RDY2GO!

Are You RDY2GO!

2010-12-31T23:59:00.011-05:00

My family and I love motorcycles and riding. There are few things that compare to a good day riding. Time spent with family and friends during a ride or road trip are memories made that are amoung those that we will will charish for the rest of our lives. This page is done for our family and friends.

To access posts choose either the Blog Archive to the right and choose a date or title or click older posts at the bottom of this post to visit our most recent post.

If you would like to see an enlarged version of a photo on this sight, position your mouse pointer over any of them and click.

Thank you for visiting, enjoy your stay!

Bruce & Julie McCrary

Photos From The Road

It's Official!

2010-04-29T13:10:00.002-04:00

Bryan and I both received our email notifications today!

"April 29, 2010

Dear J. Bruce McCrary:

You are receiving this e-mail because of your application for a ride certification. This note is to let you know that your ride has been approved and although your ride documents may take a few more weeks to arrive, your membership has also been approved and entered into the Iron Butt Association's member database.

Welcome to the Iron Butt Association!

Michael Kneebone
President, Iron Butt Association"

Day Trip to Meadows of Dan, Virginia and Beyond - April, 11th, 2010

2010-04-12T10:02:00.002-04:00

While it is a given that Julie and I want to ride most every week-end, there are times when things come up or have to be done that prevent us from going. We had talked about going riding during the week but there were some things we really needed to get done around the house over the week-end and just weren't sure if we'd be able to.

Saturday was spent getting some of these things handled and when Sunday rolled around we weighed our options then decided that we'd go for a "short" ride up to a little country store located just off the BRP in Meadows of Dan, Virginia. She'd seen these particular clay pots on another ride, but couldn't remember if they would be the right size for what she wanted to do.

Hey, any excuse for a ride, right?

We waited until later in the morning so that the temperatures would rise some and headed out around 10:30 am or so. Trying to do my best to keep her off the BRP this year I decided to go up Hwy 8 to Stewart, Virginia then take US 58 west over to the store where we'd seen them. It was a beautiful day and as always the ride up Hwy 8 was both fun and scenic. Julie spotted a sign that directed us to US 58 that we'd never noticed before well before we got to Stewart so we took it knowing we'd at least see some things we'd never seen before.

It was called Ayers Orchard Road and was a small country road that meandered through the farmland and countryside and seemed to be taking us more in an easterly direction than we'd normally go. But no matter, it was something new and different. After several miles we came to the end of this road and had to make a decision to go right or left on what was called the South Fork Loop. The problem was there wasn't a sign directing to 58! The only sign that we saw was directing us toward Danville, which wasn't the direction we needed to be going. So we opted to turn left and see what happened. In only a few miles we found ourselves at US 58 and went west.

We had only ridden a few miles when we saw a sign that told us Stewart was three miles ahead, so our detour through the country had indeed put us further east than we would have normally gone, but was well worth the detour. As I've mentioned before, US 58 is a road we really enjoy traveling and riding on so being able to see a part we'd never been on before was a good thing. It was an enjoyable ride and we found ourselves at the country store we were looking for a little after noon.

Julie went a checked out not only the pots but some plants and flowers that were there for sale while I fueled the bike, after which I parked and joined her. The pots were bigger than she remembered, which was good for what she wants to do with them, and heavier than either of us remembered as well. Since Julie was thinking that Bryan's first official trip with the trailer he is building would be to fetch some of these pots we were glad we had made this trip, they seemed like they may be a bit to heavy and fragile for something like that.

Satisfied with what we'd found we went to a little Bar-B-Que restaurant next door for some lunch before continuing on. For what it's worth, lunch sucked. They touted themselves as serving "Lexington Style Bar-B-Que" but trust me, it was far from it. After eating we wandered around a bit at some other shops close by then saddled up and rode on.

We decided to continue riding west on 58 and this section is a great ride. It takes you across the southern part of Virginia through rolling hillsides and back country and is a flowing, easy ride with just enough turns to make it fun and exciting. In no time at all we found ourselves in Hillsville where I asked Julie if she wanted to stay on 58 or take US 52. I figured if she decided on 52 we'd go where Bryan and I had the week-end before, and if she wanted to stay on 58 we'd just see where we ended up. She opted to stay on 58.

Again, 58 was what we'd come to expect of it. A great ride. Only this time we found ourselves on a mixture of four lane and two lane, and found that we had been on many parts of this section before. In what seemed like no time at all we found ourselves near Mouth of Wilson and the intersection of US 16. It was getting to be mid afternoon so we decided to take 16 south because we'd never been on this section before and we could start heading back as well.

16 is another one of our favorite roads north of where we were as it winds through the mountains toward Tazwell, but this section was more like what we'd experienced all day, winding and scenic. We rode into and through Wilksboro, North Carolina and continued on out of town to where 16 turns off of US 421, staying on 16. We hadn't been on that part long when we came to where 18 leaves 16 and I made a quick decision to take it instead of 16.

Again, more of the same type of road and scenery greeted us, it was turning out to be a day for lazy meandering through the hills and countryside. Perfect. As it was getting later in the day and as our backsides were beginning to ache a little, this part of the ride seemed to be getting a bit long. Eventually we found ourselves in Lenoir and jumped on US 64 west to start the trip home.

We are very familiar with this part of 64, but enjoyed the ride none the less and followed it all the way back to Statesville where we picked up I-40 and did the interstate thing over to Mocksville. There we got back on 64, riding it back home.

It was about 6:30 pm when we pulled the bike into the shop, and we had ridden 335 miles. Not exactly the short day we had set out to do, but what can I say? We love to ride!

Bruce

Hunting Twisties With Bryan - April 4th, 2010

2010-04-05T19:48:00.003-04:00

Bryan had told us earlier in the week that he would be coming home over the week-end. And while Julie and I love to think that his motivation was to spend time with us we both knew his reasons were to spend some time with his sweetie Alicia and to pick up his FZ6 that due to rainy weather the week-end before he was forced to leave here at the house. But we love to have our fantasies...

He had told us before hand that he did want to go riding and we invited him to go with us on the ride we had already planned for Saturday. However, he informed us that he already had plans to meet up with some friends from high school on Friday in Charlotte and wouldn't be done with that until the wee hours of the morning. Which meant he wouldn't be making an early go time on Saturday. Let it be known here and now that I will forever point out that he decided to fore-go a day of riding in order to go partying with the boys.

He did say however that he wanted to go riding on Sunday. Which didn't earn him any bonus points with his mother because she was scheduled to fly out to Florida on business that day. On the other hand, I didn't have any plans... :)

Like me, Bryan was jonesing for some twisties. He mentioned that even though he has ridden some this year and even made a trip across US 421, aka "The Snake", October was the last time he really spent any 'quality time' in the mountains on his bike. So when I saw him briefly late Saturday night (and rubbed in what a great ride he had missed) he asked me if I felt like heading up Hwy 8 to Tuggles Gap on Sunday.

Does a bear poop in the woods?

Julie, being the good sport that she is, gave us both a kitchen pass for the day but asked that I help her print some pictures of Bryan and Alicia before we left. She was hoping to be able to stop by and visit my Dad while in Florida and wanted to have them with her just in case. So after getting that done Bryan and I began prepping for the ride.

We left the house about 9:30 am headed up Hwy 8 and to the mountains. We both had about half a tank of fuel and decided just to ride that out, stopping for fuel when we needed it on up the road. By close to 11:00 am we were in Lawsonville fueling up and grinning after having tackled the Hwy 8 twisties between Winston Salem and Danbury.

The ride up through Stewart, Virginia was a hoot. It was a beautiful spring day, there was little traffic and we were having a ball. After we went through Woolwine we stopped at an old produce stand so that I could set up the Go-Pro camera and clean the windscreen. The plan was to make the run up to Tuggles Gap and check for a place that would allow us to get safely off the road where we could play a bit and take pictures. Then turn around at the top of the mountain and go back to it. When we reached the twisty section Bryan, as usual, checked out on me, but not as bad as he used to do. The FJR deserves all the credit for that. Once at the top and stopped we gathered up and talked about having seen a spot that should work for what we wanted to do and headed back to it.

Play time! Bryan went first and was very photogenic, I really pleased with the way the pictures turned out and plan on putting some up on the wall of the McCrary Man Cave. He made several passes back and forth on the section we were in which allowed me to play with the camera while I took many of shots and even a video of him. The boy grinned from ear to ear when we got back home and he saw the photos posted here! Rightly so!

Now let me just say that neither me nor the FJR are as slim, svelte and nimble as the boy and his FZ6 are. Plus Julie will tell you that I'm not as aggressive either, which on street bikes could be a good thing for an old man and his wife. Still, I made a pass by Bryan and he got a few shots of me, then I went down to where we'd been turning around, as I did an Escalade came by. Not wanting to get caught behind it I waited for several minutes before taking off. But within just a couple of turns I had indeed caught up to it, I guess they must have stopped somewhere for some reason. Regardless, now I was stuck behind this relative to me slow moving behemoth. I slowed way up and tried to give myself a little room so that I could have some momentum when I passed Bryan, but it didn't work. So those photos have the appearance of a tourer, not a sport tourer, which I guess is appropriate.

However, I turned around at the other end our photo section to come back toward Bryan and he was able to click off the photos you see here. I'm tickled enough with them that I'm sure they too will find a home on the wall of the man cave.

At this point I was ready to quit fooling around and get back to the business of riding! But now Bryan was hungry, so we went back to the top of the mountain, got on the BRP headed south down toward Meadows of Dan, Virginia to find a place for a late lunch. Along the way we noticed something we'd hadn't seen prior to this trip. It appeared to be some sort of park and visible from the parkway were a setting of some kind of bushes that were shaped in the form of a treble clef. Checking into once we got home I discovered that what we saw was the site of "Floydfest" and that those bushes contain lights that are turned on at night during the festival.

After lunch we grabbed a map and asked one of my very favorite questions; Where to next? It was getting later in the day but it hasn't been getting dark until after 8:00 pm recently. Neither of us had any place to be until later on in the day Monday so naturally the "We love to ride McCrary's" decided to venture on and see what we could find. Julie, Bryan and I love US 58 through Virginia but neither Bryan or I had been on the section between Meadows of Dan and Hillsville so that seemed like a plan. We decided from there we would take US 52 north and then check out SR 94, which again, neither of us had ridden. Then we'd take a look at where we were at and the available daylight left. A plan!

58 didn't disappoint us. It wasn't super curvy but it did wind it's way through some beautiful countryside. We both commented about that on the radio while riding. At Hillsville we got on US 52 as planned and headed north. I had just been there the day before with Teddy, Tim and Julie but it's a great ride so what the heck, but Bryan said he'd never been on it before. He was digging it! We were both in full picture taking mode now so I mentioned to him that the "Shot Tower" state park wasn't far ahead as well a view of the I-77 bridge over the New River and that I'd like to stop and get a few pictures of both since they were close together. As always, he was game.

We rode right past the entrance to the Shot Tower Park and were then immediately on a small bridge going over the New River so we couldn't stop or turn around. The I-77 bridge was right there on our immediate left and Bryan was both spellbound and amazed. Though not in the same category as the New River Gorge bridge further north on US 19, this is still an amazing structure! Having no choice we rode on and went under the big bridge, then stopped at a wide spot to take some pictures. The problem was the way US 52 ran we couldn't get the kind of pictures we wanted, so we came up with a plan...

I kept my camera out of the bag and put the strap around my neck, then put on my helmet and got on the bike, laying the camera on the tank bag. I got the bike fired up and turned around, then proceeded slowly back toward the big bridge, under it, around the corner and then over the small bridge, all the while pointing the camera at what I wanted to photograph. Since I need my right hand to operate the shutter I used the throttle lock on the bike to keep the engine just above an idle and eased along, one hand on the bars, the other holding the camera and taking pictures. Bryan had it easy, he used his small point and shoot. Still, all in all the pictures turned out amazingly well I think.

As I said, this is one big bridge. I find myself in awe of structures like these wondering how man can build something so massive. Bryan said it was due to engineers... But when I asked him if he could do it he told me that was the job of civil engineers, not mechanical. Good answer...

We rolled slowly into the entrance into the Shot Tower park only to find that the gates and the park were closed. We parked the bikes, got off and decided to at least take photos of what we could see. But soon the 'J.B. McCrary' came out in both of us so we ducked under the gates and walked up to the tower anyway. I'm glad we did. It's an interesting piece of history and gave Bryan a chance to continue with the 'civil' vs 'mechanical' engineer thing.

I had no idea what the Shot Tower was. Honestly, looking at it as we rode by on previous trips I figured it might had been a snipers nest during the civil was or something along that lines. Boy, was I wrong. It was designed (by mechanical engineers...) and built to manufacture the lead balls used in the muzzle loader rifles during the 1800's. How it all works is on the information board I took a picture of and is posted below. Also notice where it says "National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark". Bryan did, and made sure to point that out to me. I still think it would be harder to build that bridge...

Still, it was interesting, and another piece of the history of the south during the war. And yes Bryan, I'm sure it took some doing to figure out how to make it work. At the same time it sounds just like something a bunch of college kids would come up with. "Hey lets dig a hole and put a bucket of water in it, then build a tower over the hole and drop things into the bucket!"

We left the Tower park and continued up US 52 to just south of the I-77 intersection, turning onto SR 94 and soon discovered we'd made a find! Riding through the town of Ivanhoe and into the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area we were greeted with fantastic scenery, sweeping curves, tight turns, elevation changes and road surfaces like you might find on a race track. It was great! There was some traffic that slowed our pace some, but not much and for the most part we were flowing with the road and just having a good time. Before long we came to the town of Fries, Virginia (pronounced "Freeze") where the wife of one of Bryan's friends is originally from. Bryan thought it would be fun to stop and take a few pictures to show them that we had actually been there, so we pulled into town and down by the New River.

Bryan's friends had told him how there was a freezer that had a sign in it that read "Welcome to Fries, Virginia which is really what he wanted to get a picture of. We rode all over town trying to find it and never did, then decided just to go down to the river to check it out and get a few photos. From the road we saw a railroad caboose that was in a park located next to the river and rode down to check it out.

Bryan was busy taking 'beauty shots' of the bikes next to the river while I looked around the park to see what I might find. Amazing as it sounds, I found a dam! Not a big one, which explains why we missed it when we pulled in, but a dam none the less. All in all it was a neat little place and worth stopping for a few minutes to see.

Leaving Fries we continued on 94 for several miles until we arrived at SR 274 where we headed west following the New River. It didn't take long to realize we had made another find as not only was the road itself great, so was the ride. Once again we found sweeping turns and gorgeous scenery as the road ran close to the river and then out into the Virginia woodlands. It was decided that we really needed to get back up to the area and do some more exploring, but by now the shadows were getting long as the sun began to get low in the horizon.

We rode 274 out to US 221 and took it over to Independence where we picked up US 21 south riding straight through to Sparta, North Carolina. Bryan was getting hungry and the pot roast that Julie left in the crock pot for us was calling us. We began discussing how much fuel we had and how far out we were from the house, deciding that one more stop was going to needed to make it in. One of our usual stops wasn't far ahead at that point and we decided that we'd fuel up there and then ride straight in to the house.

A fun ride off the mountain on 21 followed until we caught up with some traffic, but that allowed us to chat a little on the radio and take in the sights. Our chatting ended when someone on a base station with a lot and I mean a lot of power took over the channel and started doing the CB base station thing. At first it was entertaining, then it became annoying as no one could talk over him and all he was doing was B.S.'ing and stirring up the airways. The problem was he had so much power we had to endure this guy for miles.

About half way between Elkin and Harmony I spotted some purple and yellow flowers right off the road, Knowing that Julie is looking for flowers that color to make prints of and hang on the wall of the woman cave I asked Bryan if there would be enough light to get any decent pictures. He felt sure there was so we found a place to turn around and headed back to see what we could do.

Bryan took a few as did I, hoping that something might come out that Julie would like and be able to use. We also found some blue something or others that are probably nothing more than weeds because they were covering the ground, but they were pretty and we were thinking of 'momma'.

The amazing thing is they were all growing wild right off the side of the road beside an old abandoned building. Several cars drove by while we were taking these shots and I'm the sight of two motorcyclists parked on the shoulder of the road taking pictures of flowers had to be an entertaining.

It was dark when we left, and close to 9:00 pm when we got home. Julie had left a message on the phone concerned that we were out so late, and we should have called her right away, but didn't. We were stuffing our faces with pot roast when she called back and though a little upset I think she understood.

We found some new roads, saw some beautiful country side, took some great photos, had a ball and got in a almost 320 miles. A great day by anyone's standard. For me it was the second day in the row that I had not only gotten to ride, but had great rides with my family and dear friends. What more could I ask for?

Bruce

Taking Teddy & Tim to Burke's Garden and West Virginia - April 3rd, 2010

2010-04-03T22:00:00.002-04:00

The first overnight ride that Julie and I took the FJR on last year was up to Burke's Garden, Virginia and as usual we had a ball. The ride itself was great as there are many great roads in the surrounding area, but Burke's Garden itself made an impression on us and we added it to our list of places we'd like to go back to.

Recently Teddy and Tim have appointed me 'tour guide' of our group, or at the very least the route master. I say this because it seems like each time we have ridden together this year they always say "We're following you!" when it comes time to decide which way to go. Earlier in the week Tim and I had both seen the weather forecast for the week-end and made plans to ride, I used the time I had before the week-end to come up with what I hoped would be a good one.

