garage follies

Sometime last week the belt flew off of Dad's zero-turn riding mower while I was mowing. I promptly took it to the garage and parked it there, figuring I would just replace the belt. Then I got to thinking about it and having some oil in the garage decided I would also do an oil change and other normal maintenance items that have been far from regularly performed and way overdue.

When I went to pull the blades (to sharpen them) I noticed they were bent -- BADLY!! I showed them to Dad and he decided we would just get new ones. While there, may as well get a new belt and oil filter too.

Sooo ... I went ahead and drained out the oil, pulled the oil filter -- which wasn't easy. Partially because where it was mounted and partially because it had been on there so  ... damn ... long ... it took a Herculean effort to remove it. I eventually wrestled it from its grip and set it off in a pan on the workbench to drain.

Then i went about removing the blades. This was no problem at all. Then we went to get parts for it next day.

That was, as I stated, sometime last week. My sorry ass hasn't gotten back out there since. Well until last night anyway.

So I went ahead and replaced the blades with new ones, slipped on the new belt, lowered it back down off the jack stands, repacked the bearings with grease, and filled the oil. Started up the mower to cycle through the filter and went to check the level ........ only to find a large pool of fresh oil all over the floor. Damn! some idiot (me) forgot to put the filter back on. DOH! (or should that be "DOPE!")

Grabbed the filter and installed it, refilled the oil, started up the mower again  to cycle oil through the filter. No problems this time, until I noticed on the bench the *new* filter (that I forgot we purchased) sitting there. I am not pulling it out and going through this again, so we have an oil filter for the next change, I guess.

With that done, I moved the mower out of the way, and went over to grab some sawdust from the lathe area to  sop up the spilled oil. And there! ... there! ... right where I was looking for it before! ... was the live center spur that goes in the tailstock of my lathe that I had been tirelessly scouring through the sawdust to find not two weeks ago.

It was in open ... plain ... sight! There is no way that could've been there before! While I am bummed I didn't see it when i was LOOKING for it, I was glad to find it. It's not an expensive piece but is critical for spindle turning and rough turning.

Anyway, I put it back in the tailstock, grabbed some sawdust and cleaned up my mess. With that done, I went to start the mower and move it out of the garage back to the shed where it lives. It started right up, but when I went to back it up, it didn't move. WTF?!?

There are sliding tabs on the back frame that you can use to disengage the transmission so that you can push it around if it is not running or you just don't feel like firing it up to move it a couple feet. It is light enough (maybe 200-300 lbs) to roll around.

I checked those and they were where they should be to ride the mower. The linkage for these tabs actuated the shifter piece that engages/disengages the rear differential. The belt was good and tight. WTF!

I decided I would jack it up and remove the wheels to see if the axles moved if there were no load upon them. Sure enough! both wheel hubs were turning. Hmmm .... I slapped the wheels back on, let the jack down, and tried to see if it would move.

Voila! weird! I have no idea why it didn't just do that to start with. I messed with nothing when I removed the wheels. It just decided to start working. Okie dokie. We are all set to mow again I guess.

Next garage project(s) -- I need to bleed the brakes on my Bandit and the KLR has developed a popping upon deceleration that I get to chase down. Oh boy!

Fighting temptation ...

The group that I occasionally ride with was putting on a Bar-B-Q for all who were interested in attending. The guy that oversees/founded the group is a really great guy and I do enjoy his company. He is quite a character.

I checked with Melissa and she was free today so it was arranged that someone would be there to attend to Dad. We tried to get Isaac to come over so that Melissa could go with me, but he couldn't bring himself to make the sacrifice.

Anyway, I have not gotten my lazy ass out to the garage to bleed the brakes on Cloud9, so I would be taking Ms.Chif -- besides, it was her turn. And she let me know it! She was cranky and didn't want to crank over. It took a few minutes and then the engine finally fired up. I think she was telling me that she doesn't like to be ignored.

I had set up a route that included Parson's Branch. I have heard about this road before and had never tried it. It is a one-way gravel road that stretches from Cades Cove and terminates onto the Dragon -- right about in the middle. Where the cookout was being held was not far from the entrance of Cades Cove and also was not too far from the Dragon, so this seemed like the perfect time to hit it -- especially since I had the KLR.

I took the near direct path -- not BECAUSE it was the direct path, but because the route had some nice roads that I enjoy riding. This is the route I usually take when riding to Tellico. It included River Road (TN-73) and I really enjoy this one because it meanders along a winding river for most of it and is in the shade.

