3rd annual rally in raleigh...

went to the rally in raleigh a couple weekends ago... was a lot of fun. nice to see the event getting bigger. this year it was as big as the first and second years put together. there was talk of closing even more streets next year if it was big enough this year. that would be nice to see...

we left the dealership and headed over to the rally - normally a three minute trip stretched to about fifteen with all the bikes and confusion getting in... i think the original plan was to ride down fayetteville street and snake around to moore square, where the opening ceremonies were taking place. however, people started parking on fayetteville street as soon as they got there, choking the road for everyone else that was following... seemed a little odd, but the ride to start the rally was lead by one of dale jr.'s race cars. guess if i was more of a nascar fan, there'd be more of an ooohhh and aaahhh factor.



lots to see and a lot to do at the rally this year. one of the first things to catch my eye, both because of the bike and he was parked next to me was this 1947 harley. well, it wasn't just a 1947, more like mostly a 1947. the guy was real proud to talk about his bike, the miles he's put on it and the work he's put into it to keep it on the road. he's had it coast-to-coast several times and hasn't had any problems with it. of course with the amount of work he has to put into the bike to keep it running, he might not consider it broken down were the rest of us might... anyway, as with any old harley work its weight in gold, after about ten minutes sitting, there was a pool of oil forming...





another bike that immediately caught my eye was "plan b" from widow maker custom design and repair. this is the guy the build the gold school bike i liked at the first rally... i talked to hank for a couple minutes, found out he had taken it down to the smoke out this year. love his work - will have to check out his shop some time...







also talked to a marine what served two tours in iraq... thank you very much, by the way... apparently he had a sportster and his dad decided to trade it in to show his appreciation for what his son was doing. his son didn't know anything about what his dad was doing. when he returned from his second tour, his dad told him they had a problem with his sportster to lure him into the dealership. at the dealership, packed with family and friends, his dad gave him the bike. as you can see, it's been customized as a tribute to the marines and the six fellow soldiers from his unit that never returned... very interesting guy to talk to - very humble, very giving. we spoke to him for quite a while. if we had more people in this world like him, it would be a much better place... if you look closely at the picture of the derby cover, you can see the names of his six buddies that never came home...




while wandering around the rally, saw the new victory vision...



ray price and his new rider were giving out autographs...


the hero bike from homes for the troops...



various pics from the bike show... i don't know that this first "bike" should have been in the show - it was more like a three wheel car than a motorcycle.but the judges will decided that, huh?? seems like skulls were the theme this year...






not sure if this guy entered the "bike" show... guess he's a cool cat, huh??



other pics from the rally...











i guess if i was going to join a motorcycle club, this would definitely be one of the patches...

'nother sunday ride...

decided to take a ride sunday afternoon... actually, hemmed and hawed long enough sunday morning, that i couldn't take a longer ride. was originally thinking of riding out to one of the lighthouses - by the time i figured out where i wanted to go, it was too late to head out and get back at a reasonable hour... so i decided to make the usual loop around the lake. that would give me a couple hours out and still get me home at a reasonable time...

also decided to take one of the kids with me. was thinking about how nice it would be to be able to take the whole family out riding - unfortunately that's not an option when there's one passenger seat on the bike. i was thinking even if my wife starts riding, we won't have enough seats. but, maybe by the time she starts riding, the oldest will have his own bike and he'll be able to ride with us... add in my father-in-law, brother and his crew and we'll have our own poker run!!!

so, with son on back, we head out... didn't get too far before making our first stop - at a neighbor's house. husband was mowing the lawn and wife was cleaning the gutters. it didn't take them long to decide they'd rather be riding.

off we went... i usually make a counter-clockwise loop around the lake. decided to mix it up a little and go clockwise... it's amazing how different the sites are in the other direction. i saw buildings i've passed many times before but never noticed. and even though i've ridden these particular roads many times, it was like a new ride this time.

we stopped at a new place my neighbor's discovered on their last trip out. on past rides, i've always wanted to stop in virgilina to see what's there - i've just never taken the time. well, this was going to be the time. we decided to stop and grab a bit to eat at gatrell's. not really sure how to describe the place... it seems to have an odd collection of items available - a restaurant/bar, a tack and feed store, looks like they also sell western wear. it definitely looks like it could be a fun place. they have live bands, the have a classic car event the first saturday of each month (as i recall) and they're already planning their christmas party - what's not too like??

we grabbed a quick bite to eat - the food was very good. then again, i had a hot dog - how can you screw that up?? everyone seemed to enjoy their food. i can definitely see myself coming back to this place...

after eat, we jumped back on the bikes and headed home - the long way of course. what a beautiful day for a ride. temps were perfect, skies were an awesome blue with big puffy white clouds. what a great day... most of all, it was particularly nice to ride along with my son. we had a good time and i look forward to more rides with him... i've been talking to him about taking a couple days and riding along the blue ridge parkway - maybe he'll take me up on the offer one day...

until next time...

patriot ride...

this year's rally in raleigh charity ride was the patriot ride for support our troops... without trying to turn this into a debate about whether the war is right or wrong, whether we should be there or not, whether you agree or not, the least we can do for the men and women is give them our support...

