Ride With Tank

Thursday morning, originally uploaded by Tank Mobile.

Today I made my earliest and coldest coffee run of the week. I saw my thermometer drop down to about 44 on my way up here and it really felt quite brisk.

This morning I saw a sedan coming the other way driving like a madman so I slowed down a little because we were going to meet in the hairpin. It turned out he was not driving like a madman: he was, in fact, a madman – it was Ben.

There were a couple of unusual guys camping at the CROT this week. One of them found a warm place to sleep last night. He spent the night in the Robbinsville jail on drug charges.

The gas shortage seems to be getting pretty bad down here. Brad told us to avoid going south because there is just no gasoline. Asheville is basically shut down today because there is no gasoline. Everything is closed, the whole city is closed. So far this has had no affect on us at all and I am hoping it stays that way.

Wednesday afternoon, originally uploaded by Tank Mobile.

I had a little bit of excitement today! A bear crossed the road in front of me this afternoon! Finally after all this time I can say I have seen a bear.

Usually I see a lot of turkeys also, but this time the only turkeys I have seen have been riding Gold Wings or Harleys.

I guess there is some kind of Harley ralley at Fontana this weekend. The Harleys are just flowing in on trailers. On my last run I passed 6 or 7 guys pulling motorcycle trailers. I really don’t understand why a guy would trailer a HD to a place like this. What amazes me even more is that most of those guys hate twisty roads also! I just don’t know why they come here. Maybe the scenery is worth it to them. I guess I ride my motorcycle to places that I really do not enjoy riding it just to see the scenery.

Sometimes I like the quiet while I sit here, but right now I can hear sport bikes all around me and I like that sound also.

Wednesday morning, originally uploaded by Tank Mobile.

Not much to report this morning. Perfect weather, coffee at the overlook, pancakes at the store, a whole lot of bac and forth and a quick trip to Fontana Dam.

Tuesday night, originally uploaded by Tank Mobile.

Another great day comes to an end.

We had a police presence until an hour after dark today.

Very light traffic again today, but enough to keep it interesting. I am not aware of any wrecks at all tody.

Dinner and lunch today was from Sweetwater BBQ, and it was quite good. We got a bunch of takeout so we will be eating BBQ for a while and that is fine with me.

Once again I spent some time hanging out with some TN/NC folks and I have to say the people of this area really are great folks. I enjoy hanging out with them just as much as I enjoy riding their roads.

We were visited again today by Jammer, Papa, and Rex and they seem to be having a really good time.

Tuesday morning, originally uploaded by Tank Mobile.

Today I got a genuine sunrise ride in. I made it to the overlook in time to watch the sunrise while drinking my coffee.

Once again after the coffee at the overlook I returned to the store for pancakes. One of the changes I mentioned the other day affects my pancakes. The Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort has stopped serving margarine and is now back to real, honest to God butter. This has made my week far more enjoyable.

The weather continues to be incredible. Absolutely perfect weather. Nothing but perfect in the forecast.

We only have our room through Wednesday night. We are hoping for a cancellation that will let us have a room through Saturday night but it is not looking good. I suspect we will just go buy a cheap tent and sleep outside if there is no cancellation.

There is a gasoline shortage in the area that has us a little worried. Many gas stations in the area are out of gas. We are hoping this does not affect us, but we are hearing a lot of reports of no gas.