bergs
If this world were mine...
Okay, the full story and my progression back to NH from FL is posted over on FZ1OA.
Linkage
What you see is the generic ride report because there isn't a chance in hell I'm going to edit this report to make you monkeys happy....sorry....I still love you though.
Also, be forewarned, I screwed the pooch on the camera settings so alot of the pics came out blurry. It was too late before I realized it.....guess I'm the monkey, eh?
MODERATORS: I know these pics are rather huge by forum-standards. I thought I loaded Photobucket to resize them to fit the forum (640x480)....apparently that wasn't the result. If these pics are no good and you know of an easy way to resize them, please let me know and I'll get them adjusted accordingly.
--Day 1- May 21st; 6:40am; Flew out of BOS on a 3 hour flight to TPA. Pilot said there was a slight head wind so the flight will take a bit longer. Arrived at TPA and met up with ag_streak (Paul). We take a short ride up to St Pete where the bike is being stored. It's gotta be 90 and humidity to match...scratch that...it's fricken miserable down here!
I set off around noon time, bags packed, 7 coffees deep and 2 hours of sleep under my eyelids. I ride I-75 about 80-ish miles until I see a sign for Waffle House...I couldn't pass that up! Stop in for food and I decide to top off the bike at the gas station across the street.
After Waffle House and gas, I ride as long as I can stand in full gear until I feel heat exhaustion setting in. I pull over at some rest area near Ocala, FL. I'm already feeling spent from lack of sleep and the heat and humidity that the Northeast doesn't usually see until August. I strip down to my shorts and t-shirt and proceed to knock back the remaining water I had with me. I decide to swap out my riding pants for some jeans for the purpose of air circulation.
I continue to ride...and ride and ride and ride and ride and...well...Florida isn't very fun and there were speed traps a plenty, even up to the GA border . I'll go ahead and say it now, the best thing about Florida is the sign that says "Welcome to Georgia"....no offense to the Floridians of course.
At about 10:30pm I finally make it to Douglasville, GA where I meet up with Dbl K (Kris) who's offered a place to stay, a shower and a back roads route up to Deal's Gap.
--Day 2- May 22nd; I awake at 7:30am to hear "Bergs!" <knock knock knock> "Bergs it's 7:30". I roll out of bed, have a bowl of yogurt Cheerios, take a shower and brush my tee...awww shit! "Kris, do you have an extra toothbrush?!" Thankfully he does. I receive a brand new pink tooth brush that I will eventually use for the remainder of the trip. It was a freebie so I wasn't about to complain....but PINK?? Come on now...
Kris and I fire up the bikes and headed out toward Deal's Gap. I don't recall the exact route we took but I know we rode Rte 60 through Suches, Ga and made our way up to the Cherohala Skyway to Joyce Kilmer Rd(?) and eventually up to 129. Very little traffic up to the Cherohala and even less traffic once we were actually on the Skyway. Saw one officer at the gas station on the west end of the Cherohala but that was it. A guy filling up his F4 said it was all clear up there so Kris and I lightly romp through the Skyway and stop at a look out. I want to say this was at 4500' above sea level....quite the spectacular view to say the least. Little did I know I would be greeted with sights like this for many hundreds of miles!
A little over 3 hrs later and we arrive to the famous Deal's Gap...a much anticipated place I've wanted to visit. Admittedly I'm feeling a bit nervous at this point as my dreams and wishes are unfolding right in front of me!
Kris and I run the Gap from the store to the lookout and it seems all is quiet save for a County car back at the store. He drove by and then out of nowhere another drives by. I think they have a portal hidden somewhere. Kris tells me word for word "Well, I'm leaving you." No sooner does he say that when about 5 people turn and look at us as if to say "Huh? You guys are breaking up?"
After Kris heads off, I proceed to burn the next, ohhhhh 5 hours or so running the Gap. I think a made about 20 trips back and forth...I don't know, I lost count.
