Savannah Fun

Mr. SPOT and I decided it was time to get to know each other and take a ride.  The time, money and weather were coming together and allowing me to take a longer distance trip. Mr. Oilburner has been on two weekend/overnighters and I have stayed home and held down the fort. But this time it was my turn. And I was going to enjoy it.

I found myself with a week off from work…that I was not expecting. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t mind. But it was very last minute and the week of Thanksgiving. I pulled a few strings, looked at the weather forecast and decided to head south.

My first stop was Savannah, Georgia. My best friend lives there and it was time to spend some quality girls time together. I frantically assembled my camping gear and some clothing Thursday night for a Friday morning departure. Of course, I merely assembled the stuff. Didn’t bother opening anything or trying to pack anything. So the patience was a little lacking on Friday morning as I tried to shove everything in my saddlebags…and it wasn’t fitting.

I knew I was packing a luxury item or two. But I was only going to be gone for 6 days. And only camping for two nights. I needed to bring the “nice” clothes and shoes (as nice as I can get) to go out evenings in Savannah. But they had to be packable enough to squirrel away for the remainder of the trip. I also was insistent that I was going to bring my feather pillow. I had a compression sack from camping that would minimize the size of that thing.

Beyond that I just couldn’t figure out where in the world all of that darn space went from my saddlebags. They were full and I hadn’t even finished the packing!!! Argh. We scoured our kayaking equipment and allocated a cool dry bag that I used to use for my camera. It was the perfect size to take the leftover stuff and was easily Velcro-ed onto the bike. Viola!

Don't get the wrong idea.  I am using ultralight equipment since I also enjoy(-ed) hiking and backpacking; the bulk is there but the weight isn't.

I was emotionally spent after fighting with the equipment. (I know, sounds stupid. But I will get better as I get the hang of this!) So I sat for a few minutes and enjoyed the cooling fan before donning all of that hot equipment.

Forecasts called for a great day riding down to Savannah. Blue skies, bright sun and temps near 70 were welcome! I knew to expect rain on Saturday and Sunday. But I wouldn’t be riding, just roosting. Because the forecasts called for slightly overcast and mid-60’s on Monday and sunny and high-60’s Tuesday and Wednesday. (And yes, these were the forecasts for my destinations…not my current location.)

I took a longer route down to Savannah to avoid the interstates. I have traveled many of the backroads many times and didn’t have a problem with where I would be going. But my weekend experiences have convinced me that the entire infrastructure of this great nation is under construction. I don’t so much mind if the road really needed it. But was a little disheartened when perfectly good road that had been paved within the last 3 years was being ripped up and repaved just because the government stimulus money was in. I managed to hit about 5 different construction zones along the 264 mile route. Luckily some of the other ones were on the other side of the highway.

But let me tell you about Mr. SPOT...maybe he should be renamed to Mr. Tell-Tale.  I left the driveway and turned the tracker on and forgot about it.  I made a quick stop for fuel and called Mr. Oilburner to see how he was taking my departure.  :-)  He liked Mr. Tell-Tale but was frustrated with it's 10 minute update interval.  My fuel stop was 20 minutes away and he had only seen two updates.  ;)  He needed information faster!

OK.  I was ready to hit the road and put some miles under those tires.  My next stop was about 2 hrs down the road to stretch the legs and back.  Of course I needed to call some people and share my accomplishments.  Mr. Oilburner didn't answer.  hmph.  Savannah G did tho.  And the first words out of her mouth?  "I know where you are."  That turned into the first words out of everyone's mouths.

So the tradition became tracking while riding and OK when stopped for fuel or food.  Just so Mr. Oilburner could feel good when the little dots stayed put for a little while.  Since this was the first test of Mr. Tell-Tale I wondered what the map looked like.  Riding through some of the larger towns with traffic and stoplights I wondered if the lower avg speed was noticeable in the track.  (Found out later that it is true.)  Made it down to Savannah without issues.  Enjoyed blowing the doors...err...tires off a couple guys as I speed away after passing a cotton truck. HEHE

I had just pulled into Savannah G's driveway, gotten my gear off and gotten off the bike when the phone rang.  I figured it was Savannah G since she certainly wasn't home.  It was.  :)  She would be leaving work momentarily and home in 5 minutes.  She had been watching the map all day and thought she had the time to beat me home.  Until the dot suddenly blipped on screen that placed me on the east side of I-95, close to home.  No matter, she was home right quick and we started our weekend!

