June 11th and 13th Rides

Due to a variety of work commitments, house projects, kindergarten graduations, and family vacations, I have not been able to get away on the bike for a couple of months. Not that I am complaining, it has been a good couple of months being with the family, but I missed the call of the road.

Therefore, when an open Saturday appeared and a RTE call was voiced, I jumped at the opportunity to ride over to Hickory, NC for lunch with the hope of catching a bit of the Blue Ridge Parkway. About 10 of the MTF guys met up for lunch and tire kicking. It was an easy ride up to Hickory from Athens being mostly I-85. After lunch a number of use headed up to the mountains and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Shortly before we got to the Parkway a hard rain/hail storm came upon us and we found shelter in an abandoned gas station. After a 30 minute delay, we headed onto the Parkway. The rest of the group only traveled about 10 miles before heading back to the Charlotte area. I decided to stay on all the way to Asheville. Overall, it was a beautiful ride but one filled with rain from time to time. As soon as I would dry off from the last shower, another one hit. Plus the Saturday afternoon leisure drivers were out in full - I know that the Parkway is not a private motorcycle course, but why people don't simply pull over a 10 seconds (okay 5 seconds) to allow a bike to pass is beyond me. Those few seconds would make everyone much more happy since I am sure that most don't like a bike inches from their bumper.

Overall, I think I came in about 490 miles and besides the rain storms that I had to contend with all after and early evening, it was a good day and I enjoyed the company of other MTF riders.

On Monday, Steve H. and I decided to get out and collect a few of the Lions Club passport book locations. We hit Duluth just after rush hour, but traffic was still heavy as we made our way up to Dawsonville. Once we left the Racing Hall of Fame, we traveled through Dahlonega (I had forgotten how beautiful the town is) we traveled up to Neels Gap and the Store which I had never been to before. After the Store, we hit a cemetery north of Helen before heading over to Royston and Ty Cobb's museum (why it is in a medical office is beyond me). We rolled back into Athens and hit Ben Epps just before 3 o'clock. Unfortunately, the office was calling and I needed to head in from that point. I like riding with Steve, but it is a lot of stopping (I even planned stops along the way to allow him to stretch). But it is fun to have a riding partner especially since most of the riding I do is solo stuff.


All in all, it was about 750 miles of riding over the two days. It was good to be on the bike again.

Cape Fear Adventure - April 14th - 19th

Wow - what a crazy week of weather. Thankfully, I made through all of it safe and sound.

Of all the rides I seem to do, it is this one that I look most forward to every year. Probably because it was the 2008 Cape Fear Rally that I first tried long distance endurance riding.

After getting the rally book on Wednesday evening and figuring out what I could or should attempt given the anticipated weather, I headed up to Savannah, TN on Thursday morning. The first stop was in Cedartown, GA to capture another picture for the Lions Club Tour of Georgia. Next, I was completely taken back at the beauty found in northern Alabama (not so much Muscle Shores or Florence) but the rest of the area was really beautiful and easy to ride in. I checked in at the Quality Inn shortly before 3 p.m. and had to return some phone calls and other work related tasks before talking to a number of other riders and continue to tweak my riding plans.

Dinner was at the Catfish Hotel near the Shiloh Battlefield. About 25 of the riders showed up and it was a good time. I changed my route again (deciding to go for the Meridian bonus after all). I make my reservation for a hotel in Pooler, GA for Friday night and then crash for the night. I awoke at 7 a.m. to the sounds of weather sirens blaring. It was not going to be a good day. I moved on to the Hotel lobby to mingle with the other riders. One thing for certain, most (if not all) of the LD riders really do look after one another if asked and when necessary. There was a lot of anxiety in the breakfast area and most were willing to share their thoughts and perspectives as to what route might be the best to get around (and through) this storm. All of the talk reassured me that staying in Mississippi was going to be the right move.