They had heard of Burke's Garden but had never been there, I also found out that even as much as Tim has ridden and explored the southeast on a motorcycle he'd never been on Hwy 16 in Virginia and West Virginia. Using my computer mapping software I put together what I thought would be a fun ride that involved mostly back roads that would take us through Burke's Garden and then down 16. Julie and I had only been on 16 south of Welch, WV one time back in September of 2007 so I figured it was about time we got back up there as well as introduce Teddy and Tim to some West Virginia coal country riding.

The intersection of the BRP and US 52 in Fancy Gap, Virginia

We left the house about 8:00 am on Saturday morning and rode in the cool early morning air up US 52 to Mount Airy, North Carolina and into Cana,Virginia where we climbed the mountain up to Fancy Gap, Virginia and made our first fuel stop. Julie and I had decided that with the warming temperatures we are experiencing it was time to pack up our heavier Kilimanjaro jackets and get out our lighter weight Tecnic vented ones. For the first part of the trip we were afraid that might have been a mistake because it was a might chilly on top of the mountain! While we were stopped Julie decided to get a cup of coffee to sip on and warm up a little bit.

We continued up US 52 through the Virginia countryside up to Fort Chiswell where we got on I-77 north. This would be our only time on an interstate highway the whole trip. It was a short ride of only a little more than 20 miles to where we would get on Virginia route 614 which would take us over to the Burke's Garden area.

614 was a find and is now on our list of must do again roads. A winding road with slight elevation changes that meanders through farmland, it was a joy to ride. I don't remember even meeting another vehicle for the entire time we were on it. It intersected with Virginia route 61 and we followed that west for a while until we came to Burke's Garden road and turned onto it so that we could take Teddy and Tim to what has been called "God's Thumbprint".

There is a beauty and aura to Burke's Garden that can only be appreciated by visiting it. There isn't really anything there to speak of, which is one reason I find it so appealing. Primarily a farming community, it is also a bedroom community for neighboring Tazewell and Bluefield and I'm sure that the residents must find very agreeable.

Teddy and Tim seemed to be as taken with it as Julie and I are because we spent close to an hour there taking photos, looking at the countryside and hanging out at the country store. As always the lady that works at the store was extremely friendly and helpful and a good bit of our time was spent there, sitting on the porch sipping on cold drinks and munching on snacks. She told us that the local farmers were calling for one more snowfall this year and that she can't remember a single time that they were wrong. Impressive when you consider that she told us once before she grew up there.

With a lot more miles to cover and the prospect of some amazing riding ahead, we saddled up and headed out. I'm sorry to say that although I did play with the Go-Pro camera and got some good video footage, I didn't take the still shot camera out the rest of the day. I've tried to post some of the videos but have run into to some problems getting them to post. Hopefully the folks at Blogger will respond to an email I sent that will help me get them on here at a later date.

After getting out of the mountain top valley we headed toward Tazewell on 61, then took US 19 into Bluefield. A 35 mile ride up US 52 to Welch, West Virginia was next, and as I thought it might be, a real experience for Teddy and Tim.

Billy Ray Cirus narrated a film on the area called "Hillbilly: The Real Story" that I recently saw on the History Channel. It's an amazing film that taught me a lot about the area and that I highly recommend to anyone, it's worth seeing. After watching it I found a whole new appreciation for not just the area but the people who lived there as well as those who still do. Coal was and really, still is King in this part of the country even though the boom days have long since passed. The beauty to be found as you ride up US 52 isn't the typical touristy type like what is found at the ski slopes relatively close by. You have to be looking for it, while understanding the pride the people that live there have in their rich family history. To the casual observer it is an economically depressed area with what appears to be a poor standard of living. The coal mining and supporting industries that are still in operation have a dramatic effect on not just what you see as you travel through, but the environment as well as the life styles of those who live there. For the most part the buildings and homes are old and in many cases run down. It can appear to be dirty as the dust from mining and transporting coal can settle on the roads and surrounding area. It can be noisy too as the sounds of lumbering coal trucks and the mile long trains, known as "coal pulls" echo through the trees and mountains. But even so there is a beauty to this mountain area that can't be found anywhere else, and one worth seeing for yourself.

Just outside of Welch we turned onto state road 16 and began our long trek over and through two different mountains. 16 is definitely one of our favorite roads because it's not only full of the twisties that we love to ride, but because the scenery is spectacular. It rises, falls, twists and turns with the mountains and must have been a bear to build and to maintain. Which was event, for most of the ride on 16 we encountered numerous places where gravel and sand were strewn over the surface of the road due in part to the severe winter the area experienced. Riding a motorcycle on roads such as this is a real thrill and we like to ride at a somewhat spirited pace when conditions allow it. Because a motorcycle can usually out accelerate, turn and brake most other vehicles it isn't hard to find yourself running at twice the speed of the cars and trucks you might encounter. Even so for the most part we seldom find ourselves going much faster than 40 to 50 mph, such is the nature and make up of these roads. But when conditions like the ones we found are present care has to be taken in order to maintain a high level of safety. Finding gravel or sand on the road at the exact moment and spot that you are asking a lot out of your tires and really need all the traction they can give you can be a recipe for disaster. So while we were able to really get the bikes leaned over in many of the turns, in others we had to slow way down in order stay up. Which worked out for Julie and Teddy as they had more time to take in the sights, but kept Tim and I on our toes.

We made our way down 16 and went through the town of Coalwood made famous by the movie "October Sky" and Homer Hickam who grew up in the mining community but dreamed of working in the then fledgling space industry. Then on to the town of War where Julie and I had a unique experience a couple of years ago where we stopped again on this trip for fuel. From there we continued on through Tazewell once more and past the Hungry Mother State Park, even though the scenery was beautiful and we were having a great time, we were all getting hungry and stopped in Marion for a bite to eat.

The sun was getting low and the temperature was beginning to drop by the time we were done eating so before we left we all started putting layers on and I put our clear face shields on for the ride home. We continued down 16 riding through the Jefferson National Forest and past the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area where we picked up US 58 and then SR 93 into Sparta, North Carolina.

Leaving Sparta we got on US 21 and had a fun ride off the mountain (that I have some great video of...) and into the town of Elkin. From there we rode into the darkness and the town of Harmony where we got on SR 901 for a bit, then US 64 which took us back home.

In all we were gone for a little more than 12 hours and rode just under 450 miles and had a grand time. Teddy paid me a real compliment when she sent me a text message the next day thanking me and complimenting me on the routes I had selected. :)

Your welcome Teddy. We had a ball too!

Bruce

It's spring, so it must be time to go to Florida! - March 23rd ~ 28th, 2010

2010-03-31T11:01:00.000-04:00

In the past my ride reports for my Florida trips have been fairly long to extremely long and filled with pictures. Unfortunately I'm going to break that tradition this time. There isn't much to tell and I didn't take a single photo the whole time I was gone.

The truth is that what has become my annual spring trip to visit my Dad was very much on hold this year, at least until I found a job anyway. But we got a phone call on Friday the 19th from my Dad's step son and later wife explaining that he wasn't doing well and was in the hospital. He had been complaining of extreme pain in his neck, shoulder and arms so they took him to the ER where as a precaution an EKG was performed. The results of this and high enzyme levels in his blood that indicated alarmed the ER folks so they transported him by ambulance to Ft Myers where his cardiologist is. There they determined that an angiogram should be done as a precaution. This was scheduled for Monday the 22nd.

Julie and I discussed whether or not I should go down, well actually she told me to go and I resisted. There wasn't anything I could do except wait on the test results and I hated to spend the money on the trip right at the moment. So I decided to wait until Monday to hear how the tests went and then decide what to do.

The test results were good, no real plague build up so there would be no need for a stent or any heart damage. Good news! At the same time it was explained to me that the high enzyme levels were indications of recent heart episodes and that Dad had lost a lot of weight since his surgery back in November. All of this and the urgency in the voices of Dad's wife and step son prompted me to think maybe I should go on down.

So Monday night Julie and I started packing up the FJR for the trip and on Tuesday morning I headed out. What I call "Florida Route 1", which is US 601 to US 301 to US 27 is my preferred route but I had waited until mid morning for slightly warmer temperatures to leave and didn't want to drag in after dark at my normal 'pit stop' location of Baldwin, Florida. So I bit the bullet and headed for the Interstates. I took I-85 to Charlotte, then I-77 to Columbia, South Carolina, then I-26 toward I-95. My first fuel stop was technically in Orangeburg, South Carolina but in reality it wasn't far from I-95 where I put the FJR in the wind south bound.

I droned on down the Interstate, happy to be on a bike, but wishing I was somewhere else...  Construction was light and traffic was, as usual, moving on. The only really interesting thing to happen was a trucker saw a sticker for the BRP (Blue Ridge Parkway) on my rear fender and mistook it for an MTF (Motorcycle Tourers Forum), noted my CB antenna and spoke to me on the radio about it. Turns out he his an MTF guy and rider too so I slowed up a bit and we chatted until I jumped off I-95. I was taking A1A and US 301 so that I could head for Baldwin and spend the night. It was a little after 6:00 pm when I got there. Not bad. Not a lot of fun and not very scenic, but that wasn't the idea.

I had trouble sleeping during the night and when I did get to sleep I slept a little later than I normally do. That put me leaving the motel around 9:00 am. Once again I veered from my normal route which is to take SR 100 in Starke, Florida over to US 19 and run it south through the Ocala National Forest. I have done this to avoid the traffic and congestion from Ocala over to Leesburg, but it's a little further. This time I opted to go straight down 301 to US 27 and later I wished I hadn't. Traffic sucked. But I stayed on the bike and rode on, not stopping until I got to Lake Wales, Florida some 250 miles south when I needed fuel. Then rode straight through again to Dad's house in Clewistion arriving just after 3:00 pm. Total distance for the trip down; 762.3 miles.

With the exception of running two errands to the store for them and the nights in their spare bedroom after he tired out, I spent the rest of that afternoon, the next two days and Saturday morning sitting in a chair next to Dad's bed listening to him talk. And man did he talk! It had been determined that the pain in his neck, shoulders and arms were due to a pinched nerve. Hmmph. All this time I thought I was the cause of the pain in his neck, at least thats what he always told me! Each day, really almost by the hour, I could see his spirits lifting. He had lost his appetite during the previous days and weeks so I encouraged him to eat while he talked. Actually I was kind of sneaky about it. I'd bring in fruit or whatever in bowls or a plate and lay them beside him on the bed. Then as he talked I'd occasionally reach over and grab a bite myself. It didn't take long before he was reaching down and 'snacking' with me as we talked!

When Saturday rolled around I hated to, but knew I needed to head back home. I think it was close to 11:00 when I hit the road and headed up US 27. This time I did take US 19 through the forest though and it was a much, much more pleasant ride.

On SR 100 I had an interesting experience though.  It was getting late in the day, I was ready to stop for the night and Baldwin was a few miles up the road. The FJR just seems to want 80 mph, I mean I really have to watch my speed while traveling. The truth is I was letting it roll a little bit across that piece of country road just wanting to get to Baldwin. I noticed three cars in a line coming the other way and eased off the throttle as they came close, then noticed the one in the middle was a deputy sheriff. I chopped the throttle at the very instant he turned on the blue lights and hit his brakes. Dammit!

Looking in my mirror I saw him initiate a very quick and hurried turn around, undoubtedly expecting what looked like a sport bike from the front to run. I was already slowing, and by the time he had gotten completely turned around I had my four way flashers on and was almost stopped on the side of the road. When he pulled up behind me I was off the bike, had my gloves off and was taking my helmet off. The officer was a younger man and he walked up to the other side of the bike and very politely introduced himself to me then thanked me for stopping so soon and easily! I really didn't know what to say at that point, but he continued and asked me if I knew why he had stopped me. I replied, "I'm sure I was going a little faster than he would like to have seen me going..." He smiled and said "76 mph." I hung my head and said "Really? My speedometer was showing 70, which I know is speeding (55 mph speed limit) but, well, there wasn't any traffic to speak of and this thing (pointing to the FJR) is so smooth..." He smiled at me and I continued, "Listen, I've got a lot of respect for law enforcement and you guys have a tough job, so let me explain that my license is in my wallet, that is in this bag on the fuel tank, and my registration is in the left saddlebag. I'm going to have to open both to get them. But I'll open the tank bag first and let you look before I get my wallet, and I'll open the saddlebag when your ready we'll do the same thing with it. OK?" He smiled again and told me he just needed my license, so I did just as I said and gave it to him.

He went to his car and I stepped around to the other side of the bike and stood there a minute. He was getting out of his car when I started to take my jacket off. "Don't do that..." he said. "Keep your jacket on." And he handed me back my license. "Slow it down just a bit, OK?" he went on, "We've had some deer run out in front of vehicles on this road and I just need you to slow down just a little. You obviously know what your doing and have a good bike there, but just in case of a deer it'd be better if you were taking it a little easier." I told him no problem and that I appreciated it and shook his hand. Then he sat there behind me until I had gotten my helmet and gloves on, then pulled out in the road and blocked it for me while I pulled out.

Very cool.

I did slow down, and got to Baldwin a little after 6:00 pm. The first thing I did when I got in my room was turn on the TV and found the weather channel. I couldn't believe what I saw. The forecast was for high winds, rain and a strong possibility of hail and tornado's in the afternoon for most of Georgia and South Carolina. Sumbitch.

Julie and I talked on the phone for a while and she rather strongly urged me to get up and leave very, very early so that I'd have a better chance of missing the storms. She was obviously right and I spent the evening getting ready for an early departure.

At 5:30 am I was on the road. I was in my rain pants and had the tank bag covered, if it started raining I was prepared.  It was still dark and to be honest going up that part of US 301 in the early morning darkness was eerie. Now once again I found myself in need of making time, and as bad as I wanted to and had planned to continue up US 301, I turned off and headed for I-95 again. It was still dark as I merged onto the big road and with little to no traffic on the road I felt somewhat better about it.

The sun started to rise about the time I got to the Jekyll Island area and I'll always remember the sight of a suspension bridge in the distance off to my right in the early morning light. In fact I wish now I'd stopped and took a picture of it, but I was on a mission.

I stopped north of Savannah for fuel and to get a cup of coffee to shake the chill off. While fueling the bike I had an interesting conversation with the guy next to me fueling his SUV. He was very interested in the bike and fascinated by the distance I was riding. His eyes got huge when I told him that my son and I had just done a ride nearly 1100 miles long in just over 18 hours and laughed when I told him that made us official Iron Butt riders! Later as I was sipping on my coffee I checked in with Julie and she told me the storms were coming in early and that I'd better quit dilly dallying and get my butt home, so I made my mind up to Iron Butt it home.

My next stop was in Orangeburg, South Carolina for fuel. Up until I had gotten on I-26 it was an absolutely beautiful morning, but heading west on I-26 I could see the clouds rolling in. As I pulled into the gas station I heard some truckers on the CB talking about how bad the rain was in Columbia... *sigh* One fueled up I decided that instead of heading into the rain and having to deal with it on an Interstate among cars and trucks I'd go up US 601. That way I'd be able to travel slower, safely and not have to contend with much traffic.

The entire way up 601 I seemed to be running just behind the rains. The roads were damp, but no standing water and not a drop was falling. At the same time, the sky's off to the west were U-G-L-Y, and from the weather reports the storms should be coming my way. Yet somehow I managed to stay dry. In fact I didn't see a rain drop until I got to Kannapolis, North Carolina, not far from the house, then rode the rest of the way home in the rain. It was about 2:30 pm when I rolled into the house and I had covered 786 miles since leaving Clewiston.

The total miles for the trip was 1548.4, which works out to almost 400 miles a day, and they were all relatively 'short' days.  However, I told Julie when I got home that between this trip, riding down I-85 and back the other week-end to ride some mountain roads and the SS1K Bryan and I did before that, I've had enough Interstate riding for the year! I'm ready for the mountains!

Bruce

Riding "Bryan's Loop" - March 20th, 2010

2010-03-20T15:57:00.000-04:00

Bryan has been telling us about a ride that he and some of his bud's like to go on from time to time. He told us that it was a fun ride with great scenery and good twisty roads that he thought we'd really enjoy. Not having any real particular destination in mind this past week-end, Teddy, Tim, Julie and I decided to give it a try.

The 'good part' of the ride is this; Take US 276 north off of SR 11 in South Carolina. Follow it almost to Asheville, North Carolina then take SR 215 south to US 178 south until it intersects back with SR 11 in South Carolina. As you can see from the map photo below getting to either 'end' of this loop is a fairly long ride for us, then when the loop itself and the ride home is added in it makes for a long day.

A few weeks prior to this trip Julie and I had attended a funeral for the father of a co-worker of hers near Boone, North Carolina and while in the area we did some 'scouting' of some of the mountain roads we love to ride. What we found was appalling. The area has been so hard hit by bad weather this winter that many of the roads were in horrible shape and in some cases blocked and impassable. Because of this and due to Julie and Teddy not wanting to be cold we decided on a southern route over to "Bryan's loop". This would keep us out of the mountains directly, yet allow us to ride parallel to them for a while before turning up into them. It also gave us an opportunity to get off the loop if it was in as bad a shape as the other roads we'd seen and get home on roads that should be in good shape.