this year's ride was heading out to the nc national guard armory and checking out some helicopters. on the surface, the ride may not seem as "cool" as last year's ride to the beer distributor and the caterpillar plant. but i figured it was a small way i could help support our troops - as well as get out of a day's work and ride the bike!!!

the ride itself was fairly uneventful - mostly highway to and from the armory, but there is something cool about having a police escort and the right-of-way. and being in a pack of two hundred fifty plus bikes. i must have been in the middle somewhere because at times, as far as i could see in front and behind there was nothing but a sea of bikes. hell, i couldn't even see the limo leading the ride.

we get to the armory and they have this big spread of food for us... after eating, they give us a little "talk" on how our support helps the troops and other things we can do to help out... then it was off to see the helicopters. pretty neat seeing those us close - especially the blackhawk we've all heard so much about.

in the end, the ride was a lot better than i thought it would be. it may not have seemed to rank that high on the "cool" scale, but looking back, it really was a great ride. put me a little more in touch with what our troops do for us and what we can do to help thank and repay them... one of the ways is to get a license plate for your car...

anyway - on to some pictures from the ride...

more billy lane...

looks like billy lane's attorneys are hard at work trying to get him out of his trouble - but i guess that's what they're supposed to do... they're saying his illegally taken blood samples are tainted...

from the picture included with the article, it looks like billy is trying to clean up his image... probably not a bad thing to do. as we all know, people put a lot of weight into first impressions. his old image probably wasn't a good one for appearing in courtrooms. i wonder if this is a deeper sign that he's changing himself too. we all make mistakes - some carrying more seriousness than others. the key to recovering from mistakes is to take responsibility, learn and minimize the changes of making the same mistake again... time will tell where billy heads from here...

peace...

weekend rides...

was finally able to get some weekend riding in... saturday i rode down to the dealership for a volunteer meeting for the rally in raleigh this coming weekend. ride down was good - traffic was light and temps were cool, although it was a little overcast. i wasn't sure if i was going to get there before it rained and was planning my rain strategy - if it started raining, would i pull over and get my rain gear on or would i keep riding. it's one of those decisions you never really make until it starts - if you're close enough and you're not going to get soaked, you keep going. of course what you forget about is all the water splashed up from the road - you always end up getting wetter than you expect. lucky for me, i didn't have to worry about it!!

i sit through the hour-long meeting... they gave us details of where everything was, which streets would be closed, what the parade route would be. they gave us maps, t-shirts and schedules. by the end of the meeting, i'm thinking i'm on information overload... if it's anything like last year, i'm figuring i'm going to be doing a lot of standing around watching people come and go... and if you manage to get down there, stop by and say hi - i'll be the one in the yellow shirt!!

the meeting finally ended and i headed home. the temps had risen since the morning and it was getting hot!!! sure made me miss and appreciate the cooler weather. this time of year is great for riding. nothing like bundling up and staying warm while riding with the cool, sometimes cold, air blowing by. sure beats riding in the heat. not only did i face the heat on the way home, i got to deal with the traffic. nothing in particular to complain about since no one cut me off or tried to push me out of my lane - just a bunch of cagers driving like they're the only ones on the road.

sunday i managed to get out for two rides. first one was the (no so) usual ride to get the paper and breakfast for my wife. summer seemed busy with teaching and stuff planned on the weekends, that i haven't been able to get the sunday ride in. i sure do miss those. now that things are slowing down, i may be able to get back into the routine. i decided to get donuts this morning - which afforded me a little longer ride. it was nice being out before the church traffic. temps were already warm, which meant the day would be even worse.

in the afternoon, i took another ride - this time with my wife. we didn't head anywhere in particular - just some nice back roads. with the heat, we didn't need to be mixed amongst other traffic. plus, being on the two lane roads would give us a slightly cooler ride. the heat didn't even seem to matter, we were moving and i was spending time with my wife. the only drawback was we did have a time limit. we needed to get back, so we kept the trip shorter. maybe when it gets a little cooler out and we don't have to worry about the time, we'll head out longer - discover some out-of-the-way small town, share a meal and build some more memories. although i think i'm going to have to invest in some new "crash" bars for my bike to make the ride more comfortable for her!!

we rolled home in time for me to go pick up our daughter. which, if you count picking kids up, means i actually got three rides in. we didn't take the most direct route home... and if dinner wasn't being prepared, the ride home may have taken even longer!!!

overall, despite the heat, it was good to be back on the bike again. and i really shouldn't complain about the heat too much. it may not be my favorite riding weather, but it really doesn't bother me that much. at least not enough to keep me off the bike!!!

ride on...

tail of the dragon...

our travels around and on the tail of the dragon...

taming the dragon...

took a ride to the tail of the dragon in july... but this was more than just a trip to ride the dragon - it was about riding with family and friends, the brotherhood of biking and fulfilling a dream.

it started two years ago when i gave my father-in-law a ride... as mentioned, he's been riding most of his life. that was until he was in an accident. thankfully he wasn't seriously injured, but his bike didn't make out so well. he'd been threatening over the years to put the bike back together and start riding again. either that or just outright buy a new bike. i would gently prod him, offering to help rebuild the bike or riding him out to a dealership to buy a bike. he finally came through in may and purchased a new bike... and this trip would be our first ride together...

