First overnight of 2019

Put a few new stickers on my new helmet

There's nothing like blogging out on the front porch with a cup of coffee.  I am so looking forward to the day that we are able to buy a house with a breathtaking view of the mountains, so I am REALLY inspired when I'm writing.  It'll come :)

I decided on the blog today because our trip was almost more of a "business" trip, so we don't have any good pictures to share.  I would say that's the biggest disadvantage to riding my own motorcycle vs. being a "hubby hugger" is that I can't snap pics while we're riding down the road.  David tried to get some GoPro footage, but the wind on Friday was No Joke.  In fact, I'd say it was literally the most windy day we've ridden in at all.  It was crazy!

The only makeup I wear when riding

The weekend dawned almost frosty in the mornings, warming up to a crisp 60ish degrees.  Basically, classic Spring weather.  Our trip was to be an overnight Friday/Saturday one.  It sort of came about on accident; I suggested last weekend that we needed a hotel room w/ a hot tub to come home to, and that planted the seed for an idea.  We discussed a few overnight possibilities, but by mid week I'd already decided to scrap the idea.  We have a HUGE trip planned for July ... and this is already almost April.  So we need to save as much as we can in order to pull off what we have planned.  My creative side, David, came up with an interesting route taking us to just outside Nashville, then up into areas of Kentucky we've never been to.  We were planning to ride to Family Video stores.

You may be scratching your head wondering what is Family Video?  Well, it's basically a smaller Blockbuster Video type chain.  And yes, they're open and thriving ... the video rental business is NOT dead!  And just why would we want to frequent such an establishment?  David makes a little extra money here and there by buying and selling movie codes online.  Family Video buys their movies from places like Wal Mart, so they pull all the codes out of the movies and actually sell them.  David found out they have all kinds of sales on their codes, so he figured we could have the best of both worlds; an overnight trip w/ a hotel room and hot tub AND make a little extra money on the side.  Count me in!

We both managed to swing getting off work on Friday by noon, so we raced home (not on motorcycles; remember those frosty mornings??) jumped on our bikes, and hit the road.  Our plan was to make it to 2 of the stores before checking into our hotel for the night, then go eat, then indulge in the hot tub.  Time was on our side, because we fell back an hour as we headed west.  A lot of the route was Interstate, and it was CRAZY.  The wind was blowing so hard, the majority of our conversation back and forth was "WHOA!  This is CRAZY".  Lol.  I have finally gotten used to how much Khaleesi moves around at high speeds.  When I had only a few thousand miles under my belt, the movement would cause my heart to be in my throat, and my hands would cramp from holding my grips so tight.  Add in high winds, and the bike feels like she's literally dancing around underneath me.  But my mind was in such a serene place, it was weird.  I sat nice and tall, kept my hands relaxed on the grips, and twisted the throttle more than usual as we zoomed up and around the semi trucks.  What was interesting is I can feel the movement in my hips and core, but when I look down at my hands, the handlebars are secure and stable, NO movement in my hands.  That's why I've been able to store up my confidence, is that what I'm feeling isn't necessarily a bad thing.  David was almost feeling it more than me because he said the fairing on the Chieftan was catching more wind than he used to feel on his Vulcan.

Red Robin ... YUM!

We finally got off and rode some state roads.  The wind was marginally better, but definitely still there as these were 55/60 mph roads.  I was thoroughly enjoying myself because much of the central plateau area is not area we're familiar with.  The sheer rock formations and wide open fields gave me plenty to look at and soak in, and before I knew it, we were arriving at the first video store.  I didn't go in to any of them.  I grabbed my book (an oldie, but one I've never read; John Grisham's "The Pelican Brief"), grabbed my drink, and sprawled out on the curb next to the bikes.  I was comfortable in my layers and just took off my leather jacket at the stops.  