The first leg of this 'southern route' was to head south on I-85 and ride it all the way to Gaffney, South Carolina. Having just recently completed the Saddle Sore 1000 IBA ride that was almost entirely done on Interstates I was less than excited about that. But the alternative back roads would have taken much longer and time would indeed be an issue if we were to complete the loop and ride as planned.

The next leg would get us off the "super slab" and back onto the back roads we enjoy. We first discovered South Carolina's SR 11 two years ago while heading to Helen, Georgia and have enjoyed it ever since. It's not a curvy and twisty mountain road, but it does wind it's way through the South Carolina back country allowing you to make decent time while enjoying sights such as The Cowpens National Battlefield, Table Rock State Park and Caesars Head State Park. In no time at all we found ourselves turning onto US 276.

We didn't get far up 276 before we stopped for fuel, something to drink and to come out of our jacket liners. But once back on the road it was easy to see why Bryan likes the road so much, it was great! We rode along enjoying the views, scenery and the road itself while having a great time. The only drawback was that in the tightest and twistiest part of the road we ran up on a bunch of bicyclists. Now normally I have no problem sharing the road with anyone. Unfortunately most of these folks were using a whole lot more road than most bicyclists do and were a real hazard. I was really glad to finally get past them.

But I also have to confess, I did it again. The original idea was to go as far as Brevard, North Carolina and pick up US 64 west for a short distance, then take US 178 south back to SR 11 in South Carolina. It didn't actually work out like that... At an intersection I saw a sign pointing to US 64 east, and one pointing to US 276 north. My feeble mind determined that US 64 west must be just up 276 a little further, so I continued on.

That's when things got interesting. And we got lost. Sorta.

As I made the left turn with the traffic light to stay on 276 several "hot rod" import cars turned onto it as well coming from the other direction. I merged in with them with Teddy and Tim right behind me, then several more of the cars turned in behind them. At first we were all running along minding the speed limit and easing along. Then the cars in front of me picked up the pace a bit, so umm naturally I did too. Tim followed me and so did the cars behind he and Teddy. Now it was on. The cars in front of me picked it up some more, so once again, I did too. Now we were really moving, the problem was that I didn't know the road and was still concerned about the conditions as we were now climbing the mountain in earnest. Things were going along OK, Tim was still right with me and the cars behind Teddy and Tim were still hanging on tight to him. Then the bunch in front of me started to pull away. At first I kept up, but became increasingly nervous and saw that we were pulling away from Teddy and Tim, so I backed it down a notch. The cars in front of me simply checked out. Gone. Adiós Amigo. Tim caught me in short order and I tried to find the pace he wanted to keep, hopefully so that we could get ahead of the group behind he and Teddy. No such luck though, they were hanging on tight. Too tight actually, which was why I was hoping to pull away. I picked up the pace a bit, so did Tim, and so did those blasted cars. Damn!

Then, as I rounded a left turn I saw an entrance to a park on the right and the car I had been following sitting at the entrance by itself. As we passed the park the waiting car went in to the park and the others that were behind Tim turned in and followed it.

It's tough for me to admit that those "tuner cars" were more than we could handle, but they were. I keep telling myself that they were locals, knew the road, had well set up cars and were crazy to boot. Hopefully I'm at least partially correct.

The rest of the way up we were by ourselves, which is a good thing. Shortly before cresting the mountain and intersecting with the Blue Ridge Parkway the road got very sketchy and continued to be so on the other side. Lots of sand, dirt and debris. Plus it got rough as heck, bouncing us around and making it tough to stay on line. I slowed waaay down and just rode it out until we got to the town of Woodrow and the intersections of 276, 215 and 110.

We stopped at a place called the "Jukebox Diner", my intentions being to look at a map and figure out where in the heck we were at. As Tim pulled up beside me I said, "I've done it again. I'm lost." Tim grinned and said, "Yeah, well it's a good lost! That was fun!"

As we studied the map, Julie and Teddy were looking for someplace to eat and go to the bathroom. Never mind we were standing at a restaurant. They saw a sign at another place down the road called the "Cold Mountain Cafe" and decided they wanted to go there, plus they didn't want to ride with us, they wanted to walk. So Tim and I put the maps up and then eased down the roughly half a mile to where they wanted to go. Then we discovered it was closed! So we all loaded up (they'd had enough walking) and go back where we had been to have some lunch.

After lunch we headed south on SR 215 and once again were treated to some less than ideal conditions in spots. More sand and debris, more chewed up road, heck there was even some snow still laying on the shoulders of the road. At one point we even ran into a work crew that was replacing some guard railing along side of the road. But overall it wasn't too bad and was a hoot to ride. I imagine that once the road surface is cleaned up and patched it will be even better! I was encouraged enough that I definitely want to go back a little later in the year.

We got onto to US 178 and were now on familiar ground. Julie and I have ridden this road several times and enjoyed it every time. It's a typical Carolina mountain road, good road surface, twists, turns and elevation changes that make you want to yell whoo-hoo! Simply put, we had a ball and Julie and I really tested out the new tires we'd put on the bike a few weeks ago. The FJR holds a line like you wouldn't believe now and just feels planted to the road. We stopped at the intersection of US 178 and SR 11 for fuel and a rest stop before continuing on.

From there we simply back tracked our way back across 11 and I-85 to the house. Our total miles for the day ended up being 476, but our smiles per mile was about double that. I'm really looking forward to riding "Bryan's loop" again!

Bruce

IRON BUTT!! - March 8th, 2010

2010-03-09T23:24:00.695-05:00

Those of you that follow this blog are familiar with what the Iron Butt Association is and that Bryan and I have been wanting to try and become members of the IBA basically since we started riding on road motorcycles back in 2004. In order to accomplish that goal we would have to complete a documented ride of at least 1000 miles in 24 hours or less. The following is the story on our journey into long distance motorcycle riding.

Prologue

My fascination with the entry level IBA ride is partially due to when I was an over the road trucker. I have a very vivid memory from when I began trucking in which I was running with another truck whose driver was a grizzled veteran with many more miles under his belt than I had at the time. We were in the very western part of Texas early one morning heading east and discussing our delivery appointment schedules over the CB radio. He made a comment about being in Louisiana the next morning which threw me for a loop. My mind started doing the calculations and I replied to him, "But that means we'll have to cover more than a thousand miles in about 24 hours, how are we gonna do that?" He said, "Follow me and I'll show ya..." And he did. As it turned out, that more or less used to be a benchmark for over the road drivers, and became one for me.

More recently, a motorcycle dealership I used to work for was bought out by a couple of guys during my time working there. One of them I was told was a rider who was known by his family, friends and business partner to routinely go on extremely long rides and cover vasts distances daily while on these rides. It was said that if you couldn't manage two hundred miles before breakfast and six hundred miles before bed, you better not even try to keep up with him.

At the time, my wife, son and I had only been riding street bikes for a short period of time and at that point primarily only made day trips in the two to three hundred mile range. So it was interesting and inspiring to talk with him about the trips he'd been on and how he'd made them. In fact, it was him that helped me with routing and points of interest on our trip to the Natchez Trace as well as those going to south Florida.

But at the mention of doing a thousand miles in less than twenty four hours even he would shake his head, shrug his shoulders and say "I've done it, but it's tough son."

Planning

As I've mentioned before, Bryan and I have talked about attempting this ride for years and as mentioned in another post, planned on trying our hand at it during a Motorcycle Tourers Forum organized event last year. That didn't pan out and since the MTF only does the event every other year we knew we were on our own if we were to do it in 2010.

Logic would dictate that it would be best to do something like this when the weather is warm, especially in the mornings and at night, but what's logical about an endeavor of this type? Bryan's spring break from college was scheduled to begin on March 8th and gave him a week of more or less free time, I'm still among the nations unemployed and have at the very least a somewhat flexible schedule.

With that in mind I began to toy with the idea of attempting the ride a few weeks ago. Using a mapping program on our computer I began putting together possible routes and looking into the realistic feasibility of them. At first my plan was to make a loop using our home as the center point. I was trying to set it up so that if at any point we decided we couldn't make it and had to stop for the night we would never be so far from home that we couldn't comfortably ride it the next day. The problem with this scenario was that due to the incredible winter we've had there is still snow on the ground not very far north of us, and while that in itself isn't a problem because the roads are clear, it does make for some cold nights. Plus some of the roads in the Virgina and West Virginia are incredibly beat up and full of very dangerous pot holes and damage.

Knowing that I was going to have to abandon the circling the house plan, I began thinking about other options, more directly to the point, going south where it would, or at least should be warmer this time of year. From past trips I knew that it was roughly 500 miles to the Daytona Beach and northern end of the I-4 area and started thinking around those points. Going straight down and back would give us the required mileage and be easy to document, but it would also be pretty boring.

The only really workable idea seemed to be making a 'southern loop', so I began plotting out a course that would take us into hopefully warm and sunny conditions and be somewhat interesting to ride. Then just hope we didn't get to the 'bottom' of the loop and discover that we weren't Iron Butt material after all and have to do it all over again the next day in order to get home.

What I came up with was a plan to ride from Lexington to Charlotte on I-85, then Charlotte to Columbia, South Carolina on I-77. In Columbia we would take I-20 west to just outside of Atlanta, Georgia where we would get on US 129 thus avoiding Atlanta traffic and head to Macon. From there it would be back on the interstates and I-75 to Lake City, Florida where it intersects with I-10. We'd stay on I-10 east bound to US 301 missing Jacksonville's gridlock traffic and getting on I-95 north of town. Then it would be a long ride up I-95 back into South Carolina where we'd take I-26 to Columbia, then back track on I-77 and I-85 to the house. My mapping program calculated it to be 1074.4 miles and 16 hours of driving time. So, if we left just after sun up then we would be back around midnight or so.

With the luck we'd had making plans to do this last year, I opted for more of a "lets see what happens" approach when thinking about it. When I mentioned it to Bryan he was all for it, loved the route and wanted to plan on doing it over spring break because he wanted to "get his mind right" for the trip. I said to him... you guessed it, "lets see what happens" so that he would hopefully keep his mind on his studies.

In the end, and literally at the last minute we all decided that this was something that Bryan and I should try to do and on Saturday made plans to leave at 6:00 am Monday morning.

Getting Prepped

We had literally just put new tires on the FJR, changed the engine oil and filter as well as the final drive oil. With only a little over 18.000 miles and loads of TLC on a bike designed for this type of riding, it was ready to go. Bryan's FZ6 had been freshened up over the winter, the tires only had a couple of thousand miles on them and is also well suited for long distance riding, so it to needed nothing.

So far, so good.

Packing for the trip was a no brainer. We would be on the road. Period. So one change of clothes just in case we didn't make it and stayed over night somewhere and maybe a change of undies and socks in case we got wet. Other than that it was just going to be dressing for the ride. We did throw in a few 'repair' items we normally wouldn't carry, just in case.

That was it. We wouldn't need much if all we were going to be doing was riding.

Segment 1 - it begins

Good lord it was cold! As we pushed the bikes out of the warm and well lit McCrary Motorcycle Man cave the thermometer was reading a briskish 32 degrees! Still, both bikes fired right up and settled into clean idles. The riders on the other hand were whining like little school girls and having as much luck getting dressed as a couple of five year olds. Once everything was in place we pulled out of the yard and headed for our local convenience store/fuel stop to top off the bikes and get receipts showing the time of our official start. Julie commented on Facebook later that we, or rather I, looked like the Michelin tire man with all the layers we were wearing.

The day got off to a less than wonderful start though because after pumping our fuel and getting the receipts we noticed that the time was wrong. Not wanting to have to take off and 're-install' all of our gear and layers Bryan and I walked into the store like we rode the bikes into the station, helmets, gloves and all. The good thing about doing repeat business with the same folks all the time is that they get to know you. The guy working that morning was at first confused, then recognized my voice. When we showed him our receipts and explained why that was a problem he manually corrected them and even put down his name and phone number in case someone wanted to verify the information.

Did I mention it was cold? We shivered and shook all the way to Charlotte. I kept thinking "This is nuts, This is nuts", but rode on anyway. Once in Charlotte the temperature actually went up! Close to 40 degrees! I actually was tickled with that and began to think this might not be so bad, unfortunately it didn't last and once we were south of Charlotte the air temp gauge on the FJR began to drop again. As we got into South Carolina and out in the middle of no where the temperatures fluctuated between 32 and 34 degrees. The sun was behind the clouds and better yet, it began to drizzle rain. Oh joy... But it's like a buddy of mine says, if your gonna be stupid, you gotta be tough. So on we rode.

Luck was riding with us because by the time we got to Columbia the sun was out and it never really did rain enough to get us wet. We stopped after getting on I-20 west for fuel (carefully checking our receipts) and to stretch and warm up. Bryan had a brainstorm and laid our glove liners on top of his engine to warm them up, which worked wonderfully for a few minutes, and we were glad for that! After taking that little break we mounted up and headed west toward our next 'turn' outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

Segment 2 - west bound and in the wind

Fortunately the sun came out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky! The heat of the sun and I suppose the heat associated with being in a city provided enough warmth to get the registered temperature up into the mid 40's. Still wearing all our winter gear we weren't exactly warm and toasty, but at least my teeth had stopped chattering hard enough to blur my vision. With uplifted spirits and excitement we found that we were more focused and energetic about the ride. We had come about 145 miles since leaving the house and this next leg was going to be close to 165 miles before we got to a planned stop for a fuel receipt showing our turn onto US 129. The miles flowed effortlessly underneath us as we chatted away on the CB and enjoyed the South Carolina and Georgia countryside. It was getting warmer and in what seemed like a short period of time we found ourselves at the Truck Stops of America in Madison, Georgia where we fueled, got a quick drink of water and munched down a granola bar then continued on our way.

Segment 3 - heading south again

US 129 is a road we are familiar with, in fact we had been on this very section two years ago while returning from a trip to south Florida. I've got to be honest here and say that after more than 300 miles of interstates riding a 'back road' was a welcome change, even if it meant not making as much time as being on the super slab. Our spirits were still high and Bryan and I started joking around on the radio each time we came up to a curve in the road saying things like, "Whoa... a turn!" and "I don't know if I remember how to do this!". It was only 55 miles down to Macon where the fun ended all to soon.

Bryan's internal clock was telling him it was after lunch time and thinking we wanted a receipt showing we had gotten onto I-75 we stopped at an Arby's for a quick bite and to come out of some of our layers. Now it was getting warm! By rights we probably stopped for too long, roughly 45 mins, but it felt good to move around and we definitely needed to get out of some of the cold weather gear. The air temp gauge on the FJR was reading in the high 60's and low 70's!

Back on "the big road" we set sail with Florida in our sights. We had figured this leg to be around 215 miles and knew we'd have to make a stop for fuel before we got to our next turn at I-10. At around 2:45 in the afternoon we stopped in Chula, Georgia and did a gas and go so that we could quickly get back on the road. It had been years since I had been on this part of I-75 and while I recognized a lot of it as you might expect it had changed a lot too, seeing the changes made the ride more interesting for me. We rolled into a fuel stop in Lake City, Florida a little after 4:00 pm, gassed up and took a little breather. We'd made it past the half way point now.

Segment 4 - riding across the sunshine state

To be honest, I couldn't believe how good I still felt. I had just ridden more miles in one day than I had ever ridden before, still felt great and was ready to go! The weather had been and was beautiful, temperatures were in the mid 70's, the sun was out, it was a great day to be on a motorcycle. This leg of the trip would be short, all we had to do was go 75 miles to get to I-95 to start our way back north bound.

We were on I-10 for only a little more than 40 miles and we knocked that out quickly. I had no intentions of going through Jacksonville from the very beginning of this thing, not wanting to deal with the traffic. Missing it was be easy though, drawing on my experiences from past rides to my dad's house in south Florida, we rode as far as Baldwin, Florida and got on US 301 north.

At first I thought I might have made a mistake in judgment because within minutes of getting on 301 we came to a rail road crossing with what seemed to be the longest train we'd ever seen! It went on forever! Once it cleared and we were on our way we found ourselves behind a pick up and two 18 wheelers. The big trucks lumbered along for a bit, working their way up through their gearboxes but eventually settled in to a fairly good pace.

The pick up on the other hand decided to lag back behind them and for a while we were stuck behind it. Seeing a chance to pass I keyed up the CB radio and told Bryan to come on and we effortlessly slid past the pick up and took up a position behind the second truck. As we did the driver of the truck said on the CB "Are you guys on those motorcycles?"

We had been talking to trucks all day and most of them were fascinated by the fact that we had CB's and interested in what we were doing. So I told him about our equipment and when he asked if we were on vacation I explained what we were doing. That tickled him some because he said "I do that 'pert near every day and nobody gives me a certificate..." I told him, "Sure they do, you just call it a paycheck."

Shortly after that he told us that there was no traffic and offered to slow down so that we could pass him. We got by him, and in short order the truck in front of him too. As we rode off I heard the driver of the truck in front say "You sure didn't need to slow down to let them get by you partner, they have checked out!"

We rode 301 as far as A1A, then rode that over to I-95. It was easy, enjoyable and we made good time. Certainly better than we would have had we been caught in a traffic jam in Jacksonville. Bryan told me that he was getting hungry and seeing as we had planned on stopping for a receipt at I-95 anyway we began looking for someplace to stop. Bryan's FZ6 had gone on reserve so we stopped at one exit and did a gas and go, but there was literally no place to eat there. We crossed into Georgia and found a Waffle House at the next exit and pulled in for a bite and to prepare for the next leg.

