Ray & Gimpy Ride EOM

[yamafitter]

No road trip can start without first fuelling up at the home base Timmy's......

As per usual the fuel load consisted of coffee & a donut before battling my way across Toronto to Ray's abode....

The ride across Toronto went surprisingly well and I was able to run 120 - 130 kph all the way over to the airport before the usual end of the world traffic jam occurred when a rooled truck took out 3 lanes of the collector on the 401. Fortunately I was in the express lanes and other than for the rubber-neckers plugging up the road I was able to clear Toronto and made it to Ray's just after sunset.

I had been up early sorting out some scoring issues we had with the computer from the dirt bike race the day before so I was pretty much done in after a couple of beers watching some pre-season hockey on Ray's TV.

Next morning we headed out to Ray's new shop for final preparations before departure....

Judging from the position of the bikes it looks like we don't know if we are coming or going. It was a little cool in the morning so it was a short ride over to Ray's local Timmy's for coffee to warm up before hitting the slab over to Fort Erie and catching the Duty Free to top off the topbox with Forty Creek Whiskey.

With that task complete both Ray & I have a NEXUS pass so the border crossing went very smoothly since they already have our fingerprints on file. From then on it was off the slab and we wound our way all the way down to Uniontown, PA before calling it a day....

As we pulled into the motel I noticed this sign next door....

To be trueful being a cheap Canuckastani it was the $1.99 Margaritas that actually caught my eye. After unpacking the bikes we headed over and the Margaritas were very good and the meals were also very good. The bar had now been set.

-to be continued-

 

[yamafitter]

The next morning Ray had slept off the margaritas and we were set to head out back on the road...

We started off on 40 to 381 South out of Uniontown but mostly road Hwy 20 through WV. Other than for some construction delays it was a fun ride.....

We had parked the bikes and was checking the SPOT tracks and I walked out to the parking lot just in time to see Sooze and this clown roll in.....

we gave them enough time to unload the bikes and then we headed into Bluefield for dinner. ONce again we went for the Mexican theme....

Ray had the Parilla Fiesta .....

Sooze mentioned that Ray had lost some weight. Not eating like this you won't.

I had a Chinimanga(sp??) ...

Tomorrow the plan (if we can get the BikerGeeks out of bed) is to ride the western leg of the EOM 500 with a few additions.

-to be continued-

 

[John d]

Looks like two of us stocked up on Forty Creek at the border.

 

[John d]

BTW, I had some really good Mexican food in Marion Va tonight, with the other John, from Richmond, who happened to be staying at the motel next door.

 

[RaYzerman19]

Looks like two of us stocked up on Forty Creek at the border.

I can help you with that....... Seems Bill doesn't need a lot of help but I have been contributing in a small way..............

 

[dcarver]

Excellent! Keep it coming guys!

 

[yamafitter]

The Ride in to Maggie Valley

With the Geeks in tow we headed out from Bluefield for the final push to EOM Headquarters. The weather was a little iffy and it started raining just as we did the final loading of the bikes. We made the run down to Tazewell and then picked up Hwy 16 South.....

Things stayed wet but let up a little bit as we turned west following the western half of the EOM 500 route. We stopped in at the Shady Valley General Store for coffee and to dry out a little bit....

Along the way we came across another EOM participant that was doing the same thing as us....

The stop was along a small creek that offered a nice photo op....

The rest of the ride was too sweet to stop for photos. We finally arrived at Maggie Valley shortly after 5PM. A large portion the EOM gang had already arrived....

You may think that is Tom but Tom said that was not him since he never goes anywhere....

In North Carolina smoking is mandatory...

Somehow this abomination fell in amongst the FJR's....

There is just no getting away from this doofus....

At least Geezer was here to lend a little class to this shindig....

But then Bungie showed up to put the whole thing in the gutter....

Just too much white for our American friends.

It was getting late and it was time for dinner....

Once dinner was over registration was open and it was time to get signed in....

At least Line made sure Bungie was presentable....

With registration out of the way it was time to head back out to the parking lot social....

-to be continued-

 

[yamafitter]

Once again the technologically advanced and far superior AE proved to be the fastest bike Yamaha has ever produced since even an old fat gimp dominated on the Smokey Mountain route today at EOM. The car tired FJR proved to be the boat anchor that held us back. Ray was really admiring the titanium footpeg feelers that some of the Harley crowd were showing off and thinks he can slow me down if he showers me in sparks in the corners. I now know what to get Ray for Christmas.

As it was the stupid car tire was kicking up road kill possums but it still did not stop me from passing at will. I have video to prove how lame a car tire is and will be posting proof in the near future.

