Independence, Texas
Back in the saddle again! We need it! It’s a celebration of Independence. With the wind at your back and the road whizzing beneath you, there is an exhilarating sense of freedom. Freedom from stress, worries, or fear. Freedom from work and the screens that bind you.
Why do we like to ride? Thank you for asking! 🙂 It’s great for the marriage! We may argue with one another over something as insignificant as a light switch in the morning, but then taking a ride together levels the playing field and erases any would-be hard feelings by noon. It’s a great stress reducer, and brings us closer as a couple. When you are one with the road, you are one with each other. We are considering conducting a study on this topic – more on that later. Plus, it’s just plain fun. With 14 ABC points already under our vest extenders, 2014 is starting out to be a very good year!
Cut-n-Shoot HOG Chapter Meeting. Happy New Year!
It was a beautiful day and the sun was out, so we rode! We went to the first CNS (Cut-n-Shoot) chapter meeting of the year, which consisted of paying our annual membership dues, hearing some historical fun facts on the chapter (this is their 25th anniversary year so they are sharing some fun facts at each meeting), learning there are over 500 members, and discovering this is a world-known chapter. I was especially intrigued to hear that the original founders had to get permission from the Bandidos to use the cowboy logo. If you look at their logo, it is very similar to ours. The Bandidos are a one-percenter motorcycle club in Texas with the motto, “We are the people our parents warned us about.” Hmmm. Glad we didn’t join that chapter.
Bike Blessing at Texan Harley Davidson
Fortunately the Cut-n-Shoot HOG Chapter is exactly the opposite. We are the people our parents would like to hang out with. We pledge allegiance to the flag and pray to Jesus Christ at the start of every meeting. There is a deep connection with the Christian Motorcycle Association (CMA). The chapter motto, if they have one, is to ride and have fun. Admittedly, they do like to party harder than we do, but at least they are not part of a crime syndicate! “Shooters” are well-known all over the world as one of the largest and most active chapters, logging in over a million miles in 2013 and giving thousands of dollars to various charities. Cut-n-Shoot has earned high regard worldwide. Even the Bandidos treat Shooters with respect because of the emphasis on riding.
Bike Blessing by CMA members.
Back to the meeting. We received lots of friendly “welcome back” smiles, handshakes, and hugs as well. We weren’t sure anyone would remember us after a year hiatus, so it was really nice to feel so welcomed, like a family reunion. We followed the meeting with a bike blessing at the Texan Harley dealership. The Christian Motorcycle Club (CMA) prayed for our bike, for safe rides, and for continued healing over my body. I met another breast cancer survivor at the bike blessing, and once again I was reminded of the more than 2.8 million survivors who have been affected by this disease, and yet another club to which I will be a lifelong member.
Looking forward to some great rides this year and will continue to update you as we do.
À la prochaine (Until next time) …