Pisgah Covered Bridge

After my long trip yesterday I decided to tag along with my SCRC chapter to a place that I was contemplating going anyways. A sign for the pisgah covered bridge intrigued me the previous day and when I got home I found an email from Cricket about a chapter ride the next day. Strange how that works sometimes.

Before heading out to meet with everyone I decided to stop and grab a quick geocache. This cache was a nice quick two stage multi where I was required to do a little math before moving onto the final micro. The plaques were interesting because they told the history of Matthews NC and some of it famous ties. Including one tie to the Grandmother of Elvis Presley. Very cool cache and nice quick find.

I got the to the meeting spot at about 10:10 ready for our 10:30 arrival. Getting to the spot early is always nice so you can chat with the others that are there. Trade stories, catch up, and share some general laughs. Today was no exception to that.

After listening to Cricket give the directions to Dog we head out for roller coaster road. Today was the first time I heard of this road, and it is very special. It is not only special because of its amazing straight downhill followed by the uphill, but because this is a spot where Cricket will let the boys be boys and ignore the speed limits. Not knowing where it is I prepare myself by listening to Dog's bike in front of me. When I hear it rev up I know we are there. We fly down the long straight hill and blast up the other side. The best part was watching the snake trail up over the hill behind me.


We travel some backboards that the folks that have ridden with this group for a while know and I am starting to learn. After a few twists we arrive at Jebs bbq only to find it closed so we split up for lunch. Most folks head to McDonalds. I managed to talk another guy into heading into a local place called "Better burger. Very good place. Well not very good, but better than your normal everyday McDonalds.


After lunch it got exciting. Good roads, nice scenery, decent speed, and acceptable gravel. Yes I said gravel. Usually something motorcyclists don't like but this wasn't too bad. It wasn't planned to ride the gravel road, it just happened within a few feet of turning onto Low Water Bridge road. After a very short contemplation it was decided that I would ride ahead and see how far until we say pavement. After racing through a cloud of dust for two miles I hit pavement and turn around to give the group a report. I warn them of the loose gravel doing down the hill to the bridge but convince them that it is worth the trip to see the neat little bridge. (Ok i didn't convince them - we were gonna do it no matter what I think)


After leading through the gravel we twist a turn a few more time only to find another gravel road. This time Cricket hands over the group to me. Well she handed it over to my GPS, which happened to be connected to my bike. Now the ride becomes a Puttz ride. The Trusty GPS leads the way, avoiding gravel, and finding some nice wide open roads. Finally we come across the bridge and stop for a while to hear Cricket give the history. I won't tell ya about it here, but if you are curious visit http://www.pisgahcoveredbridge.com/.

We all talk for a bit, people watch, and trade other motorcycling stories before heading off to get gas and head home. This was a great ride some roads that I can't seem to find when I'm by myself. I learned some history, and thoroughly enjoyed a nice 220 mile day.

Check out the map below for the route and additional pictures. (click the flags)

I could just kick myself.

If you have ever said that then I have the place for you to go. Outside of New Bern NC there is a little antique store called Martha's Favorite Things that has a self kicking machine. Yes you read that right. A self kicking machine.

Why, you ask? Why not? That is why.

The machine itself is quite unique. Obviously. On the right hand side of the contraption is an "X", cross, 4 spoked thingy with a boot on each limb. When you stand with your butt facing the boots, you lean forward and wind the crank that spins a pulley, then a belt, and then the boots. Very neat, but admittedly useless, machine.

I loved it!!!

In this day and age where I get lost in bigger, better, faster, more a contraption as simple as this entertained me for hours. Well maybe not directly butt he ride there and back did take me over 13.5 hours. Talk about entertainment!!

Earlier in the week I rediscovered a website that amused me in the past, http://www.roadsideamerica.com/. A fun site to visit when you like to travel and are easily amused by strange, fun, off the beaten path pieces of Americana. I found the self kicking machine a few weeks ago and finally found the time, energy and desire for a long ride. I planned a ride that would be about 260 miles one way. A very nice days ride on some great back roads.

I woke up about 6:00 and hopped on the bike and set out. I immediately realized the error in my ways again. My GPS (Garmin 60csx) uses a different routing routine than the computer does. I figure it is no big deal and hit the road. The rising sun in the east blinds me at times, but also gives me great energy for the day.

