| Author | Message | ||
     Irideabuell |
 Returned home this evening from a 2437 mile trip to northern Virginia and Deals Gap. Everything about the ride was awesome (with the exception of the citation I received in Virginia for reckless driving - and that's another story). I'm too tired to type the details this evening and post pictures, but will do so in the next couple of days. | ||
| Khollister |
Reckless driving, huh? This ought to be good :-) Glad you had a good time Paul. While I didn't make up to the Skyline drive area (for as far north as Peaks of Otter), I was rather amazed at the lack of police I saw on te Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia & North Carolina. I only saw 2 cops the whole 2 weeks I was riding up there. Keith | ||
| Irideabuell |
I left Orlando on Sunday, 10/8 at 6:15 AM headed for Warrenton, Virginia. I-95 was my route of choice as it appeared to be the quickest/shortest way to cover the approximately 850 miles I need to ride that day. My 2004 xB12s was outfitted with Buell saddle bags and trunk bag and a Buell tank bag. The weather was a bit cool until the sun came up, but otherwise sunny and comfortable for the first third of the ride into South Carolina. I was making good time running at 75-80 mph as long as the speed limit was 70. I hit some horrible weather about mid-way through SC and spent two hours riding in rather heavy rain. I was wearing my Buell helmet, HD armored jacket with liner, Frank Thomas armored leather pants, HD boots and Buell leather gloves. I remained fairly dry through that and the following rain storm in North Carolina. Once I hit Virginia the weather cleared and riding was warm and enjoyable again. In my infinite wisdom I decided to take the beltway around Richmond (I usually go straight through on 95). I was going about 70 mph when an 18-wheeler in front of me started shredding a tire. Of course my first reaction was to get past him in a hurry, so I moved from the far right lane in the next lane to the left of four total and moved quickly by the truck perhaps hitting 80 mph. I immediately moved back into the right lane going ~70 mph (the speed limit was 65). Naturally a Virginia State Trooper was sitting in a cross-over between the north/southbound lanes and decided I was good fodder for his ticket quota. I immediately pulled over and respectfully asked him what the trouble was once he approached. He asked why I was in such a hurry going 85 mph. I told him I don't think I was going that fast and I only hit perhaps 80 in my effort to save my neck and get by the semi in front of me that was starting to shred a tire and spit the rubber back at me. I asked if he noticed that I immediately returned to the right lane and resumed the posted speed limit (close enough). To that he replied that was no excuse and I should have simply slowed down. I started to tell him that wasn't the best course of action in the interest of self-preservation. He didn't like that response one bit and mentioned that I might want to think about saving my excuses for the judge as he had every right to cuff me and impound my bike since my citation would be for reckless driving. At that point I only wanted to be on my way as I had ridden the better part of 750 miles by this time. He said he'd be right back. He went to his car, checked my information and returned with a citation saying I had to appear in court in that county on December 22 at 9:30 AM. Boy was I thrilled about that! I thanked him with as much respect as I could muster and he then asked me if I was riding an xB9. I said no, it's a 12 and he replied his brother had a 9. I felt like saying "thanks for the break", but thought the better of it. If anyone has any advise on how I should handle this it would be greatly appreciated. I made it to Warrenton about 75 minutes later at 7:30 PM. The sunset was spectacular on my way into Warrenton in Fauquier county on secondary roads. I spent Monday, 10/9 resting and hanging out with my brother-in-law as I was spending the next three days with his family. On Tuesday, 10/10 I headed out to Skyline Drive which is about 30 miles from Warrenton. I left at 9:00 AM and hit some fog on the way into the mountains of Shenendoah National Park. Once on Skyline Drive the weather was absolutely beautiful. I initially went up to the national park for riding, but found myself stopping often to enjoy the near peak foliage as I remembered it as a boy growing up in Vermont.  I saw not a single law enforcement officer of any kind while in the national park much to my delight. I met a fellow Bueller without his bike at the SkyWay stop for lunch. He was from NJ I think and said and was up there enjoying the scenery with his wife.  I rode roughly 90 miles to the south from the route 211 entrance to Skyline Drive and returned to Warrenton at 4:00 PM. What a fantastic day!  