| Author | Message | ||
     M2nc |
Nice pics U4euh! Man Jnance, Looks like Rebecca is kicked back in a recliner. I always knew Kristi and I had room to spare on the Uly but have never seen a picture of us on it. Easy all day two up rider huh! | ||
| Jlnance |
Easy all day two up rider huh! It's a lot easier on both of us than the Cyclone. If she holds on to the backrest support, it's not hard to forget she is on the bike. The biggest difference is that she is actually enthuastic about going places on the bike now. | ||
| Jlnance |
  Do not leave your car at the Dealership while you ride your bike home.  | ||
| Jlnance |
 My dirt testroads made the news today. Would have been interesting to have been riding out there.  | ||
| Jlnance |
Ride Sunday was nice and I needed to get out of the house. I headed south on highway 50, picked up 42 in Angier, and took it to Corinth. After I got down 42 a little way, I was on twisty country roads. Like I was saying, I needed to get out of the house. It was probably a 45 minute ride to get to Corinth which was just perfect to destress. Near the end of 42, I noticed a bike behind me. It had one off center headlight. I thought it might be Gramps on his CityX. He rode behind me for a couple miles. I was pleased he didn't seem interested in passing me. I'm not a particularly aggressive rider, it's nice to know people don't think I'm going too slow. I missed a turn, and pulled over to turn around. The bike passed me. It wasn't a Buell, all I could really tell was that it had hard bags. As I was turning off 42, I realized I was going wide. Then it hits me, "so what, it's a Uly." So I just rode it off the pavement and onto the shoulder. It handled that supprisingly well. I felt a tiny little fishtail, but that was it. Down at the other end of the road, there is the Triangle Brick plant. I had seen a road running around the plant on googles satelite pictures and I wanted to explore it. The road quickly turned to large gravel. Riding the bike in that was not much fun. The front tire moved around quite a bit. After about half a mile the road had deteriorated quite a bit. It looked a lot more like a logging trail than a road, and there were no tressing signs posted on every other tree. Time to turn around. Attempting to turn around resulted in the bike being perpendicular to the road with its front tire about a foot away from a ditch at the edge of the road. Pushing the bike away from the ditch wasn't working because it's heavy and required uphill movement. It's a very small ditch, and the obvious solution is to ride the Uly into the ditch and back out. I hesitate as I've never ridden a bike into a ditch before. Then I just do it. No problem. Easy in, easy out. Later that afternoon I decide to go riding again. This time I take the Blast. It hasn't seen much action since the Uly showed up in the garage. I'm glad bikes don't get jealous. My first reaction when I mount the Blast is disbelief with how small it is. It didn't take me long to get used to it again though.  | ||
| Jlnance |
I just got back from a short ride through Raleigh. I pulled up to a stoplight, and there was a guy walking in the median, carring a "spare change please" sign. He walks up to me and the words that come out of his mouth are: "Hey man, is that a Buell?" | ||
| Jlnance |
 I called home today at 4:00 pm to let the girl know I was coming home. "Should I get your helmet ready?" she asked. I was surprised. I don't think she ever asked to go for a ride when I had the Cyclone. I always had to suggest it, and she frequently turned me down. She obviously likes the Uly better. We took off going south on US-1, which very quickly becomes rural. By the time we had gone 15 miles, the highway was running through the woods. I took the exit for the brick plant, which is becoming my standard afternoon ride. There was a log truck in front of me, and I was following slowly since the road had a double yellow. As soon as it changed to dotted yellow, I pulled out to pass and rolled on the throttle. The Uly is a wheelie monster, particularly with a passenger on the back. I felt the bike get a little squirly, which I assume was caused by the front tire coming up. That is not a sensation I enjoy, so I backed off the throttle for a fraction of a second to settle the bike down. We still flew by the truck. After the truck we were alone on the highway for a while, and I was enjoying the corners. We quickly ended up on highway 42, which is a wonderful rural road, heading back toward Raleigh. At one point we came across some crows or buzzards eating something dead enough that I could smell it from the bike.  