| Author | Message | ||
     M2nc |
We decided to trailer to MBIII since the wives were coming and I know at least mine would not appreciate a 400 mile day on the passenger seat. I have a three bike trailer, but I have never tried to put three bikes on the trailer before. I should have before I promised out the other two rails because we soon found out that three dirt bikes will fit, but not three street bikes. After loading Brankin's V-Rod and my Uly on the trailer Thursday night, I realized that there was no room for another bike. So we had to come up with a plan "B". Well, I offer to ride from Raleigh where we picked up the other two bikes and three riders. I figured am the second most seasoned long distance rider, I have a Uly and the most seasoned long distance rider of the bunch did not have a back tire for the journey and the adventure. Friday starts early for us. We get up just after 4am to get ready and out the door before 5am to pick up (they were in Dave's Jeep pulling another trailer) Dave and Brankin. So we get to Jim's house as planned just after 6am to pick up the other two bikes, one on each trailer. With the fore mentioned problem, I know there is room for only one of the bikes, so I off load my Uly and load up Jim's Uly. After some discussion and two attempts to get Jim's bike tied down, we leave Raleigh at around 7:20am. They were in the trucks with their bike's on trailers, and I was riding the Uly. My reward for giving up my trailer space is a direct line to the Dragon. The original plan for Friday was to trailer to the cabin in Suches, off load and ride to the Dragon from there. I figured I would make it to the Dragon about the same time as everyone else made it to the cabin. After about a minute going slow with Dave and Kristi in the Suburban and Jeep, I wave them goodbye and pick up the pace for a safer rush hour traffic ride. It did not take me long to get out of traffic and on my way. I pulled into Deals Gap about 1:45pm and decide to eat lunch and wait for Mike and Jim. I thought they would be at the Dragon about the same time, so I figured that by the time I finished lunch, they would be there. After lunch, no sign of the guys and day light is burning, so I figure one pass on the Dragon was do. This was my first time on the Dragon and the first time I rode the Uly on roads so technical. I was very happy that the road was not too crowded. I got caught behind one truck that thought he could make time on the Dragon. I finally had to really get on it to get passed it. Once cleared I quickly moved on. At the other end of the Dragon there were a group of sport bike riders in full gear pulled off both sides of the road. They must have been from some kind of club because they had lined up for a group photo. As I passed going north, twenty or so of these guys were suiting up and heading south. Not knowing where the Dragon ended, I rode down a few miles before I realized I was getting out of the technical section so I turned around. By the time I get back where the sport bikes were, the twenty was down to six. I ride passed as they load up and pull out behind me. The ride back was great. The only thing I encountered were two Hogs doing their best on the Dragon. The lead bike was really doing good considering, but the trailing rider was obviously in over his head and my presence was not making things any better. I was scared if I passed him he would wreck so I waited for a good place to pass. The lead bike must have assessed the situation and pulled off waving his friend over letting me by. This leaves the rest of the Dragon to me. What a great ride. I get back to Deal's Gap and after that work out I was hot. I had to cool off and get out of my gear. I get off the bike, take off my helmet, jacket, and gloves to find I have company. A guy meets me as I get off the bike looking the Uly over and asking me questions about the bike. We talk for about two to three minutes when the six sport bikes that pulled out behind me pull into the Gap. I really did not think about it until the six riders did a double take at me standing by my bike with my gear off. Up to that point, I forgot they were behind me. I had to laugh. After answering questions about the Uly for about fifteen minutes I realize it is time to go. I didn't see the other guys so I move on to Suches. At 3:50pm, I leave Deal's Gap. I was following directions from Map Quest and I really do not think they understand the terrain of North East Georgia. I am riding down Mulky Gap Rd. It is a fun road, with hills, dips and curves. As I am enjoying the road, I see a sign telling me that the pavement ends. I say, "What the hell." and march on. Mulky Gap road either turns into Nation Forest Road 4, or I missed a turn, either way I am now on a one gravel/dirt road that goes on for miles. As I continue on, I notice that the road turns into a mountain pass. Here I am on a one lane dirt pass overlooking a valley below with no guard rail, no shoulder, just trees and a big drop. I wanted to stop and take a picture with the cell phone, but I was not stopping and dismounting on that ledge for any amount of money. As I am coming to the end of NS-4 it drops me off on GA-60 just north of Suches. As I am coming down off NS-4 I see a Buell go by and I think I know who it is. So I finally get to NS-4 and haul ass down US-60 to catch up to what I think is another C-3er, Dave. It takes me several miles to run the other Buell down, to find out, it was another yellow XB9s and not Dave. As the XB turns off at the Gas Station in Suches, I wave him bye and go down to T.W.O. I get there at 6:15pm. So what a first day, I rode almost 400 miles, interstate, the Dragon, an Forest Service road with a pass that will check your fear of heights, and T.W.O. I think I throughly defined the meaning of an Adventure Sport Bike. | ||
