chasing clock

So this is the first time ever that I have my shit together and am ready to just jump on the bike in the morning. There is always something I need to pack. This time, everything except what I would be carrying on me personally was packed and fastened to the bike. Good to go!

One thing was troublesome though. I knew it was going to be tight when I had packed it. I mean we are talking a LOT of beer. Christopher and I figured three cases is about 70 lbs.or so.

There is nothing but beer in the green bag. There is also beer in the tank bag and the side bags. The blue tarp is wrapped around my tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag. the black plastic bag has clothes, towel, deodorant, etc. for the weekend.

Luckily, arrangements had been made to drop it off at Phil's (about 3 1/2 hours away) so I wouldn't have all that extra weight to haul all those extra miles -- and besides, with Phil delivering them they would be less likely to arrive late at night.   ; )  Thanks again, buddy, that was AWESOME!

But what I *hadn't* done yet is road test the bike with that weight and where it was placed. No matter what I could do, I could not figure out how to cinch that green bag back any further. As a result, my right nut was pretty well squished into the tank.

I needed to figure something out, or it will be a very long 3 1/2 hours. I get to the gas station and as I go to fuel up, I realize I don't have the directions I need ... and I need them!

GAH! I left the house on time because "everything" was packed on the bike. everything except .....

So now I'm a bit annoyed that I left on time and I am still not getting out of town on time. It's a little setback, but I wasn't happy. I rush back up the street to the house, back up the driveway, dart through the house, grab the directions off the dresser, and start to get back on the bike only to realize now ... I don't have my gloves.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! Argh!

I set them on the "beer" bag on the back of the bike while fueling. Luckily, I was already planning to retrace my steps but now at a much slower pace while I comb the side of the road for my gloves. I found one about 3/4 mile or so away from the gas station. Parked the bike, nodded to the little old woman on the porch, grabbed my glove from across the street, smiled at her and said "left the gas station in too much a hurry", mounted back up and found the other one closer to where I would have expected ... within a few hundred feet of the parking lot I left.

Cool! I got gloved back up -- if this is all I have to worry about today, I've got it made.

It took me nearly an hour, but I finally figured if I half hung my ass to one side of the seat it would provide some relief in the nether area. So that made the next couple hours a bit more tolerable.

I showed up at Phil's only 20 minutes later than I wanted (but still within the window). While unloading, he offered to not only carry the beer to the SME, but also would bring my camp gear too. Sweet! Thanks again, Phil.

He then took me to his beer store. Yeah! I could have made him really late to work so we stayed there briefly and then went back to his place.

He headed off to work, and I went back to the beer store to drool some and buy some beers. Well, this will now put me behind the clock. The directions and gloves issue didn't take too long, but that little visit to the beer store, yeah, I'm running late!

I manage to find GeoDad's place but am about an hour late by now I think. He and Rosie fed me some steamed broccoli and arroz con pollo. Who says you can't eat healthy on the road? It was very good as was the company. Thanks George!

Well the whole chasing clock thing just gets exponential. I called Skip to let him know that I am behind. Actually this worked out to his advantage as he had forgotten his daughter had a softball game and he had to be there. So I tell him I should probably arrive around 9 (that's two hours lost at this point)

By the time I get to his house it's 10 (3 hours -- how does it accumulate that fast?). Anyway, I no sooner get my helmet and gloves removed and he pulls in on his bike. Perfect!

I was so happy to remove the helmet. It had been slab, slab, slab all ... day .... long!

Not only that, but if all went according to plan (uh-oh), wouldn't be on slab anymore the rest of the weekend except for one short stretch.

Greetings were exchanged. Then instead of the nearly ubiquitous snapping of a beer, I asked him for some water. I had been making miles all day and hadn't really drank much. I never grabbed a water at the first stop (like I habitually do) because of the directions fiasco. Usually I take a few sips while I refuel. I never did get any.