Unfortunately Wheaton was a no-show since Wheaties' bike is currently pumping out fork oil every time he goes into a turn and there is the odd turn down here at EOM. Oface & Griff are here though Marty has not worn the infamous shorts in public yet.

Huron52 has been abusing me over some maintenance issues I was having with the far superior and technologically advanced AE when I was sorting out the blown fuse I had for the power supply for my tank bag. Just because of a slightly worn sprocket on my WR450 a few weeks ago he now thinks that he can hurl abuse in my direction. I eagerly await our next off-road excursion together to get Tom sorted out.

I also have a few photos but due to the intake of Forty Creek at the parking lot social I'm not exactly sure where they are inside my mac so that will all have to wait until tomorrow.

-to be continued-

 

[FLFJRS]

Gee my ride was totally uneventful by comparison. One night on the road to get here and a long day Friday and whammo we arrived. We made it here in spite of my wrong turns and lack of anything resembling a plan.

 

[yamafitter]

Friday morning I wanted to have a quick look to see why I had lost power to the electrical feed to my tank bag. I had the seat off to pull the cover on the small relay unit and found a blown fuse that had the smoke let out of it when I had attempted to plug in my small air compressor a while back. Huron52 could not resist the temptation to harass me about not having fixed this earlier but I'm used to his abuse from the Owosso Tech days and just ignored him and completed the task.

With the bike all back together I took a quick run into town to the ATM since at this point I was down to my last one dollar bill and the bike needed fuel. We had a plan for a 9AM start but it was 9:30 by the time the fog had lifted enough that we actually left on the Smokey Mountains - Cherohala loop with a token American, Gary (Winewhisperer) tagging along.

The first bio break to place part way along the Blue Ridge Parkway....

Can you tell which tree Ray peed on? Hint - it's the dead one....

A few more excellent twisties and it was time to see how we were making out with getting rid of the chicken strips on the new PR3's.....

We had some extra entertainment on the Foothills Parkway when we came up on some pirates that had installed titanium footpeg feelers on their choppers and would slow down for every corner and then purposely tip the bike over to send up a shower of sparks. Ray was so impressed by this display that he stayed behind the pirates for a few turns to watch the show.

Some more fun roads and then we found ourselves in Telico Plains and in front of the Motorcycle Outfitter store ....

Pam would have been proud of me for my shopping prowess as I bought a new pair of Klim gortex gloves. With the little bit of shopping out of the way it was time for lunch and we walked over to the Bakery and had some excellent sandwiches.

It was then time for a run across the excellent Cherohala Skyway. We fell behind more pirates and Gary had finally had enough of the delays and went blasting by. Ray was having a little issue with altitude with the bike so once we cleared the pirates it became my task to run down Gary, a task that I took on with some gusto. There will be a video published in the near future if Gary does not bribe me enough to edit out the portion where he runs wide and almost trades paint with the guardrail. It was close, it was very close. Gary slowed down a bit after that little scare but it was still too sporty for Ray's car tire and we had a nice rest at the end of the Cherohala.

When we turned south on US129 we needed a short break to get the sugar levels back up to get us through the rest of the afternoon.....

We can't get Almond Joy bars in the Great White North so we stock up anytime I am south of the border. The last bit of fun twisties for the day was Ellijay Road. I was in the lead and Gary was behind me for a while but found that this Canuckastani was flipping the FJR around like a dirtbike in the 10 kph hairpins and finally gave up and waved Ray by.

We finished up the da with a cruise back up some slab to Maggie Valley and rolled into the parking lot at about 5:30PM.

Andy was there and wanted to talk about the upcoming Owosso Tech Day. I mentioned to Ray & Andy if Andy should be allowed to use any tools during the Tech Day and this was the response that I got....

Here is what Mr Zumo recorded for the day .....

It is currently misting this morning and there is rain moving in according to the weather radar so Plan A is to head over to the Wheels Through Time Museum here in Maggie Valley and then make a decision on how how badly I want to test the water resistance of my new gortex gloves.

-to be continued-

 

[Top_Speed1]

Awesome, we need more skinny, more!

 

[RaYzerman19]

I didn't pick the title of this thread, but since I have been named, I thought I'd better present another side of the story.........

Good thing Bill didn't like road splooge and possum guts being kicked up by the car tire, that way he'd ride on past and not get any incriminating video of me. So Gary became the target victim.

Yamafitter was having some issues with his com system, and stopped to check it out.... now remember, it was HE who decided where to park............