Not being anxious to hit any birds, I slowed down when I saw them. This gave me extra time to enjoy the fragrance of their meal. Rebecca was busy taking the pictures I've used for this post while all this was going on. That says a lot about how comfortable she feels on the bike. Her main complaint with the Cyclone was that she was afraid she would slide off the back. On the Uly she can put both hands on the camera if she wants to. I prefer the Uly to the Cyclone as well, but I like them both. For her it's the difference between wanting to stay home or wanting to ride. We stopped for dinner in Fuquay-Varina. When we got done it was dark. It's been a long time since I've ridden at night outside the city. I don't think I've ever done it before when my overriding concern wasn't trying to avoid freezing to death. Nor had I done it with a passenger. I was surprised with how much fun I had. It's nice to be out riding with the girl and looking at the stars. | ||
| Jlnance |
It rained yesterday. But it was warm, so I went riding anyway. I don't usually deliberatly ride in the rain, but I wanted to get out of the house. I actually had a good time. I've got decent gear now, so I didn't get too wet. I have one little incident where I ended up skidding when a light changed red because I was on a wet oily road. But it wasn't anything I was worried about, I had plenty of time to stop. I did stop the the Harley dealer on my way home. I try not to be an arrogant person. But I have to say that it did feel good to pull up to the dealer and be the only customer there on a motorcycle.  On a compleatly different note, I went to a party last night. It might be true that guys enjoy modding motorcycles. But girls can mod themselves. Heres a picture of the girl:  Thats not her hair in the back. She added it for the evening. It's called a "fall." Whoda thunk? | ||
| Jlnance |
The brick plant.  Wednesday didn't start out too well. I'd lost my glasses the evening before, and by the time I woke up I knew I wasn't going to find them. I went to work, driving with the aid some athletic glasses that would look really cool if I was a pro basket ball player. But I'm not.  I was due for an eye exam anyway, and they were able to see me that morning. I got my eyes dialated, drove to LensCrafters, picked out a pair of glasses, had lunch with the girl, and went back to get my new specs. Up until that point I had been planning on going to work that afternoon. But it was bright, warm, and I'd already missed have the day. VACATION! I hopped on the bike and headed down to the brick plant. That's becomming my favorite ride. It's highway for the first 15 miles, then, once you get to the plant, it's back roads. It was a good way to spend the afternoon. I was in a much better mood when I got home. | ||
| Jlnance |
The girl came home yesterday as I was washing the bike. She seemed to find it amusing that I was using a toothbrush. I told her that it was hers.   The reason for the bath is we are going on an adventure in a few minutes. Down East there are some windmills I want to see. So a bunch of us are going down there to take a look. | ||
| Jlnance |
Is Whirleygigs a word? Yes it is, I've seen them. - The Girl  Yesterday was an adventure. We left Raleigh at 10:00 am headed for Clayton, to meet a couple other riders. From there we were riding to Lucama, NC (ever heard of it? ) where we would meet some friends riding in from the other direction. And, supposedly get to see some windmills that no one was quite sure existed. So we set off. I'm more comfortable with the bike these days, so I ride harder. It responds by reminding me once again, that it likes to wheelie when there is a passenger on the back. They aren't big wheelies, I'm not even sure the front end is completly off the ground. But you can tell from the way the bike feels that there isn't any traction between the front and the road. We get to the Clayton McDonalds, and Gramps and Vstromman are already there waiting for us. It's the first time I've met Vstromman (Malcolm). We chat for about 20 minutes in the parking lot and then set out for Lucama. Malcolm has actually been there before AND he has a GPS, so we put him in the lead. We have some time to kill, so Malcolm leads us around back roads.  