Motorcyle Mecca or 736 turns in 22 miles

Today was a day that some people only read about and others get to live every weekend. We rode today in the Mecca of Motorcyling in the East --- the Tail of the Dragon and the Cherahola Skyway and many other roads in the tri state area of Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.

The Tail of the Dragon is the most famous of the roads there and it is pretty awesome but the other roads are a blast to ride on as well we were up over 5000 feet in elevation at times and we coverd 305 miles of riding. We enjoyed a great day of sunny mild weather and gentle breezes.

It was a grand day of riding ........

240 miles of Twisty roads....

Today we had perfect weather and covered 240 miles of nice roads in Georgia North Carolina. For those familiar with the area we hit Warwoman road and Highlands ....28 to Franklin and onto the Nantahala Gorge, then Wayah Road and back to Helen.

It was great riding and we had a nice lunch Big Willies in Franklin... good BBQ. We were covering some ground and enjoying the views and the roads.

Motorcycling in the Mountains

Since I am not traveling by bicycle on this trip I can not use my normal Crazy guy on a Bike site so.... I am back at Blogspot for this one.

This blog will chronicle a short 5 day trip to the Mountains of North Georgia. Due to the folks I am riding with there will not be as many pictures as I would normally take due to the fact we ride and do not stop a great deal for photo opportunities.

I will introduce the folks as the trip goes on and I get a picture of each of them. So....on with the report:

I left Ocala on Wed morning May 5th about 7:15 am ; I am riding my Yamaha FZ6 and had it loaded down with saddle bags, tail bag and a tank bag. About 1 mile from my house it started to pour rain from the heavans--- Argh. When it came it just was like Bang -RAIN ON-- so I did not stop for rain gear and luckily it only rained for about 5 minutes.... then nothing. Since I was wearing mesh riding gear and it was a nice pleasant morning I dried out in short order.

Riding through Ocala I made my way to I-75 for a quick 85 mile jaunt to Lake City, FL where I was to meet up with some of the crew. We found each other and I loaded my bike into the 20 foot plus enclosed trailer and off we went.

Our destination was just outside of Helen Georgia. We had rented a house there and it is much easier to ride in the back of a big Ford Excursion watching movies than ride up the long straight roads of Georgia till you get to the moutnains which are in the top of the state. We found the house and it is nice.

It is an all wood 3 story log cabin chalet. We found it on vacation rental by owner. Very nice digs and the price is wonderful. My share is $40 a night. I will post some pics of the cabin latter today. Once we were setteled into our rooms we had unloaded the bikes and it was almost 6pm. So 4 of us suited up and went for a short ride.

We looped up and over Blood Mountain then down to GA180 where hung a left and twisted our way up Wolfpen gap. This road folds its way up the mountain oft times snaking back over itself as it ascends to just over 3000 feet. Once up to the top we turned and headed back down. We do not have twisty roads in Florida and this was a blast.

Hopping back on 129 we went down to the Russell Scenic Highway and climbed up and over Hogpen gap another twisty climb and on the back side descent. Near the top we saw aroad closed sign--we decided to go around it and see if we could get over. Luckily it was in fine shape and the repair to the road was neaer completion so we safely made it over. We returned with about 50 miles of twisties just before sunset.

After some pizza we went down to the "gameroom" and played some ping pong and pool before heading to bed for a restful nights sleep.

Pics to be added later--stay tuned.

Derek's Graduation

June 6th 2009 Derek Graduated from Forest High School with High Honors. He was a member of the National Honor Society, the Engineering progra,and got a full scholarship for tuition and books for 4 years at the University of Florida. This is a shot of him dancing his way up the asile.

Here he is coming off the stage with his diploma.... we were kind high up so I had to use the 10x optical zoom to get these.

Here is the group of graduates. There were 544 of them. It was the biggest class ever in Marion county. There are 6 high schools in the county. Derek finished 14th in his class.

He had High honors.... National Honor Society.... Engineering Special Program...and a full tutition scholarship to the university of Florida. When he gets there his life long friend Mike Armstrong will be his roommate. It is amazing both of them got into UF. 24000 apply and only 6000 get in.... which may not sound impressive....but ... only REALLY sharp kids bother to apply there.

End of May ---Cycling

Recently Michael and Cayce made a trip to Tampa to visit their friend Jason who deals in bicycles online. They were able to get a great deal on a bike for Cayce. She is excited about riding and loves the Orange & Blue color scheme of the new Trek.

They were beaming after riding to visit us -as is evident by their smiles. She looks like a cyclist and is already riding 18- 20 + miles -- so the prospects are good for her cycling future. She has a good teacher too and that never hurts.

Derek is finished with High School and will graduate on June 6th. Here is a pic of one of his last days when he rode to school in a makeshift swimming pool in the back of a pick up truck. The good news is he is accepted to the University of Florida and did qualify for a full academic scholarship (covering tuition and some $$ towards books). In his class of 570 only 11 qualified for that level of support.

The rest of the pictures are from a 63 mile ride we did yesterday to benefit Hospice of Marion County. The first one shows what happens when you ride a tandem with single bikes. They line up like it is Talladegah to enjoy the big draft the tandem puts out.

Here are the boys and I enduring the heat for a photo opportunity.

At the bottom is a picture of two of my favorite clients Lil & Ruth who do tons of volunteer work in town and we there serving food to the riders

DC trip and misc.

Bernice & I went to Washington DC for a short trip Thursday to Sunday.... I am tired so this will be brief.

First off.... Thanks to everyone who has served in the military and played a part in securing our freedom.  I truly appreciate it.

We had a great time and saw most of the key tourist spots in the capitol area.

This is Stanley the Crawfish....Derek found him in the river he has lived with us for 6 weeks or so and has molted shells 3-4 times

Another excellent week....

Bernice & I found recently that at the end of our street if you traverse a small field you intersect with the Florida Trail. This has provided us with some interesting after dinner hikes. The wild flowers are in full bloom right now in the meadows along the trail.




Last Tuesday Michael and Cayce joined us on our hike. We went about 3 miles round trip down the trail and found a mixture of meadows and woods.




One place they made and easy crossing of a fence and you actually traverse through an occupied cow field-- fortunately the herd was through an open gate and down a bit when we passed. In watching where I was walking -- I noticed this cactus in bloom.





On Saturday we did a 48 mile ride with our friend Don. He says he likes following us on the Tandem. I think he enjoys the draft ---it was funny-- He said, " I feel really fit while following you guys -- not so much when I am leading"



On Friday Bernice & I did a 60+ mile ride in the horse farm area north of Ocala. It was pretty with all the farms, ponds and horses. Some of which get all frisky and want to run with you as you go by.....others do not even notice us









This coming week we will head to Washington DC for a conference I qualified for-- should have some good pics for next week.

derek pics