One run up to the lookout I had a rather significant scare when I came exiting out of a corner at about 50-ish and straight on toward an unmarked LEO heading the other way. I thought "This is it...the famous Gap speeding ticket..." I slowed up and kept riding and didn't look back until about 6 turns later. Fortunately nothing came of it other than the scare. I figured it was the Dragon's way of telling me I've had enough fun for the day. I heeded the warning and made my final run down to the store, gassed up and roll out on 28 to make my way to 19/ 74(?) to make my way toward Ashville, NC acknowledging some sage advice not to push it...I knew I didn't have it in me to roll up to Boone, NC that night to meet up with Aaron (VA_rider).
At this point I didn't have a map so I pretty much was riding aimlessly. I was on 19/ 74(?) for a while when I decided I should pull into a gas station to buy a map. As I rolled in and proceeded to park the FJR, I pass two other bikers and I hear "Hey! That's a nice haircut" (Commenting on the mohawk). I pull my helmet off and start to make conversation with twin brothers, Sherman and David. I tell them about the fly-n-buy and explain that I’m trying to reach Ashville. Turns out they were heading to Asheville as well.
(David on the left and Sherman on the right)
They invited me to ride with them so I agreed and we rolled three-strong to our destination. As well pull off I-40 and stop at a red light I see a Days Inn. I'm beat so I tell the brothers I'm breaking off and thank them. As I pull into the hotel parking lot, I hear the rumble of two bikes pulling in behind me...it's the brothers again!
Sherman gets on his phone and is making reservations for another hotel and asks if I wanted to join them. I figured what the hell, why not! We head out of the Days Inn and head down to the Sleep Inn just a few miles away. I called Dbl K to assure him I was okay and also to tell him I hooked up with a couple of guys on my way out to Ashville...wrong choice of words for the perverted mind...
Anyways, Sherman is in field service and has an account set up with a bunch of free hotel rooms on it and proceeds to reserve my very own room FREE OF CHARGE! I couldn't believe it! A person I had met merely 4 hours earlier burns one of his accrued hotel rooms and for what? No real reason at all! I tell you, Southern Hospitality is a real thing which is very much alive and well!
Since we were all starving, we agreed to meet up in the lobby and go over to the adjacent TGI Friday's where we feasted on food and beer...and a round of Crown for good measure.
I insisted on covering dinner as I was currently hooked up with my hotel room. In the long run, it all worked out and these brothers were quite entertaining to boot. They were constantly ribbing each other....just a good friendly feeling in the air from the get go back at the gas station. We finish dinner and head to our respective rooms for the evening. On a side note: This particular Sleep Inn had Tempur-Pedic beds....a little weird at first but very comfo....zzzzz zzzzz zzzzz zzzzz
--Day 3- May 23rd; Up and out by 8:45am. Said good morning and then good bye to the brothers and made my way out to meet up with VA_rider. We crossed paths on 105 just north of Linville, NC and we made our way up to The Snake and pretty much camped out there for the remainder of the day. Hit the Playground and some other nearby roads but mostly stayed in the area of the Snake up and down and repeated as necessary. There was a major accident resulting in a loss of life when "someone" decided it was a good idea to play "speed bump" and lost....stupid groundhog.
I'm hoping the fully bagged FJR got at least a little respect on the Snake seeing how the bike managed to hang with some of the smaller sport bikes including a SuperHawk that...well...let's just say he made straights any time he had a chance. Aaron and I kept pace even though we were carving the twisties behind the yellow all the while Mr SuperHawk tried to show us how awesomely fast he was by gunning it in a straight line crossing the yellow numerous times. Proof that squids ride Hondas too!
This day alone killed me. I will have felt the effects of this single day right through to Sunday. Throwing around a bagged and loaded 550 lb bike for hours on end is not a very easy thing to do but I just couldn't stop myself! I was having too much fun. We pretty much had the entire area to ourselves from about noon-ish until about 3 or 4 pm...that's when a few more cars, some trucks and additional bikes appeared. I was spent...completely spent....so we took one more rip and Aaron pointed me toward the general direction of my next stop....Kevin's (WRAITH1027) pad.
I beet feat out to I-81 then over to I-66 heading east. Once I got to I-66, the bike showed me its true cruising potential. A 250 mile tank (with room to spare) which equated to 48 mpg! That's better than my FZ1!
Kevin did a generous thing and pretty much waited up until I called him. We met at Sheep's gas station at exactly midnight....okay, the gas station is actually called "Sheetz" but on the phone I could have sworn he kept calling it "Sheep's" I even went so far as to ask him "Sheep? Like baaahhhh?" Ahhh yes, modern technology and a slightly deaf rider, a great combination when trying to give directions!