we figured a three day trip to the dragon; a day to travel out there, a day of riding around and day back home. all timed to be able to meet up with my brother and the rest of the crew - as well as get back in time friday night to meet a previous commitment.

we headed out wednesday morning after topping off the tanks...



it was great riding weather - clear skies, nice temps. we decided to stop every hundred miles or so. this would give us a chance to stretch our legs and top off the tanks. it would also give me a chance to determine if we needed to stop longer or stop for the night if the trip was getting a little long for my father-in-law. while he rides really well, i wasn't sure how he'd handle a longer trip like this. especially on the interstate - i know he hates riding on the interstate. but we decided to take this route to get to maryville as quickly as we reasonably could.

along the way we made a couple stops for gas...


after this stop, we head out - using the gps to help get us to our destination. i'm usually pretty good with getting in and out of place and heading in the right direction. as i get back onto the interstate, the gps is telling me to turn around. i could swear i'm heading in the right direction. i decide to follow the gps and turn around. riding a couple miles in the other direction, i realize the gps has recalculated the route - not really the route we wanted to take. even worse, it's back tracking us about fifteen miles!! decision time... do i turn around yet again and confirm to the father-in-law that i really don't know what i'm doing?? or do we just keep riding?? i decide to keep riding...

our first gas stop in tennessee... the signs posted next to the big open field make you wonder what kind of problems they may have... forget the open field - if i didn't want to walk into the gas station that was less than a hundred yards away, i would have taken care of business down near the tree-lined creek that was ten yards away...





gearing up for the last leg of our journey, i look off into the direction we're heading - it's looking kind of iffy - rain gear or not?? we decide to chance it.

as we pull onto the highway, it starts raining. we pull over to the first rest area, less than two miles down the road. by the time we get there, the rain stops. looking ahead, the sky is clear. we're already wet, so we decide to head on without rain gear.

a couple miles down the road, the clouds roll in and open up on us... luckily our exit was just a few more miles down the road. we exit and find the first gas station so we can slip into our rain gear. even better, the gas station has a car wash to pull into so we don't have to take up space under the awning by the pumps.

note to self: don't ever pull into a car wash, especially when it's raining - it's slippery as hell!!!

after getting our rain gear on, we head the rest of the way to our destination - the princess motel...



not the greatest place in the world, but the price was right. and what do you really need when you're traveling?? a place to throw your clothes and lay your head at night. and this fit the bill...

after a day of riding, we decided to grab something to eat, relax at the motel and plan the next day's riding.

not really much to plan, though. we'd ride the tail of the dragon. as much as we wanted. and when we got tired of that, we'd ride some of the other roads in the area. and when we were done, we'd head back to the motel.

we got up thursday, grabbed a bite to eat and headed to the tail of the dragon.



i told my father-in-law that there would probably be riders that would pass us - not to be startled when it happened. in addition, we'd have to watch out for tractor trailers on the road. if we saw any, we'd just pull over somewhere and wait - yeah, like there's a lot of room to pull over!!! we agreed that we would ride our own ride and ride as slow as we needed.

we rode the dragon several times, enjoying the scenery and meeting new friends...




our new friends... sort of... the guy with the mv agusta was a little serious about his ride and got offended when father-in-law called it a honda.




father-in-law leading the pack... truth be told, when we took off, no one was behind us. by the time we made the eleven miles, several riders caught up to him and were kind enough not to pass...







the tree of shame... a living memorial to those the push the limits and don't quite make it...




after spending the day riding, we headed over to smoky mountain harley davidson. huge store and super nice people.



after that, we headed back to the hotel to meet up with my bro and the crew... grabbed a bite to eat and sat around the hotel all night telling lies...





i had to be back in town late afternoon on friday. i wanted to be pulling out of the parking lot no later than eight in the morning. father-in-law was up for leaving a little earlier since he wanted to take make longer and more frequent stops on the way home. not a problem with me.

since he's an early riser, he would be our alarm clock. when he got out of the shower, he'd get me up, we'd pack up and head out. with that, lights went out and we went to sleep.

next thing i know, i hear him in the shower. i might as well get up and start packing some of my stuff. it wasn't until i got out of the shower that i realized it was only two thirty in the morning. what the @$*%*^$@!! what was he doing up so early??

it was too late, i was awake, showered and pretty much packed. might as well head out... we would certainly be able to take our time getting home.

the ride home was long and cold. hard to believe it was july.

on the journey back, i had time to reflect back on our trip. i was finally able to take a ride, a real ride with my father-in-law. two years earlier i got my bike and started dreaming about the day i would be able to ride with him. this was it - here we were...

more importantly though, i think he was fulfilling his own dream of riding again. maybe the fear or memories of his earlier mishap had subconsciously prevented him from rebuilding his bike. but here he was, putting those fears, those dragons, aside and riding again.

this was easily one of the best trips i've ever taken... i look forward to riding with him again.

check out the 2007 ride map, this one in light blue.

a more detailed map of our laps in and around the dragon...