I'm behind Malcolm, and I can see his suspension popping up and down as he changes gears. I think to myself "He is really giving it the gas." So I decide to follow suit. The next thing I know I'm riding down the road with the front tire off the ground. This isn't a "I can tell there is no traction so I must be doing a wheelie" thing. This is a "The tire is a foot in the the air" wheelie. It's my first one ever. My two thoughts are "Damn this is cool," and "The Girl is NOT gonna be happy." I put the wheel back down and try to determine the mental state of The Girl. She indicates "so so." We get to Lucama and arrive at the address I have given everyone. It's a old house with a few dogs who aren't real happy with three motorcycles in their front yard. No one is home, and there are just enough metal scraps around to make you think there might have been windmills at one time. But there weren't any now. We get off the bikes, and at first are concerned about the dogs. But it quickly becomes clear that the dogs are ancient and don't pose much of a threat. My mirror had vibrated loose during the ride, so we used my Buell tool kit, convienently supplied with the bike, to tighten it back.  And we get a chance to chat, which is nice since I don't know either John or Malcolm particularly well. One pleasing and impressive fact I learn is that both of them have been riding since they were kids. And neither has ever had a motorcycle accident on the road. I'm striving to join their ranks. I am somewhat worried at this point that I've gathered people from all over the eastern half of NC to view someone's driveway. More worried that half of this group is no where to be found, and that the 3 cell phone numbers I have for them don't seem to corrospond to the cell phone they have with them. Then things start to look up. First the owner of the house drives up in his pickup, somewhat curious as to why 3 motorcycles are in his front yard. He tells us that the windmills, or whirleygigs as he calls them, are about a mile down the road. He says he will meet us down there and takes off in his truck. Then I hear the sound of bikes in the distance.   The rest of our group has arrived. Now there are eight of us on six bikes. The two passengers are Rebecca, who rides with me, and Kristi, who rides with Carlos on his Uly. Both Carlos and I used to ride M2 Cyclones. We love our Ulysses, but our enthusiam pales in comparison to that of the women who are riding on the back. The Uly beats the M2 hands down as far as passengers are concerned. Down the road we come upon a collection of very odd windmills. There was a little bit of dirt travel involved, so almost everyone parked at the end of the pavement and walked. Not everyone though.  There was quite a collection of stuff flying in the air. It's hard to do it justice with a photograph because you can't see it all moving.  The guy who put all these things up is 87 years old. They've been up for 20 years, so he was only 67 when he put them up.  He greases them every year so the keep spinning. I asked him how he got started, and apparently it began when he found a good deal on a welding machine. After the windmills, we went to lunch at Parkers BBQ in Wilson. It was 2:00pm when we got there so I was ready to eat. Very good food! After lunch we all head home. Gramps and I take 42 back to Raleigh on an uneventful ride. The bike had an extra 132 miles on the odometer when I got home. Not bad for a January day! | ||
| M2nc |
As I said in C3, it was a great ride. The four of us commented when we got home how much fun the day was. You are right about the passengers comfort level on the Uly versus the M2. When we were at The Appalachian Adventure Kristi was good for 40 miles then needed a break. I put 103 miles on the Uly and she said she was good to go more. She said her butt never hurt and that was with the low seat. We have to work on the boots and seating with the bags. The high heel boots she was wearing were locking her into one position. On the way back she put the heels on the pegs and said it was better. Great pics Jim! Did Rebecca take pictures of us going down the road to Wilson? I though I saw her in my mirror poking out past your head with the camera. (Message edited by M2nc on January 29, 2006) | ||
| Jlnance |
She did get a few. There's a particularly good one of you and Kristi.  And a couple more.   | ||
| Vstromman |
I enjoyed meeting and riding with youall Saturday. the Whirligigs were neat, the builder/designer/artist great, and the food very good. Add good weather, and it was a fun day. Can't ask for more in January. Maybe I'll see you in Daytona... | ||
| Jlnance |
