The cabins are tiny, you likely wouldn't be smoking in bed, right?  Other than that there isn't much said about smoking either way on the site and we always have a smoker or two or three in every group anyway.   Lots of outdoors 4 feet from the foot of your bed.



It's the mountain run .... them hillbillies smoke, by and large.   They wants them snaggly teeth to look proper after all.

We are 2 months out from trip time -- time to go look at your tires while there is still time to do something about them.

Last trip I had lots of rear rubber, or so I thought.  Mountain trips eat some rubber though and I wound up going home a day early due to total rear tire bald-itus.

Part of this was the heat -- it wuz HOT last year.   So hot we rolled the trip a bit earlier so as to get rid of the tire killing heat.  

(we also made room for a fall run to WD's farm by doing this, so a spring and fall run with them better riding temperatures works out pretty good for most of us).

Also take a look at your front brake pads, if they are down below 1/4 you might pack a set in your saddle bags.  Brake pads are an easy change item should you need to, and most evenings are spent fiddling with the bikes anyway.

You see, you think your bike is right when you come out on these trips, but very quickly the mountain roads show you what needs some tweeking.   Your normal day to day doesn't stress your bike much, the mountain trips DO.  

Blinky, we take a beginner or two just about every year.   We have always brought them back alive and kicking.

We do warp them some though, they go home to their local roads and do things with them local roads their riding buddies can't believe because they are so durn EASY you have to ride them hard just to get a ride in at all.  

Think of it as riding school fer the Savage.   Plus this ride we are not staying at the Dragon, we are staying on a nice calm rural road and touring out to here and there.   This one would be a good one for a newbie to go on.

Last year Dave was our new rider, on his brand new Savage.  You can ask him what it was like, he took to it like a fish to water.

 
Mountains play hell with radio and cell phones, they just don't work in a lot of places.

MM does a lot of the ride planning, he passed out separate ride maps year before last but since he got a GPS on his handle bars we just keep up in sight of the rider in front of us.   Make you a point of carrying a NC state map, as sometimes you might could need it.

We string out in order of ride speed, so the slowest guy can generally see the one in front of him.   When we stop, the clot of bikes is right noticeable.

Now, there was one of us that used to get humorous sometimes and just take off and leave everybody behind.   He used to wait at the next intersection like a civilized person, then he got all funny minded and you'd see him go off fast, then he'd disappear and you wouldn't see him again, until you looked at the last guy in the run line and it was him, jest a sitting there grinning at you.

..... they wuz a talking about going back a ways and checking the shoulders for brake drag marks and the bushes for my corpse, they wuz

We only flat lost somebody once, and that was because we didn't count the riders before pulling out and left somebody sitting in the head.    We don't do that any more, we count the helmets before leaving.

Mebbe never happens.

It is sad, but it is true.

What you need to do is say "Hell yes, I'm going to the WD trip!" and sign up for it now and take part in the date planning so you CAN go.

The WD trip date isn't set yet, it is still fluid so there IS NO EXCUSE for you not going as you get to help pick the date.

Schedule some off time with your boss and then suggest the silly dates -- that always works for some reason.

Best dig out your contact card from last trip and give him a call.   Serenity reads this listing about 3 times per year, total.

Actually, he reminds me a bit of you in that aspect .....    

MM,

You coming to WD's in the fall?   If so I claim tent space .....

I'm still not sure if I'm gonna make it. Things are pretty slow at work, so getting time off isn't a problem. But if things get any slower, I'll be looking for work, so I can't commit to anything right now. If I'm able to make it, I'll bring my tent.

AL