The problem with this road is that it is almost always riddled with traffic. Today, though, although it was kind of busy, the slower motorists tended to pull over when a line of traffic started forming behind them. That's the way it should be. That is why TDOT spent the money to put them there. It's about time some folks are getting it!

After River Road it was Cades Cove. Now typically, I steer clear of this area because it is nothing but a slow loop of rubber-necking tourists ooh-ing and aaah-ing over the deer and other wildlife that are in sectioned off acreage. It's basically like a large zoo but with some room for the wildlife to roam. It's nice ... ONCE! but going <10 mph on an 11 mile loop is no fun to me.

However, the only way to get to Parson's Branch is to endure Cades Cove. I finally got to the turnoff for Parson's Branch and was able to wick it up a bit with some confidence of no oncoming traffic since it is a one-way road. It's gravel, but it's pretty easily navigated.

I am zooming along when I see dust up ahead. I close in on two vehicles stirring it up and am motioned around them as I was going faster than they cared to. Cool, I can do that!

Most of the road was pretty tame (compared to what I had been running on that bike) except for this one long climb. It has rained on and off the past few days and yesterday we had a really good storm move through. Where the gravels were thinned out, it was a bit muddy. I pinned the throttle, stood on the pegs, and went for it. No problem there either.

There were a few water crossings but they all were about an inch deep at most and running over concrete so there was no need to stop and survey the best line -- just go! I was hitting most of these crossings at about 20 mph and just getting my feet wet.

After the second crossing there was a little trail branching off to the left that had a mudhole at the entry point and then wound off into the woods and went ...... SOMEwhere! I looked at it ... HARD!

I wanted to take it. I really did! and if I had ANYone with me, I would have. I was a bit intimidated to try it as I was alone and without a cell phone should anything happed. So it will have to wait until another time. 


I kept on going and the road has some switchbacks and climbs and descends and a few more water crossings and I'm just having about as much fun as I can on a gravel road zooming along.


Then I saw the asphalt and knew I was at the Dragon. Already?!? That road could've been twice the length. I turn north on 129 and again, am scooting right along.

This is my second time doing the Dragon on the KLR and I tell ya, I am loving it! This bike is an absolute hoot to wring out.

The first time on it, I oscillated between 1st and 2nd gear and was wringing the snot out of it. This time, I was going between 2nd and 3rd gear and probably averaged 55 mph on that road.

I had the road to myself. There was no one going northbound ... NO ONE until I came across one slow rider and he must have seen me coming and slowed down more and waved me by. This must be my day! I happily obliged!

I was hitting the corners in a very good rhythm and got my picture taken a few times. I cannot wait until they are posted. I was feeling it. Here are a few links to some of the vendors out taking pictures ...

(hit the next button to get to the next photo)

 6 shots (446-452)

10 shots (1468-1476)  and 10 more shots (1477-1485)   -- these guys really liked me   ;j

and a botched corner .... 6 shots (897-902)     at 900 you can see i am (or at least part of me is) clearly on the wrong side of the yellow line. DOH!

Next up, was a trail I had found on Googlemaps that was marked "trail" and it paralleled the Foothills Parkway. I figured I could ride that "trail" and then get on over to the Parkway and then connect to 321 and head over to the cookout. Not so much!

I found the "trail" just fine. It was a power line servicing trail and ... it was gated off. Bummer, the start of it looked pretty fun -- a rocky climb. I was studying it trying to see if there was a way around it and decided against the idea. Good thing too, because there was a cop up the road and probably within sight of that "trail".

I turned around and picked up the Foothills Parkway. Not a bad thing, this is a fun little stretch too with awesome views of the terrain below. There isn't much to tell about the rest of the ride. I got to the cookout and hung out with some folks and grabbed dinner and even was able to resist some of the yummy desserts that had been brought. After everyone left, Dan, his wife, and another guy hung out for a half hour just shooting the bull and then we all headed to our respective homes.

I only logged about 170 miles, but it was good to have some seat time and to get to hang out with Dan again. It was funny, at one point he said, "Wow! Twice in one year" (meaning we seen each other twice so far) and then followed with "Oh wait this is the third time!" It was good to see him and his wife again and to see some others and meet a few more.

Most of all it was good to get out and burn some fuel and arrive home safely --- AND without any grief from Dad upon my arrival.