After breakfast, I did some last minute routing against the weather channel's forecast and decided to make a beeline for Meridian. My thought was if I could get south I would be below the tail of the storm and should have a ride into Wilmington without storms - or at least until late Saturday morning. So a few minutes after 9:30 a.m., I packed up, checked out and headed out to a gas station to get the starting receipt. About 20 of us were at a BP and in the excitement of the start, I forgot to get gas and just got a starting receipt for a bottle of water (or "grocery" as printed on the receipt) with a starting time of 9:59 a.m. CDT - meaning at 2:59 p.m. EDT I needed to be in Wilmington - about 1200 miles down the way. I headed due west on US 64 to US 45 (even though Ms. Garmin wanted me to do something slightly different) but I figured I needed to just get out of town and due west was the best direction based on what the skies were looking like.

Shortly after crossing the Mississippi state line, I realized that I didn't get gas since pulling into town yesterday afternoon so I don't have enough to get to Meridian without stopping. Nuts. So down US 45 I head. The weather was actually pretty decent - a little wind but no rain until I got to Tupelo (about 90 miles into the ride). About that time, my body was done with the morning coffee and orange juice so I figured that I might as well kill two birds with one stone. So I stopped at Shannon, MS at 11:29 a.m. I pull up to the Texaco and no one is there except for a guy cooking chicken in the parking lot and the store clerk. I go in and use the restroom and come out to (seriously) 10 cars that had pulled up to the station to get a chicken lunch. It appears that he starts selling at 11:30 (not a minute sooner) and people come out of the woodwork for his chicken (it did smell good). Anyway, I topped off the gas tank and head out. The weather has definitely turned and I am riding south in a fairly steady rain now and directly into a storm.

Just before I get to West Point, MS (about mile 135), I really start getting uneasy about being on the bike- the wind has picked up, the rain hasn't slowed, I'm getting cold, and it is getting dark - no- not dark, the sky is actually becoming void of light as if all light is being sucked out of the clouds. I get just inside the city limits and there is a Shell station on my right, I decide to play it safe and pull in. I barely get under the canopy when the tornado sirens start going off and buckets of rain start coming straight down. I put my heated vest on and start waiting out the storm. Over at the next pump I notice a bike, but didn't think much of it until Barbara notices me and calls me over. Shortly after Rick comes out of the store to give Barbara and me a weather update. It appears that the real nasty stuff is going to the north of town (we can visually confirm that from the gas station) and if we wanted to make a run for it the south appears to be okay. So once the rain subsides a little, we take off. Fortunately, that is the last of the really bad weather.

The remaining 100 miles to Meridian are (comparably) uneventful. We ride in and out of rain and wind but nothing is too bad. Just before Meridian I decide to part ways with Rick and Barbara and take off ahead of them. That was short lived because they had the fastest gas stop in Meridian and get in after me yet out before me. Time to head west. I decide to pass over the Exell's Fish Camp (first of my poor point shedding mistakes) and head straight to the Old Alabama capital site.

For the next hour and half, it is a constant cat and mouse game with the rain showers - nothing serious, but I would always seem to find a way to ride into a stray shower when the rest of the sky looked promising as I head into the former capital site. The area, Cahaba (mile 340), is really neat in a ghost towny way. But it is an easy ride in, snap the picture of the stone marker, and head back out. There are about 6 other riders at the site at the same time. I always enjoy seeing others while picking up boni, if nothing else, it reassures me that the route that I chose seems to be attractive to others as well. As I pull into Selma, I pick up a few other riders and tag along with them through Selma, across I-65, Luvrene, Brantley for gas, and then into Enterprise.

While riding through Luvrene, I fall about 1000 feet behind the other riders and gun it shortly before leaving the city limits to catch up trailing right behind a white sedan. Of course right at the city limits sign is a cop running radar, thinking that I am busted, I fall in line with a number of vehicles and watch the cop come up the line wondering which vehicle he is going to signal over. He gets right in front of me and directly behind the white sedan when he turns on his lights. I just maintain the same pace watching to see if he is motioning my direction, thankfully, he doesn't and just pulls over the white sedan. So thank you officer.