Aside from a beer with dinner and a glass of water at George's, I hadn't anything since before I left the house at 9:30. Bad move, but my body knew -- my throat wanted water, not beer. After rehydrating, we went about the dehydration process by trying *many* great beers until the early morning hours.

according to plan ... or something

Okay so Skip got me to roll out of bed about 9:30 AM. That would mean we should be able to meet the 10 AM departure. I think that would be the only thing that would go according to plan all day.  ; )

Skip wanted to grab breakfast so we hit a  little Mexican place called Anita's he knew about. They had a spinach and chile breakfast burrito served with a side of refried beans -- not my usual breakfast fare, but it was really good -- and I couldn't eat it all (was a big burrito).

As we were waiting for the food we decided to re-look at the maps. As a result the ride to Charlottesville to David's local brewery -- where he usually filled his growler he showed up with -- was scrapped. Also, the Beer Run, a beer store Phil recommended, got scrapped since both were in Charlottesville. Now not only do we not have a growler of beer, but we haven't grabbed any bottled beers yet either.

The deviation from the plan was due to some idiot (me) stating that since we were going to be going near Elkton, let's just jump over the mountain then criss cross over and back that ridge. I have been wanting to run that stretch for years but never got to. So, that's what we decided to do. We would hop and skip (no pun intended across that mountain winding our way southeast (as we were in W(BG)V then). When we needed to get to the brewery we would beat feet on the slab if needed.

Until we hit US 211, we were on mostly US highways and was not slab, but still mostly connectors. 211 looked fun on the map and it did not disappoint. As much as I hate the People's Republik of Virginia, I will give kudos to the VDOT. They have the ascending side of the mountain two laned.

I had been following Skip, but when the road opened I grabbed the outside lane and figured we would run side by side. He fell in behind me and we just opened the bikes up!

This is the first time I have been able to dance on these new shoes. I got them mounted just before the trip but been slabbing the whole day yesterday. I am rolling along quite nicely through the curves, grinning the whole time!

THIS is why I ride! Man, that was fun! The surface was smooth, the road just weaved its way up the mountain left then right then left then right then .....  and the bandit's 1250 cc's were just singing a pretty tune.

From 211 I think we picked up a few miles of slab to get to 33 west of Elkton. Again, I have been wanting to run this for years. It's about 4-5 miles of straight through national forest then you hit the mountain.

I'm anxiously awaiting this road and up ahead dark clouds were looming. By the time we approached the first set of switchbacks climbing the mountain, the road was wet and it was sprinkling. New tires or not, I just don't trust wet roads, so not going to push it here. I guess I just need to go back through there when it's dry.

This slow, but steady sprinkle stayed with us the rest of the day. I don't like riding in the rain, but I don't let it stop me either. Skip, HATES riding in the rain. I mean *really* hates it! I find it less miserable when I have someone riding with me (misery loves company thing?). I don't think that worked for Skip.

The wet road forced us to slow down from what was anticipated had we been running this route when it was dry. It was a shame too because the roads could have been fun.

By now we have been in an hour of rain, and I am starting to get a chill. The past two days, I have been sweating, now have a chill. Apparently, Skip had also. We stopped at the very next store we saw. We watched it drizzle a couple minutes and convinced ourselves to gear up and get on down the road as time was getting tight.

Did I say that this could have been fun if the roads weren't wet? This is nearly torture to go this way on wet roads! What idiot decided to take this .... oh wait!

We finally get to I-81 and I am happy to get there. Oddly, last night I was glad to be done with interstate -- today I'm happy to get to it. Funny how rain changes the game. ; )    

Besides, we have lost a ton of time tip toe-ing through the twisty wet roads. It doesn't seem like we are going to make it to the brewery on time. Luckily, those that said they might make it know of my propensity to be late.

We arrived at the brewery at 5:40. So we were 40 minutes late. It turns out, that the rain had also affected their plans and they scrapped it.

No worries, we still lifted a glass as we sat there shivering in cold and we were still able to fill the growler. Now we just had to find a beer store. It just so happens that Phil's local store was en route (or at least not far out of the way) , so we could grab some there. We get there and it's 8:07, they closed at 8:00. Gah!

