Yankee Invasion!

[SEBSPEED]

Ok, so it wasn't 110% fun, but it was damn close. One bike malfunction and a few too many miles of Interstate put a certain damper on things, however it's the people we meet and the roads we ride on these trips that really make them memorable, and I will be remembering and talking about this one for a long time to come. It's really hard to not make a new friend when you meet a VFRD member for the first time!!

I have no explanation for this trip, other than I'm addicted to the awesome twisties you'll find in the areas I visited. I knew I wanted to get the heck outta Dodge during some snowstorm last winter, being egged on by all you southern guys about how you were riding all year, flowers were blooming in March, bla, bla, etc, etc… it was down to a matter of when… Holidays are always good, because I get to plan a "free day" into my vacation and still get paid, and the people you want to visit are usually off too! Why not 4th of July week? Minimal packing to do(just have to prepare for HOT), and the best chances of the weather being consistent.

My original thought(boy am I glad I scrapped this one!!!) was to maximize my time in the curves by attempting an Iron Butt ride from my house to Baileyrock's place in Nashville, 983 miles door to door, I would have had to roll around the block a few times to make it an official 1000 mile ride… my longest day ever was 785 miles in 12 hrs, and that was painful! As I pulled out my Atlas to plan the routes, I had flashbacks and said to myself No Way!!

Weeks went by and while I had a rough idea of what I wanted to accomplish, it was Skuuter's starting an "Agenda thread" for me that really got me in gear about planning all the details. Hours were spent on Google and on the phone and in the PM center planning everything to a tee, and a few members were nice enough to take a chance on meeting me and having me stay at their homes… I owe you guys a lot!

I had a rough idea of total mileage at that point and knew I'd need new rubber when I got to Nashville, I had 2 sets of Pirelli Diablos here from the Cycle Gear sale and so I sent one set down to Baileyrock's place. I stayed with Kevin on my last trip, and outside of being an all-around great guy and good friend, he's also got a really nice place he doesn't mind sharing, and garage with a good assortment of tools and a tire changer! :goofy: He's also an animal in the twisties, last time I had to chase him with all my stuff on board and I felt like I was slowing him down, although I wanted to go faster… I was looking forward to making that right!

But, I had to figure out how I was getting there first… I knew I didn't want to ride 1000 miles and then get up early the next day and ride another 400 hard fast twisty miles, that can get dangerous, so it made more sense to add an overnight stop between NY and Nash, which is where Timmy(thecop) comes into this story. Before I could ask the question, he popped up offering me a guest room in his home in Maryland – problem solved!

A 1000 mile day broken into two with a first stop in MD made for a relatively easy first day at 376 miles, to be followed by the longest day of the trip at 690 miles…

All made perfectly acceptable by the company kept! There's always a little apprehension about meeting "a stranger from the internet" for the first time, but it's worked out in the past so well that I get over that pretty easily. I have to say I had my doubts about Timmy, being a cop and all(and given my history with them:comp13:), I had these visions of lectures about riding safely, not speeding, etc. All I can say is "I'm a donkey" for thinking that as I came to find out that he and his wife and boys are, once again, some of the nicest people one can ever meet. Timmy, Pien, Peter, Lucas, & Owen, it was a pleasure, I had a great time(even though I had to cook my own steak :goofy: ), and I will be back with my family to check out more of D.C. and all the museums!

Friday started off great, I left nice and early and planned to stop and meet Timmy at Bob's BMW in Jessup, MD. It got quite hot and humid by the time I made it there, but I had time to spare and killed most of it inside the dealership checking out all the cool stuff on display, and bought a couple t-shirts for my Dad. You won't believe what they had sitting on the counter in there, I had seen pics before, but thought it was a photoshop… apparently it's not only real, but rideable!

Lots of really nifty memorabilia and one-off stuff in that store, they even had a handful of bikes that were 20, 30, some almost 40 years old that were STILL NEW. As in, 3 or less miles on the odometer from the factory test only, and an R100R still in the factory wooden crate tucked up on a shelf like a toy!