I-I-I feel so ALIVE

Wow! it's been a loooonng time since I have been able to enjoy a good live show. I check Red's website often, as they are one of my favorite bands to see live, in hopes they are coming to town, or close by.

I noticed a while back that they were indeed coming to Asheville, which is an hour and a half to the east. I contacted my buddy who usually joins me for shows and he was on board. Cool! now we just have to wait until the date arrives.

Well the wait was so long I had nearly forgotten about it. I managed to check last weekend and realized the show was on this Tuesday night. Uh oh! I hope he can still make it as we both had apparently forgotten about it.

I get in touch with him and he is still signed on. Sweet!

We arrange a time to depart and he shows up right on time. However, Melissa is struggling to get through traffic due to a rainstorm that dumped a lot of rain and shows up about 15 minutes late.

Okay, now we are off. As I head out I tell Dad I won't be back until late to which he replies "I won't be here"

"Oh?" I quizically asked

"I have other plans"

"Okay" I say and was content to leave it at that as we are already running a bit late. Then he adds "See this?" and shows me the *top* of his left wrist and it has red marks on it. Obviously he has been playing with his knife in very melodramatic fashion. "I'm going to work on it some more." he says

I said "Okay, whatever works for ya" and headed out the door. This may sound insensitive, but really it's him being that way. He always tries to start some shit as I'm heading out the door. Not that I get out *that* often, but when I do, and he is awake, he makes a point to be an idiot.

Ah well, this too shall pass! Still, on the ride over it is in the back of my mind. This is the first time he has said that sober.

Anyway, we get on the road and are making good time. However, every time I go to Asheville, it is an exploration of streets as I can never manage to just drive to my destination without getting lost. Sean is the same way -- so here we are together -- we are sooo screwed!

Somehow I managed to break precedent and drove right to the place. Now the problem is parking. There is nowhere to park over there. We finally find a lot and have to pay, but at least it won't be towed.

By the time we get in, the first act is on and jamming away. I had wanted to catch this group as I visited their myspace page and they sounded pretty good. Their name was Icon for Hire. They were pretty good -- the ONE song we heard. It was only 8:20 and they were playing their last song (show started at 8). Dang!

Next up was a band called Love and Death (if i remember right) featuring the former guitarist from Korn. They were okay, but didn't really do much for me. They did a cover of Devo's "Whip It" and made it their own. Was odd to hear it done that way. Even though I was mostly unimpressed, they did close strong. They did a medley of Korn songs that really rocked.

Next up would be Red. I have seen Red numerous times and am always impressed with and anticipate their live show. It is quite the departure from their recorded stuff in that it is much more energy driven.

When they took the stage and lit the room up! *This* is why I go to live shows!

They got me doing my lame-white-boy-bopping around as I was just enjoying the music. At one point between songs, the bassist was saying thank you to the crowd and mentioned a young lady they had met earlier in the day who was a drummer and had on her wrist a tattoo of the snare drum used by the drummer. They brought her on stage and presented her with that very drum. Very cool!

They had a good set selection but it was mostly focused on their new disc. I have all 3 that they have released so I knew the ratio of how many were from each album. They only played 3 songs from their second album and probably played all but 3 from the new one. Sadly, they weren't the headline act, so something has to be cut as they didn't have a full set. Bummer, because they had 3 more songs that, in my mind, are must-plays.

After their set, I was hoarse from yelling and hooting and hollering and atttempting to sing at the top of my lungs when they asked. I needed something to drink. I headed over to the bar to get a bottle of water when my evil eye spied something I wish I hadn't seen.

On the board was a list of what was on tap. They had Bell's Oberon. I have heard about this beer. Bell's is a Michigan brewery and I have seen NO product of theirs locally -- until now.

I really was not interested in getting a beer (HONEST!), but I have heard good things about this beer. I had enough time there in line to think about it ... and think about it ... and ... I caved!

I gave in and got one. I haven't had a beer in nearly 4 weeks. I have another 8 weeks on the wagon ... and I fell off!

Damn! so much for discipline! And to make matters worse, it wasn't all that great! It wasn't bad, but I don't know what all the hype about it was. Hell if I was going to fall off, it could have been for a better beer! LOL

Next on stage, would be the headline act -- P.O.D.! Sean and I have seen them once before and they weren't the headliner but still stole the show. Amazing band to catch live, and this night was no exception. They rocked the house. They played a bunch of their popular hits and a  lot of new stuff. There was this one kid who knew every song and was a big fan of the group apparently.

