Ramblings, regrets, and a thank you from Mike in Lima

[Mike_In_Lima]

Yeah, it was hot.
Been reading the various threads that have heat as a central theme/complaint, and I sympathize. Of course, this was unusually high heat even for Ohio; no way to plan ahead for that, of course.
Still, it made for a different event, no doubt. It will, of course, turn nice and cooler, now that everyone has left.
Anyway, thanks for coming to my hometown. I got to enjoy precious little of the Rally, due to work, and the fact that when I was on-site I was generally tending to matters concerning entertainment/stage/etc. I was out there every day, often 2-3 times during the day, and did spend considerable hours but mostly in the stage area.
I did peruse it enough to catch the drift of it; loads of neat bikes, good vendors, cool displays, and best of all lots and lots of nice and interesting people. Great crowd.
Sue and Brian worked their arses off, as did Phil, the stage manager, and his crew. Their day for Thorogood started with hard labor at 8 a.m., had hard labor and heat throughout the whole day, and ended with hard labor late in the evening. One long day, and he and his guys were great.
I had hoped to run into a few that I've "met" on the forum, but didn't.
I also wanted to meet BradfordBenn; Sunday I dropped by the site around noon just to see what the state of affairs was. Empty, almost. Ran into Brian and Sue who were STILL busy. Left the grounds and as I was turning left towards Sams Club, THERE WAS A RIDER IN THE ONCOMING TURN LANE, WITH EARS ON HIS HELMET!!! I pointed and waved and said his name name, and he just kinda looked at me! (Hint for you, Bradford; I was driving a Nissan pickup with dealer tags................)
It appeared that folks liked the lineup of regional bands in the Tap; the heat was hard on the bands, too, but people seemed to be having fun and dancing their butts off. Any feedback on Biersdorf and Kolbe,the acoustic blues duo on Saturday afternoon?
Thursday right before the storm I was going to inflate my giant outdoor movie screen in the main stage area and show a drive/walk-in movie. (Some of you may have heard the rumor).
By the time the storm passed it was too late to start the 1.5 hour setup, and the field was pretty soaked. Movies were to include Looney Tunes (and the RoadRunner!), an IMAX CART movie, and the original Blues Brothers movie. Oh well................
Neat event, anyway, and the usual carping and bitching (some of it legit) doesn't detract from a monumental effort and a good rally. Thanks again to all who attended. Maybe I'll see you in Vermont; my buddy lives there.
p.s. It can get hot as hell in VT too!

[BRADFORDBENN]

Left the grounds and as I was turning left towards Sams Club, THERE WAS A RIDER IN THE ONCOMING TURN LANE, WITH EARS ON HIS HELMET!!! I pointed and waved and said his name name, and he just kinda looked at me! (Hint for you, Bradford; I was driving a Nissan pickup with dealer tags................)

That was you? Now I know. I did look and wave, but didn't know who it was.

[Mike_In_Lima]

Photo of the screen, just for reference!

[gadgetboy]

Mike,
Thanks for the tip about the Thai Garden restaurant.. it was outstanding!

[Mike_In_Lima]

Cool! What day did you go? What'd you find that you liked?

[BRADFORDBENN]

So what is in the racks?

[Ol salt]

From a fellow Lima Bean, may I say you did an outstanding job in lining up the local talent for the Beer Garden. You rock Mike! Liked every band and helped close down the Garden several times. I got feedback from several people who knew I was a local and all were complimentary of your work.
Talked with the local food vendors and they were more than happy with the politeness of the attendees and the turnout for their wares. Told me thank everyone tremendously. "Never have they met a more polite and patient group of people even counting our local fair goers." So all in all, I guess all our hard work was not for naught. Once again " Well Done"

P.S. The Gentleman who played the electric guitar with his tongue was a huge hit with the female gender! nuff said.