Dances with Turtles V, the "Ned" Siddens Memorial Ride To Eat was held Saturday June 5, 2010 at Giant City State Park Lodge, approximately 12 miles south of Carbondale, Illinois.
There is simply no way I can identify each of the riders in the following pictures, much less attempt to spell their names correctly, so I will simply say it was a great group of people.
There is simply no way I can identify each of the riders in the following pictures, much less attempt to spell their names correctly, so I will simply say it was a great group of people.
Several riders met at the rest stop in Metropolis, IL. and rode as a group to the park.
Arriving at Giant City State Park, we found a lively "tire kicking" session already in progress.
Both sides of the large parking lot were lined with bikes.
New friendships were made, and old acquaintances renewed.
One unnamed person (Tim Yow) arrived with his lovely wife in a very sharp, "cage". I am told there is a good story involving the alarm on this car.
Once we were all assembled in the parking lot, we moved inside as a group to begin the family style fried chicken lunch in a private dining room.
Like many of us, it was quiet apparent Sal married "well over his station in life."
Long time Motorcycle Touring Forum members were well represented.
During the lunch, a slide show ran continuously about the life and times of Ned Siddens.
Buck Lemme gave some fitting comments about his long time friend and co-sponsor Ned Siddens and his life-long love for riding. He also related an interesting story about Ned and about how the Dances With Turtles Ride to Eat earned its name.
Several awards were also presented.
I very much enjoyed meeting old friends and making new ones. I was able to put a lot of new faces with familiar forum names. A big thanks to Buck and his hard working crew for making Dances With Turtles the class act it always is.
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Buck Lemme's Dances With Turtles V Summary;
"Sixty nine of the finest people on the planet attended DWT V, the
"Ned" Siddens Memorial RTE, at the Giant City Lodge.
Following a family style lunch of fried chicken, turtle pie and fresh fruit
bowl, awards were presented in the below categories.
Longest distance. Doug Graves, Camas, Wa. 2468 miles.
Shortest distance. Steve Maxwell, Marion, Il. 30 miles.
Oldest motorcycle. Andy Simons, South Carolina. 1982 Goldwing.
Motorcycle with most miles. Roger Riley, Missouri. 178,553 miles. (Goldwing)
Fun Award. Bill Yarian, Indiana. Presented with blue "water wings" for riding thru flooding rains of Biblical proportions returning from Ezell's Fish Camp RTE.
At DWT II, "Ned" presented dollar coinage randomly to some in attendance. Today, his son-in-law (SIL), Chris Sloss was presented with four golden Presidential Dollar coins to commemorate the memorial RTE.
Special Award. Presented to Jason Jonas, SpotWalla Master, for his continuing support and dedication to the motorcycling community."
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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. ~Edward Abbey~
Until hounds and helicopters get involved, you're not really lost. ~Adventure Rider~**************************************************************************
