool and thoughtful tribute indeed! So now it’s Tuesday afternoon and time to get together for a banquet. The bar was opened at 15:30.

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The Crystal Gardens was an excellent venue for our banquet. A bit pricey, but worth every penny.
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Miles and Lyall
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Nick, computer guru.
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Steve, a long timer.
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Gloria, still going strong!
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My daughter Ann, Jack and Julia.
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My daughter Jane, with Beatrice.

 

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George, the youngest rider at 28. That’s my boy!
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Here’s the oldest driver at only 86 years old! My hero!!

 

 

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Carroll Walker and I did this year’s route. I think they liked it!
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A photo of Larry Lamarche being signed by everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

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The “frequent flyer” group. Don & Steve 30+, Gloria 36, Danny 37, and me with longest continuous streak of 36 completed 3Flags.

So I’ve said it many times before but it’s worth repeating. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the Labor Day weekend than to go riding with 300 or so other motorcyclists and then having a big party afterwards. And the funny thing, I was one of the kids when I started doing the Three Flags in 1980 and here I am 35 years later and I am still one of the kids even though I’ll be 60 this November.

40th annual three flags belt buckle.
This year’s edition of the Three Flags belt buckle. A beauty for sure! (BPA just above the top left corner of Canadian flag)

Hope you enjoyed my rambling, please be sure to tell me what you think, good or bad.

cwrides

 

One thought on “40th Three Flags Classic – 2015

  1. What a great blog you’ve created Chris!!! Enjoyed your ride; your visits and all your stops.! We send to you big loves and big hugs!

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