My bags came in!!  I was at work on Thursday. It was a beautiful day and I decided, at lunch, to drive home and ride the bike back. Since I have the bags, and they are large enough to hold a helmet, I asked one of my friends if he wanted to ride back with me. So we went to lunch, stopped by my house to get the bike, and took the long way back to work. He liked the bike. He had ridden on the back of his cousins sportbike before, which didn't have nearly as much room. But it was nice that he had ridden before. I didn't even know he was back there. When we got back to work, I put his helmet and jacket in the bags. They fit great. I like the ability to carry this stuff, as I enjoy giving people rides, but until now could only do it if they came to my house. When I left work I got on the bike and pushed it backwards to get out of my parking space. I immediatly realized something was wrong. At first I thought I had a jacket stuck in the rear wheel. But then I realized the real problem:  A flat tire! There was a filling station down the road, so I limped the bike over there. It handles poorly with 5 lbs of pressure in the rear.  I inflated the tire to 40 psi and rode it home. I got home fine, but I knew it would be flat again in a couple of hours. I had taken the time, when I filled the tire, to examine the treadwear. I would guess that I had used up about half the tire in the 1600 miles I have ridden the bike. This is inline with what other people are getting out of the stock D616 rear tire. But I really want something that will last longer than 3500 miles. M2NC had mentioned he was going to try the Perilli Syncs that come on the CityX in order to try and get better tire life. That sounded like a good idea to me, so I ordered one for my bike. It won't be as good off road as the D616, but thats not terriably important given the way I ride. Next problem. How to get a bike with a flat tire to the dealer. For me, the not so mechanically inclined one, this is a big problem. But I've got friends. Sportymark & Laura came over and my tire was plugged and inflated about 30 minutes later. Mark had this really cool plugging kit. I know it will fit under the seat of my bike. I'm going to buy one. Here is the culprit he extracted from my tire:  I have no idea what that is. But it's pretty effective at letting the air out of a tire. | ||
| Gramps |
Jim that picture is right down the street from me on Seabrook. Next time give me a call. | ||
| Jlnance |
Gramps, I was actually out looking for you when I took it. I know you've posted your address before, but searching for it would be too simple of a way to find you. So I'm doing the the manly way. I'll drive up and donw your street a few hundred times over the next year, and I'll eventually see you on the road. | ||
| Gramps |
That house in the background was my Uncle's. I'm back to the other end of Seabrook the next left past the park- 226 Heidinger Dr. White 2 story on the right down a ways. Look for the blue Jeep with a Buell sticker on the back window. | ||
| Vstromman |
While a not a Buell, my Vstrom does very well riding on Metzler Tourance tires. I don't ride real hard, and have over 13k miles on the rear tire and another 2k at least left. And I don't think it gives up any traction. Where the mileage comes from, I think, is an extremely deep tread. It's worth thinking about them..... Ride safe! | ||
| Jlnance |
I'll take a look after I wear out the Perilli. The front will need replacing as well by then, so I might put a pair on. | ||
| M2nc |
Man, I wish I could get 13K out of a rear tire. I think the K505s that I had on the Nighthawk did good with 11k on the front and 5.5K on the rear. The M2 gets about 9K with the 207f and 5.3K with the D205r. I hope I can get the 6-7K out of the rears with the Sync tires that many on Badweb are reporting. | ||
| Jlnance |
The Girl had said she wanted to see Washington, NC, a little place on the water about 100 miles from Raleigh. It sounded like a nice destination, and it was close to some friends as well. The weather for the ride to Washington was excellent. But the weather riding back had the potential to be cold an rainy. Since I've got bags on the bike now, I packed them with a rain suite and heated pants for the girl. We also packed some clothes in case we wanted to stay down there overnight. As soon as we set out, we ran into a Triumph on the beltline. He took the exit onto 64 and I followed him. We pulled up beside him and he posed for the girl to snap his picture.  He got a bit ahead of me after that. I tried to catch him, but he was running between 85 and 90 which was a little faster than I was comfortable going. I kept up the chase for about half an hour, but by then he was about 1/4 mile in front of me, and there was traffic. It occured to me that trying to catch up with someone going 90 mph a quarter mile down the road would require me to run about 110 through traffic. That wasn't for me, so I just let him go. We got to Washington, and found the waterfront. Carlos (M2NC) arrived a few minutes later. We walked around, and the girl snapped a picture of some coast guard guys. Look at the way these guys smile when a girl takes their picture.  We grabbed a little lunch and debated the meaning of life. I told Carlos about the Triump we chased. Then we left and look what Carlos found parked outside:  Next we rode to Carlos's house in Grifton. Dave and Pauletta came over, and Kristi cooked for us. It was GOOD. Dave set up my suspension while Carlos grilled. After dinner we rode home. The weather turned out better than forcast, it was actually nice. It was about a 2 hour ride back. A fun day, but I was tired when I got home. | ||