On Wednesday, 10/11 I left Warrenton at 7:00 AM making tracks for Robbinsville, NC and Deals Gap. I took route 211 out of Warrenton toward Skyline Drive and rode over the mountain to I-81 heading toward Tennessee. The weather was somewhat dreary, but gladly, no rain - yet. Upon hitting Bristol, TN I hit about 15 minutes of pouring rain. I had to stop for fuel in this weather and took an extra 15 for a drink and snack. I then headed south on I-40 into North Carolina and headed west off the interstate to Robbinsville. I was on mountain roads in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in absolutely horrid rain all the way from I-40 to Robbinsville (similar to those we see daily in Florida during the summer). I arrived at the Two Wheel Inn in Robbinsville at 5:00 PM. I was immediately greeted by the owner Barry and was quickly checked in. He reminded me that we were in a dry county on the walk to my room and that the nearest beer and wine was 16 miles away. I must have looked terribly dejected as after he helped me settle into my room he returned 10 minutes later with a "variety pack" of beers for my enjoyment. I couldn't thank him enough!  After getting unpacked I went to take the shower I had anticipated after the hour long barrage of rain. After running the water for 3-4 minutes and it not getting hot I walked out into my motorcycle parking room as I remembered seeing the hot water heater there. Sure enough; the power switch was turned off and I had no choice but to wait for that hot shower. I took off back up the road to McDonald's for a quick meal and returned to find hot water and one of the most enjoyable showers I remember taking in a while. Later that evening I sat outside talking with a group from Virginia (or maybe West Virginia). I remember the names Johnny (riding a Cyclone I think) and Lee. They were super nice folks and gave me a lot of advise as to what to expect on the Dragon the next day. Of all the advise I received prior to tackling the Dragon the best was to ride it once or twice nice and easy just in the interest of getting the "lay of the land". I couldn't agree more. That advise made the hot passes I took much safer and enjoyable. On Thursday, 10/12 I headed for the Dragon at 9:30 AM. The traffic was light and the weather was cool and sunny.  I stopped at the Deals Gap resort first to check out the Tree of Shame and the souvenir store. There were a number of Buellers I met throughout the day whose names I can't remember for the life of me, but they were from Illinois, Wisconsin, Quebec and Minnesota. Great conversation and Buell stories. I took a couple of passes through the Dragon and familiarized myself with the road and possible dangers that presented themselves. Respect was the word of the day. I decided to travel the loop around from the Dragon to the Cherohala Skyway and return to the Dragon in the afternoon as the photographers from Killboy and ZeeFoto weren't out doing their thing yet and I had to make sure I had pictures of me out there.  The road comprising the Cherohala Skyway was, simply put, AWESOME. No traffic that day and plenty of road to really open up the bike and have fun (and no law enforcement). It had to be in the low 30's at the high point at over 5300 feet, but the view was fantastic and there was plenty of time to warm up once I returned to Florida. The loop ended back in Robbinsville and I immediately headed back up to the Dragon for my photo opportunities. As I mentioned in a thread on the Quick Board, I was cut off in town on my way back to Deals Gap and did an unintentional stoppie. While it was fun in hindsight, the circumstances left me short of breath and somewhat nervous, but that quickly ended once I reached the state line at the foot of the Dragon. I made a total of four more passes and was lucky enough to have the fourth and final be the one where I ran into no traffic and could really enjoy the capabilities of my Buell for the entire 11 miles. I had just put a fresh set of Pirelli Diablo Corsa III's on my bike prior to leaving on this trip (thanks to Rich or Hammer71 as you may know him for his instruction and training on the finer points of replacing tires) and was very pleased with how they performed (see thread on my feedback in Knowledge Vault). My experience on the Dragon became more gratifying with each pass. I don't see how you could master that road in a weekend or a number of weekends. In my opinion it would take years to remember every curve and possible obstacles, but within your limits it is a blast. On my last pass I stopped at one of the pull offs and joined a family enjoying a cookout and watching the bikes and cars experience the Dragon. I think they were from Knoxville and had relatives there from Tampa, FL. They were super friendly offering me a burger and drink. This perspective was enjoyable also as you could watch those pass that were clearly veterans on the Dragon and those that were riding over their head. We watched an 18-wheeler make its way by and use up both lanes of road (very dangerous). We watched a Mazda four-door sedan fly by and witnessed his right, rear tire leave the road (I bet he was thankful for the front wheel drive). I spent about an hour with this nice family and headed back to the Two Wheel Inn after stopping at a local BBQ place Lee and Johnny recommended for dinner. I don't remember the name, but it's right in the center of Robbinsville and was darn good.  