Didnt sleep much last night. Sinus drainage caused me to cough most of the night, so I slept in before going over to sign up for my demo ride on the 2011 Vaquero. After taking the girls to lunch, I arrived at my appointed time, and chose a red one to ride. The clouds were closing in on the valley as we mounted up and headed out. Halfway through our ride the clouds decided they couldnt hold back any longer, and made me regret my decision to turn down the Vaquero with a windshield for the one that was closest to the front of the line. I was impressed with the ride and handling of the bike. The change in the frame geometry and its effect on rider position for a long legged rider had concerned me prior to this ride but that reservation went away almost immediately. The power plant pulled strong and the tranny shifted smoothy as we made our way on the demo loop. The ride felt different from my 07 Nomad in that it felt like I was sitting more on top of the bike where I ride "in" the Nomad with its low slung seat position. Overall impression is that it felt more nimble than my ride, and was definitely a pleasant experience. In spite of ending on the damp side, I enjoyed the ride.
I took advantage of a break in the rain to dash back to the hotel just before the wind kicked up and the bottom fell out. Sure could use some of this moisture back home. Mother nature had more than rain/wind in her bag of tricks and treated us to about 5 minutes of pea-sized and smaller hail. Two consecutive national rallies where we've had hail. At least I wasnt out riding in this stuff like we were in Colorado Springs in '09.
The rain settled in and stayed the rest of the afternoon and evening, so not much left to report. Hopefully the rain will clear out tonight and we'll have clear weather fr tomorrow's rides on the rally's final day.
Ya hear that? It's my pillow calling....Good night all.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Rally Day 1- Blue Ridge Parkway and Mt Mitchell ride
What a day! The Vulcan Nation truck was being unloaded as we gathered this morning. 64 bikes left the parking lot after the pre-ride talk and succeeded in staying together on one heck of a road. Seriously, the BRP is a bucket list road. If you are a rider, you MUST ride this one before you leave this life. If you've ridden the Talimena Scenic Byway, it is similar, but like the energizer bunny it keeps going, and going, and going. The speed limit on the BRP is 45 and lower in some places so we didnt "attack" the roadway as some might have wished, although for the a majority it was plenty to deal with.
Tonight's entry will be a short one because I am exhausted, but here are a few pictures for your enjoyment.
More to come tomorrow when Kawasaki makes demo rides of the Vulcan line available to us, as well as a stunt riding demonstration. Tune in tomorrow. "Same Bat time, same bat channel"
Everyone should have a view like this one seen from our first observation stop.
Representing our neighbor to the North: KawaNOW Canada. Glad you guys could come.
Of course I couldnt let the Canucks have all the fun...
I think I'll use this one for wallpaper when I get home...
At the halfway point in our trip, Mount Mitchell NC.
Some of the bikes from our ride group on Mount Mitchell.
Tonight's entry will be a short one because I am exhausted, but here are a few pictures for your enjoyment.
More to come tomorrow when Kawasaki makes demo rides of the Vulcan line available to us, as well as a stunt riding demonstration. Tune in tomorrow. "Same Bat time, same bat channel"
Everyone should have a view like this one seen from our first observation stop.
I think I'll use this one for wallpaper when I get home...
At the halfway point in our trip, Mount Mitchell NC.
Some of the bikes from our ride group on Mount Mitchell.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Travel Day 3 - Are we there yet?
Today was a good day. Jamie's forum name should be changed to Nightrider, as he left Jackson MS at 2 AM to meet us in Gadsden and accompany our crew on the final leg of our journey to the rally in Maggie Valley. After a good Best Western breakfast of sausage, eggs, waffles and fruit we fueled up and hit the trail still headed northeast. The tree lined rolling hills became steeper and more numerous and the curves increased as well the farther we went. The corners of Alabama, and Georgia gave way to the Tennessee state line and we passed through Chattanooga and Cleveland TN and hung a right turn on 64/74 headed east. From there it got real.
I could almost hear Lucille crying lashed down on the trailer as we negotiated nearly 100 miles that included numerous 9% grades with twisties and blind curves all over the place. Sweet. Thats all I can say, and that was driving it in a cage.
