2020

Well, I knew it had been awhile, but I can't believe it's been a year since I blogged for real!  Once Flickr started limiting photos, it became more difficult to move photos from my phone to the computer so facebook is just an easier avenue to blog rides.

I'm going to save all the personal drama for my other blog.  I made this one specifically for saving and logging RIDES.  Used to be, for my horse ... now, for the steel horse.  Rides are getting more tricky now with this COVID-19 virus causing mass panic across the globe.  Mental health is every bit as important as physical health, as the spike in suicide death has shown.  Riding motorcycles ... NOT going to contribute to spreading this thing unless you ride in mass groups and hang all over each other after getting off your bike.  Most of us ride 2-6 people at the most, we wear full protective gear, and when we get off to take a break, we're well further than the recommended 6 feet apart.  Most restaurants have their dining rooms closed, so we're doing carry out on the sidewalk, or pack a lunch in the saddlebags.  I understand the concern of accidents taking away hospital resources; but we STILL have to drive to buy groceries and essentials and just to get OUT.  I think we're all going stir crazy already, and the time recommendations just keep increasing.  So I will ride, and I will continue to ride.  Soon enough, this will all be over and we can get back to epic road trips ... for now, they're shorter and more local rides which is all I need!

Planning for a few miles with my buddy Lenore on Thursday; it's all because of her I passed my class, I believe!  I'm bad about getting in my head when I'm in a stressful situation, and she reminded me BEFORE I attempt that dang corner, or that dang weave line to get in the friction zone.  It helped TREMENDOUSLY, and I have used that advice many times on the tight, curvy roads I've ridden on.  I'm usually the follower, so to lead a ride is always different for me.  I just hope I don't forget where to turn!

So, I thought I'd go over a few things as I approach 3 years of owning Khaleesi.  I've already hit my 3 years having my license, but I never rode on my own until I got my bike.  I've enjoyed every second I've owned my Indian.  I've had ups and downs with my riding, as has everyone I'm sure, but the ups WAY outweigh the downs!!

1.  My biggest challenge is by far my faith in myself.  I have had several minor accidents because of "bucking up" and believing in my abilities, from jumping horses to riding ATVs.  That negative reinforcement has served to teach me that I don't always have it covered.  I don't have brute strength, and I don't have height on my side.

2.  It was a long time before I FINALLY got my bike 100% dialed in.  Don't give up on your bike if it feels mostly great, but still has that something that isn't quite right.  Keep tinkering and trying things until you get it right.  I had to make improvements piece by piece, and sometimes one "improvement" would actually accentuate discomfort somewhere else.

3.  Confidence DOES come.  You may not feel it 100% of the time, but with miles comes experience.  I've learned to not be hard on myself if I feel like I've "wimped out" in ANY situation involving motorcycles.  Sometimes that "wimping out" may save your life.  We all have days that we just aren't feeling something; that may very well be God impressing upon you that today just isn't your day.

4.  Take every ride with an open mind.  Every small situation can teach you something about being a safer rider.  I didn't chronicle it on this blog, but on our big New England vacation, I wrecked my bike.  I wrecked her because I ignored early warning signs from several rides where I slid in a straight line stop due to locking up my brakes.  It took laying her down at 35 mph down an interstate off ramp to figure out how to brake properly.

And finally ...
5.  Don't fight the motorcycle.  There are hundreds of different brands and thousands of different models for every size, desire, and style of rider.  Once you've found your ideal model, trust that the machine is going to take care of you.  As you carve through canyons and zip around corners, sit up tall or tuck in tight, and let the weight of gravity get you through it.  The more relaxed and "loose" you are, the more you're able to just enjoy the ride and chew through those miles!

The one bright side of damaging a motorcycle tank is having it fixed with some custom paint!!

I've ridden a hair over 32,000 miles in 3 years so far.  I've treasured every mile.  This past week was GREAT, riding wise.  Looking forward to Thursday's ride, weather permitting of course!  Thanks for checking in, I'll try to post more here rather than just on facebook! 

Another epic weekend

Our next 2 rides dawned ... wet!  There's this law that states the farther in advance you PLAN any sort of outdoor activity ... the higher the chance of rain!  My in laws organized and "promoted" a quintessential East Tennessee ride, coming up from GA, staying in Pigeon Forge overnight, then back down to GA the next day.  She asked us to ride, and David volunteered to lead.  The plan was head south towards Ocoee to meet up, then ride over to Cherokee, through the National Park to Pigeon Forge, then we head home.  Sunday, get up and start in Pigeon Forge, then wind down to Foothills, the Tail of the Dragon into Robbinsville, over the Cherohala, then through Tellico Plains back down to Ocoee at which point we left the GA peeps and headed back home.  David and I tried to get some of our friends interested, and the in laws tried to get some of THEIR friends interested, but sadly the wet weather scared everyone off.  The ride was definitely a mixed bag!

