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...

smoke out 8...

took the annual trip to salisbury to attend the smoke out... this year there was some controversy over whether the rally was going to he held or not. the city/county commissioners passed a new law that alcohol couldn't be served on county owned property - which includes the fairgrounds. the county was saying they weren't going to issue the alcohol permit. the smoke out organizers said they had to because the contract was in place before the new law passed. with all the hubbub, there was word vendors were pulling out and people weren't going to show. our crew decided if there was a smoke out, we'd be there - alcohol or not.

the weekend started out the same - everyone showing up friday night. which really means it starts earlier here because my wife starts days ahead to get all the food ready. speaking of wife - this year was going to be especially fun since my wife decided to go. i was pretty excited about that...

friday night and people start showing up. they decided to show up in two groups this year - guess work was getting in the way for some people. that's when i had my infamous incident with the fender... we always pack our garage full of bikes - we had about ten or eleven bikes showing up this year. i decided to move my bike forward about two feet to make more room. not picking up the kickstand, i push it forward the two feet, positioning the front tire perfectly next to the lawn mower. i start to get off and the bike heads over on its side. seems when i pushed it forward, the kickstand picked up just enough that it wouldn't engage when i tried to us it. over went the bike, front fender crashing into the lawn mower. not only did it scratch the paint, it put a nice little crease in the fender. i was upset for about ten minutes until i realized it could have been a lot worse. in addition, it is only a motorcycle. the worse part was the rest of the weekend, and still sometimes, they call me freddy fender...



friday night was filled with eating and drinking, laughing and telling lies. which made saturday morning arrive even earlier. after eating some breakfast and drinking about ten pots of coffee, we're ready to head out... ride out was great - beautiful weather, traffic wasn't too bad and best of all, my wife was with me. it would be nice to take more trips with her... one day... off we went to the smoke out.





we get to the smoke out and park in our usual area. we hop off the bikes and settle in - having a couple of cold beverages, relaxing before heading into the mayhem known as the smoke out.




we wander around and check out the bikes in the build off.





stumble across some bikes by hank young.



and the ice cream man from hell...



compared to previous years, the smoke out was a bit of a disappointment. not nearly as many vendors and the crowd was quite small. it might be signaling the end of the smoke out - especially since they've been promoting a smoke out in the west. if they do have one next year, i'm sure we'll go. one thing for sure, it won't be held in salisbury - at least at the fairgrounds. if it goes, it was fun while it lasted. we'll just have to find another rally to attend. i can't imagine not having the gang down here hanging out, eating, drinking, laughing and lying. hell, we might just have to start our own rally...

on to more pictures... you can always check out the ride map, this one in blue.