I interrupt your regularly scheduled column writing to fill you in on what the heck happened last week on the 9-11 ride.

First off, Kenzy told me a lot of different people were pointing at her and waving. She noticed it a lot, and it’s so funny that I said, “Watch for the pink helmet.” I didn’t realize just how many of you were locked in on this pink helmet, and I am totally here for it. Awesome! Thank you so much for your support for all of us riders coming out to ride for those thousands of lives lost. It’s always such a moving ride.

Now, if I seemed distracted or had a worried look on my face, it was because I was concerned about my bike. I have ridden this ride for over two decades, and have had this particular bike for at least seven years. I remember a few years back she got a little finicky, but this year was hotter than usual (the upper lip sweat was hittin’ hard). The ride started really slow for a few miles, trying to get out on the highway to 15 from Montgomery. I noticed my bike was feeling hotter than usual. My thighs felt like they were melting off from the heat of my bike. I knew in my head if we kept going parade slow like this, it wouldn’t be good. It needed airflow. It’s a high-performance CVO bike; they aren’t meant to crawl. A few years back it acted up but never let happen, what happened to me that Friday night.

We hit the highway, and I figured, “OK, good, it’s getting movement; I should be OK. I didn’t feel at that point I needed to pull over.

But if you were sitting in Southside right by the intersection by Turkey Hill off Market Street, that was me who was sitting in the middle of the intersection after my bike said, “OK I have had enough; I’m done.”

I didn’t panic; I just tried starting it back up, and it wouldn’t do a thing. That’s when I knew I had to push myself to the side of the road. My brother, Luke, who was right behind me, pulled over with me. I told him to keep going, that I was OK, the bike just needed to sit a bit. It was my niece Lexi’s first year experiencing the ride, and I didn’t want to ruin it for her if my bike wouldn’t start back up before the end of the ride came.

Of course, my brother wouldn’t hear of it. He stuck by me the whole ride, as our group was way ahead of us by this point, not knowing I was even missing until they hit Arch Street.

We ended up being able to pull out at the very end of the ride. All through South Williamsport, Williamsport, and even into Montoursville, I was so worried it was going to do it again. Until the actual air temp started to cool down, I felt like there was still a good possibility it would overheat again. I’m pretty sure, after looking into it after all this happened, that I have a failing Crankshaft Position Sensor. I won’t get into all of that, but I am sure you were wondering how Andrea and Kenzy ended up clear at the end of the ride and why I wasn’t focused as much on the people around me interacting with you all.

So many of my friends texted me, “We were looking for the pink helmet and thought we missed you, but then found you at the end! What happened!?” I thought my readers should know what happened. I’m so sorry if I missed any of you. This ride will be a ride I will never forget, as I was hit with something in Newberry, then had a bunch of jerks get in with us towards the end that rode like, may I say, idiots? It lasted the entire ride, very interesting, but I was so happy to have my brother right by my side for it all.

I yelled to him as we were riding next to each other, “Well, if you ain’t first, you’re last!” as we laughed.

And boy, were we last. Still was a special ride and one I will never ever forget, that’s for sure.

Check out this brand new recipe I threw together last week! This cheesy cream sauce will have you coming back for seconds.

Sausage, Potato and Cheddar Casserole
Ingredients:
• 6 medium potatoes, sliced fine
• 6 sweet sausages, browned
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
Cheese Sauce
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 3 cups milk
• 2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
Topping
• 1/4 cup grated sharp cheese
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 4 tbsp melted butter
Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Thinly slice potatoes (about 1/8-inch thick). (I used a mandoline.)

Slice sausage into rounds and brown in a large skillet with 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan. Take the sausage out of the pan leaving in all that yummy goodness in the pan.

Start making the Cheese Sauce in the same pan.

Melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, sauté 3–4 minutes until soft. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute to form a roux. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth and slightly thickened. Add cheddar and mozzarella, stirring until melted and creamy. Season with salt and pepper.

Layer the Casserole

Spread half of the potato slices in the bottom of the baking dish. Add half of the sausage slices on top. Pour half of the cheese sauce over the layer.

Repeat with the remaining potatoes, sausage, and sauce.

Add Topping (Optional). Mix cheese, breadcrumbs, and melted butter. Sprinkle evenly over the casserole.

Cover with foil and bake for 70 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes until golden and bubbly. (You want those potatoes to be soft.)

Let the casserole rest 5–10 minutes before serving. This helps it set for easier slicing.