I have always enjoyed his company. A real salt-of-the-Earth, pleasant guy to be around! The members or riders of the club have always been pleasant company as well. While it is not my typical pace, the ride with the CRGR has always been good times.
However, for waaaayyy too long, our schedules have not meshed to allow me to tag along on their rides. Well, today, was a different day. Or so I thought as I headed out to the bike shed this AM with my newly charged battery for the big sabre. It's not a new battery, just that I knew it was dead from the last time I tried it early February.
So I set it on charge ALL day yesterday to be sure it would be fresh in the morning. Grabbed it off the charger, took it to the bike shed, hooked it up, and attempted to fire it off. I got three full starter revolutions and it got weak. DAMMIT! I replaced this sealed gel battery a year and a half ago! GRRR!
Okay, I can dick around with it, or just try out the KLR okay so I try the Kawi, and it fires right up like a good bike should.
It's not that I woke up late, as much as I ASS-u-MEd the Sabre would start up. I mean it's a gel-battery and ONLY a year and a half old. So much for assumptions (again -- ONE of these days, maybe I'll learn).
So anyway, I jump on the KLR (well not ... jump ... but you get the idea). I get to the nearest gas station and top off. Their card reader at the pump ... doesn't. *SIGH* I go in, hand over my card, go out, pump gas, back in and sign, back out on the bike. According to their clock I will be 10 minutes late to the rendezvous point. Not a big deal for anyone who knows me, but I haven't rode with Dan in waaayy too long and haven't confirmed I was going to make it.
Sooo I haul ass on the interstate to try to make up some time. Doggone it the cops are out! I saw 4 on the way to Knox-vegas! FOUR! some busy, some rolling. None were interested in me and that just broke my heart (NOT).
I got to the meeting point with 5 minutes to spare. WHEW! I had no plan "B" in place. I would've figured it out, but I wanted to see Dan, and whomever was riding along this day for that matter.
It was funny. I haven't seen this man in nearly 4 years, yet, as I pulled in, I seen that grin on his face as he said, "whatcha riding young man?" He KNEW who I was -- through the full-faced helmet and full gear! Cracked me up.
After a few introductions (there were two other bikes and three others I hadn't previously met (including his wife)). After introductions and a brief bit of conversation we were off. The riding with this group, while good, is not near as good as the company. Don't take it that the riding is bad, because I live in east Tennessee -- there aren't many BAD roads to be found! It's just that the company is that good.
here is the route I took (with and without the group) .....
http://g.co/maps/w9q8t
So we head down US11 southbound which is a nice, enjoyably sedate ride through the countryside. Nothing less than I would expect from a Dan-led ride! ;) I have been here before (as with most of the ride), but it is nice to see a rural side of "metro"-Knoxville. The scenery yielded green grasses and rolling hills with slight curves to keep your attention on the road, should it be absolved by surrounding scenery.
We arrived at one of the proposed destinations, a museum designated to the Swift Airplane Museum at the McMinn County Airport in TN. link here ....
http://www.swiftmuseumfoundation.org/
There are a half dozen airplanes on display and many artifacts between the hangar that is stocked with fully restored and functional (albeit customized) Swift airplanes that date pre-war (barely) to the evolution that happened post-war.
Here are a few snapshots of some of them ....
The red one is the very first Swift built. It has a wood frame and has fabric stretched over the wood. I can imagine what a rough ride this thing must be. It is all original too.
Here are a few shots of some different cockpits. You can see the customization that has occurred. Apparently there are a ton of aftermarket goodies that can be bolted right on these planes.
During WW II these were used as fighters and after the war the military still used them as trainers. At some point Saudi Arabia purchased about 10 of these planes and eventually they were left in the desert. Some Swift enthusiast found them and made arrangements with the government to get back whatever they could salvage. This is one of those planes ....
There is the wing-mounted machine gun. The hinged lid on the left was where the bullets were loaded. Another cockpit view to the left. Slightly more involved than the civilian models were.
After learning about the Swift planes heritage, we mounted back up and headed on to lunch at a little place called Michael's in Etowah. It was lunch time so it was a bit busy, but that just gave us all more face time. As much as I love riding, sometimes it is good to just sit down and visit and we all had a great lunch. Good food with good people ... it doesn't get much better than that!
After lunch is where I consider the ride to have really started. We headed towards Reliance, TN along TN-30 which borders the windy Hiawasee River. It was a great twisty little road. It winds and wends its way across the scenic countryside. We ran a very sedate pace, but it seemed to be perfect for that road. Not that it was technically demanding, but more that it allowed you to take in more of the scenery.
From there we hit TN-315. I hadn't ever been on that before. One of the riders had split off here and the pace seemed to pick up a bit and that suited me fine. I need to make a point to hit that again. That was fun.
