Oh my gosh, I have so many pictures from this weekend, I'll provide you the Flickr link! But still, there's going to be SO MANY PICS!
So, our weekend started yesterday after work. David met me at the office, and we left from there! Yesterday's ride seemed to fly by; I knew it would be today that would be the bulk riding (and our source of exhaustion!). We had a nice and uneventful ride into Waynesville, NC. We had to visit the Indian dealer out there, of course. We took a fun back road into Pigeon Forge/bypassed Gatlinburg, then took the National Park out to Maggie Valley and hit the Blue Ridge Parkway for a bit. It was smooth and beautiful; not closed this time. No elk. In fact, the only live creatures we laid our eyes on was a few birds and squirrels. I don't mind at all! Makes my ride way less risky :D
Hendersonville is beautiful. We found our adorable accommodations, unpacked, then found the amazing steak house David had already picked out. It was SO GOOD! Binions steak house in Hendersonville, NC. GO EAT THERE. We took a pass through downtown Main St, then fell into bed.
We woke up before the alarm this morning, and hit our first named road; the Sidewinder. Loved it! A nice mix of sweeping curves and tight curves; it took us up into Black Mountain for breakfast. We both got this unbelievable biscuit/gravy/fried chicken/bacon/cheese concoction. DANG! Couldn't finish that, or the giant cinnamon roll we shared.
Left from breakfast and hit the 2nd named road; the Diamondback. We had our sticker for this road; just hadn't put it on because we hadn't ridden it yet. This road was a mix of the Devil's Triangle, the Copperhead, and the Dragon. I tried SO hard to keep up with David; he just rides faster than my comfort level through the curves. Hopefully this year is my year to work on that. I constantly checked my tenseness, loosening my hands on the grips and rolling my head. The first 3/4 of the road was perfect; coming down I was getting a little tired from pushing so hard, and I slid the rear tire a little on a particularly tight turn. Just enough to shoot the adrenaline through me. This little road has WICKED off camber curves at the end of it; in fact, I think this one should have been named the Sidewinder, as it was a weird kind of curvy.
Finished up there and mad our way to the third and final new road; the Devil's Whip. I made a boo boo on this road, a pretty big mistake. It was towards the end, and it was on a right hand switchback. I thank God up above that it was just David and I, no other cars around. There were some at the beginnings, so this little mishap was timed well. Oh, AND David was behind me, not in front. So as I started up the switchback, I just didn't set up well. I looked up and to the right to make that curve, and I really needed to drop all the way into 1st but I was going too fast, so when I downshifted, it didn't go. The engine revved as I gave it throttle, and with the curve climbing, I lost momentum FAST. I grabbed my brakes and just STOPPED in the middle of the curve. I am so, so, so grateful I wasn't further over to the right, or had my bars turned when I stopped. David pulled up beside me, said don't panic, you're ok. Just start out like you're stopped on a hill. I got the gear down in first, then re-started. I'm so thankful that it was just a hiccup; I know I'm not ready for a Chieftan quite yet because that mistake most certainly would have caused me to drop it. Khaleesi and I stayed shiny side UP, and we completed the Devil's curve. It couldn't whip me today!
All three new roads completed by noon. The entire AREA we were riding was new to us, it is quite awesome and beautiful. Areas reminded me of Tahoe, some other areas it was like Oregon; loved it so much. Lunch time took us to Hot Springs, NC, a familiar face. We ate again at the Irish Pub from St. Patty's day, then took the Rattler backwards in it's entirety for the first time. I led again, and I just took the curves at my own pace without worrying about David being behind me. I did alert him when I was downshifting because he said the challenging thing about riding a road like the Rattler behind me is the inconsistency in my speed; the degree of slowing and setting up for a curve sometimes took him off guard, as he just rolls into the curves with whatever speed he's carrying.
We hit I-40 for a few miles. I had a wall to my left, and a wall of semis to my right ... 30 mph wind gusts, 75 miles an hour down a tight, twisty, windy 2 lane road = a few tense and jaw clenching moments! I was happy to get off by the river, where we stopped on the bridge and took a few pics. Um ... as we made a few turns per the GPS, we both began to wonder. And yes, the pavement DID end and we ended up yet again on a dirt road. With uphill right hand switchbacks! Its saving grace is that most of the gravel was washed away, leaving mostly just DIRT, but it was pretty rutted out. I began to pray for the dirt to end, and shortly thereafter, it did. It ended into a Tail of the Dragon, no joke. Just a LONGER one. Tight, twisty kiss your butt curves with zero guardrails and lots of debris on the shoulder. I was exhausted mentally. Unfortunately, I was burned out and actually ASKED for a straighter road! This is completely unheard of for me, I'm a total sucker for those twisties! But State Route 32 at the tail end of a 500 mile trip was just a little too much for me. I'll do it again in a heartbeat, just at the BEGINNING of a ride.
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| Why, yes, that is an uphill right hand switchback looming ahead! |
We stopped one more time for gas and a stretch then hit 411 home, avoiding downtown Gatlinburg. So, so, so much fun! So grateful for the chance to spend some one on one time with my awesome hubby, and had a wonderful experience riding some new, uncharted territory. Plans to ride with some ladies this coming weekend, and looking forward to warmer weather for MORE epic rides with my hunny! I give God all the glory for keeping both of us shiny side up this weekend, and lots of prayers for this upcoming week :D
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