Just Me and Pop

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Redfish Hunter

Gone Fishing
Joined
Apr 16, 2012
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Location
Prairieville, LA
Sometimes it is hard to admit you are wrong. Especially if you are me. But if you are able to face your mistakes, if you are willing to ask for advice, and most importantly, if you are willing to listen to the advice of experts... You just might get it right. And I did.

This time it was Just Me and Pop. And it was great.

I took a little trip, I took a few pics, and I want to share it with all of you. After all, several of you chimed in with some much appreciated advice.

This is what Pop looked like The First Morning:



I can't finish this now, I just rolled in and need to spend time with Mrs. Redfish and Redfish Jr.

 
Glad to hear it was a great trip!
clapping.gif


 
The people that aren't attached, will give you the best advice. Sounds like things went waaaay better this time. Can't wait to hear the details. :)

 
Sounds like you hit on the correct formula, glad to hear it went well for the both of you. Did your Dad's new seat pass the test of a long ride?

 
You can't reverse the effects of old age!

That's what Pop told me after our last trip. Well, what exactly is "Old" anyway? Do you really have to fight it, or can you just work with it?

I figured that if he were more comfortable, he would be less grouchy. So, a few changes were made.

1. Shoei Neotec. This replaced his well worn and faithful Nolan N103. Better ventilation, more positive visor positions, more comfortable fit, lighter. The optional 31mm cheek pads cost me an extra $42 but it fits him better. A win.

2. Cee Bailey +2 +2 reverse contour, light gray tint. This replaced the Cee Bailey +4 +4 reverse contour. Looks and functions beautifully. Pop liked the big windshield but HATED the way it looked on his bike. Yes, the "look" was that important to him. He says this shield is what Yamaha should have installed at the factory. A win.

3. Laam Custom Seat. No point debating if the RDL is better, I needed it NOW and Seth Laam once again helped me out. He and I have a very good understanding and he went out of his way to get me going. I owe him big time. Pop LOVES this seat. I am not sold on the color but Pop is and he cannot believe we waited so long for this modification. A Big Win.

4. Tourmaster Transition 3 jacket. I forced this one on him but now he understands. A win.

During the bike maintenance process I found his rear brake was mushy. I bled this down and found lots of air in the system. I am thinking this might have been due to a malfunction with my El Cheapo Harbor Freight pneumatic vacuum bleeder last time. He has been running like this for a while. Why he never said anything...

For once, he washed it himself.

 
My Plan:

Have all the necessary information, have a selection of roads, routes and points of interest. Don't have a schedule, don't make a plan. Just let it happen.

Day 1, Sat. Sept 6th

We eased our way along the nicest back roads I knew to get us to the Southern Terminus of The Natchez Trace. At mile 30 we got off the Trace for a brief detour to Lorman Mississippi to have lunch at The Country Store. Mr. Arthur Davis runs this place and he does it right. When I walked in it smelled like I was 4 years old and walked into my Grandmother's kitchen. A country cooked buffet style extravaganza, eaten in an unrestored old country store, it is incredible. Mr. "D" will come to your table and speak with you. He is genuinely glad you are there and lets you know it. "I try to make it hard on the next man that feeds you." he says. And he does. I left there with an autographed menu.





We refueled in Port Gibson and jumped back on The Trace. We wound our way North, stopping when we wanted, talking on the Cardo communicators, it was a very nice day for a very nice ride. The 50 mph speed limit is not a problem if you get your mind set for it. And if you fudge a little.

We reached Ross Barnett Reservoir just north of Jackson MS and pulled over for a water break. There was a gathering of Mustangs:



There were a couple motorcycles parked in the shade so we eased over and parked. One guy had a brand new Indian Chieftain, the other a Harley Wide Glide. Mr. Indian had picked up his new toy 3 days before. He had a shiny new half helmet, shiny new boots, shiny new fingerless gloves and most important!!! A shiny new leather vest! He did not have much to say to us, apparently because we were not riding "American" bikes. A Real Biker he was. He left and the Harley guy was very friendly. He was astonished that we were taking such a "long ride". He could not imagine going that far on a motorcycle. I cannot imagine why not...

About 40 miles south of Tupelo MS we hit some rain. Nothing serious, just enough to get the bikes dirty. Dammit.



We stayed at the same La Quinta in Tupelo where we had stayed the night before my cousin crashed 3 years ago. Pop could not decide about supper so I made a run to the grocery store and we ate ham and cheese sandwiches in the hotel room. I really splurged though, we ate Ruffles potato chips too.

 
Redfish, you did all the right things.

No one wants to be uncomfortable on a ride. It does tend to make us a little grouchy.

Good on you for taking care of your dad.

 
Day 2, Sun Sept 7th.

We ate the FCB at the hotel, fueled the bikes and hit The Trace headed north. Neither of us particularly needed to revisit the "Crash Site" and we intended to ride right on past it. But... The top vent on the Neotec lets in bugs. A Bug got in my helmet and Was Crawling!!! around and I was forced to stop Right Now. It felt like it was the size of a tarantula but was only the size of an ant.

I looked across the road at the smooth green grass where my cousin almost lost his life and saw... nothing. Pop said, "If you are not paying attention to what you are doing on a motorcycle you don't need any special help to die. You cannot blame the ground you hit, you can only blame yourself."

We headed North.