Segment 5 - night ride

This was the part of the ride I was the most apprehensive about. See, we don't ride at night as a general rule. Oh sure, we've done it, several times in fact. But usually it was because we stayed somewhere longer than we might should have or even got a later start than we wanted, but in most every case the time on the road after dark was limited to a few hours. Bryan and I were now looking at what could be another six to eight hours depending upon the variables involved. On top of that this particular section of I-95 has never been one of my favorite roads. It seems like everyone on it thinks they are in a race and I can't remember when there wasn't some construction going on.

Once again we were stopped for longer than we probably should have been, but it sure was nice to eat a bite and take a breather. We also used the time to put on our clear helmet visors and put our layers of cold weather protection back on. Julie had told us that from what she could tell we would be looking at 50 degree temperatures all the way in, and while thats a heck of a lot better than 30 some odd degrees, with the wind chill it was still going to be...chilly. We pulled away from the parking lot at 7:00 pm headed home with what we figured would be two more fuel/receipt stops on the way.

95 didn't disappoint me. We encountered multiple sections of construction that took the road down to two and sometimes only one lane open. But when the road was completely open traffic was moving on. I'm a believer in going a little faster than the flow of traffic. Julie says I have to be in front, but really it allows me to concentrate more on whats in front of me than whats coming up behind me. This worked fine as we seemed to be easily moving with and around traffic and making good time. We kept at it all the way to Walterboro, South Carolina where we stopped for fuel around 9:30 pm. After taking a few minutes to stretch out and a bathroom break we were riding again with I-26 in our sights and it was only a few miles away!

Segment 6 - closing the loop

Merging onto I-26 I let out a sigh of relief, although we were still in the making time mode and really had to be even more alert due to the possibility of deer, I just felt good about getting off I-95. Columbia was a little more than 50 miles away which at this point seemed like nothing. Bryan and I began discussing the best location for a fuel stop. Initially I was thinking about making one on I-26 to document us being there, but as I thought about it, the places I had figured on stopping at were intersections of roads that cut through the country back toward the house. Which worried me because I was afraid the IBA would route us that way even if we actually stayed on the interstates. What Bryan and I ultimately decided was that we would go on to the intersection of I-26 and I-77 then stop there. We hoped it would show what we did, and it would also give us the range to make it home with out stopping again. So at a little before 11:00 pm we tried to do a stop and go for fuel in West Columbia, South Carolina. I say tried because my debit card wouldn't work and I had to go in and talk to the attendant, then ultimately had to use Bryan's card to get my fuel.

Segment 7 - the home stretch

Up until now both of us had been doing fine physically and mentally. Oh sure we had been dealing with little pains here and there, mostly in the posterior, but nothing major. And mentally we were both still on our "A" games, Bryan and I have been riding together for so long that we read each other like a book and can keep each other motivated as well. But now the pain began in earnest. My butt hurt, my throttle hand was sore as was my whole right arm and my shoulders were beginning to burn. I mentioned this to Bryan on the radio and he told me he was right there too.

Once again it was cold out in the South Carolina back country. Not as bad as the morning had been, but still in the mid to high 40's. Traffic was virtually non existent which allowed us to maintain our pace, a good thing, because we both were ready to get back to Lexington.

When we reached Charlotte I've got to confess that I was beginning to wonder if I was going to be able to continue, the wimp in me had come out! I couldn't be still in the seat, no position was comfortable, my right hand hurt, my right arm ached and we were still about 50 miles from home. Now 50 miles seemed like a huge distance to cover. However, after checking with each other on the radio we knew that while both us were in pain, neither of us were sleepy or too mentally fatigued to stop so we sucked it up and soldiered on.

The ramp at our exit on I-85 is a bit sharp and a tad bit banked, which is normally a hoot to do, but this time it was an effort to bend the FJR around the turn. Bryan later told me it was the same for him. We stopped at the traffic light at the end of the ramp and could see the BP station that was where we would officially end the ride not 50 yards away. Naturally, the traffic light sensor didn't pick up our bikes so we sat, and sat, and sat some more. There wasn't a vehicle on the road except for us so we said to heck with it and blew the light.

Pulling up to the pump I shut the FJR down, then slowly, painfully, got off the bike and looked back at Bryan who was doing the same thing at the other pump. It had been 18 hours, 50 minutes and almost 1,100 miles ago when we left. We looked each other in the eyes, grinned and laughed like a couple of lunatics then met between the bikes and hugged. We did it!

Once again I had problems with my card and had to use Bryan's in order to get fuel and the needed ending receipt. Apparently the bank or whoever had blocked it because of all the transactions at multiple points in such a short time. And obviously I didn't pay attention to one of the tips on the IBA web site where they advised calling the card company/bank and alerting them to what we'd be doing... The stamp for our official finish time read 1:15 am and thats when we noticed the receipt didn't have a station name or address. We went inside and naturally for the first time on the whole ride after explaining what we were doing and what we needed we found someone that not only couldn't have cared less, she almost seemed like she didn't trust us. I mean can you imagine not feeling comfortable around two people that just admitted to riding motorcycles for more than a thousand miles in less than a day who hugged in the parking lot while laughing like the village idiots? I mean, really. What's the problem here? Ultimately she did write everything in, dated and signed it though.

Before we left the station I gave Bryan the keys to the lock on the fence gate and the doors to our basement shop, I just knew Julie would be in bed. I told him that as wet as the grass was the kickstands would sink in the ground, and seeing as he was younger than me he could get off his bike and open up while I held his bike up and sat on the FJR. When we pulled up to the house, much to my surprise and glee, the landing lights (all the outside light fixtures on the house) were on, the gate was open and Julie was opening the shop doors. She had been tracking Bryan's SPOT unit and not only knew we were in town, but close to the house. What a woman.

Pulling into the shop and getting off the bikes Bryan and I must have seemed strangely subdued to her. In fact she said she thought we would have been more excited, but she missed the 'celebration' at the station and right at that moment all we felt was cold, tired and sore.

Epilogue

As long as this post is I have only really highlighted the trip. Followers of this blog and those who know me will attest to the fact that I am usually not at a loss for words, but I'm still struggling to adequately describe my feelings about all of this.

We've been wanting to do this for soooo long and weren't really sure we had it in us. So there is obviously joy and excitement and a huge sense of accomplishment and pride. But when I read what I just wrote it doesn't even begin to do justice to how we actually feel. Not even close. To say it was a life changing experience is a bit over the top I think, but the morning following the ride I found myself almost glowing and giddy. And I think that Bryan and I are different riders now.

If nothing else, someone on the MTF summed it up by saying "...going from a typical 300 mile day to a 1000 mile day increased the size of your weekend playground to more than three million square miles! Draw two circles on the map centered around you house, one at 300 miles, and one at 1000 miles. Just look at what you've accomplished." Speaking of our friends on the MTF, the amount of support and interest that they gave us during this ride was unbelievable. To see for yourself click here and read the entire thread. What a fantastic group of people!

It was a long and difficult ride. Yet it's not the hardest thing I've ever done and Bryan has told me he feels the same way. It wasn't the most fun I've ever had on a motorcycle or for that matter as much fun as a good day riding the mountain roads we love so much. But I can't think about it and not smile, no, grin from ear to ear, as I am right at this moment. In fact I'm holding back a mixture of laughter and tears as I write this.

Would we do it over again? Ab-so-freaking-lutely! Will we do another one, or one of the other IBA sanctioned rides? Probably. Will we become long distance junkies who live to cover vast distances in short periods of time every time we ride? I doubt it. Bryan has mentioned wanting to participate in a rally, that might be cool. If he does, I certainly will. That's just the way we do things.

As of this moment we haven't put all our paperwork together and sent it in to the IBA for certification, but thats simply because our day to day lives have not allowed us to sit down together and get it done. We are planning on doing it tomorrow night, and we will. I don't anticipate any problems getting the ride certified, but we know that it will take the all volunteer staff at the IBA two or three months to complete the process and get back to us. But that's fine, and we appreciate the effort of all the guys and gals of the IBA.

Once that happens we will be in a very unique and small group of riders and people. There are just slightly more than 39,000 Iron Butt members in the world. Bryan and I will be two of them.

Bruce

Charlotte Loop - March 6th, 2010

2010-03-06T22:04:00.000-05:00

Not much of a report here, I'm just trying to make sure I keep up with our rides this year.

Earlier in the week we put some new tires on the FJR. The Metzler Z6's that were on the bike when we got it had seen better days and honestly I wasn't overly impressed with them. It's not that they were "bad" tires, they just didn't hold up very well, after a little more than 4,000 miles they were toast. I decided to try a dual compound tire made by Michelin that they call the "Pilot Road 2CT" or PR2 for short. This tire is constructed with a more durable rubber compound in the middle, center part of the tire for increased mileage and a softer more 'sticky' compound on the sides to provide better grip in turns. Bryan has had a set of these on his bike for a few months and likes them, so Julie and I decided to give them a shot. New motorcycle tires are known for being a little slick when initially installed so we decided to take advantage of a warm Saturday afternoon and go for a short ride to get the tires a little worn in and put them through a couple of heat cycles.

Bryan came home for spring break on Friday the 5th and naturally brought his bike with him. He forgot to bring extra contacts with him and said he needed to run some errands around Charlotte so we decided to ride through the country down to his house to get what he needed, run his errands and grab a bite to eat.

We headed out on Hwy 8 south and picked up Hwy 47 south in Albemarle, which we rode basically all the way to Charlotte. Bryan was hungry (ain't he always?) so he led us directly to the Firehouse Sandwich Shop on what is now called Bruton Smith Blvd. They have some of the best sandwiches I've ever had so it was a treat for me!

After lunch we followed Bryan to the other side of Charlotte so that he could drop off his rent check, only to discover that the office wasn't open and they didn't have a mail drop box. College kids... You'd think he would have known that. ;) From there we jumped on I-77 and I-85 and rode back to his house so that he could get the things he had forgotten to bring with him. Once accomplished it was getting a little late in the day so we decided to just jump on I-85 and get on back to the house. Interstates are not my favorite ways to get around on a motorcycle, but at least by doing so we were able to get some heat in the tires as well as a few miles which was after all the game plan. The afternoon shake down and errand running ride also netted us another 150 miles for the year.

We'll take it.

Bruce

First Ride of the Year - Morrow Mountain State Park - February 21st, 2010

2010-02-21T18:00:00.007-05:00

North Carolina, like so many other parts of the country, has seen an unusually long, cold and snowy winter. This, coupled with my being out of work contributed to a bad case of cabin fever for me. Julie was tired of the same old routine as well, so to say that we were both in need of a good ride would be an understatement. Our last ride was back in October when Teddy and Tim joined us for a week-end jaunt over to the western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee mountains and ending the riding season on such a high note only made us look forward to the new season even more. So when the weatherman predicted week-end temperatures near the 60 degree mark there was no question the FJR would be brought out of mothballs and put back into service!

There were some things around the house that needed our attention and with the warmer of the two days being Sunday we decided to get the chores done on Saturday, then spend Sunday on the bike. Although I must admit that for a brief period we did talk about heading to Myrtle Beach on Saturday and coming home on Sunday, alas the budget wouldn't allow for that and we really did need to get a few things done. But it was a great thought.

When Sunday morning rolled around I was still tinkering with some things. The bike was basically ready, still in need of servicing and a set of tires, but one more day trip wouldn't hurt. My tinkering centered around the Go-Pro camera and my desire to try out a large tank bag that came with the bike and we had yet to use. Julie called Teddy and Tim to see if they wanted to join us and set up a time and place to meet, meanwhile I wasn't quite done fiddling around. Julie managed to hurry me along though and we all met at the appointed time, with tank bag and camera mounted.

Teddy and Tim's tire situation being no better than ours, and knowing that when the temperatures did start to drop they would fall quickly, we all decided to stay fairly close by and not venture off far. It had been a couple of years since any of us had been to Morrow Mountain just outside of Albemarle so it was decided that we would meander our way through the country, grab some lunch, then meander our way back.

We headed out on NC Hwy 47 riding to the booming metropolis of Denton, then took a local route called Flat Swamp Road back toward Hwy 8. Man, it felt good to be back on the bike! At Hwy 8 we rode south a bit and turned onto Bringle Ferry Road which would lead us toward Salisbury. Bringle Ferry is a fun road to ride having a couple of tight turns along the way and crosses over the Yadkin River right at the Yadkin River Dam. With the weather we've had the river was as high as I've ever seen it!

Traffic was relatively light and with our new Kilimanjaro jackets and some other cold weather gear we were relatively warm and comfy so the ride was really enjoyable. We rode past the Dan Nicholas Park and made a turn onto Providence Church Road and followed it to Stokes Ferry Road where we turned and once more headed toward Albemarle. While none of these roads are the twisty mountain roads we crave, they are good roads that take you through some beautiful North Carolina farm land and country side.

Once at the end of Stokes Ferry we turned back onto Hwy 8 and followed it into New London where we picked up NC Hwy 740 and rode it through the countryside and into the town of Badin. A short ride down Falls and Biles roads took us to the entrance of the Morrow Mountain State Park. The road going up to the viewing area on top of the mountain is a skinny bitty thing requiring you to pay constant attention to not only it, but traffic and critters that could come out of the woods on either side of it. On the ride up we met to rescue vehicles coming down that didn't seem to be in any hurry, so we assumed and hoped there wasn't any trouble, maybe just a training exercise.

We circled the parking area and then parked, Julie and Teddy took off to find the little girls room while Tim and I stayed by the bikes and compared our worn tires and discussed what we would be replacing them with. After a bit though I grabbed the camera and we walked off in search of the girls. In all the times that we've been to Morrow Mountain I have never actually left the parking area, so this time I decided to walk up into the picnic area and look around. I'm glad I did too because I found a... structure, that was like a pavilion with picnic tables, a fire place and a deck that had a view I'd never taken in before that was spectacular.

We all wandered around a bit, talked and I took some photos, then headed back to the parking lot and the bikes. There were a lot more bikes parked than when we got there including a group of riders parked next to us that were obviously together. They were laughing and talking about bikes, where they'd bought theirs, where they had them serviced and just general bike talk. We walked behind ours and took a seat on the retaining wall and talked some more before we saddled up and headed out. Just for giggles we rode through the park and looked around before heading back out to the road and to Albemarle.

Tim needed fuel for the VTX and we decided it also time to eat, but soon discovered that Albemarle rolls up the sidewalks on Sundays. There were plenty of fast food places open, and some chain type restaurants but we were hoping to find something a little more unique and different. Unfortunately every place I knew of was closed and we soon found ourselves riding out of town on US 52 still searching.

We ended up in Richburg at a Subway... Not that there is anything wrong with that, in fact it was actually very good. It's just funny how things go sometimes. After lunch we got on NC Hwy 49 heading east, once again we found very little traffic and were just easing along enjoying ourselves. We jumped on NC Hwy 109 north and rode back into Denton, then took Denton road back out to Hwy 8, basically completing a loop. Once on Hwy 8 we rode north into Southmont and took Linwood-Southmont road back to Hwy 47, then got on New Jersey Church road where Teddy and Tim split off and went to their house while we went on to ours. It was a little after 4:00 pm and we had only ridden 140 miles, but man was that just what the doctor ordered!

Bruce

Looking Forward to 2010

2010-01-01T15:09:00.008-05:00

My family and I are in a state of limbo as I write this. I've been unemployed since early October and until I find a job almost everything in our lives is on hold. If I am fortunate enough to get something in the not too distant future in the same sort of income bracket that I have been in we should be able to more or less pick up where we left off and continue on with our lives. On the other hand, the only real offers I've had would lower our income level and require some pretty major adjustments for us. We've talked about the possibility of me going back to my previous career and become an over the road trucker again, which would allow us to maintain our income level, but force me to be away from home for weeks or even months at a time. Which if you don't mind me saying so, sucks big time. But we do what we have to do, right?

However, I'm going to think positively and look forward toward 2010 in a more or less 'normal' fashion. Which means from a riding point of view!

As always the number one goal is to hit what has become the elusive 10,000 miles ridden in one year mark. Bryan made it, actually he eclipsed it logging in over 12,000 miles in 2009. Julie and I lost a few from 2008 and ended up with 7669 miles in 2009. Yep Momma, the boy kicked your ass.

I've got to say that for Bryan and I the number two item on our riding wish list is to become members of the Iron Butt Association by doing a Saddle Sore 1000. This will require us to complete a documented ride of at least 1000 miles in 24 hours or less. Last year we had planned on doing this at a Motorcycle Tourers Forum sponsored event held in Charlotte, but the date conflicted with a family reunion that obviously took precedence. There isn't an MTF event on the books close to us for 2010 so we'll have to do it on our own. But, somehow, someway, we will at least attempt this and hopefully get it done. Julie wants nothing to do with this and doubts our ability to get it done. The gauntlet has been laid.

For the last several years Bryan and Julie have been joking about taking a road trip out to the Dakota's for Bryan's graduation. Well he graduates in May and we've all pretty much accepted the fact that we won't be going that far west for his trip. Damn it. But Bryan seems to be content with anything that will allow him to ride west of the Mississippi River and has mentioned that he might like to go to New Orleans. So number three on the wish list is some sort of family road trip that gets us across the muddy river in celebration of Bryan's graduation.

