throwin' down!

Saturday morning came early and on today's agenda was to take the bikes out. It is still below 30 out there and I'm not too keen on being frozen so I suggest we wait until it warms up a bit. As I looked up the forecast, I noticed that it wasn't going to get but 4* warmer for the predicted high.

Well, so much for waiting for it to warm up! Time to don the big-girl panties and go!

Here is the route we took (although had no idea where we were headed when we left) ...

http://g.co/maps/m64dk

So we start gathering up stuff and bundling up to face the weather. We should be fine once we get off-road but the first 30 or so miles are going to be chilly. Heh, mounting a KLR when you are dressed like the Michelin Man is ... interesting.

Once we got rolling, it didn't seem too bad. I never really felt "cold". Once we got off the asphalt, I motioned Skip on by as I had been being tentative. We kept climbing and climbing and the road went from grey gravels and brown mud to white rather quickly. Most of it was just snow, but there were some spots of ice just to keep you attentive.

There was this one shoulderless Ess-curve climbing area and I was thinking "I don't want a pickle" There was a wall on the left side and a cliff ... in the air ... on the right side. I remember thinking this would be a bad place to screw up.  A couple turns later there is Skip dusting himself off picking up the bike and stating wryly "that's the limit".

A little broken plastic and bruised thumb and ego, but luckily that was it. After that, he wanted me to lead for a while.

We pulled over at the entrance to Round Mountain Recreation Area, but it was closed off. It allowed  for a pic and a removal of one of my layers so that maybe I could move around a little easier.   ; )

We had missed the trail we were looking for, but with these weather conditions it may be best just to stick to the "main drag" anyway. We were soon motoring on again and Skip at the helm when we approach this long, steep, icy grade and I stop fully expecting Skip to, but instead he just takes the bike up it. I am nearly cursing him in my helmet.  

I mean this looks slickery as hell. What if we get up there and have to turn back as it goes nowhere? I damn sure do not wish to go down it. I sat there wrestling with what to do for a few minutes before I stupidly followed. Just like yesterday, "What bridge we jumping off next?"

The hill wasn't that bad, though, and I didn't slip the wheel but once during the climb, but I still don't want to have to go down that. After a bit I was leading again and I pulled over at this one section to play with the camera some more ...

After shooting some and a bull session we are back at it. I was still at the helm. We came to this lake and it had a sign, so I figure we can stop here and maybe get an idea where we are and when we may find asphalt as the sun is starting to set low on the horizon.

The problem was, there was a car up ahead getting ready to pull out. I am watching what he is going to do, and trying to figure out where I am going to park and apparently momentarily lost focus on the road and WHAM! the bike told me it was parking right in the middle of the road. I had hit a patch of ice and went right over.

Skip helped me right that thing as I was skating around on ice trying to pick it up. It probably looked like a Marx brothers routine or something. Anyway, we got it picked up and I parked it properly alongside the road.

After all that, the sign was useless for our purposes. Luckily, we caught the people in the car before they headed out and told us we weren't too far from pavement now. We played with the camera some more while stopped ...

Considering the lateness of the day, we mounted back up with the mindset to find some pavement. Skip took off in the lead again and we came to a fork and wound up taking the left part of it because of the sign stating Hot Springs was in that direction.

The fork went straight downwards though. I managed to throw my bike to the ground again as I slid on some ice. I wrestled with it and got it righted, but by this time Skip had turned around and come back. I slowly tried navigating down this icy slick and threw it down again! I was getting frustrated by now just trying to get off this icy patch. I asked for a hand in getting the bike back up again as I was sliding around just trying to get footing to lift it. Once off that patch, the rest of the ride downhill was uneventful.

We came to our first sign of pavement off to the left and Skip stopped and asked me which way I wanted to go. I didn't care and was hoping he would make the decision. He didn't so after listening to the little devil on my right shoulder prodding me to go on the icy road and the little angel on the left shoulder imploring me to take the "high" road, I finally caved in to the smarter decision to go with the asphalt.

This road dumped us onto Meadow Fork Rd. That was a hoot! Twisting and turning just scampering across the countryside. Then it was onto 209 and were home within the hour. Got home before dark, had minor throwdowns (and on ice so I don't count those), and was all-in-all a good day.

Finished up the evening with some more homebrews and bottled up a batch so that Skip could take some home with him. It was a great visit, thanks Skip for a couple of fun days.

gettin' down and dirty

(pictures taken by Skip Smith and Ed Rockefeller)


So considering the late closing of the previous night we were up and functioning by 10 AM. We discussed a tentative plan (it's always tentative enough when it's JUST me, but when it's SKIP ... AND ... I ... together -- that's just too many variables for any less than a calculus-minded person to keep up with.) Anyway, the basic idea was to go crawl around in a cave I know of for a couple hours, stop at Woodcraft and pick up the tapped insert that would go into the turned tap handle, and then hit the Smoky Mountain Brewery for dinner and a beer before heading home.

I know the area around the cave we are headed to as I have rode by it on the bike *numerous* times. The problem is because I'm on the bike, I-75 was NOT how I got there or *ever* took. ;)   I crossed that interchange more than once, but could not tell the mile marker it is. Maybe I should have checked that prior to leaving.

We head across I-40 in Skip's new Escape. Heh, I know what his favorite feature of that car is now. It's not the tow package, or the gas mileage, or anything like that -- he likes the fact he can talk to the car. (electronic bell) "shuffle off" (electronic voice) "shuffle off?" (/electronic voice)  "yes"        .... etc.      It was funny. I think he used that as much as shifting from park to drive.    

ANYhooo .. we soon were to I-75 and took that north. It should only be another 35 minutes now. We were cruising along and I knew we were in the area for it, but never once saw the sign for 441. Neither did Skip. This is a US Highway. There SHOULD be a sign or two!

Well we missed it, and I realized it too late and told Skip just before we crossed into Kentucky. Well we got shuffled in the wrong lane to hit the first exit in Kentucky and had to hit the next one ... which was another 10 miles away. YEESH!

So we get turned around and the exit to 441 going southbound DEFINITELY is visible. Not sure if that's because we were looking for it MORE closely or if it just wasn't marked that well northbound. Either way, we found it and once I was on 441, it was pretty easy to get to from there.

The cave is a short half mile trek over relatively tame terrain with the exception of one spot where there is a steep downhill and it's slick after all the rain we have received recently. Once that was navigated, we quickly found the first mouth of the cave. Skip wanted his picture taken so ...

Here is the other mouth of the cave ...










We tried the entrance with the larger mouth first. There was a passage that quickly dead-ended. There was another that looked real tight. We went back out of that one and went back to exploring the smaller-mouthed cave.

The first chamber again quickly ended. There was this, though ...

but it was every bit as slick and steep as it looks! Skip asked if I wanted to try it. I believe my response was "if you're crazy enough to go up it, I reckon I am too." We can figure out how to get down later.

After a few steps it was like riding a bike. This climb (15'?) that initially looked menacing, was dismantled into a few steps in succession (secure steps to be sure).

The path opened up some after that and we were able to walk pretty much upright with the exception of a few spots.  One of those spots was a rather tight squeeze.

I wriggled my way in, but about halfway through, I had to suck in my breath and just force my way through. It was tight. So much so, Skip kind of panicked and decided he wasn't going through that way.

After another assessment, I told him I could help secure him if he came down the steeper descent that I skipped on. He seemed agreeable to that, and that's what we did. We went a little further in when we stumbled upon this ...

My immediate reaction to this was "It's an oubliette"  ( a "Labyrinth" reference). The picture doesn't represent it well, but this is a round chamber with but one entrance.

We sat here for a bit trying to work the camera settings and the lighting. It's hard to get good pics in a cave setting, but we had fun trying.

We also killed the lights for a minute and sat there appreciating how dark it is in there. The only noise was a slow drip of water falling into a well.

That climb I was concerned about on the way in was not near as bad as I had envisioned it being. It was intimidating to look from the top but once you are down there crawling out, it becomes less troublesome.

We decided we should start heading back out since we had a 30 minute hike once out of the cave . On our way out we stopped in another room and played with the camera some more.

Once out of the cave we got back to the car and changed into some clean dry clothes. Then it was off to Woodcraft, then beer thirty at the Smoky Mountain Brewery.

At the brewery I aimed to try a few different beers, but the second one stopped my need to explore any further. It was an Appalachian Pale Ale. And a very good example of a hoppy pale it was! This was  quite tasty!

After dinner, we headed back to the house and closed out the evening with a few more homebrews. Awesome day!

one good turn ...

Skip arrived just after midnight on Wed./Thurs. and was thirsty. After pleasantries, we took the first draw off the smoked porter I had on tap and got this ...

and it is good! It didn't have as much of a smoky character as I was expecting, but it sure was a porter -- nice and roasty! More beers were consumed until our eyes got heavy.

Thursday morning we spent around the house and eventually wandered out to the garage to turn something. Skip wanted to do up a couple of tap handles since I have recently got the keg setup. Works for me!

After rummaging through the stock I have to find a piece we wanted to cut, we settled on a branch of a Beech tree that was harvested from the property a year and a half ago. Beech is a nice wood to work, and it takes a finish well.

We cut it to size and Skip took on the big lathe and left me to the Rikon. He had new tools for Christmas and had not had the chance to use them yet. Always fun to have a nice, shiny, new, and most importantly sharp tool!     ;)

Skip's piece, though, developed a crack and it was terminal. So he mounted another piece and went at it again. Sadly, this didn't come out much better. Much of this wood has spalted too, so it does have more areas prone to checking and cracking. I had just about finished mine when I noticed a crack along the axis.

I was basically down to sanding it, though, and really wanted to save the piece. I filled it with some CA glue and then turned the lathe on to help "push" it into the wood crack. This seemed to work fairly well. I just checked the piece yesterday and it seems to be holding up.

My plan is to get out there tonight and finish up the piece and do some straightening. That garage has gotten a bit messy! time to clean it up and put sh*t away!

Anyway after a couple unsuccessful attempts, Skip resigned to "it's not my day" and we headed back inside for one more brew as soon as I finished tinkering with my handle. It is getting late in the afternoon and we still got to run into town to pick up the coveralls Skip had drop-shipped to a local Tractor Supply. By the time we got back I would need to get dinner going so maybe it worked out for the best we didn't spend as much time in the garage.

Soon dinner was served! A pork roast with some green beans on the side washed down with my favorite beer (Curator) and in the midst of good company! Life is good!

a somewhat productive day ...

I haven't been out in the garage playing with wood for a while. Yesterday that changed.

I needed to build a "subfloor" for the kegerator that would help keep the CO2 tank and kegs where they need to be. I took some measurements and the plywood piece fit in the fridge perfectly -- just a bit snug, but that's good.  Getting the holes aligned was a bit tricky and I wound up cutting up some more of the rack that I had been using to help keep the CO2 tank upright to make it work.

However, with this configuration, I can fit 3 kegs in there as well as the tank, if I ever get to that point. As of right now I have parts in transit to do a 2 keg setup. I still need the second keg, but once I get it, the system will be all plumbed and ready for it.

Upon finishing the "subfloor" I went to close the refrigerator door, only to find that now the keg is too close to the front and the plastic shelving piece on the door is not allowing me to close it. I was hoping to leave that in there, but it has to come out.

I set about removing the doorseal and then unscrewed the metal trim pieces holding the plastic shelving mold on the door. I had a piece of whiteboard leftover from when I made my fermentation/lagering fridge. It was big enough to work, so I just cut it to size and screwed it back in. Here's what I got so far ...

My parts to finish it should be in tomorrow evening so I can go ahead and finish it up then I hope. The keg is filled with a smoked porter. I have never had a smoked beer so anxious to see how it turned out. It has been on the  CO2 for about a week so it should be just about ready to tap.

I have to remember to unscrew the light bulb (when I use it) as the panel I put in doesn't have an extension to activate the doorswitch. Or I could setup some kind of slide that will put the switch in the off position. Not sure if it's worth d*cking with since I will hardly ever be using the light anyway.

So once that was all buttoned up, I found a piece of scrap wood in the garage and sanded it down smoothly. I have the notion of making a shelf to hold beer bottles of some of my more favored brews to add to the whole "bar" environment.

Added some stain and secured the shelf mounts we bought a long time ago for another purpose. Here is the shelf ...

This will expand as time goes on, so will need another 1X8, but it was a perfect fit for the bottles I had on hand.

