Before i really, yes REALLY.........(really?)......leave on vacation, i want to thank everyone again who has taken the time to contribute to this fantastic thread. Lets see, where do I start....
bjcojak - you started it all off, and your pics remain among my favorites of this whole thread. If you took videos in previous years, by all means share them too! Great work...
Pedro - the mad dog poster. You must be in perpetual motion, and do you get your daily pics up before you've even had breakfast? Oh thats right - that would be breakfast my time.
You post while I'm asleep, so every morning before I trot off to work, I check to see the latest gems you have unearthed. Ye gods, man - for sure volume alone, you deserve a medal! And add to that quality and a keen eye...
Sal32 - as you will see below, there is still a bit more to the Torre story. You were the first, though, to verify the appearance of "Torre" in 2008. Yes Sherlock, you have the nose of a bloodhound. And a great eye for naked babes on roller skates and chocolate walkers, too
Crispus - my new name for you is "The encyclopedia". I'm half expecting that next you will unearth the names and addresses of all of the riders! Or perhaps you have already, but of course, you cannot post.....And what you have posted will help me to be a better photog next year! Thanks!
Nothere and Flanker7 - chipped in with some great pics and analysis (and Flanker7 was posting more as I wrote this). Thanks for your support, nothere, regarding Torre.
And lastly......speaking of
TORRE.......
I want you all to know I can't help but maintain a special fondness for Torretxt. I have been in correspondence with her by pm over the past 24 hrs, and she has convinced me that she did make the trip to Seattle last year. She also gave me her OK to inform you all of this happy news. I think we both owe it to members here to try and explain as best as possible the complex, sometimes frusturating, sometimes exhilarating, process by which a person makes a decision such as she made last year - to ride naked in front of thousands of onlookers and hundreds of photographers. Do you think it is easy? Do you think anyone doing it for the first time is going to know EXACTLY how they will feel and respond to the situation? Every woman we have posted in this thread is a breed apart from your average girl, and I firmly believe Torre is no exception. She is a breed apart, too. Twice, she has demonstrated that to me - first, when she journeyed to Seattle last year to ride, and again the other day when, faced with a potential angry mob, she posted her apology right here in this thread. So now, one year later, I have forgiven and moved on. And I hope the rest of you will also forgive, not only Torre, but also me, for any disappointment you may have felt during the past week. Many thanks! And now, moving on to my own contribution to this thread, let me just say....
THERE IS ALWAYS NEXT YEAR!! (seriously, yeah...I took some pics and they came out OK. But in 2006 I was a novice, and NOW I'm suppose to be experienced....Go figure...
)
cheer to all,
Klondike