When we got to Tellico Plains, I split off from the remaining two bikes and intended to visit Mrs. Lori if she happened to be at Hunt's Campground and Lodge. If she wasn't I was going to hit the Cherahola Skyway (LOVE that road), then the Dragon, Foothills Parkway, Little River Road, then 321 back into Newport. Not a bad route -- AT ALL!
Unfortunately, Lori wasn't there and Jack is working third shift, so I didn't stop by their house to visit as I didn't wish to interfere with his sleep. So that means on with the rest of the ride -- what a bummer eh? ;)
Since I had the KLR I was hoping to scout some trails that may be along the Skyway, but each time I saw one it was gated off. Hopefully they aren't closed for good, just for winter.
You can't give us off-roaders enough rope, we may hang our fool selves, I guess. Big brother sure is watching out for us! Yeesh!
I tried to enjoy the Skyway, but that poor little single cylinder was near red line at 85 mph and I didn't want to blow up the bike so took a calmer approach to the Skyway than I ever have.
Then, I shot up through Santeelah Road over to 129. I stopped to try and capture a shot of the Santeelah dam in full discharge but this was all I could muster. Not the best of pics, but oh well.
Then it was onto 129. I have done the Dragon many, many times. It is a fun road when not crowded. I have hit it quite a few times when it isn't.
Even then, I usually come across someone that slows me down, at least briefly. Today, NO one was on it.
The first few turns I was unable to find the torque range and finally figured it was going to be "work" to go fast through this. By work I mean I wouldn't be able to leave it in a single gear and run but constantly switch back and forth between first and second. If I didn't it would lug out of some of the turns sounding like a Singer sewing machine.
However, it wasn't as laborious as I had expected. I got into a groove with that bike shifting when I should, braking when I should, not braking when I shouldn't. ALL these things that i HAVEN'T been doing lately were clicking all of a sudden.
I have gone through the Dragon *faster* before but not sure I ever had as much fun as when I was on that KLR. WOW! That was a hoot! there's an old saying about how much fun it is making a slow bike go fast ... it's true I tell ya!
And I needed that. I have been so full of self-doubt because I haven't been able to attack corners like I used to for a long time. Tim Schwab told me a couple months ago it sounded to him as if I didn't have confidence in that big Sabre. I think he is onto something! That is where the doubting began and aside from one run on that bike I never have felt comfortable attacking the turns. Not sure why, the old Magna never affected me like this.
Meh! whatever! THIS was what I needed. It was quite therapeutic for me. I now know I haven't lost or forgotten how to ride. I just lost some confidence, until today! Yay me! ;)
Hit the Foothills next and a guy on a Harley had pulled out in front of me just before I got there. That was fine I was happy with where I was and ready to just cool my heels and cruise along behind him. However, he acted like it was a race or something.
I noticed him pushing a bit and in one right hander, I saw his eyes in his mirror watching *me* instead of the road. His bike then drifted a bit to the left and that big ass rear tire of his hit the yellow paint and the bike wiggled a bit.
It scared him, but he collected it, and then shook his head at his own stupidity. After that, this idiot starts forcibly wiggling the bike. My guess was that he must've thought he had a flat and was trying to see if he could get it to lose traction again.
He had a helmet strapped onto his sissy bar and each time he would wiggle around that thing would move. It was quite unnerving. Finally I had enough and blew past him. I didn't want to hit this idiot's helmet when it come off. I pointed to my helmet and then to the seat behind me as I passed him, but he didn't seem to get it. Oh well, not my problem. Things in the rear view mirror get progressively smaller. ; )
A few more spirited turns landed me on US 321. From there I was going to take Little River Road (TN-73). I have done this one many times as well, but always get caught up in a slow moving traffic jam as it is always seems to be crowded.
It's a shame too, because that is a fun little road. Today, though Lady Luck was with me. Not only did I get an uninhibted run of the Dragon, but also had a mostly traffic-free go at Little River Road. Sweet! More 1st and 2nd gear shifting, heart-pumping fun ensued.
I got home with a little over 300 blissful miles logged, 11 hours of daylit seat time, a new-found love for that little KLR, and a renewed sense of confidence. It was great to see Dan again, and meet his lovely wife, Janet, as well as Lynn and Keith -- the other two riders.
I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. I finished it off a great day with a few Kashmir IPAs.
It was an epic day because a little later in the evening I found that I won the auction I had been bidding on. The Sabre's replacement ...
an 07 Suzuki Bandit 1250 w/ ABS. I have wanted one of these since they come out. I am not much for new bikes, but these appealed to me when they were first released. Now, well soon, there will be one in my garage. I could not script a better day (well maybe if some of those trails would have been open) but it was a zen day outside of that.
No comments:
Post a Comment