Got a phone call from MM last night right at 10:00 pm, he and Dave were just then getting down into civilization again (and were looking for something to eat, having forgotten to eat again around dinner time).

It happens when you are having lots of fun, you know.   It seems Dave & MM are doing a good bit of night riding this time around on their return leg having gone pretty far afield during the day.


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The close packed density of really good roads and the "user friendly" 55 mph automatic default NC speed limits and the lack of frenetic speed limit enforcement efforts really do recommend the North Carolina areas we have been going to.

I hate to say it, but I still saw more law giving out more tickets in TN that I have ever seen before in my entire life in NC.   (I counted this up while driving in and driving out as well as on the bike only portion)    It did tend to put a crimp on things in my mind, as I only ran off once in TN and I felt very much at risk while I did it.

Plus the automatic default speed limit in TN is only 45 mph, which means you can pick up a 20 over big 'un "lock you up" ticket without trying very hard.   (and yes, on this trip I ate a meal in my very own personal jail cell and it cost me close to $100 to get out of it).

Given that all the rest of you have taken a year or two off now, so all the NC roads will be nice and fresh to you again.    Plus Dave has now located a half dozen new circular trip maps that only run on good little roads -- roads you have never seen before.   And there is Hwy 32, on the way to the Knife Works no less, which is a hoot and a half and is over 30 miles long to boot.  

A day trip to the Knife Works riding this road in both directions would certainly satisfy the most demanding Dragonista urges.   Not quite as much of a danger trill, as you have no Hurleys swinging way out wide into your lane all the time and you don't have anybody that you have to pass on the curves as there is no traffic on Hwy 32.    It is pretty and does them 340 degree style switch back curves just like the Dragon does ....

You need to call them back and pointedly verify they did not charge your card for more than the one day that they are entitled to charge you (only one day for cancellations more than 11 days out).

If they stuck you for more, get the particulars including the name of the person making the decision to stick it to you.

Then tell us all here on the list -- we will ALL consider it worth an email or a phone call to express our disappointment.

Hope this isn't needed, we LIKE the Blue Ridge guys and like their place and we don't want a simple mis-understanding to foul things up.

Did you get a cancellation code when you called to verify the canceling?  


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Sight unseen  (just guessing)  they are most likely just interested in knowing if there was anything wrong on their end that caused you not to want to come ....

Businesses need that sort of information, and will call you to give you the chance to tell them if anything was wrong on their end.

I called the man, he didn't even charge you the cancellation fee.


IN THE FUTURE, anyone canceling a reservation at Blue Ridge needs to get a CANCELLATION CODE (even if they have to make you up one on the spot).   Make sure the Blue Ridge people write that code down on their paperwork.   You write that code down as well.   There should be stuff in writing on their reservation paperwork so there is a written record that proves a cancellation took place.

Be aware that since you didn't handle your cancellation very well with the phone message stuff and all, that the Blue Ridge folks did actually hold your cabin open for you for the entire 3 day period.   The man is looking at your paperwork right now and there is NO NOTE OF ANY KIND ON IT ABOUT A CANCELLATION.

Seriously, you guys don't EVER do this casual message machine cancellation stuff ever again.   It is guaranteed to mess up on you.  

Only talk to real people, get their name and write it down, have them go get your paperwork and get the cancellation code written down on that paperwork.

I am back home as well.....I had cloudy and sprinkly drive most the way to Knoxville, then just cloudy after that.  I was in my car, and staying dry for the first time in a couple days.

I have a meeting tonight and will post pictures in the next few days.  MMRanch and I left the campground about 9:30 each morning and got home about the same time each night.  We rode just about 240 - 250 miles each day.  That doesn't sound like much....until you consider that a lot of the riding was done at 30 mph or less.  Several times we were on wet roads and riding in 2nd gear on twisty roads.  Last night we were headed home and there was a rain while we ate dinner dinner in Brevard.  When were turned onto 167 the little Gnat bugs were so thick it looked like we were riding through a snow storm!

We found some really great roads this trip right near the campground.  167 is really nice, 215 is just as good, and they are all within minutes of the campground.