Later on in the day, we stopped for a break at this little general store, and Bill The Gimp needed an Almond Joy fix. Right after he took the photo, his was nowhere to be found. I mentioned this to Huron52 and Pam, and they immediately asked if I saw the wrapper..... come to think of it, I didn't, so we came to the conclusion that it must have been inhaled..... meanwhile, I had two bars, only ate half a one and saved the other half for later. I still have a whole one in my secret stash, however I was kinda wondering why Yamafitter was sniffing around like a tracking dog last night.

Today, it is raining rather hard, so many of the EOM crowd made their way to the Wheels Through Time museum just down the street. As soon as we walked in, I say this and thought Yamafitter would be limping in behind me to sit in it. I quickly lost him so I wouldn't end up pushing the darn thing around for the tour.

So, on with the tour we went our separate ways and from time to time, the museum folks were starting up various antique machines. Later on I bumped into The Gimp and the Geeks admiring this antique motorized version. Bill likes motors, so he was looking for the museum guy to get the thing started up for a test ride.

 

[yamafitter]

In rebuttal I should mention that I have a handicap parking permit for my SUV and in the past I have gone dirt biking with a buddy that has two artificial knees and when we park his pickup with two dirt bikes in the back in the handicap parking we do get some dirty looks.

While Ray was running around looking for me I was checking out all the American Iron on display at the museum. Here is a proper use for a Harley chopper ....

There was a fairly serious Harley pro hillclimber just inside the main entrance....

One of the first bikes on display near the entrance was this clean 1924 Ace Reading Standard....

There was another clean example of an Ace...

This tire hauling trike was also a pretty clean example....

The only BMW on the premises. Custom bodywork but all BMW running gear....

Even Ray with his stupid car tired FJR could outrun this 1910 Silent Grey Fellow Harley cop bike...

They also had some futuristic designs on display....

That's BeemerDon's next bike on the left.
This was quite interesting a Harley with a BMW looking opposed twin motor....

The story was the motor was designed by the German company Zundapp and Harley was to manufacture these for the American Army for use in the North African portion of WW2. The bikes did not make it over to Africa and were sold off as surplus after the war for $50 per bike. You had to buy a lot of 10 so you had 10 Harleys for $500. Mind you $500 in 1946 was real money.

The museum owner, Dale had a number of century old Harleys that he had taken to the vintage century race in Barber, Alabama...

One of things the museum prides itself on is that most of the bikes do run. The owner Dale started a number of the bikes to prove the point...

Note the blue exhaust flame.
There were more knuckleheads on display then at your typical FJR event....

Along with this extremely rare Traub. The only one known to exist....

Somewhere along the line someone had even attempted a front wheel drive design....

Along with this Elk...

Here is another proper use for a Harley. This one was used for cutting ice blocks....

I finished up the museum tour with this nice Indian....

Along with this really nice Pierce....

The rains were still coming down so we just headed back to the motel for lunch and some marathon parking lot social....

-to be continued-

 

[LKLD]

Thanks for taking the time and effort to post up, great stuff!

 

[Top_Speed1]

U and Ray are definitely now verified and bonded as the 'new' odd couple. Funny ass antics between yazz

 

[yamafitter]

I had to kick down the Geeks door this morning since Ray & I were set to head out for the trip home but the Geeks were still in bed and I needed my iPhone charger I had lent Andy. With all the electronics now properly stored along with my EOM swag and a half bottle of Eagle Rare Bourbon that was kindly donated to me for the trip home it was time to head out.

We headed into the sun and took the western side of the EOM 500 route. This probably makes Ray & I the only EOM participants who were not part of the organizing group to complete the entire EOM 500 route. Ray however wants to kick Lee in the nuts over this road....

This road even had Ray playing the air banjo....

I actually enjoyed the ride along the river. It was the next gravel stretch that got really sketchy but I think that was Mr Zumo routing us over the mountain instead of around it. There were bare footed children, barking dogs and grandma sitting on the veranda shooting at critters. Jethro was probably around back doing some hillbilly hand fishing. We finally made our back to some semblance of civilization and made it over to Highway 16. I had the video camera rolling for the section between Marion and Tazewell but north of Hungry Mother Park Ray came up on a State Trooper and the fun factor was scaled back considerably. We finally pulled over to take some photos....

Once we picked up the bottom end of US 219 we decided to run 219 all the way up to Lewisburg to stop for the night. We're camped out at the Brier Inn and just had a nice steak dinner across the road at Ruby Tuesday. Ray was whining about the $2.50 coffee. I told him to look around and see if that place looked like a Timmy's

-to be continued-

 

[leedavis]

No nut kicking unless somebody names the road in question. I think your Garmin decided to have a little fun with you guys.

Great ride report, though. Keep it coming!

 

[saltcreep]

Awesome Report!

 

[beemerdons]

Nice Ride Report Bill, Thank You!