After David did his thing, we made our way out to Hendersonville, TN.  We've been to Nashville several times, but always IN the city.  And never on the motorcycles.  Hendersonville is roughly half an hour from downtown, and it was fabulous.  Very beautiful landscape, lots of newer stores and restaurants, and our hotel.  Let me just say, our hotel was SO nice.  It had the fanciest bathroom of any normal "chain" hotels we've ever stayed in.  Nice brown and teal carpeting, a soothing and light scent, and crisp white coverlet on the bed; NOT the big, giant puffy things that normally cover the beds.  We ate at a spot that used to be a favorite treat, Red Robin.  I'm pleased to say it was super good; the one we have out here close to us is TERRIBLE.  Bad service, filthy restaurant, and bad food :(  We stuffed our faces and made our way to the hot tub.  YESSSSSS ... :):)

Fancy shower and fancy Kohler fixtures

The next morning we went to none other than our favorite Cracker Barrel and hit the road up into Bowling Green, KY.  This part of the ride wasn't much to talk about.  We had fun seeing the different landscaping and areas.  I got lots of reading done as David made it to 5 stores.  Finally, around 5:15 central time he was done.  We got serious about riding and found a few roads that were more curvy.  KY has interesting state roads, because sometimes they turn into tiny little country routes with twists and curves and lots of farmland.  Once we hit interstate, that pretty much ended our surface roads.  The wind was better, but as the sun went down the temps were dropping and I was getting straight up cold.  I held on to the bike and we roared through the twists and curves and ups and downs of I-40 E getting back into the Knoxville area.  It is NOT just straight, flat interstate.  It is very challenging to roar through at 80 mph up and down mountains and around curves on Interstate that mostly does not have any lighting.  I kept my eyes always looking for potential problems and wildlife, but our angels rode with us and we made it home safe and sound and 100% problem free.  

A road/motorcycle trip favorite

Our Indians are so ideal for what we do.  My bike is finally perfectly set up for my preferences.  My back doesn't get tired, my helmet doesn't get buffeted by the wind, and my knees don't hurt from only having pegs to rest my feet on.  David's bike has GIANT saddlebags with lots of room for all my extras, and he is so comfortable on his, too.  He did change out the seat that came stock on his bike for one that came stock on a Chieftan Elite, and he is much more comfortable.  His stock seat was just too soft and didn't give him enough support.  His new one is also soft, but it's supportive too.  The only thing he needs now for 100% comfort is a heel shifter.  That's what he's used to, and it's what he prefers.  My bike is so beautifully neutral in all conditions.  I can cruise at 85 mph up and down hills, and I can weave and twist through tight, no center line roads.  She never hesitates, never gives me trouble, and the 120 mile limit on the gas tank is a PERFECT stopping point for getting off and stretching/getting a drink.  Our bikes also spark up conversation everywhere we go, every ride, no exceptions.  We're always thrilled to promote the brand, and to meet enthusiasts where ever we go.  Looking forward to our next "business" trip ;)

How we secured our bikes at the hotel.  Just keeps honest people honest

Day Zero

Originally, our vacation plan was to go check out West Tennessee.  We've been to Nashville a few times, but never to Memphis or beyond.  And we've never ridden the bikes out that way, so we started looking.  One night in Memphis turned into 5 nights not in Memphis!

David and I are so in tune, we both said instead of Memphis maybe ... Michigan!  But as the hubs began to investigate that idea further, the trip morphed into Niagra Falls.  And Lake Erie.  We've never seen ANY of the Great Lakes, so excitement quickly began to set in.  The toughest leg would be the first one; we both had to work, and we had to skedaddle about 8 hours north into West Virginia.

This morning dawned the coolest it's been since about April.  It felt GREAT!  David's bike was loaded down last night, and he was going to meet me at my work and we'd just hit I-40 from there.  One MAJOR difference with this vacation vs. others we've done is the fact that we're riding to a destination PLACE vs. riding to destination ROADS.  Last August, it was the Back of the Dragon and the Snake.  In April, it was the Diamondback, the Devil's Whip, and the Sidewinder.  This time it's places, and we kind of have to get there the most efficient way since we're covering the most miles we EVER have in a single trip.

So as soon as David pulled into the parking lot, I finished up and jumped on the {new and improved} Khaleesi.  She now has reduced reach handle bars and a new front tire.  WOW, what a difference!  That tire has made the handling so smooth and controlled; the bars are sooo much more comfortable; as I lie here blogging, my back isn't even tired.