I've since found out that many friends left the map open all day and watched my progress.  I found it hilarious and charming.  Note to self: be sure to turn tracking off if going someplace secret.

We spent time with friends and enjoyed some of the tourist trappings of Savannah.  We needed some tomatoes to try out a new zucchini and ricotta recipe so we went to Polk's Fresh Market.  It's a great little market and I wish they had more space, they had so much fun stuff.

 

 

We also were starving and headed for a BBQ place before we detoured to Polk's.  But they had their own BBQ truck up front that smelled superb.  Wow!  My new favorite BBQ.  Why do they have to be so far away?!?!?

We walked through Forsyth Park and enjoyed the liveliness and scenery.

Testing the physics of a dolly.

Find some interesting things on light poles here. I think the dogs have been leaving some greeting cards.

 

 

Weddings in the middle of the park.

 If you follow "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" you might recognize this.  Sorry for the quality, the big camera was at home.

We popped into the Gryphon Tea Room for the warmth and caffeine.  The ambience is original to the apothecary that used to be here. The stained glass windows and lighting fixtures were eye-catching.  And the orange spice tea with honey was exactly what we needed.

Continuing on we made it to the honey tasting bar Savannah G had told me of.  Wonderful!  So fun to stroll the counter and sample the honey's.  Even enjoyed the apple/honeycomb/cheese stack.  Savannah G enjoyed seconds and the wonderful sticky mess she made. I love how they lined and lit the honey bottles along the perimeter of the room.

 to be continued...

Where in the World is BeemerGirl?

A local holiday dictated a present.  So Mr. Oilburner presented me with a neat little tracking device called SPOT.  This is an awesome little device for keeping total track of someone in the outdoors.  Or to allow someone in the outdoors to let family and friends know that all is well.

This little device essentially communicates with GPS satellites and lets the user choose an activity to perform: OK, Comment, Track, Help and 911.

The OK option will send a pre-written OK message to people defined in the recipient list with the current location coordinates.

The Comment option will send a different pre-written message to a different group of email address with the current location.

The Track option will send a message about every 10 minutes to my account.  If I desire to set it up I can create a web page that anyone can access and see where I am at any moment.  Or where I have been.

The Help option will send a message to my primary contacts letting them know that I need him and including my current location.

The 911 feature will immediately contact authorities for rescue services.

I can look at this in one of two ways.  Either it is a unit to be used to track my every move and my current whereabouts; being kept under The Man's thumb.  Or...I can share my journey with others and have a device that will ease Mr. Oilburner's concerns over my location.

I'll let you know which way it swings.  ;-)

Finally! It's Mine!!

It took a little longer then expected but it can't be helped when you don't get on the bike.  I was finally able to push that little odometer enough to flip LCD over my imaginary ownership mileage of 18885.  Remember that was my mental block of true ownership where I have put more miles on the bike then the previous owner.

I wish I had been in a position to catch the actually flip, but it was not meant to be on the one lane 55 mph highway.

I'm still not terribly impressed with my average mileage per month.  Guess I will just need to work on that with some long distance trips...  :-)

Washington and the Revolutionary War

Another beautiful day and the humidity was low.  So we gathered a friend and hit the road.  We ventured forth to Washington, Georgia again.  I really like that little town.  They are doing a great job at bringing it back together for good community and tourism.  Unfortunately Talk of the Town has changed their hours and are no longer open on Sunday.  Darn!

We walked around the tourism info office and inquired about the location of Kettle Creek.  She wasn't able to give us the exact location, but we felt we could find the first sign and go from there.  We walked the square again and popped into the coffee shop for caffeine.  The antique shops were closed but I enjoyed seeing the cat on the roof.

 

After refreshments and a stretch we hit the bikes and road and headed towards where we hoped Kettle Creek to be.  The Battle of Kettle Creek is one of the most important battles of the Revolutionary War fought in Georgia. After all the attention given to the Civil War it is interesting to see something honored that brought our country together instead of tearing it apart.

Did I tell you that we had to ride another gravel road??  This stuff was a little deep, not compacted and in definite ruts from a less traveled road.  It wasn't too bad until I had to cross the center strip of grass and rocks to avoid the construction vehicles.  That and Winford kept riding up my tailpipe with him and his confidence on his 900 lb Harley.  I did draw the line at riding up the last bit of roadway that had a good incline covered in pine needles and a nice grassy/needly slope into the trees and bushes.  I didn't so much disagree with the trip up, but definitely did not want the trip down trying to steer and brake on that stuff.  No matter.  A little walk never does anyone too much harm.

I parked the bike outside the gate and everyone else decided to follow suit.

Preparing to leave and I notice a new passenger on my steed.  Funny how the butterflies seem to like the bike too.

Stats: 214 miles, fantastic weather, finally able to reach a Revolutionary War memorial, passed 18884 on my bike.

Riding for Food

Another day and another opportunity to take the bikes out.  John wanted to ride, so Alex had the great idea of riding up to Hiawassee.  John, the n00b riding the twisties.  This was going to be interesting.

Alex took the lead and planned the route and destination.  We took a leisurely ride up to Dahlonega via the highway.  Hey, it was nice not riding Hwy 9 again.  We skirted up to the twistiest road in N. Ga., Hwy 19 over Blood Mtn, but hooked a right just before I was going to have to throw a fit and turn around on mine own.  I still have no interest in riding that stretch of Hwy 19.  It can be crazy in the summer with sport bikes flying the roads.  That and I am not interested in looking down those steep mtns slopes 5 feet from the white line.

The ride to Hiawassee was completely uneventful.  We took it easy on the tight mountain passes outside of Helen.  John was doing great and we didn't want to push it.  Especially when we saw the sport bikes lined up next to the tow truck on a right hand turn.  And the tow truck was fishing down the mountain for the bike that "got away".  No news on the condition of the rider.  Let's hope he slid slower and stopped before the bike did.

We took a slightly different route home and took John on even more twisties. Hwy 180 behind Vogel State Park.  This road is almost as tight as the dreaded Hwy 19, except it is missing the steep drop offs.  Luckily the valley floor is generally nearby.  :)

John did very well overall.  Even on the tightest twisties he managed an average 28 mph in a 35 zone. 

Here is a little look at the GPS track for a twisty spot on 180.  It is a little tighter then this scale gives it credit for.

We took a well deserved break at the end of 180 for a coke and a smile.  Good thing we didn't need any fuel for the steeds.

Stats: 218 miles with beautiful weather.  John's longest ride to date...and the twistiest.

The odometer on my bike flipped to 18,000 miles on a day trip a couple weeks ago.  Yes, I am behind the times on updating everything!   What I found so exciting was that I hit 18,000 on Hwy 180 up in the mtns...on a nice twisty road the previous owner used to fly down on this very same machine.  No, I could not do it justice at high speed and with rubber burning turns.  But we had fun together just the same.

She is patient with me in my learning.  And we are just getting better and better over time.  Since this milestone she has been in for her 18K service and new rear brakes.  This time nothing else was wrong and I did get her back the same day.  She was running so well I made MotMS get on his bike and take me out to dinner.  We've also added a couple hundred more miles.  I calculate that I need to ride 502 more miles to officially put more miles on her then the previous owner.  I think those miles are going to pass quickly and with many smiles.  Let's see what the next 9,442 miles have in store...

TWO North GA

We aren't in the Rockies, but many people thrill at the twisties our mountains offer. More and more people are getting into riding and capitalism is finally starting to figure out a way to make it there own.

TWO (Two Wheels Only) isn't jumping on the band wagon. They sort of started the band wagon as being the first motorcycle only resort campground in the U.S., opened in 1982. They cater only to two wheeled vehicles or those towing their motorcycles. Sleeping accommodations range from beds and rooms (and a shared bathroom) in the "Lodge", a mobile home, or unnumbered camping sites.

If you don't have any intent to camp or lodge there, you can always take your lovely mountain ride and stop for the food.   The food is surprisingly good.  Or course, it is the standard hamburger fair, but the portions are extremely generous (one hamburger fed both of us with some to spare).  Seating is early summer camp style at big, long tables that allow you to sit and chat with fellow riders.  And if the conversation isn't enough for you, you can always gaze in wonder at the paraphenalia stapled to the walls and ceiling.