Enterprise, AL (mile 475) is home to the Boll Weevil monument in the middle of town. I (along with about a dozen riders now) pull in at about the same time and take the required picture with our flags. I can't imagine what all of the locals were thinking watching the show. As we head out of town, the group of riders seems to start breaking up, some are heading north towards some of the lower Georgia point locations (but more numerous), while some continue east towards Bainbridge.

The ride over to Bainbridge occurs during the time of the day that I absolutely love to ride - about 90 minutes before sunset. The air is beginning to take on the coolness of the night air and the angle of the sun illuminates the countryside in a really unique way. The ride over on US 84 is mostly a four lane highway with ample opportunities to pass. I pull into the BP Bainbridge gas station (mile 560) just after dusk, get the receipt that I need and head back on the road. But now it is decision time, do I stay on US84 and head over to Saint Simons or cut up and over through Georgia to hit a bonus or two before getting into Savannah Georgia? I am beginning to feel the fatigue of the stress the first three hours of the ride caused to set in, but think I can make it over to the island. So, I shed the two point bonus locations (821 in Vienna and 685 in Vidalia) in favor of the 1415 points in St. Simons. Off I go. Yeah, I realize now that 1415 is actually less than the 1506 these two would have provided. A classic simple stupid mistake you seem to make on these rides.

Okay, Ms. Garmin tells me it is 3 plus hours to St. Simons, but it really doesn't sink in until I get about half way there. It is a long, long way in the early evening and night hours. Still I just pluck off the miles one at a time. But by the time I reach Waycross, I know that hitting St. Simons and then up 95 is going to be too much for me. Damn, why did I reserve and pay for that room in Pooler before starting this Rally? Even under the most ideal of conditions, it was the questionable place to stop and now it's just plain wrong. I still like the idea of reserving a room before hand since it gives me a place to shoot for when I start getting tired and it is nice to know that a room is waiting for me when I pull up (good thing too in this case since everything in Pooler was sold out by the time I pulled up at 1:30 a.m.). However, with the room being where it is and the amount of time it will take to get to the end of the island for the bonus, I know I will not make it safely. So I have to shed the St. Simons bonus. Therefore, right before I get close to Brunswick, I detour up towards Darien and I-95.

It is a quick 60 minute ride (including a gas stop) from Darien up to Savannah to get the receipt I need. Luckily the station that I stop in Savannah has a good receipt and rings up the bottle of water that I bought as "grocery" as well. Therefore, I have matching receipts and 4,250 points. Though by the look I got from the clerk, she was taken back why I wanted/needed a receipt for a 99 cent bottle of water. The next exit up 95 is for Pooler and my hotel room (mile 822). I stop at the convenience store next door to the hotel and grab a banana and container of milk to officially document the start of my rest period. I ride over to the hotel and check - in. I actually enjoy watching the expressions of the clerks when I tell them I need a wake-up call in about 4 hours after checking in. Yeah, the rules say you only need to stop for 3 hours, but I know my body and it needs more, so I am more than willing to get an extra hour. Yeah, I will probably lose another bonus or two, but I wasn't going to win this thing anyway.

The wake-up call comes at 5:45 and I hop into the shower and then back on the bike. I am pulling out of the convenience store at 6:10 a.m. heading towards the Old Sheldon Church. It will be an easy stop for me since my former in-laws once lived less than a mile from the site and I visited it several times over the years. As I ride up, I quickly scan other bonus locations in the area as an attempt to salvage some of the lost opportunities from last night. Once I pass the exit that I would need to take, I notice the St. Helena Island bonus - shoot I could have got that one and then the Old Church without loosing much time if I noticed it about 5 minutes earlier, but the way the rivers and inlets carve their ways into the low country of South Carolina the next exit up 95 would require way too much back tracking so I decide to head directly to the Church (mile 875). The rules state you could not submit a picture until after 7:00 a.m., so I make sure that the picture is taken at 7:02 a.m. to be sure - easy 488 points.

