A Frost Warning was part of the forecast for March 12th and it was not far off, as the morning temperatures were in the thirties in Woodstock early Saturday. Being forewarned the motorcyclists had rescheduled the start of the trip  to the mountains for 10 a.m, when things began to warm up and usher in one of those blue sky, clean air days that Georgians brag about.

Three riders were able to escape the inevitable Springtime "honey do" lists and get on the road. The three, Larry K, Bob K, and Bob S. made there way up through Jasper onto SR 136 and wound their way up the side of Sassafras Mountain past the two scenic pull-outs, that this day offered a clear view of Sharptop and further south. Near the high point on SR 136 they turned north onto Sunrise Ridge Road heading toward Cartecay (the intersection still has a sand coating so be aware).

In January Timothy's Motorcycle Club took a long shot and scheduled an all day ride to the Little White House for mid-February. Week after week they watched the weather trends to see if they would be lucky. Sure enough a week before the ride the forecast brightened to a prediction of sunny skies and temperatures in the 70's. The ride was on.

On the 19th they took off from Woodstock at 9 a.m. heading for Dallas (no not that on), Villa Rica, Carrollton, Newnan and points south, on the road to Warm Springs. Keeping off the Interstates brought them through towns that were only dots on the map before: Whitesburg, Sargent, Moreland, Luthersville and Allie. Arriving in Warm Springs it was evident that the warm weather brought many bikes out of winter storage and on to the roads. The town was packed with Harleys. Sta-Bil was in the air.

After a two month hiatus for the Holidays we held our anniversary meeting today, Saturday, January 29th. No cakes or candles or any hoopla, just a chance to get together with friends that share a common interest in two wheeled vehicles. As we normally do, we had a discussion related to biking safety. At this session we were lucky to have a helmet cam video of an accident, in enough detail to have us explore alternatives the hapless rider could have taken to avoid t-boning a car that was stopped, blocking his lane of travel. Much discussion about stopping distances, ABS braking systems and avoidance by swerving left or right ensued, but the consensus was the rider did what he could under the circumstances,  only riding slower may have saved the day. We also had an interesting discussion on the effects of Ethanol in our fuel and steps that could be taken to avoid phase separation and gunking under various conditions.

Dan took us through some additions that are planned for the web site and told the folks about some applications that can be used on our home computers to make sizing of photos less of a chore. He followed this up with e-mailing links to sites that have the pertinent information and apps.

The subject of all-day rides came up and we decided, weather permitting , to ride south to the Little White House on February 19th. The 12th would be preferable, but Timothy's annual Planning Meeting is scheduled for that day and at least three of the potential riders will be attending. More details will follow in a  couple weeks.

There is a good possibility of having an over night trip mid March, up to Maggie Valley to tour Wheels Though Time. More on this later too.

After the meeting, four of us, Frank, Larry, Bob K. and Bob S. went to lunch in Woodstock then on some of Sullivan's Secret Backroads over in west Cherokee and Bartow counties. Twas a beautiful day to be out and the vistas were outstanding. Good ride and a good time.

Our next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, February 26th at 10:00 a.m.

I hope you'll be able to make it.

Bob (the elder)