Love my twin 

Saturday, just David and I headed south to Ocoee.  We met up no problem with the GA peeps, found us a fabulous little hole in the wall "cafe" to eat at, then proceeded out to Cherokee.

During the ride out there, we stopped off at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, which is a hub for outdoor rafting stuff.  We took a much needed break to feel the (ice) cold water, kick our feet up, and horse around a little bit.  LOTS of people out and about enjoying a day on the river; it was fun to watch.

Super fun; all of us!

All was well.  It was hot, but the rain was holding off.  That was a ride the in laws had done once or twice, so no big deal at all.  From Cherokee, we headed through the National Park up to the overlook for a rest and a view.  Slower tourist traffic kept the pace on the slow side, and we pulled up to the overlook with no issues.

Building clouds

The in laws wanted to go THROUGH Gatlinburg to get to PF.  Ugh.  This is where things began to tilt slightly south, lol!  We knew the traffic was going to suck.  And it did.  My clutch hand cramped up, and my right leg was catching on fire from the hot engine.  Khaleesi's fan kept whining and the temps of the engine crept up to around 210.  My Father in Law's bike decided to seriously protest by the time we finally made it into Pigeon Forge, and it began to actually over heat and spit coolant out.  As we sat in the hotel for my Aunt and her boyfriend to rest and tend to the FIL's bike, the clouds began to loom ominously.  We left the Aunt and the MIL/FIL came with us the backroads back to the house.  David kept it pretty straightforward without much curve so we could just get HOME.  By this time it was getting pretty dark, and upon hitting 411 next to my work, a serious storm was kicking up.  David and I sort of left the in laws in the dust.  His reasoning was they knew their way home, and we ride at night a lot.  We thundered into the garage SECONDS ahead of the downpour.  The in laws were a few minutes behind, and David got an ear full for running off.  I definitely see both sides; we didn't want to get wet!

The pony is eager to get going!

The next morning was gray.  And wet.  As we went up through Townsend and Wears Valley Road to head to the Old Mill for breakfast, the wet roads soaked the front of our shins.  We arrived in good time, and as we went in to get seated, we were told they refused to seat us until our full party arrived.  Ugh.  So, the day started out not so great ...the Aunt isn't much of a morning person, and one of the peeps was a friend of David's that was not responding to texts/calls to even let us know if he was coming.  So, the grump began early, lol.  

HOW many of this particular pic do I have??

After an overpriced breakfast, we picked up the Aunt/boyfriend and headed back the way we'd come back into Townsend, then took the FHP across to the Dragon.  It was off FHP that my brave friend L met up with us.  We stopped to make our usual pow wow at the lake before tackling the Dragon.  David gave his usual speech about riding your own ride, and we'll all meet in Deal's Gap for our usual walk across the street to the Killboy shed.  Us and L got a bit ahead of the GA peeps, and wouldn't you know it, but it began to sprinkle.  We cut the speed down a TON, and then got stuck behind a rude group that refused to move over at ALL ... and they were literally going 15 mph.  It was ridiculous.  Ride your own ride, but freaking let people around.  We do it all the time for the crotch rockets that want to ride 65 through the curves.  Anyway, we safely made it, and there was plenty of bikes to be seen at the Gap.  The GA peeps were about 2 mins behind us, and they all safely pulled in as well.  After that pit stop, it was the short-ish drive to Robbinsville and the Hub (Yes again.  It's awesome!)

3 Hondas and the Indisaki!

It was at this point the frustration began.  As the leader, David has a responsibility to not leave his group.  But I do think since the "group" consisted of his parents, he felt they should keep up with him.  In his defense, he was truly only going either the speed limit or 5 over.  But the 55 mph speed limits have wide, sweeping curves ... and he rolls ON the throttle through those curves, not off.  The GA peeps aren't used to that type of speed on those types of roads, and fell behind.  The Hub is just right off 129, so he didn't pull over anywhere and wait, he just went to the restaurant to wait.  The MIL called him a few minutes later and asked where he was.  He told her, and they got there.  Understandably, they got off the bikes and were a bit frustrated.  Understandably, David was also frustrated and they had some cross words.  Poor L.  On the bright side, we spend a LONG time at the Hub b/c David was watching the radar and we waited out a SHOWER, a big one.  L and I got some wonderful conversation in; that's hard to do when you're riding together!  