After the church, it is over to the Isaac Hayes burial site. Heck, I didn't even know he was dead (Ed's note: I have recently been informed that he did in fact die in 2008 - RIP) much less that he was from South Carolina. I ride down the sandy dirt road to the historical marker and find out that it is Isaac Hayne from colonial times (mile 902). Reading comprehension is everything in these rallies. I come to find that I luck out with the road condition for this bonus, it typically would not be advisable to try it in a C-14 after the rain that we had. But it wasn't too bad - soft in places, but I never felt like the bike was getting away from me.

Next was a couple of stops around Charleston. Typically, I shy away from Charleston due to the traffic, but it is only 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning and I think I can get both of them by 9ish. So I head into the city. Both (a cow advertising a dairy - mile 933 and the National Park Service sign for Fort Moultrie - mile 946) prove to be easy boni to pick up in very light traffic. They were preparing for a civil war reenactment at the Fort and I was quite the spectacle riding in taking the picture and riding off while a dozen of Union forces were standing around. I guess we all have our own ways to burn our free time. Looking up at the sky, I wonder if I am going to stay out of the weather today. It is evident that the area has had some showers already this morning, but I seem to be about 15 minutes behind them. Not going to complain.

Upon leaving the Charleston area, I hit a lost sea memorial just off US 17 (mile 984) before visiting an old church in Bucksville, SC just outside of Conway (mile 1037). Before getting to the Church, I do a little on the bike version of the "happy dance" near Georgetown when I cross the 1,000 mile mark 23 hours into the ride. Although it may not seem to be that big of an accomplishment on these rallies since almost everyone does it, I still find joy in the fact that I have ridden 1,000 miles in less than 24 hours every time I do it. Checking the clock, I see that I should have plenty of time to make the 1 p.m. Southport ferry (current ETA is 12:15 p.m.) so I call Mom to see if she wanted to meet me at the front gate of St. James since I would be literally driving by at noon and had a couple of minutes to spare. She says sure and offered to bring a sandwich to eat on the ferry - great news since I am starving - jerky and granola for 24 hours is beginning to get really old. However, as I get close to St. James on 211, the road is closed due to an accident. We are rerouted over the new Oak Island bridge and through Oak Island before coming back into Southport. I call Mom and let her know of the situation (she noticed that no vehicles were coming from that direction while she was waiting) - she offers to drive down 211 to meet me at McDonalds, I decline - but she does anyway but stupid me doesn't stop and just wave as I ride by - too bad she said that sandwich was really good.

I arrive at the ferry terminal at 12:39 p.m. (mile 1120) and am the first bike in line. Within 10 minutes about 12 of us show up to score the 3750 point ferry ride bonus. Although I have taken the ferry countless times, it is the first time while on the bike. Didn't really notice much of a difference in the voyage - they load us up last and we are under the tunnel which means we are one of the first ones off. A number of us lead the pack of riders through the beach towns south of Wilmington and over the draw bridge to get over to see the special guest at the Battleship and the necessary 2860 points.

I pull in to the Battleship at 2:01 p.m. (mile 1145) and meet Bob Higdon. Since it is an easy ride to the hotel from here and I don't have to be there until 2:59 p.m., I linger longer than I normally do at bonus spots and talk to Bob and watch some of the riders arrive for the picture I find Bob to be a really pleasant and funny fellow and enjoy the show.

I take off and head back over the Cape Fear river to head to the hotel and grab a six pack for the final bonus. Coming up onto the bridge, I am completely taken back by the blast of wind coming down the river and the fact that it truly feels like it could blow me over (or at least into the parapet wall). Thankfully, I make it over the bridge and head towards the hotel. I stop for the beer and the clerk comments that she knows where the party is going to be tonight. She presents me the receipt as soon as I pay for the beer. I take it I am not the first rider she has seen this afternoon.