It was cloudy and overcast, but cool and pleasant. We discovered that The Trace gets even prettier as we rolled into Alabama and Tennessee. If you are willing to break the speed limit the extreme north end is really fantastic.

A word of caution about The Natchez Trace is in order. 3 different times I stopped completely to let deer pass. The deer do the damnedest dumbass things and will make every effort to get in your way. The wild turkeys are in abundance as well, and they will get out in the road for no special reason. You have to be aware of your surroundings.

When The Trace ended I was a bit sad. At least I finally got to ride it end to end. It was worth the wait.

To be continued.

 
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I felt this one deserved its own post, it was that important to me.

Merriwether Lewis. The leader of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Second governor of Louisiana. A leader, a FreeMason and a man of many accomplishments. We also share the same last name, more than likely I am a distant relative of his.

Mr. Lewis died at an inn called Grinder's Stand on the Natchez Trace in 1809. He was on his way to Washington DC. As soon as word reached Washington both the President, Thomas Jefferson, and the man who would succeed Mr. Lewis as governor of Louisiana, a Mr. Bates declared the death a suicide. That was a lie.

Mr. Lewis was shot multiple times. He was armed with a single shot, muzzle loading pistol. One shot was to the head, he was missing part of his skull. He lived for several hours after his body was found. It is not possible that he shot himself, he was murdered and robbed and he died fighting. Whatever the truth is died with Mr. Lewis years ago.

Pop read the plaque that summarized all of Mr. Lewis' accomplishments and was amazed. "How could one man accomplish so much and play such a huge role in the history of this country and be dead at just 35 years old? We are both way past that age and what have I accomplished? Raising you? I should be ashamed."

I don't think he meant it as a joke.

The "Broken" pillar represents a life cut short.





I left this place saddened and angry. I have wanted to visit this place for years and while I am glad I did, it sort of put a damper on my otherwise happy day.

 
Wow, what a great RR.

That story of Mr. Lewis, dead at 35, makes me want to read more, ride more, and kill my TV.

Great writing, by the way.

 
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When we got off the north end of the Trace we refueled. There was a café next door and we rolled over and parked in the Motorcycles Only! spot. There were people everywhere. We stepped in and were told that the wait was about an hour and a half. We were not that hungry.

I weaved my way through the Tennessee countryside, working my way North and West. As we rolled through one small town a sign caught my attention and I decided to make a U-turn. Pop was wondering what I was doing and I told him, "It is 1:30 on a Sunday and that parking lot is full. The food has got to be good." And it was.



I got on Hwy 49 and stayed with it through many twists and turns until we reached Land Between the Lakes. This is between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley and is in both Tennessee and Kentucky. A very pleasant road, a very pleasant ride, lots of beautiful scenery.

An iron ore blast furnace along the way:




When we were close to the north end I evaluated our distance and time and decided to roll the dice. I programmed the Garmin for Pennyrile Forest State Park.

Ah, yes. Kentucky State Parks. You see, my friend hppants gave me some tips on this with one of his RRs last year. I researched Kentucky's State Parks and decided that might be a good option. Thanks hppants, you really helped us out here. It was great.

I called and found that they had plenty rooms available, it is not their busy season. I plotted a route on my map, put my hand written directions in my tank bag map window and started following the Garmin. The Garmin and I agreed until we were almost there and then it directed me to turn one road earlier than I had planned. I had noticed the tiny lines on the map but had opted for the longer route with bigger road lines. Against my better judgment, I followed the Garmin.

At first, all went well. The road was tight, twisty, and small but Pop and I were having fun with it. Then, before I knew it, we turned onto a GRAVEL road. It was fairly well packed and did not look too bad, so what the hell. We decided to keep on going. Pop was laughing and joking with me through the Cardo and we were really having a good time with it. I did not share with him that the Garmin showed exactly 2 miles of that crap. Then, the road plummeted downward and the surface went to shit. There was more loose dirt than limestone, deep rain ruts and the rear tire had very little traction. I swear that it was so steep I would not have thought any bike without knobbies would have made it down or up.

We came upon a group of folks riding horses. The "WTF??" looks on their faces scared me more than anything else had. Pop noticed it too. "Did you see the look on their faces? They know something we don't and it ain't good!" At this point the bushes were slapping the sides of the bike and our legs, the surface was loose and the rear of the bike kept stepping out. We kept the power on and tried to forget that we were riding overloaded sport tourers. I knew that if one of us went down it was going to be bad. Very bad.

Pop was laughing. He laughed the whole time. When I told him it was all part of the adventure he said, "Adventure? I'll show you an adventure if we ever get parked. I am going to adventure you all over the next parking lot we stop in. If we ever get these bikes parked again you better hit the ground running!"

It was awesome. We are still laughing about it and congratulating ourselves for making it through there.

We reached Pennyrile Forest State Park and had a wonderful night. Nice room, nice price, nice restaurant, nice view. Much better than a hotel in town.

The view from our balcony when we got there:




We don't have these in South Louisiana:



The balcony view the next morning:



Out of nowhere, Pop asked me if I knew anything about Mammoth Cave. Since Pop hates caves and underground in general I had not researched this and had no plans to go there. He caught me off guard with this but I plotted a route and made plans to go look. Pop was undecided about going and kept changing his mind. I really did not want to waste that much of my motorcycle day in a cave but... We were on vacation after all.

 
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