Ride recap

I want to detail a few rides before I FORGET already!  So far, I have not been a multi state driver, but we have done a lot of our east Tennessee paradise.  I will say that David pushes me.  He doesn't let the excuse, "I'm just a beginner" hold ANY water.  When we were cruising through Knoxville uphill on a 55 mph 2 lane with traffic and curves, and I fell behind enough to let a car cut between us, he had to have a 'conversation' with me about staying up close enough.  I argued that I didn't feel comfortable and he said to push through it or I would never GET comfortable.  And he's right!  In subsequent rides, I have realized that I'm not thinking as hard/holding my jaw as tight/feeling tight thorough my neck from tension any more.  I sit up straight, keep my hands relaxed, and let the bike float through the turns.

I have now driven on the Cherohala Skyway as a driver, and it is AWESOME.  The only bad thing is I can't enjoy the views any more!  I just have to see them out of my peripheral.  We have done several long rides; on the last one I referenced in my blog, we drove west towards Cookeville.  Cookeville is halfway between Knoxville and Nashville.  We had 'way points' of McCloud Mountain, Burgess Falls, Cummins Falls, and Fall Creek Falls.  We drove through the Big South Fork recreation area, and that was an unexpected treasure!  Nice and cool in the shade, lots of cliffs and sheer rock walls, and 10 mph hair pin curves.  Those are challenging!  I could see how people can lay a bike down if you don't get in the friction zone.  It was a LONG day that ended up HOT.  We hit Cummins Falls first, and didn't realize it was going to be a several mile hike down/up hill and along a creek bed to get to the falls.  We simply were not dressed for that.  I was wearing jeans, my paddock boots, and my half chaps.  By the time we gave up getting all the way to the base of the falls and turned around to just take the trail up to the top, I was working on some gnarly blisters.  We finally made it back out to the bikes and began working our way towards Burgess.  That one was better, but what was a leetle bit disappointing is that the "big" falls was a 3/4 mile strenuous hike.  The boys were tired, and my feet were killing me, so we just took in the 'small' and the 'medium' falls, which were still drop dead gorgeous!  We didn't make it to the 3rd park.

Cummins Falls

We've gone into Gatlinburg and and Pigeon Forge, of course.  We've now gone through Foothills Parkway twice, and today we did it half way, then turned down a side road that ended up being the most challenging road to date for me!  Even moreso than the Dragon.  Even moreso than Big South Fork.  It was a road that was so narrow it didn't have a yellow line, it had a pronounced "crown" in the middle of it, and it had gnarly curves on a dramatic downhill grade.  To complicate matters, there was quite a bit of loose gravel and washed out leaf piles from the recent storms we've had. The cherry on top was the stop sign on a steep, cantilevered uphill!

Burgess Falls

A fun ride we did with the inlaws and family friend was south towards Chattanooga, where we ate breakfast at a cute cafe in Tellico Junction.  We continued to Ocoee, which is rafting central.  We turned down Hwy 64, which is the Ocoee River Scenic Byway.  That was so neat, we had to go back the following week with the baby and the car!