| Jlnance |
Today is the day. The bike is ready:  In 15 minutes I will be riding it to Daytona to watch Buell race in the 200. This will by far be the longest trip I have ever done. 550 miles each way, down on Friday, back on Sunday. I'll post much more when I get back, but a few comments right now. The Buell bags have been the source of problems for other people. It seems the latches break. While mine have so far been perfect, I've wrapped them closed with bunjee just in case. But whatever problems may exist with the latches, it's hard to complain about the size. One bag contains a pillow, sheet, shirts, socks, and underwear. It is full, but not crammed. The other bag contains a pair of jeans, shoes, and a pair of shorts. It is half full. There is a compleately empty second half. Also on the bike is a sleeping bag and a tail bag in front of that. I took the bike out last night for gas and discovered that in my normal riding position, my back does not touch any of the stuff back there. Thats how much room this bike has. Off to Daytona in 10 minutes! | ||
| Jlnance |
I'm back. It was a fantastic trip. I've got so much I want to say, and it will be a while before I get a chance to write it all down. So this is just a little teaser. The bike can tour! It was a 600 mile trip each way. We rode it in a single day, and I was tired, but not exhausted at the end. My furthest trip on the M2 was 300 miles in a day, and I was dead after that. I've done about 300 on the Blast too, and that hurts as well. I'm excited about this, as it means it is perfectly reasonable to ride up to Washington, DC, or Ashville, NC. I've got family there, and I can visit them on a whim. And I think I will. I've got much more to say about Daytona, but no time to write right now. Stay tuned... | ||
| Jlnance |
The plan was simple. On Friday morning, the five of us would depart from different parts of North Carolina, eventually meeting in Lumberton, NC. Together, we would then complete the remaining 450 mile ride to Daytona Beach, FL. Saturday we would watch the Daytona 200, and Sunday we would return home. I was intimidated. My furthest motorcycle trip to date had been the day I brought the M2 home, a 300 mile from Washington, DC to Raleigh, NC. It was a long trip and I was exhausted when it was over. I didn't know how I was going to manage a trip almost twice as long, and then 36 hours later do it again. I left Raleigh at 6:45 with light very rain falling. I made excellent time, arriving in Lumberton at 8:00 am. Since I had an hour to kill, I ate breakfast at a Cracker Barrel. I chatted a bit the the couple sitting next to me. They were Goldwing riders, and were excited that I was going to see the race. After breakfast I met up with the rest of the guys. All together we had a Springer, a Warrior, an S2, and two Ulysses. We gassed up the bikes and set off on I-95. The Warrior has a range of 100 miles, so that set our distance between stops. The Ulysses can go at least 150 miles on a tank, but I was glad to have an excuse to stop more frequently. My butt doesn't really have a 150 mile range. Our first stop was a small convienence store in South Carolina. Getting off the bike, I realized I had ridden 200 miles and still felt great. Most of us went inside to get a drink and use the restroom, but Rubberdown (Mike) decided to take his Springer apart in the parking lot. His tail light was out and he wanted to buy a bulb to fix it. Well the owner of the store locks up and leaves while this is going on. So Mike ends up with a torn down Springer, no bulb, no snack, and no restroom. Not a happy camper. He puts the bike back together, visits the bushes, and we leave. Sometime later we pass a bike on the side of the road. Mike is leading the group and pulls off in front of the stranded bike. I'm in the back of the group, and by the time I get ready to pull off, Mike is pulling back into traffic. We ride a mile or so down the road, and realize we are missing Pete on the Warrior. We pull off to wait for him and Mike explains that he got a thumbs up from the guy on the bike, so he didn't stay. Pete shows up a few minutes later and tells us the guy had gotten his bike started. Two gas stops later we are fifteen