Recon/F.O.Y.
Having just completed a week long shoot and ride extravaganza with my buddy Don, aka RECON, I think we both came away a bit more polished in our shooting and riding skills.
Recon was on a trip to watch his daughter play in a High school soccer tournament that required he go on a road trip. So like any good FOY (Father Of the Year) candidate he brought his guns that he has been teaching his daughters to shoot, so obviously they were for his family’s protection. He also brought his WR 450 which I can only assume was to have a secondary mode of transportation should anything break down on his truck since this was a 1500 plus mile road trip. This guy thinks of everything, if he doesn’t win an FOY award in 2016 then Trump doesn’t stand a chance!
Recon made it to town safely and I introduced him to a few geezers at the local shooting range that also had a few guns, targets, metal gongs and a timer to record just how quick Recon was on the draw. They got along famously and proceeded to show him how well he can continue to shoot if he practices into his retirement. This group contained shooters ranging from the mid 60’s to the eldest at 80 years old. Recon was amazed when he found himself trying to compete with the 80 yr. old who was also named Don! A good time was had by all and Recon left the range looking forward to coming back to whip these old timers. The next time I shot with this group they were asking where my buddy Recon was and were very disappointed when I told them he had to go home to fulfill his FOY duties.
Between shooting and soccer, I got a chance to ride with the FOY candidate. We explored and logged some miles! On one day we did 200 miles off road and finished just before dark. We also participated in a regular Monday Taco ride that takes off each week and draws a wide variety of riders. It is broken up by a lunch stop at a roadhouse called Hooch’s that offer $1 tacos. Just for the record Recon can put away some tacos!
It seems Recon likes to explore new areas too, especially when they include high speed sand washes that let him open his Yamaha WR 450 up. One particular wash is named Maggie wash and does include some pretty impressive scenery when it narrows down from 60 mph and over 100 feet wide to just about 8 feet wide. There is sand, rocks and vertical stone walls while it twists and turns through a canyon that knocks your speed down to maybe 10 mph unless you intend to become a human pinball on those walls. It is always a ton of fun and is worth the two hours of riding it takes to get there. Recon was asking me how long would it take if we rode directly there so we could do it again tomorrow. I had to break it to him, 2 hours, but I didn’t see the grin dissipate.
We made our way to the gas and lunch stop and met an injured buddy, Montana John, who had ridden his KLR 650 out to the small town of Wikkieup to meet us. After lunch It was time to head back because the sun was already starting to cast shadows. By the time we got home it was after 6pm and the odometers had just rolled 200 miles for the day. Some chain lube, put the bikes away, change out of our riding gear and get cleaned up was all we had time to do before heading off to find dinner. How much better can it get than riding from one eating spot to the next. I think Recon is just starting to find out how to do retirement correctly!
The time came for Recon to pack up his stuff and head home while I was following him out of town in search of another ride somewhere around the town of Weldon. Which turned out to be such a great ride I couldn’t resist texting Recon pictures of the trail I rode there. Recon, you left too soon homie!
#33
“teach your daughter how to shoot, because a restraining order is just a piece of paper”
Wednesday, March 30, 2016 at 11:31AM 