He would be dancing (violently -- not mosh dancing but just flailing about) and singing along with the band. In any other context he would have appeared to be insane. You know, like the crazy old man walking down the street mumbling to himself. He sure was enjoying himself though and very aware of his body position as I never saw him make contact with anyone.

(by the way, I got home and Dad is already in bed, and snoring, so I guess he must've changed his plans)

Gimme a brake!

Earlier in the week, a buddy of mine who oversees a group I used to ride with, pings me on the FB chatbox and asked if I would be able to join him for a ride anytime Thurs.-Sun. After conferring with Melissa and checking her schedule, I got back with Dan and told him Sat. would be good for me.

He was planning a twisty route that included Shady Valley, Damascus, and New River (not the one in W(BG)V) and thought of me. Aww!   ; )  

I told him I would likely break off at some point so that I could spend time with my new toy as I don't really have many twisty miles on it yet. Hell, I haven't even hit the power band as things start happening real fast at 5K and 7K is when it really starts singing.

The first hour would be slab time to get to the good stuff. Since they were headed in my direction, I told him I would meet him at 8:15 AM (which should be 5-10 min. earlier than they arrive if they left on time).

I showed up not only on time, but EARLY! At that time of day, there wasn't hardly anyone out and I made good time getting to the interstate and was kickstand down and waiting at 8 AM sharp (which was their planned departure time from 20 miles away).

After sitting there a couple minutes, I noticed a person get out of a car that was parked about a 1000 feet ahead of me and start walking back towards me. When she approached me, she greeted me and asked if I knew how far it was to Virginia. I told her it was about 80 miles and then asked "What state are we in?"

Initially I wanted to say "confusion" but behaved and politely informed her that we were indeed in TN. Then she turned around and walked all the way back to her car -- and sat there.

About 10 minutes later, Dan waved as he rolls by followed by 8 other bikes. Wow! big group this time! I fired up Cloud9 and took off to file in behind them. That goofy woman was still sitting there, not sure what was up with her, but whatever.

Here is the route we (and after splitting off -- I ) took ...    http://g.co/maps/s77kz

We slogged along for an hour and then pulled into a gas station. That was all the slab for the day -- the rest would be good stuff. Bring on the twisties!

We fueled up and shot the bull a bit. There was a nice mix of bikes -- 3 Harleys, 3 Goldwings, a Suzuki Intruder, my Bandit, and a three-wheeler called a Stallion, made by Ford.

It was a four cylinder automatic fully enclosed trike with steering wheel and gas pedal with a Mustang rear end. Pretty interesting looking machine.

Dan told me to go ahead and jump in behind him and when we got to the good stuff, he would motion me around to go run my own pace instead of the group pace. Cool, I can do that! That was pretty awesome of him!

So anyway, I do just that! I am cruising along and there was practically no one on it! a rare, free run at the "Snake" (aka US 441 through Shady Valley). This is a sweet stretch of twisty tarmac.

I encountered two cages but was able to scoot around both of them rather quickly and easily. Man! this Bandit is a freakin' rocket! Adrenaline .... is .... FLOWING!  Yeah baby!

Near the end of the run, I got slowed by a cruiser who was doing his part to save lives with his loud pipes. He had no interest in pulling over and I never had a comfortable sight line to slip past him, so just cooled the jets a bit. I knew I had put some distance between me and the group, so figured I could turn around and run it again until I saw everyone then turn back around.

Well, they must've been enjoying themselves as well as they weren't as far behind as I thought. Maybe I wasn't as fast as I thought I was, either way, I turned around and we all met back up at the store. I'd never stopped at the store before. They had a lawn tractor powered by a V8 Ford engine and had a snake on the top of the cowling. Pretty cool.

Here is a link to the pictures Dan took ...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.386576718052308.83732.102742376435745&type=1

After checking everything out and more BS-ing, we were soon mounted back up and headed north. The road headed out from the store was a first for me, and I really enjoyed it! It paralleled a meandering creek/river through a shaded valley (hmm ...) and brought us up into Damascus on US 58.

I had been on this one once before too. It is quite fun!

Once we got out of town and away from some traffic, I found a passing zone and zipped past Dan to have some more fun. I was scootin' along nicely until I came up on a van hauling a trailer filled with bicycles.

