Old Folks, Five States, and lots of Curves.

[klaviator]

I never have enough vacation time to do everything I want so I have to maximize what I have.  My plan for last week was to head up to Ohio and visit my folks then head down to WV to attend a MSTA rally and hopefully see some old friends while enjoying some fall colors and nice roads in West Virginia.  So I had it all planned out.  Of course we all know what happens when you plan things out.

At least everything started according to plans.  I loaded my new majesty Scooter in the back of my truck and Debbi and I drove up to Northern Ohio. 



We went to Ohio mainly to visit my folks.  They are both 80 years young.  Last winter my mom had a hip replacement following a skiing accident.  She is still recovering so she keeps here walks to a mile or less 8).  I was afraid we wouldn't be able to do much but she was up for getting out and walking around.  We took a trip to Chagrin Falls, Oh where we saw some pretty cool bikes.

An old 350cc 2 smoke Yamaha in really good shape:



How about an AMF era Harley:



The reason for the town's name.



I did do some riding one morning and got a few pics.



I love the looks of this red brick road.  Not sure if it's slick when wet.



We took a trip to the beach.



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After 4 too short days of visiting it was time for the next part of the trip. We loaded up the scooter and headed down to Lewisburg WV for an MSTA rally. The MSTA, formerly HSTA, was a group I did a lot of riding with for many years but I let my membership lapse about 8-9 years ago. I decided to re join and attend this rally. It fit into our schedule but more importantly I was hoping to see some of my old riding friends that I had so many great rides and memories with.

Got this pic on the way down at the WV welcome center.



WV really tries to attract motorcycle riders to the state.

When we got to our motel in Lewisburg we were surprised at how many bikes were there since the rally didn't start until Friday and we figured most people wouldn't show up until Friday evening. It turns out that many HSTA members are retired and just came early but also there were 2 rallys going on at the motel. The FJR Eastern owners meeting was also there.

[klaviator]

A little history before continuing on.  Back in 1992 I moved to Michigan which is not exactly sport riding paradise.  In the hopes of finding some sport riders to ride with I joined the Honda Sport Touring Association.  This turned out to be one of the smartest things i have ever done as I ended up having many great rides all over the country with this group.  Eventually they changed their name to Motorcycle Sport Touring Association.  Around 8 or 9 years ago my schedule had changed dramatically and I just didn't have time to attend their events so I let my membership expire.  When planning this vacation I saw that one of their rallies would fit in with visiting my folks so I decided to attend their Fall Colors ride in WV and rejoin.  Debbi used to ride with me in some of these events as well so we were both looking forward to this.

Of course, when planning a motorcycle ride you are always at the mercy of the weather.  The forecast for this event went from good to bad to worse.  We decided to go anyway and hoped a few other people would show up as well.  I should have known that these guys and gals are pretty hard core and wouldn't let the forecast of a little (or a lot) of rain would keep them away.  Many are retired and just came down early to get in some nice riding before the weather moved in.

After we got there I unloaded the truck and went wandering around to see if there was anyone I knew around. It didn't take too long to find some people. Even after 8 or 9 years some of the same people were still around. They were 8 or 9 years older but then so am I. We went out to a Mexican place in downtown Lewisburg for dinner.  Pretty good food and of course interesting conversation as you would expect from a bunch of die hard riders.

The next morning I hooked up with someone I had ridden with many times in the past. Debbi wasn't feeling good so I would be riding solo.

This is my old friend Doug:







We passed a number of other bikes and of course lots of cages. Eventually we headed up the mountain to the Snowshoe Ski Resort.



Unlike most ski areas where the resort is at the bottom of the mountain, this one is at the top.



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Snowshoe is a huge facility. I imagine it is a real bustling place during ski season. This time of year the are open for mountain bikers.
Despite the cloudy day it's still a real scenic ride which my pics don't do justice.

After that we headed towards Cass. The road leading to Cass has always been a favorite of mine and it was real fun riding it again. Then we took a break in Cass. Someday I need to stop here and ride the train.



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I'm pretty sure this train breaks pretty much every rule the EPA has:



We had lunch there with a couple of other MSTA riders. They guy on the left is from Guntersville.



Cass was a pretty popular stopping place. These riders were from the FJR rally.



Mickey, the other guy riding with me told me he was interesting in getting a scooter but had never ridden one. A little way down the road we stopped and swapped bikes.



He had his first scooter ride and I got to ride a tiger for the first time.



I had considered getting a tiger but ended up with getting a versys instead. The tiger seemed like a much bigger bike than the Versys. Nice motor and pretty comfortable but not nearly as flickable as the Versys.

After about 10 miles we swapped back. After that we rode some more nice roads in WV and Va.  About the last 2 hours we ended up riding in the rain. I didn't get any more pics. Overall it was a fun ride despite the rain.  Total for the day was about 260 miles. 

That night I had the chance to talk to some more old riding friends. One of them, like Doug, was 75 years young and still going strong.  The younger guys where mostly my age or older.  Most have multiple bikes and some do regular track days.  It was really great hooking up with these guys after all these years. I had some really great rides and memories with these guys and I'm going to make sure I don't wait another 8 years to ride with them again. 

