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"...
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