iMBC2012: Random Food

Food is a big part of riding. Many rides either start with a meal, end with a meal, or stops halfway for a meal. It was no exception when a few of us met recently in Oregon for our 2nd iMBC: International Moto-Bloggers Convention 2012. The plan was for all of us to meet at a certain hotel on Friday night, presumably for a meal and to discuss our plans for the weekend.

Some of us arrived a day earlier so others may not be aware of where and what we ate while we were waiting for them . While I made allowance for a 2 day journey, I decided to compress my ride and travel the distance in one day. Little did I realize that Richard also arrived that afternoon when we read his message that he had also arrived in Baker City. At that time I was at the campsite with Karen and I suggested that we have dinner together

We decided to walk to the restaurant



When we arrived Richard was already seated and waiting for us



My foot wasn't in the best condition and I would rather have ridden had I known it was farther than we realized but I took it easy and made it back, eventually. Notice that while Karen and myself were pigging out on the delicious, healthy pizza option




Richard settled on the salad

The next morning was our actual meetup day and we knew that others would be rolling into town. Richard decided to ride over to our campsite and the three of us (Karen, Richard & myself) were relaxing on the picnic table, talking and generally enjoying day under the shade of our giant trees. Not long after we received a message from Erik that he was in town and checked into his hotel. We contacted him and decided to head over to his hotel and have lunch together



Here's our first glimpse of Erik. I notice that he is my kind of guy when I noticed that RED tank top, my preferred hot weather garment. After introductions we decide to find a restaurant and get our meat fix as we knew the Vegans were arriving later in the day. We thought that if we had our meat allotment now then we would be more prepared later for meatless options



This looks like a popular greasy spoon and it is busy so we park our bikes and head inside towards air conditioned comfort.



I actually wanted the hot turkey sandwich and I supposed I asked the waitress (server) too many questions about the turkey and she thought I was being a difficult customer. I eventually settled on the hot roast beef sandwich with the tater tots, but it was covered in too much thick gravy. Others ordered more sensible offerings such as



fish and chips.

I will say that this waitress was very perceptive and is a very good judge of character and does a very good job of keeping customers' in line (not necessarily speaking about myself)



Contrary to what others may say . . . I think she likes me.

Saturday was a long day in the nearly 100°F heat of Hell's Canyon and I think we were all tired so we settled on a convenient option of my favourite Mexican Restaurant in Enterprise, Oregon. This will be my 3rd time having a meal here



I have a fondness for Enchiladas, one of each: beef & chicken



Tomorrow was Sunday and a new day. Since all of us had ridden great distances to be together, and some had epic rides to return home, we decided to have a non-riding day and just relax and explore the shops of Joseph, on foot. This gave us a chance to know each other better but it was a hot day and we had to cool off



so we went to a soda shop for ice cream floats and ice cream. Looking at this photo now, I realize that I am looking very much like my brother across the table. We have nearly matching RED tank tops and shorts. I think he forgot to put on his sandals

Whoever thought about having this non-riding day was a genius. Everyone liked the idea of just relaxing under the shade of this tree instead of being overheated in riding gear



soon enough the sun reclaimed some of our shade and we had to retreat to the other side of our yard



it was getting late and the time had come for our last meal together. If only we could have planned to be together for just one more day . . .

After dinner we said our final farewells as most were leaving early the next morning.



It was sad to see everyone gearing up to ride away. We did our hugs and handshakes and I was feeling sadder by the moment. We discussed the idea of having another iMBC2014 in two years.

In the meantime, ride safely and hope we meet again

Oh, Oh, almost forgot. We had dinner in Baker City and I think most of us forgot to take photos, but I managed a short video clip