| Lorazepam |
Nice report, I think you and your pillion will find the Uly is very comfortable for 400 mile days, and even more if you are so inclined. If it had more fuel range, this would be the bike to have for iron butt competitions, the ride and riding position are really great. | ||
| M2nc |
I have to agree. I made it as far as the bike would go on a tank. A first for me. 183.9 miles non-stop on the way home. If I had more gas, I could have kept riding. | ||
| M2nc |
I wait at Suches to see if the guys were going there for dinner. It was the original plan. I talked to Kristi on the phone from Blairsville and she told me that no one had tried to go to the Dragon that day and that they were out riding around the area. I waited for some time before Mike (Rubberdown) pulls in on the Firebolt. He decides he has to ride some more so he rides on down GA-60. I had enough and wanted to wait for the rest of the crew so I hang out with the 3%ers, no slumming there. Great group of guys. About 7pm the rest of the crew shows up in the Suburban, Jim R. (U4euh) rides his Mat finish cool looking Lightning in and Mike returns soon after. After some great story telling and even better dinner the guys in the truck go back to C3 central, while Mike, Jim and I ride back a little later. I decide to pick up the rear since I have yet to make it to the cabin. Good choice, I would have loved to had a camera mounted to the Uly. Going down the north pass on US-60 in a trail of bikes was an awesome view. As we maneuvered through the curves the lights of the three bikes swung back and forth like fire flies in the forest around us. We made it back to the cabin and had drinks with the gang until after mid-night. I was going on twenty hours and 400 miles, it was time for bed. That night it rained. Jim N. (jlnance) decided to head out at first light and explore on his Uly. By the time he came back it was covered in a nice coat of mud. It looked cool on the Uly, and I also thought of finding some mud of my own before going to T.W.O. We ride as a group to T.W.O. The ladies stayed behind while we demoed bikes. After we had our fill the ladies showed up on in the truck and we rode out on the Bike for lunch. I make the call to ride back to Blairsville, via Wolf Pen Gap rd. Yeah, good choice to take the wife on when she has never been on roads this technical. I hit the first curve and can feel her tense up. I told Dave (Aydenxb9) and Larry (Zxer12) to go on because I know they would want to take a faster pace than me. I had Brankin (1313) on his V-Rod and Jim N. behind me. We dispatch a Gold Wing but I am still going too fast for the wife, and too slow for Brankin, so I let him go by and take a fun and easy ride the rest of the way. After lunch we rode down Old US-76 to GA-60 and had fun. I still had to run in the back with Jim and Rebecca, but everyone had a great time. Once back at T.W.O. Dave, Larry, Brankin and I rode area roads. I got a chance to try out Uly again, but I was too tired by this point to be too much in attack mode. I sat straight up on the bike and did my best to keep up. I slowed a bit more than Dave and Larry on curves, but stayed comfortable ahead of Brankin who was impressing me on the V-Rod. I am amazed that his radiator is not leaking. We get back to T.W.O. and rest a while. I notice a bit later that some of the 3%ers were suiting up. I asked Glitch where they were riding to. He says they were riding to Woody Gap to pick up a signal for the cell phone and then coming back by to ride Wolf Pen Gap. I tell him I wait for them at T.W.O. and may join them for Wolf Pen Gap. A while later and several people asking me about the Uly, I see the five 3%ers going by in a hurry. I get my helmet and gloves on, fire the bike and pull out to catch up. As I turn on to Wolf Pen Gap Rd, two cars pull out of the gas station in front of me and I am trapped. One car turns off and the other waves me on, so off I go now quite far behind the group. I haul the mail to catch up. I pass one more car trying to get to them and just about the time I think I will never catch up, they are up ahead of me and really just cruising, my lucky day. At the front of the pack Glitch is heading the group and I recognize Black Sunshine up ahead too. Unfortunately I do not recognize the rest so we six ride north down Wolf Pen Gap's most technical sections and it was a fun relaxed pace. As we get to the other side the group turns around, they realize I am riding with them so Glitch heads out with Black Sunshine and another Buell. The two riders in the back wave me on, so I take up fourth bike in the group and go on. Wow what a ride. The three bikes ahead of me are really hauling A@@. They give me the 3%er's Guided Tour. As we ride the mountain side I see Glitch pulling a little lead from the rest of us. I bowed out of attacking the blind curves too hard because I do not know the road like the three in front of me. I am able to regain any ground lost on the straights and visible curves to stay with the group. It was an impressive ride. The three in front of me pull off at their cabin and I wave them off and go back to T.W.O. The Uly did pretty good keeping up since I had all three bags on and was the biggest bike of the group, with the least experienced rider on that road of the group. I told Glitch later I appreciated the guided tour. Dinner, fire, stories, and friends new and old. It was a great night at T.W.O. Larry and I decided to wait for Jim R., Tonya and