Speaking of ... I have to vent for a second.  I'm a sharer.  I share this blog, and I like to post in 'forums'.  After the COTH debacle with one of my ex bestfriends, I no longer even read COTH.  Lost interest in the whole "pack mentality" of perceived online wrongs.  Since becoming interested in motorcycles, I've joined a few facebook motorcycle boards and I post on both fairly regularly.  Nothing controversial; in fact, I don't even READ political posts that my friends and family post so I'm not even tempted to insert my opinion.  I'm allergic to drama, lol!  Last week at the Ocoee dam, there was a HUGE open and empty parking lot where we ate a picnic lunch.  We had finished eating, and was getting ready to head out.  Colton has sat on David's bike QUITE a few times at home just going forward and back; he LOVES it.  His whole BODY lights up when he hears them running.  When we're outside and he hears one going down the road, he practically breaks his neck trying to look.  We KNEW he would do just fine sitting on the tank for a loop around the parking lot.  David was fully dressed in his jeans/boots/long sleeved shirt/full faced helmet because WE WERE RIDING ALL DAY.  Colton was wearing shorts and no helmet because he doesn't have one; he can't reach the foot pegs which means he CAN'T RIDE ON THE HIGHWAY.  Yes, y'all know where this is going.  My dumb ass posted the 30 second, 5 mph ride in the parking lot.  David was going so slow the Subway bag SITTING on the back of the bike didn't even MOVE.  Much to my surprise, I got jumped on by a bunch of internet strangers telling me someone should call CPS because I was endangering my baby's life (one of the biggest issues seemed to be the fact that David was wearing full gear and Colton was not).  GIVE ME A BREAK.  He was in NO danger of falling off; he weighs 25 lbs, is in full control of his muscles, and was sticky with sweat.  David is one of the most protective fathers I know, he would NEVER, EVER put either boy in any sort of danger.  Fun?  Yes.  I am so sick of people thinking they have all the information in any given situation, and thinking it's ok just to jump people's ass on the internet. And by the way, the baby's CRAZY OVERPROTECTIVE GRAND PARENTS WERE WATCHING/FILMING/ AND CHEERING FOR HIM. Once again, I have been reminded that by sharing my life/opinions/observations, I leave myself vulnerable to virtual attacks.  It's pathetic.  Ok, rant over!  Thanks for the vent :D

Tomorrow (or Sunday) I will post about tips and tricks I have learned that actually work and actually help me as a novice rider.  Stay safe and ride free!

The controversial baby

Cruisin' down Hwy 411

Lake in the Sky

The view from Look Rock

Khaleesi and Cheyenne

Can't believe I'm 20 minutes from this view!

My soul mate.  Can you believe our 18 year wedding anniversary is this month??

Beautiful, beautiful things

Confidence is an amazing thing.  I am NOT a natural athlete.  My husband is; David can throw, catch, and hit just about any type of ball.  He can sprint like a freaking cheetah, and he ice skates just as well as he roller skates.  Natural.  Me on the other hand, NOT a natural, lol.  I run as slow as a turtle, I'm deathly afraid to catch a football, and a year's worth of ice skating lessons taught me to skate backwards and manage to come to a shaky stop WITHOUT having to use the wall for brakes.  What I can do, is ride.  Am I a genius on horseback?  No, but I'm certainly not bad.  I just have to be mounted on an appropriately sized horse :)  Big barrels and short legs do not mix!  But the principles of riding well; staying in the middle, strong but relaxed arms, eyes up and looking ahead, heels down and legs steady ... that I'm good at.  And I DO have guts.  I have no problem with hopping on a "scary" problem horse and applying my knowledge to try and solve an issue.

Most recent equine "problem child".  Love it when they improve!

Maybe that's why I've taken to riding motorcycles, as David puts it, like a duck to water.  The day I got my bike, the ONLY road experience I had at ALL was 4 times around the demo track on the 2 demo Scouts I rode.  The only "curve" experience I had was around orange cones on a closed "range".  Well ... we left the dealership in Knoxville, hit the interstate, and headed up to Townsend, then through Gatlinburg.  If you've ever been to the sleepy little tourist towns of east Tennessee, you know the entire area is one small curvy mountain road after another!  We gassed up and rode those roads!  I had a few moments where I gritted my teeth and forced my hands/arms to relax, but for the most part I have had no issues.  My "fear" is of hairy stop signs; uneven ground and/or steep hills along with stops where you have to make a bold turn into the flow of traffic.  Sometimes when I stop, I feel the pull of the bike to one side or the other, and I get a flashback of dumping the Harley.  Just makes me more determined to hold my baby up and keep the rubber side down!

Love it that hubby and I do this together!

Sunday, I rode in front of David to my work.  I have a 30 minute drive; 10 minutes through town, then 20 minutes up the narrow, 2 lane part of the scenic road Hwy 411.  He followed behind me to make sure I seemed "good", and when we pulled into my parking lot he just shook his head and said he was amazed.  He said other than my tendency to ride in the middle of my lane instead of 1 side or the other, there wasn't much to "correct".  I felt good.  A little bit tense at times, but I felt confident enough to give it a go!  And then ... the rain came.  All.  Week.  Long.  We were able to take a QUICK ride around the block one evening after I put the baby down, and it was actually a little discouraging.  My ride around my actual neighborhood did not feel good.  I felt shaky and "off".  I could feel my arms tensing again and wanting to fight against the handlebars.  Dang!