I soon got enough of a sight line and zoomed on past them. A couple corners later, I encountered another one, with one more in front of it! Yeesh!

Luckily there was enough of a gap for a Bandit to fit comfortably so  the first opportunity I got, I did just that. Then hopped around the next one. It was kind of like leap frog!

Cool! now I am back up to speed and grinnin' from ear-to-ear until ... I came up on ANOTHER van hauling a trailer full of bikes. GAH! I got past this one  and was in a good rhythm.  I had already hit the power band and things were going well.

Then I approached a hard right and realized I was going a little quicker than I wanted and grabbed for the front brakes to scrub off some speed when the lever went nearly to the bars before engaging anything. What it did grab wasn't much, but I was committed at this point, so just leaned it over hoping it would stick (already have lost traction on these shitty Conti tires a FEW times powering out of a corner).

Well, it did, but from there I backed down. Apparently the front brakes got some air in them somehow at some point as the second pull would be pretty solid.

I stopped in a pull-off to await the rest of the group and then filed in behind everyone. My day of haulin' the mail was done. No problem, smelling the flowers is good, too.

We stopped at a little Mom-n-Pop cafe that I wasn't too impressed with, but the company was great.  After lunch we started turning south and west headed back homewards. We picked up NC-88 and this was another good pick.

I had never been on this but it was a nice winding ride through the countryside, kind of deal. We soon are back in Mountain City and fueling up. I decide at this point I am going to jump on 321 south and head towards home and see where the road takes me. I let Dan know and a couple others in earshot I said Goodbye to and headed out.

I figured I would just take 321 into Newport. Newport is to the south so I grabbed 321 southbound. 321 is great fun too! It twists and turns next to Watauga Lake and I am kickin' it nicely.

I noticed the lake was "on the wrong side" but figured I was remembering it wrong and kept on going. Not so much! If I wanted to go to Newport, I would've had to take 321 northbound.

I found myself in Boone, NC, and for some reason thought my buddy, and fellow maggot, Tim Schwab lived there. He lives close but not IN Boone. I have no service on my cell but carry it in case I need to call 911.

I have Tim's number saved so I search out a pay phone. Good luck with that!

I finally find one (that works) but have no cash, only plastic. I figure I can make a purchase and get cash back. The storekeeper says, he could do it but it would cost me $2.50 service charge to do it. Well I need to make the call.

He asks if it is local. I show him the number and he dialed it for me and Tim answered it. I asked if he were home only to find out he is in Sylva this weekend doing Guard duty. He tells me he is only about "2 hours away" and I am welcome to come visit if so inclined. I'm out and about so what the hell?

Two hours my ass! Maybe ... MAAAYYYBBBEEE two hours *ed-time*! He told me my best bet would be to take 321 down to 40 then head west. I missed 321 at some point, but found the Blue Ridge Parkway. Cool! It's a rough life!   ; )  

Again, I am enjoying myself. This time of year there isn't much traffic to deal with so I am zipping right along.

I come across 321 and jump off it so I can get to 40 and make some better time. Even though there is little traffic, there is enough to bring the average MPH down below 70 so, I figured I could do 80 on the interstate and opted for that.

It took *forever* to get to I-40! Once there I was pissed when I saw I had another 100 miles to get to the exit then it was another half hour to Sylva. Two hours? BAH!

I slogged through it and by now the predicted rain showers had made their way far enough west that I am being spat on. Not hard rain, just annoying.

I arrived in Sylva and put a dollar in the first phone booth I came across to get more specific directions from Tim. I sure do miss the days when a phone call cost a quarter! I could hear him, but something in that phone was inoperable so he couldn't hear me. I have about had it by now!

There was a guy walking by and he could see my frustration and heard me mumbling something like "that was a wasted dollar, now what?!?" He asked if I needed to use a phone and offered up his cell. Very cool!

Tim knows where I am and graciously comes to get me to escort me back to where he is. He asked me to stay the night there with them. That was tempting as I was kinda beat at this point, but I have to see what Melissa's schedule for Sunday is.

She tells me she can make arrangements to have someone cover for her Sunday school class and we hang out and tell lies until our eyes got heavy.

I hung out for a bit in the morning before taking off. As luck would have it, by the time I am ready to leave, it started raining harder. Oh well! I knew the weather was going to be bad so fully expected I would be getting wet on the way home anyway.

