Catching up

The weekend after our epic 800 miler was a little more quiet.  The Indian dealer in Knoxville was having "Demo Days" as well as giving a free bandanna for every demo ride taken.  Now, I do not EVER want to take advantage of our local dealer.  The guys there are great, but I know no one likes a "tire kicker".  We are DEFINITELY not tire kickers, but we're also not able to spend tens of thousands of dollars, either.  David will be getting a Chieftan within the year, and whether we get it from Knoxville or not greatly depends on our interactions with the staff.  For the Demo days, you just pick any bike in the store and they let you take it out, unguided.  One time, they actually had 4 different bikes parked outside that they had READY for you to take out.  To take a demo bike, they take it down and check it, put a tag on it, and gas it up for you ... it's a lot of work!  But dang it, Indian corporate gives you free stuff as incentives for doing demo rides, so we join in the fun!  I also am for sure a future Chieftan customer ... just very, very far in the future, lol!  Which is ok ... after this weekend, I need a few thousand more miles and a couple more years on my Scout before I graduate up in size, anyway lol. 

David's beauty is in the back

Anyway, Will the salesman was happy to hook us up, and David took out his beloved blue Chieftan Limited, and I took a Dark Horse (which I am TOTALLY not interested in, black bikes bore the heck out of me).  I was able to try the bike with the Reduced seat, which I was excited about.  This was the first time David and I were able to ride Chieftans together ALONE.  He has a pretty good demo route figured out; it's different than the lead rides b/c those are supposed to be 100% right turns.  We found ourselves plenty of left ones, and fun ones at that!  There's this road right down from the dealer that has a long, twisty downhill followed by a long, twisty uphill.  Super fun!  The seat got my feet a little closer to the ground, but still not flatfooted.  I actually felt a little cramped sitting because it pulled me closer to the gas tank and put more of a bend in my knees, which I don't need in the "riding" position.  So, undecided on the Reduced seat!

48th time at the Dragon! (made that # up)

  Anyway, we pulled into a pull off to wait on a SUPER slow car to move out of the way, and it was definitely an awkward stop for me.  The bike is soooo heavy, but I was also being so super careful.  We pulled back onto the road with no issues, and I thoroughly enjoyed the light as a cat feel of the front end of the bike through the twisty road!  It actually rides lighter and more comfortable than Khaleesi due to the positively neutral, upright riding position.  My arms are in a PERFECT spot on the handlebars, I love it so much!  As we neared the end of the ride and got closer to the dealership, I had a moment of mild panic.  The shop is in a HORRIBLE spot off a HORRIBLE busy road.  If you come in needing to make a left turn, you have to go down and make a U turn to turn right into the driveway; there's no straight up left turn in.  I am DEFINITELY not ready to fire off a U turn on a busy highway on the Chieftan yet.  David had me covered, though, and we took backroads with traffic lights that put us on the highway going the proper direction to make that right back into the shop.  I was relieved to pull to a stop and have David come up and put my kickstand down for me.

2018 Bandanna

Anticipating our next Chieftan rides to be at the Demo truck in September, when there's ZERO guilt to get out and ride them!  Wow, didn't mean for this blog to turn into such a detailed account of a "test ride", but it always morphs into what it's meant to as soon as my fingers touch the keys :)  Our demo ride on Saturday was our "ride" for the day, but we did head out again once the baby went to sleep around Sevierville.  We were again going for ice cream at this cute little private store, but we got there too late.  So DQ it was!  Fun, safe ride for about 3 hours; we left out around 8:30 and got back just before midnight.  The following weekend dawned HOT.  David almost didn't even really want to ride; I talked him into it by tempting him with the Cherohala; the temp difference up there is CRAZY!  And it's south, too!  I just knew that even though it was a hot day, it would be a nice ride.

We hit the road heading south down 411, then took our usual backroads to Tellico Plains.  He had ME lead the Cherohala and he filmed it.  The first part of the ride involved a slow yellow Mustang that didn't know to MOVE OUT OF THE FREAKING WAY.  As SOON as we were able, I passed them and enjoyed the long sweeping curves of the Skyway.  And I was soooo right, it was about 15 degrees cooler. 