Another carry over from last year is getting an "End to ender" award from the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. This entails doing a documented ride from one end of the BRP to the other. Bryan and I want to include the Skyline Drive in our effort so the plan is to ride from Cherokee, North Carolina to Front Royal, Virginia a distance of some 550 miles on nothing but the parkways. Like the SS1000, Julie says she'll sit this one out.

Other than those about all I'd like to do is more exploring. West Virginia, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky immediately come to mind because of the great roads and good times we've had on previous trips to these areas.

Wish us luck!

Bruce

2009 - Year in Review

2009-12-31T09:16:00.008-05:00

Wow. What a year for us. Not just in relation to riding and motorcycling, but in our lives in general. We had some tremendous highs and lows through out the year, as I'm sure most families did.

In March, Julie's sister Chris came to visit and we all had a ball. She really should get down this way more often! She needs to keep her riders status current!

Julie and Chris at an overlook on the BRP

During April I was able to make what has become my annual trip to Florida to visit Dad. They've all been special trips, but during this one Dad and I were able to sneak off for a day and bring back some memories of the drainage districts days and have a great time doing so.

Dad out with me "Checking the pumps"

June was special because of the McCrary family reunion. This year was not only the annual get together of granddaddy's kids and their families, but what is called the BIG reunion when the entire extended family gets together every fifth year.

Granddaddy McCrary's kids and their families

July. Lordy July. Talk about riding the proverbial emotional rollercoaster... The high point (aside from Julie's birthday!) was getting the FJR. I've babbled on and on about how great it is and how much we enjoy it, and it's true. The low point was the loss of Roxie, our Great Dane. We 'rescued' her from a bad situation as a young adult dog and found that she was skittish and didn't much care for me or men in general. But I looked her in the eyes and told her that I loved her and that one day she would love me too. It didn't take long before she became a "daddy's girl". All of our dogs are and have been special, but there was something really special about 'Roxers'...

Our 'new' ride, a 2007 Yamaha FJR 1300

My Roxie

Our wedding anniversary is in August, this year marks 26 years that Julie has put up with me. In the last few years we have taken off for at least a week-end on the bike to celebrate this wonderful occasion. This years trip was to Burke's Garden, Virginia and it was a great one! Not only was the ride itself a memory maker but we stumbled upon the Old Fiddlers Convention too. August was also when Bryan an I introduced Julie to motorcycle road racing by taking her to the Big Kahuna Nationals at VIR in Danville, Virginia. She wasn't real impressed...

The Old Country Store, Burke's Garden, Va.

Bryan and Julie in the vendors area at VIR

Bryan and I made our second trip to the second annual NHRA Carolina Nationals in Charlotte in September and it was great. I think this has become a new annual trek for us.

Getting our Nitro fix at the Carolina Nationals

October was another one of those roller coaster months. We went on a wonderful ride to the western North Carolina mountains with our pals Teddy and Tim and had a ball. The Collins Foundation brought two WWII war birds to the Lexington airport, including a mock up of the B-24 Liberator that an uncle was a crew member on. Bryan and I were able to take tons of photos, videos and even get on board two of the bombers! But October was also when I and a few of my co-workers lost our jobs. Call me a victim of the economy and the credit crunch, and for being naive enough to take a man at his word. But I'm a firm believer in what goes around comes around, it's just a matter of time. I also believe that when one door closes another one opens, I just hope it doesn't take too long to open...

Julie and I flicking the FJR through one of the many turns on "The Tail of the Dragon near Deals Gap, North Carolina

A B-24J 'Liberator' painted to resemble the one that my uncle Jimmy was a crewman on in WWII

November brought more sadness and emotional upheavals to our family. On the morning of the 5th I got a phone call telling me that my dad had tumor in his large intestine that would have to be surgically removed, later that afternoon Julie was told that her dad had been diagnosed with prostrate cancer. My dad's tumor turned out to be cancerous but the surgery was successful in removing it. His recovery went remarkable smoothly all things considered and he continues to do well. Julie's dad is still undergoing treatment, he's doing well and in good spirits which we have to take as a good sign. We continue to pray for both of them.

Christmas decorations in Clewiston

December rolled around and found me still unemployed and with no real prospects or hope of a job on the horizon. Still, we tried to keep our spirits up while hoping and praying for better times. As the month wore on Julie and I decided that we needed to do something extreme to get our spirits up. Bryan had a few weeks off from school for Christmas break and Julie still had some unused vacation time left and I, unfortunately, had lots of time on my hands. With that in mind we began to put a plan together to go up and visit Julie's family in Wisconsin for Christmas. The reality was that we shouldn't spend the money to do it, but on the other hand if we did it right it wouldn't be that expensive and would do all of us a world of good. It did. It really, really did. Some how or another it seemed to end what had been a year with more than it's share of heart aches, misfortunes and emotional upheavals on a high note, giving us hope for the new year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Bruce

Taking the FJR to the Cherohala and the Dragon - October 24th & 25th, 2009

2009-10-24T10:34:00.681-04:00

Absolutely one of my all time favorite photos

It was getting time for what has become our annual fall 'leaf peepin' trip. It was looking like this was going to be our last trip of the year on the bike, not only because winter time and cold weather was fast approaching, even here really. But also because two weeks prior I had lost my job and was unemployed. a victim of the economy and the credit crunch.

Ever since we brought the FJR home I had been aching to go over to the western North Carolina / Eastern Tennessee mountains. Specifically to make a run on The Dragon and The Cherohala Skyway. This seemed to be a good a time as any to get it done, the leaves were at peak color this particular week-end and I certainly had the time...

Julie and I both wanted to get away for a week-end and enjoy ourselves, so she got on line to see how many hotel points she had accumulated and where we could use them to our advantage. As it turned out she not only had enough points to stay at a Hampton Inn in Murphy, North Carolina, she had enough for two rooms. A quick phone call to our buds Teddy and Tim had the four of us set to leave the following Saturday. Hot Damn!

The fly in the proverbial ointment was that the weather forecast called for a rain front to build west of us and then hit our area late Saturday morning and then stall until early to mid afternoon. The way I had it figured from the forecasts was if we left early that morning we would be out of town before it had a chance to develop. There would be a small chance we would catch it building around Statesville but then it would be clear sailing from then on.

Unfortunately there were just too many obstacles to overcome for an early start and everyone just seemed to think leaving around two was a good idea. Not wanting to cause anyone to have second thoughts about going I didn't mention that it was over 300 miles to Murphy, and held my breath waiting on Tim to figure it out.

The rains did come, heavy at times, but all the forecasts kept predicting the front to dissipate and move out by early afternoon. I was still waiting on Tim to figure out how far it was and say something, but either he wanted this as bad as I did or he never gave it any thought because at 2:30 Saturday afternoon we saddled up and hit the road. No one ever asked me how far it was, and I didn't volunteer that information.

The roads were still a bit wet as we headed out on US 64 west and stayed that way until we got on the west side of Mocksville. By then things were drying out and the sun was shinning. Things would have been great except for the wind, which was blowing pretty hard and at times gusting heavily.

Teddy and Tim like to ride the same types of roads we do, which is to say that they would prefer to be on back country roads as much as possible, but don't mind taking the interstates in order to make time. Since Julie and I had called for this ride it was up to us to lead it and in the interest of time I decided that once we got to I-40 on the west side of Mocksville we would jump on the big road and hammer down on over to Hickory where Tim would have to stop for fuel, then decide which way to go from there.

Riding on I-40 was miserable. The wind was steady enough that it required leaning into it in order to go straight, and then would gust and blow you the other way. It was like being beat about the head and shoulders almost the whole time. By the time we got to Morganton we were all ready to stop and shake off the wind. When Tim and I finished fueling we pulled off to the side of the parking lot, drank some water and cold drinks while we laughed and talked.

I was still waiting on someone to say "How much further?", but no one did. I started quizzing the crew on which way they wanted to go from here, just knowing that would lead to 'the question', but again, no one seemed to want to know. It was decided by the group to get off the interstate and back onto US 64 which would take us through some beautiful countryside such as Lake Lure, Chimney Rock and Lake Toxaway but would add a lot of miles as well as slow us down. No one seemed to mind, so on we went.

This particular part of 64 is as beautiful as it is a hoot to ride. Timing is everything though because you either catch it when there is very little traffic, or every one and their brother is there. Guess what we found? There was a traffic jam in Chimney Rock and if that doesn't make your jaw drop, you've probably never been there. By the clock on the FJR it took us more than thirty minutes to go the five miles from Lake Lure to the west side of Chimney Rock. Still, we rode on, honestly having a ball.

We had given Teddy and Tim a J&M communications system almost a year ago that Tim had never gotten around to mounting until recently. This was their first trip with it and that allowed us to all talk via the CB radio, which was a hoot. They are such fun people to be around and to be able to gab a bit and share moments while riding just adds an element to the trip that is priceless.

When we got to Hendersonville which was Tim's next fuel stop it was definitely getting colder (as Teddy reminded me on the CB a few times) and it was also getting darker. We all put on another layer of clothes and got prepared for a cold ride. Finally, Teddy ask me over the radio as we pulled back onto the road "How much further?", when I told her it was over a hundred miles I thought she was going to have Tim run over us! The way the com systems work Julie couldn't hear what I told Teddy so she asked the same question over our intercom, when I answered her she said. "Your kidding..." Nope. I wasn't. We had to go!

In another hour it was definitely dark, and definitely cold. We stopped for gas somewhere after Franklin not really because we needed fuel, but because we all needed to thaw out! We hung out there, in the middle of nowhere, for a while then got back on the road for the last push into Murphy. The last part of the ride was actually a lot of fun, relatively speaking, in that where 64 goes through Nantahala National Forest is fun to ride, and I'm sure it was probably beautiful too. I really don't know because I was focusing on what I could see in my headlight beams and watching for deer! Roughly one more hour after our warm up stop we arrived in Murphy and found the hotel. Thank God. We were all about to freeze and we were all about to starve so after checking in we went to a Mexican restaurant close by and had a good meal. Then went back to the hotel and settled into our rooms for the night. All in all, it was a good ride.

Sunday morning we met in the lobby for our complimentary breakfasts and found that fog was the word of the day. It was the proverbial pea soup stuff, thick and damp, and bad enough that we all decided to sit it out for a while in hopes that the sun would burn it off and warm things up a bit. By 10:00 am it was better, but not clear and we had reached the point where we had to go if we were going to get some riding in and be home before dark.

We left Murphy on 64 west and followed it across the Tennessee line until we intersected Tennessee SR 68 in Ducktown. Using my astute map reading skills I determined that this should be a nice 30ish mile ride through the Tennessee countryside that would put us in Tellico Plains near the entrance of The Cherohala Skyway. It was all that and more. We encountered some traffic early on but soon had the road almost to ourselves. To say it was spectacular is surely an understatement. The road wound and twisted it's way through foothills and farmland where the fall colors were breathtaking. In more than one place the trees on either side of the road formed a natural canopy for us to ride through. With the sun peaking through the multi colored leaves all around us it was like riding into a huge kaleidoscope that was built by nature.

We were definitely in the 'flower sniffing' mode going up 68, the views and the still damp in spots road demanded it. No one was complaining, but by the time we got to Tellico Plains, topped of the tanks and got everything ready to cross the Skyway it was very close to mid day.

With out a doubt the Cherohala Skyway is not only one of my favorite roads, it's one my favorite places to be. No matter what time of year it is, no matter what the weather it's beautiful. The road itself is close to perfect in construction and layout. Smooth and wide with sweeping turns as well as tight ones, it rolls and undulates through some of the most beautiful country I've ever seen.

Below 3,500 ft the view was exactly what you would imagine in the fall, vivid splotches of color that jumped out at you dotted the landscape. In the higher altitudes the leaves had already fallen and the look of winter had already set in.

Traffic was heavy near the entrance of the Skyway and we found ourselves in line with several vehicles a few times, but the further we went the more it thinned out. The ride itself was great. Bryan had commented that he thought the FJR would be a perfect bike for the Skyway and he was right. It rode smoothly, handled the sweepers effortlessly and held it's line in the tighter turns perfectly. I swear I was grinning the whole way across! It's been a long time since I enjoyed a motorcycle as much as I do this one, definitely back to the dirt bike days. Not that the Nomad wasn't a great bike or that I didn't enjoy it, far from it. The FJR is just... so... man, damn near perfect is about the best way to describe it. I wouldn't trade the times we had and the memories we made on the Nomad for anything, but I'm really excited about doing the same on the FJR.

Partially in an effort to make up time and partially because it was too cold to stop, and largely because we were having such a good time, we transversed the entire length of the Skyway with out stopping. Once off the Skyway and it's access roads we stopped so that I could move and remount the Go Pro video camera and regroup. Back on the bikes we got on US 129 north and headed for the Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort for lunch and then The Dragon.

Pulling into Deals Gap we found what we expected, a go-zillion bikes and riders of all types, sizes and shapes. The parking lot can be a bike show and if people watching is your thing this place can entertain you for hours. There were sport bikes, sport tourers, tourers and cruisers. Motards, dual sports and scooters. Not to mention everything from Corvettes to Caravans, all converging on one spot hang out and share the experience of running The Dragon. It's a cool place.

We had lunch, did a little shopping in the store, then went walking around the parking lot a bit, just checking things out. As we were suiting up to ride I saw a tractor-trailer pulling an empty flatbed went by going north on 129 and told our crowd not to be in a hurry, there would be no getting around it and it would be holding up traffic. So we walked around some, took a few pictures and then slowly saddled up and headed north ourselves.

I was anxious to see how the FJR would do on this infamous road. The Nomad, while fun, could get to be a handful running at any sort of pace and I never really felt as smooth as I would like to have been. If the Skyway was any sort of gage, Julie and i were about to have some fun!

I had the Go Pro camera facing forward and asked Teddy and Tim to go ahead so that they would be in the video. At first we rode fairly easy and then Tim picked up the pace a bit, I let him go to get some distance between us then picked it up myself. With the broad range of available abundant power all that was needed was second gear. The engine would pull hard coming out of the turns and even in second gear if there was room before the next turn twice the posted speed limit was easily attainable. As the next turn approached I would back off the throttle enough to slow the bike and tap the brakes just a touch if needed, set the bike into the turn and flow through it, accelerating through the apex. The bike just flowed, it was great! It wouldn't take long for us to catch up to Teddy and Tim mainly because of the traffic. But when we did I'd just back off and let them go, then run them down again. What a hoot.

As usual on week-ends traffic was an issue. In no time at all we had run up behind a group of cars and motorcycles being held up by one particular car that would not pull off and let the faster traffic by. Julie and I continued to do the back off and catch up thing until another bike caught us, then we were in the conga line too. I suggested to Tim on the radio that we pull over at the next paved pull off so that we could let the traffic go on, we did and sat there for five minutes or more. In a very short time we had caught the same line of traffic. Eventually the front car did pull over and let everyone go by.

The photo's above were taken by three different photographers during our ride on The Dragon and show how Julie and I roll...

We were rolling along pretty good coming up on a right turn that was near impossible to see all the way through when Tim suddenly hit the brakes and swerved to the right. I nailed the brakes on the FJR and went to the left and then saw that there was a car stopped in the middle of the road ahead of Tim. When we got stopped we saw a line of vehicles stopped ahead of us. Guess who we'd caught up to? Yep. The flat bed. The truck was on the outside of a turn with the right front wheel on the shoulder and the trailer was on the inside with the left rear wheel on the shoulder. The driver of the rig was desperately trying to just get through the turn and had the whole road blocked.

He worked at it for some time and eventually he got it. Poor guy, there were only a couple hundred more turns to go... Sitting there waiting though I saw that photographer extraordinair, Darryl Cannon of Killboy.com fame, was set up at the corner just ahead of where the truck was struggling. Once we got moving, albeit, very slowly, I began to come up with a plan.

I really, really wanted some pictures of us on the FJR, riding the Dragon is a sure fire way to get some too. Knowing that following that truck for another several miles wouldn't be any fun, I thought we could pull over and let traffic clear, then turn around, go back past Darryl, turn around again and come back by him once more then see how long it would take to catch the truck again. That way Darryl could possibly get us going both ways! I mentioned this to Teddy and Tim on the radio and they weren't as enthused about it as I was, but graciously agreed to wait on us while we did it.

...but this FJR rider and those in the photos below show how its really done

It was a great idea, that just didn't pan out. He was shooting in the other direction when we doubled back, then when we headed back the way we'd been going I couldn't hold the line through the turn with out "dropping the lane" i.e. crossing the double yellow line and going into the on coming lane, and had to make a mid turn correction. Darryl got the shots, but they sure weren't pretty. We didn't even end up buying them. On the other hand we did pass by several other photographers that got some great shots of us. All of which are posted in this report.

Disgusted with myself for blowing the opportunity we rode on, hooked up with Teddy and Tim again and continued on our way. We didn't catch the truck, first, we caught up to some more slow moving traffic and pulled off once more to let them go on for a while. After a few minutes we headed out again and thankfully were able to get almost to the end of the Dragon before we caught up to the truck. Keep n mind that all of this happened in an 11 mile stretch of road...

We were now at a crossroads both literally and figuratively. It was getting late and we were at least four hours from home, possibly more. The intersection for the Foothills Parkway was just ahead, it's a beautiful ride that is fun and takes you in the direction of Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg or The Great Smokey Mountains National Park. All of which is great riding that offers a lot to see, but also adds a tremendous amount of time to the trip. The 'fastest' way home was, in theory at least, to go back and ride the Dragon again, then work our way from Robbinsville to I-40 and back home. But after what we'd just been through I figured it could realistically be as time consuming either way and opted for 'the long way'. Hey, we came to ride, right?