I got back to the interstate without issue and dealt with a steady drizzle the rest of the way home. I arrived at the house damp, but not soaked, and I call that a win. Especially since it was almost 60* as opposed to the 40s it would've been had I made the trip home last night.

Always great to ride with Dan and that group and this time was no exception. In addition, I got to hang out with my good buddy Tim for a while. I would ride through a deluge to be able to enjoy those things again.

Tomorrow -- bleeding brakes and re-lubing a chain!

'scuse me while i ramble

I have gotten real slack about my writing and I don't like that. I noticed my stuff reads better and i edit less when i have been writing a little more frequently. it's like everything else .... practice!

At the risk of losing what faithful readers  i do have, here is some practice. This is going to be a potpourri of topics with likely no coherence at all.  It will likely be as entertaining as looking into the dark recesses of Homer Simpson's mind.

There is new stuff going on. A friend of mine on FB the other day quizzed what his "last beer" would be. This guy appreciates good beer much the same as I. Well it not only got my attention but about a half dozen of us maggots got in on the convo.

Long story short, there are about 5 or 6 of us who are on a lose weight crusade (and doing the "no beer" thing), three of whom are in on a bet.  The losers pay $100 and have to buy all the beer at an event we will all be at in Tellico in October and there is yet to be another conditioin -- the idea was that it should "sting a bit for the loser" (originally there were two).

Well the stopping-drinking-to-control-my-gut madness spread and inflicted me as well. I am not in on the bet and I am not really pursuing it exclusively for the weight. I thought a break from the homebrews would not be a bad thing. They are fatty but soo sooo tasty (most of the time)!

The timing sucked though! The agreed start date was May 1.

I quit drinking the Friday (the 27th) before. This was two days prior to my birthday. Now *I* set the early date, but it was the first time in YEARS I hadn't drank at least one beer on my birthday.  

My plan is to go three months without a beer. Timing again sucks, because a good friend of mine will be in northern GA Memorial Day weekend checking out housing as he just got a job offer from a small college in that area.

I hope to meet up with him but won't be toasting a glass with him and that sucks! but I got to do this! it's just a discipline thing.

The last weekend of July, I am jumping off the wagon. That will be three months and we have, coincidence?, an event that weekend. I think I have got Brian to tag along since he will likely be moved to GA by then.

So anyway, while on the wagon, I figure I can modify my dietary intake as well and some occasional exercise and maybe shred a couple inches around the middle, all the while adopting healthier habits. Dad has a "version"? of an exercycle type thing? It's odd, but it should work some cardio.

Ever since Saturday morning I have been drinking almost strictly water. I do have a batch of sweet tea I am finishing off but will not rebrew another batch. I figure I will drink one glass of soda with dinner and water the rest of the day.

I am working on cutting the snacking out and what I do munch on, I am careful about what I grab. I am eating smaller portions at dinner. I even try to eat a sandwich around lunchtime (peanut butter or cold cuts no cheese  ;(         This means leftovers are building up, but the dogs don't seem to mind.  

I plan to hit the exer-thingy for about 10 min. per day and then slowly increase and let the body tell me when it's time to stop. I will probably start that in the next few days. If I slowly adapt new habits I can keep up easier than overwhelming myself. Don't want to throw too much at the system at once.

Is that right? I don't know, but it's my approach.

I never did weigh in until yesterday but plan to do daily tracking of activity, diet, and weight so I can gauge what works. I am not in the race to be the biggest loser, I just want my riding suit to zip up a little easier. I joke, but it would be better to be carrying less "dead" weight around. Yesterday's weigh in 222.8 (GASP!), today 221.8 ---> hopefully that is a trend but i doubt i will lose a pound per day.

For my height on the BMI scale that is nearly "obese" -- yeep! time to get crackin'!

I have no target. Again, it started out about being disciplined to not drink for three months no matter what arises. I have no doubt I can do it, but while doing it I can take on better habits. It would be nice to lose 30 lbs. but I don't see that happening as I am taking the tortoise role and looking long run.

Also been out in the garage the past few nights. Had a piece of black walnut I had cut but never chucked. So I found center and mounted it. here is what I come up with ....

Black walnut is such beautiful wood!

The piece on the left has since cracked and not sure I can get anything out of it. The piece on the right I was able to keep and made a lidded box out of.






Here is the box and lid ....

The lid has developed a crack on the top and this may become a bowl instead of a box. I had a finnial-type handle on the top of the box lid but it broke off. i can glue and screw it back on but not sure if I will.

