Today at the Harriman Bash

[Dr. Strangelove]

There is a very famous Japanese film about truth in the eye of the beholder. It is called Roshomon which I think means Outrage. A later American film called The Outrage (Paul Newman, Laurance Harvey, Clair Bloom, Edward G Robinson) told the same story.

In it a young couple is brutalized, mugged, robbed and a murder takes place. Or does it? The story in both films is told 4 ways, each with different emphasis and each with a different slant and a different moral.

Today at the Cherohala Harley Davidson Gear Stop, Marty asked the assembled, "Who is going to chronicle today's ride?"

Crickets chirped and no I Will I Will I Will filled the void.

Ok, Marty, you made me feel guilty. But, like the story in Roshomon, there would be at least 4 (or 5 or 7 or 9) versions of it as each rider will have his own spin.

My spin.

I really didn't think I wanted to head over to NC and ride Cherohala and Deals again. But, I realized I have never approached Cherohala from the Harriman area and figured the roads would be good. Chatting in the lot in the morning the ride had the Vann seal of approval. Decided. Done.

The roads were very good and sometimes very pretty. We took I 40 to 58 to 72to 411 to 360 to Cherohala to 143 to 129 to 28 and then into Robbinsville and back.

That was the route. There was a little traffic, more in the afternoon.

Marty led in the morning and everyone was very pleased with the sweeping turns and the tunnels of leaves that guided us on many occasions. We stopped in Tellico Plains for coffee (and a coke) and then hit the Cherohala, falling in neatly behind an 18 wheeler. We followed IT for a while then pulled off to let it get far ahead of us and for another reason. We ultimately saw the offending vehicle parked on the side of the road no longer despoiling one of the nicest roads in North America. The other reason we stopped was to let the red Porsche Carerra deal with the truck, pass it and run interference for us with the LAW, reported to be heavily present.

Our plan worked.

We had the rest of the Cherohala to ourselves and we took advantage of that. Arriving at Deals Gap we paid homage to the tree of shame, visited the gift shop, nodded thoughtfully at the t-shirts and then decided to either do the Gap and deal with the police, picking riders off OR do 28 out to Fontana Dam and then 143 into Robbinsville.

We met at the Chevron and watched a Ducati rider try to start his bike with the sidestand down. Smugly we laugh because we never do that...ever...at all. Really, that's true.

Steve leads the way back on the Cherohala and almost immediately we are hit with the drivers from hell. Why won't they move?

We pass only to meet the next on our list, our checklist of those conspiring to ruin our ride. They do not succeed, although we came across two vehicle operators that populate every fun road out there.
One I cannot explain. This person was on a yellow V Strom I think and they would NOT share the road and let us pass. Eventually he/she pulled off and Steve quite courteously waved to them though I could hear the epithets flying 100 feet behind.

The other is this. MLW will not ride with me or at all, because "someone needs to stay alive." Fine. Be that way. But there is another version of "LW"s who want their own bike. There is a handful that become such skilled riders that they should be proud of their skills and other riders owe them respect for the noteworthy abilty they exhibit. There was one in our midst today.
But, Oh My, there is another and that is who we met. Often on a Harley, they tootle along either petrified or oblivious of/to their surroundings. Flashing lights doesn't work, tail-gating doesn't work, weaving behind them doesn't work.
Or maybe ALL of those things do work, BUT it takes FOREVER for the nerve impulses to travel from their eyes to a suitable level of (dare I say) consciousness, as she knows it.

She moseys to the right. She is a mosier. Don't ya just hate mosey?

Steve waved again.

We eventually stopped at the aforementioned Harley shop. I don't understand this. Does Harley Gear have an expiration date on it? It seems that the Harley guys and gals are forever buying something else that has HD on it. How many T Shirts are too many? Stephen Hawking worked on that very issue and it put him the wheelchair with that funny voice. Look it up on snopes if you don't believe me.

The rest of the ride back to the Best Western was uneventful, except for the big wreck on I 40 and then the downpour we were caught in and the 3 guys in our group that took the wrong exit.

Other than that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you like the play?

We had a very good day and big thanks to Marty and Steve who ran lead.

So, now it's time for Ruby Tuesday! on this wet Friday evening.

John

[Sunbeemer]

John, enjoyed your ride report, thanks for making the effort. Sounds kinda frustrating, but at least you got to enjoy some great scenery while waiting to pass!

Would love to be riding around those hills with y'all, but duty calls...guess I'll have to do it vicariously. Keep the reports coming so I won't feel so bad about having to work.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Hey Rich
if it sounded anything less than a good ride with minor frustrations I missed an important point

It was fun!