We took I-40 out to I-81.  Tennessee turned into Virginia.  We got off the Interstate onto Hwy 119.  Virginia gave way to Kentucky and the landscape turned to massive rock encrusted mountains.  As our tires hit West Virginia, road construction became the norm, but amazingly enough we hit virtually no traffic.  We pulled into our fabulous hotel just after 8:00.  A lightening quick check in got us up to our room in no time.  I traded my boots for my sneakers, and we stepped outside to walk up the sidewalk and soak in the absolutely perfect weather.  This hotel is VERY similar to our one from last year; it's a beautifully preserved and restored historic hotel.  We walked down to a local Parkersburg brewery and enjoyed a KILLER burger.  411 miles today, a personal record for both of us!  Now to enjoy a nice rest and arise tomorrow for the day's adventures!

Riding goals

"Mav" made some biker friends!

The first weekend in June dawned HOT.  Dripping hot.  Friday after work, we loaded up the family in the truck and headed out to Foothills Mall to watch the "Hogs vs. Pigs" cone skills course.  It was 5 HOG riders vs. 5 motorcycle cops.  What a fun competition!  Definitely gives me something to aspire to; I would LOVE to learn to do the tight cone work ... just don't know how I can learn to do it without risk of dropping my bike!  There was one lady rider representing the HOGs.  She was amazing!  Turns out she's a member of one of my motorcycle facebook groups, and she's now a facebook friend.  I look forward to following her skills riding and hopefully meeting in person and riding together some day.

Great turnout at the rally

A "pig" showing off his superior steering skills

Saturday morning, we took Khaleesi to Willis Cycle Works to get the rear tire replaced.  We left from there and headed to Tazewell, then all the way up to KY.  We drove through the Cumberland Gap tunnel and up into Pineville.  We found the Pine Mountain State Park and ate lunch at the Lodge there.  Such a beautiful place!  We enjoyed some curvy, challenging roads in the area.

Threatening skies but dry ride!

Nearing Cumberland Gap

Made a big loop through LaFollette and then through Oak Ridge coming home.  It feels so amazing taking those long, sweeping curves in 5th gear.  There's nothing quite like it!  I was feeling much better as I forced myself to look up and through all the curves and stay right in the middle of the bike as it swept along the hot asphalt heading towards home.

255 miles and almost 6 hours out!

We rode again on Sunday ... a tube down a snow hill, and a helicopter!  The boys enjoyed spending some time in Gatlinburg for breakfast, then in Pigeon Forge for the others.  We went home via Sevier County backroads that normally are reserved for the bikes; Loved mixing the weekend with motorcycles and family!

Winter is coming!

Winter may be coming, but GOT is a year+ away!  Anyway, I digress ...

Quiet few months riding wise for us.  We have managed a minimum of 1 ride per week EVERY week so far, but the temps are dropping colder, and the dark is coming on faster.  3 weeks ago, we finally went more than 60 miles!  Our default ride seems to be 55-70 miles.  We headed west and went through the Big South Fork Rec area, then up into KY for a little.  Dropped back down into TN by way of I-75 and got stuck in HELLISH traffic :( 

We headed out towards Oakridge and went steadily North towards the KY/TN border.  The Big South Fork area is soooo beautiful!  It's a haven for hikers and kayakers, and for motorcyclists! 

I love that ride because it's more country side type riding vs. mountain riding or straightaways.  It's nice, easy curvy roads with not too much elevation.  There are a few wicked turns and twists, and the road was every bit as challenging as I remember it being, but where as I was a little bit intimidated last time, now I felt light years more confident!

Khaleesi is such an amazing machine.  As she has broken in, I love her every bit as much now as I did that first time I sat on her in the church parking lot.  Turns are effortless, the ergonomics are perfect, and there is power to spare.

Surprisingly, we were a few weeks away from peak color; it started out as a brisk morning, but the day warmed up beautifully.  We got a bit of a late start because I wanted to dart into Cycle Gear to get some warmer gloves (which I didn't even need ... my hands started to SWEAT in them).  Normally, we're on the road by 7/8:00.  Today, it was more like 10:00. 