Kevin and I arrived at his house around 12:45am and I discovered there was a work-in-progress going on in one of the bathrooms which meant no water which also meant no shower. No biggie. I was a hippy in another life. So we talked a little and watched part of the worst movie ever made..."Torque". This movie is the worst piece of crap ever to burn my retinas. The bikes were interesting but the stunts were completely asinine. Time for bed...I couldn't take it anymore.
--Day 4- May 24th; I have no idea what time we woke up but I heard a rumor that there were 3 dogs at this house. Turns out, yes, three dogs. Small, medium and large and they are absolutely awesome and funny as can be! Pet one and two get jealous, pet two and one pushes right up in the middle, pet three and they all try to sit on you! Good times. I really started to miss my dog Devo. I think he would have a great time with those three.
Anyhow, Kevin and I get the oil changed on the FJR, get cleaned up and head out to Harper's Ferry Cornerstore (I think that was the name). We meet up with Steve (stmoluni) and his buddy Keirin (sp?) on his gorgeous Victory Hammer.
We also met up with Paulbi....no wait....he was doing landscaping for his brother instead.
I don't what it was about Keirin's bike but holy shit! I fell hard for it. I guess what really got me going was the fact that it could be ridden reasonably aggressive and it was very impressive to see Keirin handle that thing all day long.
Steve posted the basic route and in addition to that, we stopped at the overlook of the town of Frederick. We then followed Steve's Zumo (which apparently gets lost more than any of us do) up and down and all around on some rather interesting roads. A good mix of bumps, dirt, pea gravel and smooth surfaces to keep our band of riders on their toes for a good part of the day. I was amazed to see how parts of Maryland look exactly like Vermont....it's uncanny.
We stopped for lunch and I hit my "wall". My body and mind was cashing in on me...the effects of the Snake were taking its toll and I knew it. I noticed I was taking some bad lines and making a few bad decisions so I decided to dial it back, ponder the trip up until that point and enjoy everything I'd seen and done over the last few days.
We returned to the cornerstore where we'd started from, said our good byes and I followed Kevin back to his pad....but still, the killer roads were not yet done! Before we left the store I downed a Red Bull. I was feeling rosy again and on my 2nd wind (or 12th wind depending on how you look at it). The pace was set and we rolled pretty hard back to the WRAITH-cave where I'd become the apprentice plumber and beer drinker. Since I don't do plumbing, I offered nothing other than to bring beer up from the basement fridge and to hold certain pieces of copper while....errr....Kevin stole my camera for a little while.
The rest of the night was relaxing and eventually sleeping.
--Day 5- May 25th; Considering I had physically and mentally crashed the day before, I tried my hardest to wear out my welcome at Kevin's house....to which I failed miserably. The guy just can't be irritated...well....that is, unless the picture-in-picture feature on the TV gets flakey. I have the pics to prove this!
I really wanted to get my gloves wired up as I was anticipating some chilly riding weather on my final leg back to NH. I spent a few hours figuring out how to get the panels off, access to the battery as well as locating the best placement for the switch and plug for my gloves. After that was all set, I did what I could to assist Kevin and his plumbing fiasco (which was very little, by the way). A trip to Home Depot for some supplies and then back to plumbing and relaxing. I won't mention the...umm..."ladies" at Home Depot who have apparently dumped more than one husband over the years, decide to advertise it and yet are at HD looking for men?? It's all true. I swear!
Once back at Kevin's, I tune into the Indy race and watch Danica get spun out in the pits! DAMN!!!!!! And she was running 7th prior to that!
About 5pm is when I headed out and the next 12 hrs were riding back to NH...I-81 to I-84 to I-90 to I-290 to I-495 to Rte 3 and then to NH with a stop for free coffee and a small donation to a volunteer fire department along the way.
Rather uneventful and eventually very chilly up through PA and north. Glad I had my heat all hooked up!
On a side note: I saw Desmo on the way back somewhere in PA...which I thought was VERY weird. I'm still wondering how the hell he knew exactly which route I was taking home.....freeeeaky! Pics prove all, right?