Unfortunaty I am leaving in the am but a good time is being had by all and maybe another will pick up the ball and report

John

[CycleRob]

The first day (Friday) me and my 15 year friend/customer and Bash roomie STDocLizard got up sorta late and found that everybody was gone. I guess we have different definitions from the group of what a "vacation away" is. They're so used to getting up at 6am, it's hard to change. My take is that leaving too early puts you on shady spot dewy damp roads (in the curves!!!) -and- has you worn out and ready to retire at 4PM. Better to wake up without an alarm, eat a big breakfast and leave about 9am. What was really unusual is that almost everyone was there before Thursday nite!

We rode on that day what turned out to be THE BEST roads of the weekend. TN 116 and TN 328. Beautiful rolled asphalt on a decent width, super twisty, up-n-down rollercoaster road that will cancel any trip to the Tail-of-the-Dragon you had planned. The Bash-7 roads are better and a little safer. Up to the point where the gravel hauling 10 wheel dump trucks were commuting their dusty loads like a huge army ant procession, it was clean and awesome! I went over so far it felt like the pegs or bar ends would scrape, but there still remains a 7mm chicken strip on my almost unloved, less than heroic, stock Bridgestone BT-020 rear tire. Like racers do when the tire patch is at/approaching it's traction limit, I was at a lower RPM (2,500---3,000) in 4th, 5th or 6th gear thru those extreme corners, the gear used depending on corner sharpness. A nice, almost steady speed, an on-the-edge pace that is fast enough to thrill the rider, respectful of the available traction patch and forces the following riders to use their gearboxes more. All the while using much less than half throttle and much higher RPM's only occasionally when needed. It's a pace you can keep up until the road ends. I had more muscle pump from working the bars in the corners to negotiate thru what is absolutely motorcycle heaven! Many areas around the Appalachian Mountains up-n-down the Eastern USA have similar roads if the local and State governments support it.

It was a 174 mile ride to get to the Harriman Best Western Motel on Thursday. A 232.8 mile ride on Friday and a faster 244.2 mile ride on Saturday. Amazingly, even though the very dark and rumbling afternoon clouds screamed "I'm gonna soak you good AND deeply", our chosen route managed to not get us rained on at all. Must be somebody up there watching over me that knows how much I HATE riding in the rain. Just a few drops, or slightly wet roads where it had rained for maybe 5 minutes a half hour or more ago. Other riding groups on a different route were not as fortunate and the filthy muddy mess on their bikes proved it. In spite of that, all were still in good spirits and looked more satisfied with the experience than anything else.

After the heavy rain stopped we went across the street for our reserved 6pm group dinner. I think it was 14 guys and 2 women. We were grouped in 3 sets of combined tables and many pics were taken by all.

My return trip started early at 11:18pm Saturday nite after I logged my laptop on the net and saw the weather RADAR scan animation and dismally wet Sunday forecast for 90% rain. The animation showed I had about a 4--6 hour clear sky open window going South between the massive storm systems heading our way. I called Ann and informed her I'd be home about 3:30am, so she wouldn't freak out when the garage door opened. After the 2nd Zumo450 died after 3 days use, the car substitute Magellan 1212 GPS said I averaged 47 MPH for the 194.7 miles of the 04h:21m longer distance ("fastest time") trip home. With the group ride, that made it a 439 mile riding "day". The last 90 miles going home had intermittent light/heavy fog on a fog wetted road where my speed had to quickly loose 10 MPH from the speed limit so as to not hit whatever I could not stop in time for. I went thru 1 RADAR trap in-town about 2:30am, doing just under the posted 45MPH limit in 6th gear. I hope he had the window down so he could hear the precision purr of the Rotax twin go by. I encountered 3 medium deer in 2 different sightings and thought I ran over a fluffy brown rabbit that darted from right-to-left so fast it not only scared the crap out of me, it made me shake the bars hard! I swear I had to of at least run over the end hairs of it's tail. You won't believe this, I just checked it, but because of my holding to all the speed limits (and less than 55 for the fog), my average MPG display for the last state road non divided highway 117.8 miles is 71 MPG on Exxon Regular. I'll fill it up the next dry day and see what the actual is, but it will be very close to that and a new record high for me.

All of you Northerners that skipped out on this Bash #7 missed out on one of the better ones overall. Since GypsyRR took 4(?) days to ride her R1150r the 1,422 miles to get here, taking a week off work while bringing her professional mega bucks camera and gear with her, all other excuses/reasons seem really flimsy. She's likely facing riding and camping in some very hostile wet weather, for days, before finally getting home. Without a doubt, the hands down winner of an as yet un-awarded "greatest effort" trophy. There is a real, always pleasant, witty person behind the Lady Legend and only those that attended the Ozark Bash and this one were rewarded with the experience. This is also the first one I rode, not trucked my bike to, because it was just over 4 hours away. For me it was an 857 mile 2 wheeler weekend of riding, eating and socializing I will not forget.

DSKYZD, wearing the totally cool "No, I will not fix your computer" T-shirt asked me if I like the F800ST better than the R1150R. Both Touchton and I have the same answer to that question . . . . "YES". To that I'd add I won't go back to a Boxer, even a water cooled DOHC engined one.