Luckily, I knew of one other and we managed to find it. They have a good selection and serve food too, so two birds one stone thing. Problem is, it's now 8:00 on a Friday night at a popular campus hangout. It was nearly 10:00 when we left. That's not to say that hanging out two hours with my buddy Skip is such a bad thing. It was just late and I think we were both ready to be done with the miles and slip into some dry clothes.

We were only 40 minutes late to the brewery, but now we are going to be 4 1/2 hours late to the campground. Now granted, we stayed at the brewery for a while trying to shake the chill before taking off, but it's amazing how quickly that time thing gets away.

We slabbed it from there and not much to tell except that we were finally out of the rain -- Yaaay! A little mix up re-entering one interstate because I didn't read the sign and had to go up to the next exit and turn around.

Doh! I got off on this side of the interstate and blindly got back on what would logically take me back where I was, but, NO ... this interchange twists you all around. I think the civil engineers were bored and just wanted to do something different with this one.

Oh well, that was a short 5 minute delay as I blasted up to the next exit and back. Staged back up with Skip as he was wise enough to read the signage and didn't follow me. He told me he signaled me, but I was gone -- I could smell a cold beer by then!    ; )

We got to the campground at 11-something, with a growler of beer -- it seemed fitting. Even though I didn't mean for it to be that way, a perfect tribute to Mr. Andersen to show up late with a growler of beer (which we didn't get to until Saturday, but as they say, that's another story).

I smiled and laughed the rest of the night. Good friends and good beers equal good times.

I sat there in my tent, without the rain fly, staring at the stars until my eyes closed just thinking about the day, and that tomorrow will be better as we should see no rain!

slip 'n slide

Saturday it seemed everyone was more interested in discussing breakfast than route plans. I dragged my feet enough that nearly everyone had set off for breakfast, so I figured I would poke around a bit and then have a solo run today. It was shortly thereafter Dan Even asked of my plans. I said I had a route thrown together that should be some good stuff, and he was on board.

We headed out 10 minutes later. The weather was postcard-perfect. Beautiful blue skies with puffy white clouds and the temperature was a pleasant 70-something. Tailor-made for motorcycling!

We headed up Walker Mountain and then across VA-42 for a while. I am going to be in need of fuel soon but this pastoral road offered no signs of that happening anytime soon. 42 was a nice meander-through-the-countryside road. There were very easy curves and an occasional house/farm dotting the landscape.

When we got to VA-16, there was a sign indicating Marion was only 10 miles away. I knew I could find gas there. So we headed to Marion, just so we go back over the mountain again. What a shame!

The way back was great. We had the whole run from Marion all the way to Tazewell to ourselves. 16 is such a fun road, but it's even moreso when you have a free run of it. There were gravels littered and we did a good job dodging them. I think we came up on 3 vehicles total, and all at different times, and they were quickly and easily dealt with.

Our next road led us through more of the valley and we did not see a soul! Then it was onto VA-91. This looked wicked fun on the map. However, we get 1/4 mile up the road and it goes to gravel. I asked Dan what he thought and he said if it got bad we could always turn around. Works for me. Gravel doesn't bother me, just so long as it wasn't a 20 mile stretch of it. Dan was in agreement so we pressed on.

He took the helm and after a few short easy miles of hard-pack gravel we were back on asphalt. The gravel section would have been a blast but luckily that carried over onto the paved section as well. Dan had gotten his "mojo" back by now as he was smoothly cutting through the curves. He mentioned he was rusty at the start of the ride, but it looks as if some of that has been shaken off by now. That was fun!

We then got on VA-80 and headed west for a while. WOW! I liked stretches of this one! there were some tight curves in a couple mountain climbs that were quite fun. We were looking for a county road to connect us to our next road but never come across it. That was okay though as 80 was one of those roads you don't want to end. We finally found a subway to stop, grab a bite, and figure out a way to wind our way back to the campground as it was after 2 PM by now.

Heh! I figured it was only about noon, time flies when you're grinning in your helmet!