Mike to eat dinner. They just pulled a Suches to Deals Gap and back ride and got back just after dark. They ordered dinner as I followed Glitch back to the 3%ers camp fire and had a great time shooting the bull with those guys. It wasn't too much later that I hear two Buells and it was Jim, Tonya and Mike riding off. Larry and I decide to ride back to the cabin and catch up with the rest of the group. On the way back I lead. I preferred the back. After passing deer, mice, bats and killing a rabbit, we get back to the cabin. We have drinks and conversation late into the night. Sunday morning we get up pretty early considering. Dave and Brankin decide to load up and trailer back first thing while the rest of us decide to ride back to T.W.O and do one more Demos. On the way to T.W.O Mike lead and I did my best to keep up. As we get to the north pass on US-60 the sun at times peaks through the trees and blinds you. It was enough to shake my confidence and I slow down until I get to my comfort zone. Mike starts to slowly pull away as I notice I am holding up Jim R. and Larry. I apologize for not taking the rear position and letting them play, but I final got a chance to ask the one question I had all weekend. I look at Jim and ask him, "So, what does the bike with those bag look like through the curves?" Jim smiles, holds his hands about two inches apart and says "The bags are about this far from hitting the pavement!" We laugh about getting some titanium sliders for the bags and we go on. At about 11am, its time to go. We leave Suches on bikes with the ladies in the truck in tow. We decide we would ride to Cleveland GA off the mountain and load up the two bikes there. Jim N. was leading the tour down the southern pass on GA-60 when I see Larry go by. I look back and notice that two bikes are coming up behind us. We get caught behind a car and the two bikes catch and pass us. The lead bike was a BMW sport tourer, a saggy tit Moto Guzzi version and a repli-racer in tow. I stay behind Jim for a while, while the BMW and other bike get a good lead. I pass Jim and see if I can catch back up to the other two bikes. Larry by the way is gone out of sight. Yeah, no problem. I catch the other two bikes pretty quickly. I stay behind them all the way down the hill to US-19 where Larry is waiting on us. We all pull over and wait for Jim. When Jim arrives we follow him to Cleveland and wait for the ladies. After loading the other two bikes I decide to venture back through some mountain roads. I ride back north to US-76 and ride it out of Georgia and into South Carolina. As I finally get to I-85, I pull over to top off with gas, eat a nab, and get a drink. I call Kristi to find out she is at the same exist and rides on. I tell her I'll catch up later, hang up the phone, eat my nab and drink my drink and get back on the road. I pull out onto I-85 south of Greenville South Carolina. I ride on between 80-85mph the whole way. Just before we get to Greenville, I catch up to the Suburban, wave hello and good bye and ride on. I figures the Suburban can make Raleigh without stopping, I couldn't so I better make time to keep up. I make all the way to Lexington North Carolina before the reserve light comes on. I realize I am approaching the new I-85 By-pass to Greensboro and I am not sure how many gas stations I will find on this new road, so after 15 miles on reserve I pull in for a gas stop, as I mentioned above a personal best 183.9 miles averaging 47mpg. The next stop I make is in Wilson NC at 167 miles. US-264 is quite deserted and I sure do not want to find myself running low on some of those stretches so I pull off soon after the light comes on. From Wilson I can make it home no problem. Kristi was at Jim N's house off loading the bikes so she was not too far behind me. As I pulled back out onto US-264 I crest a hill to find flashing lights everywhere. A wreck and a patrolman that is flagging me to stop. Wreckers are across the road trying to clean off the highway and it took about twenty minutes. I turn off the bike and get off to see the car getting loaded on to the roll back. The car was maybe a Lincoln, it is totally burned up. It was hit in the rear by a mid-size Japanese SUV and must have punched the tank. The car as completely gone. Finally I get on my way and make it home at about 9pm. I look at the second trip meter and realized I road over 1100 miles in three days and I could have kept on going. It was a great weekend, definitely Uly style. | ||
| Jlnance |
When Carlos pulled up to the house I wondered why he had bags on the Uly since his wife was driving the Suburban down.  Then I realized it was so his victims would know they had been passed by a bagger.  | ||
| Whodom |
Carlos, Killboy has a bunch of shots of a yellow Uly taken on Friday March 31: http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventthumbs?event=04RK005Y0A&start= 32 Is this you? Check the pages before and after too. | ||
| Jlnance |
Oh yea, that him | ||
| Ulywife |
He's been looking for those pictures! This will make his day. Kristi (Message edited by Ulywife on April 07, 2006) | ||
| Whodom |
Killboy is the bomb!  | ||
| M2nc |
Unfortunately, every time I got to the Killboy Cameras I was stuck behind someone. On the way north bound, they did a great job of not showing the Truck and Car that was in front me. On the way South bound if you look at Page 5 of the Cruiser section, you see me being patient behind the Metric Cruiser that was holding me up. I fell back on the first camera south bound and took a bit of a run, but you can pretty much tell I am just cruising past the cameras. I still liked the pictures though. |