I guess it depends on how the crack in the lid goes.

So that is the 'sands of time' for this episode.    ; )

Maggot encounters ...

On Monday fellow maggot, Cory from nearby Gatlinburg got in touch with me about my Sabre I am selling. He came over, looked at it, and said we had a deal. I told him I could bring it to him as he had no trailer and Skip was due to arrive later that night with ... a trailer.

Skip showed up around midnight, beers were drank and 3-something came up fast. We retired for the night and got up in the morning with the goal of delivering my big Sabre to its new owner over in Gatlinburg. Things went fairly smoothly as we unloaded both the KLR and the KLX and got the heavy Sabre loaded and strapped down.

The GPS wanted us to take 321 there and I knew of this decent little restaurant that is good for lunch. Skip was agreeable to that so we were able to sip some damn good apple cider.

I don't have a GPS and don't really want one. However, I will admit that I was glad Skip had his as the way we came in was not  911 friendly as half the roads weren't marked. MamaMagellan kept us turning where we needed to since there was no street sign on a couple of those. So I will give the GPS credit there.  

We found Cory and exchanged cash and title and hung out for a little bit. Then Skip and I were going to head to Knoxville to pick up some beer for later -- there isn't much a selection in the mighty 'burg  of Newport.

Then I remembered there's a brewery in Gatlinburg, so we stopped there for a couple. Skip ordered their porter and after giving me a sip, I wished I had ordered one as well. It was pretty good. We headed back to the house and more eating and drinking and conversation ensued.

Wednesday was spent just kind of milling around the house. Skip fiddled with the bandsaw and got my new blade on (I just hadn't got to it yet) and fiddled with the adjuster and that seemed to help a bunch. Meanwhile, I busied myself with getting the oil changed on the KLR.

It only took 2 1/2 quarts to fill so I had enough left over to change Skip's . He was still adjusting the bandsaw wheel, so while I was down there and dirty, we changed his too. Then we lubed the chains and were going to adjust them, but they were close enough that we didn't have to. Then we put them to bed with the intent of stretching their legs tomorrow.

Followed up the night with more good beer and I brewed a batch while he was here. He can have some of those upon his return.

happy trails?

Thursday couldn't arrive soon enough! Weather was forecast to be 70s and sunny. Perfect! The bikes were ready and almost immediately after our eyes were open, we set out without a clue as to where we were headed or when (if?) we were going to make it home.

I recalled this area that looked like it had possibilites and it was only about 20 miles away, so we figured we would try it. It turned to gravel rather quickly and there were other gravel roads branching off it. We explored a few but most just kind of ended or were gated off.

We passed a waterfall and then I realized I had left the camera at home -- dammit! Since we weren't really finding much more than gravel dead ends we headed back to the asphalt in search of something more interesting to explore.

It was funny though as we came to our first turnaround point Skip stopped and through his helmet yelled "YAAAAYYYY MOTORCYCLES!!" and relayed to me that while he was at American Supercamp the previous weekend that when they came to a stop he would be laughing in his helmet and screaming "YAAAAYYYY MOTORCYCLES!!" -- well that became the recurrent catch phrase for the weekend!  ; )

I spied a road to a firetower and since I had the lead, took it. We went back that way a couple miles and then off to the right was a single horse  trail rolling off into the woods. I asked him what he thought and he said "I will follow you".

There would've been no discussion but there was a sign there that might have said no motorcycles but it was too small for me to see for sure. I was glad I removed the side bags. It wouldn't have fit in some of the places we were (including the entrance).

A few hundred yards into the trail a crest of the hill turned downwards .... STEEEEEPPP. I stopped, looked at it and put the kickstand down -- my balls shriveled up just looking at how menacing it was. Skip shut his off and looked at the grade. It was nothing but 4"-6" rock "boulders" and looked to have better than a 50* slope relative to the horizon.

Holy Crap! I keep staring at it ... I don't want to go! Going down intimidates me. Skip took the helm and descended down it on his little KLX near effortlessly. However, it still didn't look any more inviting to me.

I sat there another minute trying to convince myself to do this. I *finally* started down it.

Fear is not what you need in this situation. Not sure it was fear, as much as a COMPLETE lack of confidence. This is only my *second* time trail riding. This angle and terrain is not beginner's stuff. Add to that the KLR is not light and it's a recipe for disaster.