.

[wncbmw]

Rob - not everyone's body time is set on 'retirement'. I needed no alarm to wake up early and I love early morning rides! A little water on the road shouldn't be too much drama!

And as to a vacation - I did not have to leave at 11:18 PM to avoid rain. Slept in a little, said some goodbyes and left at 7:30. No rain at all on the way home!

And at 55K, I love my Boxer as much as ever! Glad you like the ST. Just not for me.

Great Bash, good roads and as usual, great people. Same weekend next year! Location to be determined.

[CycleRob]

"A little water on the road shouldn't be too much drama!"

Unless . . . . you corner a little too fast thru it. One thing every biker has to learn, either the easy way or the hard way, is to always be aware of the road surface. On a damp road you never know if it's 98% or only 20% full traction until you go thru it. This is troublesome for overhanging tree shaded areas that get dewy-damp every morning while also collecting the tree's misty "droppings". Everyone knows what it looks like after a clean car is parked underneath ordinary trees for overnite . . . or longer.

I really loved my (new2me 7-28-01) 2002 Boxer too . . . until the FD bearing and slave assembly expensive replacements started to really hit me in the wallet. Those failures were inexcusable for what is reputed to be a quality built, premium grade, German engineered motorcycle. Before the 63,800 mile trade in, the splined shaft ticking time bomb was perceived to be sniffing at my bank account. I guess 1 year after the "7 year itch" had a lot to do with it too. The revelation of riding the better-4-me F800ST at the BMW open house sealed the deal. If history repeats itself after the F800 warranty expires, the next bike will be the new V-Twin shaft drive NT700V.

About the rain storm, it looked like a humongous disaster spanning 2 time zones when I saw the RADAR animation and I had no intention of being forced to ride thru such a severe storm in the morning, or otherwise. The "no rain" area horseshoe opening pointed South as the whole inverted U storm system was moving East. You apparently caught the same clear weather opening and ran Eastward with it ahead of the approaching storm front. I on the other hand had to go South while the horizontal storm wall kept closing in on me in that narrow rainless band. One big plus was that the early morning was so completely desolate of any signs of life or traffic. So empty were the cities and towns, it was eerily like one of those virus disaster movies. I stayed wide awake the entire trip just focusing on Bambi hiding in the barren solitude rolling quickly by . . . . while enjoying the soulful engine sounds and (necessarily) slow top gear cruising speeds I micro controlled. Also keeping me alert was stealing quick looks at the frequently needed GPS screen data and the bike's very entertaining instantaneous MPG number from the OBC. The hastily installed dead Zumo substitute, a RoadMate 1212, has a loud speaker, but no earphone jack. The stock exhaust seemed louder with my large soft bag luggage behind me apparently reflecting what I call the sounds of precision that I've loved since day one. Looking back on it now as I type this, the ride home was an unusual but rewarding experience all by itself. Credit goes to the F800ST's sophisticated engine management system to be entertaining even when ridden at normal traffic speeds.

EDITED for greater clarity.
.

[OU812]

I just made it home. 2 days and 600 miles of rain.

[jfslater98]

One thing every biker has to learn, either the easy way or the hard way, is to always be aware of the road surface.

Learned it the hard way, last September. Hopefully my only lesson.

Glad it was a good bash all around. Wish I could've been there. Even had I made plans, work would have dashed them for me.

Sorry to hear you had a soggy ride home Steve. Maybe I'll catch you sometime this summer.

[Boxer]

I slept pretty good Saturday night after the wine. Rob's last words as we went to our respective rooms, "I'll probably sleep in tomorrow and we can get up and see what it looks like...maybe ride the slabs if its raining."

I awoke fairly early, shortly after Marty went to get breakfast, and I wandered up to the motel lobby to grab some coffee. We briefly discussed knocking on Rob's door to see if he wanted to go ahead and head south ahead of the rain, then I said, "Naw, let him sleep." A little while later I walked down to the far end "crossover ramp" and saw Vann packing. Vann told me that Rob had left around 11 PM the night before!

After confirming this development I quickly mounted my steed, ran over to the Shell station to fill up and headed east on I-40. Then I-75 took me south back down to 68 where I back tracked the same way we rode up on Thursday. It was a really nice, cool morning ride with some fog here and there...and I think I may have spotted a few drops of rain on my visor around Blue Ridge, Georgia.
Made it home about 10:30 or 11 after stopping off for a nice dry breakfast at Hardee's in Ellijay.

I'll have my photos and slideshow put together as soon as possible. I'll need some contributions from others who were clicking away, so you guys get those pics posted soon.

[OU812]

Cousin Dadoo says he had the best time on a Harley ever, and thanks to all!
I had a blast myself......

[chibbert]

I enjoyed meeting Dadoo as well as you OU812.

[OU812]

I enjoyed meeting you and all the other members that made the Bash. Great times!