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!

Feeling overwhelmed!

I haven't blogged lately ... because I've been lazy.  Now, I'm feeling overwhelmed with all of the riding to tell of!!  I feel like I've forgotten so much already, I wish I had everything on a GoPro that I could just vlog; I feel like that would be easier.  Oh well, one ride at a time!

274 miles of awesomeness!

The next weekend was FINALLY the trip I've been waiting for!  Rock Island State Park.  I don't know why I was so anxious to get out there; I think just because I've seen pictures, and the place looks amazing.  Saturday dawned warm and cloudy, but nothing too threatening.  We ate at a little mom and pop shop that's quickly becoming a favorite when we're heading out 411S; the Lampost Restaurant.  HUGE omelettes, good coffee, and quick, country service.  We headed out familiar roads through Madisonville, Athens, and then we basically just took Hwy 30 all the way to Rock Island.  It's a cute little town, VERY quiet.  The best thing about Tennessee State Parks is they're all free; which, when you're stopping for gas every 100 miles for 2 motorcycles, is nice not to have to dish out for EVERY little thing.

The roads into the park are like the ones heading into all of them.  A little curvy, small, and not in the best of shape with lots of "tar snakes" running through them.  David navigated us into the main entrance, and we parked right up front.  WOW.  The falls are gorgeous ... AND we didn't have to walk much!  Once David and I both have our Chieftans, walking won't be a problem; we can pack shorts and a change of shoes in the saddlebags!  But as long as my bike has no storage, and one of his is compromised by a cooler, there's not much else that can be squeezed into one saddlebag!  We got back on the bikes and took some of the roads looking for other views; David just KNEW there were some "bigger" falls somewhere, it was just a matter of finding them.

After several failed attempts to see them, David used his Human GPS skills to figure out we needed to actually leave the park and drive around about 15 mins to another end.  So we did!  It was a fun challenge; I was finally feeling a little less shaky.  We took off down a tiny road that seemed like it almost wanted to become gravel, but it didn't ... JACKPOT!  The big falls are spectacular, and soooo worth looking for!  We did hike down the stairs so we could get a little closer; got lots of pics.

Leaving out, we took Hwy 70 which is touted as being the FIRST state highway and runs from Memphis to Bristol.  It has long stretches of interstate like roads, long stretches of 55 mph 2 lanes, and some curvy sections that are TIGHT!  I had some teeth gritting moments and David pulled ahead of me pretty good in a few places.  We were chasing rain again and the some sections of the road in the curvy parts were so soaked, I just got in my head again and went way slower than I probably needed to.  We rode right into Knoxville and had dinner at our favorite Moe's Original BBQ (which we did NOT know was in Knox!  Thought we had to drive all the way to Chatt for it!) and took Alcoa Hwy home.  Not one single tire on interstate the entire trip.  David prides himself on that!  It was a very pleasant day with no issues or problems at all
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This is RIGHT inside the park entrance

Spring behind "Spring Castle"

The Lamp Post.  EAT THERE!

Motorcycles and waterfalls

The dam is right here

My baby doing what he does best!

Love getting the bikes with signs

2 peas

Riding the Cherohala Low Way!

Wow.  Yesterday was something else; 440 miles total, combined rides.  And ALL for a cheap little "multi-tool" with the Indian Motorcycle logo on it!

I had been pushing since Wednesday to do a "long" ride on Saturday.  Rain all week was pop up showers, which had prevented me from ANY work rides.  I keep having a hankering to ride out to Rock Island State Park, which is out in the general area of all the other little state parks we've been to.  But then Indian Motorcycle of Marietta had to post their little poster on facebook that not only were they doing the IMC "multi-tool", but they were also doing a key chain.  Soooo, we HAD to head down that way to get both!!

City of Knoxville at midnight

The morning dawned WET.  Lovely clouds, wet roads, and dry people!  We took our 3rd Muskateer with us; he's undecided whether or not he really enjoys the longer rides.  I think he comes along for the food!  We hit trusty 'ol 411 S down to the Ocoee area, where we then hit Hwy 68.  We just took it easy, as the roads were wet enough to be kicking up water and wetting the bottom of our pants.  We went through Suches, which we coined "The Cherohala Low Way".  Dang, that would be a FUN ride on a dry road.  Twists, curves, and twisty little easier switchbacks going DOWNHILL.  Plus, on Hwy 68, we've come UP that way twice, but never down.  Totally different experience going DOWN. 

Barely missing a downpour

I was still shaking off my shakiness.  I have been reassured that my tire is just fine; that back one will be replaced within about another 1000 miles (which, at the rate we're going, will be about a month).  For some weird reason, I'm just in my head.  I don't know why.  I tried to analyze it as I'm riding, and I think I'm downshifting/upshifting in the wrong place in curves, and when I accelerate after the shift, it messes up my trajectory.  I've just gotten in a BAD habit of shifting period IN a curve, and you're supposed to be all set BEFORE the curve.  So, with that self diagnosis in place, I made a conscious effort to fix it, and I THINK it got better.  Once we got down the mountain, there weren't too many more curvy, curvy roads.

Love having our buddy with us

We stopped off at a hiking spot in Suches to stretch, use the potty, and take a pic, and we had NO idea how lucky we actually were!  We'd hit enough rain to that point to have to close our face shields, but it wasn't enough to soak through anything; no soaked thighs.  Like I said, lower legs up to knees were wet, but that was mainly because the road was so wet there were standing puddles.  As we pulled out and began the roller coaster, curvy descent, you could tell a SOAKER had just come through, WOW!

We were uneventful down in to Dahlonega, GA.  It has been forever and a DAY since I've been there.  It is so interesting driving through areas on a motorcycle that you were used to driving through 7+ years ago in a cage.  We hit GA 400 up north to head into Alpharetta, and we just HAPPENED to see our lunch destination on our left; The Varsity.  We had no idea Dawsonville had gotten a Varsity; we were planning to hit the one in Kennesaw.  Whipped a U turn at a light, and enjoyed a delicious lunch of chili dogs and onion rings from a famous Atlanta iconic destination.

Areas not been in in a LONG time!

"What'll you have, what'll you have??"

From there, it was to Indian Motorcycle of Alpharetta, where I ended up schooling one of the employees, lol.  We loved their logo, which is why we even bothered to stop there in the first place (aside from we'd just never been there!).  As we checked out with our "dealer" T-shirts (with the cool logo on the back), the employee said he had no idea why their logo incorporated a train.  Um, hello!  The Polaris take on the Indian Chieftan fairing is BASED off the front end of a locomotive!  So I informed him of that little fact;)  On to Marietta!

Seriously?  Why the train?

We took back roads from Alpharetta to Marietta that I hadn't been on in SO long.  Certain areas were unrecognizable, it's crazy!  We dodged more rain, and finally the skies seemed to really clear up.  By the time we arrived, it was 3:00; 7 hours on the road.  We needed to get in a small hurry b/c the teenager had a party back home at 7 he wanted to attend.  We went in and they still have their race inspired Chieftan; oh, how I LOVE that bike!  When I win the lottery, I will get one, then have Jared Mees autograph it!!  The guys at Indian of Marietta really are awesome.  Super nice, very knowledgeable, and up front with all of their customizable options. 

Lottery bike!

We hit the Interstate up to Emerson; I-75.  Blech!  Crazy Atl drivers ... AND a Braves game.  Driving 80-90 mph on the interstate doesn't bother me at all, but all the stupid cars and idiot drivers make me hold my breath.  My windshield has made ALL the difference in the world, and my bike feels nice and steady at speed with no more head buffeting at all.  We filled up for gas for about the 400th time, then took backroads all the way to Calhoun.  In Calhoun, we hit a NEW road we'd just found in the car, Hwy 225.  It was fun; that area is just beautiful and peaceful.  Not too curvy, but not much traffic either.  That ended back on 411 just below the GA/TN border, and we took 411 home (dropping the teenager off an hour and a half late for his party).  My butt was SORE, lol.  And my glove was rubbing a spot on my clutch hand; and my hands were sweaty b/c these gloves don't breathe.  So I rode with naked hands for a few miles :)  And it got warm enough that I stripped ALL the way down to a Dri-Fit tank top, and my mesh jacket.  Felt pretty good!  Started with the tank top, T shirt, long sleeved technical pullover, and mesh jacket with liner.  Thank goodness David has saddlebags, lol!

First time seeing one of these in person; WEIRD!

Rest stop!

You THINK this story is over now, don't you?  Haha, NOPE!  We hopped in the car, went to the grocery store, stopped to get dinner, then sat at home for about 45 mins.  We then suited back up at 10:30 to get back on the bikes to go pick up the kid ... AND HE WANTED TO GO HOME.  Dropped him off, then David and I thundered off alone ... in the dark ... to who knows WHERE.  We took back roads over to Chapman Hwy, then into downtown Knoxville.  More traffic than I would have expected.  We rode over a bridge and looked to our left to see another bridge that was lit up so pretty; so we tossed in a U turn ... on a HILL ... to go back and get some pics.  By that time, we were so sore and exhausted, we made our way back home.  We rolled into the garage around 12:30. 

Just a pair of crazy kids!

Our longest mileage ride so far.  I don't think we've rolled over 400 in one day at all yet, even on our 2 overnighters.  Iron Butts, we do NOT have!  I can't wait for my Mustang seat to break in; it's really not that comfortable yet.  I still need handlebars and floorboards for my baby before those long rides can be done with no Ibuprofen, lol.  Happy to say ZERO issues.  No sliding stops, no close calls, no drama.  That's what I call a "SUCCESS".  Until next weekend!  Y'all have a great week.

Beautiful!  Never seen this park before!

#drivingthebaby

Last year, I coined a hashtag; #drivingthebaby.  I had JUST gotten my first ride on my FIL's bike and I was hooked; my MIL needed David to ride her bike up to our house due to them wanting to come up and ride the mountains, but she was going to have to drive up, blah blah.  So David had her bike, and he, Kody, and the FIL all rode bikes out to eat ... and I had to drive Colton.  Lol, I felt kind of sorry for myself :D  My sweet MIL has unfortunately had a fall roller skating and broke her clutch arm; so no riding for the summer :(  But it did mean that today she was able to transport the little man so that the boys and I could get in a little wind therapy this mother's day weekend!

Firstly, last weekend was International Ride Day.  Thunderstorms were in the forecast for TN, so I did not ride at ALL.  Turns out, the rain pretty much held off all day, so I was a little bummed, but I'd already planned a Sunday ride so I wasn't too upset.  Sunday, David led me down south to Chattanooga where I met up with 2 facebook friend motorcycle chicks!  I LOVE all the motorcycle groups I'm a member of, because how else would I have met these awesome ladies?  One of them shares my exact name, and the other shares my bike, so what's not to love??  David went off on his own while me and the 2 ladies took a girl ride back up towards my way to eat lunch at this sweet little country restaurant.  It was a great ride!  I stayed in my preferred "drag" location, and it is always fun riding with another Scout.  We will definitely ride again, it was a great ride and great company :)

My excitement for the week was on my #curvesbeforecoffee ride on Tuesday morning!  I took my usual 129 towards the Dragon, then turn to Foothills Parkway, then down 321 into Seymour to work.  Thus far, I've encountered large birds, turkey (I think turkey is ALSO classified as a large bird), and deer.  Tuesday, I encountered my first BEAR!  Talk about make your heart stop!  I was beginning a long uphill, and saw it to my left, on the side of the road.  My head was saying, "Um, that looks like a bear", but my I told myself I was seeing things.  Then, I got closer, and saw that yes, it was a LARGE BEAR!  I got a shot of adrenaline that made my feet go numb; I let off the throttle and downshifted, unsure if the instincts of the bear would cause to to come towards me, or what.  Fortunately, as  I got closer, it turned and ran into the woods.  So very cool!

This weekend, we had no plans to ride.  My inlaws came up, and David talked them into going with us to my mother's day breakfast in Pigeon Forge, then to the Indian dealership to see the Wall of Death show.  By talking them into tagging along, he talked them into transporting the baby!  It was a great day, had such a blast.  Everyone loved the show, so glad we went!

I'm not sure what's going on with me, but I'm experiencing some weird riding feels.  I almost wonder if my tires are causing me to experience some strange wobbles, because my confidence is a little shaky ever since I stopped in the middle of that corner.  I mean, I'm riding fine, but I feel like all of a sudden I'm having trouble setting up my left hand curves to be nice and smooth, it's really WEIRD.  But my back tire, even though it still has good tread, has developed almost like a ridge on the sides of the tire, like a sharp edge.  It's really strange, hard to describe.  I wonder if that's making me feel this ever so slight instability that's affecting my brain.  Also, I feel like the bike's having a hard time finding the lower gears sometimes; almost like the my clutch cable needs to be adjusted.  May be time for a shop service!

I FINALLY rode David's bike!  Even though it's "smaller" than the Scout, in reality it's bigger!  It's wider, heavier, and bulkier all the way around which is what combines to intimidate me, NOT power.  He pulled it out yesterday, so I ran in and put on my boots with my yoga pants, then hopped on and ran around the neighborhood.  I did fine!  Felt shaky through the U turns in the cul de sacs, but that's because I'm an overthinker and don't just go full throttle in a new activity!  Didn't put my feet down until I pulled back in front of the house :D  Just training for when David gets his Chieftan and he lets me ride it!!

Anyway!  Not planning to ride tomorrow as it has gone from too chilly to ride without 5 layers to HOT.  Colton goes next week for his "Grandparents' week", so hopefully we can plan something longer; maybe to Rock Island State Park!  I just have to "inception" that idea into David's head over the next week ;)  Hoping to ride my 2 days to work this week, hope all y'all enjoy!

So much more than just curves before coffee!

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!

FLICKR ALBUM

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.

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