We picked up VA-83 and this was by far the star of the day, in my opinion! What a great run! Dan was leading and he had the perfect pace for that road. We were coming down the mountain, swinging to the left and right in perfect unison through these perfectly banked downhill sweeping curves. It was a thing of beauty. I actually started giggling in my helmet -- it was euphoric!

We then found our way to 16 and headed south and likely made our most questionable pass of the day. At this point Dan was in the lead and he is more tentative with the DY passes than I -- and that says something. Anyway, we are following this old ambulance van. It didn't *look* like it was still being used, but these are low income townships we are passing through.

Anyway, the van slowed down and Dan ran up on it, and started, then hesitated, then went. There was plenty of sight line, but it just felt ... weird .... passing an ambulance.

I don't know how it happened but at some point later on 16 I was in the lead. We were coming up the mountain above Tazewell and I decided the day had been going too smoothly.

As I approached a left hand turn headed uphill, my front tire found some silt-like gravel that you cannot see as I leaned into the curve. BAM! the bike and I are instantly planted into the asphalt. I had no time to react, I was on the bike, now I'm on the pavement.

My hands were still on the handlebars and I grabbed the front brake as the bike and I were surfing across the asphalt. Maybe it was adrenaline, maybe it was the gear, likely both, but as soon as the bike and I stopped, I got to my feet and went about picking it up. It was right about then Dan came around and asked if I were okay, "yeah, I'm pissed though!". At the time I had no idea what happened.

Standing 20' away from where the slide started gave me no clue either. It wasn't until we got within 5' that you could actually see a small strip of very fine, sandlike granules of gravel just before where the skid mark started. Whew! that was a load off my mind. That was just a bad place, bad time thing. There was no way I could have seen that silty gravel stuff to avoid it. I was wondering what I had done to crash this time. That was situational. Granted were I going 5 mph, I probably wouldn't have dumped the bike, but that just ain't gonna happen!

The damage to the bike was minimal. The ball end of the clutch lever snapped off, the handlebar end is going to need replaced, the passenger footpeg was sheared and will need replaced, and the alternator case is scuffed ... that's it! This has GOT to be my bike, it crashes well!

My gear suffered some damage on the knees but that's much better than my skin suffering damage. And really that was "all" the damage too. I picked right up where I left off once I noticed it was just gravel. There was no lingering mindset effect that I've experienced after a crash before. The last 40 miles back to the campground was at a little less aggressive a pace but still didn't dawdle either.

It had been a damn near perfect day of riding. Dan is a great riding partner and we match up fairly well skill wise I think. The weather was super. The roads were excellent! Then I gotta go and crash.

Before heading to the campground we stopped atop Walker Mountain to take a picture from the overlook. Somewhere down in that hollow is the campground.


We got back and Jenn offered to drive KB, Koos, and his wife Wilma, and me over to get dinner. Cool, I didn't really want to gear back up anyway.

A nice dinner at Ruby Tuesdays? I think and we soon headed back to the campground. Many, many goooood beers were drank, toasts were made, lies were told. Typical 'round the campfire stuff! Great times though!

The importance of not being seen ...

I had made arrangements to ride with Mr. Schwab at least part of the way home on Sunday morning. I got up and started packing but, of course, he has likely been up since sunup.

I was packed in relatively short order and got yelled at while making my rounds for not making them quick enough. I trot back to the bike and gear up and we are off in short order. We has become Mo, Koos and Wilma, Tim, and I. The plan was to run south toward NC and then see where we would all split off.

Heh! plans! We burned some gas for a while and at one point before the curvy stuff we had a legal opportunity for all four of us to pass a line of cars, but we would have to be moving a bit to do it. Mo goes, by now Tim is second and he takes off. Koos follows, and I'm right on his tail. The passing zone is quickly closing and there is a vehicle up ahead that is also going to make this merge happen a little earlier. I may have been speeding at this time.

I get back to my side before the vehicle is a factor but just after the passing zone line (only by a little bit). As I merged back onto my side, I was able to get some detail out of the vehicle approaching. It's a cop. As I looked in the rear view mirror, I saw a flash of lights. Although, I think it must've been just the way the sun reflected off his light bar. heh!