Really like the 50's Beemers, so much style and class and attention to detail that you didn't see on other bikes in that time period.

A whole slew of them:

For some reason they decided to house an example of the ugliest bike ever built; hard to believe my camera still works!:

Every day Bob's rolls out a line of demo bikes, and had they not needed a $2000 deposit for a ride, I would have been off in the wind on this sweet 1200:

Not only was he a great host(probably learned lots from his wonderful wife :biggrin: ), but Timmy took on the role of tour guide also as we suited up the next morning and scooted over to D.C. to wake some politicians with the glorious V4 noise…

"All in favor of V4's lemme hear ya say YAY!"

"Can you hear me now Dubya?" :goofy:

The visit to DC was kinda brief, but still really cool as I hadn't been there before. I think the best bit of information I picked up though, is that all the museums in DC(there are a lot!) are free! Even the Smithsonian, so I do believe there is a family vacation in DC in order! After a quick cruise by the Washington monument, it was time for Timmy and I to part ways, he had to go to work, and I had to pound out 690 miles to Nashville! I went about 30 miles to get out of town, filled up on gas, had a granola bar and some water, and plodded on through the heat and humidity. I made excellent time to about Cookeville, TN, when the sky turned black and I pulled in to a gas station to get some food and gas and see what the weather was going to do. It rained. Hard. But only for about 10 minutes before it moved on east, and out of my way. I threw my rain jacket on over my leather and headed out, another hour or so on wet roads and I was in Nash. Took about 10 hours. :fing02:

The trip got better as soon as the weather cleared and I pulled into Kev's driveway and saw how welcome I was:

Kev you bastage! It takes a true southerner to misspell "yankee" :goofy:

Such a warm welcome could only be accompanied by a good steak and Kevin's other favorite pastime, "People Watching" as he calls it in downtown Nashville. A few home runs in the "other sport" and we were back off to the house for beers…

I let myself get worried about my back tire holding up the day before (Friday) coming through Fairyland – sorry, - Maryland – due to the heat and humidity causing the tires to just ball up and cry for mercy, but I've been known to worry too much about such things and it turns out I didn't need the new tires right away. Good thing, because I was too damn tired to change them anyway!

Sunday morning the agenda consisted of breakfast at Pucketts and a day of ridding myself of the Interstate blues, as I said, Bailey is an animal on his home ground and I was looking forward to a good day of chasing him around! Weather turned out great with just a couple wet roads in the morning on the way to Pucketts, whoever coined the term tree mucus is justified, that stuff is slick as snot until it dries up. Kevin being on new tires was babystepping his way around only to keep showing me his tail later on in the day, new tires and wet roads can be a dangerous combination!

I was pleasantly surprised to see Skuuter & Mitzie patiently awaiting our late(in Skuuter terms) arrival, just to say hello and to let me take the 'Wing out for a test ride! Thanks for coming guys, and I now have a whole new appreciation for the term "Flexi-Flyer" :fing02:

David, better keep an eye on Kevin's hands...

The rest of the day went really well, I got a little tired towards the end of the day and blew a corner, along with a couple little line crossings here and there, but nothing too scary – wait – I take that back – two things that got a quick breath out of me, a right hander leaving a stop sign near a recreational lake, there was silt on the road and my back end stepped out 10-12" as I gassed it from the stop was one, along with ensuing lack of confidence until I figured out what it was… #2 was a shining moment that Kev and I will probably talk about for years. As we were heading back to the house on I-40(Kev likes to use the highway to get to the good stuff), we were coming up on a slower suv at the same time as our exit, Kevin made a sudden decision to pass the guy and drop down inside for the offramp, and in a split-second decision, I was on the gas and right behind him! I didn't have much room to get in there, and I was carrying quite a bit of speed as I found myself wondering what the F had I just done and MAN is that guardrail coming up fast! The ramp was concrete and greasy as I checked my distance to the guardrail and kept my focus on the ramp ahead(what I could see of the damn thing, the sun was in my face, it was uphill, and I think one of my eyes was pinched shut about as tight as my- well you can guess!!). It was a matter of trusting the bike, the tires and my ability, as well as staying focused on the Right Things To Do, as the my toe sliders disintegrated on the concrete and the back of Kevin's bike grew larger and larger. It was a rare glory moment that could have easily been the end of a trip but turned out to be a track-like moment instead where "if you find yourself scared, you are doing it right". Other than that, it was a great day rippin high speed twisties, wheelies, and that little drag race…

