Eastern U.S. Fall 2010 Gathering (Past Event)

  • September 24, 2010 2:58 AM PDT
    Hollywood and I are here!! We got in last night about 10:30 - - beautiful day today. Hope to take a ride SOON!! We are burnin' daylight but the bike has to be cleaned so I wait!! There is a good biker clothing store just up the road - - I am excited about that - - patience running thin - - bike is not that big - - -how long can it take to clean - - SHOPPING TO DO!! And of course riding!! Have a good weekend everyone and will post pictures when we have them!
    • Moderator
    • 277 posts
    September 24, 2010 3:28 AM PDT
    I'm so jealous! I want to be there, too! (Especially for the great food and hush puppies!)
  • September 24, 2010 8:02 AM PDT
    MrsHollywood wrote...
    Hollywood and I are here!! We got in last night about 10:30 - - beautiful day today. Hope to take a ride SOON!! We are burnin' daylight but the bike has to be cleaned so I wait!! There is a good biker clothing store just up the road - - I am excited about that - - patience running thin - - bike is not that big - - -how long can it take to clean - - SHOPPING TO DO!! And of course riding!! Have a good weekend everyone and will post pictures when we have them!





    Glad to hear you all made it down safe. sorry i could'nt make it down. tell everyone hello for me.....you all be safe

    • Moderator
    • 19004 posts
    September 24, 2010 8:46 AM PDT
    Great news you are safe in NC. Surely wish I was. Waiting excitedly to see photos.
    • 352 posts
    September 25, 2010 12:12 PM PDT
    Well they are calling for rain tomorrow, but the 4 of us who did make it to Maggie Valley have had a great time riding the valley over the last 2 days. It would have been nice to have a crowd here...ohh well. Tomorrow we head to asheville to deliver things to the shelter...pics to follow.
    • 76 posts
    September 27, 2010 1:48 AM PDT
    Glad to hear you guys had a good weekend - hope the rain holds off today for ya! Can't wait to see the pics!!!
    • 352 posts
    September 27, 2010 1:57 AM PDT

    Here are some of the details -

    CF members that went...Mr. & Mrs "TheBullDog" (lol), "Mr. & Mrs. Hollywood"...that's it (what a shame), between us and Gabby (the owner of the hotel) we managed to put together roughly $350 - $400 worth of items and $ 50 in cash donations to give to A Hope House - a Homeward Bound of Asheville, NC program.

    When we stopped in at the center to deliver our donations on Sunday morning it was raining pretty good - but the shelter was in full swing of feeding breakfast to alot of people. I would guess there were at least 75 people there looking for something warm to eat and drink...and more walking in from different directions. When we brought in the meager donations we had, and they opened the room they sort and keep the items in it was clear they were running low on all items - most all of the bins in the room were near or completely empty. The volunteers were very appreciative and in the interest of preserving a little bit of privacy we chose not to take any pictures of the center - had they not been in full swing of feeding the people we may have.

    All I can say is:

    •  they really needed the help
    • seeing it first hand is a real eye opener
    • and I really wish we could have made a real showing at this event and done alot better with both the turn-out and the donations.
    • I think we came up short as a group
    I will post a few pics of some of the things we did over the weekend in the area which is by the way, a very beautiful and fun place to ride. Maggie Valley is all about bikes...twisting hills and mountains to run in all directions.

    BullDog
    • 76 posts
    September 27, 2010 2:29 AM PDT
    I hope this area is considered again -- it is one of our most favorite places to ride. Unfortunately the timing just didn't work for us this time. But thanks to you and Mrs. BullDog and Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood for "suiting up and showing up". Have an address where future donations could be made for this center?
  • September 27, 2010 3:14 AM PDT
    TheBullDog wrote...

    Here are some of the details -

    CF members that went...Mr. & Mrs "TheBullDog" (lol), "Mr. & Mrs. Hollywood"...that's it (what a shame), between us and Gabby (the owner of the hotel) we managed to put together roughly $350 - $400 worth of items and $ 50 in cash donations to give to A Hope House - a Homeward Bound of Asheville, NC program.

    When we stopped in at the center to deliver our donations on Sunday morning it was raining pretty good - but the shelter was in full swing of feeding breakfast to alot of people. I would guess there were at least 75 people there looking for something warm to eat and drink...and more walking in from different directions. When we brought in the meager donations we had, and they opened the room they sort and keep the items in it was clear they were running low on all items - most all of the bins in the room were near or completely empty. The volunteers were very appreciative and in the interest of preserving a little bit of privacy we chose not to take any pictures of the center - had they not been in full swing of feeding the people we may have.

    All I can say is:

    •  they really needed the help
    • seeing it first hand is a real eye opener
    • and I really wish we could have made a real showing at this event and done alot better with both the turn-out and the donations.
    • I think we came up short as a group
    I will post a few pics of some of the things we did over the weekend in the area which is by the way, a very beautiful and fun place to ride. Maggie Valley is all about bikes...twisting hills and mountains to run in all directions.

    BullDog




    We enjoyed so much our trip to Maggie Valley and thanks to M & M TheBulldog for all the planning that they put into this trip it made it even more special.  This is an awesome area to ride and the people there are great!!  Gabi was fabulous and she really knocks herself out to make sure everyone is comfy and having a good time.  Going to the shelter was quite an experience for me.  I have never been to a homeless shelter before and to see all the different people there was very emotional for me.  One man who sticks out in my mind was dressed in a suit and dress shoes.  I did not get a look as his face, only the back of him as he walked hurriedly past me with his breakfast in hand. I thought to myself how strange that he would dress like that. . .was that the way he was used to dressing at one time in his life or was it because he always wanted to dress that way and had to become homeless to be able to wear that suit and those shoes. . . made me wish we had the means to do this every weekend!!  For those that could not attend - - we missed you and you missed a good time and a very humbling experience.  

    Blessings on you all,
    Mrs.H