It may have just been coincidence, but about this time there appeared an interesting little country road off to the right and Mo being the adventurously curious sort that he is ducked onto that as nonchalantly as you please. We all followed suit and never did find out if that was a blue light being flashed or if it was just a mere reflection.  ; )

So we're following Mo down this maze of interestingly curious county roads and find ourselves on gravel. Imagine that, with Mo and find a "goat path". Actually it wasn't challenging gravel, but I am not sure Koos was too pleased handling gravels two-up.

Me? I was ecstatic. That cop would've thrown the book at me because he wouldn't have gotten all of us, just me but that is, if, indeed that was him flashing his light and not a reflection. ; )

After a few more turns we found ourselves on US 58 just east of Damascus. Mo lead us down towards Shady Valley to introduce Koos to the Snake.

We grabbed dinner at the store there and I would suggest you not order their double burger unless you are seriously hungry. I ordered a single and it was HUGE! I'd never eaten there before so didn't know.

After lunch things got screwy! The idea was to head south towards Boone and then would break off there. However, as we pulled out of the store, Mo headed north. We all followed suit, but I was confused what was going on.

Mo pulls over into an empty parking lot, but Tim continued on. I pulled in behind Mo, then Koos rolls past. Mo takes back off but is at a crawl. I finally motor on around both he and Koos and get up on Tim's tail. We take off through there and don't see Mo and Koos again until we were stopped at a store and wondering why we were headed north. Mo and Koos rolled right on continuing north. We figured Mo has decided to hit 26 and start trying to get home as time was becoming a factor for him.

Tim and I plan to head back 421 and pick up 91 down to 321? I can't remember then into Boone where we would split company. By the time we got to 91, Tim motioned to stay on 421. I guess he was feeling the curves. He was too, because he checked out.

It was shortly after getting through Mountain City I started getting the "sleepy"s. I pulled up in front of him and ducked into a gas station parking lot and told him I was nodding. He agreed to hang out there for a bit, besides it would give the Sabre a chance to cool down a bit.

As we head out we say our good-byes as we are just above where we will be splitting off. He motions me to take 321 north. I thought that was wrong and as soon as I turned on it, I knew it was. That's okay I can get home a few different ways from here and it's all fun. 321 is fun and is a pretty run right next to the lake, so no worries.

I got on 19-E and turned south, figuring I would cut across Roan Mtn. but my eyes kept wanting to close, so I pull into a gas station and finish off my water. Feeling fatigued, and the fact that my knee was really beginning to hurt, I just wanted to be home at this point and was still a couple hours away yet.

The rest seemed to help, but at this point I had decided not to take the twisty route home. I found a nice 4 lane road with some traffic to help keep my mind busy and hopefully not nod off. It seemed to work and I rolled in about 7 PM after a couple more stops to keep away the nap bug.

I got home to the tune of about 1500 miles for the weekend. What an awesome time, thanks to all who came out and made it such.

Senseless sensor

Many years ago, I used to ride a lot with the local chapter of the Southern Cruisers Riding Club. I have remained a member even though I no longer do much group riding. My style of riding has become much more aggressive to deal with the parade style riding that the SCRC maintains.

The group has changed a lot over the years as people come and go. I don't hardly know many of them anymore. However, I got an email detailing a Sunday ride to Tellico. I have friends there and figured I could ride with the group then split off and come up with a plan of my own from there.

I put out an email to the SOAR list to see if anyone wanted to meet up in Tellico. Kent replied that he could sneak off and join me. Sweet!

Saturday night before lying down for bed I reopened the email to remind myself of when and where we were meeting, only to find that I didn't pay attention to the date. Their ride is NEXT Sunday. Crap! Well it is nearly midnight now, and Kent and I were chatting earlier, but he had signed off for the night. Wonderful!

Still, I sent him a message in hopes he would get it prior to leaving. Tellico is a looong way for him and we could meet somewhere closer to his house and then formulate a plan from there. Either he wasn't asleep yet, or I woke him when I sent him a message letting him know how much an idiot I am.

He pinged me back with "I will call you in the AM". Works for me.