We arrived in Maggie Valley and checked into our room before unloading Lucille and getting her trailer tucked out of the way; and then headed over to the Maggie Valley Inn for check-in. Had a good time seeing old friends and meeting friends that I had only "met" on the KawaNOW forum. As the afternoon wore on, more and more Nomads collected in parking lots all the way around the hotel and started forming ranks two deep. Once registration was wrapped up the welcome cookout commenced. The line was impressive, and the hotel cooks kept bringing supplies as rally attendees dined on char-grilled hamburgers, with hotdogs for those who were so inclined. Todd, Trip and Teri Conrad from Kawasaki had the crowd breaking out in applause as they welcomed attendees and laid out the schedule of events for the three days of the rally.
Kawasaki sent the Vulcan Nation Demo Tour truck to allow our group of owners the opportunity to test ride the new offerings in the Vulcan lineup: Nomad, Voyager, 900, and the newest member of the Kawasaki family, the Vaquero. Teri Conrad rode in on a red Vaquero, on a 3500 mile trip the originated in California and included a swing through Deadwood South Dakota. That's a lotta riding in two weeks, I don't care who ya are.
Tomorrow offers the choice of two group rides. One group will go to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Mt Mitchell, and the other will take riders to the foot of the famous Tail of the Dragon where they will attack the beast individually. I selected the BRP ride, and will venture to the dragon on Wednesday with a couple of other riders after I get a look at the stunt riding demo Kawasaki has arranged for us, and after I test ride a Vaquero =o)
With the clock closing in on 11 pm Eastern, It is time to end this entry as Red Skelton used to end his show on Sunday evenings: " Good night and God Bless"...
I could almost hear Lucille crying lashed down on the trailer as we negotiated nearly 100 miles that included numerous 9% grades with twisties and blind curves all over the place. Sweet. Thats all I can say, and that was driving it in a cage.
We arrived in Maggie Valley and checked into our room before unloading Lucille and getting her trailer tucked out of the way; and then headed over to the Maggie Valley Inn for check-in. Had a good time seeing old friends and meeting friends that I had only "met" on the KawaNOW forum. As the afternoon wore on, more and more Nomads collected in parking lots all the way around the hotel and started forming ranks two deep. Once registration was wrapped up the welcome cookout commenced. The line was impressive, and the hotel cooks kept bringing supplies as rally attendees dined on char-grilled hamburgers, with hotdogs for those who were so inclined. Todd, Trip and Teri Conrad from Kawasaki had the crowd breaking out in applause as they welcomed attendees and laid out the schedule of events for the three days of the rally.
Kawasaki sent the Vulcan Nation Demo Tour truck to allow our group of owners the opportunity to test ride the new offerings in the Vulcan lineup: Nomad, Voyager, 900, and the newest member of the Kawasaki family, the Vaquero. Teri Conrad rode in on a red Vaquero, on a 3500 mile trip the originated in California and included a swing through Deadwood South Dakota. That's a lotta riding in two weeks, I don't care who ya are.
Tomorrow offers the choice of two group rides. One group will go to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Mt Mitchell, and the other will take riders to the foot of the famous Tail of the Dragon where they will attack the beast individually. I selected the BRP ride, and will venture to the dragon on Wednesday with a couple of other riders after I get a look at the stunt riding demo Kawasaki has arranged for us, and after I test ride a Vaquero =o)
With the clock closing in on 11 pm Eastern, It is time to end this entry as Red Skelton used to end his show on Sunday evenings: " Good night and God Bless"...
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Travel day 2 or "and now for something completely different..."
Woke up bright and early ready for another day of highway driving. All went according to plan until I went down to the truck to take the first load of "stuff" to repack. The Best Western's parking lot was barely bigger than a postage stamp with no pull-through spaces so I dropped Lucille's trailer in the parking spot under our 3rd floor window so I could keep an eye on it and pulled across the driveway and parked. When I got down this morning I went to back up and hook the trailer back up, inserted the key, turned the key... nada!! Had good power, nothing had been left on and I'd not had any idiot lights the day before. Checked the usual suspects for loose connections, etc without anything obvious jumping out saying fix me, fix me! Went back upstairs to break the news to the troops and get in touch with Mitch who was meeting us for breakfast. He came over and we did all we collectively knew how with no success. Terrific. Stuck in Slidell, LA on a sunday morning. The day's suck factor was spiking pretty close to the top of the scale.
