First off I need to apologize for taking so long to do an update. I have been kind of busy, but mostly it is just because I am lazy. To make up for it I bring you a very long post of mostly meaningless drivel straight from my keyboard along with some crappy pictures. There should be a lot more activity over the next month or so because I have several very exciting rides planned. This weekend will mostly be maintenance getting the bike ready for this coming riding extravaganza!
I took yet another trip to the Gap from June 18 through the 21st.
There was no room at the inn, so I took my camping gear. I went to work on Wednesday with the bike packed, and at the end of the work day jumped on the bike and headed for Lexington, KY. The trip was pretty uneventful except for the fact that I hit no traffic or delays and made the best time I have ever managed. I arrived at 8:45! I stayed at the Motel 6 on exit 129 and it only cost $33. I got a very nice room and the staff there was great.
Thursday morning I got back on the road with only 129 miles till Tennessee. On the way down I came across a very erratic driver. I don’t think he had been drinking, I think he was simply very tired. I followed and saw him nearly hit a bridge abutment and several other cars. In total I saw him nearly go off the road about 12 times. I knew he was going to kill himself and possibly some others as well, so I stayed behind him and watched for the Highway Patrol. Eventually we came upon one so I put on my flashers and gave him the drinking sign and pointed to the car. The cop pulled out and followed him for a little while and pulled him over. I was glad to see him off the road because i have no doubt he would never have made it to his destination.
That put me behind a bit but I still made the overlook by about noon. Upon arrival I got a huge greeting from Dennis the pinstriping guy. Dennis is a really unique guy who is a ton of fun to hang out with. I could feel the heat of the day building and I went into the store to see if I could get a room, but they were booked solid and had a long waiting list, so I went ahead and set up camp.
Last time I was down the weather was all about rain. This time the weather was all about heat. I can handle cold much better than heat. I find 82 degrees to be the perfect temperature for riding. Take the temperature up 10 to 92 and I start becoming miserable. Take it up another 10 to 102 and I find that absolutly unbearable. Take 10 away from the 82 and I am still perfectly fine at 72. Even at 62 I have no limitations at all. The temperature has to drop down to around 40 before the cold makes me as miserable as the heat makes me at 102. The worst thing about the heat is the monkey butt. I still have not tried my idea of using antiperspirant on my butt, but the next long ride in the heat I will test this theory out and see if it helps.
The pulloffs are nearly all paved now, and I go on record to say that this is the best thing that has ever happened to the Gap. Now there are many more options for sitting along the road and watching the show. There is also much less chance of gravel in the road because vehicles are not dragging it out of the pulloffs. The best thing is that there is no reason at all for slower traffic to hold anybody up anymore. There are so many safe alternatives now to let traffic around that even the least experienced riders will have no problem letting faster traffic by. Many paved areas are so large you can just pull into them and ride slowly while faster traffic goes by with no need to come to a complete stop. The only problem is that people do not seem to understand how to use them. There is some talk about hanging some signs to remind folks to allow faster traffic to pass.
Saturday got a little crazy, so I headed out to ride some other roads. Upon returning to the Gap I fond that I had made the right choice. It had been a very bad day. Many wrecks, including one fatality. A couple of guys were riding the Gap and the first one noticed his friend had fallen behind. He got to the end and waited, and after a while began wondering where he was. This is something that probably has happened to all of us at one time or another. His friend never showed up and there was no sign of him. He had went over the side and nobody saw it happen so nobody knew where he was. They looked for a long time before they found him, but it is unlikely the outcome would have been any better if they had found him sooner.
This is yet another reminder of how dangerous this road can be. Please, do not try to ride this road if you do not have the skills to control your motorcycle. Stay away if your intent is to prove to others how fast you are, or to prove that a cruiser or Gold Wing or whatever you choose to ride can keep up with sport bikes. If you want to prove something, show off how well and how clean you can ride. In the end we are far more impressed with a slow rider who rides clean than a fast rider who is sketchy. Sketchy riders, no matter how fast they ride simply are not welcome on the Gap so please slow down or just stay away.
Some guys don’t understand what sketchy is so I will try to give you an idea. Do you cross the yellow line? Do you need to make 3 or more corrections in a single turn? Does a turn surprise you into panic braking? Are you scared? If you answered yes to any of these you are sketchy. Slow down or stay away. You will probably be the next statistic.
While I am on my soapbox I am going to talk a little bit about passing. In short I am just going to say don’t do it. There are many situations where passing can be safe on the Gap, but you probably have not ridden it enough to know where these places are. Lots of people figure all they need is enough room, but you need way more than that. If you are the fastest person on the road you need to be back in your lane halfway down the straight. The slower you are the faster you need to be back in your lane because the fastest guy could be coming the other direction. Even if you are the fastest guy on the Gap you have to hope the turn ahead is not a faster turn than the one you just came out of or the guy coming the other direction will be moving much faster than you. There are some folks who know the road well enough to pass but you are not one of them. Stay where you are and wait to be waved around or do a U-turn.
Ok, that is enough of the bad stuff. How about some pictures of some of the new friends I made this time!
Above is Adventure Girl. She is pretty cool and is just riding all around the country by herself. She is involved in a web site called Cycle Fish, but I have to admit I have not had a chance to check it out yet so I have no idea what it is about.
Not exactly a new friend, but I have not seem Allen since our first ever trip to Shady Valley. He is a super nice, softspoken guy who rides a KTM motard. And when I say he rides it, I mean he rides it. People are very surprised by how well and fast he rides because he is so softspoken. Tje fast guys don’t have to brag because others will do the bragging for them.
Now we get to the people whose names I can’t remember. Another couple of Motards from Ohio!
I can’t remember his name or where he was from, but I do know he is a very fun guy to have at the campfire!