There were some threatening clouds hanging around, but all they did was threaten.  We made our way to The Hub in Robbinsville, NC and enjoyed lunch, then hit 129 to do the Dragon to FHP.  It was actually my first time to do the FHP after the Dragon.  I've done FHP FIRST, but never after.  And we've always stopped and taken a break.  We did stop in Deal's Gap to wander up to the Killboy store and make sure they didn't have any new stickers (they didn't) first, but then we hit the road.  And let me tell ya ... it was crazy slow.  We got stuck behind a group of riders/cars going so slow ... we actually horsed around for one of the photographers, which I NEVER do.  I told David we needed to stop, because the Dragon will bite you when you're not expecting it!  So we straightened up and focused on finishing the ride. 

I hate posting screenshots, but this is an ugly pic!  Went with my short boots due to the HEAT

Enjoyed cruising up and over the Parkway, enjoying the cooler weather up there too (although not as cool as the Skyway) then to our favorite Winery because David wasn't ready for the day to end.  Fun day!  Absolutely zero issues or problems, we completely enjoyed our time together.    I give ALL the glory to God!

That may or may not be a wine slushy!

Wishing for warm, Spring days ...

Officially a "Steel Cowgirl"

This week has dawned cold and rainy for the most part.  This weekend was looking like a complete wash, but we stayed patient, bided our time, and squeezed out a rain free ride this afternoon!

Layering up for a ride on the cool side

My sister (in-law) gave me "tattoos" of 'Khaleesi', and my aunt (in-law) gave me a bell for my birthday.  David put on the tattoos and I put on the bell.  Technically, the bell really isn't low enough on the bike, but I don't believe a talisman is going to protect me anyway; my guardian angel ALWAYS rides with me, whether on a bike, a horse, or in a car.  I put the bell on because it's cute, and it's a kichy thing with motorcycles.

"Lady Rider"

Before hitting the open road, we jetted down to one of our favorite hole in the wall Mexican restaurants and ate some yummy food. 

Motorcycles, Mexican food, and no margaritas!

We weaved our way through Maryville traffic, cussing a few idiots out along the way.  It is SHAMEFUL the way people drive.  It truly should be a requirement for schools to teach DRIVER'S ED instead of freaking Geometry in high school.  The kids should have a comprehensive, semester long class on driving.  And adults should be required to go through it again every 5 years.

Indian girl for life!

David had his GoPro to record the Foothills Parkway.  We finally made our way out past the worst of the traffic made the right hand turn onto FHP.  LOVE that road, one of my favorites.  I never get tired of it.  David let me lead, and I smoothly shifted up through the gears, keeping my hands "soft" on the grips.  My eyes sought to seek out the curves of the asphalt ribbon, and Khaleesi leaned and floated through every corner without a single bobble.

Fontana Lake

I twisted the throttle off each curve and kept her up around 50 mph through the L shaped curves.  I always have to fight myself a little bit with wanting to be a granny through the turns, it's pushing yourself out of your comfort zone that gets you to stretch and grow as a rider.

"Gremlin" Bell

I only touched my brakes 3 times the entire trip.  The third time was as we pulled up to the stop sign at the end of the road.  David kept me in the lead as I turned down 129 and then zagged onto 72.  David directed me to a right hand side road that carved through our East Tennessee countryside and came through to 411 and then down to Greenback.

Tattoos are sexy

65 miles later, we thundered back into the garage.  There is talk of maybe "gutting" my catalytic converters in my pipes.  I'm not unhappy with the power of my bike; I WOULD like it louder b/c anything for cages (cars) to hear/see us better, the BETTER.  I don't really want to drop $500+ on a set of pipes just for sound.  I have a few things on my list that I want to do to upgrade her, and once those upgrades are complete, that's it.  Any additional money spent will simply be on maintenance and clothing (Ahem, helmets, gloves, and jackets).

Sexy siblings

This coming weekend we have rides planned Friday and Saturday, weather permitting.  My weather will is STRONG, so I'm hoping I can talk God into blessing us with sun to go along with the mid 60's temps.  Right now it's looking overcast with some rain, so we'll see!

Mufasa just celebrated his one year anniversary in the Bishop household!

Daytona bike week is happening this week.  Sure do wish we could pop on down for a few days.  In the mean time, I'll be stalking all the videos and fun things going on.  Maybe next year!

Love making my bike my OWN.

Let's break it down ...

Including Sunday, FOUR RIDING DAYS this week!  Tuesday I left at 7:00 and went up and over Foothills Parkway before work.  It was a bit cool; I said BRRR!  Lol, it was a fabulous ride, NO complaints.

