12:46 CDT

Just arrived at the hotel and sitting in the lobby with Doug. Classical music is playing over the speakers, the furniture is tastefully appointed,…….and there’s a dude with a doo rag and dingy Aerostich checking in.

…..now, that’s classy.

Warchild just strolled in and planted his butt on the marble coffee table in front of me.

…..more class.

We’re headed off to lunch at a sitdown joint with cloth napkins….wearing our shorts and motorcycle boots of course.

…..heaping mounds of class. It’s going to be a fun weekend.

14:32 CDT

Games are already a foot. Tom Austin came up and shook my hand in the lobby. Exchanging pleasantries I shared that I had never been to this area of the country he asked me what I thought about the place. So, I gave him my line from yesterday, “The nice thing about St. Louis is that on Monday I’ll be able to point my bike away from this hell hole of a sauna.”

He replied in deadpan, “How do you know you’re leaving St. Louis? Maybe the first bonus is to do a Saddle Sore around the beltway.”

….I gave him a pained, quizzed, intrigued, and angry look all at the same time.

Tom is, of course, the brutally strict yet consistently fair scorer that dinged me for not having all four limbs in the proper quadrants in the SPANK Rally last year.

So, I find myself chanting, “Austin will not get in my head….Austin will not get in my head……Austin will not get in my head!”

18:10 CDT

Folks are mingling in the bar…with a few drinking here and there, but it’s pretty sober and safe. Dinner is soon. It’s cool to see the regular cast of characters….Warchild, Higdon, McSweeny, Torters, Rebecca V., Van Santens, etc.

Got back from Wal-Mart to pick up a couple of things I had forgotten. My CB worked pretty well. I can only transmit about 1/4 mile or so……maybe I can improve that with a ground or something.