Sleeping in a sloped tent surrounded by damp gear isn’t much fun.  I kept waking up after sliding down with my feet against the side of the tent.  And no matter which way I turned, I kept bumping into my damp riding gear.  Bleck!  I should have spent the time before trying to sleep to sort out the positioning for everything.   Still I woke up very well rested, despite the apparently lack of sleep.

The sun peeking over Mount Mitchell with the clouds rolling through.

All the riders that morning were moving on, so we all backed up our gear.  We agreed to meet at the restaurant for breakfast and the teacher and I went up to the top to see the observation area.

Smaller version of the platform they have at Clingman’s Dome

But much more cooperative weather.

We went back and had breakfast at the restaurant.  Gorgeous views with the sun and very relaxing to have a good sit down breakfast before the day really gets going.

Obligatory group shot with the bikes:

Following the BMW along the Parkway.  It was nice to ride with someone again.  We did eventually get our signals crossed and swapped positions after I missed a turn off.

Unfortunately, he was my rain talisman.  Not 30 seconds after he pulled off at Grandfather, did I get hit by a rain storm.  I lucked put and pulled into a Visitor Center just as it started to really come down.  No reception, so the other riders and I all suited up and went on our separate ways.  But it was just a typical rain storm and soon, I was sweating like crazy.  I pulled over to take of the rain gear and check out the Craft Center.

 

Really nice old mansion

 

With a stunning view of what was probably their domain.

I think I’d be happy with home like that… With the staff to take care of everything, of course.

Until the next gas stop, the riding was very solid.  Good clean roads, nice views.  Although all the views kind of start to look the same.  The Appalachians are old mountains, so everything’s a bit rounded and treed.   I kind of stopped pulling over at the view points.  But the sky was just clouding over as I stopped for gas.  And surprisingly enough, I bumped into the same 3 guys from the night before.  They had spent the night in Marion and were just grabbing a bite to eat at the gas station.   I filled up as well, just to have the sky open up and just dump rain.

We hung out for a bit and chatted.  Tried to figure out when the best time to head back out and talked about bikes and riding.  In the end, the rain slowed and they invited me to tag along – warning me of an incredibly loud exhaust on the Frankenbike…

It was loud, but nothing I haven’t experienced following a 600RR around.  Probably not even more annoying…  But they were a reasonably quick group of riders.  Much faster than I would probably, go, even if Mendy weren’t currently a beast fighting at the chain and lurching every which way.

It was kind of fun to watch them squirm in their seats tho’.  Anytime the road straightened out, you’d start to watch them stand up, shake their arms and feet.  Made my seat seem positively comfortable.

But it was a very educational ride and makes me miss riding with my crew.   They were a lot more comfortable with each other – changing positions and had their own signaling system.  I never had any idea what was going on and typically just slowed down once anything started to happen.

They also had much, much better eyes for wildlife than I did.  Even when their signals were clear: eg. pointing at a deer.  I almost never saw it until I was right on top of it and probably too late to avoid if it had been ready to dash onto the road anyway.

Being faster, they were also much less patient with traffic.  They would wait until one of them got a passing/dotted lane, but then just wave each other(and me) through.  Probably the only time I’ve passed on a double yellow.   Spotters make a huge difference.

Still, they were a comparatively mature group.  Crazier than I am exactly comfortable with, but mostly making decisions I agreed with…  They slowed down for almost all the turnouts and blind corners.  Very disciplined when stuck behind traffic, very willing to slow right down before nice turns just so they could enjoy that little bit.

Of course, after being stuck in traffic and rain for the better part of an hour, when things dried/cleared up, they got impatient and picked up the pace.  No way I was going to keep up.  I might have stood a chance if the chain wasn’t loose, but with the surging, it was difficult to get a good feel for the road.   Probably all for the best since I ‘missed’ all the excitement.   A stupid mustang was in our lane and nearly took two of them out.  They had less than 1/2 a lane left to avoid crashing.   I think if I had been around to witness that, I would have slowed right down and let them go ahead.   As it was, I eventually caught up when they were stuck in traffic.

Chatting with them at the next rest stop and gas station in Roanoake was quite nice.  Bunch of gear heads – hence the Franken bike… Top end from one bike, block from another, etc.  Made me wish I had a place to wrench on something.  Won’t be Mendy, but maybe an old Duc.  Get myself comfortable with the Desmo valves?

They nagged me to do something about Mendy’s chain, so I parted ways with them to a Howard Johnson before dark.  I lubed the chain and adjusted the tension before it got dark and I checked in.  At this point, pulling at the chain at the back of the sprocket showed daylight – the chain was officially done.  Tracked down the closest Ducati dealership and made a note to call them in the morning before crossing the street for some dinner.

Large lime margarita on the rocks with chips & salsa.

Fajitas Texana – Chicken, Shrimp and beef.

I had gotten there after 9pm and was taking my time eating and catching up on some reading.  But before long, they asked me if I needed box – they were closing at 10.   I ended up chugging the margarita and packing the rest to finish at the motel room.  Thoughts of catching up on the blog were a lost cause.   I just went to bed.