We talked to a local lady, and she said the weather is always spotty showers this time of year.....and in late July it starts to dry out.

This is a photo of 32....30 miles of Dragon type road without any other motorcycles the entire length.  We did see a few cars this time.....but only a few.

Dave

I made a new Friend at the "Dragon Lounge" this year.

Thanks oldfeller, nice to know...sorry, but its hecktic here with all the lotteries and raffles and stuff for the pool team...i'm the only one not working so everything is falling on me to do.

I guess I could actually have the phone company call up the phone records, of when I called them.
I have it on my phone as the 5th and 6th of June when I called them. I don't know if the phone company has voice recordings but I suppose I could ask.
The 5th is when I got the answering machine, the 6th is when I called back and got a conformation from a female voice that "he already cancelled your reservation" answer. No mention of a code or anything.

I appreciate you doing what you have done, but I really wasn't that worried about it.
Sounds like they need to communicate with each other a little better. I feel bad that they lost out those evenings because of the miscommunications.

I am at my office (Bummer), and it is easier to post some photos from here.

Here is my bike at the Dragon Inn parking lot....and a few other bikes.  I rode the Tail of the Dragon in/out twice on Sunday while Mike was riding his bike in from his home.  Sunday afternoons are a pretty good time to ride the Dragon as traffic was pretty light.  Mike and I came back on Monday and rode it in/out on our way to other places.  Mike is able to hustle the Sportster around corners at a speed that seems as fast as he is on his Savage.....it is not a Hurley that is going to be passed easily.....cept' maybe for those sport bikes and Motards.


There was a group of fellows that were really fast.  They were running sport bikes and a Motard.  I was entering a corner and in my mirror I could see a group of headlights waaay back behind me.  They had not been there earlier so I assumed they were riding a bit faster than me.  I figures that in a a half dozen corners they would be coming up behind me....but in about 2 corners there was a headlight at my taillight!  I pulled to the side and waved them by.  Every once in a a while someone will catch and pass me on the Dragon - but these fellows were going far faster than should be possible.  Later I found out that they were not running regular street tires.



On part of our ride Tuesday we were in Highlands and found a very narrow road and this waterfall.  We met some folks who had ridden in from Iowa a the falls....and they took these photos for us.  This was not the only time that we were close to being wet on our rides.




When we were eating in Brevard we heard a couple of noisy bikes ride by.  When we walked out we saw them.....pretty radical.  Not surprising that we didn't see any bikes like this when we were out riding in the twisties.....only when in town!





The trip was enjoyable, and the bike did just fine.  I never had to add any oil, and the tall Kawasaki pulley gearing was perfect.  The twisties were handled in 3rd gear and I seldom had to shift - the 70mph parkway sections were handled in 5th with the engine purring along at a tad over 4,000 rpms.  The tiny Cafe' seat turned out to be OK for 12 hours days in the saddle.  My fore arms were a bit tired by the end of the day and ready for a rest - but it was never painful or felt like an endurance test.  The seat is unfortunately not waterproof and soaks up rainwater through the stitched seams....then oozes the water back out into your bottom when you sit down!  I was averaging somewhere around 54 mpg, and I believe I rode about 860 miles for the entire trip.  Mike will have ridden far more - as he rode from Lynchburg to the Blueridge Motorcycle Campground and back.  The Honda ST1100 would have been far better in the wet, the front tire on the Cafe' bike throws water onto both feet and also a stream right up in the center of my visor, and the rear tire throws water up onto the back of my jacket and helmet.    

Dave

Oldfeller:

Not sure when the best time of year is.  When I was leaving in my car I heard the radio weather forecast for Ashville - and the announcer said the "rain shower" forecast had been the same for the previous 3 weeks.  It may have been an abnormally wet June in the area.

I am going to "unsticky" this thread, and creat a new sticky thread for ideas and suggestions on the "suzukisavage" road trip event for 2015.  Suggestions on location and date can be discussed.  It is probably a bit too soon to open up a Dragon Run Summer 2015 thread....as our 2015 event may actually occur somewhere else.

Dave