miles north of the Florida line. I've ridden over 400 miles so far, and I'm thrilled with the bike. I'm certainly tired, but I'm far from dead. A 400 mile day on the Blast or the Cyclone would have been grueling. The seat on the Uly is much better than the Blast seat, and the riding position is much more comfortable than the Cyclone's. After we enter Flordia, we encounter significant traffic and traffic jams. The last 50 miles of the trip takes two hours. The sun set during this time, and we are riding in the dark. Due to the heavy traffic, we get separated. At some point I realize that I can't see any of the other bikes, which is interesting since I don't know where we are going. I come over a hill and I see four tail lights waiting on the shoulder. What a great sight! Finally, we reach our first destination, Nick and Sammie's house. Nick (Vegasbuller) had invited everyone on Badweb to come to his house for a cookout during Daytona. Then Nick went and got run over by a car, so we all assumed that the barbecue was off. But Nick decided he still wanted to do it. When we arrived, there were at least 20 Buells parked in the yard, and a couple of Buell Racing banners hanging on the house. Unlike what you might expect after issuing an open invitation on the internet, the crowd was rather quite. There were some people sitting on the front lawn talking, and there were some more gathered in the back of the house. We went in, met Nick and Sammie, and grabbed some food. I met Court, Blake, and Dave (both of them) for the first time as well. I also met Southern_marine (David), who is also from North Carolina. His wife's family lives in Flordia, so he had trailered his bike down earlier to be with them. He also brought down Carlos'es tent, which was to be our lodging for the next two nights. Thankfully, he had already set it up, so we wouldn't have to be fumbling around in the dark doing that. We left Mike and Pete, who were staying at a hotel, and headed outside to start our ride to the campground. I should mention that since graduating from the MSF class almost two years ago, I have never dropped a bike. I guess I was waiting for a sufficiently embarrassing moment. I got on the bike, started it up, and started pulling out of Nicks front yard. My front wheel was against the sidewalk, and it turned as I tried to move. Down I went at 1/4 mph, with all my new friends there to watch. At least there were lots of people to help me pick it back up. Fortunately my pride was all that was damaged. The bike did not suffer at all. On the way to the campground, I got separated from the group by a red light. I didn't worry about it, I knew they would be waiting for me down the road. But as I rode along, I didn't see them. The road forked and, not knowing which way to go, I took a right. This put me in town which was obviously wrong. Now I was worried. I didn't know where the campground was and it was dark. I got back on the road and headed back to the stoplight that had separated us. I found two of the guys on the way there, they were out looking for me. I was VERY happy to see them. Apparently they had arrived at the campground before realizing that the light behind them wasn't me. We arrived at the tent and parked the bikes. It was dark. This is when I realized that just because you have lots of cargo space on a bike, doesn't mean you should try and use it all. Trying to unpack by flashlight was not much fun. I got what I needed off the bike and took my sleeping bag into the tent. I hadn't been camping in about 7 years and I was wondering if I was going to be able to sleep. I shouldn't have worried, I slept like a rock. | ||
| Jlnance |
Perhaps you've noticed I haven't posted anything in months. The next logical post would have been day 2 of Daytona. Well, I had it almost finished and the computer ate it. I never could get motivated to rewrite it, so I kept putting it off. I'm still putting it off. But I've other stuff to write about so here we go. :-) | ||
| Jlnance |