I get into the some back roads and find my groove. When I look at the speedometer I realize my groove is about 15 over the speed limit. Oh well. It is a nice day, decent roads, and if I get a ticket I will have a chance in the afternoon to kick myself for it.

I blindly follow the glowing box on the handle bars and make a few turns. Before I can help it I'm on a four lane road blasting along. Not my idea of good back roads!! I make a random turn and after a few miles I end up on another 4 lane. I get frustrated with the number of four lane roads I get stuck on but learn to enjoy it and the green surroundings. The eastern part of the state is boring, but beautiful to me. It is flat, green, and from what I see today kind of straight. I try not to be discouraged at my mistakes and enjoy the rest of the ride to New Bern.

When I get within ten miles of the site of the self-masochistic machine I hit a snag. The draw-bridge that is supposed to carry me over the inlet is closed. After a short detour that I improvised I was heading towards the rain clouds, and my ultimate goal. I slow as I approach the spot where the GPS says I can expect to find the store, but I see nothing. I get frustrated, confused, and briefly saddened until I see it!! On the opposite side of the four lane highway as I was expecting and flying by me at 70 mph, but I see it. I switch lanes, pop a u-turn and pull in.

I don't know what I was expecting. The machine was exactly as advertised, and a great deal of fun. But for some reason I felt kind of unhappy. Maybe it was because this adventure was over, or maybe it was because I had to head home. After a few quick kicks, and smiles from passers by, I saddle up and head up.

After grabbing a quick bite at Ham's I decide to head home. Another 200+ miles, slow stupid drivers, and I'm sitting in my apartment reminiscing and planning my next trip. Perhaps a ride to the Pisgah covered bridge which I saw signs for today.

Until my next adventure be sure to check out the route I took and enjoy a few pictures.

Fugawi

Not familiar with the term fugawi? Maybe if you put it into context you can figure it out. If it is used in this sentence: "Where the fugawi?" it should make more sense. If not . . .well then tough.

This phrase sums up the ride today. Don't take that in any kind of a bad way. TO me it is best to be lost and wonder where you may end up. Overall most of the rides I do for a while with this club I will be left wondering where I am at and where we may end up. Did I mention I love this. I do. Adventure, travel, journey not the destination. My head starts to fill up with good thoughts as soon as I know I am gonna get lost.

Todays ride was great. Great group of ten bikes, great roads, and great group riding. We were not the only bikes on the road but maybe the most impressive to an innocent bystander. I again realized how much I love riding in a group that communicates and passes hand signals. More new faces and names filled up my head that I hope I can remember at some point.

Backroads that reminded me a lot of some of the roads in maryland. Rolling hills, farm land, trees, just a general good ride. Some good twists, rises and falls, smiles. I cant think of a better way to describe it. The ride was pretty much over when we arrived at boomers for lunch. Had a good steaks and cheese wrap with some good ol' crickle cut fries. After lunch we came back to the city and folks started to split off and head home. By default of the one splitting of last I got to tail gun. I love tailgunner. You get to watch a good group of bikes ride together in unison - beautiful.

Here is another link to a new site I am trying to use to track my rides. I think this one looks very good. Try it out here at wikiLoc

A new chapter

Well today began a new chapter in my life. Nothing super drastic as some of the other changes I have made, but still a new chapter. The new chapter should be called Central Piedmont. Strange name for a chapter huh? Well dont judge a chapter by its name since I dont yet know the actual title of the book that contains this chapter.

The new chapter began at about 8:30 when I showed up for a ride with the Central Piedmont chapter of the Southern Cruisers. I was a member of the Potomac Chapter when I lied in maryland, but have not had a chance to ride with that group in over a year since I left to move south.

Not knowing this area a whole lot I hae been excited to get with these folks and start to explore. I hae explored myself, but there is just something I miss about riding with a group. At the same time though since I hae not ridden with a group in a while I was a tad bit nervous. Not about keeping up, following hand signals, etc but more about not screwing up the dynamic of a group that already exists. It can hapen quite easilly when a member joins a ride. I think I did alright!

