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It was on a trip to Cody, WY in 1989 that I was first introduced to GWRRA. (Gold Wing Restaurant Raider). My wife and I were on our very first long distance trip and had met up with a GWRRA Member on our way through Colorado.

Simply by fate, we met this Member during a break along highway 25 just north of Denver. Stopping to take pictures of the Rocky Mountains, I had left my partner to guard the rig while I crossed over to the other side of the highway to take a few pictures. Richard Braggs from Midland, Texas had stopped to check out this lady standing by her bike. I returned to the bike shortly after he arrived. We made our greetings and small talk to find we were headed the same place. We were headed to Cody, Wyoming for a rally that was being held by the city. Being new to the long distance riding and having read about strangers along the way, we declined the offer to ride with Mr. Braggs.

After we had had our break, we started off to our next stop. As fate would have it, we met Mr. Braggs at a refuel point and once again asked if we wanted to ride with him. His offer was so gracious we finally accepted and off we went.

With foul weather ahead, we began to look for a stopping point. Good ole" Douglas, WY came up in sight, so we said this was it. As all good Gold Wingers (we found out) always like to have a full tummy before bedding down for the night, we found a great steak house and had a very enjoyable dinner together. We sat in awe listening to the stories told about his travels since he joined this association called GWRRA. I told my wife, "Gosh, sure hope we can do some of the trips like he has." Now it was time for bed. All the hotels, motels and such were booked up, so we had to find a campground. We were told by the locals that there was a KOA on the north side of town. We searched for about an hour before we finally got to our resting place.

It was dark and not so nice out when we pulled up to the office. Of course they were closed. We found the late night registration box and preceeded to fill out the forms. The comment was made how nice the place looks, so we found a nice place for both of us to set up camp.

"Good morning camper" we heard from the other tent about 0600 the next morning. We returned the greeting and began to get moving. Little did we know mother nature had opened the sky during the night. Once dressed I decided to open the tent and found a lake in front of our tent. Even if it was rented, it was nice to once have some lake front property. We had picked a site that was in the mud; and if we had not had hard sides on the tent, we would have slept in that lake.

Sitting back down and allowing my partner to get dressed and making plans how we were going to get across the lake and to solid ground, we finally accepted that there was no way to get there without getting wet and muddy. We figured there was no need for both of us to get messy so I was elected to be the venturous one. Lucky for me, I had boots so it wasn't too bad.

Looking around, I found some rocks to place in our lake so my partner could get out without getting all muddy and wet. Now, on the road and looking back on the tent, we started laughing about the whole thing. The crazy thing was there was a very nice grassy spot right across from where we had camped.

We cleared camp, got all things packed and went to get the bikes fired up. As bad luck would have it, Mr. Braggs' bike would not start. He had discharged the battery with all the late night search for the camping grounds. Prepared with a set of jumper cables, I hooked up the two bikes and got his bike started.

Now, what is the first thing that starts the morning: COFFEE!!! We were really hungry, and we were able to find a very nice restaurant not far from where we had camped. Once finished with our breakfast we prepared to forge on to Cody. OOPS! Battery is dead again. Once again we jumped Richard's bike and got him going.

All the way from Douglas to Casper Richard's battery kept going dead. We did make it to Casper, WY and found a phone. We found a nice parking lot, and Richard pulled out his "GOLD BOOK". He began to explain how this GOLD BOOK worked. Hum!! Kind of nice to have friends all over the country who are willing to help. Of course, it was a Sunday and nothing was open so we could get his bike going. Richard made a couple of calls to Members in the area and found one who had a trailer and pickup to come and get us.

It was about an hour and all of a sudden here came two bikes and one pickup and trailer. All three of the Members asked what had happened and said they had a garage and would take us there and figure out what the problem was.

Once loaded on the trailer, the Members lead us to one of their homes and off-loaded the bike and trailer. The Members had all kinds of tools and started to check out the bike. OK!! It was the battery and it was just shot. Our rescue group had a new battery to install in Richard's bike. Job complete, bike fired right up. The mechanic said, "Just send me a new battery when you get back home."

These new-found friends also gave us refreshments and sandwiches before we made way to head to our next destination. We all greeted each other with some hand shakes and hugs and we were off.

Along the way to Cody, Wyoming, I quizzed Richard about this group called GWRRA. He explained how it all worked, and we were amazed how great it was. I told my wife that as soon as we got home from our trip we were going to find a Chapter to join.

We finished our wonderful trip and arrived home safely. Then, we searched and found a group in our hometown. The Chapter was just in the process of starting up. We made their kick-off meeting and met some wonderful people from all over the state of Texas. They had all come in support of and to help get the Chapter off the ground.

Following the meeting, we joined GWRRA. The fun began the following weekend with a ride. We were hooked and we were allowed to be Charter Members of the group. It's been a fabulous journey, and we've really enjoyed it. Along the way, I held the positions of Assistant Chapter Director, Chapter Director and Newsletter Editor and Ride Coordinator.

We just passed our 20th year. OH WHAT A RIDE IT HAS BEEN, and thanks to all those in GWRRA for the friendship and love.