Unfortunately, I think we got only one ride pic in, and Kevin took it. I had my camera with me, but was enjoying the pace to much to slow myself down with picture taking… mind posting that pic Kevin? I think you got Rob, Bob, and the other guy in it too?

After all that, it was definitely time for new shoes(and underwear!), so off to the house!

We discovered a neat trick to keeping the HF bar from scratching the wheels; we clipped some rim protectors on the wheel after breaking the beads, and zip tied them to the bar! This worked out really well, not a single scratch!

The master at work(hey, I'm on vacation here!) :goofy:

Friday – 376 miles

Saturday - ~700 miles

Sunday – 382 miles

Monday was Skuuter Crawl day, I tried getting Kevin to come, but he said something under his breath about "over my dead body – torture – F that" something or other and finished with "I really have to go to work" So it was not in the cards for Skuuter to see "His friend Baileyrock" Monday… :goofy: Leaving me to slab my way to Tullahoma all alone… it went by quick and I was greeted by Bent and David at Mitzie's Shell station in Tullahoma with a snapping camera and a box of delicious breakfast pizza(see Skuuter's "three stooges" post for more details). The days ride involved bee lining from one set of corners to the next, with stops in Bell Buckle(beautiful scenery in the Tennessee walking horse country!) and also in Lynchburg before heading to the real nice twisties up Monteagle mountain.

A stop in the historic square is almost required, and I just had to get a couple shots of the bike in front of the famous Jack Daniels center… I STILL cannot believe that this place is located in a DRY county, no way to buy a "fresh" bottle of Jack here(!), but apparently they have testers that get paid to make sure every single bottle is the same anyway…oh well! Dewars from the flask tonight it is! :goofy:

The place Skuuter had picked out and tested for lunch in Sewanee was a bust, as they turned out to be closed only on Mondays, as was Bea's, and so we headed back down the mountain to split ways with Jim and head to the local Cracker Barrel for a bite.

Monday mileage – 350

Tuesday I tried again to get Kevin to "Bailey" out of work and ride with me over to NC to meet Sam, but to no avail. Damn workaholic. :dry: LOL. On my own again with turn by turn directions to find my way over to Edgar Evins state park, and most of the rest of the route some of you guys took to get to Franklin from Nash for TexasMac. I took a few pictures around the park, but only a couple came out halfway decent, and the road was so nice it was hard to break off and pull the camera out! Another beautiful day weatherwise, nice and cool that morning, and the road was full of great sweepers. Crossing the Center Hill dam gave a nice view to either side, lake on one and mountains/construction on the other, then I found some other little backroads to make my way over to Rt. 30 through Pikeville and Dayton where I switched to boring roads by hopping 27 to 68 to 411 into Tellico Plains and onto the Cherohala Skyway. What a great day to be on that road, temps were in the 70s at elevation, and deserted, it was like heaven. From the Skyway I hit the Dragon and the Gap store for new t-shirts(yes, I'm a squidly tourist), I got one nice clean run up to the overlook, and then on the way back I came across a guy who went down and broke his collarbone. Someone was just leaving to get the police, so I figured play time was over and got on my way to Robbinsville to phone Sam(marid2apterbilt). No cell service, so after a very brief $3.00 pay phone call to Sam from the Ingles we were on our way to meet up. A little dinner on the way and we were ready for another great day of riding on Wednesday… or so I thought…