KY was different to ride in ... the particular area we were in actually wasn't that special.  It just happened to be the area we ended up in on David's chosen route, but I still really enjoyed myself.  Not a whole lot of particularly challenging roads; no Snake, or Dragon, or Rattler ... we did hit one or two roads that at the end, we pulled up beside each other and laughed with joy.  To me, that's a perfect ride!

I no longer critique my every move.  Khaleesi and I move as one most of the time.  I don't stall her, I don't have issues or problems turning left or right, and my tight right hand switchbacks?  No longer an issue :)  My back does get tired after about 200 miles; I feel like I'd really like reduced reach handlebars.  My upgrades wish list is floorboards, highway bars, Daymaker headlight, light bar with baby Daymakers, upgraded pipes, a custom seat, and reduced reach handlebars.  Not the kitchen sink!  My total mileage is around 7500 miles ... my goal is 10K+ in my first year.  I've got until April to make that goal!

After about 200ish miles, we were both starting to fade a little.  It was getting late, it was Sunday which means no "day of rest", and even though our track was fun, I knew what was to come, and it was about 3 more hours. That was when we decided to jump on I-75 S ... and hit total roadblock!  I lasted about 20 minutes of sitting there in 2-5 mph traffic, and I was DYING.  Khaleesi was blowing out leg blistering heat, and my left hand was cramping so badly I was reaching over to hold the clutch with my right hand.  I told David I HAD to get off that damn interstate. 

We finally did, found a back road that was decently fun, wound our way back to the interstate, and blasted back home.  I went through my least favorite spaghetti interchange of I-40 through Knoxville, and we pulled into the garage about ... 7:15.  It was a gorgeous day ... cool start, but ended up low 70's.  300 miles total, felt SOOOO good! 

2 60 miler rides, then 100 miles to be detailed soon!

How you KNOW you've married your soulmate!

Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama ... in ONE week!  I know that's nothing compared to these hard core peeps that decide to do cross country trips on their motorcycles, but for us that have only been owners since February/April, that's something to write home about!

David's master plan worked beautifully; the rain held off last weekend for our VA trip, and we rode ALL weekend; it was so beautiful!  Monday, we rode to get some lunch here in town, then hit the Alcoa Hwy to visit IMOK to see their Scout Bobber.  Sadly, the bike was already sold, but they did have a Springfield Darkhorse.  Meh ... I'm just not a fan of a blacked out bike.  In fact, when we were shopping for what I thought was going to be "our" bike vs. David's bike, my only requirement is that it was NOT to be black lol.  So the Darkhorse line really doesn't interest or excite me.

Upon leaving IMOK, David found a decent back way to come home, so we did get an hour or 2 of riding time in.  Tuesday was "nothing" for me, and Wednesday we took a little trip down 411 to Athens.  Athens is a cute little town; there's a road that runs through there that I have GOT to get a picture of some day; it's this crazy huge mansion type house with silos built in to it.  Very unique!  Fun road through farm land!  Didn't seem quite as curvy in full daylight ;)

Thursday was laze at home and watch Netflix day, then Friday we strapped the bikes down nice and tight, then hauled them down to GA where we stayed for a few days with the in-laws.  As soon as we pulled in the driveway, we unloaded the bikes, changed our clothes, and jumped on!  Destination was a BBQ house in Lithia Springs that has the BEST brunswick stew ever.  The in laws jumped on their bikes as well and we caravanned there.  Heck, we ended up riding about 130 miles!  We didn't really detour, just took every back road we could.  Parked them for a few hours, then rode again to dinner.

Saturday morning dawned PERFECT.  Kody was able to join us as my lovely SIL was roped into  offered to watch the baby.  We powered down 55 MPH roads into Alabama, hoping to find some curvy roads, but alas ... not to be found!  Veered back into GA, in the general area of where we lived for 11 years (Cartersville) and re-visited some of our old stomping grounds.  Managed to find one or two more curvy roads, then back home.  Ended up being around 180 miles or so.  Rode again to Rockmart for dinner, then came home the "long" way across a hilly back road; there were a few curves to be had, but nothing like what we're used to!