Complete Photobucket...blurry pics and everything!
Linkage
What you see is the generic ride report because there isn't a chance in hell I'm going to edit this report to make you monkeys happy....sorry....I still love you though.
Also, be forewarned, I screwed the pooch on the camera settings so alot of the pics came out blurry. It was too late before I realized it.....guess I'm the monkey, eh?
MODERATORS: I know these pics are rather huge by forum-standards. I thought I loaded Photobucket to resize them to fit the forum (640x480)....apparently that wasn't the result. If these pics are no good and you know of an easy way to resize them, please let me know and I'll get them adjusted accordingly.
--Day 1- May 21st; 6:40am; Flew out of BOS on a 3 hour flight to TPA. Pilot said there was a slight head wind so the flight will take a bit longer. Arrived at TPA and met up with ag_streak (Paul). We take a short ride up to St Pete where the bike is being stored. It's gotta be 90 and humidity to match...scratch that...it's fricken miserable down here!
I set off around noon time, bags packed, 7 coffees deep and 2 hours of sleep under my eyelids. I ride I-75 about 80-ish miles until I see a sign for Waffle House...I couldn't pass that up! Stop in for food and I decide to top off the bike at the gas station across the street.
After Waffle House and gas, I ride as long as I can stand in full gear until I feel heat exhaustion setting in. I pull over at some rest area near Ocala, FL. I'm already feeling spent from lack of sleep and the heat and humidity that the Northeast doesn't usually see until August. I strip down to my shorts and t-shirt and proceed to knock back the remaining water I had with me. I decide to swap out my riding pants for some jeans for the purpose of air circulation.
I continue to ride...and ride and ride and ride and ride and...well...Florida isn't very fun and there were speed traps a plenty, even up to the GA border . I'll go ahead and say it now, the best thing about Florida is the sign that says "Welcome to Georgia"....no offense to the Floridians of course.
At about 10:30pm I finally make it to Douglasville, GA where I meet up with Dbl K (Kris) who's offered a place to stay, a shower and a back roads route up to Deal's Gap.
--Day 2- May 22nd; I awake at 7:30am to hear "Bergs!" <knock knock knock> "Bergs it's 7:30". I roll out of bed, have a bowl of yogurt Cheerios, take a shower and brush my tee...awww shit! "Kris, do you have an extra toothbrush?!" Thankfully he does. I receive a brand new pink tooth brush that I will eventually use for the remainder of the trip. It was a freebie so I wasn't about to complain....but PINK?? Come on now...
Kris and I fire up the bikes and headed out toward Deal's Gap. I don't recall the exact route we took but I know we rode Rte 60 through Suches, Ga and made our way up to the Cherohala Skyway to Joyce Kilmer Rd(?) and eventually up to 129. Very little traffic up to the Cherohala and even less traffic once we were actually on the Skyway. Saw one officer at the gas station on the west end of the Cherohala but that was it. A guy filling up his F4 said it was all clear up there so Kris and I lightly romp through the Skyway and stop at a look out. I want to say this was at 4500' above sea level....quite the spectacular view to say the least. Little did I know I would be greeted with sights like this for many hundreds of miles!
A little over 3 hrs later and we arrive to the famous Deal's Gap...a much anticipated place I've wanted to visit. Admittedly I'm feeling a bit nervous at this point as my dreams and wishes are unfolding right in front of me!
Kris and I run the Gap from the store to the lookout and it seems all is quiet save for a County car back at the store. He drove by and then out of nowhere another drives by. I think they have a portal hidden somewhere. Kris tells me word for word "Well, I'm leaving you." No sooner does he say that when about 5 people turn and look at us as if to say "Huh? You guys are breaking up?"
After Kris heads off, I proceed to burn the next, ohhhhh 5 hours or so running the Gap. I think a made about 20 trips back and forth...I don't know, I lost count.
One run up to the lookout I had a rather significant scare when I came exiting out of a corner at about 50-ish and straight on toward an unmarked LEO heading the other way. I thought "This is it...the famous Gap speeding ticket..." I slowed up and kept riding and didn't look back until about 6 turns later. Fortunately nothing came of it other than the scare. I figured it was the Dragon's way of telling me I've had enough fun for the day. I heeded the warning and made my final run down to the store, gassed up and roll out on 28 to make my way to 19/ 74(?) to make my way toward Ashville, NC acknowledging some sage advice not to push it...I knew I didn't have it in me to roll up to Boone, NC that night to meet up with Aaron (VA_rider).