Tuesday pics:

Tuesday mileage – 390

Wednesday came all too early after a short nights' sleep, Sam and I were off to meet Jeremy(Jeremy556) in Suches at the intersect of Georgia 60 & Wolf Pen Gap Road, and it wasn't too long after that we were rippin up and down Blood Mountain. Sam has a CDL to preserve and so Jeremy and I would wait up for him at certain points, and at the bottom of Blood Mountain I had some trouble. Jeremy and I pulled into the little store at the bottom of the mountain to find coolant running in a stream out of the bottom of my bike! WTF! Turns out that due to my fan motor bracket being bent from my crash 2 years ago, the fan had been rubbing on my radiator ever since, and it actually wore its way through a couple of the rows in my left side radiator!! This was a huge problem made manageable with the help of the VFRD crew. Sam took off to go home and get his car, while Jeremy went to the next town to see about finding anything we could use to fix the situation and get me back on the road. This was at about 10:30 in the morning, and by the time Sam came back with his car and trailer we had come up with a bit of redneck ingenuity to get the rad patched. We had three ideas, 1 was to get the bike on a trailer and get it to a shop where I could beg borrow or rent a TIG welder so I could d oa permanent fix or replace the rad with an overnighted part. Option #2 was to bypass the radiator wit ha bit of hose and some clamps t oget the same end result as #1. Option #3 was to find some kind of epoxy to patch the holes with and see how long it held up. We ended up busting down door number 3 with a Permatex rad repair kit, which was basically 2 part steel epoxy that had some emery paper and an alcohol wipe in it. I pulled the rad off the bike, rinsed it in the store's bathroom sink, and pressed the epoxy on. In the meantime Jeremy got a little riding in, since it was getting pretty hot at that point sitting around in full gear and there was no point in him hanging around waiting for the stuff to cure. Without Sam and Jeremy I would have been completely screwed, as I had no cell service and would have been by myself walking around trying to get help! Big thanks again to you two!! Sam and I ended the day by meeting him again at the Franklin motel on his bike, then we hit the slab to get to a nice bit of twisties and then the Blue Ridge Parkway(BRP), and then to our hotel on the east side of Asheville.

Couldn't have done it without these guys:

Rt.276?

Sam was getting a little tired of all the curves:

BRP:

One of my favorite shots of the whole trip:

(Also in my gallery)

Even with the 4 hour delay, we managed to rack up a few hundred miles!

ps - Chasing Jeremy is like chasing a ghost - he's in that white suit just smoothly(and very quickly!!) gliding along, so close yet so far away... :goofy:

Thursday – right up there with Sunday as highlights of the trip as we had a super group together for a one-way day of backroads. Sam and I met up with our leader for the day, VF-1R(Brian), dbs05(Brian), and Soichiro(Doug) at the McDonalds in Old Fort after a brief stint on the Interstate.

A big thanks to all three of you guys for showing me all the road construction and traffic that North Carolina has to offer! :fing02:

Seriously, I really enjoyed riding with you guys, Brian set a great pace (when he wasn't stuck behind a car or falling into a cyclist's cadence :goofy: ) and Brian #1 and Doug were just a pleasure to be around. Great day guys, I'll do it again anytime possible! Once we finally cleared the traffic I really fell into a rhythm on those roads, and once we got to 421 I was really in the zone and was dragging peg everywhere. The Fourth of July fireworks cam a day early for Brian #1! In hindsight, I was probably going a bit farther than I should have, being so far from home, well, what can I say… What a fun road, nice clean pavement, good sight lines, etc. Now if we could keep those pesky motard guys out of the way… we had one that was making trying to make holes in our group and was basically just stuffing himself between us after cutting a couple double yellows and almost hitting a cruiser head on to do it… then he got in front of me and slowed down! I hate that! I was about ready to stuff my front wheel up his exhaust pipe when the turns finally petered out and we rolled into the country store in Shady Valley for a late lunch. I got a bit verbal wit hthe guys about this motard rider, only to realize later that he was sitting out on the front porch and probably heard every word I said. Oh well, maybe he'll think about it a little and not possibly kill someone the next time he goes out…