Sunday it was driving back home to the MotherLand; didn't get home until around 9 pm, so no motorcycles then!  Today, I put the baby down for his nap, went straight into my room to change, then came to harass the hubs to GO FOR A RIDE!  I said I don't care, it's just a beautiful, perfect day and if you don't feel like riding, I'll just hit Foothills to 129.  He glared at me out of the corner of his eye, and out we went!

The ride began with a somewhat familiar route that I take every morning to the babysitter's house ... and then he turned down a road I did NOT know.  A mere 7 or so miles from home, and the curves were already more in abundance than over the entire weekend, lol!  Just proof that the riding is better in the mountains!  Khaleesi and I felt smooth as glass and we moved as one entity through the undulations and twists of the back roads.  We ended up in the nearby town of Farragut where we wandered through the used movie/book store and made a stop by the CLOSED Costco.  We picked our way back towards home using the same, but different back roads, and it was confirmed that David is most certainly my soulmate.  We were in the city square of Friendsville, and came up and over this AWESOME stomach in your throat hill.  As we braked to a stop at the stop sign, both of us were laughing our heads off.  We looked at each other with complete understanding, and he made left hand turns to come BACK to the hill TWICE more.  We finally grew up and headed on home, but our short little 80ish mile ride today was awesome and fantastic.

Only 4 work days this week, and a tentative plan to ride with a facebook friend on Saturday.  The route is one we've done and involves the Dragon, Moonshiner 28, and lunch in North Carolina.  Should be fun!  I actually have no plans to ride to work this week; going to TRY and go for a run every morning instead (haha!).

Day 1: What goes up, must come down!

It has been a most amazing and unreal weekend!  David and I are off for the next week for vacation.  After waffling back and forth about a weekend in Nashville, or a weekend in Virginia, we decided to brave the weather forecast and ride the bikes to Marion, VA.  Marion is up in southwest VA, not far from Bristol.  We've been dying to ride the Back of the Dragon up in that area, but it's just a hair too far to do as a day trip (unless we wanted to iron butt it, and frankly, we're just not that hard core!)

We've never done an overnight on a motorcycle, so we were happy and excited to be doing something new.  In preparation, I decided to take one of Tiki's old sheepskin saddle pads to cushion my hiney.   I barely used the pad on him, as I think it really was too thick under his saddle.  I cut off the billet straps, sewed them to the center edge of the top of the pad, and stitched a piece of grippy drawer liner just under the wither cutout.  Flipped it over so that the seat of my bike just slid through the straps and sat on the bottom of it.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  It worked absolutely perfectly.  I didn't get those seat bone "hot spots" at all, but the extra thickness of the pad did create a little bit of pressure on my knees.  Overall, it was totally worth it!  And it REALLY does keep your seat warmer in cooler weather, and cooler in warmer weather; crazy!

5:00 am came way too quickly, especially since we didn't get in bed until midnight!  Strapped the duffel to David's sissy bar, loaded up the saddlebags, and North we headed!  Stayed off the interstate and took Hwy 33 to 25E to Cumberland Gap.  Cumberland Gap is right at the state lines of KY, VA, and TN.  It is some of the most breathtaking, beautiful scenery I've laid eyes on in the south.

We headed up the mountain to the Pinnacle Overlook.  Um, we just kept climbing up and up!  Much to my delight, most of the tighter switchback turns were to the right, which meant that coming back DOWN, they'd be on the left!  Relief, lol.  I have thought about how I approach the tighty righties; I get WAY to the left, look way over my shoulder, shift my hips to the left, and think more about pushing forward with my left arm vs. pushing down with my right one.  It's working pretty well because I had not one bad right turn this weekend :D

It was peaceful and quiet on top of the mountain.  Only one other family was up at the overlook and they were friendly.  We gawked and took pics, went to the restroom and hiked up a small hill where we saw some deer, and then it was time to go back down the mountain.  DAAAAAANG!  It wasn't quite McCloud Mountain, but it was close!

Yes, this is a real sign at the bottom of McCloud Mountain resort!!

Rolled down in mostly 1st gear so I didn't have to burn up my brakes, and headed to our next destination; Tazewell, VA and the start of the Back of the Dragon.  There was this one road.  I had 2 ... um, incidents.  We had turned onto this small, country backroad, and my tripodometer was at 130 miles.  I've never gone beyond 150 miles on a tank of gas, and of COURSE, we had no cell signal.  We'd gotten part ways down the road, and David got nervous that we'd get too far gone and no gas stations.  He decided to cut back over to the main road, get gas, then go back to the back road.  He had his GPS ... that LOVES gravel roads!  The driveway we picked to turn around at was a freaking booger.  It had a sharp drop down with a gravel bottom.  I normally don't have any problems with starting out on a hill, but it rolled back on me so bad since I was at such an angle I almost choked it.  Rolled back more and snatched the brake; foot slipped and almost went over on my right side.  Saved it, breathed deep, held the rear brake with my foot so I could concentrate on coordinating the throttle and clutch to get in the friction zone, and pulled out very drunkenly and awkwardly back onto the road.

Made a right hand turn on the 'cutover' road, and it was GRAVEL!  And this gravel road was NOT the nice, hard packed gravel road leaving Cade's Cove.  THIS gravel road was rutted, washed out, and poured over with what seemed like a recent load of gravel (cue grimace face emoticon here).  Hit 1 or 2 bone jarring pot holes, and made it UP and over the MOUNTAIN, then as we were coming back down hill and we could SEE the main highway, I hit this rut that nearly yanked the handlebars right out of my hands.  I have never been that close to falling down, but I was able to save it, and we got back down to pavement.  Holy Smokes, I was so glad I lived!!

We throttled our way through the curves to the Back of the Dragon store in Marion.  There was a huge group of bikers parked outside.  Much to our surprise, we hardly passed any motorcycles.  Yes, the morning started out cool.  Yes, the clouds were threatening at TIMES, but for the most part it was a beautiful day.  Saw 2 lady riders with that group.  Not sure if they'd already ridden the road or not.  Went inside and was taken aback by how TINY it was, lol!  About 4 racks of shirts, then stickers by the register.

Turned opposite the BOD to head into downtown Tazewell and parked with another group of bikes.  As we walked into the swanky restaurant, the gentleman were standing outside and asked us how we liked all those curves.  Told them we hadn't ridden yet, and they just said to be careful.  Enjoyed a crazy humongous club sandwich, then off we went!

As our tires began the coveted journey up the Back of the Dragon, I was actually surprised.  The road was NOT that challenging!  We pulled over to grab a picture or 2, and I had another ... incident :o  I choked Khaleesi TWICE!  And I've never choked her.  Again, I sort of internally panicked and thought something was wrong.  There was.  I was in 2nd gear (cue rolley eyes emoticon here).  Kicked her down into first, pulled out with no further issues, and continued our journey down the 32 miles into Marion.

My assessment of the BOD is that it is fun.  It's beautiful.  It reminds me very much of the series of roads we rode about a month ago called the Copperhead.  There were a few curves, but to my recollection, not anything under a recommended 20 mph curve.  Definitely no Tail of the Dragon.  Definitely no Devil's Triangle.  Harder than Foothills Parkway, but certainly rideable for all levels.

Our hotel in Marion was fabulous. It's called the Francis Marion and I HIGHLY recommend if you're ever in the area.  It's a charming old hotel decorated to keep the decor of the 1920's.  Rooms have actual keys.  No hideous carpet.  Hardwood floors in the rooms, and tile floors in the bathrooms.  Every room is different.  We crashed on the bed for a few minutes, changed clothes, then walked the streets looking for dinner.  Ended up choosing a pizzeria called 27 Lions and highly recommend that place too!  VERY good pizza and VERY reasonable prices.

You've reached the end of Novel #1, congrats!  Even though we were missing our boys, we also were enjoying the company of just. us.  It's been YEARS since we have had more than 24 hours completely and utterly alone.  I've said it before and I'll say it again.  I'm SO happy and excited and blessed that David and I have discovered riding motorcycles together.  It's an activity that really brings us together and it's something we totally enjoy separately as well.  Riding TOGETHER is the best, and it has enriched our lives in countless ways.  

In part 2, I reveal what is a GAME CHANGING tip that David taught me this weekend.  Tune in!