brazos parker
What??
A friend of mine called Saturday nite and asked if I knew abt the ride on Sunday. I did not. He said it is an annual "First Sunday in January" ride to the top of Roan Mountain and it has been an annual event for 70 years. "OK, I'm in!" says I.
The ride is sponsored by Jim's Motorcycle Shop in Johnson City and has been since Day 1.
The participants began arriving at Jim's Shop shortly after noon. Each rider signed in and was given a number. Abt 12:30, the rabbits (riding 2-up) left the shop, headed for Carver's Gap at the top of Roan Mountain, NC...abt 45-50 miles away. The rest of us rolled-off at 1:00pm. The object of this ride was to match the rabbits' time to the destination as closely as possible. Each rider could choose his own route, ride at his own pace, ride w/ a group or not and arrive at Carver's Gap at an elapsed time of his choosing.
It was a cool day...abt 53 degrees w/ an overcast sky...and wet roads from morning rains when we started.
Here's a few piccies I took at the destination...
The rabbits were the two on the left...
This is most of the ride group at the top...
It was cold at the top...abt 40 degrees...w/ a breeze blowing.
After getting our times assigned and swapping a few lies, the group began to peel off for the descent down the mountain. We collected again at Jim's Motorcycle Shop to find coffee, sodas and freshly deliverd pizza. Jim handed out T-shirts to all participants and plaques to the top five finishers. BTW, the first place finisher was +15 seconds. And, IIRC, the second place finisher was -18 seconds.
I met a lot of nice people and will look forward to this ride next year. It was a fun day.
The ride is sponsored by Jim's Motorcycle Shop in Johnson City and has been since Day 1.
The participants began arriving at Jim's Shop shortly after noon. Each rider signed in and was given a number. Abt 12:30, the rabbits (riding 2-up) left the shop, headed for Carver's Gap at the top of Roan Mountain, NC...abt 45-50 miles away. The rest of us rolled-off at 1:00pm. The object of this ride was to match the rabbits' time to the destination as closely as possible. Each rider could choose his own route, ride at his own pace, ride w/ a group or not and arrive at Carver's Gap at an elapsed time of his choosing.
It was a cool day...abt 53 degrees w/ an overcast sky...and wet roads from morning rains when we started.
Here's a few piccies I took at the destination...
The rabbits were the two on the left...
This is most of the ride group at the top...
It was cold at the top...abt 40 degrees...w/ a breeze blowing.
After getting our times assigned and swapping a few lies, the group began to peel off for the descent down the mountain. We collected again at Jim's Motorcycle Shop to find coffee, sodas and freshly deliverd pizza. Jim handed out T-shirts to all participants and plaques to the top five finishers. BTW, the first place finisher was +15 seconds. And, IIRC, the second place finisher was -18 seconds.
I met a lot of nice people and will look forward to this ride next year. It was a fun day.