The Hub

David and the parents calmed their frustrations down, and we finally headed out towards the Cherohala.  It was intermittent rain all the way there, and as we started our trek upwards, the mist shrouded us to the point that David said all he could see in his rear view was my headlight; no body! 

What visibility?

 He was going so slow I kept bogging down in 2nd gear, but it was sort of keeping the in laws in sight.  We finally did get a little ahead of them, but the Skyway is just a straight (curvy) shot.  We put more clothes on, and dealt with the fog/light misty rain that came down.  We all had a slow and safe ride back down to the bottom, and L left us to head home.  We cut off an entire section of ride because of the rain, and the GA peeps headed back south as we headed north.  It rained on us a few more times as we headed home, but thanks to L, I was wearing rain gear!  David and I booked it up 411 straight home, and made it safely into the garage with our filthy bikes.

CHILLY.

I guess the moral of our story is to ride with well matched riders.  Our riding style is just very different from the in laws.  The mantra of "ride your own ride" doesn't really work when the rides are totally different.  I'm sure they have had more fun when they didn't feel pressured to ride hard.  We've had more fun when we didn't feel pressured to take it easy.  A better ride for all of us may be when we go down to GA b/c they know the roads down there, and the curves/mountains are non existent.

Swapped our swag ... my future girl, Arya.

HUGE plans coming up next week!  SOOOOO EXCITED!!!  Y'all will just have to wait and see what we have planned.  Sorry the blog is behind, I'll try and catch up the other rides before next weekend; we have 2 epic rides we did that require the play by play :D

I was DRY!  David got wet, lol!

9030

I MIGHT hit my goal of 10K miles by my 1 year anniversary!  Was surprised on my eldest son's birthday (4-17-17) with my amazing Khaleesi :D  We've averaged about 1000 miles a month in the warmer months, and right now it's still very erratic, weather wise.  So ... at 9030 miles here on 3/4/18, it will be close.

We've passed this house about 3 times; this time we finally got a pic!  Silos built in!

Not a bad year for it being my first year!  Ridden in TN, GA, NC, SC, AL, and VA.  Named roads include the Tail of the Dragon, Rattler, Back of the Dragon, Devil's Triangle, The Snake, The Blue Ridge Parkway, Cherohala Skyway, and the Copperhead.  Thousands of other non-named roads that were just as awesome, or MORE awesome than the named roads!  I have absolutely ZERO complaints, except that I wish I'd hurry up and win the damn lottery so I can quit my job and ride my bike every day!

Dang dude, could you please take ANY longer?? ;)

Today dawned clear and cool.  I procrastinated as long as I could until David finally gave in to my pitiful faces and we thundered out of our neighborhood around noon.  I was wearing 5 layers on top, 3 layers on bottom, face shield on the helmet closed.  My wonderful hubs kept us off Hwy 411 as much as possible, as it's just a long, boring, straight road.  We took side streets down to one of my favorite roads, Hwy 307 down into Athens.  It's just a curvy road through picturesque farm side, but there's not a lot around us like it!

We motored through Athens, Charleston, and down into Cleveland where we stopped for lunch.  After our refueling, we hit Hwy 64 in Ocoee that winds next to the river that is used liberally for rafting and kayaking.  The waters were swollen and loud, and we actually saw a few kayakers shredding the rapids!  I tell ya, those peeps are crazy!  You'll never catch my butt doing that ;)  Stand up paddle board on a calm lake, or kayak down a class 1 is my only speed, lol!

I'm grateful my bike practically drives herself because I was NOT looking through my curves, I was looking all around at everything!  We came up out of the river area, and followed Hwy 68, snaking our way up and over a mountain or 2.  David challenged me today; he lays into curves like they're nothing ... as he approaches a turn where he SHOULD be Slow, Look, Press, and Roll ... he SPEEDS, looks, presses, and rolls harder, lol!  I felt myself get a little bit tense; I was gritting my teeth as I twisted hard to catch up to him.  He got so far ahead of me, our radios lost each other, which does NOT happen often.  He did that last time on that road!  Apparently we have ridden that road before, but it's been long enough for me that it was like the very first time.  A fire was burning on the mountainside, and we actually went RIGHT past open flames, CRAZY!!

Pit stop!