[klaviator]

Saturday was supposed to be the main day of riding for this rally but the weather forecast was for rain, rain and more rain.  Debbi decided to leave a day early and head for her sisters place near Memphis.  Many of the other riders were leaving early as well so i changed my plans as well.  the weather looked better further south and west.  So we loaded up and headed out Saturday morning.



We drove until we got a little past Bristol, Tn, stopped and I unloaded the scooter.
The weather had been pretty nice and dry for the last couple of hours but not long after I started riding I got into the rain again. It was off and on but once i got on one of my favorite roads, it was raining steady and the road was covered with wet leaves.  Not my idea of fun. I stopped to at least document I was there:



Once I got past Waynesville the rain stopped and roads dried up. When I got to the intersection of 74 and 28, I took a little detour to ride one of my favorite sections of twisty road.

About 8 miles of curves and I stopped for a break, then turned around. I quickly got stuck behind a rolling road block.



So I pulled over to give them some time to get down the road.



After a few minutes I headed off again. It's no fun riding curvy roads at a snail's pace.

I ended up in Robbinsville at the San Ran Motel. I never stayed there before. It's a small mom and pop place where you can park right in front of your room and there are some chairs out front so you can sit outside. It's old but the room were large, in good shape and clean. I'll stay there again.

[klaviator]

There is a reason I picked Robbinsville to spend the night.  It's only 18 miles form Deal's Gap.  Back in the 90s Deal's Gap was one of my favorite roads.  Then it became really popular, T shirt vendors renamed it the Dragon and it started crawling with law enforcement.  At some point I stopped riding it because it was just too frustrating riding it a low speeds stuck in traffic.  However, it is a great road.  It's just a matter of riding it when the traffic and LEOs aren't there.  Over the years  I have found much tighter, steeper and more challenging roads but for 11 miles of smooth, easy flowing non stop curves Deal's Gap is hard to beat.

Sunday was forecast to be a nice day so I got up early to take advantage of it.



I headed down 129 towards Deal's Gap



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When I got there it was so crowded I had trouble finding a parking spot.



Then it was time to ride through all those curves on 129.          

At 7:30 AM there was virtually no traffic. I was able to run at whatever pace I felt comfortable at. I'm still haven't really gotten the feel for what this scooter will do in the curves. Steering is super light and neutral. It makes your typical 600cc sport bike feel like a Mack truck. Brakes are also very good. The issue is limited ground clearance and the fact that there are no footpeg feelers to warn you when you are about to run out of it.

I still had a pretty good run to the overlook and didn't scrape anything.

A few minutes after I got there a couple of regulars showed up.



One of the guys was on a really tricked out TL1000R.  He bought it recently.  It had only been on the track and never had a tag on it.  The front end on this thing alone cost more than my scooter.



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[klaviator]

So we headed up 129 towards Deal's Gap.  The guy on the TL blasted ahead.  The guy on the SV650 is another "young" guy I know who still rides fast at an age that many people have retired to Lazy Boys to watch Gilligan's Island reruns.  He was kind enough to follow me as I could not have kept up with him.  We had a nice clean run all the way to DGMR where we had breakfast.  Then we hung out for a bit. 

I noticed that the crowd and traffic was still light.  I had the urge to ride a few more curves so I decided to ride part way to the overlook and then turn around.

     

I was having so much fun I rode all the way to the overlook.  After a short break I headed back.  I was really getting the feel for the road and my scooter.

   

As I approached the TN/NC state line I just decided to keep riding.  So I turned around.  I was thinking about Forest Gump and his run.   I just felt like riding.

So I rode back to the overlook and turned around again.  I timed it just right and didn't have to deal with hardly any traffic.  When I got to the state line again I was having so much fun that I...................


Considered turning around but continued on back to the resort.  There i was told they were considering sending out a search party.

I hung out a bit more.  I went and checked out some scooters I had passed going the other way. 



I hung out a bit more.



This bike belongs to another local:



I really didn't want to go home but I had a long way to go so eventually I headed off. I rode 129 then turned right on the Joyce Kilmer turnoff. That road is as twisty as Deal's gap but pretty rough. It was a blast a few weeks ago on my KLR. It's was still fun on the scooter but not as much fun as the KLR. Then I rode over the Skyway. The leaves were starting to change color but it was cloudy so they weren't that great.



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I had a pretty good run but eventually got stuck behind an economy car and a corvette. The economy car turned off and the corvette sped up. That lasted until the next curve when it slowed down again.



I never understood why someone would buy an expensive sports car just to drive it kike a little old lady going to Church on Sunday.:dunno

That's my last pic from this trip. I had lunch at Subway in Tellico Plains, rode 39, 315 and 30, then it was mostly boring slab the rest of the way home.

Looking back it was a great week of vacation.  I spent some time with my folks.  Got to see some old friends and rode some great roads in 5 states.  (well maybe 4 states, the roads in Ohio weren't that great) 

I can't wait to get out there on my next trip.

[klaviator]

One advantage of making multiple passes through Deal's Gap is that there are plenty of photos to choose from the pros there.  I went with Killboy this time.



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[Chuck A.]

Good write up Win. Thanks for taking us along. I bet you would have smoked most all riders on the Dragon with that scooter. Man you're fast on that thang.

[Guidedawg]

Great write up, thanks!

[lostinbama]

sounds like an awesome trip to me!