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!

2nd Saturday

How our day begins, always!

2nd Saturday dawned early again.  Not AS early as the previous day, though :)  Our goal destination was Bell Buckle, TN to the RC Cola and Moonpie festival!  Who even knew that was a thing?  Now we do!  Bell Buckle is southwest, towards Murfreesboro and not far outside Nashville.  Now, you'd think since it's in the same state that it's not that far, but it's a solid 3 hour and change ride for us.  Of course, that's taking mostly interstate, and in a cage which can be filled up once and done.  My SIL and FIL came to the house on Friday to stay over so she could drive the boys to the festival.  We would have had to taken 2 cars regardless since there was 6 of us, so David and I took the bikes!  No rain in the forecast, why not?

We set out due west on our freshly gassed up bikes and our still tender rears feeling refreshed from a good night's sleep and a cold shower.  We took Hwy 60 most of the way there, and it was actually really fun!  No rain this time, and the road is an interesting mix of higher speed straightaways and tight curvy 35 mph sections.  David and I dug in on the curves and twisted those throttles with sheer abandon, leaving the boys (and my beautiful SIL) in the dust!  As we thundered closer to the tiny town square, the GPS sent us down some small back roads which were GREAT.  Some gravel to be leery of, but we always ride with heads on a swivel, and eyes on every possible obstacle.  I was still feeling wonderful, eons more comfortable, feeling very much 'back to normal'.  As we entered the town square, Khaleesi's fan turned on and blew a whined protest of hot air on me as we rode in FIRST GEAR behind a line of traffic.  She does NOT care for slow speeds on a hot day.

We found a church parking lot to duck into and I patted myself on the back for packing a change of clothes in the SIL's car.  Um, that was until I attempted to change in the car, lol!  I exchanged my jeans for yoga capris that was having a VERY hard time pulling over my sweaty legs :D  Oops.  Got them pulled up enough to be decent, slid on my flip flops, then got out of the car so I could do the "yank up your pants to proper positioning" dance.  We were sporting our new Dri Fit IMRG T's, so that part was great.  Exchanged the helmet for a ball cap and off we went!

The festival was cute.  But it was too dang hot ... and there were a LOT of people crammed into a tight place.  The moonpies were melting, and I didn't even want an RC Cola, I wanted ice water.  We will DEFINITELY ride the bikes back to Bell Buckle in the future, but I don't think we'd do the festival again unless it moved to late Fall.  We decided to leave and head towards Chattanooga since the MIL had met us at the festival, and that was the way she needed to go to head back home to GA.  What's convenient to Chattanooga and Bell Buckle?  Lynchburg!  What's in Lynchburg?  The Jack Daniel's Distillery!

I made a last minute decision to leave on the yoga pants, and changed my flip flops for my boots.  I was glad I'd decided to wear the tall boots!  And no, there's no photographic proof!  Topped my T shirt with a 1/4 zip SUPER light weight LS shirt; it's just less heavy than the mesh jacket and allows more air on such a hot, humid day.  I know the LS wouldn't provide much more protection than a T shirt, but my goal was not to get sunburned.  I was wearing my Fox ATV gloves that are 20 years old b/c my motorcycle gloves I got a few months ago are useless in weather that's too cold or too hot; the temps have to be between 65-75 to ride comfortably in those.  The ATV gloves are very comfortable in high temps; they're just old and falling apart w/ not as much cushioning on my knuckles to absorb the vibrations of the throttle.  I'd rather my hands breathe though, so there it was!

We made our way out to Lynchburg.  BEAUTIFUL town!  You could probably talk me into living there, it's very peaceful.  The distillery smelled awful, though!  I'm not sure what it was.  David and I were STOKED to get motorcycle parking right up front.  We walked through the museum for free; we couldn't do any of the tours because of 2 underage children!  That was fine though, we were just there to visit the place b/c it's a Tennessee icon.  I've actually never even tried so much as a single shot of JD; it just smells nasty lol :D  We were getting hungry by this point; our appetites had been fairly low just due to the HEAT.  We opted to hop on the Interstate for the fastest route to Chattanooga, and wouldn't you know the skies would open up and God would rain down a massive thunderstorm?  We darted off to sit under an awning for a few minutes, then just decided to go on.  I was uncomfortable; riding in the rain is not my favorite thing.  We pulled the face shields down and went with it.  Some areas of the interstate had huge puddles of water, so we just navigated carefully through those.  Soon enough, the rain stopped and by the time we arrived in downtown, we were completely dry.  It's amazing how that hot sun will suck the wet right out of ya!