I pull into the hotel parking lot at 2:31 p.m. (with 28 minutes to spare) and about 1160 miles on the odometer. Overall, I am very pleased with the ride.

Scoring is uneventful for me. I enjoy hearing all of the stories that many riders tell of loosing points at the scoring table, but I have found the process to be fairly straight forward as long as you stay organized. The one key rule that I follow is that I never do any of the paperwork while on the bike. I keep a running log with me with all of the necessary information, but I don't actually fill out any of the paperwork until I get a shower and sit down at the table in the scoring room. Adding up the points, I find myself pleasantly surprised that I have 37,703 - which should mean a solid middle of the pack finish. I will admit while I was missing some stops that I should have planned better for, I had visions of finishing at the bottom. At the banquet, I find that score means 17th place finish. I can live with that.

The banquet was fun as always. I think we are all so starved that we will eat anything that is placed in front of us. But Jim and the rest of the Rally Krewe always do a really good job with getting barbeque brought in and there is usually enough for seconds. This year is no exception.

Sunday morning, I say good by to as many people as possible before heading over to Mom's for a few days. I really love the fact that when I leave the hotel on Sunday, I have a whopping 30 miles to go when most of the riders have hundreds of miles. So before 9:00 a.m. I am back off the bike and waiting for Mom to get home from church.

After two days of helping Mom out around the house, I head back to Athens with stops in Augusta and Washington for more Lions Club Tour of Georgia stops. The only problem with the ride home is the heat. It was over 90 degrees in Augusta - way too early in the year for that.

Overall, the trip yielded about 1900 miles so given the Master's RTE and Milwaukee/Moonshine trip, I top out at about 4,000 miles in a little less than 4 weeks. A really good start to the 2011 riding season.

Apr 5th - 9th - Milwaukee and Moonshine

Okay here was the plan. Ride the bike up to Milwaukee - visit Purdue (fist time since 1993, catch a Brewers' game, go to a Stormwater conference, ride to Moonshine, and then home). Simple enough 1800 miles in about 5 days. And, believe it or not, it actually was minus the 90 minutes of rain that we had to ride through between Paxton and Casey (rain gauges in the area suggest that over an inch of rain fell during that time).

Leaving Athens on Tuesday morning was cold - upper 30's, it actually snowed a little the night before in the Smokies, but it was still cold and then very windy on the ride to Purdue. Got in about right on schedule and then explored the University a little the next morning. Some things were completely different, some were almost exactly the same. I can't believe it has been almost 20 years. Heading out of town lead me (by chance) into a field of windmills. Must be some sort of alternative energy experiment associated with Purdue. Riding through Chicago was hairy so I just stayed in the far left lane to minimize the direction that some of the vehicles could come at me. Milwaukee itself was fine - just cold, gray, rainy, and dreary. But the hotel was great - Iron Horse Hotel. It is a converted loft with a motorcycle (mainly Harley) theme. They said that I was the first one to ride in this year.

After the conference, I made it about 200 miles south to Paxton, IL. Small farming community not much to see - expect for the high school girls hanging outside the only bar that I found open. The next morning I headed to Moonshine to pay my respects to Terry. As I said earlier, not much to say about the ride down except for the rain (and rained it did). Met up with a Chicago rider on the way down (Ed) and it was fun to have some company during the storm. Miss Garmin sent us an interesting route through the fields of Illinois but it was all good. After a quick stop at the hotel to pick up the shirt and cinnamon bun - it was off to Moonshine with the others (good thing too since I didn't have the correct coordinates - didn't check them from S&T will in the future). After the burger and tire kicking, it was back to Athens. Not much to report, at times I really didn't want to be riding any more, but I would either stop or pick up another rider for a bit (thank you Gold Wing from Dalton to 316).

On the way up, I picked up a stop on the GA Lions tour and another one on the way back.