Lunch was burgers(thanks again Brian #1!), but in hindsight should gone for the tube steaks because I'm pretty sure they killed the cow, processed the beef, froze the patties, and then put them on the grill before we got to eat them… a break was needed though, and I'll say once again that the company could not be beat. Sam was feeling like heading home at that point, but before he split he came up with this excellent idea of parking his butt on the inside of a corner on 421 to get some action shots, and man, did they come out good! It wasn't the usual "picture corner" because for the first time on the trip a trooper camped out on a fun road, so we just went and picked ourselves another corner! I'm surprised he didn't come back through and catch us in the act, but I'm glad he didn't!

Please observe our low lean angles and dubious body positioning:

Brian's sexy beemer:

The improv-pic corner:

My favorite shot:

Railin 421 in Shady Valley Hey look, sparkles!

*Note to noobies, please don't try this at home!*

I'm having a hard time wording this next part, because I can't for the life of me seem to remember what roads we finished the day on, must have been all those curves making me dizzy… :goofy: Somehow I found my way onto I-81 and made my way north for a couple hundred more miles to check into a Quality Inn up in Staunton, Virginia. I requested a ground floor room, non-smoking, on the exterior of the building, and here's why, it just doesn't get any safer than this! :biggrin:

Total miles for Thursday – believe it or not, 421.

I don't have much for Friday other than to say that it was a long day of slab, the morning especially just seemed to drag on and then it started to rain… and rain… and then it rained some more. Then it stopped raining somewhere in northern Pennsylvania and I hit Jersey and the end of 287 just in time to catch a ridiculous amount of traffic that had 3 lanes of highway at a standstill. It took me 30 minutes to move one and a half miles, and I was getting anxious about my radiator fix holding up since the bike temps were spiking, so I decided to hit the shoulder and got around most of it. Rode the shoulder for a couple miles to the Sloatsburg toll booths, then again for a couple more miles up 87 and it finally cleared up entirely near Poughkeepsie. I had left Staunton at 8:30 in the morning, and made it into my driveway just before 4pm. Not bad for a 490 mile day!

Total miles for Friday the 4th: 490.

Total miles for the trip: 3300!

Hope I haven't left anything out, I really had a blast with all you guys, Thank You again for a great time and I hope to see you all again real soon!! :beer:

[SEBSPEED]

Click the little pics for a bigger one.

[dutchinterceptor]

CALENDAR SHOT!!

Great report and cool shots! :laugh:

[dbs05]

We had a great time as well Seb. Come back anytime. I know where there is some gravel we missed! NC Quarry and Construction Tour is always here for you. Great pics and thanks for the light show. I need to do an epic trip. Let me know when you get that house squared away. :laugh:

[y2kvfr]

The soft underbelly of the VFR is revealed!

Sounds like an AWESOME trip!

Kudos to VFRD members for showing the yankee around

(someday... someday I'll attempt the a like minded trip)

I'm just in awe.

[marid2apterbilt]

Ha made the Home page too.. TGood job.. Loved having you here.. Most fun in a long tIve had on a bike yet even with the mechanical issues.. come back anytime..

A compilation video of our 2 days..

Click here to watch Sebspeed-tours-the-South

[SEBSPEED]

Thanks for the comments so far folks, and thanks for the feature!! Sorry to make it so long but I couldn't do the trip or these other fine folks justice without going in depth!

Mmm, more gravel? Nah, I'd rather play brick polo... :laugh:

Steve, rad is holding up, come on up and help me kill this Diablo off... I'm gonna go through 4 or maybe 5 sets of tires this year! I do need to do some maintenance soon though - radiator, mounting bracket, chain & sprockets, washing, etc. Maybe brake pads too... Gotta have a garage sale again to raise some funds!