So morning rolls around and between Melissa's whimpy cell phone ringtone and a bit of sleep deprivation, neither of us even heard it. Kent had called around 6:30 as he said he would. It was now 8-something. Crap, Crap, Crap! Why do people tolerate me?

Knowing he is a gadget freak and has bluetooth and all going through his helmet speakers, I tried calling him back. No answer, so I left a message saying that if I didn't hear back from him by 9, I would see him in Tellico. He got in touch with me and we set up to meet at Hot Springs, NC. That's only 40 minutes from the house and where he was at was roughly 40 minutes from there too, so that worked out well -- on paper anyway.

I geared up and headed out. About 20 minutes into the ride, I come across a detour sign stating that the most direct, and quickest, way to Hot Springs is closed. The detour while not the quickest, was certainly the more fun way to go and with spare time I likely would have chose to go that way anyhow, but I am trying to be on time. Not gonna happen as the detour routes you about 15 miles further east only to turn back five miles west.

I had been behaving since I had time to get there without breaking (m)any laws. I had kept a nice 55 mph average, but with this detour I am now behind so I wicked it up a bit. Of course that little bit of miles wasn't enough to really make up any time despite a 20 mph average difference.

I show up and apologize to Kent and he assured me it was a non-issue. I imagine he expected me to not be on time. We came up with a tentative destination as he wanted to check in Damascus, VA (a bicycle haven) for some parts sources for his near-antique vintage bicycle he has had since he was a kid that he is wishing to restore. The route would take us through some sweet motorcycling roads, but then, here in motorcycle heaven we could really find them regardless of the direction chosen.

Anyway, we set out to hit NC-212/TN-352. This is a great little run along the river in a low-lying shaded area with some really sweet curves, then it climbs a mountain with plenty of turns but they are usually littered with gravel. Then on the TN side, the gravels disappear to reveal a nicely manicured fun mix of lefts and rights all stacked together. Fun stuff! We get to a stop sign and, with a wry smile Kent says, "That didn't suck!"  Yep, hard to take! (grin)

When we were doing the routing, Kent noticed that US 321 up near Watauga Lake looked fun and I told him it was a nice run with good views of the lake and some fun, but not technical twisties. So, since it was along the way, we decided to include that. The roads between TN-352 and US 321 were basically connectors and nothing to write home about.

321 was nice and most of the traffic we encountered was easily dispatched. We stopped in Mountain City to top off his camelback and to grab an affordable "healthy" lunch at Subway. At that point, he suggested I take the lead for a bit.

Really?!? You want me to go first on the Snake? Damn! such a hard life!  ; )

We headed up towards Shady Valley and just before hitting the Snake (a -really- fun 15? mile stretch or so of some tight twisties) some guy on a bike coming the other way held his left hand up and did a counterclockwise circular rotation. I took this to be "rollers" as in cops, either with radar or working an accident.

With this "knowledge" I kept a really sedate pace through there, but never ONCE saw a cop. Grr! What really sucked is we had a completely free run of this road -- on a Sunday -- in July! After a few miles, I decided that I misinterpreted his signal and wicked it back up a bit. Man! I DO love this road.

We passed the store and went on a little further as it is twisty on both sides of the store. Shortly thereafter, we turned back around but before taking off to re-run it, Kent mounted up his GoPro camera to take some video.

Off again, and back to the fun! This run wasn't as uninhibited though as we encountered some traffic, but it was dispatched as the opportunities became available.

From the Snake we headed on into Damascus to a bike shop only to find out that the guy there basically said "Good luck!" as he knew of nothing to recommend. Kent quipped "I came all the way up here from Simpsonville, SC to get that answer?"  Heh!

 This was as far as we planned out a route. So Kent grabbed a quarter and flipped it and let that determine our route. We either were going to head back and run the Snake again (YAY!) or we could head east out of Damascus along US 58 which is fun, too. Again motorcycle heaven allows many choices!  ; )

So 58 it is! We were rolling along and having a great time. I had my one and only pucker moment on one of those curves though.