Feeling pretty good about the progress I had made, I kept rolling. I had a piece of rosewood mounted in the lathe that I had started on (basically shaped it) and never finished. I decided to tackle that to close out the evening.

I was planning on making it into a lidded box. I had the top of the box, with handle, turned as well as the body of the box. All that needed to be done was to split it at the point where the lid would meet the box, clean up the inside of the top, and hollow out the center of the box.

The splitting went fairly easily. I am always nervous when parting a piece, as I have ruined a few in the past. But history is a good teacher. I have learned to slow down my lathe speed while parting, then finish off the part with a backsaw. This worked rather effectively.

All I had to do now was hollow out the box. No biggie, done this many times before!

I had taken a different approach when chucking this piece. Usually I cut a tenon and use that to hold the piece in the chuck. This time I tried to mount it to the chuck using a recess. It would've worked fine, except I didn't take into consideration the less material in the bottom well of the box.

I got it hollowed out and was trying to clean up the tool marks on the bottom when the last cut, was just that. I wasn't trying to take any more off, just smooth it out some. Then the piece flew off. GAH! so close!

So now I have a hollowed out "box" with a hole in the center. What to do?

I know Melissa is more of a right-brained creative person than I am, so I took it inside and asked her her thoughts. It was too pretty to just throw out.

She didn't let me down either. She suggested I could make it into a small picture frame. Coolness!

I spent the next hour or so, just chililng out drinking a couple beers and listening to some tunes in the garage. Next project besides getting the Bandit going, is to build a bar. Plans have been drawn out, just need the materials.

ride into the sunset

What better way to kick 2011 to the curb than a bike ride? It is December 31st, and yet the predicted high temps for the day were nearly 60* and sunny skies.

Is this winter? Did we fall into Indian Summer already? No matter, I'll take it!

Upon seeing the forecast earlier in the week, I asked Melissa and she graciously agreed to watch Dad so that I could sneak off and play on the bike. Kent Matthew pinged me on Facebook chatbox, and I asked if he would want to join me.

By Thursday we had a plan (yeah we work that fast!) and set up a time and place to meet. That, though, was an exercise in itself.

Kent didn't want to hit the higher elevations because of the cooler temperatures. Well, there just are not many areas in our region devoid of such conditions. We finally settled on an 11:30 meetup just west of Asheville -- which was about an hour and a half away from each of us.

It's been a few weeks now since I last run the Sabre. This was evident last night when I went to start it and it didn't have enough juice. I set it on charge and knew it would be ready to go at 10:00 this morning.

I got on the road on time, and made pretty good time across I-40 and even showed up BEFORE Kent and his buddy! They weren't late, I was just on time (possibly a couple minutes early). Yeah, you read that right -- I *wasn't* late!

I had just pulled in, parked the bike, removed helmet and gloves, and unzipped my jacket, when I see Kent zip in on his FJR and his buddy, George in tow on his ZZR. A trip inside the store to purchase a drink and a few minutes socializing and we were off.

Here is a link to the route we took ....

http://preview.tinyurl.com/7pd3rpk

Kent introduced me to a new "friend" ... US-74A through Gerton. He told me about it earlier in the week during one of our chats, and I looked it up through Googlemaps, and it was all gnarled up, but ...

Man alive! this was a nice stretch of asphalt. Seeing it is one thing, riding it is another! Twisting and turning and back again. I don't think there was 200' of straight for 5 miles.

Nothing very technical, but very, very fun. Back and forth, side-to-side, round and round and pure dizzying fun! We had no one to slow us down, either. Kent and George were soon out of sight, as I am still not trusting either myself or the bike ... or both ... and quickly fell behind.

We hit a few connector roads (cannot recall what they were now) riding through Chimney Rock and Lake Lure areas. George led a spirited pace, with me now in the middle and Kent in tow. This seemed to keep me "in the game", so to speak as I was able to keep better pace than I had been earlier.

On our way to Little Switzerland, we stopped for gas. I had to do cash today so I went in, gave the clerk a $20 bill to turn the pump on, not knowing how much it would actually take. After pumping, the total came to $12.35 so I asked her if I could give her $12.50 (15 cents over what I pumped) and get the unbroken $20 in return.

The poor woman had to break out the calculator to make sure I was right and not trying to scam her. Kids today have become so reliant on technology that they cannot perform SIMPLE math in their head! Yeesh!