[marid2apterbilt]

Ok can we start the Black mail now....

[Baileyrock]

Seb, or BaileyRock:

Do you have a pic of the HF mount bar modification?

I just can't visualize it...

thanx

I don't have pics but Kev can probably snap one or two for ya. It's so simple a caveman could do it. :biggrin:

Only if you have 'jazz hands'

Kev: Pics?

thanx a million!

Here's a pic of the mod we did to the HF mounting bar, it's a plastic rim protector usually sold in sets of 3. We zipped tied one to each of the bar and that eliminated any metal to rim contact. :fing02:

[Baileyrock]

Thanks for posting that Kev, do you also have that one pic you took on the bridge stashed somewhere?

Here ya go!

[marid2apterbilt]

It may have been more than luck with you on this trip Seb..

[Faceplant]

Great trip write-up!

Seems like you guys had a really good time, it's always nice to meet people from forums IRL!

That pic with sparkles has to be one of the best shots of a VFR rider I've ever seen!

I can't possibly go at that angle, not even without the bags! I'm really impressed!!! :biggrin:

Those shots with "rays-of-god" ain't to bad either!

Keep posting from your trips, man. It's always nice to read them!

[Honley]

Seb,

Great photos and write-up. Sorry I missed you at Puckett's that Sunday afternoon. I was out just scuffing in a new rear Pilot Road that I had put on the day before. I spoke to Kevin but I guess he just forgot to introduce us. I've also enjoyed reading about your VFR restore project. I wish I had that kind of talent.

Glad you had a great time here in the Good Ole South and I hope the next time your here I can ride with you as long as my riding skills keep improving. Anyone you can make SPARKS can sure out ride me and then some!

[soichiro]

Great write up Seb. What an awesome trip.

I had a blast showing you all the road hazards we have to offer. A BRICK, REALLY, A FREAKING BRICK IN THE ROAD, THAT WAS MESSED UP. Glad to have you back anytime. You were railing on the second part of the day. Especially on my secret road, :rolleyes: .

Come back anytime, YOUR AN OK GUY FOR A YANKY.

[timmythecop]

The Sebtracker 5000 pictures have just down linked. (Problem with the sattelite)

[Peto]

Great write up. I enjoyed it. I love the picture of your bike staring down the deals gap sign.

Its funny, I did an almost identical trip last November -- even stayed in Staunton on my way back to Jersey. I didn't reach out and meet up with any fellow VFRD members though. After reading about your trip, and the cool guys you met, I should have.

Anyway, there was one other, not so fun, similarity between our trips...

I was on 68 heading south out of Tellico Plains. It was a few minutes after 5 AM, still dark, and about 26 degrees out, no foolin'. I pull into a gas station just south of 74 (ducktown) and shut her down at the pump. As I am bringing the key to the tank, hands shivering cold, it slips out of my fingers and falls into the bike between the front of the tank and the frame. :fing02: I tried to pretend that it didn't happen. But, when I opened my eyes and the key wasn't there, I knew that it had.

At first I wasn't too concerned, I mean it wasn't like I lost my only key, I knew "about" where it was. I checked the ground and used my flashlight to peek into all the gaps in the fairing to no avail. I'm still thinking, no big deal... I'll take the fairing off, grab the key, and be on my way. Then it dawns on me - I am alone, almost 1000 miles from home, its below freezing, AND my tools are under the locked (<--Key Word) seat. :schla15:

I managed to get the cowl off and began to fish under the seat through the grab handle holes. After about an hour my short, fat, frozen fingers managed to slide the 5mm allen wrench out of my tool roll that was straped down under the seat. Phew! I am out of the woods. No Deliverance scenes going to happen to me!