OK, so maybe there IS photographic evidence, lolol!

Switched back to my flipflops in the parking lot, and we ate at Puckett's.  Very good food, they talked us into their drink of the day.  It was sooooo good, smelled way better than whiskey!  We walked for a few minutes over to the little water areas in front of the aquarium, just enjoying our family time.  The boys got in and got a little wet; I was SO grateful to have the chance to spend time with my family AND ride the bikes.  Best of both worlds!

Just a boy and his Pawpaw

You can almost see all of us!

My yoga pants were now sweaty and wet from the water, so I changed back into my jeans!  The ride home was a blur; we stayed off the interstate and took back roads up.  Total mileage for the day was 400, making out 2 day total 800ish miles.  That was our biggest yet!  Someday we'll do an epic riding vacation with a few thousand miles, but that will be either after my Scout is set up a little better, or after I get my Chieftan!  Sunday was a quiet day spent at home.  I thank God for blessing our family with the desire and the ability to own/ride motorcycles.  I thank my FIL for taking me on my first ride and beginning my addiction!  I especially thank God for the safety on the road, and I pray for His continued blessings in that department.  Looking forward to many, many more adventures on 2 wheels!

How our day ended.  So blessed!

Life at 14,067

Foothills Parkway

So, just thought I'd interject a little "side" blog in between ride documentation.  The title of this post is where I'm at, mileage wise.  I've owned my bike for 1 year and 2 1/2 months.  We have a few "big" rides planned this month, so maybe I'll be at 15K by 8-1.  Thought I'd share a few gems I've picked up during my time on the bike, and also update the Scout Sixty at 14,000 miles!

I don't spend hours cleaning my bike, but I never let her go dirty either!

1.  I ALWAYS prefer long sleeves when riding, especially in the summer.  I'd like to find some nice ATV jersey type clothes for the REALLY hot days.  Those w/ just a sports bra are nice.  Downfall is they DO blow around a lot, and on a longer ride, that can irritate my neck a little.  I was digging the 1/4 zip dri fit long sleeved shirts, but I've discovered that whether they're zipped or not, the wind blows them into my neck and it's VERY irritating.  My way favorite way of riding on a hotter day is a dri fit tank top w/ the bra built in, and my mesh jacket.  The mesh jacket is just perfect; it's heavy so it doesn't blow UP, it's perforated so the wind flows right through it and it doesn't flap around my arms/body/neck, and it has a small mock collar so my neck doesn't get sunburned at ALL.  The downfall to the mesh jacket is that it's heavier than a jersey, so on those really hot and humid days I feel like I'm suffocating when sitting still.  Moving down the road is fine, but if we stop to get water or walk around, when I go to put the jacket back on, it actually sticks to the sweat on my arms and it's uncomfortably hot.

2.  I always prefer to wear gloves when riding.  I've tried going naked handed, and I've tried the fingerless gloves.  I found a nice pair of Fly riding gloves that are nice and stretchy and lightweight enough that my hands don't sweat in them on a hot day.  I prefer the padding in the knuckles to keep the vibration in my hands down, plus I have seen a pic of a lady that had a super slow speed fall take off the top part of her index finger WITH THE GLOVES!  I'd' hate to know how badly she would have been injured with NO or fingerless ones.  Safety first!

All the gear, even in summer

3.  A full face helmet is hot.  There's just no getting around it.  But after seeing a facebook friend dealing with a busted nose/mouth after a slow speed fall on gravel ... full face it is!  I may invest in a modular in the future so I can drink water on the quick.  I also may just invest in a camelback water pack, but I hate wearing a backpack if I don't have to.

4.  Anyone without many thousands of miles under their belt should definitely get out and ride solo.  To me, solo means just me and the bike, no friends/riding partners.  It's a GREAT chance to work out any biomechanical problems you may be dealing with, and it's great practice working on reading the road on your own.  Many less experienced riders do ride in front of their riding partner, but I prefer riding in the back.  I find that I spend a lot of time watching the hubs' lane positioning and his lines through the curves instead of riding my own.  If you've followed my blog at all, you know I've suffered w/ a little bit of jerkiness and a lack of smoothness on mainly my left hand curves.  I've worked out that it was a combination of not seeing well over the top of my new windshield, and today I realized that I lean differently to the left, which is contributing to the jerky curves.  I have a fairly pronounced scoliosis S curve in my back, and it's easy to curve my back to the left as I go right, but I STILL curve my back left as I go left and it's messing w/ my trajectory.  Riding solo gives me the chance to go a little slower and play with lean angles, counter steering, and sitting up vs sitting back, etc.  I feel like I have figured out a few things this week!  I've ridden approximately 240 solo miles since Monday, and I'm READY for whatever we choose to do this weekend!