As usual the Foothills Parkway was fun to ride and a sight to see. We got on US 321 north and rode it to Wear Valley, Tennessee and picked up NC Rt 73 and rode it into the Smokey Mountain National Park. This road has to be one of the most spectacularly beautiful and scenic ones in the area. Bar none. But it has a 35 mph speed limit, there is no place to pass, and most of the time heavily congested. It took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to get to US 441 which would take across the park in another direction and ultimately Cherokee, North Carolina.

Honda VFR 'draggin a bag'

We were given no reprieve on 441 either. In spots it was bumper to bumper moving at a snails pace, in others we actually got up over the speed limit a little. Just a little, and not for long. *sigh* I was beginning to feel real bad about leading us this way and seriously second guessing my decision not to a Dragon repeat. The sun was setting fast and it promised to be a long cold night ride home.

The bright spot in all of this was that Julie finally got to see a bear! As we were riding along, actually moving pretty good, traffic began to snarl up a little bit up ahead of us, then we noticed cars parked along side the road on either side. The traffic ahead hit snail drive again and so did we, but then we figured out what all the hub-bub was about. Right beside the road, and I do mean right beside it, a bear cub was literally hanging from a tree limb. Much to the delight of the gathered throngs. I wanted to stop sooo bad, wanted Julie to experience this moment she had been looking forward to for so long, but there was no where to park. Cars were that thick on the shoulder. I offered to find a spot and hike back with her, offered to turn around and drop her off, then circle back and pick her up, but nooooo. She didn't want to hold up Teddy and Tim for it, and wanted to keep moving. Strangely enough a few miles later a similar situation arose but this time the wildlife turned out to be a herd of elk. Pretty neat really, its just to bad we didn't have more time.

Gold Wing getting it done

It was oh-dark-thirty when we pulled into Cherokee and it wasn't getting warmer. We stopped for fuel and to get ready for the ride in the dark home. Cherokee was also extremely busy and it was a long drawn out affair getting out of town. The ride to Maggie Valley went easy enough and from there it wasn't far to I-40 and the three'ish hour ride home.

We put the bikes in the wind heading for the barn as they say, stopping only twice more for fuel and to thaw out a bit all the way to the house and back to reality.

All things considered it was a great trip and we had a ball. I could have done with a little less night time cold riding, but thats all part of it, especially in the fall.

This was also a good indicator of how the FJR was going to do for us in the long run and it passed with flying colors. I finally knew for sure that Julie was tickled with it a few weeks after the trip; on her Facebook page she posted one of the pictures of us taken on the Dragon, her caption read: "the fjr flows through the curves. Like butter on hot toast. I love it!!"

Nuff said.

Bruce

Meadows of Dan, Va Solo Loop - Spetember 14th, 2009

2009-09-14T10:32:00.491-04:00

"Jacket, gloves, tank bag... seems like I'm forgetting something"

There are two unusual aspects about this ride, first foremost and most importantly I went by myself. Normally I just won't ride without Julie. This whole on-road riding thing is something that we got into together and that we share as a couple. It's so much more fun to go on these rides together so that we have each other to share them with. The other unusual thing is that it happened on a Monday. Over the years we have left on a trip over a week-end and been on our way back on a Monday, but for as long as I can remember this was the first time the bike left the house on Monday.

Using a silly phrase from work, "What had happened was..." The weather over the week-end was a little less that cooperative being a little chilly (comparatively speaking) and a little damp. Julie was flying out on business Monday and needed to prepare for her trip, so that along with the weather being what it was determined for us that a ride was not in the forecast so to speak.

Easy to see why they're called the Smokey Mountains

On the other hand... Monday was gorgeous! And though I had been in very similar situations prior to this and decided to leave the bike parked since Julie couldn't be with me, that black cherry colored wonderfulishious piece of motorcycle engineering and well, art; our new FJR, was calling my name. Man I wanted to ride sooo bad!

At first I resisted. "Nope FJR", I told it as I stood beside it admiring it's sleek lines, "we have to wait." It sat there looking all smug and confident as if to say "C'mon, you know you want to..." So I turned off the lights to the shop and closed the door.

Looking toward Sparta, NC from the Blue Ridge Parkway

Then I remembered that I needed something in the shop (what was it... I don't seem to remember now) and went in. The FJR just seemed to be begging to go stretch it;s legs. Once again I resisted and ran out, slamming the door behind me. "NO!" I screamed at the door, "not with out Julie!" and ran up stairs.

But by noon the sun was out big time, it was a warm and beautiful day, and well, I'm weak. What can I say? I swear Julie I thought about you alllll day!

At 1:00 pm I pulled out of the gate with the intentions of just doing some local riding, a nice little short 100 miler or so on some country back roads. Like I said, those were my intentions... It didn't quite work out that way.

Stopped along the BRP

Heading out on US 64 west I rode into Mocksville and the took US 158 north, all still fairly local roads. When I got to SR 801 I decided I'd rather go that way instead of into Winston, so a simple left turn and I'm headed back into the country again. This took me out past the Farmington drag strip and in just a very short while I was at the intersection of SR 601. Turning left and going south would have taken me right back toward Mocksville and I really wasn't ready to 'head back' just yet, so north bound I went and on toward Yadkinville.

The bike was running, riding and handling flawlessly. The weather was good and it was still...fairly early in the day when I got to Yadkinville and US 421. I thought about going on north, which would have taken me to Mt Airy, but then I'd probably just take US 52 home, and I still wasn't ready for that, so just for giggles I turned north on 421 and put the FJR in the wind. At 80 mph it doesn't take long to get anywhere, and it wasn't long before I found myself where SR 21 crosses and well, the sun was still high in the sky and I was feeling good, so why not ride it up to Jonesville and then back around? Zoom. Gone.

NC Hwy 18 overpass on the BRP

21 is a fun road and all to quick I was in Jonesville. Then I remembered that there were some pretty fun curves and switchbacks on 21 north of Elkin as it climbed the mountain... *sigh* Why not?

Yep. They were a hoot, the FJR just loves that kind of stuff. The thing is once on top of the mountain on 21 it's only a couple of miles to the Blue Ridge Parkway so, well, you know.

Now it's no secret that Julie is bored with the BRP and that I can't get enough of it, and well I was there and had come this far soooo... Why not ride it north for a bit and then when the mood strikes me find one of those great roads off the mountain and then head home?

Ain't it purdy?

There was almost no one on the parkway. I rode for miles before I met another bike and he looked as surprised to see me as I was to see him! This lack of traffic made me feel a bit... confident? Inspired? Foolish? So I found myself scooting along at or near 60 mph, which is big no no on the BRP. None the less, the FJR was wanting it, and I was happy to oblige. While technically speeding I think most that have ridden the parkway on a motorcycle will agree that it is far from dangerous given the right circumstances and actually the road flows real well at that speed. Enough excuses, it was just plain fun too.

No traffic on the road also meant that there was no one at the pull offs either, so more than once I would zip in, take a peak, then head back out. I also stopped a time or two just to look around, stretch my legs, and take a picture or two.

Just off the BRP at Hwy 58

In no time at all I found myself at the Virgina state line and a little while after that in Fancy Gap. From there it would be a fun ride down old 52 then on to the house, but I was still not ready to head back. The miles were effortlessly rolling under the FJR's tires and time just didn't seem to matter. So I didn't even stop at Fancy Gap and kept getting it.

The closer I got to Meadows of Dan the more I began to notice the sun was starting to get low on the horizon. It wasn't really late, but now it was getting time to start thinking about heading back. US 58 is a fun ride, especially around Lovers Leap and that would take me in the right direction so I had a plan. As I exited off the parkway I noticed what I thought would be a good photo op and I was ready for a break anyway so I found a place to get off the road and sit a while.

Hwy 58 going into Meadows of Dan, Virginia

Satisfied with the pictures, stretched and ready to go I mounted up and headed east on 58. For a moment I thought about stopping for fuel, I wasn't out, or really low, but I wasn't sure if I had enough to make it back or not. I hadn't really pushed the bike far on fuel yet and decided that I might as well do it now, just so that I would know what kind of miles I could get on a tank.

58 is one of those roads that just begs to be ridden, so I did. No, I wasn't really hauling the mail, but I was maintaining a steady pace. All the while remembering that Bryan had mentioned several times that he would like to plan a trip around just US 58 and thinking we really should do that one day.

The intersection of Hwy 58, the BRP and Squirrel Spur Road

Reaching the town of Stewart and Hwy 8 the FJR and I turned south headed back toward North Carolina. 8 is another one of our favorite roads and one I'm familiar with as the sun and my fuel gage were both getting low I settled in for the ride home. I didn't want to stop at all, but knew I could do a splash and go if need be as there would be plenty of places to get fuel if I needed it along the way.

There are several sections of road from Stewart to the other side of Danbury, North Carolina that are a blast to ride, and I enjoyed every one of them. Danbury was one of my options for fuel but at that point the gage was still showing around an eighth of a tank so I headed on to Winston.

When I got to the intersection of US 52 and Hwy 8 which is just north of Winston it wasn't dark, but it wasn't far from it. My reserve fuel indicator still wasn't on as I merged onto 52 south, which honestly surprised me and I began to wonder if it worked! I got my answer south of Winston as the last 'bar' on the fuel gage began to blink, I was now on reserve. By my calculations I should have at least 40 miles of fuel left depending upon how low in the tank the fuel pick ups were positioned, which should get me home. At this point I had ridden more than 225 miles on one tank of fuel!

Once a hotel and boarding house, this is now an antique shop

By the time I got to Welcome it was most definitely oh-dark-thirty and there was getting to be a little nip in the air. The bike had not hiccuped once and was still running strong so I kept going but was getting a tad bit concerned. See, if it ran out I wouldn't be far from fuel, but it would still be a fairly long push or hike.

But in the end I made it. The trip odometer read 262 miles, the bike was still running and it had been a great ride that would have only been made better if Julie had been with me.

Bruce

The Big Kahuna Road Race - VIR - Danville, Va. - August 16th, 2009

2009-08-16T10:30:00.449-04:00

Last year I was fortunate enough to get some free tickets to the 2008 running of the Big Kahuna Road Race in Danville, Virginia. It was not only my first time attending an AMA pro road race, but Bryan and our pal Tim Beck's first one too. It was impressive to say the least, and not just the race and the racing, but the facility and the way that spectators that rode motorcycles into the event were treated.

Once again for 2009 I was able to get some more free tickets and once again we rode up. After last year we had to. This year Tim was unable to make it so we drug Julie along to make it a family affair. To be honest she was less than thrilled about going, but figured it might be fun to hang out with her boys.

In the days before the race I had spoken with the new Tucker Rocky rep for our area, Patrick Rickards who had told me of an alternate route off of US 29 that would not only take us off the four lane highways and put us winding two lanes, but would take us almost to VIR's front gate! Perfect!

The routing was indeed good. Not twisty mountain road good, but certainly better than riding US 29 to US 58 which is four lane all the way. In fact, the area is worth exploring on a future day ride. Stay tuned.

VIR is really a country club located around a race track instead of a golf course, it is a spectacular facility. It takes several minutes to ride the entrance road to the main gate, then several more minutes to get to the race track itself. This year, as last, motorcycles were given special treatment. Once VIR personnel saw you they waved you around any other vehicles that were in line waiting to get in, once in motorcyclists are parked in one of two areas that is specifically for bikes and bikes only. It really does make a rider feel special and appreciated. Once parked we began wandering through the paddock area and scoping things out.

One of the motorcycle parking lots and vendor areas at VIR

Pit road and the Paddock

Again this year the first thing that came to my mind was how clean road racing is, keeping in mind that we come from an off-road racing background where standing in 2" of mud and goo while in your own pit area is not unheard of. The haulers were all in nice rows, individual pit areas clean and well organized just as one would expect at this level of racing. The second thing that again came to mind is just how trick some of these bikes are! Being a road race newbie I am told that recent rule changes have taken the level of sophistication in some classes back down a notch or two and that the teams are forced to deal with more production based equipment. None the less the level of professionalism and the way these bikes are set up left this gear heads jaw dropping.

Graves Yamaha Racing

Monster - Attack Kawasaki Racing

Michael Jordan's Suzuki Squad

Rockstar - Mikita Suzuki Racing

Erion Honda Racing

Millennium Technologies Aprilia Racing

Pegram Racing Ducati

Our favorites, Dairyland Cycle Racing

Bryan and Julie checking out last years Jordan Racing Suzuki

A local high end sports car dealer had some thoroughbreds on display

Ducati was offering demo rides

Parts Unlimited, an aftermarket distributor that I've done a tremendous amount of business with over the years arranged for us to have some very special passes to the race. Leo Vince Exhaust, an Italian high performance exhaust system manufacturer was a co-sponsor of the event and series, had a limited number of VIP passes available to dealers and industry people. These passes not only got us in the gate, but allowed access to their suite above the garage area overlooking the front straight, provided food and drinks for us, and allowed access to the 'hot pits' which would be like pit road at a NASCAR race. Talk about feeling special... A very special thanks needs to go out to Dean Herrin from Parts Unlimited and Cory Jonson from Leo Vince for all there efforts and hospitality shown us. We had a great time and you guys are a class act.

Looking out from the balcony of the Leo Vince VIP suite

Bryan walking down through the 'hot pits'

Team Yamaha's pit stall

Something new this year was allowing spectators onto the starting grid prior to the start of each race. We waited in line for the teams to get their bikes in place and the gates to open then filed in with the crowd to get up close and personal to the teams and bikes. At first there were so many people on the grid it was near impossible to see the bikes or get a good picture, but after giving the crowd a bit of time to thin out we did manage to get close ups of some of the bikes. I was a bit disappointed when they cleared the grid before the riders came out, but having been a racer I can also appreciate that they would rather not have a bunch of people hanging out and asking questions while they get focused on the up coming race.

Walking the grid prior to the start
Bryan really liked the Buell's for some reason...

The racing itself was... memorable. Matt Maladin, one of the sports greatest racers was retiring at the end of the season, he had the series in the bag as long as he rode smart. Yamaha's new R1 was on hand and due to it's new engine configuration not only sounded great, it ran like a striped ape. There was some great racing in all three races but unfortunately the day was marred by one crash after another. Fortunately no one was seriously injured and that is the most important thing, but from a spectators point of view these incidents halted the racing when it probably didn't need to, and seemed to take an exceptionally long time to get the races re-started. I don't want to come off sounding like a whinny spectator that doesn't get 'it' because I do, I really do. The riders and race officials safety comes first, period. But it seemed like things were awfully unorganized and could have been handled better.

The racing action was spectacular

But crashing seemed to rule the day

Like this rider, thankfully most walked away

Bryan and I enjoyed the day, Julie, not so much. I'm not sure if she's just not into road racing or if it's because her boys aren't involved. However, as much as Bryan and I enjoyed it if it weren't for the free tickets I doubt we would go. As good as the facility, the racing and the overall atmosphere is, even as good as they treat spectators that ride in, ticket prices seem at bit high to us. Then again we aren't die hard road racing fans and would rather ride our bikes than watch someone else race theirs.

But given tickets again next year, we'll be there!

Bruce

Burke's Garden, Virginia and The Old Fiddler's Convention - August 8th & 9th, 2009

2009-08-08T10:29:00.570-04:00

Our anniversary gift to each other for the last few years has been to get away for a week-end on the bike. We've had some memorable and enjoyable trips and were looking forward to doing it again in 2009.

This trip would also be the first time we took the FJR out on an 'overnighter' and we were curious to see how it was going to work out. Julie had packing the Nomad down to a science, no strike that. An art form. She could pack more... stuff, in the saddlebags of that Kawasaki and then get as much, maybe more in the T-Bag that we carried on the luggage rack. The FJR will challenge her though. While the FJR does have a tour trunk and two saddlebags it seems like the three of them together only offer about as much space as the two saddlebags did on the Nomad, plus there is no way of mounting the T-bag or any of our other luggage on the bike. Overnighters shouldn't be a problem, week long rides though...

The queen of packing has her work cut out for her.

Our anniversary was on a Thursday this year so we planned the trip for the following week-end. As always I had to work on Saturday and Julie had to be back at work on Monday, so it would be one of our typical partial week-end over night trips. I had originally thought about heading up to West Virginia but Julie had an idea. She had seen something on TV about a place called "Burke's Garden, Virginia", it was said to be the highest valley on the east coast. It was also said that during the Cuban missile crisis it was one of the 'secure' locations for President Kennedy and his staff due to it's remoteness and because there was only one road going in and out of it. Looking at the map it seemed easily doable in our time frame so why not? We'd leave after I got home on Saturday, ride to Galax, Virginia where Julie got us a free nights stay at a Hilton using her travel points, then head on up to Burke's Garden from there.

"God's Thumbprint" Burke's Garden, Virginia.

Using my trip planning software to figure out perspective routes and mileage I discovered a road that made my mouth water! Virginia Route 623 from Sharon Springs to Burke's Garden looked like a motorcyclists dream! Turns, curves and twisties climbing up a mountain side! Hot Dawg!! I was so excited by this 'find' that I was telling my friends and co-workers about it and showing it to them on the map. I couldn't wait to get the mighty FJR on this stretch of road!