So todays ride was the "frostbite ride" I like the southern idea of frostbite. I think the temperature was about 70 degrees today. I can deal with that. Although i think that is a rarity, but I will take it. After meeting the group at the waffle house we took of and slabbed our way down Independance and arounf the city to pick up our second crew. A smooth leg with little traffic and nothing scary. I realized immediately that I do miss riding as a group. The hand signals, someone watching your back, lane changing like a choreographed set of dancers.

We meet our second group and take off to pick up our third. So far so smooth. Everyone is making each intersection, hand signals are being passed. (yes I know I keep mentioning the signals but to me it is a tell tale sign of a good group ride). We arrive at our third destination and grab another 11 bikes or so. This goes without incident . . . mostly. The guy behind me on the SV1000 hits the curb on the way into the gas station with no ill effects thankfully. He admits that he wanted to stay wide as to not pinch the rider to his inside on the right turn. He began to fixate on the curb and then hit it.

Our group of about 23 bikes or so leaves the gas station and heads to Golden Coral. About half the group gets split at the light, which is to be expected with a group of this size. But like a good group we adjust our speed and continue to moe along and eentually they all catch up. Another 30 minutes or so and we pull into the "Coral."

Strange how this coral led us into a feeding frenzy. With about 70 people present we got our moneys worth. Members from 4 chapters were present and a good time was had. Stories were traded, bikes were ogled, and plans were made. Plans for an iron butt ride, a jack daniels ride, and een talk of Dayton bike week. Gonna be a good group.

After stuffing ourselves we managed to swing a leg oer the saddles and head back. Nice roads but nothing spectacular. Just roads to get home. We primarilly rode 16 south not a great road but a decent fast moving alternative to the parallel interstate. We stopped at a small plaza to say our good bye's before heading home. As we stood in the parking lot and some people took the chance to take a pee. During this down time I looked down at the gps and saw a cache only 137 feet away. surprisingly I passed up the urge to nerd out this time.

So as people faded I decided I would resurect this blog and track my riding, remember some good memories, and good roads. I will hopefully keep it up to date now and hopefully each post will have a GPS track log attached like the one below. If you would eer like a copy of the actual GPX let me know I nerdilly save them all.

Try this link to see the route at TripTracker
Trip Data
Miles 129.43
Moving Time 3 Hours 18 minutes
Moving Aerage Speed 39.1 mph


Quote of the day: (at a gas stop)
"Damn dont ya hate when ya cant get your nuts settled. I was stnading jumping eerything to get my boys in the right place"
"I dont hae that problem. My nuts are at home in my wifes purse"

At a medium pace

After shredding a brand new set of pegs in just two rides (including and up and back on the dragon) i decided I need to slow down, get back to basics and really anylize my riding. Today I was determined to ride "the pace." The is a good article I read one time about what the pace is, and if I can find it I willpost it here. Until then you will have to live through my version of it.

ok I found the artice here
or you can do a google search for it and readmany good articles about pacing google search for the pace

The pace is a way of pushing yourself, learning about yourself and your bike. It helps analyze the roads ahead of you and ride at a speed that requires no hard quick breaking. In order to ride the pace you have to know your limits and your bikes limits and where ever they may diverge. In a lot of cases our bikes limits are actually more that the riders limits. It is the riders mind that makes him grab that break and straighten the bike up. It is the rider that is tentative to get off of his seat and lean with the bike. It is the rider that sees the gravel and panics and does something dumb. But in all fairness it is the rider that FEELS the pain if something goes wrong.

The way I think of the pace when I am out riding though may be a bit different that those in racing may think of it. It is a critical thinking that surrounds your riding. Analyzing the road ahead. Looking at the curve ahead and figuring out all of the logistics that come into it before ever approaching it. One of the first things I look for is the radius of the turn. Many times this can't be determined immediately so that is your first clue as to what you are getting into.

The second thing I look for is the bank or camber of the turn. The way I look at this is by looking for the yellow line. This may sound kind of wierd, or obscure but I will try to explain it easilly. If the yellow line is above the white the entire way through the curve then the camber is good for taking at a higher speed. If the lines converge, visually, at some point this is the place where the bank ends and you shold be decellerating a bit by this point. In the worst case the yellow line is not visible. This can mean a lot of bouncing, a rough turn, or a just a rough turn to take fast.