The lake next to the Tail of the Dragon

5.  The Scout.  Oh, how I love my Khaleesi!  I'm excited and proud to say I've gotten to test out the "heavyweight" bikes now, and I can definitely give some updates to my "A beginner's view on the Indian Scout".
     A.  The size.  I have absolutely gotten myself into what I consider 'worst case' scenarios while out riding here in E. TN and the surrounding areas.  Steep stop signs with off camber hills, gravel, pot holes, debris, traffic lights on steep hills, etc.  I have been SO grateful that I can flatfoot my bike, and if I have a bit of a hard stop I haven't dropped it (since that one time when it still had the drive out tag!).  The size and weight of the Chieftan scares me.  It feels exceptionally heavy when wedging into a tight spot that's not flat (pulled into a pulloff on our last demo ride) and if it's on the slightest incline towards the kickstand, I can NOT heft it off.  I'm sure that will come with time, but in the 3 times I've ridden the Chieftan, I've had to have help picking it up twice.
    B.  The reachability of everything.  I have a small reach.  My hands are not big and my legs are not long.  I have NO problems with the clutch, the shift/brake lever, or the turn signals.  I just have standard everything.  I demo'd a Scout set up w/ reduced reach, and the ONLY thing I liked was the reduced reach handlebars!  I am dying for a set of those. I think they will be soooo much more comfortable.  I hated the reduced seat and foot controls, the seat pushed me up on the gas tank, and the foot controls were so tight I felt like I kept missing the brake lever.  LOVED the reduced reach seat on the Chieftan.  I still can't flatfoot the bike, but it does drop me down closer and push me more towards the tank, which on THAT one, is good.  It puts more of a bend to me knee when riding, which I don't necessarily need, but you can't be too picky!  The kickstand on Khaleesi is just right, it's intuitively there.  I have not been able to put down or up the kickstands on ANY of the big bikes I've tried.  I've ridden 3 Chieftans, and 2 Springfields.  Every time, someone has had to get it for me.  I just can NOT reach it, no matter how hard I try!
    C.  Long term comfort.  My comfort zone is 200-300 mile stretches at the time.  My back and butt get very tired.  The Mustang solo seat for me IS more comfortable than the stock seat on the 'lady parts', but it puts more pressure on my seat bones.  My old gel pad I bought for the MIL's Shadow passenger pillion has worked well with the Mustang seat, no hot spots on my seat bones.  It puts more pressure back on the 'lady parts', but not nearly as bad as the stock seat.  Maybe a Corbin seat would be better, I don't know ... or the narrow seat from Indian.  Unfortunately, I don't have an unlimited budget to just buy things to throw on it.  Maybe some day!  My back is sooo tired b/c of the forward positioning.  David has rotated the bars back and that's helped, but I can't wait to ride w/ the RR, where I can sit up totally straight.  If my arms were longer, that would be better, but again ... short.
    D.  The windshield.  That dang stock windshield is HORRIBLE!  A waste of $449 in my opinion.  The buffeting was so bad, it made the bike feel unstable at higher interstate speeds.  I have 2 different full face helmets, and the buffeting was just as bad for both, so NOT the helmet!  I switched to the Freedom Shield and it has made a world of difference.  The bike is steady, stable, and I can even ride now w/ my Indian face shield on my Indian helmet up w/out being 'rigged' to stay up.  W/ the stock shield, the faceshield on my Indian helmet would crash shut at speeds above 30 mph.  Now, I can ride on the interstate at 80+ mph and the helmet shield stays up on its own.  I even got so desperate for it to stop, I took off my windshield and rode w/ a naked bike.  Never again!  Even though I love the look, the wind got up under my helmet and lifted it up to the point that I felt like I was being hanged.  No bueno!
    E.  Reliability.  I've replaced both stock tires, and had 2 oil changes.  So far, so good!  No issues at all to speak of.  I hate to jinx anything, but all stock parts have performed just as expected, very pleased!
    F.  Performance.  STILL love the bike like whoa.  I have been up and down the Tail of the Dragon literally too many times to count any more.  We've done the Cherohala Skyway about 4 or 5 times, the Blue Ridge Parkway 3 or so times, the Rattler 4 or 5 times, the Devil's Triangle in its entirety twice, etc.  I've ridden so many named roads, it's crazy!  That bike is a dream through this terrain.  Power to spare, plenty of get up and go for the high speed roads, and handles switchback turns with ease.  I can negotiate crazy steep roads without a care in the world b/c David taught me the 'clutch sweet spot' trick, and I love only having 5 gears vs. 6 b/c it's less decision making!  Haven't run out of gas despite the lack of a fuel gauge b/c I keep an eye on the tripodometer.  I've done as long as 150 miles between fuel stops, but tend to let 120 be the max distance.  I have had problems starting it if I'm at 120 miles, or if the low fuel light is on b/c of the way the fuel injection works, but I was told a trick to try next time that happens.  (un)Fortunately, I haven't had the starting problem since I was told the trick b/c I've kept it gassed up as much as possible, lol!

