We started out this ride after work on Thursday. Right off the bat it was obvious what the theme of this ride was going to be: RAIN. We rode to Charleston, WV in an awful lot of rain. The next morning we woke up to cloudy skies and managed to make it the rest of the way with very little rain.
Upon arrival I was presented with the a replacement for the t-shirt that Beth had given away earlier in the year so I have taken her off the list.
Apparently word got out that the Tankster was going to be running the Gap, so “da man” was out keeping an eye on me. He was a good guy and seemed very understanding to why we were all there. I think he enjoys the place as much as we do.
Saturday really was a good day. I don’t think there was any rain at all the whole day, and I think it was our only rain free day. The place was just packed with bikes. I took Skidplates bike out for a run and really had that bike begging for mercy. That bike is just too small for me, but it was fun to ride
There was much love expressed on the overlook when a woman in an SUV cut off one of the riders.
Rick from Yellow Wolf Videos was kept busy over the weekend. I saw him making a lot of videos. I overheard a group of sport bike riders talking about him. They were saying that the only reason he could keep up with them was because he goes so fast in the straight sections and that he can not keep up with them in the curves. Well, of course he could not keep up with a sportbike in the tight stuff. He is riding a Gold Wing. I saw just the opposite thing with a lot of the sport bike riders. In the curves many of them are pushing their bikes to 20% of their potential and then on the straight sections they go WFO. Rick goes 100% in the curves and 100% in the straight. If he passes you on the Dragon it is not because his bike is better than yours, it is because he is an excellent rider and you suck.
Then came the rain. Monday that is all it did. Rain. Rain some more. Stop raining for 10 minutes. Start raining again. Rain some more. Add a little fog to the mix. What a waste of a day it was.
There are a lot of shirts on the ceiling, but you just cannot sit hear and read the shirts all day. Monday was nothing but boring and we really should have just gone home, but we kept hoping for it to clear up.
Tuesday we set out on the big 650 mile ride home. It was kind of miserable. It rained almost the whole way home. We got caught in a horrible traffic jam in Virginia. It took us over 14 hours to make it home. Even still with all the rain, it was a good trip. Maybe not a great trip, but a good trip. The day and a half of good weather made up for all the rain.