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Nine of us met this Saturday for our regular monthly meeting, It was good to see Frank and Dan there as it's been a while, Frank with persistent knee troubles and Dan immersed in video making(more on that later).
After viewing a legacy Baloney Shop video (I do miss Ken Klaus) we moved on to discuss the August 16th family picnic. We decided to cancel it as the anticipated attendance wouldn't justify laying out $175 for the shelter at Sweetwater Creek. Perhaps we'll revisit the idea in the fall at a different location.
Instead of the picnic we decided to ride on the 16th. An off Interstate route up to Fort Mountain, with a stop at Edna's in Chatsworth for lunch is planned. The HD planner puts the distance at 130 miles and I'd guess 41/2 hours including lunch. Details and the route plan will be posted on the Calender.
We took a look at a novel way to restart a bike with a dead battery using the driven wheel on a running bike as a driver to the dead bikes rear wheel. Pretty slick.
We had a chance to "run" this year's Pikes Peak race with one of the contestants. This 12 mile ride to the top of the 14,000 foot mountain is definitely not for the faint of heart
We also rode along with four guys on BMWs that gradually became mired in mud on their way to a BMW rally at Barber. It was evident front wheels don't steer when they don't rotate and they won't rotate with no friction to drive them, not to mention the effect of wheel stopping mud, packing between the wheel and fender (why do BMW "adventure bikes" have such close fitting clog-able fenders?)
Dan, our budding movie mogul, brought a copy of his latest production for us to view. The video is an entry in a contest that requires the video team to conceive of a screen play, collect props and actors, rehearse scripts, film and produce a finished product in 48 hours (if I recall correctly). I'd say they did a great job with a comedy entitled Baby On Board. Kudos Dan (and company).
Halfthrottle, the fellow that lived in Panama and rode a KLR to interesting places and since moved back to the USA, videoed and reviewed his recent test rides on three models of the Zero electric motorcycle. He was impressed, as were those at the meeting. Faster electrics with greater range (Zero is up to 120 miles) appear to be a certainty for the future.
Although we didn't discuss it at the meeting, it looks as if August 23rd is the best date for our next meeting as the last Saturday of the month, our usual time, falls on Labor Day weekend.
See you on the 16th and/or the 23rd.
Six of us (Melinda, Paul, Steve, Larry, and the Bobs (the younger and the elder) met this Saturday to map out plans for the coming months.
We referred to the recent Rider Preference Survey and other input from riders regarding changes to our riding routes that may allow more riders to participate. One suggestion favored by those at the meeting was to intersperse shorter, less technical rides, with those to more distant mountainous areas. The thought being a short (100 mile or so) ride one month, a more traditional longer ride the next. For July12th we scheduled a ride along these lines (see Calendar).
On July 20th (a Sunday) we plan to ride to King Of Kings (Jasper) to attend the 10:30 a.m. Service. You may recall KOK was a mission plant initiated by TLC's Long Range Plan a few years ago. Pastor Knoche of TLC is the Pastor Emeritus at KOK. After the Service those willing can ride up to Suches for lunch at TWO.
We discussed the prospect for a Family Gathering. We viewed a video that showed the facilities at Sweetwater Creek (off of GA 20 just west of Knox Bridge).This is a COE park and has a shelter and parking more than sufficient to handle our families. There's a nice beach on Lake Allatoona and facility for horse-shoes, badminton, volley ball or other games that can be brought to the park. http://www.allatoonalake.org/parks/sweetwater-park.html We are thinking August 16th would be a good day and we will soon be looking for input regarding your participation and the number of folks that may be attending with you.
Steve and Larry shared with us photos and video of their experiences on the motorcycle camping trip they took in early June. Their trip included the off road "Cherohala", the Blue Ridge Parkway's southern end, Clingman's Dome, Cades Cove, Parsons Branch, the Dragon and a number of Forest Roads and mountain tops in Tennessee and North Carolina. Great trip; thanks for letting us go along.
Our next meeting is scheduled for July 26th. Mark your calendar and try to be there. It's fun and your input is important.
Six of us met Saturday To finalize plans for our June 21st ride to Tennessee and North Carolina. We agreed to start earlier than originally planned, hoping to get on the road from the Chevron at exit 27 by 7:15 a.m. instead of 8 a.m. This gives us a better chance of getting out of the high country before afternoon thunderstorms usually arrive. Additionally we plan to u-turn on the Cherohala at the Santeetla pull-out and have lunch in Tellico Plains rather than go on to Robbinsville as shown on the route map. This gives us more time to take in Bald River Falls.
Larry and Steve are planning a multi-day off road camping trip that will also take them to Tennessee and North Carolina. They hope to take the Forest Service roads that parallel the Cherohala and other primitive roads in and near the Smokies.
We viewed and discussed an Australian video that did a good job showing the appropriate technique for negotiating curves on two lane roads.
The Baloney Shop 2009 message that expounded on the news coverage following the Fort Hood shooting, though almost five years old, unfortunately still rings true.
Other videos and discussion filled out the meeting and June 28th was set as the next meeting date.
Seven of us met on this fine sunny day to plan the details of the upcoming overnight trip to T.W.O and the rescheduled ride to the Cherohala Skyway.
The start time for the Friday ride to the campground in Suches is yet to be established. As a stake in the ground I'll propose 4 p.m. at the Chevron station where East Cherokee Road and Hickory Flat highway (SR 140) meet in Hickory Flat. Those planning to go should e-mail the group accepting this start time and if a problem, suggest another time.
The June Cherohala Skyway ride is now scheduled for June 21st leaving at 8 a.m. (see Calendar for a description of the ride and the planned route).
We discussed the perils of summer detours (gravel, edge traps etc.) a la Captain Crash and his advice on the subjects of "dragging floor boards on a cruiser" and the legal aspects of motorcycling interstate.
We watched a video about flash floods and shared personal experiences of stream crossing during flooding.
Another few videos were shown just for laughs but "Smarter Every Day" came up with two, one on hockey the other that I'll call "Balloon". Rather than try to describe it you can watch it here:
Our next meeting will be on May 31st at 9 a.m.