Many years ago a guy called "Limp Lee" and a few friends rode to a small tavern in Marysville called the California Tavern. They rode there to eat Oysters. The next few years they made the same ride with more riders joining each year. It wasn't long and the number of riders was over 200. Limp Lee searched for a new location that would be able to handle the crew. Anacortes board welcomed the rally but with reservation. Most of the shops closed up for the event. Those who stayed open reaped the dollars the riders were there to spend.  The following years the town stayed open with one successful rally after another. The rally continued to grow and has grown every year. I have heard rumors of bikers in the numbers of between 7 and 15 thousand. This year would top last without a doubt. I have ridden the Oyster Run  since 2006. Each with video. Last years video was featured on the Anacortes Now web site. No one that I know of seems to know how Limp Lee got his name so I guess we will leave it at that. Each year I start my trip report with this information so who didn't know the history now do. See http://www.oysterrun.org for more information.

Today was my 4th ride on the Oyster Run and the weather couldn't have been any better. I said this last year too. This year it actually was better. this year I had a passenger. My step son Matt has been chomping at the bit to make this rally and this was his lucky day. Our ride started with a little no clouds and clear skies. I departed Tacoma at 7:50 AM. The trip up I-5 went quickly as I noted traffic was a bit heavier then last year. For some odd reason I encountered only a couple riders all the way through Seattle. After a ride up I-5 I took the hwy 525 exit and made my way down hwy 525 to the Mukilteo Ferry Terminal. Due to a shortage of ferry workers bikes were required to get in line with the cars and pass through the ticket booths. Although I spent more time up on the road side I didn't think the wait was any longer. Once we paid at the booth we were queued in the loading lanes. I was surprised at the number of bikes ( approximately 300) that had already arrived. I ended up half way up row 8.  The wait wasn't long at all and the loud roar of the bikes thundered as the ferry workers gave the queue to begin loading.  I couldn't even hear my Goldwing running. We soon boarded the vessel and I was positioned near the front. The ride across was short and breezy. The morning air on the water was a bit brisk but refreshing.

Once we docked on the other side, the sound of thunder began again as hundreds bikes started their engines and began departing the ferry. I pulled off at a nearby fuel station to fuel up and waited for my ride buddy as we got separated. Others had the same idea. I used this as an opportunity to top off so I wouldn't have to on the way home. Once fueled, I headed up hwy 525 Behind a small group of bikers. hwy 525 stretched about 22 miles of Whidbey islands length before it tuned into to hwy 20. This is where we took a bit of a detour. I have done this each year and found few riders go this way. I made my way down to Beach Rd. This is a great 11.5 mile detour that runs along the shoreline producing some awesome views of the water. I ended up turning back on to hwy 20 near the Whidbey Island Navel base sign. I had to stop and take some pictures of the Jets they have sitting on giant pedestals. From here it was a short 7.2 miles north bound on hwy 20 to the Deception Pass Bridge. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to stop and take photos.  The view from the bridge looking east this time of the morning is spectacular. The water had a green tint to it and Mt. Baker was hover above the cliffs on the other side of the water.

Once back on the road I took the next left on the other side of the bridge. This as usual separated me from the herd. I rode Rosario until it turned into Marine and soon I was riding into Anacortes. This is a great route as it brings you into Anacortes from the side away from the thousands of bikes making their way down commercial Ave. I made the left at the Safeway on to Commercial and headed into the heart of Anacortes. I couldn't believe the amount of bikes. It looked like much more then last year. I found a parking spot about 3/4 the way down and tuned off my wing. As always... here were allot of folks! It wasn't long and the sun was really warming things up as I was making my way through town. I ran into a friend from the B-King forum who owned 1 of three B-kings in attendance.  As I did last year,  I went for the BBQ pulled pork sandwich and it was really good. Matt had the same and was all over it. Or should I say he got it all over him. After food and drink we watched the Seattle Cossack's perform their stunt riding show. If you have not seen them you should. They ride old 1930's -1940 HD's and perform all sorts of balancing acts while riding. Pyramids, inverted head stands three riders per bike etc. Well worth watching. The day went well and I snapped hundreds of photos and captured allot of great video footage. As far as video I used 3 DV camcorders. Two of which were mounted on the bike at two different angle. The 3rd is a hard drive camcorder I use for shooting off hand. As the time approached 3:30 PM we loaded up and headed on out of town. It was an awesome experience and i would have to say about 15,000 in attendance. I'll try and get more accurate numbers later. The trip home was quick and the scenery was excellent. It's always nice to ride through the Deception Pass area.

A special thanks goes out to those who donated their time to plan and assist during the event. They did an excellent job at keeping things safe for all who attended.

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