I've had the bike 8 months and I just had the 10,000 mile service done. So the bike was in good shape. I, on the other hand, was not. I needed a vacation. I couldn't decide exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew it involved riding the bike. Then some guys from Virginia I wanted to meet announced they were going to be staying at the Dragon, and invited me along. Another guy from Fayetteville mentioned he was going up there, and I knew thats where I was going to spend my weekend. I told the boss I was going to be off on Monday, and packed up the bike Friday after work.  I deliberately left much of the planning up in the air. My mother lives in Asheville and I knew I wanted to see her. I knew I was staying with the Virginia guys on Sunday night. Those were the extent of my plans. I took off on Saturday morning, a bit before 6:00 am. It didn't take much riding before I pulled off and put on my cold weather gloves. Summer in September isn't so warm at 6:00 am. I got to Greensboro and called Bigdaddy and asked if he wanted to ride with me. He had business in Tennessee, and said he would ride with me part of the way. He met me at the Hickory exit and rode with me about 100 miles to the exit for highway 74. I was glad to have his company. I mentioned that I was cold when we parted ways, and he pulled a sweatshirt out of his bag and gave it to me. It turned out to be a life saver over the course of the weekend.  I rode down 74 to 28, and took that toward the Dragon. I really enjoy 28. It is a long curvy road with beautiful scenery. Fontanna Village is along the way, and as I passed a bar near the entrance, I spied a Buell.  I needed lunch anyway, so I walked in and asked a pair of guys if they knew who's Buell it was parked outside. I got lucky and one of them owned it. He had ridden up from Alabama to do the Dragon. I asked him if he was on Badweb, and he said he wasn't but had seen it before. We talked for a couple of minutes and then I ordered some lunch. After lunch I continued up to the Dragon. There were a zillion bikes up there. I parked and walked around for a while, looking at the bikes. Then I decided to ride up to the overlook. I pulled out of the parking lot and Yellow Wolf pulled out behind me. As soon as I started going I realized I just didn't have the confidence to push it much. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I motioned Yellow Wolf by, and ran through at a fairly sedate pace. I got up to the overlook, and there were quite a few people up there. I'd never been to the Dragon on a Saturday before. It's much more crowded than it is on week days.  I rode back to the store, again at a fairly modest pace. I got off the bike again, and stared looking for Toxic, a Buell rider from Fayetteville, NC. I knew he was supposed to be there on Saturday, and I wanted to meet him. But I couldn't find him. There is no cell phone service at Deals Gap. From past experience I knew the closest place where my phone works is a filling station where 74 & 28 split, about 15 miles from the Dragon. I decided to ride down so I could call The Girl. I had a great ride down. Whatever I needed for confidence seemed to have come back, and I had a great time on 28. I had just called The Girl when I saw a black Uly pull up. I walked over and told the rider that he had a nice bike and asked if he was from Fayetteville. It was Toxic! We talked for a minute and then he headed on up to the Dragon. At this point I had to decide what to do. It was about 3:00 PM. I had no idea where I was staying, and I didn't really feel like going back up to the Dragon. I decided to head down to TWO and spend the night down there. I got on 28 and rode it into Franklin, which turned out to be an absolutely fantastic road. It had some light traffic on it, but every car I got behind pulled over and waived me by. I hadn't brought a map on the trip so finding TWO proved to be it's own adventure. I almost sorta knew where it was. I had actually given up, after backtracking several times, when I passed a landmark I recognized.  After that it was easy to find TWO.  Compared to the last time I'd been to TWO, which had been for the March Badness event, the place was deserted. But they did have a place for me to stay, and some good food to go along with it. The next morning I ate breakfast and set out. I immediately passed a black Uly traveling in the opposite direction. I swung around and gave chase. For a second I thought I might catch him because he was stuck behind a car. But he got by the car before I got to him, and I hadn't a prayer of catching him after that. He could ride that bike. I turned back around and got on highway 180, which I remembered from March Badness.  