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!

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!