Going into a right hand turn (with a clear sight line all the way through) I think I was looking too far ahead in the turn and not paying enough attention to where I was. It was a slightly off-camber curve and upon realizing this, laid the anchor down a bit as I didn't feel comfortable entering at my current speed.

I felt the bike wiggle a bit and I wasn't comfortable leaning over at that point. So I went into it rather straight until I scrubbed off enough speed to take the turn with comfort. I didn't cross the yellow, but came damn close. No harm, no foul, but I sure backed off a bit until I regained some composure.

Then it was another connector, some unnumbered road that had 3 different names and wasn't on my map, but WAS on Kent's GPS. We were headed to VA-194. This looked good on the GPS but was a letdown of sorts.

This took us to NC-88. I've been on 88 before and it's a nice, sedate run with plenty of non-technical curves. The main thing is, is that it is largely untraveled. It is quite serene.

My fuel gauge has been screaming for a while now but there just has been NO gas stations. We get to the stop sign at 321 and I tell him I need fuel. "Didn't you fuel when I did?" .... "Yeah, but I have no reserve and am not interested in finding out how badly I need it" ....  he nodded and plugs the nearest gas station in and off we go. Of course, it's closed ... so long that the pumps have been removed and grass growing through the asphalt. Grr!


I make it to the station and it only takes 3.7 gallons. WTF? The sensor starts warning you waaaayyy too early!


We still hadn't formulated a route, so now was a good point to figure out where we were headed next. He suggests a road I had never been on going over Sugar Mtn. in NC toward Linville, so we can hook onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. Well twist my arm!

The only caveat being that the last time he was on it, it was under construction. He said it may still be under construction and that there are two ways to find out, we can either look it up or just go find out. Well, part of motorcycling is the adventure of exploring, so we decide on the latter. Yep, still under construction.

By now that torture rack of a seat is really wearing on my ass! I am hurting -- no amount of wiggling around searching for another position offered any relief. Tough it out I kept telling myself.

Soon enough we are on the BRP. Love this road! The vistas of the mountains, the nice curvy road, the lack of stop-n-go, all of it. Only thing is, that the lack of stop-n-go does not offer you a chance to get off your ass much.

He was fighting the same problem so we made a point to stop a few times. One of them, Kent said "We aren't getting anywhere looking at the bikes" but it was another 5 minutes before we left as neither of us were anxious to sit back down.

There was very little traffic on the BRP so we were allowed to set a comfortable pace. About 60-70 mph is the perfect speed for that road on a motorcycle. Now, I'm not saying we were running that, just that that is the perfect speed for that road, IMO.

We discussed possibly stopping in Asheville and heading separate ways from there. I asked what our ETA was for that thinking if we still had enough light I might run the BRP the rest of the way seeing as I have never run the section from Asheville to Cherokee. It is the section of the BRP closest to me, and I have run every mile of the road except that part.

Despite sore asses, we bypassed Asheville and continued on. I don't know if my musing affected that or not. I certainly enjoy his company but this is putting him further from home. He asked if I wanted to go to the highest point. Sure, I don't care, we're on bikes, it ain't rainin' ... I'm good! let's roll!

We wound our way there racing the setting sun ....

We finally make it and Kent asked me to get in front of the sign so he could waste digital media with a pic or two ....

 (at least the phoslite works)







or three ...

I informed him that once again, my gas gauge was screaming and was as far as I have ever pushed this tank. I am a bit worried at this point. It's nearly dark and I definitely don't want to run out of gas.

We got off the BRP in Waynesville (at the 23/74 exit) and headed towards a gas station. By the time we hit one I am showing almost 200 miles on the tank. I insert the card in the reader to find it declined. WTF?!? there's money in the bank, what's going on? Tried again .... nada!

Kent hands me a 20 and says "Catch me later on that" Maggots rock! I don't know what I would've done had he not as I had $3 cash in my pocket. I might have made it home on that but wasn't sure. The tank would only take 3.9 gallons. That means I *still* had a gallon left and the gauge had been flashing for at least 30 miles (so that is at least 1 1/2 gallons + that it starts saying "get gas" -- yeesh!)