I quickly remove the side fairing and expect to grab the key out of the radiator, or reserve tank, or.... the key was nowhere to be found... my heart sank. Its now about 7AM and people are starting to trickle in to the station. Ahh! it must be under the tank. I ask some guy in a pick-up with the tool chest if I can borrow pliers. I take the bolts out of the front of gas tank and thankfully return the man's pliers. I go to lift up the front of the tank and I can't beacuse the seat is still locked down. Are you kidding me?!

At this point, 3 hours stranded, I am frozen to bone (no key = no heated vest/grips), my hands are bruised and bloody, and I have luggage and bike parts strewn all over the place. I decided to sit down, have some jerky, and regain my composure. Using my flashlight I systematically begin searching inside the bike. I finally see and retrieve the key (unbelievably, it was in the 'V' of the motor). Another 45 minutes rebuilding the bike (those stupid well nuts weren't cooperating) and I finally could get some gas.

I pulled out of the gas station at 9:02, turned towards the Wolf, and reached down to pat the Viffer on her side thankful for the warmth she was again providing.

Anyway Seb, I can appreciate that damn good feeling you had when you were rolling again after your unexpected problem on the road. Nice repair job.

Sorry about the hijack. Later-

[timmythecop]

you fellas know that it is pronounced "Stan-ton" and not "Ston-ton" right? Home of the Oak Ridge Boys and Woodrow Wilson.

It is also home to Mary Baldwin College for girls. I was removed from that istitution once by the headmistress late one night. My downfall was beer and a lack of men's rooms.

[SEBSPEED]

Damn southern spelling got me again... :rolleyes:

[SEBSPEED]

No, I chose the Microtel Inn on Frontier Drive. Its all by itself on the hill. Clean and about 50 bucks.

The Quality Inn was just under $60 after I talked my way into a AAA discount, bonus was having a ground floor room with an outside door so I could bring the bike in. :rolleyes: :fing02:

[poconovfr]

No, I chose the Microtel Inn on Frontier Drive. Its all by itself on the hill. Clean and about 50 bucks.

The Quality Inn was just under $60 after I talked my way into a AAA discount, bonus was having a ground floor room with an outside door so I could bring the bike in. :rolleyes: :fing02:

Dude, that's true love. See it's stuff like that,bad rad and all that makes the difference. That's eatin' your beans and drinkin' you milk.... :fing02:

[SEBSPEED]

No, I chose the Microtel Inn on Frontier Drive. Its all by itself on the hill. Clean and about 50 bucks.

The Quality Inn was just under $60 after I talked my way into a AAA discount, bonus was having a ground floor room with an outside door so I could bring the bike in. :biggrin: :fing02:

Dude, that's true love. See it's stuff like that,bad rad and all that makes the difference. That's eatin' your beans and drinkin' you milk.... :laugh:

I prefer to have my cake and eat it too, beans give me too much gas... :rolleyes: :goofy:

[Magoo]

Great write up, Seb. Humbling experience to be broken down far from home, but having vfrd buddies come through had to restore your faith in humanity a bit. Go home Yanky. Priceless.

Magoo

[SEBSPEED]

Thanks Magoo, couldn't have done it without them!

You should head over my way for the Fall Ride in the Catskills, we'd love to have a torque monster join us! :unsure:

ps - are you on the V4 bbs too?

[Magoo]

Yes, sir I am. Same handle at v4bbs.

Lurking around here and watching posts about your event this fall. I do hope to drop by, but can't commit yet, so I've stayed quiet. Got a recent job promotion a month or two ago. It's kept me so busy I haven't had time to put a lot of miles on. It's July and I still feel like I'm trying to get back into the swing everytime I get on the bike. Not sure I'm ready to keep up with you kneedraggers yet, but we've got time.

I rode down to Deals Gap in May, but my trip pales in comparison to yours. I'm jealous, but inspired.

Magoo

[SEBSPEED]

We hold a nice. more relxed pace during the fall ride due to the larger spread of skill levels, scenery. and road hazards during that time of year. Plan for the end of October, haven't had anyone leave disappointed yet! :fing02: