Video on the Blue Ridge

I had the most difficult time culling through hours of video, trying to whittle something down to just a few minutes.  How do you decide what stays and what goes from hours of perfect riding representing 3 great days into just minutes??  In the end I had to close my eyes and just start deleting clips at random.  I liked them all, but they just couldnt' remain.  I hope you enjoy it as much as Mr. Oilburner and I do/did/hope to do again.  :)

Blue Ridge Parkway from Love Of A Motorbike on Vimeo.

Motorcycle Marshaling for Multiple Sclerosis... part 2

I know better and yet I still do it. I post and then relax.  Now I have lost my rhythm and train of thought.  Hopefully I haven't forgotten much of the day.  :-)  I do appreciate your patience for bearing with me as I try and get back into the feel.

Sunday dawned slightly cooler than Saturday.  But the humidity was still pretty high, made that much worse with the slightly cooler temps.  We were still on our 6 AM track for breakfast and discussed our roles for the day.  Sunday sees a reprieve for the riders (moto and free wheel) with only two routes to choose from: the 35 mile and the 65 mile.  We don't need the three separate marshaling groups, so two groups have been combined to cover the 65 mile route.

Again, we line up in front of the bicycle riders in preparation of the starting countdown.

The crowds are gathering...

My position in our posse

We're ready to go

The hiccup today comes with the double countdown for the bicyclists to start.  It seems the marshal at the front of the pack couldn't quite hear the countdown and didn't take off at the appropriate time.  So the countdown had to begin again...  The rest of us marshals, in our enthusiasm, repeatedly laid into our horns trying to spur the front motorbikes on.  It eventually worked and we were all under way.

Our group was again assigned to the 65 mile route.  So the two groups rode to the second break point together.  It seemed like an incredibly long distance even though the speedometer was showing 20 miles.  The slightly chilly temperatures promoted ground fog along sections of the route that created this illusion of moving without going anywhere.

The route was quiet and I hoped the church going crowd wouldn't give our riders too much of a problem.  While most of the roads were wide there wasn't much space beyond that white line.  I guess I needn't have worried too much considering how the pedalers took up the lanes yesterday.  :-)

Waiting for the train

 The rest of the group

We reached the break point in good order, trying to figure out how to corral two teams into one well oiled surveillance machine.  I guess we needn't have worried about that.  Our leaders were informed that 90%  of the riders were taking the short route.  One of our groups needed to be reallocated to the 35 mile route.  That was us!  Ready for the challenge...no maps, no clue, but point us in the right direction!!  :-)

Come on, that is one good looking motorbike.  
(And that GQ looking guy in the background too...)

We hit the road following the actual route to reach the location where it spilled back into the shorter route.  I was amazed to see so many cyclists when we reached the merge location!  And it again turned into a "wait 5 minutes before the next person leaves" situation.  So our little posse sat at the intersection and slowly moved onto the roads to haunt the bicyclists.  

Early morning, short ride, cooler temps and there weren't too many problems on the roads.  More broken pedals, no cell coverage and the like, but the work was shorter and easier today.  No one wanted water or bananas.  It was easy!  I learned my lesson from yesterday and sat at the finish line for a couple minutes and munched some trail mix.  Then hopped onto the road to continue my duties.  Did I mention that it was an easy day?

I ran into my favorite couple a few miles from the finish line.  I kick myself every time I think about it, wishing that I had ridden them in, in a blaze of power, horn honking and blinding lights to signify what they had accomplished.  But I also carried some ice for a gentleman that was going to partake of some beverages at the finish line. 

Everything was wrapping up by 1 PM.  And we were given the choice of eating lunch in the pavilion with the riders...or going back to the last break point and enjoying some freshly barbecued hamburgers.  Seems like someone has been showing his appreciation by grilling some hamburgers for the riders at this last spot.  And boy were they delicious!!  (No pictures...too good to stop eating and fetch the camera.)

Roadkill Armadillo counting...netted two over my left shoulder...

Nothing left for us but to strike out for home.  We had offered to ride another member back into metro Atlanta and we tried to take the back roads for a majority of the distance.  It was a great weekend that was drawing to a close...

I learned a few lessons along the way this time:

• bicyclists tend to want more water and bananas on Saturday  (and cold bananas are well received)
• keeping yourself hydrated and nourished is extremely important - either put an hydration bladder in the back of my jacket or mount my camel back on the pelican case for easy access
• definitely benefit from a modular helmet on this ride to communicate with bicyclists and to eat/drink  (I am not fond of modular helmets, so would only wear it on these occasions)
• the saddle bags are handy, but having a cooler of some type strapped to the passenger seat makes access much easier.  Need a balance of size vs. internal space.
• need my accessory pack of tape, sharpie, first aid kit put together before each ride
• pester the leaders before the ride weekend for the break down of routes and print on small cards to laminate and put on lanyards.  (Previously we had contact phone numbers, which was invaluable!  Now it is also a good idea to put the route here too.)
• CB or Ham radio (license) is beneficial for communicating directly with leaders or event organizers...especially when cell coverage is spotty!!
• keep cool (in the summer) with a watered down hanky or one of those silicon beaded neckerchiefs
• stop for 2 seconds and take more pictures!!  (if nothing else, keep the point and shoot in the tank bag to stop in the middle of the road)  (oh yeah...take tank bag!)

Overall route:

  - green Saturday ~170 miles

  - cyan Sunday ~103 miles

  - magenta route to/from home ~200 miles

Wondering what the lame teaser was from the last post?  

VIDEO!!!

In case you still aren't sure if this is something you would/wouldn't like to do...have a look!

Motorcycle Marshal at Callaway Gardens from Love Of A Motorbike on Vimeo.

Double Trouble...

...but in a good way!!  I have a couple posts that I have been waiting for the video on.  One is together, so it will be bumped into a double day with something funny that came up suddenly.  Does that make any sense?  Probably not.

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"Glorious Green"

A friend read my Suburban Stoplight Hell post and informed me that he had just thing thing for me.  I didn't have a clue what he could have that would "help" me on my way through red lights.  I haven't heard of a civilian device that would allow me control over the stoplights.  But he refused to let me in on the secret and made me wait for snail mail to bring it to my door step.

Upon opening the package, I just about fell off the sofa laughing so hard it hurt my tummy.

Glorious Green by Rob R. Robinson

This is a fabulous little painting, obviously of a stoplight, with the green light this wonderful iridescent green coloring.  Yes, the title of this is "Glorious Green" and the artist wished me eternal green lights.  I just need to determine if I should hang this painting over the bike and hopefully it will absorb the good luck through osmosis.  Or if I should hang it above me to get the same??

Rob is a wonderful artist displaying his work in shows in the Portland/Albany/Corvallis (Oregon) area.  You can see his paintings at robrrobinson.com or his beginning treks along Oregon's scenic byways at Image Odysseys.  I love some of his future trips he has planned...and one day hope to ride those roads for myself.  And if any of you inmates ride these roads before me...please take pictures for me...

Thank You Rob!!  :-)

Now I can see a stoplight collection in my future.  You just had to plant the seed...

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Destination: Aska Rd

Aska Rd doesn't sound very exciting.  And the way it came about being a destination isn't too exciting either.  I wanted to ride Yellow Creek Rd again.  And Aska was near one of those tag game places and just looked like a great road!

We weren't going for a tag.  It was long gone from this location.  But the road was just calling my name.  And it didn't disappoint.

The hot and humid weather broke a little and gave us reasonable temperatures in the low 90's F with a relatively low percent humidity.  I know that 90's doesn't sound too low to most, but I was quite happy to have it.

The ride out was uneventful and completely peaceful.  There wasn't much traffic for Labor Day and the fall colors are on the cusp of coming.  Yellow Creek and Aska Rd are meandering byways mainly dotted with forest coverage, farming fields, grazing areas and a few houses here and there.  The sky was a deep blue with a few clouds scattered around.  The air was still and not oppressive. 

I finally took the plunge and adhered a GoPro mount to my Pelican.  I'm venturing out and starting to look for some new angles.  There was a difference of opinion in the household concerning the look angle: he thought it should point forward more; I didn't.  We compromised on a middle ground.  But from the video, I think it needed to be pointed farther out.

We hadn't eaten breakfast and decided to lunch at a crossroads location: Forno

I decided on the Gyro.  And was surprised with my selection of Chicken or Beef.  Aren't Gyro's supposed to be Lamb?  Surprising, not quite the same, but tasty nonetheless.  Mr. Oilburner took the Philly Cheesesteak.  MMMMMmmmm.  :)

We took out the mountain map to see the best route up and back again.

I really don't have any other photographs from the ride.  It was just too pretty of a day to stop.  The curves just beckoned us forward.

Reaching the end of Aska Rd had us in a pickle.  We could continue with the plan and ride East towards cities and traffic, or head back down Aska Rd and continue in solitude for awhile.  Solitude won.

Not wanting to completely back track all of our riding grounds we hooked a shortcut we knew from our four-wheeling days.  We knew this would involve some gravel road, but would clip our time and get us closer to our side of town.  The gravel road hadn't been graded in awhile...providing tremendous washboard bounces.  Maybe that has something to do with the recent shock replacement??  :)

So...no pictures, but some video that actually did turn out...eventually.  I tried to limit you the washboard exposure.  But gave enough to let you know it was definitely there.  :)

Destination: Aska Rd from Love Of A Motorbike on Vimeo.

Is Summer Really Over??

The depressingly hot and humid weather vacated north Georgia for Labor Day weekend.  Such a nice change from the rain that we have been experiencing on holiday weekends throughout this year.  With temperature predictions of the high 70's for Saturday and low to mid 80's for Sunday and Monday...it was prime riding weather!

We were a little slow getting ready and out of the house on Saturday.  We were hoping this wouldn't mean much as half of the metro region had left last night or Thursday for the extended weekend.  We were sorely mistaken upon reaching Cleveland, the gateway to [dreaded] Helen and traffic was backed up for miles.  Unfortunately this backup is so easy to achieve when the area has one stoplight and only one lane in each direction.  We had gambled that the remaining half of the population wasn't going to Helen.  We had lost.

We were making our way to Hiawassee with the intent of striking North to run scenic Hwy 64 to Franklin, NC.  We didn't have to go through Helen, but we had to venture near it, and it was putting a crimp in our leisurely ride.  When we first discovered the backup, "Detour" on the GPS offered a left turn through a back neighborhood that would take us up to another highway/cutoff.  Even with Avoid Unpaved Roads checked, Map Source is still woefully slow on updating.  In all fairness, I don't think the detour road had ever been paved.  So I am not sure how it even received a paved designation in the database.  I was almost willing to take my bike up this gnarly, rutted, uneven dirt track...but luckily Mr. Oilburner didn't even want to attempt it.  Means the road was pretty darn bad if he wasn't game.

We headed back the way we had come and stopped into a gas station for a map check and discussion.  The discussion took the tone of being lazy and just going home to sit around the house or go four-wheeling.  But we were already this far.  This portion of Hwy 64 was actually somewhere we had never ridden.  I had driven on it once, 5 years ago, in the middle of night.  The road had stuck with me as someplace without much development and possible vistas.  From discussions with riders, we were told it was a nice area to travel.  So we decided to push on and find some very small back roads around Cleveland and Helen that wouldn't make us back track too much.

Traffic showing in the background.  No, not pawning off the bikes.

Looking over the maps we had to go West to go East/North.  And the only other option to get over the mountain was the terrifying Hwy 19 over Blood Mountain.  I have been avoiding this Hwy like the plague!  I have a mental hangup to this portion of Hwy 19 over Blood Mountain as hairpin turns with 50 foot elevation gains and no guardrails.  In the past Mr. Oilburner chuckled at my stubborn refusal to ride this section over the years because I would happily ride other roads he considered much more technically difficult.  This time I no longer cared.  Bring it on.  I would finally take the plunge and ride Blood Mountain.

Sidebar: You might be wondering how Blood Mountain was named. And this is a topic under debate. One theory references a great battle that occurred between the Creek and Cherokee Tribes for control of the territory. And that the battle was so fierce the streams ran red with the blood of those killed. The other theory believes the name comes from the red lichen and Catawba rhododendron growing near the summit.


I've hiked to the summit of Blood Mountain and find it beautiful and peaceful.

Well...that darn road wasn't anywhere near as bad as I had built it up to be in my mind.  I certainly have been on roads much more difficult.  It passed more quickly then I expected, and amused Mr. Oilburner with my surprise at being at the summit.  This will be a wonderful road in the future as it is a great distance and time saver to some of our favorite destinations.

Touring up Blood Mountain, GA from Love Of A Motorbike on Vimeo.

In the spirit of continuing on back roads, we missed a turn and back tracked on a small farming lane.  The first mutt encounter was a lazy dog just laying in the road under the shade of a tree.  Mr. Oilburner never even saw him and he didn't care that we were feet away.  The second encounter wasn't nearly as friendly with this snarling beast darting towards Mr. Oilburner in the lead.  I was some distance behind and found it incredible that as soon as Mr. Oilburner passed he was ignored, and me, stopped 100 feet down the lane, became the object of his fixation.  I screamed in a manner that only Mr. Oilburner could hear (I wonder a little if GoPro recorded it), waited for the snapping teeth and stiff tail to approach me, then zipped off.  I am assured that he lost interest in me as soon as I had passed.  But I'm not convinced.

We did reach Hiawassee and found a quaint place to eat: Bledsoe's Corner Cafe, Where Friendships Begin.  :-)  We went simple and just order sandwiches: BLT with well-done bacon for me, Egg Salad for Mr. Oilburner.

Yum!  BLT and Egg Salad.  (Not on the same sandwich...)

I took this lunchtime opportunity to work on recharging the GoPro.  I know a couple people that have just purchased extra batteries.  I am reluctant to do this as the metadata (date, time, numbering, etc.)  is always reset with a battery change.  And I invariably wind up with excess batteries when technology advances.  Instead, Mr. Oilburner remembered I had a solar charger/battery from my hiking gear.  It can be charged by plugging into an electrical source, or solar charging.  I have never had luck fully charging the internal battery with just the sun, but it works fine when plugged in.  So we had charged it the night before, and it only took plugging the GoPro into it during lunch to recharge it.

Solio Solar Charger recharging the GoPro.

I might try rigging the Solio onto the bike in the future.  Or mounting other solar panels onto the Pelican case to charge this.  Either way...some fun.  I know there are people out there just shaking their heads and questioning why I don't just hook into the battery on the bike to charge something.  Well, I just don't want to put that much of a draw on the alternator and battery.  It isn't overloaded or anything, but what is wrong with a little solar power?  And this way I can store some power and recharge anything that I have an adapter for even when the bike is not under way.

Back on the road and it only takes us a few minutes to get through Hiawassee and into North Carolina onto Hwy 64.  The road is extremely wide for only 2 lanes, making technical turns a non-issue.  Though I did still practice them.

We hit the first turn out for photo ops.

Again, the road isn't too technical and the ride is over quickly.  The scenery is nice, forested hills, but not too many vistas or photogenic areas.  We did stop at the next/last overlook and took more bike posing shots.  :-)

We rode the outskirts of Franklin and decided to head on home.  We stopped for gas and were helped along by this little fellow.

While taking a snack break we chatted with Jim and Joel from Franklin (who had ridden down to Atlanta region for the day).  Great guys involved with a riding group in Franklin who offered to show us the lay of the hills in their area whenever we had some time to spend up there.  We will take you up on those offers!

And we needed to make a small back track to have a closer look at this pretty little truck sitting in a garage lot.

Looks like the one we have sitting in the back yard.  Only this one is shiny, clean, well-painted and probably runs.  In all fairness, our will probably run easily.  It just won't stop well as the brake fluid bleeds out through all of the rust holes in the brake lines.  Sorry Mr. Oilburner.  Some work needs to be done on that thing.  :-)

Playing in the Twisties

There is a highway up the hills that I enjoy more and more as I gain more experience.  This little highway isn't too long, isn't too short, isn't too narrow, isn't too tight.  It is just right.  (Do I sound a little like Goldilocks here?)  The more I ride it, the more comfortable I am on it.  The more comfortable I am, the faster I can ride it.  Vicious cycle.  Lately I have been traveling north on this highway, which just happens to mean the twistiest part is uphill and on the inside.  Which I enjoy to no end.  I am pretty comfortable with it downhill, but haven't been running it in the direction lately.  Have a look and see if you think I enjoy this roadway enough?  I believe I picked a pretty cool song to go along with the ride, so turn up the volume.

North on Hwy 75/17 from Love Of A Motorbike on Vimeo.

This all started because we finally decided to take a ride with our favorite meetup group.  Mr. Oilburner involved us long ago with a great Meetup (.com) group in our area that embraces diverse riders, rides and riding styles.  The organizer is a great guy that can handle any situation and really can take charge if necessary.  I didn't ride with them when we initially joined up since I didn't feel experienced enough for group riding.  But we would regularly attend the weekly Coffee and Chats to shot the breeze.

That is all utterly useless information to you, isn't it?  Back to the story.  A ride was planned to run up to Hiawassee and see where we go from there.  It is a fairly uneventful ride with just some good, quiet roads.  Except for Helen...but I've already told you that a thousand times before.

Taking some time to cool of with refreshments and chats.

While my back was turned someone snuck a safety lanyard onto my GoPro.  He had actually accomplished this little task down near Atlanta and I am just noticing. So for those of you who have been concerned about the suction not holding, it now has a safety belt thanks to Fearless!  (Thank you, Fearless.)

The video above was taken minutes after leaving Helen.  I do enjoy that little highway.  We all sorta scattered and went at our own pace.  Some of us were held up a little by other riders.  But there were creative ways to deal with that at times.  :-)

The congregating point in Hiawassee was a little fuel station where we just stood around and waited for everyone to catch up.  The looming decision was lunch.  Hiawassee is rather small and doesn't have a large selection of fair.  Shoneys, Mexican or a steak buffet place was thrown out there, but no one really wanted to make a decision or vote.  So I squeaked up and just said Mexican.  Official vote of 1 ruled. 

It was a nice little place that we basically had to ourselves.  I believe everyone tucked in.  Conversation went the way all conversations go when you put a bunch of enthusiasts in a small area.  Some tales were told that may or may not be believable. 

Time to leave.  The watches said it was about 3 pm.  Two of the party needed to be home by 6. The leader said it was girls choice for the route home.  The three of us just looked at each other.  I was game for anything.  I didn't have time restrictions. Suggestions flew, no one bit. Like lunch, no one could decide on particulars.  One lady suggested a route that would have been great flying down the twisties on Hwy 60.  (Another mecca!)  But the distance would have made it too long a time. 

I finally piped up on a route I have taken quasi-reglarly.  I knew it would get us towards Atlanta by 6-ish and was full of twisties for the thrill lovers.  The leaders kept raising their eye-brows and giving side-long glances as I tried to explain the route.  They finally gave up and just told me I was being awarded leader status.

Here is video of the most playful portion of that route.  It also has some good music to ride along to.  Hope you enjoy.

West on Hwy 180 from Vogel from Love Of A Motorbike on Vimeo.

I think I managed to set a pretty good pace.  The gentleman behind me might have enjoyed going a little faster, but he wasn't pushing me.  Strangely, today it was mostly empty of traffic.  It was nice to enjoy without too much concern for vehicles.

Stats:
224 miles
Great riding with new and old friends
A little warm, but a good day

Off-roading an RT

The title isn't quite as fancy or drastic as it sounds, but I still get a kick out of watching the RT spew gravel.  Mr. Oilburner assures me that he was completely in control, despite how it looks on the video.  Given his many years of off-road riding I would tend to believe him.  But who catches air with an RT?!?!  ;-)  Beware, there is the sound of my little sewing machine engine...don't blast your ears off.

Big hugs and thanks to DaviMack for pointing me to VideoSoft video editing and dubbing software.  Worked like a charm!!