68 took us into Tellico Plains, and the start of the Cherohala Skyway.  We touched the Skyway again, then turned off onto Hwy 360, which dumps us out on 411 up in Vonore.  I had adjusted my attitude, my expectations, and changed my style a little bit.  I moved my hand further up on the throttle, so that when I twisted it, I wasn't "breaking" my wrist, which makes me feel like I'm not working as hard.  360 has some LOOOOONG sweeping turns, and we flew through it 55/60 mph unless it was a "suggested speed" curve of 30 or less.  I'm pleased to say he did NOT run off and leave me this time, and I think just adjusting my hand position made a HUGE difference.  We took our side streets back to the house in just under 200 miles and 6 hours.

GREAT ride today, I thank God EVERY DAY for my husband, our bikes, and our ability to ride together.  It has been SO nice to not have to worry about upsetting the hubs over spending a weekend doing horse things.  Confession ... STILL not missing out!  When I get a spare dollar or two, all I can think about it is what I can buy for my motorcycle (cue laughing emoticon here).

Down by the water in Ocoee!

Hopefully more ride updates soon!  This upcoming week is going to be freaking cold again :(

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!!!

As often as you can!

Sooo sad it took me 38 years to figure out this fact!

2 rides since my last blog post, yay!  Last week we got out on Sunday.  It was a few miles longer than yesterday, but both were super fun.  Sunday we headed south again down 411 towards the Ocoee/Hiawasee river scenic park.  Um, we finally made it down there, and it wasn't JUST a dirt road ... it was a MUD road.  We were only on it for a few hundred feet, and during just that time we were slipping and sliding BIG TIME.

See the mud on that tire?  Um, no dirt roads today!

So, we turned back north and hit some new roads we haven't been on!  David and I really enjoyed talking back and forth, and we enjoyed discussing the landscape as we rode through it.  David is amazing at finding curvy roads, and the route we took was really fun.  I have no idea where we were; just down 411 South towards Ocoee, lol!  Didn't go near the Cherohala this time, but it was still a great ride.  About 100 miles.

Washed my baby!  Looks as good as the day she came off the showroom floor

Yesterday, we headed into Townsend, ate lunch at a really good spot called the Dixieland Cafe, then took the backroads into Sevierville proper.  As a bit of a last minute thing, we decided to hit the gun range!  Never shot a gun in my LIFE.  One of my highschool friends growing up had a BB gun; that's the ONLY thing I've shot, and I didn't enjoy it much because it kicked me both in the collar bone and the eye.  I did ok at the range; shot a Ruger .22.  Very comfortable gun, but I was having a hard time with my aim; had to aim WAY low, and my shots were going probably 3 feet higher than I intended.  I alternated between 5 and 10 yards.  I just had no control over the "kick" of the gun, and it kept going high.  One of my 2018 "goals" is to take the gun safety course, get my concealed carry permit, and buy a gun!  Why?  Because it's my right as an American, and even though I've been fortunate enough to never be in an endangering situation, I want to be prepared if ever I am.

Baby figuring out how to load the ammo

Um ... dude in a different lane was shooting a CANNON!

And ... he's good at shooting too, just like everything else!

Hey!  I did it!

Had a good time; probably the gun I'll end up buying.

We left from there and came home back roads I've been down, but not often.  We managed to dodge the vast majority of the rain; I felt SO GOOD.  Khaleesi just is the most awesome bike in the world.  I NEVER feel like I'm fighting her.  Just look where I want to go, and around the corners she goes!  Wears Valley Road has one particularly gnarly uphill right hand switchback turn; I NAILED it unbelievable perfectly.  I don't think that corner has EVER felt so good :D  The roads were slightly damp, as there were spotty rain showers in the area.  Thundered back into the clean garage 85 miles and a few hours later.  Today; RAIN.  This week, COLD.  Next weekend, COLD.  So ... not sure when we'll get out again :( 

Had to do surgery on my horse chaps to get them to fit around my fat thighs :(

Different bandanna!

Thought this was a cool shot <3 nbsp="" td="">

Day 2; in which we earn more stickers and I learn a game changing trick!

Morning once again dawned way too early!  We headed out in search of a Cracker Barrel since we knew it was going to be an epic day.  The cool weather had me adding an additional jacket under my leather one, and off we went.

After stuffing our faces with way too much food, we began the trek to Mountain City and The Snake (Hwy 421).  As we were motoring towards our destination, it took me by surprise when all of a sudden the well paved road broke out into curves and twists.  WAY more technical than BOD; in fact, my concentration was off kilter because I wasn't expecting it.  I shook off the cobwebs and hunkered down and managed to smooth out my turns.  Soon enough, we pulled into a store, and David said that was the Snake.  OH, duh, lol.  It came up way faster than I was expecting!  Like I said, very technical.

After a brief stop to pick out a sticker from the store, we continued on down towards Mountain City, VA.  There were still plenty of curves and hills to be had, My brain was in a better place, and I happily twisted the throttle on the exit and making a beeline towards the next entrance.  At our next gas stop, I randomly make mention of my trouble yesterday and my difficulty with deciding whether to use front brake or rear brake when sitting on a hill.  David looked at me funny and said he'd TOLD me what I need to do ***CUE LIFE CHANGING TIP NOW***  When you're sitting there, before you pull out, let your clutch out a little.  Get it RIGHT in that sweet spot of engagement; the bike won't move.  I mean, yes, he'd told me that once before.  It did NOT, however, register what he'd said.  I thought he'd meant to hold front brake and apply throttle (cue laughing like crazy enoticon here).

We rode much less exciting roads to Blowing Rock, NC and the beginning for us of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We've driven on it once, but never on a motorcycle.  As we turned on it, we vowed not to stop at every pull off and overlook because we KNOW it's beautiful, but we'll never make it if we keep stopping!

It had been so long since we'd driven it, I forgot how it's almost identical to Foothills Parkway.  And there was a lot of driving traffic.  Even though the road has breathtaking views, it began to get a tad monotonous.  The cars were driving under the speed limit, yet stomped on the gas the instant a passing lane came available (cue rolley eyes emoticon here).  The turns all began to feel the same and I got SLEEPY.  I finally began to see signs for Asheville, which was sort of our daily destination; we were heading to a BBQ restaurant we'd seen featured on the Travel Channel.  Finally, our exit came up.

As we drove through the streets of Asheville and entered the restaurant, David and I discussed how much we DON'T fit in with all the hipster millenials that seem to own the place, lol!  That place is probably so far left it would be in California if it could.  The BBQ, however, was outstanding.

We hit good 'ol Hwy 321 and picked a path towards Maggie Valley.  From 321, we veered off onto Hwy 63 ... to my knowledge, 63 is not any sort of a "named" road, but that baby all of a sudden broke into the mountainous, curvy belly dance!  I was smiling under my helmet as I aggressively pulled my right elbow into my ribs, chasing my husband into the curves.  He tends to pull away and leave my behind; after analyzing in my head, I had determined he leaves me during the "roll" part of the curve.  So, I began "rolling" a little extra hard so I could keep his cute rear in my sights ;)  

Soon enough, that road ended and much to my delight, it ended into my favorite; Hwy 209!  The Rattler is THRILLING where the Tail of the Dragon is nerve wracking.  Even though I always do just fine on it, the dragon causes a flood of adrenaline that always leaves me struggling for perfection.  All I could hear was the rise and fall of our exhaust as we accelerated and braked our way to the end of the Rattler.  As we dismounted to FINALLY get our sticker, I couldn't stop my excited chatter.

The rest of the ride is a story you've already heard.  We made a beeline to Maggie Valley, which is really beautiful.  Took the small roads over to Cherokee, then hit the National Park roads in a small rain shower to Gatlinburg.  The last time we went that way, we'd left the Mystery Dinner Ride and did our epic stargazing night ride.  This time we had daylight, but it was dreary and rainy.  Stopped so I could add another layer, then tackled the twisty national park roads one handed and with my legs straight out in front of me.  My back and knees were killing me, and I had a headache from the pressure and weight of my helmet pressing down on my neck.  Like I said, Iron Butt I have no desire to do!

It's a DAMN good ride when you can say the WORST thing that happened all weekend was you choked your bike twice in a row.  We got home around 7 yesterday evening, and today we got on again (after washing them) to go up to IMOK to see the Scout Bobber (it was already sold:( )  That was really just an excuse to ride anyway, so we bobbed and weaved through traffic back home.  Felt great, no sore butt whatsoever!  Yay for sheepskin!  I'm definitely a convert :D  I also tested out David's life changing tip.  We were at an uphill light; one steep enough I would have been waffling about front brake or rear brake??  I let out the clutch a few inches, took my hand off the brake so I could twist the throttle and Khaleesi did NOT MOVE.  There was no trying to get in the friction zone, it simply was locked in place.  Kerplow!  (picture brain blowing up)  Upcoming weekend will see us hauling the bikes down to GA and hopefully getting in a good ride.  Preliminary forecast is calling for rain, so we'll see.

Can you spot the new swag??