Eventually 180 took me to Blairsville, GA, where I picked up 129, which eventually turns into the Dragon. I rode up through Murphy, NC and continued up toward the Dragon. I had never ridden the NC part of 129 before, and it was a great road. It's not as curvy as the Tennessee side, but it's pretty, running by water a good part of the way. I got up to the store where I sat under a tree and watched things for a while. I was pretty tired and kept dozing off. I didn't think the parking lot was a good place to take a nap, so I rode down 28 and got some lunch. After lunch I found a roadside table next to the TVA lake. I put a blanket on the table, a pillow on top of that, and put my head down. I didn't know if I was going to be able to sleep, particularly since bikes would buzz by every few minutes. Then I woke up. Now I had a problem to solve. I was supposed to spend that evening with some guys from Virginia. I'd never met them and didn't know where they were staying. I knew one of them, Nuts, was riding a new Uly down from Roanoke, and I had his cell number. But cell phones don't work on the Dragon. When I'd left home I'd just assumed I'd run into them somewhere. That now seemed wildly naive. I decided to ride back to the store with cell phone service and place a call to The Girl. My hope was she could find info on where they were staying on Badweb. I got to the store and filled the bike with gas. I pushed it out of the way so I could go in to pay. They may have cell phone service, but they don't have pay-at-the-pump yet. Just as I had the bike parked I heard a horn behind me. I turned around and a black Uly was going down the road. I knew it had to be Nuts. I ran in to pay in preparation of chasing him down. Fortunately he had doubled back and was waiting outside for me when I came out of the store. I walked over and introduced myself. We talked for a couple minutes, and I ate an ice cream cone. Then we rode off to meets Nuts'es father in Robbinsville. Dad had brought a group of friends up from Flordia. They were waiting for us in a Food Lion parking lot. Nuts hadn't told his dad about the Uly, and had apparently made up some story about breaking down and needing some help. We pulled up and it took a while before he actually believed that Nuts owned the bike. :-) We drove up to the cabin after that. It was on lake Santeetlah. A big place with lots of rooms. I helped unload the car and looked around. I wasn't staying in the cabin with Nuts, but next door with Tank_bueller. Tank was driving down from Williamsburg and hadn't arrived yet. We walked next door to the other cabin, right as Tank pulled up. A few minutes later Jimduncan69 arrived, having ridden down from Ohio. We talked a few minutes and then decided to go look for some dinner. As we were about to leave, it started to thunder. We went in to check the weather on the computer, but spend the better part of an hour trying to make it's wireless networking function instead. By then none of us felt like going out and Tank mentioned that his mom had sent some fried chicken. The chicken was good, Tank's mom can cook! We stayed up a while playing pool and talking about bikes. They both claimed not to be very good, and they both kicked ass. At some point they got on my Uly to see if their feet touched while I snapped pictures: Tank_bueller on my Uly:  Jimduncan69 on my Uly:  I went to bed shortly after this and slept like a baby. The bed was much better than the pick nick table I'd taken my last nap on. I got up early the next morning and rode to Asheville. I got to watch the sun come up, which is something I love to do. I hung out with my mother for a while and then rode back to Raleigh. 1247 miles all together. | ||
| Rubberdown |
Nice story. Thanks. | ||
| Bigdaddy |
Good story Jim. I should've just rolled on with you and saved myself some money and mucho heartburn from the wifey,,,,,,I always forget that part about telling here that I'm buying cars or bikes. I stopped at the Cross Roads of Time for food and gas yesterday and there's a Uly sitting in the dining room -- do you know the story on that? I saw one black Uly on Friday at the dam and then when we finished eating I saw him turning in the lot after a run. G2 | ||
| Tank_bueller |
Quite the adventure, Jim. Glad you could drop in, even for a short while. Bigdaddy, I believe the Uly in the restaurant is from Smoky Mountain HD/Buell. They had posters/advertisements on the wall above it. Great dealer too!! Tank | ||
| Whodom |
Jlnance, Great ride report. I got on 28 and rode it into Franklin, which turned out to be an absolutely fantastic road. It had some light traffic on it, but every car I got behind pulled over and waived me by. Next time you're in the area, try taking 28 east out of Franklin to Highlands (great road here but usually heavily trafficked). South of Highlands 28 gets really good and does a short cut through the tip of Georgia before heading down into SC. The pavement on 28 in NC south of Highlands is brand spanking new (they laid the last bit when I was riding through there in August) and the pavement in SC is only a couple of years old and in great shape. The GA pavement pretty much sucks, but you're only in GA for about ~5 miles and a Uly's suspension would eat it up anyway. The curves pretty much end on 28 when you get to Walhalla, SC. 28 is a great road. |