We hit the road Saturday afternoon riding up US 52 to Mt Airy, North Carolina and then took SR 89 from there into Galax, Virginia. It was a beautiful day and we were really enjoying each other, our new bike, the road and the views as we eased along the North Carolina and Virginia countryside. At the outskirts of Galax traffic began to build causing us to wonder what was going on. Riding by the county fairgrounds it was obvious that something was going on, but it didn't appear to be a fair. As we rode past the entrance we saw signs telling us what it was, the last night of The Old Fiddlers Convention!

The stage at the "Old Fiddlers Convention" in Galax, Va.

We decided to find the hotel and check in first, Galax isn't exactly a large metropolis so it wasn't hard and wasn't far. While checking in we asked the clerk about the Fiddlers Convention and she highly recommended that we go check it out saying that things would be going on late into the night. Her best piece of advice though was when she told us not to get so caught up in what was on the stage that we didn't walk around the camping area. "That's where the good music and fun is."

Well OK!

We piled the saddlebag liners onto the bed and then turned around and went right back to the bike. Julie had noticed a restaurant that she was familiar with on main street that was right on our way back so a pit stop for some grub was made before heading to the fairgrounds.

Finding a suitable spot to park was easy enough, a very nice man waved us into the parking lot of what turned out to be his office building. He parked us in an area that I was comfortable with and told us that he and his wife would be there until the last car, or bike, left. Well worth the $5 he charged us!

After getting our tickets we made our way down the driveway toward the festivities. Riding by on the road we couldn't really see how big the place was as well as how many people were there! We saw the stage off to our left but decided to take the hotel clerks advice and headed in the direction of the campers. It was like a carnival midway at first, food vendors and souvenir booths lined both sides of the walkway. Right among the vendors a small band was set up and started to play so we stopped to listen. Of every song and every group I heard that night, these guys were my favorite! I wish I could remember the song more clearly, but it was about running over a opossum and having stew tonight! What a hoot!

I know we wandered around the campground for a couple of hours. The campers ran the gamut from million dollar motor homes to converted school buses to pick ups and cars with tarps over the roofs and tents under that. There were groups playing every where, we would walk over to one campsite and listen for a song or two, then walk a very little way and find another group and listen to them. Some would be playing in front of their vehicles, others had pretty nice stages set up with lights and indoor/outdoor carpeting to stand on. Some were good, others were, well, fantastic. As we made our way around we discovered something else too. While a large number of these folks obviously came together and were groups we noticed many people walking along like we were but they would be carrying instruments. When they came up on a person or a group playing they would just walk up and join in! It was, to me, amazing.

Eventually we made our way around to the stage, at first standing along the railing on one side, and then over to the covered concrete bleachers in front of it where we found a place to sit and watch. There were groups, lots and lots of groups, playing Blue Grass and old time mountain music and there were people dancing, some of which I recognized as square dancing others doing something they called 'flat foot' dancing. all of them, each and everyone were outstanding and a joy to watch. We stayed there enjoying ourselves until close to midnight, then made our way back to the bike, as the music played on...

When we got back to the hotel that night we found that we had been joined by other riders as there were several motorcycles parked where we had been earlier. The next morning at breakfast there were a few of them already out of their rooms drinking coffee and others joined them later. Julie and I spoke, as we always do, they told us that they were from Virginia and were out riding Hwy 58. They apparently rode together a lot and seemed to be very friendly. We explained where we were from, where we were going and of course I had to tell them about the curvy road I found on the map and how much we were looking forward to riding it.

In their group was one guy, a gray bearded, grizzled looking dude that everyone was talking to, or about, laughing and poking fun at him. From the sounds of things this guy was a rider because references were made to several far off destinations and trips that he along others that they knew had been on. I only bring this up because of one...incident they mentioned.

They were picking on him for leaving someone. a neighbor actually, on the way home during a trip. They actually asked if the neighbor was speaking to him yet, to which he replied "Hell no, I don't care if he does or not." The crowd fell out laughing. Then one of them said "I don't blame him, I wouldn't speak to you either!" which was followed by more laughter. Not being able to stand it I had to ask, "So what happened?" The crowd fell out, and when they caught their collective breaths they told us.

Gray beard and neighbor had gone on a trip together and were on the way back. They still had a long way to go and the neighbor decided that he was ready to stop for the day and pulled off the highway at a motel. Ol' gray beard kept gettin' it and didn't see him again until they were back home. Gray beard piped up in his defense "I told him I wanted to ride one more tank of fuel out that day, was it my fault he didn't?" Then added, "He's a grown man, he ought to be able to find his way home." Some of his friends were laughing so hard tears were streaming at this point.

I bit. "So, what was the problem?" These people were falling out by now.

"They were in Washington state!" And the neighbor had never been out of Virginia before!

Well alrighty then... and on that note we decided it was time to go.

We took US 221 to US 21 and stayed on it until we got to I-81 outside of Wythville. From there we rode US 52 up into the mountains. It was a beautiful day and we were having a ball. We were getting more and more used to the FJR and really enjoying being on it. We were looking for SR 621 and rounding a curve we not only saw a sign pointing us to it, but a rather unique looking place on the corner at the intersection. We just had to stop and look around a bit.

The "Big Walker Country Store and Lookout", US 52 & SR 621 outside of Wythville, Virginia.

It wasn't open when we got there, but there were already a few people sitting outside waiting. We found out later the tower wasn't open, so no we didn't climb up it. The view was incredible anyway though.

Looking toward the Jefferson National Forest.

We noticed several historical monuments, taking time to read them all and look around. This area, like much of the south, is filled with history from our countries beginning and the Civil War.

There was a clue about the road I was so anxiously looking for on the road map of the historical info sign that I completely missed.

We headed out on SR 621 (which shows as SR 42 on the map in the corner of the historical info sign *hint hint*) knowing that it wasn't much further to Burke's Garden I was beginning to get excited. We rode for a little less than an hour through some absolutely gorgeous countryside and I was like a kid at Christmas time. The road that looked like it would put The Dragon and The Snake to shame wasn't far off!

Scanning way ahead I saw a road sign marking SR 623 was the next right. I told Julie to get ready for some peg draggin' fun 'cause we were here! With the right turn signal flashing and my pulse rate up shifting I downshifted the bike and turned onto 623. For as long as I live I'll never forget the next moment. After literally weeks of anticipation and then riding for hours to get to this road of roads that no one had ever heard of, there it was. SR 623 was... a dirt road!

At first I thought I must have mis read the sign, so I circled the FJR around where I could read it again. Nope. SR 623. Pulling the bike off to the side of the road where the pavement ended I told Julie I wanted to look at the map. Once parked she decided that she would walk up the road a piece to see if maybe it was just that section of road, thinking maybe there would be asphalt on up a piece. As she walked off though I looked up into the mountain, that beautiful mountain, and could see parts of the road and it was all gravel and dirt. Dammit!

While she was doing her thing I looked over the map for an alternate route. The Metzler Z6 tires on the FJR had so far proved to be great tires, but no way were they up to that road. Looking at the map it appeared that the road we had been on, SR 42, would continue taking us around the base of the mountain over to SR 16 which would take us over it and into Tazwell, Virginia. From there we could ride SR 61 to where SR 623 intersected it. Then assuming that 623 wasn't completely unpaved and that the residents of Burke's Garden had at least one good way in and out of their valley, we could still at least complete the trek, even if I was completely and utterly disappointed.

Julie came running, literally running back down the hill, momentarily raising my hopes and spirits. Maybe there was some pavement up ahead! But no, the silly woman just felt like getting some exercise...

We saddled up and headed back out onto 42. While not exactly what I had in mind, it wasn't bad. The road winds and weaves it's way along the base of the mountain through some spectacular farm land and we found ourselves enjoying the ride and the view. It took us 20 minutes or so to reach SR 16 and once there I got the feeling that it was going to make up for my let down of 623. A typical winding and curvey mountain road, but it had recently been repaved. Which turned out to be both good and bad. Good in that the surface for the most part was impeccable. Bad because the road crews had drug some debris off the shoulder into the road in places and in others there spots were oil or diesel fuel had been spilled. All in all though it was great and has made it to my unofficial list of great roads.

After a half hour or so we made it into Tazwell, then found our way through town and onto SR 61. It only took a little while and once again I saw a sign showing SR 623 to my right. Gingerly and with expectations of finding yet another dirt road we turned onto it and found it was indeed a paved road. So far.

It turned out to be paved all the way, but wasn't one of the better roads we've ridden. Understand, it was very passable, scenic, and not a bad ride, but not the knee dragger I had hoped for when we started this trip. For several miles there was nothing but woods. When we did find our way into 'civilization' it wasn't much. Well, that's not fair. It was beautiful farm land, with nice looking farms and homes along the road. It's just that there wasn't much of that. Burke's Garden is a very small farm community. One that we fell in love with!

SR 623. Main street, Burke's Garden, Virginia.

"Downtown" Burke's Garden, Virginia and the "old" general store.

Beautiful Valley Farmland and the mountains surrounding it.

The "new" general store and home to one mean cheeseburger!

Understand that Julie and I are both...country people. Julie was raised on a beautiful dairy farm in Wisconsin and I, well, I just love being out of town, in the backcountry surrounded by woods, fields and farmland. Burke's Garden is all of that.

I found out later that there is a road that loops around the community that we missed, and I hate that because I really would have enjoyed seeing it. What we did was ride in on 623 through, ummm, town, then out past several homes and farms to the other end of the unpaved portion of 623. Then turned around and rode back to the old general store, took some pictures, then rode to the new general store where we hung out, chatted and had lunch. I'll bet we were there for over an hour, during which we tried our best to figure out a way we could buy a home there and support ourselves.

We didn't, and all to soon it was time to saddle up and ride towards home.

Basically we back tracked until we got to the intersection of 16 and 42 where we continued south on 16. Man let me tell you, 16 is definitely on my favorite roads list. We had been on this section of it before and it was just as much fun to ride and as scenic as the first time. The area around the Hungry Mother State Park is particularly nice and twice now we have promised ourselves to go back with the intentions of spending some time there and exploring the surrounding area.

This time too we stopped in Marion, Va. near the intersection of I-81 at a little miniature golf and ice cream store that's located in front of a drive in theater. I don't know what it is about the ice cream there, but man it sure is good!

From there we rode 16 to NC SR 93 into Sparta, and then our typical NC back roads back home. It was another wonderful trip as well as a great first 'overnighter' on the FJR.

Bruce

Julie Gets a New Motorcycle for Her Birthday! - July 10th, 2009

2009-07-10T10:26:00.159-04:00

After more than a month of test rides, negotiations and figuring out how we could make it work, on July 10th, 2009 Julie and I officially became the oweners of the FJR! We're looking forward to taking it on our future rides for years to come.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Our 'new' bike, a 2007 Yamaha FJR 1300 Sport Tourer.

This was the mileage when we became the legal owners of the bike. At this point we'd already put close to a thousand miles on it!

The sad thing though is we had to trade the Nomad. We had it for so long and rode it so much that it really felt like part of the family, and it was difficult to let it go. But we didn't have any choice really and we both knew that even if we could have worked it out so that we could have kept it, we probably wouldn't ride it very much.

However, it all worked out because when word got out that we had traded the bike a customer and friend decided that he and his wife just had to have it. These folks are first class people that love motorcycles and riding as much as Julie and I do so I knew the Nomad was going to a good home. I was as tickled they got the bike as they were to get it!

The last photos taken of the Nomad before we traded it.

37,247 enjoyable and trouble free miles during the five years we owned it.

Bruce

Day Trip to Blowing Rock - July 4th, 2009

2009-07-04T09:01:00.312-04:00

We had ridden the FJR several times, worked out a deal with the shop and made the final decision to get it. The paperwork was started, but not yet finalized, even so it was a done deal. So much so that if you'll notice in a few of the photo's our tag is mounted on the bike as opposed to the dealer tag we had been using.

It was a beautiful Independence Day, one just right for riding. Bryan had come home for the week-end with his bike so that we could all go for a ride together. There was no real plan or destination, just a direction. The mountains, Julie and I were both hunting twisties on the FJR!

We rode out on US 64, then took 901 toward Wilksboro. As we approached US 421 I thought it might be fun to ride "The Snake" and headed north on 421. We got to Boone and some how or another got really misplaced. 421 and 321 run together but there was some construction detours that had us confused, we had lost all signs referring to 421 and found ourselves at the intersection of NC 105 and 321. So we pulled over and stopped in the parking lot of an upscale Lodge to check the maps and ended up taking a few photos.

The Eseeola Lodge outside of Boone, North Carolina.

Julie and Bryan posing in front of the pretty flowers.

No, I don't have a clue what they are, except pretty.

Once again, clueless...

Ahhhh... Well, it's red and has a bug in it...

It's ahhh... Well let's see... ummmm...

*sigh*

Ooo! Ooo! I've got this one!

It's a fence!

Bryan told us that he had ridden 105 before and that it was a pretty ride that would take us by Grandfather Mountain. Once past there he told us, we could pick up a really fun section of US 221 that would ultimately take us into Blowing Rock. Sounded like a plan, so off we went.

105 was gorgeous. Breath taking in fact in some spots. Traffic became an issue almost immediately though because of the tourists and visitors to Grandfather Mountain, but we really didn't mind, it just gave us more time to sight see. Just outside of the town of Linville we got to the intersection of 105 and "The Blowing Rock Hwy", US 221.   We rode for a few miles on good road with more beautiful scenery then came up to the BRP. Bryan told us on the CB radio that now things would get interesting and boy he was right! Not only was the road so twisty and curvy that 2nd gear was all that was required, but the views and sights were spectacular. At one point there was this giant boulder directly on the side of the road jutting out from the mountain so close to the road that I felt like I needed to watch my head as we went by! All in all Bryan was right, it was a hoot! All too soon it ended and we rolled into the outskirts of Blowing Rock.

Nearing town traffic began to slow dramatically, then stopped entirely. We noticed that a some cars up ahead of us were turning around and going back the other way suggesting a complete closing or blocking of the road. With each vehicle that turned around we moved forward until we were finally close enough to see what was going on. A parade!

We had arrived just in time to see Blowing Rock's fourth of July parade, now granted we didn't have the best seats in the house, but we could see well enough and didn't have to leave the bikes. We just sat right there in the middle of the road on our bikes and watched the floats, bands and fire trucks roll past just down the hill from us.

When the last of the parade went by the road was opened up and traffic started to move again so we fired up the bikes and inched our way forward. People were walking past us on the shoulder of the road going back to their vehicles, laughing, smiling and talking. The reason I bring this up is because, well, I could actually hear and understand them, even with the bike running. The Nomad wasn't exactly what I would describe as obnoxiously loud, to me the Vance & Hines pipes just sounded good. But even at an idle I couldn't hear people beside me very well unless they leaned in toward me and spoke up. Yet here I was, helmet on, bike running and I could understand everything that everyone who was walking by was saying. Even that nice lady pushing the baby stroller who said to her husband, "See, motorcycles don't have to be loud.". Up until that very moment I had been toying with the idea of a set of slip on exhausts for the FJR, not any more. The stock pipes are just fine.

We made it through downtown Blowing Rock and went to an outlet mall on what was the far side of town for us. There was a restaurant Bryan knew about there and he was ready to eat. The crowd was amazing, I've been in and through Blowing Rock on many occasions, but I've never seen that many people there. As we finished our lunch I noticed, actually the crowd parted enough so that I could see, an ice cream store right across from us and it was doing a heck of a business. Normally I'm all about some ice cream, but it would have taken forever to get in and out of there so we all decided to pass.

Back out in the parking lot we looked over the maps trying to decide where to go next. It was still early and an amazingly beautiful day so no one was ready to head back. It was decided that we would go back the way we came on 221 so that we could have another run at those great curves, then check out a road we saw on the map that looked interesting just before the BRP.   Bryan still checked out on us but not as bad as before. I still had to learn how to ride the FJR more smoothly and efficiently. I seemed to be wasting effort and time trying to roll deep into the turns, brake late and then power out. The same way I would have been riding the Nomad. It wasn't really working to well though because I didn't feel smooth and controlled.

When we got to the BRP Bryan was sitting there waiting for us.  The road we were looking for appeared to be a dirt road. We rode down it just a bit and saw that it was indeed a dirt road for as far as we could see, nope, not today, not on these bikes. As luck would have it though we could see a smooth path from the dirt road leading to a pull off/parking area on the BRP. It was no trouble at all to navigate our way into the parking area and then onto the Parkway. We decided to go south and see where we ended up.

The BRP was spectacular as always. As usual, Julie was less than thrilled with it, especially on her new hot rod.   But she made the best of it by looking for rhododendrons and pointing them out to Bryan and I.  We stayed on it for a good while, exiting off at the Hwy 181 intersection. There was a good looking group of rhododendrons we could take pictures of and then take 181 south to start heading home.

The intersection of the BRP and Hwy 181 north of Morganton, North Carolina.

We found a country store to park at while we took some pictures.

Julie coming to supervise me while I take pictures of the flowers.

Hey Trollipop you need a new hat! You're not a Kawi-girl anymore!

Bryan found something other than flowers to look at...

"Let's check out the engineering that went into this..."

"Do you know how much damage I could do with one of these?"

Rhododendrons!