After freshening up, I packed up my gear and got the Buell loaded for departure on Friday. I remembering thinking it sure was ashame to have to leave after only one day of riding these awesome roads, but they will be here for next falls adventure.  I spent a short time chatting with the neighbors and saying my goodbyes. I would really recommend the Two Wheel Inn. It was clean and the owners, Barry and Linda, are the nicest people. I left Robbinsville at 8:30 AM on Friday, 10/13 (yes, Friday the 13th). It was only 34 degrees and darn cold, but I knew I was heading south into warmer weather and could deal with it for a couple of hours until the sun came up over the mountains. I headed back out to I-40 and took that to I-26 which headed south back to I-95. I arrived home in Orlando at 6:45 PM. The entire trip was 2437 miles. The Buell ran perfectly through every kind of possible weather (except snow). The Select seat was comfortable and I had no ill effects from the distance on my back side. I didn't go to Biketoberfest. My bike still sits in the garage and remains filthy from the trip. I need to change the oil too. Maybe this weekend.... | ||
| Chit |
best way to handel that, having just left that area, is to show up in court and explain to the judge exactly what happened... lane position, speed, and distance from said semi during the incident in which your ONLY, not best, ONLY course of action was to speed passed the semi due to the debris that could have ended your life should it be unavoidable if you slowed down, not to mention the driver putting on his breaks (possible jack knife) causing you to have to lay your bike down to avoid hitting him... pretty much give every reason you can think of why slowing down was so severly aginst your best intrest you had on other choice but to smartly navigate around the potential road hazards which could have been caused should you stayed your course/slowed down. sorry for the spelling the dog is helping me and jackD is fighting me all the way. | ||
| Khollister |
Paul, Sounds like a great trip except for the "incident". I certainly don't want to be alarmist, but reckless driving is a criminal charge in VA, not a moving violation. While this is from a legal firm (and thus might be designed to drum up business), you might want to think about legal counsel if this is accurate: http://www.vatrafficlaw.com/reckless.html Unlike in FL, there appears to be several statutes permitting Reckless Driving even without criminal intent or negligence, including (get this!) failure to use turn signals. Also note that 2 abrest riding is a reckless driving charge - this is legal in FL. I grew up in VA and think it is a beautiful state, but they are pretty "statist" and have a heavy tax load for my taste - not your average southern state in many respects. Failure to use a turn signal hardly seems to be in the same ballpark as driving so as to endanger others as far as a criminal offense - Bulls**t. Good luck and let me know if I can help in any way. Keith | ||
| Khollister |
BTW, note the NC is pretty over the top when it comes to traffic laws as well - 15 MPH over the limit is a mandatory 30 day suspension! Christ, if you drive less than 15 over on the Fl Turnpike in spots you'll get run over. GA & FL are much more proportional when it comes to speeding. | ||
| Irideabuell |
Keith, I have decided to let an attorney handle my case. I would really like to see this go away and I feel this is the best avenue to take. I have been told that there is a slim chance I would have to appear, but the most likely outcome is that they will handle it for me which saves me a holiday trip to court in Richmond which I don't have time to make. I'll see you on the 29th in Baldwin Park. | ||
| Irideabuell |
A continuance has moved my court case to 12/27. Hope for the best. | ||
| Gunslinger |
I'll be heading for the Dragon over Memorial day weekend. I usually trailer down from Indiana (it's all interstate anyway) and sleep in the back of the truck at the Punkin Center campground. My old M2 is just the tool for twisty roads like the Dragon. I have found myself thinking of getting some other kind of bike, but I do not think there is anything else out there I would enjoy riding as much. I rode a friend's FZ-1 on the Cherohala a couple of years ago and it felt like a tank. | ||
| Gunslinger |
Update. I just heard from the friends I was there with a couple of years ago (one is the above mentioned FZ1 rider). I will be meeting them there on the 27th. We'll be staying at Punkin Center Campgrounds if anyone is in the area. | ||
| Gunslinger |
Just a quick update. I will be down at Punkin Center and riding the dragon the weekend of the 28th. | ||
| Themalks |
Be safe, take lots of pics, and I hope you get lucky with the weather! FZ1's are tanks! | ||
| Tim |
Irideabuell, I was just wondering if you came out OK on your citation? | ||
| Gunslinger |