We parted ways there as I headed north on 276 to I-40 and he kept on going west on 23/74. I got home with 532 miles on the odometer for the day and 14 hours after leaving. I know Kent had over 600 and was gone for a few hours more.

It was a great day and I always enjoy Kent's company. Thanks buddy for joining me (and bailing me out). Good times, good times!

hot n sweaty with a side of "oh yeah!"

Last night I hit up a show. I had seen all three bands on the bill before. Oddly, I wasn't going for the headline act and if it wasn't for the other two bands on the bill, probably would not have gone at all.

I have seen the band Kyng 3 times now, all in Knoxville, each time at the Valarium. The Valarium is a great venue for a show, but it's just insanely HOT! There are fans but they are mounted so high they do little to circulate any air. Anyway, Kyng puts on an excellent show and it was the main reason that both Sean and I wanted to go.

Kyng is a talented trio from California. Without a doubt, one of the most amazing drummers I have ever had the opportunity to see bang the skins. Sean described him as an octopus. It sure seems like he has eight arms! and they are flailing about at a wicked rate. My focus was drawn to him throughout the show. What an amazing talent! The bassist and guitarist/vocalist are also very good, but the drummer is just phenomenal.

They had a great set, but being the opening band, it was over all too quickly. Being the third time seeing them, I am getting quite familiar with their songs. I have also heard them get some love on satellite radio, so that is good. I would like to see them do well.

After their set, I made a point to hit up the merch booth and grab their CD and do the meet-n-greet thing (something I *rarely* do). Cool buncha guys!

Up next was the band Fair to Midland. I have seen these guys once before. I have one of their albums so am familiar with them. They are ... hmm ... ODD! No other way to describe them. Talented, but odd!

The vocalist began the show by grabbing the mic off the stand with his teeth, raising his arms and screaming into the microphone (which he would do often throughout the show). Whereas my focus was on the drummer for Kyng, the vocalist and his epileptic antics demanded my attention for FTM. I have said it before (last time I saw them) ... he is a fucknut! What an odd duck! Entertaining to watch though.

They really brought down the house. They were allowed a nice, long set and just rocked out the whole time. It was a much better set than the first time I had seen them. About midpoint of their set, I am just drippin' in sweat ... and *stinkin'*! Aside from the stinkin' part, that is a good thing.

When their set was over, I needed some water and then Sean and I went outside to get some "air" in hope that the night air would be a bit cooler. Not so much! there seemed to be no break from it.

Then 10 years finally took the stage. I had seen them a few years back in Nashville. They were the headline band on the second stage. This was just before they were signed to a national deal. Their set at that show was okay, but since they are a local band, I was curious to see them play in Knoxville.

Sean and I were content, and could have left at any point. Neither of us are big 10 years fans, but decided to stay since he didn't have to work this morning. The crowd responded well, but I just wasn't feeling it.

After the "throwdown" of Kyng and Fair to Midland, 10 years was anti-climatic. It wasn't a bad show, but it was like they didn't belong on the bill. Their music is a bit more melancholic than the other two and while it was a good set, it just didn't match up to the earlier performances in my mind.

Again, I went for the two opening bands, so bias and preference certainly factor in here. What really shocked me is that a mosh pit got started for 10 years. A mosh pit? Really?!? Where was this for the other two acts? The style of the other two bands was more apropos for moshing.

I wasn't so much shocked there was a pit for 10 years, as I was that there hadn't been one going all night previously. Meh!

The pit was pretty active, too. Security came over and had to either lecture or just remove some of the bad apples. Again for 10 years?

It was a great show and although 10 years did a good job and put on a good show, they just didn't "fit" the bill. The other two acts overshadowed their performance, in my opinion. Man! I love live shows in a small venue.

I did my weigh-in this morning to find that I had sweat off the two pounds needed to get me to the 20 down mark. Now, I am not even halfway to where I want to be, but am tickled to have dropped off that 20. I put two of my homebrews in the fridge for celebratory sipping this evening. I haven't tried these yet, but the last time I brewed it, it turned out pretty well.