Foothills Parkway

Wednesday was rain, Thursday was RIDE!  It was a bit warmer; I finally broke out my mesh jacket (with the liner in it) and rode up 411 TO work, then came home Chapman Hwy to the backroads that dump me out on 321 almost to Walland.  This morning was same ride as yesterday, up 411 to work, but then afterwards David and I met up and we rode about 120 miles.

Ride #1; Cherokee, NC!

I rode 25 miles solo from work into Knoxville to meet up w/ David, and we headed out Northshore road into the "Hardin Valley" section of Knoxville.

Ride #2; Khaleesi and I tame Foothills before a way too long day at work

LOVE that area!  Great school system, nice houses, close to everything, and David had managed to find some AMAZING quiet, winding country roads with breathtaking mountain views.

Love talking bikes with my patients at work

I had never been on the majority of the roads we took today.  The temps this morning were chilly enough that my windshield/face shield/mirrors were fogging up from my breath.  Like yesterday, I was wearing just a thin "tech" layer under my mesh jacket with the liner ... BRRR!  This afternoon, however, I came out of everything except my T shirt and the jacket with OUT the liner.

Ride #3; just back and forth to work, but I didn't go home the way I came!

We twisted the throttles out towards Oak Ridge and hit an arm of "The Devil's Triangle".  We rode that SEVERAL months ago, and neither of us particularly enjoyed it.  Quite frankly, it scared me a little.  Of course, I have WAY more miles under my belt now (close to 9000), and the arm of it we did today was easy peasy.

Began and ended my day today in the dark

We ended up rolling up to a cool little log cabin restaurant called "The Golden Girls Restaurant" and enjoyed a fish dinner in Clinton.  I enjoy the few times the hubs and I can steal away together.

He rode in a T shirt up until the sun went down!

Ended up motoring along Clinton Hwy, and hit Northshore again to literally come full circle.  FABULOUS ride, had a blast!

Ride #4; about 160ish miles counting going to work and then driving out to meet up

Here is our Tail of the Dragon Video.  I was pretty pleased; my ride looks smooth and controlled.  In some stretches, I felt stiff and tense, but I try to always shake out my arms so I don't make any stupid mistakes.  It was slower than David usually leads out on, but he NEVER pressured me to ride any faster; LOVE that man!

Get ready to ride the Dragon with us!

Jen and David ride the Tail of the Dragon

Let's discuss song selection.

1.  "Thunder" by Imagine Dragons.  There is something about this song that just makes me dance and sing along EVERY time.  I just love it!

2.  "Happy Dance" by one of my favorite Christian bands, Mercy Me.  This song selection is TOTALLY self explanatory; riding is 148% my "happy dance"!!

3.  "Invincible" by Christian hard rockers Skillet.  This song is like my "fight song".  Jesus Christ is my co-rider, and He gave me the skills and the desire to ride motorcycles; when I'm flying along a curvy road, I absolutely feel INVINCIBLE.

4.  "I am Free" by my MOST favorite Christian artist, Jeremy Camp.  This song is the epitome of how I feel.  Unencumbered, unburdened, and like I can just fly.  One of the facebook comments on this video is that "It looks like she's riding to Heaven".  Gave me chills.

5.  "Stars" again by Skillet.  This song doesn't much pertain to motorcycles, and is more obviously a Christian based song, but it is just awesome.  Reminds me to pray continuously as my family is out and about not just riding, but also driving in our cars.

6.  "Lifer" again by Mercy Me.  This song is also pretty overtly Christian, but I can relate it to motorcycles because now that I'm hooked, I'm a LIFER on the bikes!

7.  "Try Everything" by Home Free.  This song is actually originally by Shakira off the Zootopia soundtrack, but I like this version better, so this is the one David put on.  SO appropriate because I like to think I'll "try anything" once!  Sometimes it's a fail, but sometimes it's a win!  Considering I dropped my bike 4 times in my MSF course, this song is SO appropriate to close out the video!

Anyway!  Sorry for the novel (as per usual).  Hope you enjoy the pics and the video!  Not much riding to be had this upcoming week with rain and colder temps back in the picture.