At this point I didn't have a map so I pretty much was riding aimlessly. I was on 19/ 74(?) for a while when I decided I should pull into a gas station to buy a map. As I rolled in and proceeded to park the FJR, I pass two other bikers and I hear "Hey! That's a nice haircut" (Commenting on the mohawk). I pull my helmet off and start to make conversation with twin brothers, Sherman and David. I tell them about the fly-n-buy and explain that I’m trying to reach Ashville. Turns out they were heading to Asheville as well.
(David on the left and Sherman on the right)
They invited me to ride with them so I agreed and we rolled three-strong to our destination. As well pull off I-40 and stop at a red light I see a Days Inn. I'm beat so I tell the brothers I'm breaking off and thank them. As I pull into the hotel parking lot, I hear the rumble of two bikes pulling in behind me...it's the brothers again!
Sherman gets on his phone and is making reservations for another hotel and asks if I wanted to join them. I figured what the hell, why not! We head out of the Days Inn and head down to the Sleep Inn just a few miles away. I called Dbl K to assure him I was okay and also to tell him I hooked up with a couple of guys on my way out to Ashville...wrong choice of words for the perverted mind...
Anyways, Sherman is in field service and has an account set up with a bunch of free hotel rooms on it and proceeds to reserve my very own room FREE OF CHARGE! I couldn't believe it! A person I had met merely 4 hours earlier burns one of his accrued hotel rooms and for what? No real reason at all! I tell you, Southern Hospitality is a real thing which is very much alive and well!
Since we were all starving, we agreed to meet up in the lobby and go over to the adjacent TGI Friday's where we feasted on food and beer...and a round of Crown for good measure.
I insisted on covering dinner as I was currently hooked up with my hotel room. In the long run, it all worked out and these brothers were quite entertaining to boot. They were constantly ribbing each other....just a good friendly feeling in the air from the get go back at the gas station. We finish dinner and head to our respective rooms for the evening. On a side note: This particular Sleep Inn had Tempur-Pedic beds....a little weird at first but very comfo....zzzzz zzzzz zzzzz zzzzz
--Day 3- May 23rd; Up and out by 8:45am. Said good morning and then good bye to the brothers and made my way out to meet up with VA_rider. We crossed paths on 105 just north of Linville, NC and we made our way up to The Snake and pretty much camped out there for the remainder of the day. Hit the Playground and some other nearby roads but mostly stayed in the area of the Snake up and down and repeated as necessary. There was a major accident resulting in a loss of life when "someone" decided it was a good idea to play "speed bump" and lost....stupid groundhog.
I'm hoping the fully bagged FJR got at least a little respect on the Snake seeing how the bike managed to hang with some of the smaller sport bikes including a SuperHawk that...well...let's just say he made straights any time he had a chance. Aaron and I kept pace even though we were carving the twisties behind the yellow all the while Mr SuperHawk tried to show us how awesomely fast he was by gunning it in a straight line crossing the yellow numerous times. Proof that squids ride Hondas too!
This day alone killed me. I will have felt the effects of this single day right through to Sunday. Throwing around a bagged and loaded 550 lb bike for hours on end is not a very easy thing to do but I just couldn't stop myself! I was having too much fun. We pretty much had the entire area to ourselves from about noon-ish until about 3 or 4 pm...that's when a few more cars, some trucks and additional bikes appeared. I was spent...completely spent....so we took one more rip and Aaron pointed me toward the general direction of my next stop....Kevin's (WRAITH1027) pad.
I beet feat out to I-81 then over to I-66 heading east. Once I got to I-66, the bike showed me its true cruising potential. A 250 mile tank (with room to spare) which equated to 48 mpg! That's better than my FZ1!
Kevin did a generous thing and pretty much waited up until I called him. We met at Sheep's gas station at exactly midnight....okay, the gas station is actually called "Sheetz" but on the phone I could have sworn he kept calling it "Sheep's" I even went so far as to ask him "Sheep? Like baaahhhh?" Ahhh yes, modern technology and a slightly deaf rider, a great combination when trying to give directions!
