Saturday the 28th any takers? report..

[Brick]

Well today's ride started 10 degrees colder than the weather guessers had guessed! When I got to the Quick Stop at NC 18/64 and Piedmont road Lee was already there fiddling with his Go-Pro camera and heated gear. Then a few minutes later Ladd on his FJR rode in with two others on VFR's. He introduced us to Doug on the red VFR and Sam on the silver VFR. Doug and Sam had no heated gear and rode from Concord where it was 21 degrees when they left home. Doug was a frozen popsicle! Soon there after Jeff and Terry rolled in on there VFR. Jeff had a rear tire with a plug in it already and proceeded to put two more plugs in. The sun did come out and it was warming a bit. By the way... Ben, who wanted/started this ride was a NO-SHOW... NO call... nothing?

12 28 early.jpg (167.4 KiB) Viewed 21670 times

Here Lee, Ladd, and Terry stumble around the parking lot looking for warmth... or the tire string plug glue... I'm not sure.

Lee, Jeff and Ladd had the route in there GPS's... I didn't get it into mine. Also Lee, Jeff and I had two way radio communication. So off we rode with Lee and Terry in the lead with Doug, Ladd, Sam, Brick and Lee bringing up the rear with his Go-Pro camera on. Lee had planned a route around the back side of Lake James and to Marion where I lead us to Countryside BBQ for lunch. As usual the Countryside fed us well. Ahemmm... well all except Jeff who had to eat a Livermush and cheese sandwich. Hmmm... well Jeff actually said he WANTED to eat the Livermush and cheese sandwich. Ok...


Here Doug, Ladd, and Sam dismount to go into Countryside for lunch...

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Jeff and Terry dismount with Lee making faces at the camera... Oh wait that is Lee's normal face!

After lunch we had a great ride down to lake Lure after a fun ride over 74 from the Asheville area through Gertin. We continued on around the back side of the lake via Charlies Creek etc... and Cane Creek Mountain road to 226. We stopped for a break at NC 226 and Bostic/Golden Valley Road. It seems that Doug has abused his knees dirt bike riding in his past and needed to give his knees a break. From there the plan was to ride Golden Vally Road to NC 10 at Caser where Jeff & Terry, Ladd and Sam turned right for home and Lee and I turned left toward the 1/2 Way Hardware where Lee filled up the FJR. It seems that Doug rode on home from NC226 and Bostic road. Lee and I had a nice romp up Old 18 until we ran into the rain about 5 miles from Morganton.

I ended the day with 190 miles which has to be the lowest miles of all 6 bikes since we started 2 miles from my house!

Ben, sorry you missed your ride... next time.

[Bob]

Sounds like a fun ride. Wonder wha happ to ole BEN ???

[LeeDavis]

Nice ride and riding! Once again, we kept a long string of bikes on track without any problems. When we started I had visions of Saturday traffic and post Christmas bargain shoppers clogging the roads but they must have gotten the memo because traffic on our roads was light. Oh, and I didn't bring heated gear - temp was forecast to 59 degrees. Didn't happen. It warmed up a little - mid 40s - bearable.

I took some video and will post up if we netted any good clips.

[PirateRiderBen]

Well I feel dumb. Apparently I somehow unsubscribe from the ride thread and didn't realize that anyone had actually come up with a route/plan. My apologies guys I take full credit for just plain messing up! I suppose all things workout for the good because I ended up having to take my car into the shop and found a couple things that need immediate attention. In the future I will pay closer attention to the forums. New guy mistake and again my apologies!

--Ben

[007]

Sorry I missed it. Stupid work always getting in the way. You guys are my heroes.

[Bob]

....Apparently I somehow unsubscribe from the ride thread and didn't realize that anyone had actually come up with a route/plan.... --Ben

Ben--and anyone else who uses the "Subscribe" function: Sometimes--it just doesn't work. Dunno why but it happens to me occasionally. So, if there's something brewing in the forum, you might wanna log in and check periodically even if you haven't received an email notification!

[PirateRiderBen]

Next time!

-Ben

[beachy]

Hey great ride. My son (Sam) and I did have a good time,we had 350mi. for the day.Doug texted me that he got home alright and had a great time as well.Thanks for the route Lee.Brick thanks for taking pictures so it really happened.Jeff thanks for leading me back to 321

[Brick]

Beachy... errr Ladd,
It was great to see and ride with you again. I hadn't realized that Sam was your son. Great riding with you all!
Glad Doug made it home ok he seemed like he was in lots if pain. I need to stop complaining about my little pain as it seemed like nothing compared to his!



Brick

[soichiro]

This is Doug, new member.

I had a great time on the ride. Lots of roads I have never been on. It was a lot of fun! I got to the point where the meds I took at lunch wore off and I started thinking more about my pain than the riding, I knew I had to stop and stretch out a while. Motocross ruined me from the waist down, full of titanium and a fused ankle, no fun. I am usually fine, maybe its because the younger knee dragging types I usually ride with stop every hour or 50 miles, lol. The cold got in my bones and I was trying to recover all day, 21f when I left home. I took some meds and hung out for 20 minutes and made it home just fine. Good thing as the rain was chasing me home. I pulled the bike in and it started to rain.

Thanks for the invite lad!

Cant wait to do it again. Great group with lots of skill!

[Brick]

soichiro... errrr... Doug,
Hey man, I'm so glad you are OK and that you made it home OK! It was a pleasure to meet you and to ride with you! You seem to be doing the right things riding wise too!

Here I am 67 years old thinking I have some pains... YOU made me feel young and pain free!!

It would be great to have you ride with us again!

[Bob]

This is Doug, new member.... I am usually fine, maybe its because the younger knee dragging types I usually ride with stop every hour or 50 miles, lol. The cold got in my bones and I was trying to recover all day, 21f when I left home.

1) Doug, I once got "cold to the bone" and never recovered the remainder of the ride until I could get home and sit in front of a heater. The cold will completely distract you from riding safely and I was making really stupid mistakes. Probably had hypothermia. That was the last ride I did before I got a heated jacket. Hope to meet and ride with you soon!

2) Dang Brick--I can't believe yall rode for over 50 miles without taking a break! We never do that. Do we?

[soichiro]

Thanks Brick! You guys made me feel old, lol. I was fine and warm most of the day. The cold from the morning just made my arthritis kick in after hours in the saddle. I have great gear, usually stay plenty warm. 100 miles getting there in below freezing temps just did not agree with my legs. I was riding pretty good, until the last 5 miles when I knew I had to break for a bit.

The old saying, to be old and wise we must first be young and stupid. I do have 28 years experience.

I know my limits. Thank god. No shame in pulling out.

I did jump straight in the hot shower when I got home.

Ready to do it again!

[LeeDavis]

Here's a little video from the ride. The 1st minute is all 6 bikes getting started in the morning up Piedmont Rd. That was about the beginning and end of sunshine for the day. The 2nd minute is after the group split for homes at the end of ride with Brick and I trying to beat the rain up Old 18. You can see drops hitting the lens and though the camera does a decent job compensating for the lack of light it was getting dark. Within 2 minutes after the end of the video the road was completely wet and our worn out tires tip-toed through the final curves.

https://vimeo.com/82899378