Oh, the Roll-Out…
It is such a magical time for me. One of my favorite parts
of the entire Ragby experience. This year proved to be no exception. The party
ark was full of fun and the Beavers were ready to par-tay!
Let me roll back a few day/hours. This year I, Masinga, was
accepting the great challenge of conducting graduate school course schoolwork,
including a final during Ragby. I had to plan ahead. That meant I worked hard
to pad my grade for the course, create a schedule for the week, and most
importantly stick to it. More on that later though. I was packed two days
before the Roll Out, less a couple pieces of cycling clothes I wanted to wash.
It was my smallest pack job ever. See!
I met up with The Boss and Norman a couple days before their
Ride Out to see if there was anything I could help with. I offered to pick up
beer contributions for Normie and myself. And I had a few extra hours to make
some goodies. You’re welcome Little Beavers!
Finally Saturday morning was here! I pulled the final items
together and loaded up my car. My pops arrived and we drove up to Roosevelt,
which was looking to be a much better meeting spot for me. Physically closer
means I’m on time! I pulled in with moments to spare before the agreed upon
meeting time. I was one of the first Beavers there. I swiftly unloaded my bike,
gear, treats, and beer. Told my pops I was good to go and he proceeded to talk
peoples’ ears off. Love him, but he spins the same yarn over and over again,
for hours on end. Sorry for that Beaver Friends and Family.
I eagerly paced around waiting for others to get there. A
couple cars rolled in and Beavers trickled out. Yes! This is happening. I said
good morning to Pochy and she kind of waived me off. I tried not to take it
personally. It was going to be a long week. I let her do her thing. Within
about 20 minutes, we had all the bikes in or on the vehicles. Most of the beer
was on ice. The gear was piled in. Then Smitty and Too Much (I think) took off.
I was confused. As I asked Pochy for the deets on what was happening, I got the
immediate information that they were dropping off the car. And then I got a
little more backstory on what was really wrong. There was a potential problem
with the dogs and their sitter for the week. Oh man. No wonder Pochy was a
little salty. I was worried. I had never seen her like that before.
Eventually all the little Beavers were in our den on wheels
and we were off! As we settled in for the ride, we were reminded that the Roll
Out 2016 included a Goose Chase. It was finally live! Yes! But what did this
entail?? We had a variety of tasks assigned and needed to get photo or video
documentation for many of them. Interesting. The competitive side of me took
hold and I went for it. Especially given that one of the challenges was
guessing how many beers Masinga would drink on the Roll Out. I answered and
then I kept drinking. In my mind my answer was 10. Apparently my actual answer
was only 8. I kept drinking. I was hell bent on winning.
It was a lovely drive. And all of a sudden we were getting
off the Interstate and making a stop. WHAT??
Oh, we’re getting off the Ark to party? Okay. Oooh, there are challenges
for this party spot?? Challenge
accepted! I walked in the door and instantly made friends. I cozied up to the
bar with the Delaware Blue Hens team and convinced their team president to buy
Masinga a shot! Baller!
We wrangled the Little Beavers up in the time frame
suggested and disembarked again. I vaguely remember taking back roads to I-80
as to not back track. I think there was a little gravel too. It was all a
little cloudy because I kept drinking. I had to hit that 10-beer goal.
Yikes. We were back on the main road
reminiscing about Marne already. This needed to be a part of our annual Ragby
tradition. My only concern is our early departure timeframe may be too early
for the real party in Marne. Beaver(s) in Chief take note: If we’re going to
really party in Marne with other teams, we may need a later departure time.
As our Roll Out and Goose Chase adventure came to a close
with a lovely home in Glenwood, I was a little sad. I don’t remember unloading
my bags and greeting the hosts. I can say I accurately predicted my “Get off da
bus” behavior. I face planted on the floor and took a little beaver snooze.
I was going to own this Ragby, just like I owned the Goose
Chase. BTW, was there a prize? #masingadit
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