Interesting story while at Moonshine. After getting the burger (picked up by Ed - thanks), I sat down next to an older gentleman talking to a younger guy across the table. Didn't pay them much attention when all of a sudden the older man said something about looking for a "David Clark from Athens, GA while here" I said, rather nonchalantly, that would be me. It was Ronnie who made me my highway pegs. After quite of bit of disbelief that I actually sat down next to Ronnie, we had a good talk, saw each other's bikes, and wished each other well. Really good guy.

March 24th - 26th - Master's Weekend

It was supposed to be three days of riding to really kick off the upcoming riding season. On Thursday, I took the morning off and rode over to Two Brothers Tires in Lawrenceville to get a new set of tires on - the decision was pretty easy once I picked up the nail with Roger and Tim. Tim did a great job - about $60 to put on the tires and the cost of the tires matched what most internet sellers were charging. I am definitely going back.

Friday morning was a ride over for a Barb-e-que lunch with other MTF riders. Up until then, I had only met a couple and didn't really care one way or another, but these guys were great and super friendly. Will definitely do this again. Wanting to see some scenery (plus the weather was perfect) I tried to take as scenic route over and back as time allowed. The town of Ware Shoals, SC may not be much, but the shoals are beautiful. Also, riding past the test track for Michellen was an unexpected surprise.

Saturday was supposed to be a ride with Steve but given his accident earlier in the week, I was on my own. Got off to a late start in the morning - didn't have everything ready - lessoned learned. So I moved on down US78 to meet up with Jim for breakfast. Again a really good group of guys. Then it was off to Sconyers for lunch. Many in the long distance community don't like group rides, but I actually enjoy them at times and it was fun zipping down I-20 as a group of about 20 bikes between Atlanta and Augusta. Lunch at Sconyers was good - though a little un exciting the weather held a number of people back this year. Leaving Sconyers, I got caught up in a pretty good rain storm for a few minutes but quickly dried off by the time I was in Thomspton. Given the weather, I didn't try and do much more than zip on back to help Marie since Landon had a birthday party to go to and she still had clients.

March 13th - Ride with Roger and Tim

Since Marie took Landon over to Charlotte for the start of Spring Break, I had an open Sunday so I took advantage of it with a couple of co-workers. I laid out three different routes and had them choose they chose this one because I said it was only about 170 miles - missed that it was closer to 205, don't know how I missed it.

But it was fun riding with Roger. His riding style closely matches mine and we seem to have a good sense for when we need to stop. Plus he loves to go hard in the curves at times. Tim is a fun rider, but is mostly in the laid back cruising sense instead of wanting to eat up the miles. But I enjoy both of their company on rides. Anyway, I think this is a good afternoon route and one that has a touch of the mountains and a little bit of the lakes.

February 11th - Friday Fun Day

Trying to take advantage of (what we were led to believe) was going to be great Friday weather, Steve, Steve, and I played hooky for a couple of hours during the middle part of the day and did a quick 100 mile loop south of Athens. It never really warmed up as they promised it would nor did we see the sun until we got back into Athens. But like they say about the golf course, a day riding is better than being in the office.

February 23 - 25th - Orlando Trip

As a surprise to Landon, Marie treated him to a week at Disney and Universal for his 6th birthday. We all know my "love" for Disney, so I used it as an excuse to stay at home and be a bachelor for the first part of the week. On Wednesday, I drove down to surprise him at dinner for his birthday and then spend Thursday at Universal with him and Marie before heading home on Friday. In all, about 950 miles in a little over 48 hours. The bike is really sweet grinding out the miles on the interstate (as much as I dislike slab riding). The seat modifications, pegs, and new windshield all fit my riding style really well now and I only need to stop for fuel now (about every 200 miles). I was pleased to see that I was averaging 47 mpg on the trip. The route was nothing to write home about - literally down and back on the same roads. Wednesday's trip down was gorgeous with very light traffic. Friday started off with a very strong crosswind (coming at me from the west) until Lake City and then I rode through about 20 minutes of a light rain (not enough to worry about or stop for rain gear). But once I got back into Georgia, the clouds broke and it was a beautiful ride up from there.