Thanks Themalks. I got dumped on my last trip there. 4th of July week 2005, we were getting hit by the tailings of some tropical storm. I made one run at the Dragon in the rain and decided to pack it in. | ||
| Themalks |
Yes, Irideabuell, how'd you come out on that citation? I had an awesome time at the Dragon this time, even though it was cut short due to the weather. Thursday wasn't too bad, but the Honda 2000 rally cars that were there were a bit tricky to dodge, but overall a nice bunch. I did manage to ride about 10 times better on those corners this year too. Actually scraped the side of my boots a couple times. I'm hoping to get some good pics back from Zee Photo and Killboy. I saw a few Buellers there. One on an S2 and another on an X1. Can't remember their names, maybe they are on BWB and I don't know it. They might remember my black M2 though. Well, I hope this weather keeps heading northeast and keeps it nice for the rest of you guys. Oh, I did notice a lot more police presence this year too. | ||
| Gunslinger |
Glad to hear you had a good time. Mine is still planned for the 27th. I put the M2 in another shop to get it dyno'd. It is still running rough. It is too early to get a forecast, but I have been rained out on the Dragon, so I know how you feel. I have never put a knee down, but I have scraped boots and foot-pegs. | ||
| Dino |
What? The FZ1 is a tank? It may not be an ultra-light supersport, but tank seems kinda harsh. That said, given the increased durability of steel track over soft sport rubber, we FZ1 riders save a chunk of change on operation costs! | ||
| Gunslinger |
It is all subjective. I am sure someone who has been riding super-motards would think my cyclone was a tank. Remember, race-replicas (and that is what the FZ1 was derived from) are designed to be stable at 150+mph. My Cyclone would likely start tank-slapping long before that. The FZ1 owner who rode my Cyclone said it was twitchy and hard to control. | ||
| Dino |
FZ1s are dead stable at 150...ummm...I mean, so I hear. | ||
| Gunslinger |
What Dino meant to say is that he has, under proper supervision and in a controlled environment, tested the capabilities of his FZ1. I am sure no one here would ever willfully exceed the posted speed limit on a public road. (Message edited by gunslinger on April 17, 2007) | ||
| Dino |
What Gunslinger said. | ||
| Terrible1one3 |
Lol that's nice, I dropped my bike RIGHT in front of that deals gap sign, (at the time a 99 superglide)... good times | ||
| Gunslinger |
When I get to the Gap next week I am going to have to see if my left-rear turn signal is still hanging on the "Tree of Shame". What can I say, it could have been worse. I suppose I can now add my old, bent shift lever, now that I have replaced it. | ||
| Themalks |
Here's some shots from the Dragon last Friday courtesy of zeephoto. (as you can see, I'm not good with photoshop to take out "proof" from the pics) Love my M2!     (Message edited by themalks on April 19, 2007) | ||
| Gunslinger |
Killboy said it rained a bit last weekend. I hope I have good weather next weekend. This weekend should be good in Indiana. BTW Themalks. Your license plate? Can I buy a vowel? | ||
| Themalks |
Haha! Ask any Jarhead what my license plate says, he/she will know. It rained on me a bit, but that didn't change much. | ||
| Gunslinger |
My bad. I should have picked up on that. BTW, 1302, '93-'03. | ||
| Rkc00 |
\iHere's some shots from the Dragon last Friday courtesy of zeephoto. (as you can see, I'm not good with photoshop to take out "proof" from the pics) Love my M2!} From a fellow Photographer I would recommend you just buy the photo's and not stealing them. His photo prices are cheap compared to mine. I have actually had somebody take photos of a slide show i was showing at March Badness when I walked outside the house for a minute. I am sad to say it was one of the guys from the northeast. | ||
| Themalks |
Rkc00, I bought a bunch of those pics, but at the time of my post all I had were the proofs and their filesize was good for the website. I actually emailed Darryl and mentioned that I pulled the proofs while I was waiting for my hires shots and he didn't have a problem with that. Kind of harsh to say it's stealing, it was a screencapture that is posted on the net for everyone to see. Since you're a photographer, I understand your animosity though. Sorry to hear about the maggot stealing your photos though, that's completely different. | ||
| Gunslinger |
The bike is back in the shop. I got it back Friday night, rode it about 150 miles Saturday. It ran pretty well (not as well as it should) until mis-afternoon, when it started misfiring again. My best guess is the timing module is heat sensitive. That said, my trip to the Dragon is dead in the water. Even if I got the bike back today with the 100% assurance of the mechanic that it was good as new (we have already been there) I would need to put quite a few miles on her before I was confident enough to take it on the trip. I was really looking forward to this trip. |
