All the things ...

Well.  Life has taken an interesting turn for us.  You know how I've said, several times, how I sure would love to get David's Chieftan before the end of the year?  Yeah, in reality, we had NO idea how that was actually going to happen.  And trade in vs. selling outright ... well, our dilemma was solved by  Mufasa getting totaled.

The prior Monday, we were given the opportunity to do fun, touristy things in Pigeon Forge!  Tuesday, we were in the ER.  And by "we", I mean David.  It was a beautiful day, and he'd decided to take his bike out and about a bit.  I'd driven b/c the morning was just a hair too cold for me, which turned out to be a good thing.  We'd JUST had lunch together.  I was back at work, working, and he called me and said, "So, it seems I've had a little motorcycle accident".  I jumped out of my chair and ran out the door.  He still doesn't know what happened.  He was on a road we've traveled on many times, it was not in a terribly curvy part, and he was in traffic.  His rear end broke loose and threatened his control, so he moved it over to the side.  When he hit the grass, the bike did a 180 and flung him off in a ditch.  He was knocked unconscious for roughly 30 minutes; the cops woke him up.

By the time I got to him, he had been given a provisional "clear" from the ambulance EMT's.  He was most definitely concussed, but not much else was going on.  That day, he was fully dressed in all his gear, gloves included.  We swung by the house so he could change, and made our way out to the ER.  Thankful for a great staff that didn't keep us there all night.  Once the CT scan pronounced his head and spine clear, we went back home.  In the ensuing days, it was determined that Mufasa would be put down.  I think I was more sad than David!  It hurt my heart to see him there in the "boneyard".  Unfortunately, Kawasaki Vulcans are a dime a dozen, and the cost to repair them with the overpriced OEM parts quickly overwhelm the value of the bike.  

He hit on the right side

RIP

We'd come to grips that our riding season was over.  Figures, because I'd JUST put the last piece of the puzzle on Khaleesi; pipes.  My friend that sold me her floorboards still had her pipes, and I bought them off her.  David gave me his blessing to ride by myself some, but I was sensing a trend; his dad was riding alone BOTH times he went down.  David was riding alone when HE went down.  So, my thoughts of riding alone weren't so favorable.  But I did go on a short ride, and had a blast.  A week later, we were frantically getting off work and running into Knoxville so we could bring home a new family member; Viserion.

RC Components exhaust!  Soooo loud!

Everything just fell perfectly into place for it to happen.  It wasn't something we were planning, to be sure, but it all worked out.  Viserion turned out to be David's birthday gift; he brought her home the day after his birthday.  Well, almost, lol!  We'd JUST pulled out of the IMOK parking lot, and the check engine light came on followed by a very obvious engine cutting in and out.  We hooked a quick U turn and booked it back to a closed dealership (6:05), but thankfully, we were able to grab our sales guy as he was leaving.  Will unlocked the doors, wheeled Viserion back inside, and said he'd give us a call the next day once they figured out what was going on.

First ride!  Heading down to GA

I can not tell you how much my heart flutters to see 2 Indians in the garage!

Riding the Trail of Tears

Turns out it was just a fouled spark plug, so they replaced both and we were good to go!  My heart was racing as I followed David home; IMOK is off a very busy highway, and the traffic around town right now is so bad with lots of tourists in for the leaf season.  My heart was in my throat until he finally pulled her into the garage.

That gray paint is gorgeous; it's so sparkly, like mine!  NOT a matte finish.

The next day, we left out to ride the beasts down to GA.  It was a lovely ride; very windy and blustery, but we were properly layered up, so no big deal.  David did great; his back was HUGELY bruised up and very sore from his fall, and he did skin his knee.  His jeans were flapping around and irritated his wound on the knee, but other than that, he did great on the ride.  We did 347 miles.  Already, it's time for the 500 mile break in service!  Time flies when you're having a blast!

Yesterday was FREEZING, but today it actually got up to low 50.  We hit the road to ride the NEW section of Foothills Parkway.  They have been working on that 16 mile stretch of road between Walland and Wears Valley since the 1960's.  They FINALLY finished the connecting bridge; yesterday was opening day.  Today, it was sooooo crowded!  We knew it would be, though.  I wanted to do it 1.  Because the weather was ok enough to ride for an hour or so.  And 2.  Because the Fall color is still beautiful!

Foothills Parkway

The missing link series of bridges

Viewing Townsend

We were on the uphill side ... in traffic.  FUN, lol!  Very unique challenge to keep it in 1st, moving along about 2 or 3 mph up a mountain, on an off camber road.  My clutch hand got pretty tired, but I wasn't dying or anything.  We got to the end and came home through Wears Valley instead of turning around and coming back over the Parkway, like our original intention. 

This costume garnered more attention than any other!

We'll have to capture the bikes with the views NEXT time

My thespian acting again!  A Midsummer's Night Dream

The day she came home ... a mini tribe!

The "usual" side of Foothills

We've reached full on "off season".  This week is going to be rainy with highs in the 40's.  We will keep the girls gassed and ready for a ride at a moment's notice.  HOPING Thanksgiving day will be decent; we're going to Harrah's Casino in Cherokee for dinner; it would be awesome to ride the bikes since the in-laws will be available to drive the babies!  We'll just have to see.