New 2018 bandana

I don't know what else I can say!  I'm proud of ever mile I've ridden.  Hoping that we can swing getting David his Chieftan before the year is up, and that he will trust me to take it on a ride to work on a Tuesday.  Maybe I can get him to switch w/ me for that day so he can help me with the kickstand, lol!  I also will 100% own a Chieftan, but right now that's in the "someday" category.  Let's just say w/in 10 years!  I will never trade or sell Khaleesi, she's mine forever.  I will keep her in the family for the rest of my days.  Just have floorboards, the RR bars, and the Maverick Krusher slip on exhaust pipes left to get for her.  She currently has an updated LED headlight from Eagle lights, the Mustang solo seat, and the Freedom windshield.  I look forward to the experience I gain w/ every mile I ride, and I pray it's always safe and uneventful!  Thanks for reading :)

Game changer for those of us with no saddlebags!!

Let's discuss sunscreen and riding position!

The weekend following our KY trip was hot.  I don't even remember what we did on Saturday (I think ... sat on the couch).  Saturday night we decided to head into Pigeon Forge for ice cream once the baby went to bed.  It is a very interesting experience riding the mountain in the DARK.  We took 321 into Townsend and took Wears Valley Road into Pigeon Forge.  Wears Valley road has some tight 25 mph twisties and one 15 mph uphill right hand switchback turn.  We were stuck behind a SLOW car; it almost makes the turns harder when you're SO slow you feel like you're struggling just to stay upright. 

Late night ice cream

After imbibing, we hit the connector between PF and Gatlinburg, then headed to the bypass so we could view the city at night.  Gorgeous!  Came home through the national park which is ALWAYS a fun time.  I had a few moments STILL; made some VERY rough turns; visibility was my issue.  It had rained and we hit some wet roads, just was feeling very not trustworthy.  Got back home at 11:45 pm; did about 100 miles.

Gatlinburg at 11:00

The following weekend, I was able to get a last minute day off on Friday, AKA First Saturday!  I found my gel pad I'd bought ages ago and decided to try it on my Mustang seat; I've self diagnosed my problem as visibility issues in general.  My Freedom Shield is just a hair too tall for me, and I've been struggling with looking through it vs looking over it.  I can see through it just fine, but my brain keeps saying I need to look over, so I keep shifting and changing positions to try and crane my neck to look up and over.  That gel pad lifts me up about 1/2 an inch and now it's pretty much perfect!  I still have that little bit of leeway for when I get my reduced bars, but I can see over it w/out feeling like I'm struggling.

Gearing up for a nice night ride

We woke up prior to 5:00 am so that we could get our butts down to Helen, GA by 8:45 am to join the Middle Tennessee IMRG's rally 'The Gathering'.  They were doing a group ride over "The Gauntlet" which is one of our map rides that we haven't gone on yet.  The Gauntlet is similar to The Copperhead in the sense that it's not just one named road, it's several roads that when you ride them all connected, you've done the "named ride".  I always prepare for my summer rides with sunscreen on my upper torso (the spray kind) and specific face sunscreen for my face (lotion).  I also utilize baby powder and diaper rash cream!  Learned those tricks being at the barn and riding horses in the summertime.  Dressed in a Dri fit tank top, a T shirt, a super light dri fit 1/4 zip long sleeved shirt, and my mesh jacket with the liner in it.  At 5:30 in the morning, the air still has that chilly factor since the sun hasn't come out yet.

Surrounded by fantastic machines!

Our ride down consisted of roads we both haven't traveled, and others we had only been on once or twice.  There was one moment where David's angel protected him PERFECTLY.  We were riding with speed, but also with caution; I saw the deer to the left and JUST as the word left my mouth, it leaped across the road.  David saw it, locked the bike down, kept it upright as the back wheel fishtailed, and the deer was gone.  I saw it with enough notice that I had backed off and barely even had to touch my brakes.  Thank you, Jesus.

