Out of Thunder

 Howdy All!

From top: Ding working on a cool ride; dog tired Thumper and Bob; a minstrel crew at Thunder that we knew who also worked in Laconia; a local Johnstownian walking his parrot; a nice kid who we did a tire for - he was at hospital earlier that Saturday, where they sucked 2 quarts of fluid out of his lungs; new puppy for Saint John - bought him in thoroughfare and named him Thunder; my silly marketing effort with a giant beach ball screaming TIRES!; and the mounted po-po.

Well, Johnstown's Thunder in the Valley rally is over and we are now holed up in a motel in Delaware, Ohio near Ding's buddy Rob. We need a couple of days to handle business matters, laundry and repairs to truck and BFT. The short of the current opinion on the grand tour is that Laconia was excellent in terms of earnings, meeting people and making contacts. Thunder, well, not so good. They changed up the location of our rig and five other vendors and failed to include this 11th hour so-called "Thunder Service Plaza" in any brochures. Event organizers admitted they had mis-handled vendor space and the plaza was a last-minute decision. By Saturday morning, I had had it and took a meeting with the head chick and spoke as a quasi-rep for the group of us - saints Mark and John at AmsOil, LED light dudes, leather works operation and others. I demanded and received free radio ads for the Plaza and its vendors, as well as regular announcements on grand stage. The PR effort gave the situ a little boost but not enough to have us ever return. In fact, while at motel office these couple of days, I plan to file a complaint and request refund. Alas, Thunder had its highs. Sailor came down and got a tire and had some fun with his wife and friends. Dennie blazed over from Maryland on her witch's broom called Pancho (literally has one affixed to side of her Harley - her means of transport home if bike dies :) and Mark and John from oil competition (we teamed up and worked together) provided many a laugh in regular gatherings at Ding's site during late-night happy hours. The riders and families at Thunder were very kind and took a huge liking to Bob and Thumper. By the third day, the dogs were garnering more attention than us, so I penned up a silly sign like you'd see in the Gem Saloon that told folks it would cost them a nickel to pet a dog, a dime to pet two and a buck for a kiss. Someone actually dropped a dollar in their tip jar! Up next is Algona, Iowa - the ABATE Freedom Rally. This will be a small rally with more oil changes and detailing than tires, possibly. More soon. Hol, Ding and the dogs.