Kevin and I arrived at his house around 12:45am and I discovered there was a work-in-progress going on in one of the bathrooms which meant no water which also meant no shower. No biggie. I was a hippy in another life. So we talked a little and watched part of the worst movie ever made..."Torque". This movie is the worst piece of crap ever to burn my retinas. The bikes were interesting but the stunts were completely asinine. Time for bed...I couldn't take it anymore.
--Day 4- May 24th; I have no idea what time we woke up but I heard a rumor that there were 3 dogs at this house. Turns out, yes, three dogs. Small, medium and large and they are absolutely awesome and funny as can be! Pet one and two get jealous, pet two and one pushes right up in the middle, pet three and they all try to sit on you! Good times. I really started to miss my dog Devo. I think he would have a great time with those three.
Anyhow, Kevin and I get the oil changed on the FJR, get cleaned up and head out to Harper's Ferry Cornerstore (I think that was the name). We meet up with Steve (stmoluni) and his buddy Keirin (sp?) on his gorgeous Victory Hammer.
We also met up with Paulbi....no wait....he was doing landscaping for his brother instead.
I don't what it was about Keirin's bike but holy shit! I fell hard for it. I guess what really got me going was the fact that it could be ridden reasonably aggressive and it was very impressive to see Keirin handle that thing all day long.
Steve posted the basic route and in addition to that, we stopped at the overlook of the town of Frederick. We then followed Steve's Zumo (which apparently gets lost more than any of us do) up and down and all around on some rather interesting roads. A good mix of bumps, dirt, pea gravel and smooth surfaces to keep our band of riders on their toes for a good part of the day. I was amazed to see how parts of Maryland look exactly like Vermont....it's uncanny.
We stopped for lunch and I hit my "wall". My body and mind was cashing in on me...the effects of the Snake were taking its toll and I knew it. I noticed I was taking some bad lines and making a few bad decisions so I decided to dial it back, ponder the trip up until that point and enjoy everything I'd seen and done over the last few days.
We returned to the cornerstore where we'd started from, said our good byes and I followed Kevin back to his pad....but still, the killer roads were not yet done! Before we left the store I downed a Red Bull. I was feeling rosy again and on my 2nd wind (or 12th wind depending on how you look at it). The pace was set and we rolled pretty hard back to the WRAITH-cave where I'd become the apprentice plumber and beer drinker. Since I don't do plumbing, I offered nothing other than to bring beer up from the basement fridge and to hold certain pieces of copper while....errr....Kevin stole my camera for a little while.
The rest of the night was relaxing and eventually sleeping.
--Day 5- May 25th; Considering I had physically and mentally crashed the day before, I tried my hardest to wear out my welcome at Kevin's house....to which I failed miserably. The guy just can't be irritated...well....that is, unless the picture-in-picture feature on the TV gets flakey. I have the pics to prove this!
I really wanted to get my gloves wired up as I was anticipating some chilly riding weather on my final leg back to NH. I spent a few hours figuring out how to get the panels off, access to the battery as well as locating the best placement for the switch and plug for my gloves. After that was all set, I did what I could to assist Kevin and his plumbing fiasco (which was very little, by the way). A trip to Home Depot for some supplies and then back to plumbing and relaxing. I won't mention the...umm..."ladies" at Home Depot who have apparently dumped more than one husband over the years, decide to advertise it and yet are at HD looking for men?? It's all true. I swear!
Once back at Kevin's, I tune into the Indy race and watch Danica get spun out in the pits! DAMN!!!!!! And she was running 7th prior to that!
About 5pm is when I headed out and the next 12 hrs were riding back to NH...I-81 to I-84 to I-90 to I-290 to I-495 to Rte 3 and then to NH with a stop for free coffee and a small donation to a volunteer fire department along the way.
Rather uneventful and eventually very chilly up through PA and north. Glad I had my heat all hooked up!
On a side note: I saw Desmo on the way back somewhere in PA...which I thought was VERY weird. I'm still wondering how the hell he knew exactly which route I was taking home.....freeeeaky! Pics prove all, right?
Complete Photobucket...blurry pics and everything!
Last edited by a moderator:
