Spyders In The Redwoods

August 18-20 saw us once again trekking north for the annual Spyders In The Redwoods event, this year sponsored by BRP as part of their new program supporting localized Spyder events. Which, by the way, I think is a really great idea. Though the company obviously can’t possibly support all of the hundreds of events put on around the country, I think it’s a truly great idea to reward those that have previously been wholly built, maintained, organized and supported by the grassroots Spyder enthusiasts. Such is the case with Spyders In The Redwoods, a northern California event that only exists due to the dedication of unpaid volunteers.
But though the event is managed by dozens of volunteers, I don’t think anyone would mind my singling out one in particular — Katlyn Gommerman (SpyderGirl) was the instigator and has remained the driving force behind Spyders In The Redwoods.

This year’s event was held about 15 miles outside of Eureka, at the beautiful Blue Lake Resort & Casino, just a short ride from the Avenue Of The Giants and other great riding venues.

Though I never got an exact count, certainly there were over 200 Spyders in attendance, and close to 300 riders. I always like it when an event includes some kind of show, just so I can see what others are doing to dress up their Spyders…

Though there weren’t a lot of vendors – maybe six or seven – I think the almost-always most-welcome sight is Ann Meyer and her husband Joe with “Squared Away.”

Each of the three nights included some kind of get-together: Sandwiches and snacks at a “meet-and-greet” the first night, an ice cream social the second, and final dinner on the last night. I would be remiss not to mention that the food and service at all three was outstanding!

Every reigstered attendee got a beautiful pin AND a free event T-shirt!

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All-in-all, a pretty darned good event, most especially since at the time, all the rest of California was either on fire, or going through a record heat wave. In the Redwoods, it was a cool 65-70 degrees — like riding in air conditioning!
Thanks to everyone involved – we had a great time!