Knowing nobody in town, I asked myself: "self, whatcha gonna do now?" I thought of the TA truck stop across the street and figured they might have a contact for roadside service and could hook me up. I was almost right. Instead I ran into a tow truck driver who towed the truck to the only shop in town open on Sunday: Pep Boys. Turns out a solenoid on the firewall had passed away in it's sleep overnight, or perhaps was scared to death by the lightning from the thunderstorm but in either case, $150 later (including the tow charge) we were on the road, and only a couple of hours later than planned. Thanks to Leon & Adam at Pep Boys in Slidell for getting us in and out quickly.
After a good lunch we headed North for our 6 and a half hour drive to Gadsden, Alabama. You know that rain that was forecast for our travel ? Yep, you guessed it, still haven't seen more than a few drops other than those last night. Oh well. If I hadn't taken the precaution to change the plans I would have ridden in endless rain for two days, in addition to being worn out when I got to the rally.
If you're passing through Gadsden Alabama on 59 near mealtime, stop at Austin's Steak & Seafood. Great food at a good price. Our crew left well fed and ready to relax a bit before hitting the sack ahead of a short travel day of ~250 miles tomorrow. I can already hear my pillow calling to me. Say goodnight Gracie....
Knowing nobody in town, I asked myself: "self, whatcha gonna do now?" I thought of the TA truck stop across the street and figured they might have a contact for roadside service and could hook me up. I was almost right. Instead I ran into a tow truck driver who towed the truck to the only shop in town open on Sunday: Pep Boys. Turns out a solenoid on the firewall had passed away in it's sleep overnight, or perhaps was scared to death by the lightning from the thunderstorm but in either case, $150 later (including the tow charge) we were on the road, and only a couple of hours later than planned. Thanks to Leon & Adam at Pep Boys in Slidell for getting us in and out quickly.
After a good lunch we headed North for our 6 and a half hour drive to Gadsden, Alabama. You know that rain that was forecast for our travel ? Yep, you guessed it, still haven't seen more than a few drops other than those last night. Oh well. If I hadn't taken the precaution to change the plans I would have ridden in endless rain for two days, in addition to being worn out when I got to the rally.
If you're passing through Gadsden Alabama on 59 near mealtime, stop at Austin's Steak & Seafood. Great food at a good price. Our crew left well fed and ready to relax a bit before hitting the sack ahead of a short travel day of ~250 miles tomorrow. I can already hear my pillow calling to me. Say goodnight Gracie....
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Travel Day 1
Weather forecast of rain for two of three travel days caused me to decide to trailer Lucille to Maggie Valley instead of riding. Riding in the rain is FAR from my favorite activity. One side benefit of trailering is that our departure time was pushed back a couple of hours since the stops would be about half. In spite of that push back we were still 30 minutes later leaving than I had wanted. Traffic was fairly light on I-10 east and we made decent time to Lafayette where we had lunch and a splash of fuel in the truck. Talked for a few minutes with 4 local riders who were out for an ice cream ride. Back on the road we made it to our hotel in Slidell, LA without incident. After getting settled in I went back down to the lobby where I found out the local PD was out in force looking for an armed robbery suspect who was in the area. I looked out and saw the patrol car at the end of the street, and the officer with an AR-15 in a combat sling. Can I pick the motels or what??
They apparently caught the badguy because after about an hour Officer AR was gone and no other signs of activity.
Time to go check out the dinner offerings and get an early start on bedtime. Meeting Mitch Brignac and his lovely wife Darlene in the morning for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel (Yum Yum!) before heading up 59. Our day will take us through Tuscaloosa and Birmingham before over nighting in Gadsden, Alabama.
Update: Got to see a pretty intense lightning show after dinner, and while we havent seen much of it at home in the last 6 months, liquid water still falls from the sky in Slidell, LA. Thunderstorm has passed, so it's time to practice that relaxation technique called sleep.
"Good night Mrs. Callabash, wherever you are."
They apparently caught the badguy because after about an hour Officer AR was gone and no other signs of activity.
Time to go check out the dinner offerings and get an early start on bedtime. Meeting Mitch Brignac and his lovely wife Darlene in the morning for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel (Yum Yum!) before heading up 59. Our day will take us through Tuscaloosa and Birmingham before over nighting in Gadsden, Alabama.
Update: Got to see a pretty intense lightning show after dinner, and while we havent seen much of it at home in the last 6 months, liquid water still falls from the sky in Slidell, LA. Thunderstorm has passed, so it's time to practice that relaxation technique called sleep.
"Good night Mrs. Callabash, wherever you are."
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