luckydog
May 7th, 2010, 22:22
On April 1st, I started off on a 3,000 mile (round-trip) motorcycle excursion from Chapel Hill, NC to Llano, TX (AQO).
7186
I arrived home last Sunday.........:jump:
It took me two days to recuperate and three days to re-mark my territory.
Here's how it went:
Day One was uneventful to Ashville, NC.....checked into a motel and woke, the next morning, to a dead battery on the bike ( it was an OLD battery, so.....).
Found a motorcycle shop that had mine in stock.
Day Two......off to see Navy Chief !!! Took the east side of the Smokies down to Murphy, NC and called for directions; which went kinda like this......"When you get to Ducktown, make a right and when you get to Turtletown make a left at....................". Sounded aquatic to me....I wondered if I should of brought a wet-suit. After a few miles down a small, winding mountain road, I found Pete and his lady waiting at their gate (they heard me coming).
Two of the nicest, most hospitable people I've met in ages !!! And I fell into a drooling love affair with "Chief", the huge, huggable Rott pictured in the avatar.
Headed west as the sun was setting and spent the nite in Sweetwater, TN
Day 3 & 4.......Chattanooga to check out the sights and rest these old bones.....
Chattanooga from Lookout Mtn...
7185
7184
Day 5........Headed southwest into Alabama. Got as far as Gadsden when the bike just shut down. Coasted down an exit ramp and into the parking lot of a greasy spoon.
With a phone-book and my handy-dandy Garmin, I located a tow-truck and motorcycle shop nearby. There was a wait for the tow-truck, so I had a pretty fine burger and fries.
The cook had a mullet and my waitress was named "Dixie".
The tow truck finally showed up. The driver/owner was the twin brother of "Larry the Cable Guy" ........complete with sleeve-less shirt and dirty baseball cap. As he loaded my bike onto the truck, he gave me a flyer asking me to vote for him for mayor..........
The shop determined I needed a "rectifier" and ordered one shipped from California over-nite.
The shop gopher offered to drive me to a motel. His name was Joe Bob Lincoln.......nick-name:
(you guessed it)..."Hot Rod". He constantly called me "Brother Lucky".
I asked "Hot Rod" to take me to a motel that had a bar. Later that night I visited the bar to absorb some local color.
It was Karieoki night and the place was packed with senior citizens......the youngest about 70.
Almost everyone had to be helped on stage to sing.
The screeching/singing was terrible, but after a few beers it wasn't so bad.
Several ladies asked me to dance...but I politely declined.
(How do you dance with a lady that uses a walker ??? )
After about beer #12, I got up there and sang "Little Red Riding Hood".
Everybody howled... right on cue.
Meridian, Miss. Day 6
7183
Day 7 & 8............
Smooth sailing until 15 miles out of Corsicana, TX.
Heard a clang when my rear tire ejected the nail.......at 65 mph....
rear-end started swishing back and forth slightly...
then violently ( hold your hands in front of you...handlebars...and throw your hips as far as you can, left and right as fast as you can ). Its a "Jesus Murphy !!" moment.
Got her onto the shoulder and stood there waiting for an hour before another biker stopped (no cell phone service).
Said he'd call a tow-truck at the next town .
30 minutes later, a police car, ambulance, and fire-engine showed up asking if I was in respiratory distress....(and I'm standing there smoking a cigarette).
I don't understand some people's sense of humor.
The cops called a tow-truck, and my brother picked me up the next morning with a trailer.
More pics in a coupla minutes................
7186
I arrived home last Sunday.........:jump:
It took me two days to recuperate and three days to re-mark my territory.
Here's how it went:
Day One was uneventful to Ashville, NC.....checked into a motel and woke, the next morning, to a dead battery on the bike ( it was an OLD battery, so.....).
Found a motorcycle shop that had mine in stock.
Day Two......off to see Navy Chief !!! Took the east side of the Smokies down to Murphy, NC and called for directions; which went kinda like this......"When you get to Ducktown, make a right and when you get to Turtletown make a left at....................". Sounded aquatic to me....I wondered if I should of brought a wet-suit. After a few miles down a small, winding mountain road, I found Pete and his lady waiting at their gate (they heard me coming).
Two of the nicest, most hospitable people I've met in ages !!! And I fell into a drooling love affair with "Chief", the huge, huggable Rott pictured in the avatar.
Headed west as the sun was setting and spent the nite in Sweetwater, TN
Day 3 & 4.......Chattanooga to check out the sights and rest these old bones.....
Chattanooga from Lookout Mtn...
7185
7184
Day 5........Headed southwest into Alabama. Got as far as Gadsden when the bike just shut down. Coasted down an exit ramp and into the parking lot of a greasy spoon.
With a phone-book and my handy-dandy Garmin, I located a tow-truck and motorcycle shop nearby. There was a wait for the tow-truck, so I had a pretty fine burger and fries.
The cook had a mullet and my waitress was named "Dixie".
The tow truck finally showed up. The driver/owner was the twin brother of "Larry the Cable Guy" ........complete with sleeve-less shirt and dirty baseball cap. As he loaded my bike onto the truck, he gave me a flyer asking me to vote for him for mayor..........
The shop determined I needed a "rectifier" and ordered one shipped from California over-nite.
The shop gopher offered to drive me to a motel. His name was Joe Bob Lincoln.......nick-name:
(you guessed it)..."Hot Rod". He constantly called me "Brother Lucky".
I asked "Hot Rod" to take me to a motel that had a bar. Later that night I visited the bar to absorb some local color.
It was Karieoki night and the place was packed with senior citizens......the youngest about 70.
Almost everyone had to be helped on stage to sing.
The screeching/singing was terrible, but after a few beers it wasn't so bad.
Several ladies asked me to dance...but I politely declined.
(How do you dance with a lady that uses a walker ??? )
After about beer #12, I got up there and sang "Little Red Riding Hood".
Everybody howled... right on cue.
Meridian, Miss. Day 6
7183
Day 7 & 8............
Smooth sailing until 15 miles out of Corsicana, TX.
Heard a clang when my rear tire ejected the nail.......at 65 mph....
rear-end started swishing back and forth slightly...
then violently ( hold your hands in front of you...handlebars...and throw your hips as far as you can, left and right as fast as you can ). Its a "Jesus Murphy !!" moment.
Got her onto the shoulder and stood there waiting for an hour before another biker stopped (no cell phone service).
Said he'd call a tow-truck at the next town .
30 minutes later, a police car, ambulance, and fire-engine showed up asking if I was in respiratory distress....(and I'm standing there smoking a cigarette).
I don't understand some people's sense of humor.
The cops called a tow-truck, and my brother picked me up the next morning with a trailer.
More pics in a coupla minutes................