Anyway, we soon found our way up to another old "friend" .... NC-226A. Last time I was on this stretch (all 3-5 miles worth) was when I had the Magna. Wow! I had forgotten how much this road thrilled me! Damn, it not need to be such a stranger to me. Yeah, when Kent and I first discussed this as part of the route, I was psyched! but I had forgotten how enjoyable it was!

At least until we got near the top. There was so much salt stuck to the asphalt that I backed off any speed and enjoyment I may have carried up to that point. I was now at a slow crawl (as opposed to the "fast?" crawl I previously was at?)  Kent was also at the same snail's pace as I had caught up to him. George, however, was long gone. (He later inquired what was that white stuff all over the road? WHAT?!?)

We reached a point where George's GPS didn't tell him what to do anymore as we tried to get onto a closed BRP (Blue Ridge Parkway). It was funny, kind of like earlier where the lady cashier needed a calculator to make change.

Immediately, both Kent and George went to plugging in stuff into their GPS, in an attempt to find a way to Spruce Pine. Meanwhile, the non-tekkie guy (ME) noticed there was a  road sign directly across the intersection stating "Spruce Pine 8 miles"    . 

When I brought this simple fact up, it was met with "Where?" Ah! technology can be such a crutch!

So we are now on our way towards Spruce Pine to find a place to eat, since George's fru-fru style place was closed. Honestly, if it were open, I would've felt obliged to ask if they charged for a glass of water. It looked that ritzy (to me)!

We settled for a Burger King outside of Spruce Pine and upon finishing our meal, figured out what kind of daylight we had left to deal with. It *IS* by the way, New Year's Eve and we ALL have the inclination to get home  before the drunks hit the roads.

In the parking lot we agreed to go up Roan Mtn. and then they would hit the GPS' "go home" route to see how much time they had left. Well NC-261/TN-143 is another old "friend". I have done this road a few times. and haven't regretted it. Again, like 226-A, it's been too long since I have visited it. However, it also was littered with salt on the way up, limiting the fun factor.

At the top, they decided they were headed home, and as much as I wanted to tag along, it made no sense for me to head southeast this late in the day. So I stared at my map a moment or two and decided I had time to hit some more "old friends" on the way homewards and still get me home before the (other) idiots hit the road.

My plan was to head north down Roan Mtn. It was amazing the contrast (just past the NC/TN line on the TN side). All of a sudden there was snow on the roadside. There had been TRACES of snow climbing the mountain on the NC side, but on the TN side, there was snow .... not traces, but at least an inch thick.

And of course, MORE salt! I slowly meandered down the mountain. Then I picked up TN-173. 173 is a nice road. Again, not technical, but lots of easy lefts and rights stacked back to back. Good stuff!

From there, I picked up TN-107 and took that (as a connector) up to I-26. 26 led me to US 19E which took me to the another "old friend" .... TN-352. I had taken this before but from the other direction. I must say it is much more enjoyable heading southbound than northbound.

Once back in North Carolina, 352 becomes NC-212. This was on Kent's original route, so I blame him for me going "out of the way" home. That's not a bad thing!

212 is great! it follows the river which meanders left and right at its own will. This is a fun road to take, when you are not heading westbound into the setting sun!

HOLY CRAP! I couldn't see ... many times ... ANYthing. I would be in full sun and then head into a shaded corner! Often, I couldn't see WHERE the road went, let alone if the surface was littered with gravel or if there may have been a kid, dog, or even a road block stopping forward progress.

I would slow down, say a hail mary (or something that time would allow) HOPING nothing was in MY lane in this blind corner! Then adjust as necessary when my eyes adjusted. Apparently, I am either living right or praying right as there were many opportunities for me to make the wrong choice.

This plague followed me all the way home. I cannot say how many times I went into a corner blind on this particular ride! I can say it was more than I ever wish to experience again.

Even though I knew that the sun going down would mean cooler temperatures, I kept wishing for it to do so, just so I would have clear sight lines. I would rather be cold and see than blind and warm!

I pulled Jitterbug into the garage a bit before 6 PM. I need to save this route (and expand on it a bit) for a summer day where there are more hours to enjoy. All in all, not a bad way to send 2011 on its way!