Sorrie Assis

That's Warner Brothers' Latin talk (think Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote) for "sore ass", and let me tell ya I have it! I got the Bandit out yesterday to do a scouting mission of the area we will be holding our next east coast SME at.

The plan was to meet Phil Ross at the campground at 10 AM. This required me leaving at 7 AM. I was up and moving in time and got the bike loaded and on the road on time. What a novelty.

I slabbed it all the way up on 81. Typical, uneventful, slab boredom ensued. I showed up at the campground and met the owner, asked the questions I had which were promptly answered, and waited on Phil ... and waited ... and waited.

He was fashionably late. Pair that up with me being fashionably early, and that wait seemed eternal.   ; )  When he showed I jokingly asked him if he were on "Ed time" and he gave me the one word reply "Philometers!" with a wry smile. Heh!

He had some work-related paperwork to fax so we headed into town. As we left the campground and came  back to BlackLick Rd. he points to the left and states, this is where it just starts getting fun and then we went right.

WTF?!?  that wasn't right ... at all. He would atone for it though!

Once his paperwork had been sent we were free to formulate a plan. I had a route set up that I was going to take had I been alone, which now I wasn't. Phil said it looked good but was "intimidating". Wow! if Phil thinks it's intimidating, it *must* be a really good route!

He talked me into heading back to Blacksburg so we could lunch with Jennifer. I haven't seen her in a very long time, and he knows the roads much better than I, so it didn't take much convincing.

We were on I-77 briefly and then hit a slew of roads I would likely never find again. The route to Blacksburg that we took you will not find on a map. We were on route 60* (not giving away Phil's secret roads) and just swishing back and forth through the countryside when I noticed in the mirror that we picked up a guy on a vintage boxer twin (an R100 if I recall). He was scooting that piece of old technology along quite nicely and kept with the PC 800 Phil was on and my Bandit1250 fairly well.

We came to a stop sign and briefly discussed where we were going and where he was headed. Phil told him our itinerary and that we could lead him right to where he was going but a little more pleasant a route. Not sure what he had had in store without Phil's intervention, but the very next road we hopped on was a BLAST!

VA-73* is FANTASTIC! It parallels a little river/creek and has some fairly complex curves. I am screaming "WOO HOOs" in my helmet at this point. Such fun!

We soon parted with our Beemer company and continued on through some more great roads until we got into Blacksburg. We went across the Va. Tech campus. I have never been on campus before and was impressed with the old buildings that were still standing. What a beautiful campus.

Jennifer never answered her cell phone, so Phil and I had dinner without her. He took me to his second favorite "beer store" that also serves as a bar/restaurant. We both had a cheeseburger and a draft of Highland's Little Hump Ale. The beer was great and the cheeseburger was good too, but the best part of it was the beer store itself.

We don't have beer selection here in Newport, TN. Plenty of NASCAR beer, but not really much in the way of a selection of "choice" beers. The selection was impressive, but the guy who works there, a friend of Phil's, gave me the "tour" complete with explanations like "this is the best Porter we have" and "this brewery was bought out by these folks" etc. Phil had to pry me away from the tour as my food was "getting cold". Ah well, my beer was getting warm too.

Phil insisted on picking up the tab and while we were there grabbed a few brews for later in the evening upon his return home. Thanks for lunch Phil and the beer as he slipped me a few "must try" beers.

By now, Jennifer had called Phil and explained that her phone had been off because she was in the theater but was home now. We headed over there and had an all too short visit, but it was also good to get back on the bikes too.

We hit some awesome stuff. At this point the roads were not numbered and many didn't have street names posted. I can tell you it was more good stuff.

Phil was in the lead, but all day I had been able to keep him in sight. I noticed he had been hitting the brake prior to entering turns quite a bit. This is unlike Phil.

It gave me time to think about how I approach taking a turn. I typically will tap the rear brake when entering a right turn until i can see through it, just to prepare myself for anything that may crop up like bad road conditions (gravels, etc.), forest rats, or cell-phone-talking idiots half in my lane.

I have rode with many folks and I notice that hitting that brake is not practiced widely. I guess it is mostly my paranoia that has me doing it. I got to thinking how much of riding is blind faith and how much is not tempting fate. Funny the things you think about when just riding along.

At the next gas stop we addressed his tentativeness entering the turns. He said part of it had to do with the bias ply tires (Phil and his radials!) and part of it was that the bike doesn't want to turn.

We proceeded on through Indian Valley and hit another road that bordered the New River (which I think we crossed about 5 times during this ride). This was great! Again I am screaming in my helmet.

Although one of those curves on Copper -something- Road nearly bit me. I was entering a left turn a little hot and went to scrub off a little speed and the rear wheel skittered momentarily. When it did, for whatever reason, I fixated on the grassline. I definitely thought I was going to crash and then either experience or luck took over and I refocused on the road, leaned her over and proceeded on.

We stopped at a "Shot Tower", which is a large stone cylindrical building where they use to make lead shot. The hot molten globs would be dropped down this shaft and form into perfect spheres before dropping into a pool of water below to cool. This was one of three in the nation that he knew of that were still standing. Pretty cool stuff!

While we were stopped, I jokingly stated "I finally figured out how to keep Phil Ross in sight. Put him on a PC 800 and me on a Bandit 1250". He chuckled, but I think he took offense because I didn't see much of him the rest of the afternoon.   ; )     I get the sense he was also getting the feel of how to wrestle that PC into the turns because when I could see him, he was no longer braking prior to entering the turns.

Eventually we wound our way back over near the campground and took the "fun" section that went the opposite way from where we headed out hours before. Sadly, the sun was low on the horizon and there were gravels in the middle of the lane and strips in the asphalt that had been redone and were akin to speed bumps. The layout was great, but between the road surface and not being able to see due to the low sun, I took it easy most of the way up.

He was stopped at a lookout at the top and we took a minute or two to take in the views. Such beautiful country. I love Appalachia!

As we were mounting back up, he said he had run his adrenals enough and was going to slow down. If he ever tells you this, don't believe him. He was gone!

I had been wanting to run route 16 but he had said earlier he didn't want to take that bike up 16. However, we were soon on it and winding our way up the mountain ... until we got stuck behind a line of 2 cars and a pickup truck going at a snail's pace.

Phil knows the road and picked his spot and passed all 3 in 4 turns. The first few were easy "Esses" and offered sight lines, but that last one looked to be a blind right and he took it.

No way in Hell, I would have had the balls to make that move (again Blind Faith vs. Tempting Fate). I found a spot where I could knock off two of them but a corner was approaching so I ducked back into the right lane in between the lead car and the pickup  that was causing the backup. Another turn later and I was back to playing. Man! that road is a hoot!

Phil was waiting at an overlook near the end of the fun section and I queried him on his pass. He told me he had a sight line on that last pass, but I don't see how. Anyway, it was all good, we both got to play and neither of us died.  ; )

It was near dusk now and we got to a gas station in Tazewell, VA and hung out for a little bit enjoying each other's company before heading in separate directions. Thanks Phil for letting me tag along and leading such a GREAT ride!

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful as it was all four lane in the dark. I got home around midnight and had logged just a tick over 600 blissful miles for the day.

That stock seat, though, is a BRICK! After 60 miles my ass is screaming. After doing ten times that amount the imprints of the Bandit's frame rails become embedded in your ass! OUCH! It's still a bit tender 26 hours later.