I dumped it -- almost immediately. Not a hard fall as I was mostly duck-walking it down and taking it easy, but one of the times I put my foot down, the rock gave, my foot slipped, and the center of gravity tipped far enough over I just quit fighting it and eased it down. Shut off the bike, position myself to pick it up, set on kickstand, get back on and again fight to convince myself to forge on.

However, in process of that I noticed a bolt missing out of the handguard. I look around for it but never did find it. No biggie, NAPA is on the way home.

I mounted the bike and made it down it, but I am already SOAKED from sweat and out of breath! This is quite the workout!   ; )   The first mile of the trail was like this -- steep, large, loose rock downhills and me babying it all the way down. I like the trail riding thing but this was getting old and if it was going to be nothing but rock I wouldn't mind aborting this trail.

At one point, the slope took a 90* turn halfway down and is still a steep grade of bigass rock! Each "chute" was probably 20' long.

I stopped and again looked at it. That was it! At this point I am exhausted and this shows no signs of getting any more navigable. I am thinking, 'y'know if this goes nowhere we have to come back out going UP all this!'

I parked the bike and came down to talk to Skip only to hear him say "You BETTER have that bike with you!" Heh! he had already been waiting a bit on me for a bit. Since I was walking down it would be even longer.

After I got chastised for being a pussy (not really but it was almost necessary), I caught a couple breaths and  ambled back up to the bike hoping to tackle this descent. I managed to dump it here too, but this one was significantly tougher than the first hill that intimidated me. Ah well this learning curve will be steep!

Skip helped me right it and this section *was* the worst of it. We hit some more downhills but that one was the toughest stretch to be sure. Those downhills were crazy with that bed of large rocks as a base to ride on.

I got the bike to where he had been (im?)patiently waiting for me all this time. It was time for a hydration break. I was soaked and out of breath! and basically just wanted to look back at that slope for a couple minutes.

It was nice though, as it was just ... soo ... quiet! Serenity!

After a few minutes in the shade enjoying the quiet, it was time to get going again. We geared up and Skip took off, then stopped. Started it up, and stopped. RuhRoh! When he let out the clutch, it would stall.

Luckily, his cell had service and he called a buddy of his for some hints as he is familiar with the bike and could google for us as well. He suggested bypassing the kickstand switch. Skip cut the wires, twisted them together, taped them up, and off we go.

YAAAAYY! That was a bit tense as we had no idea how we would get the bike out of there if it didn't work.

I had little issue navigating the rest of the trail with one exception. There was a  half-buried branch oriented so that you had to cross it but the angle was off. I pointed the wheel at the angle I wanted and was looking where I wanted to go and probably not paying as close attention to where I was and when the front wheel hit, it drifted across the wet log, causing the wheel to quickly turn to the left and I was thrown down ... HARD!

It was probably only a 10 mph drop, but it hurt! my knee was slammed between the tank and the ground and where the tank hit is where it hurts. It's still tender as I type this. This drop also put a crack in the lower front fairing .

This was my third, and FINAL, drop of the day. I got it picked up and caught up to where Skip was waiting for me. He said when he didn't see me coming he KNEW where I was because he nearly lost it on that spot, too.

The rest of the trail was pretty tame and mostly just single track through the woods. There were more "whew" moments of course, but no more drops. Some muddy areas, but the rest was pretty simple to navigate. That was fine, though. My wore out little butt was ready for a little easier terrain.  ; )

The part of the trail we were on ended up on a public road with no signs there indicating it was illegal to use it. So maybe where we had entered that sign didn't say "no motorcycles" after all.   ; )

This road dropped us onto US 321 north of Newport about 15 miles so I knew where we were. Skip was hungry by now and so was I. We got a reuben at a coffee shop in town and compared stories of near misses and of course my misses -- that were more than near.

Heh. We did about 75 miles and it took us over 8 hours - about 55 miles of it were asphalt. I would guess the various trails we were on accounted for 5 miles or so and the rest gravel.

After that, we headed back home. We made a beer run and figured we would just grab something for dinner while out, so we hit the Food City. Skip offered to buy and cook dinner. .

Sweet! this would free up some time so I could pack for Tellico so I didn't argue none. I packed a couple cases worth of homebrew and some clothes and personal items and found room in Skip's vehicle for them and I was all set.

After dinner we loaded the bikes on the trailer and spent the rest of the evening drinking and socializing. I went to bed dreaming of the fact that more happy trails awaited us.