The third thing I look for is debris. The are many factors you can learn to detect where debris may be.

1. First and foremost can you see and gravel, fine gravel, big rocks, hanging out waiting for you to slide through
2. What have the conditions of the previous curve been.
3. What is the side of the road like. If the side of the road contains a lot of gravel I have found it like that cars will take right hand turns sharp and through that gravel from the side right into your path.

With all of these things in mind the real "game" begins. The purpose of the pace is to get you to think critically, and ride hard. With all of these factors in mind adjust your speed BEFORE entering the turn. It is preffered that you dp this without the use of your break. You can coast, accelerate into it, or downshift if needed. Try not to hit your breaks all day. ( minus stop signs, traffic lights, and idiots around you). Start your day slowly. Learning the lean of your bike and the amount of lean you feel comfortable with. Dont freak yourself out early on. But generally speaking you can make most any curve you properly analyzed no matter how impossible it may feel.

google map

this is a test

Master of the U-turn

Sometimes exploring roads leads you to dead ends. Other times it leads you right where you need to be. Today i got a bit of both, and I dont mind either to be honest. After getting the new tire and rear brakes installed yesterday (46300 miles)I decided to get out today and find some more good roads. I woke up late after a long week at work, and going out to relax and meet some people last night but I got on the road about noon and headed towards Franklin to explore one of the roads I pass everyday on my way to work. I have been eyeing Coon creek road for quite some time as I can see two beautiful switchbacks raising into the mountains and falling in the other side of the ridge. As I climed the mountain and warmed my tires up I found how much I missed having a rear tire with good traction. Passing rocky face gem mine I steared off to the right to enjoy a new road. It starts out great scraping right and then to the left I ride up the swell and look down from the top of Cowee Mountain. The road crosses a gravel path and dives to the oter side of the valley and dead ends. Oh well now I know this one is not worth taking again. Making the first of many u-turns for the day I head back the mountain and towards Franklin.

Heading off of Cowee I take another road off to the right and hit 28 north. I have been on route 28 before but never in this direction. I usually end up taking it on my way back from the dragon. I cross over onto tellico road and try to explore some more. The road is great for every reason. Twists and turns and a steady climb in elevation. The slow climb tells me I am in for a fun descent for them mountain. I reach the apex of the mountain and get dissappinted when I see gravel leading me down the other side. Pulling a nice u-turn i manage to head back up the mountain. Impressed with my control over the bike I made the tough up hill u-turn on a narrow gravel road I smile and continue past a church that is really nice setting on top of a hill with tombstone in front of it leading down to me.

Heading back toward Bryson City Road (rt 28) I take a random right and head down Lower Firhouse road 9I think that is the name). Passing a few farms with cows, horses, mules, and alpacas I begin to relax and unwind from work. Passing small rolling hills betwen the hovering mountains I smile and lean back and relax and I break a footpeg. I have run through many footpegs on this bike but this time the end completely snapped off allowing it to spin freely for the resat of the day. Semi laughing and worrying it may flying off I continue on my pace.

Wondering where I will come out and when I can get gas so that evil little light stops staring up at me. Weaving through the fields and farms I finally end up back at brsyon city road. Filling up for gas and passing through Franklin I deide to head to Georgia and explore further out of my realm. Traveling south on Georgia road I take a side trip to Tessentee road. Another good road but yet another dead end after about 12 miles twists. Maybe I should starting looking at a map before hand. Finally I find Sky valley road. By far one of the best roads I have ever ridden. it is two lanes heading up to mountain with some switchback and great banked curves. In the distance aI see a huge waterfall and I try to find my way to it. Climbing the mountain and losing my sence of direction I stop at the overlook at the top to reorient myself and find the waterfall. I was not able to see it but I could hear it. Twisting towards highlands I pass mountain mansions that amaze me with their size, the amount of windows, and mostly with the view they must have from within.

Passing through highlands I swing past bridal veil falls and take ellijay road home. Ellijay is a fun road I take home from work all of the time. it is about 18 miles of great twists and turns. Today was no exception. I exited the mountain and headed home. 128 miles, one ruined footpeg, and many curves, beautiful views I pulled into my carport and smile.

-Pictures coming-