The Ramapo 500 25th Annual Ride, July 21 & 22 2001> Well this was my first Ramapo. and I have to say it was a great ride. I rode with the Nassau Wings Turtle Squadron, Which consisted of Pat and Joe Borrusso. Kevin O'Connell, and two friends of Pat & Joe's. The first day we rode 279 miles of a 270 mile run. Nine miles extra accounts for lost time. This is not a reflection on Pat or Joe's abilities as Road Captains. They both did a great job. They kept an even pace which allowed us to both enjoy the ride, enjoy the twisties, and enjoy the scenery. As for the Rabbit Squadron. I heard them say something about seeing green stuff whizzing by their heads. And there is also (I understand) a new way of saying "Congratulations" to Bob. When we arrvied at Blackthorns at about 8:15pm. The food was a cook'n! They had hotdogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, beans, beer, soda and more beer. if we all got into the pool at the same time what a jacuzzi we could've had. Some of us that first night were (as Nicole put it) dog tired. Ron, Rich, Nicole and myself went up to Hogan's Motel and sat outside next to the pool to discuss the events of the day. Somehow the topic of conversation switched to "Astrominy" as Rich, our club "Astrominer" put it. We learned a lot about "Astrominy" Saturday night. To review our lesson, we learned that the north star is an 80 watt flood light on the side of Hogan's motel. We also learned that the only reason the north star was south of us is because we were north of it. Most importantly we learned about shooting stars. We saw many shooting stars Saturday night and they all had these pretty green and red lights on them. They made the nicest humming noises and they were all going in the direction of Albany airport. It was about midnight when I decided to hit the sack. I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow. However I was awakened at about 4:00 in the morning by something furry rubbing against my leg in bed and it wasn't Bob. I sprang from my sleep to discover (dissapointingly) that it was only a cat. Since I refuse to share my bed with just any cat I did what any self respecting man would do, I showed her the door. The only problem with that was I forgot to close the door. So back she came and once again, out she went; this time with the door closed firmly behind her. It was I'd say about 4:45 in the morning when I heard singing coming from the other side of the room. I raised my head and looked over at Nicole's bed and out of the darkness I heard Nicole say "WHAT??" With that I went back to sleep. I awoke again about 5:15 in the morning to find Nicole was now sleeping in my bed. What is it with women jumping into my bed when I'm trying to sleep? The second day was great as well. We had breakfast and the Turtle Squadron set out again for the open road. Again Pat & Joe did a great job of leading. We arrived at the Red Apple Rest at about 5:30pm. We started for home at 6:00pm and only hit some minor traffic on Route 95 before the bridge but after that it was smooth sailing home (except for me; I got stuck in the toll lane because my E-Z Pass didn't activate the gate so I lost the rest of the group). I got home about 8:25 and collapsed on my bed. I can't wait to do it again next year. Cheech