We arrived in Helen perfectly on time, and my heart was RACING as we took in all the beautiful Indian motorcycles.  I have NEVER seen so many in one place!  It was a huge group, easily 50+ bikes.  My heart was excitedly pumping as we took it all in.  Quickly left and filled up at a nearby gas station for $3.59 per gallon!  Ouch!  Helen has been the victim of some torrential rain and the Victory Motorcycle rally was literally flooded out.  Thank goodness we were only filling up motorcycles and not the truck!  We got back to the group, hung out for the "announcements" and the prayer, then we mounted up.  We hadn't decided where to get in; I told David I felt it best just to let the ones in a hurry go ahead and take off, then when things slowed down, we jump in.  We did exactly that.  The bike we were going to get behind actually fell down at the start, so we ended up leaving out ahead of them.  We chose perfectly.  As we roared through the wonderfully curvy roads following about 30 bikes, I felt like our speed was just perfect.  As we continued down the road, the bikes behind me all fell away; about 20 of them.  We pushed through to the scheduled gas stop, and we snagged a snack, but no gas as the plan was to leave the group and head back north after the food stop.

Lining up at the 'fuel stop'

As we were getting ready to leave, the 2nd half of the group finally pulled in.  We experienced the "accordion" affect as we headed to the restaurant.  Caught up to the bikes ahead during the curves, then got on the gas and raced to keep up on the straightaways.  Again, all the bikes behind me slowly disappeared and we had an AWESOME ride to the Lodge.    I am VERY proud to say that some of the more experienced riders in the group were quite impressed I only had a year of experience, as we were riding with "Definitely not the slow group"! 

New earned swag

As we conversed with different riders, we realized that they had some awesome Dri Fit T shirts with the IMRG logo on them that we really wanted ... and they were back in Helen at the hotel ... so we decided to go ahead and complete the ride, especially since we were having a great ride and enjoying ourselves.  Ate a yummy buffet style lunch at the Copperhead Lodge, got us a new sticker, then decided on the "long" ride back which was being stressed as "Very curvy and Dragon-like".  I feel like one or 2 of the riders that knew I have only been riding a year stressed that fact; that we were going to be getting into some VERY curvy roads.  My response?  See all those stickers on my bike?  Those are all the roads I've ridden; multiple times!  I'm sure I'll be fine.  And fine I was!

About 30 beautiful Indian motorcycles!

We were JUST getting into the rhythm of  the curves when we overwhelmed a small motor lodge with drinks/snacks/chairs.  I have no idea why we decided to stop so soon, but we walked up on the porch and crashed in a rocking chair.  Again, the 2nd half of the now smaller group was about 10 mins behind; I think we were waiting for them to catch up.  After about a half hour break, we completed the ride.  No problems, it was so much fun.  I had NO problems keeping up, and I felt immensely more comfortable sitting that measely little half inch higher.  As we got off the bikes back in Helen, I was quite frankly exhausted.  We'd been on the road for about 7 hours at that point, and by that time, I'd stripped down to the tank top and the jacket.  We shook some hands, engaged in some conversation, bought our T shirts, and got ready to head back to Maryville; as I pulled on my jacket, my arms were sticky with sweat and the jacket didn't even want to go on smoothly.  We were sweating to death as we stopped in the shade for David to confirm our route home on his  GPS, but once we got going it was much better.  We went north up through Robbinsville, NC and pulled off to go down and take a dip in the creek.  It was SO refreshing!  We'd gone though all of our Sports drinks, and gulped down the final sips of water at that rest stop.  ALMOST home, just the Dragon to conquer.  We dunked our heads in the creek and felt incredibly refreshed.

Heading down to take a dip in the creek

As we motored up through Deal's Gap, NC, we didn't stop.  We headed straight to the Dragon.  Let me tell y'all; it was one of my BEST trips through it.  David ALWAYS leaves me in the dust for a short curvy section close to the Gap; far enough that our radios lose connection.  I do most of the road in 2nd gear, kicking it up to 3rd just a hand full of times.  On that day ... First Saturday ... I stayed RIGHT on David's tail, and I did probably 70% of the road in 3rd, the MOST ever!  At the tail end of a 410 mile day, on a day with high humidity and 90+ degree temps ... I am SO proud of myself!  As we safely pulled into the garage 13 hours after we began our day, I ran STRAIGHT to the shower, lol.  I was sore, tired, dehydrated, but NOT sunburned!  Not one single patch of skin.  So, don't ride in a tank top or a T shirt if you don't want to get sunburned :)  Part 2, or "Second Saturday" to be released at a later date!

Day TWO after 800 miles in the summer sun; NO sunburn!

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!