Sunday, January 10, 2010 - Posts

Sunday, January 10, 2010 6:01 PM

Happy NE-W Year 2010

This year's first official GWTA event for your Region C and National Family of the Year certainly brought new meaning to the word challenge!   Each year on January 1, we participate in GWTA Nebraska Chapter W's NE-W YEAR'S DAY COLD TUSH CHALLENGE.  The Challenge?  No matter where you are, no matter what the weather, as long as it is safe to do so, RIDE.  Depending on the year, our family's ride may not be a long ride, and if the roads are covered with ice, we may only circle the drive around the house or stick to the concrete pad approaching the garage... but we ride.  The only rule to the challenge is to get the motorcycle out of the garage or storage shed and to get a picture of your ride. 

Last year, we lucked out with a balmy January 1 during our holiday visit to Kentucky.  This year at home, the temperature for our ride was 16 degrees F and dropping fast... the local temps didn't make it above zero for most of the next week.  We also had snow on the ground and flurries in the air.  January 1 landed smack dab between two big winter storms.  With both storms, we had snow, we had COLD, we had blizzard winds, we had ice and even ice fog, but most of our roads had been cleared the first time by the end of December.  On New Year's Day, the three of us bundled up, warmed up the trikes, charged Hammy's scooter and made a quick run to the highway.  Two of us (guess who) got up to highway speed for two miles, then we took our pictures, turned around, and headed home to hot cocoa.  Three wheels do come in handy sometimes, and we were lucky that no semis were out and about to pelt us with gravel.  We did get a couple of "you must be crazy" looks from a pickup full of bundled-up people as we waited at a stop sign for them to pass by.  Mileage?  Three miles total per rider, but at least we were able to get out of the garage, which is more than most of our eastern Nebraska and Iowa family could do... Some of them are still buried in snow; hopefully they'll dig out this week.

In 2009, Chapter W invited all the chapters in Nebraska to join them in this annual event.  It was fun to see everyone's pictures and to share a winter get-together with our GWTA Nebraska family, even if it was only digitally.  This year, Chapter W extended their challenge invitation to all of our GWTA family... from California to Kentucky, from Canada to Coco Beach.  Our goal is to make this an annual tradition and we hope to "see" you there (via your photo) in 2011.  Here's to better weather for the rest of 2010 and New Year's Day 2011!

To see more pictures and a slideshow from the NE-W Year's Cold Tush Challenge 2010, including photos submitted by our Region C Director (Look at those legs!), our Nebraska State Directors and some other brave GWTA souls, click here.  If you rode on January 1, either on your own or with a group, you can still send or e-mail your New Year's ride picture to Doug or Michelle to have it included in the event slideshow.  Many thanks go out to those who intended to ride but were unable to dig out their bikes due to the storms.

THINK SPRING!
posted by U2Farmer with 0 Comments