| The GAP 2006 F r i d a y , A p r i l 2 8 , 2 0 0 6 Back from the Gap. "Hmm.. how DID i get this sexy? " 
Overlook at the Dragon - Click to view enlarged:
DRDaytona, Me, VifferVixen,Crudmop,L8RG8R,IRR,Windshear
Saturday April 22, 2006 The alarm rang out in the wee, dark hours of Saturday morning, telling me it was time to get rolling. I don't know why I bother to set the alarm when I am going to travel, I barely sleep a wink anyway. I'm always filled with so much excitement. I knew it was going to rain. We didn't make it 6 exits on the LIE before the skies unleashed the water. 5 am. Dark. Rain. Typical. Rain is just something you have to accept if you're going to travel for a few days. I guess for the most part, i don't mind it so much. But, when it's like 43 degrees and raining, well, i could really do without it. I had read in some stupid American Roadtrip book about a route thru the Amish country in PA that was supposed to be "good". I'll tell you.. it wasn't. It was total shite. Stop and go, traffic lights, slow moving. I don't know if it was the endless pounding rain that soured it for me, or what. As we sat dripping in a diner someplace in PA i found myself wrestling with a bit of uncharacteristic doubt. I felt like we could never make it south in time.
My boots were soaked. I hate that wet slug feeling. Kenny was in the same boat. We stopped off at a TOTES store and i grabbed a pair of Totes overshoes to try to help my tootsies out. Kenny wasn't so lucky. They had nothing in his size. I laughed outloud in my helmet for a solid 5 minutes after seeing Kenny in his new Isotoners. As a matter of fact... I still laugh outloud every time I look at the picture.
The rain didn't let up at all. 13 hours of cold, soaking rain put us in Natural Bridge, Va for the night. We holed up at the Inn at Natural Bridge in a room that had the LOUDEST ticking clock in the known universe. As we checked in... the rain stopped. It felt so good to peel off my stinky, wet socks and crawl into bed after dinner. Sunday April 23, 2006 I was awakened by the Sanford & Son theme song on Kenny's Blackberry. Time to get rolling. A quick peek out the window said it was still foggy but not raining! Joy!
A quick pitstop to snap a picture of the Foamhenge we had seen the evening before and it was off to Tennessee! The day was a succession of beautiful rolling hills, nicely paved roads and just good times on the bike. That is until we made a slight miscalculation and detoured 100 miles out of the way and almost ran out of gas, but.. other than that, it was ideal! Oh, except for the rain shower
We arrived at the lovely Princess Motel in Maryville a little later than expected but in one piece. We were greeted by a group of motorcyclists in the parking lot. Dr Daytona, IndianaRoadRacer, Windshear.. and.. someone we had never "seen" before. As it turns out, he was an acquaintence of our friends from Texas and he coincidentally happened to be riding thru the Gap area and stopped to stay at the same Motel we were in. Cue Twilight Zone music. He's packed 35K miles on his Bonnie in a year. What a life that must be He was heading on north the following day. I gave him my email address to hopefully drop me a line sometime to tell me how his trip went. So.. if you're out there somewhere Mr. C - why don't you do just that one day.
We hung out, drank a couple beers and shot some hoops with our new friends and the motel owner who was super-cool about everything. There was an immediate comfort with those guys. It just makes me think that this life is just a big web. As each person takes a step, you feel their vibes off in the distance. Everyone affecting everyone. I've never had anything in my life draw me to total strangers and allow them into my life the way that motorcycling has.
Monday April 24, 2006 I was anxious to give the triple a whirl on the Gap. The last time i was there on my 6R the suspension felt all wonky and I was scared and intimidated by the road as a whole. Not knowing what to expect and having it so built up in my mind did me in. This time... much better. I'm still quite conservative in terms of what some folks are doin' on there but, man, i felt a whole lot more confident. I enjoyed my ride on my terms. Can't ask for more than that!
Kenny & I met the gang at the store, had some breakfast and set off for the Cherahola. Great, riding day. A thank you to Windshear for the pics here:
Tuesday April 25, 2006 The weather looked like there was an impending rainstorm coming on. We opted to cage over to the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, NC. I thoroughly enjoyed that. If you're in the area, do stop in and support this one man's collection. Regardless of your current motorcycle taste, it owes something to the past.
Wednesday April 26, 2006 Rain...
Cold...
Exhausting.
Thursday April 27, 2006 ...to be continued... | 
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