After getting the photos we headed south on 181. I was looking forward to it because while curvy, the turns on 181 are more sweeping and flowing, I was hoping that this would give me a chance at getting a better feel for the FJR. Traffic was light so we kept a spirited pace down the mountain, not flying, just flowing. Bryan was following me when we got into the turns and since he was staying behind me and pretty much in the same line as me I figured that I must be doing OK. *sigh* 181 is a four lane road non-divided highway, I was staying in the right lane and not using all the road. About half way down the mountain with the FJR leaned over pretty good I checked my mirrors real quick and didn't see Bryan. Still focused on the turn I felt the presence of something beside me, a quick glance to my left and there was Bryan in the left lane, peg dragging and moving on.

Show off...

We rode 181 to the off the mountain and to where it intersects I-40 at Morganton. It was getting a little late in the afternoon so we jumped on the Interstate and headed for home.

We had ridden another 300 mile day and couldn't help but notice that we weren't really tired, wore out or felt beat up. In fact, we both commented that if it hadn't been as late as it was we would have enjoyed riding some more. A 300 mile day on the Nomad usually left us pretty tired. Is the FJR that much better a bike? In a way, yes. The riding position does allow the rider to spend more time in the saddle due to the way the riders weight is more evenly distributed. The suspension is sooo much more supple that it still amazes me. The in-line 4 engine design is much smoother and has much, much less vibration than the v-twin design and produces not only more power, but more usable power. Then there is the noise issue. I'm thoroughly convinced that excessive noise fatigues the rider. I can tell such a huge difference not only in my physical fatigue level, but mentally as well. Having told many people over the years that the Nomad sounded great at the beginning of the day, but was a little loud toward the end I feel certain the noise factor is the reason for my lack of mental fatigue on the FJR.

Yeah, I think we'll keep it.

Bruce

The McCrary Family Reunion - June 27th, 2009

2009-06-27T10:36:00.756-04:00

From the very start of this blog I have striven to keep it motorcycle related in content. Initially I had planned on doing two blogs, this one and another that would be more personal or family related. The truth is though that it has been more difficult and time consuming to do this one than I had imagined so starting a second one just hasn't happened. Yet. ;) This entry will stray away from the motorcycle only content so that I can share what turned out to be a very special visit with my family.

The whole fam Damily, well those that could make it anyway...

For a better look at the reunion and the family in general you can visit a Facebook page entitled "McCrary Family Reunion!" that my cousin Megan started. It can be accessed here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=191097169748&ref=mf . There are a lot of photos along with some dialog that will make most people wonder about the sanity of some of our family members. You have to be a member of facebook to access it and please be forewarned, I have some crazy girl cousins (whom I love dearly and am scared silly of...) that are quite a handful.

The remaining grandchildren of Charles Maddox & Sarah Branan McCrary.

Over the winter months Bryan and I had decided that 2009 would be the year that we tried to become members of the famous (infamous?) Iron butt Association ( http://www.ironbutt.com/ ). In order to do this we would have to ride at least 1000 miles in a 24 hour period and have documentation as well as witness signatures that we had done so. No small feat, and the only real thing you gain from doing this, outside of membership into the association and an official IBA number, are the bragging rights and a license plate frame that reads "Iron Butt Association" on the top and "Worlds Toughest Riders" along the bottom. What can I say? It's the challenge!

The remaining children of Joseph Beecher McCrary Sr.

"Sister Jane", "Junior", and Mary Jo.

We both are members of an Internet based organization called the "Motorcycle Tourers Forum" ( http://www.mctourer.com ). The MTF is a web site that is dedicated to the long distance rider and many of the members are IBA members. Each year the MTF organizes rides for those wanting to make an attempt at becoming part of the IBA at various locations across the country. Because the MTF and IBA work together to make this as seamless as possible for the riders Bryan and I both thought this would be the best way for us to try our hand at it. As luck would have it one was scheduled in Charlotte on June 27th.

"Three generations of McCrary men. Is the world ready for it?"

As soon as we found out about it I made arrangements at work to be off that Saturday and the planning began! We knew what the route was going to be so using Microsoft's Street and Trips program I started checking mileages to see where our proposed stopping points would be. I wanted to know as much about the route as possible in order to be totally prepared! This was going to be epic!

Bryan and his Granddaddy McCrary.

During the spring I got a call from Dad telling me that this was the year of the "big" McCrary family reunion held in Georgia every five years. He told me that he was planning on making the trip and hoped that Julie, Bryan and I would be able to make it too. I choked when he told me the date... June 27th.

What can I say? Family comes first. So we started making plans to be there.

Dad and his wife Eleanor.

There would actually be two reunions, the first on Saturday for the kids of my Granddaddy, Joseph Beecher McCrary Sr., and their families which would be held outside of Thomaston at the home and farm of my cousin Glenn Ward and his wife Danell. Then on Sunday the big five year reunion would be held on a piece of property owned by "Buster" McCrary close to the old home place outside of Molena.

Cousin Glenn Ward and his wife Danell.

Since we wanted to be there both days we would need to leave on Friday and then return on Monday. We tried to book a room for all three nights in Warm Springs close to where Dad and Eleanor would be staying but the hotel was booked Friday night. However, Julie was able to get us a couple of rooms in Griffin using her hotel points. So the plan was to leave as early Friday as we could, spend the first night in Griffin, then the rest of the week-end in Warm Springs. That way we could hitch a ride with Dad and Eleanor back and forth to the reunions. See, Bryan and I were determined to ride down even though it was going to be pushing it time wise to get there before dark, not to mention that this would be the last trip that Julie and I would be making on our beloved Nomad. We had decided to trade it on another bike and it couldn't be ready before this trip, so this would be the Nomad's last ride with us.

Cousin Mark Ward, his son Zack and wife Lea

Taking the Interstates all the way it seemed possible to make it by dark, but where's the fun in that, right? I came up with a route that was a combo of back roads and Interstates that according to my Street & Trips program would get us there a little after dark. Go ahead, start laughing. Because it sure didn't work out that way...

Cousin Patty Webb and her daughter Megan.

Due to a variety of reasons after lunch turned into 2:00 pm, then it seemed like we got behind a slow moving truck, car or tractor every time we turned around. On top of that traffic was unusually heavy on the back roads, I don't think I got the Nomad higher than 4th gear from the house all the way down to Richburg, South Carolina where we stopped to eat... at 4:30 pm!!

Cousin Keith Huckaby.

At this point we had no choice but to abandon the back roads and head for the Interstates if we wanted to be in Georgia before the reunion ended, so when we got to I-77 we headed south not letting any grass grow underneath us as we went. After a stop for fuel just north of Columbia we went east bound on I-20 still flying low trying to make up time.

Cousin Jim (Butch) Greathouse and his wife Susan.

Maybe it was knowing this was the last time I would be able to run the Nomad out, or maybe seeing those "I-20 west" signs was causing flashbacks to earlier in my life when I was an owner-operator trucker running to the west coast and back, could have been the way the highway gently rolled along the South Carolina and Georgia landscape and the general lack of traffic, whatever the reason, I began to make some serious time as we rode along. The Nomad has always liked to stretch it's legs and just seems to want 80 mph, but I was seeing 90 and Bryan was still in my mirror. Feeling a bit froggy I let the big Kawasaki eat, it climbed on up to 95, then 100 mph. Bryan had better sense and didn't try to keep up, though he easily could have. The sound of the bike at triple digit speeds was like music to my ears as my mind slipped into the zone and things began moving almost in slow motion. I was in nirvana, truly enjoying life when all of sudden Julie screamed over the intercom "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR FRIGGING MIND FAT BOY?!?!" "SLOW THE HELL DOWN!!!"

*sigh* Busted. But at least not by the law.

Aunt Bobby Jo McCrary, cousin Ken, his sons Kenny and Kyle.

As darkness fell we exited I-20 at US 129 and stopped for fuel, to stretch and refresh ourselves. From here it would be back roads into Griffin. All of us were tired and weary, so we stayed a little longer than we probably should have. But what the heck, we really needed the break. We still had another 75 miles to go and it was going to be all on Georgia two lanes at night which meant easing along and going through one small town after another. It was close to an hour and forty-five minutes before we got to the hotel, but who's counting, right? We made it safe and sound and all in all it wasn't a bad ride.

Aunt Mary Jo Shealey and her merry band of troublemakers.

It was close to 10:00 pm when we got there, even though we were all hungry and thirsty none of us wanted to make the effort of going to a restaurant to eat. Instead, we raided a vending machine and then sacked out for the night. I know I slept like a baby... The next morning we were slow to get going. After breakfast we packed up the bikes and headed to Warm Springs. It was a little over 40 miles through more Georgia back roads, by the time we got there and checked into the hotel Dad was chomping at the bit to get out to the reunion. So we loaded up in their van and headed out to the farm.

Gathered around the fire pit shooting the breeze.

As usual there was more great food to eat than anyone really needed, Bryan and I did our parts trying to make sure the left overs were at a minimum. *burp* Glenn and Danell's place is, in a word, spectacular. It's nestled out in the middle of some truly beautiful Georgia farm land with hardly a neighbor to be found. In fact at one point a car drove by on the road in front of the house and I heard Glenn say "There's getting to be too much traffic on this road, that's the second one today."

'Mirror mirror in my hand...' cousin Kristi Shealey Adams primpin' .

She had a very... unique experience with Bryan when he was a baby...

After everyone got their bellies full we all gathered around the fire pit to visit and take pictures. Jim, aka Butch has always been the official photographer of the reunions, this time was no exception. He did have some technical problems though in that his trusty Nikon wouldn't power up. Bryan offered the use of his Canon and Butch really had no choice, but let me tell you, the ribbing was on then! Bryan stuck with him to assist while he took the posed photos and I took our other Canon in search of candid ones. All in all I think they turned out great. Maybe Butch should consider trading in that Nikon?

Uhhh, Kathy... Oh never mind. You'll figure it out.

As I mentioned earlier, Sunday was the 'big' reunion where the extended family as well as our immediate one all got together. Again, there was more great food than could be eaten, but again Bryan and I did our best to make sure there wouldn't be a lot for folks to carry home afterward by sampling a little bit, OK, a lot of everything. *burp* It was heavenly...

"Hope y'all brought your appetites!"

I've always had mixed feelings when going to this reunion. As a kid I hardly ever saw my aunts, uncles and first cousins, let alone this crowd, for the most part the only time I do see or talk to them is at the reunion. But they're family and a genuinely nice bunch of folks that certainly don't seem to mind feeding me! So for the most part I tried to be there for Dad and spend some more time visiting with my cousins.

"Y'all did say you were hungry, right?"

After leaving the reunion several of us went to Mary Jo and Sister Jane's house where we hung out, ate (I know, can you believe it?) and visited. It was extremely nice and a special time for me. But as these things go, all to soon it was over and we found ourselves back at the cabin Dad and Eleanor were staying at. They planned on leaving very early Monday morning so we said our good byes that afternoon, then went back to the hotel for the night.

That watermelon doesn't stand a chance...

On Monday morning we got away about our normal time, which was hours earlier than when we left Friday. That being the case what I had in mind was meandering our way up the back roads, taking in the sights and having an enjoyable ride. This was after all the last ride on the Nomad, I was looking forward to doing what it does best. Just wandering around.

'Mmmm... this is good!'

We took the long way from Warm Springs back to Thomaston, then rode out on Ga Hwy 36 through the booming metropolis of "The Rock, Georgia" (it really is a town) and on up to Ga Hwy 16 outside of Griffin. now we would be back tracking on one of the roads we came in on, but this time it was during the day so we could see! We stayed on 16 all the way into Sparta (remember the TV show "In the Heat of the Night"?) then went north on 15/77 into Siloam where we stopped for fuel at the intersection of I-20 and Hwy 77. Now in my mind we were going to go on up Hwy 77, then work our way over to South Carolina on Hwy 44 and US 376. But it wasn't to be.

'I mean real good!'

The slow wandering pace was eating up too much time and Bryan was wanting to get back home before too late in the day. He wanted to get on the Interstate and get on to the house, suggesting that Julie and I go on through 'the woods' and enjoy ourselves. But rule number one is to never separate, so I pointed the Nomad east bound on I-20 and put it in the wind.

'I'd offer to share, but I don't think there's enough.'

Once again we found ourselves running like the big trucks, hammer down on the super slab. We stopped for lunch outside of Augusta and again for fuel just north of Columbia, South Carolina. From there we didn't stop again until we got to the house. After listening to the pipes on the Nomad drone on for so many hours on end my ears didn't stop ringing for days...

'Just one more bite...'

All things considered it was a good trip. We were able to spend time with members of the family that we seldom get to. I got to know my cousins a little better and hopefully we'll make an effort to stay in touch more so than in the past. Several of us are now on facebook together so at the very least I get to read the posts from my girl cousins I mentioned before when they lovingly call each other "bitch".

'Maybe I ate too much...'

In a way I'm disappointed because the last trip on the Nomad was for the most part blasting down the Interstates, but as it did in every other situation we put it in, it performed flawlessly and with out so much as a hiccup the whole time. On the other hand it was fitting that on our last ride it carried us many miles away to see loved ones and family. It has done so many good things for us through the years and has been like a part of the family, so maybe this wasn't such a bad way for our time together to end.

So long old friend...

Bruce

Test riding an FJR - June 7th, 2009

2009-06-07T10:27:00.002-04:00

Early in June a customer came to the dealership wanting to trade a 2007 FJR 1300 on a new personal watercraft. He told the salesman that he loved the bike and hated to get rid of it, but he wasn't riding it and felt he and his family would get more use out of and have more fun with a PWC. The bike had just over 13,000 miles on it, was loaded with options and had obviously been well taken care of. The deal was done and the bike went on the floor, where I saw it and promptly fell in love with it. It truly was love at first sight.

However, while I had been thinking for some time that I'd like to make the switch from cruiser to sport tourer to gain the performance and handling advantage they offer, Julie and I really hadn't found one that we were comfortable on. A month or so prior I had brought home a 2008 Kawasaki C14 Concours sport touring bike for us to try out but neither of us really care for the bike. And at the International Motorcycle show we went to in Greenville, SC we had both sat on several sport tourers including an FJR, and none of them really felt right.

The problem for us was two fold, on a cruiser the riding position is not unlike sitting in a recliner. Your weight is mostly on your...ahhh, posterior, and your feet are in front of you. A very relaxed feeling position. Plus we had gone to great lengths to make sure Julie felt secure and comfortable (as she should) on the Nomad. The big, plush backrest and armrests were just what the doctor ordered and what she was used to. With a sport tourer the riding position is more upright with your feet below you. This puts more weight and strain on the riders back and honestly reminded me of the way a dirt bike felt. The passenger areas on these bikes is a tad more cramped due to the layout and the big thing was that none of the bikes we had sat on or rode had any type of rear passenger support which made Julie feel unsecured and uncomfortable.

From talking with owners of sport tourers I knew that we would eventually adjust to the different riding position. Everyone I spoke with that had come from a cruiser to one said that after the adjustment period we would more than likely prefer it to the cruiser and I could see that being true. I also knew that while passenger backrests aren't really the norm on sport touring machines there were all sorts of tour trunks available for them and thought that one of those would go a long way in making Julie feel better on one as well as being handy as heck to have.  But they are usually very expensive so you seldom see one on a new bike sitting on a sales floor, so it was difficult for us to try out.

Until the FJR showed up. It had a color matched Yamaha accessory tour trunk already mounted. Oh boy!

Bryan came home for with the FZ6 for that first week-end test ride, I thought he would want to go and honestly wanted is input and thoughts on it. Julie and I started out on it that day with Bryan behind us on his bike. We rode out US 64 and then up Hwy 601, we were looking for a place to eat called "The Depot" ( http://www.visitmayberry.com/templatelisting.aspx?ListingPage=%2fCody_Creek-The_Depot_Dobson_NC.aspx&PhotoPage=1 )  that had been highly recommended. We found it and had lunch (it was great BTW). As we were leaving I asked Bryan if he wanted to try it out, and of course he did, so he and Julie saddled up and took off up 601 while I followed on the FZ6. They rode the bike into Mt Airy and then up US 52 into Virginia, stopping at a little gas station on the side of the road just before it starts climbing the mountain and getting twisty. He told me he wanted me to ride it up this road because up until now we had just been on country roads and I really hadn't seen what the FJR could do.

I got back on the bike with my lovely wife and we started up the mountain, in no time at all we were in the twisties. I had let Bryan lead as I always did on these types of roads because he and the FZ were so much smoother and quicker than Julie and I could be on the Nomad. Initially he pulled away from us as I was still trying to get the feel for the bike, but it didn't take long for me to adjust somewhat and we began to reel him in. Exiting the last turn before the Blue Ridge Parkway I felt confident, in control and was rolling on the throttle. Looking down at the speedometer I saw it was displaying 80 mph, the most I could do on the Nomad and feel good about it was 60. I remember muttering "daaaang" under my breath as I let off the throttle.

Another surprise came once on the BRP that day.  Because of the more sophisticated suspension the bike actually rode better and was smoother than the Nomad.  This bike was truly amazing. The addition of the tour trunk also made a world of difference to Julie, not to mention the grab handles beside her seat. She was much more confident and comfortable than on the C14 and said she really enjoyed the overall ride of the bike.

We ended up riding that bike a little over 300 miles that day. We all loved it, but weren't sure how we'd could swing getting it. All I could say was that I'll talk to Mike (my boss) and see what I can work out and we'll go from there.

Bruce