Happy birthday to me :)

It was SUCH an awesome weekend.  I wish I had 2 more days ... then 2 more days after that ... then 2 more ... you get the point.  Yesterday was raining and miserable, so we drug the teenager to the range and he FINALLY got to shoot for the first time.  Now ... my son has been into/out of a lot of things, and guns is one of them.  He has watched videos of how to clean them, load them, shoot them, what brands/models are for what ... he's definitely a Youtube expert on such things.  We rented a 9 mm Beretta cop issue.  He shot the first round beautifully, then the 2nd bullet jammed.  Instantly, I felt a small panic rise up inside me, but oh so calmly he ejected the bullet, lined up his next shot, and pulled the trigger.  That round fired off fine, but then the next bullet jammed.  Again, he super calmly ejected it, then shot again.  His entire "turn" went like that; fire, jam, fire, jam.  I took the gun for my turn, and same thing happened to me.  Head scratch, the range officer had no problem, and David had no problem, so I think the issue w/ Kody and I was that our wrists were moving too much.  We traded that one in for a "civillian" issue of the same gun, and had no more jamming issues.  I am so proud of Kody; he shot like he'd been doing it his whole life.  He loved it, thanked us profusely for taking him.

3 Muskateers

Today, we sent the baby with his grandparents for "their week" down in GA, and we headed off to Cherokee, NC!  We were eating at the Casino to celebrate all the fun February things; Valentine's Day, the 20 year anniversary of our engagement, and my birthday (which is next week) and the 1 year anniversary of owning Mufasa.   It just so happened that today was the first warm and non rainy day in a week, so of course we hopped on the bikes!  Khaleesi was purring like a kitten and rode as smooth as a baby's bottom.  Last week she got an oil change and a new front tire, both of which were sorely needed.

We hit 321 and rode through the National Park up and over the mountain to Cherokee.  It was a slower and uneventful ride as there really was a LOT of traffic out and about today.  We barely saw any bikes, it was 98% automobile traffic.  I swear all I have to do is look where I want to go, and Khaleesi takes me there.  Every curve felt like it was on rails, and the slower pace meant much of the ride I actually rode with one hand, b/c when I'm like that I can sit up straighter and relieve some of the pressure on my back.  All too soon we arrived at the casino and parked in the garage.  We locked our helmets and jackets to the bikes and went in to stuff our faces.

After rolling ourselves out of the casino, we decided to head back through Bryson City and down 129 to go home.  This way was a bit higher speed, as there was hardly any traffic!  I practiced holding different lines as we swept through turns at 60+ mph; it was exhilarating!  Once we got into Deal's Gap, both the resort and Killboy were closed off completely until next month; we took a super quick break, and David let me lead down the Dragon.  He was wearing his Go Pro for the first time, and he filmed me as we drove down it!  As per usual, my arms and upper back got a little tight.  I ALWAYS respect the Tail; I know there's plenty of highly experienced riders that have accidents on that road, and I never want my confidence to put me in a dangerous situation.  Thankful to God as usual, all was well and I SLAYED those 11 miles!  Despite consciously pulling my heels up in some of the steeper banked turns, I still dragged one on the ground, and as usual, that gave me a quick little scare!  It was cool watching myself drive it!  I'll post the video once we get it uploaded to Youtube.

Upon arriving home, found out my birthday present had arrived!  David bought me a Daymaker headlight for Khaleesi.  The Daymakers are the fancy LED type lights instead of the more yellowish halogen lights.  Took all of 10 minutes to install it!  Yipee!  I'm happy b/c the white light shows up a little better in the day light, and ANYTHING to make myself more visible makes me happy.  

Tuesday is supposed to be BEAUTIFUL.  It's also my later day at work.  I may just head on up and over Foothills Parkway on my way to work :D  So excited, it'll be my first day of the new year riding to work.  It's beginning to look a lot like riding season!!!

Life on two wheels; rollercoaster edition

4 bikes in the garage can only mean 1 thing ...

Today was our first time on a group ride of more than 7 or 8 bikes.  We had a LONG ride planned from Gatlinburg, over almost to Asheville, then back.  We were invited on the ride by a facebook friend I hadn't actually MET yet.  She lives in NC, and when she found out her group was going to be close, she invited us!  The MIL and FIL tagged along as well; they decided to visit us this weekend here in the motherland :D

Ever been so layered up you feel like the Stay Puft Marshmallow man??

We rose at O'Dark 30 per usual and indulged in our riding breakfast fare at the Cracker Barrel.  Drove to the meeting spot in Walland and waited for all to arrive.  A mixture of bikes pulled in, including an Indian Springfield and my friend's white Scout twin :)  We spoke to each other and introduced ourselves officially, then it was time to hit Foothills to the Tail of the Dragon.  Um ... 3/4 of the group decided to leave out before the leader led them ... and they turned the wrong way!  Ooops.  Luckily, my friend had stayed w/ us; we waited a few minutes, and when it became apparent they weren't coming back, we went on (per the ride leader.  Apparently this is not uncommon, lol).

My awesome FIL. My steel horse obsession is all HIS fault!

Foothills was its usual beautiful road.  For some reason, I was getting pelted with pea gravel.  Very annoying!  I tried to stay offset from David, but I still felt the sting once in awhile. We turned down the road that has the gnarly hills (but not the SCARY road through the Top of the World neighborhood) so we could avoid the rest of the FH traffic.

10+ times down the Dragon safe and sound!

I tried to "warm up" in prep for the Dragon.  I just never know how it's going to feel.  I always do fine, but sometimes the curves just feel jerky or hard.  David actually cranked down on my clutch cable and tightened it up; my shifting now felt smoother, but my handle is tighter!  I also had to relearn my friction zone b/c it engages further out now.  I did well though, didn't stall her or anything :)  I shook my head, loosened up my shoulders, and opened and closed my hands a few times as we rolled our way down the mountain and to the start of the 319 curves in 11 miles.

Twinning!

We pulled off to check phones for signals/text msgs since there still was no sign of the other 8 or so bikes.  After a few minutes, we did a bit of a shoulder shrug and went on since everyone knew we'd be stopping at Deal's Gap.  David was behind my friend on her white Scout with me behind him on MY white Scout.  The ride down into NC was absolutely picture perfect.  It was one of the best Dragon traverses I've done; today made time 10 or 11 I've ridden it in the 4 months I've been riding motorcycles.  It could also be a case of practice makes perfect?  Lol, I don't know, but Khaleesi rolled through the curves and the dips on the perfectly banked and well paved road without a single hiccup or botched line.  I didn't touch either of the painted lines, and it seemed super quick that it was all of a sudden over :(

Girl Scout and Khaleesi

We were parked for about 3 or 4 minutes, and we saw the rest of the group motor down the hill and into the parking lot, yay!   After shopping at the Killboy store like normal, we hit Moonshiner 28 and took "the long way" to Robbinsville.  We were at the back of the pack since our little group was the new comers, so the ride was a bit slower than we were accustomed to.  It wasn't a bad ride by any means, just different.  The group had split off again; the front half going on with cars getting in between.  We found a gas station once we got to Robbinsville and figured out the restaurant to eat at.  It took a while for all of us to get our food, and by the time WE got ours, most everyone else was finished.  The ride leader decided to shorten the ride since their group had a LONG ride the day before; just to hit 129 from where we were and go back the way they came, up the Dragon.  We decided to veer off on our own; I LOVE the Cherohala, and wanted to ride it.

All of us female Dragon Slayers today!

We'd shed a few layers by the time we started up the 15 mph switchbacks.  As the road climbed in elevation, we began to get chilly!  Pulled off to add a layer back on, then we got in the rhythm.  I literally felt like I was on a rollercoaster!  Khaleesi felt smooth, rhythmic, and took every curve beautifully.  I was doing a great job turning my head and looking through my turns, and the bike was just following.  I'm also doing better with the whole pat my head/rub my stomach!  ie; downshifting and applying brakes without just holding in the clutch the whole time!  With David back in the lead, he rolled nice and hard coming out of the curves, and I stayed right there with him.  By the time the 20+ breathtaking miles were completed, we were back down into lower elevations and now warm again.  Re-lost our layers, then hit 411 back home.

The Cherohala Sky Coaster!

We had tentative plans to hit the Mystery Dinner ride for this month, but David was suffering from a sinus attack, and the wind was just killing us.  We decided to cash in our poker chips and call it a day.

Our entire crew at lunch time!  3 Indians, 3 Kawasakis, a Spyder, a Harley, 3 Hondas, and 2 Yamahas

GREAT ride with zero issues.  No awkward turns or curves or herky-jerky maneuvers.  In laws stayed up with us, and they had a great ride too.  Thankful a "virtual" friend reached out to become an "actual" friend.  I'll definitely call her next time we're up in her area!  Her bike, Girl Scout, treats her just as well as Khaleesi treats me :)  We love our Indians!

This baby can't WAIT to ride on his first ride!

Not sure what this week holds.  Hurricane Irma is bearing down on FL, GA, and even TN!  So most likely it will be a week of a Parked Motorcycle.  My prayers are with all my friends and family over the next few days!