I love my bike.  Have I mentioned that?

The weekend was a total wash, as was Monday morning.  I was beginning to get what I'm told is PMS.  Parked motorcycle syndrome, hahahaha!  I harassed David to plan us a ride for Monday when I got off work, somewhere we could spend a few hours together.

The view from Foothills Parkway.  Spectacular!

We headed out on 411 towards 129 ... that's the official name of the Tail of the Dragon.  I started to get excited, but horribly nervous at the same time.  The Tail is notorious on my lady motorcycle boards I frequent.  Most recommend staying OFF until you have several year's experience under your belt.  The in-laws told us we were NOT to ride it until we had at minimum 6 months experience.  They told David even he should not tackle it.  As we got closer to the start of it ... we turned off on Foothills Parkway.  That's a LOVELY scenic road up on a curvy ridge overlooking the mountains.  I was literally smiling as I felt Khaleesi eat up the turns and curves of the road.  I practiced on the tighter hair pin type curves looking around the turn, then looking WAY down the road and finishing the turn without actually "looking" at the road.  That's hard to do, but it definitely works!  I felt amazing through the curves, concentrated on staying in the middle of the bike and letting her do most of the work.  We rode about 3 hours or so.  Did NOT do the Dragon.

Are we gonna do the Dragon?  Not tonight!

    FINALLY, Tuesday, I was ready to hit the road solo.  I prayed like crazy that my comfort level would come back.  I just reminded myself to get in the friction zone, and stay relaxed.  It worked!  By the time I got to work, I was feeling pretty good!  The ride home was AMAZING!  I rode Khaleesi again on Wednesday, and that desire to grit my teeth was finally gone.  I ride my bike the same way I drive my car; not trusting anyone around me to drive safely.  Constantly scanning, backing off the throttle when I see brake lights, and generally driving as though I'm invisible.  Wednesday after work, we again headed out 411 to 129.  This time, after we turned off just AFTER the Foothills Parkway turn, David asked me if I was ready to tame it.  I said my bike is named after the Mother of Dragons, I'd better be ready!  I will just say it.  I am DAMN proud of myself.  Not once did I come to a corner too hot, no shaky start/stops, no issues through the curves at ALL.  Didn't miss a shift or stall the bike ever.  My mantra of Slow, Look, Press, and Roll went through my head at every turn.  The speed limit is 30, dipping down to 15 on the hairpin U turns.  We kept it between 20 and 40 the entire road.  I rode my own ride and had the time of my life letting her lean through the curves and power out.  One photographer; I focused on my ride didn't look at him.  At then end, we pulled down into the Deal's Gap motorcycle resort and regrouped.  I was proud of David too.  He looked like a bold and confident badass rolling through the turns.  He took them with a little bit of speed, too!  I let him get out ahead a few times, but for the most part I kept up pretty well.  To be honest, the hardest part of the whole ride was pulling OUT of Deal's Gap!  It's a pretty gnarly hill rolling out of that parking lot; AND I had Khaleesi's kickstand sort of down in a hole.  It was hard to get her out of it!  But I did great, and the ride BACK up the Dragon I laid hard on the throttle rolling out of the turns and kept right on David's tail almost the whole time :D

Thanks to Killboy.com for the amazing Dragon taming pic!

Thursday was more storms, and this morning I rode my 3rd solo ride to work.  What a DIFFERENCE some saddle time makes.  I rocked it out.  No hesitation, no shakiness, and not so much as a foot stutter the entire road to work AND back home.  Tomorrow is epic.  Heading back to McCloud Mountain, this time for breakfast.  That road in is intense; it should be FUN on the bikes.  Will be touring through THREE state parks.  Should end up being about a 10-12 hour day, taking into account breaks and eating.  Can't wait!  So blessed and happy to be on this journey; I love the connection I feel to my husband.  What a difference being on the same page makes <3

All 3 of us, first ride on the Dragon with 2 wheels!

Khaleesi and Cheyenne feeling good!