Dave wrote on 08/01/14 at 08:38:50:



I was there that day too. nice ride and a really nice place.

AL

My first year "Kelly" was there, that was the second year for the Dragon runs.   Kelly seemed to know everybody , Toymaker was there and seem to know where to go and the best way to get there.   OldFeller was the cool headed leader of the pack around camp , till he got the handlebars in his hands then he would disappear up the road somewhere only to reappear to make sure us newbies didn't get lost.  Al has always had the neediest looking bike and totally blew-away my preconceived idea  of New Englanders.   There was a school teacher from the NC coast (I think) well he had white-wall tires and every kinda gismo on his bike that would fit, including a beaded seat !    this is becoming a very long paragraph ...  

BigZuk seemed to just lean back against his back rest and his bike ran like a slot car does.  I remember Lancer just kept up without looking like he was even trying hard just like Serenity and Midnight rider was doing.    And I was afraid to lean my bike over for fear of it sliding out from under me and having a really hard time staying in my lane !  

seems like there was another guy or two ???  

The truth is there were so many good trips they tend to blend together like when you go past 2 years back -- details like to hop from trip to trip as the memory fades.

By golly we have been everywhere up there and it was all VERY VERY GOOD and it was all worth a repeat, by golly.

And the neat thing is we always keep finding neat new stuff to visit and even more new neat roads.


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Cherohala is a very good fast 55mph curvy road and MM is right, it runs right up at the crest of the mountains and it is "misty cool" to ride it in places.    You are running the crest right up in the clouds after all ......

I actually ran it at full speed from one end to another with only two leg breaks, lunch, ice cream and a small nap before I started back up the Cherohala looking for the group who had never come down on the far side at all.

Toymaker had stopped the group to put on and take off and put on his rain togs because of the mist and there were several other delay type stops, which was fine since nobody was bleeding when I found you all.

Mist was strong enough for me to recommend you have a bike cloth on your handle bars to use to wipe your visor off.   And your glasses if you wear them .....

The guy with the big white gas tank had the young wife.  

He was also the one who had no front brake pads left on his bike at all (had been riding like that a while).

Couple of thunderstorms predicted so far, not too bad since on any given instant we are far far away from home base while the rain is happening.

Tents will be needed though -- getting thunderdumped upon at night un-protected by canvas walls and roof would suck exceedingly exceedingly much.

Forecast also says "trailer up the bike -- you will get rained upon at some point on the return leg of the trip"

http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/robbinsville-nc/28771/august-weather/12174_pc

I believe Oldfellor called about a room a couple weeks back, and they didn't really have one....but promised him one based on potential cancellations....or something like that.

I really don't care where we sleep....I just wanted the flexibility to not show up if the weather was crappy.  When you commit to a room - you can't just postpone the trip a week without it costing a bunch.

I got wet enough on the first trip this year, and I don't want to repeat it.  A few times I was in the "survival mode", as my helmet was fogging up, my smoke visor was the wrong thing to have in the fog and rain, and my bike throws all kinds of water at me when I ride in the wet.

The weather forecast keeps improving....before you know it they will have it upgraded to "sunny" for the entire trip!

Dave

I was talking about the 29th and 30th , friday and saturday , nothing else ...

If the Dragon Inn is full ... its on to price line and the surrounding area if thats OK with you two .?