Ten of us gathered this Saturday to map out a ride for April , put some more detail on the June Camp-N-Ride and generally have a good time together. A few rode in, anticipating the promised sunny afternoon. Others, with a better weather forecaster, drove.

We decided Saturday April 16th would be a good day to ride the Cherohala, getting there via Wayah Road. A planned start from the Chevron at I-575's exit 27 was scheduled for 8:30 am, both to allow distant riders to have daylight getting to the start point, and to hopefully be off the Cherohala early enough to miss any afternoon storms that may blow in.

Larry, our maven regarding details of the planned Camp-N-Ride, couldn't attend the meeting, so we did our best to go over what we thought we knew about the Thursday through Saturday trip, currently scheduled for June 9th -11th. Well have to firm things up at our next meeting on April 30th, or sooner via e-mail, if Larry thinks reservations for the two campsites need to be made earlier.

The hosting for our website, tlcmc.org is up for renewal. Dan is gathering the charge information and will let us know what he sees as the best deal, and we will either solicit contributions at our next meeting, or put out an e-mail if the funds are needed sooner.

Interspersed with the meeting's business we watched a few videos, some "technical", others just for fun. One of the more technical videos, about motorcycle tires, was of such interest that it is now posted on our website at

http://tlcmc.org/index.php/component/weblinks/?task=weblink.go&id=175  so those not at the meeting can be informed too.

The meeting adjourned at 11 am to a light drizzle and threatening skies, so there was no after-meeting ride.

A brisk, but promising day brought eight of us together (three riding) for our monthly meeting and a chance to further discuss our ride plans for March and the camp-n-ride in June.

Larry had some bad news regarding access to the overlook at Pigeon Mountain. Apparently the heavy rains earlier in the month caused a land slide that closed the only paved up the mountain. While this may be corrected sometime this year it certainly won't allow a ride up by March 12th. We looked at an alternative way up but this would require about six miles of gravel, and given the mix of motorcycles likely to participate that idea was scrubbed. However it was decided to still ride out to the Pigeon Mountain area probably incorporating the Pocket, Villanow and LaFayette in the ride. More details later, as the 12th approaches.

Next up for discussion was the Camp-N-Ride currently scheduled for June 10th through June 12th. Larry had some concern with Saturday traffic in the National Park and especially the fact that Cades Cove is restricted to bicycles Saturday mornings. He suggested we see if June 9th through June 11th schedule would be acceptable to those planning to go. Larry will be sending out an e-mail explaining the suggested change and soliciting feedback.

Since we have members that might not be familiar with all the resources on our website we took a tour of it especially focusing on the ride reports of trips we may like to do again this year. Two destination rides that provoked a lot of interest were Trail Riding School and Zip Lining in Lula. Take a look at these and let me know if you are interested in either or both.

We also looked through what is available in the Weblinks section of this site.  There's a lot there that can be entertaining and informative and worthy of a perusal, perhaps on a rainy day.

After the meeting three of us, Dave, Garret and I combined V-Stroms and Ural for a ride up to the Gilmer/Fannin border and the Toccoa Riverside Restaurant. Once we got past the construction and non-responsive traffic signal in Hickory Flat we had open roads and beautiful vistas all the way north. The restaurant, that was burned to the ground a few years ago, has been recovered, and remains a delightful stop when on the road. Here's a one minute video of our visit:

In spite of the lure of 60 degree mid day temperatures, the 30 degree morning , and non-flowing electrons, kept many bikes in their garages this morning. Never-the-less seven members rode in to round out attendance at our seventh year kick off meeting to an even dozen.
After viewing and discussing a vintage Baloney Shop video we took up the subject of a ride schedule for the coming months. For February we decided to tackle the route that was cancelled in early January, namely the ride over to Dial Ga, Suches and Dahlonega and try again February 13th, weather permitting.
For a March ride Larry suggested a ride west on March 12th, to the Pigeon Mountain area. Larry reported the existence a newly paved road to the view point. Details for both these rides will be sent as the scheduled days approach.
We also discussed the three-day ride/camp adventure. The Friday-Sunday dates of June 10th-12th was tentatively set, with more details to be decided at a future meeting.
To round out the meeting we viewed a few motorcycle related videos, one that focused on what and what-not to do when caught at a stop on a steep hill that affords only limited traction, others more for laughs rather than instruction.
After the meeting five of us rode up to Jasper, taking some interesting and at times challenging side roads up through north Cherokee and Pickens counties. We stopped for lunch at 61 Main restaurant in Jasper then returned by a different route home. The weather was super , the ride great and as usual, the fellowship outstanding.

Our next meeting will be on February 27th, 9 am at Timothy.

Ten of us mulled over potentials for meetings and rides for the months of November and December. Here's what we came up with:

No regular end-of-the-month meetings until January,

We will ride locally (<150 miles) on November 21st, starting from the Chevron at exit 27 of I-575 at 9 am (more details via e-mail as the date nears),

On December 12th we will meet at Timothy at 9 am for a shortened meeting, then ride locally on our way to a BBQ on SR 369. After lunch those who wish to will ride on backroads for a couple hours (again more details later),

The balance of the meeting included a thorough discussion of the features of the SPOT device including examples of the various messages that can be sent, an example from Halfthrottle on what not to do when riding in back country alone, and a report from the Steves on the high and low points of their recent weekend camping at the Barber Antique Festival.