Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Travelin' Man Day 8

Well, today proved to be pretty interesting for the fellas.  I think they must have went into this trip with the intention of experiencing every kind of condition possible this time of year.  If so, they succeeded. They left in good weather to go ride US 129 aka The Dragon. This is the famous road in North Carolina with 318 curves in 11 miles. Bikers everywhere love to challenge themselves on this road. Things were good and the roads were dry. When they were riding the Dragon the rain started coming down.  They made it to Deals Gap and as it got steadier, they considered their options.
This is what they were looking at. 

Rather than take the longer way around, they decided to go back through the Dragon and therefore take the shorter albeit more treacherous way back.  Now this is what has happened to some of the bikes on this road if you think I'm just being dramatic. And these were probably not in the rain.
 They call this the tree of shame in Deals Gap. On the way back the conditions just seemed to get worse.  It was rainy and foggy.  Their windshields and glasses kept fogging up.  They said the Foothills Parkway was the toughest riding they had ever done. Now that's saying a lot considering Steve and Ironman have been through two tropical storms before. At one point Steve was going a bit slower because of the fogged up glasses and got behind. Rodney pulled over to wait on him and between the steep downhill grade and the momentum, the bike went over in the gravel. It kind of scared Steve when he came around the curve and saw that. There was a car there by him and he thought they might have hit him, but they had just stopped to help him get his bike up.  In the end horse and rider were both fine.  Rodney had a skinned up arm and helmet. His chariot had a broke turn signal, bent foot peg and brake assembly. They had to make some quick roadside repairs which is also miserable in those weather conditions and then they were off again.  They were back at their room by 1:30 and ready to dry out and put their feet on the ground for awhile. If you'd like to see some pictures of their adventure, there are many photographers on that road most days. Here is a link to one. store.129slayer.com Look for them in the 9:45 and 11:45 time slots. And here's a another for now. 
 Even with all that rain gear he still got wet. I'm just glad my knight in shining (wet) armor conquered that dragon again. And I hope if he tries the challenge a third time (actually fourth since he did it twice today), that it will be on a dry road. 


Travelin' Man Day 7

Now if you're a rider, these are the kind of days that show what you're made of. I'll tell you right up front. I'm not made of that much and therefore I chose to just write about this trip. They left Champaign, IL with the goal of the Smoky Mountains in mind. There was a chance of rain everywhere in their path. Plus that's a heck of a long way to go on a motorcycle. Now it's true that they went at least that far on their first day, but nobody said it was fun.  And they weren't worried about rain that day.  Both bikes were running good today though and both the riders were in high spirits, so off they went. They managed to thread the needle again and miss the rain. They got wet from the knees down when they hit Louisville, KY, but that was just because the roads were wet.  They dried out in no time when the sun came out again. The best riding all day according to them was the interstate between Berea, KY and Knoxville, TN.  They loved this road. They made it to Pigeon Forge with 520 miles under their belt for the day and this view from their room. 
Now that's what you call dodging a bullet.  Or a rain suit.  Regardless, they couldn't leave well enough alone.  They tempted fate again by making a liquor run and that's when they got wet. At least they didn't have to go far. Plus I have to admit that it was worth it for this. 
 So drink up guys.  You earned a good scotch after that day.  Next stop is the Dragon.  Wonder if the weather will cooperate as well this time. 

Monday, July 1, 2013

Travelin' Man Day 6

This was the last day in Iowa, but it was a good one. First stop was the National Motorcycle Museum.  This was one of the main reasons they chose this destination and they were not disappointed. Now Steve has been to the Harley museum in Milwaukee, but there aren't too many Harley riders I know that have always been exclusive to the brand.  Even I started on a Kawasaki and was kicked off a Yamaha on my maiden voyage as a driver.  The point is most motorcycle riders have a diverse brand background. Therefore a museum that covers all brands is a very appealing place to a rider that wants to take a walk through motorcycle history. This ended up being a walk down memory lane for both of the guys. 

Here we have Rodney by a '72 Yamaha 350. (All you moms out there may want to skip this next part.) When he was 16, he rode one just like this that was purple and white along with his friend Bo (who was on a Honda 350 Scrambler) from Vicksburg, MS to Panama City, FL. (My son is 14 *shudder*) 

Now Steve is standing by his original Ironman. This is a Honda Trail 70. It's the same color and everything as the one Steve started riding when he was 11.  Another frightening thought for moms out there I know.  At least he was mostly under adult supervision.  There were plenty more bikes to see and they got many pictures, but we don't want to spoil the fun for any of the rest of you out there who want to visit and find your own memories.  After leaving the museum, they enjoyed another piece of history.  They stayed outside this one though. 
 It was the Iowa State Peniteniary in Anamosa.
This facility was built in 1880 with other parts being added through the years. Interesting that you don't see any razor wire even though the prison is still in use. I'm proud to say that both guys managed to get away without being detained, but I also know that they both have fast bikes too.  It was time to move on at this point, so good bye to Iowa until another time. Our adventurers started heading south.  They were riding into a headwind for most of the day which any rider knows can be exhausting as well as hard on your mileage.  Also along the way, a truck decided to share part of his load with the road and it hit and cracked Rodney's new fairing. I've got a few names for morons like that who can't keep their loads to themselves, but I like to keep this a family friendly blog. They managed 303 miles though before safely parking in Champaign, IL for the night. Tomorrow could be interesting depending on what the weather decides to do. Stay tuned.