Nine members took to their cars to make it to the meeting on this rainy Saturday.

The meeting started with a reach back in time for an early Baloney Shop with Ken Klaus presiding, with the subject, "Roomies".

From there the group went on to dicussing potential routes for the "Cherohala Ride". scheduled for April 12th. They settled on the route that follows the Ocoee to Greasy Creek, then up through Reliance to Tellico Plains. The route then calls for a round trip on the Skyway with a stop in Robbinsville for lunch. After returning to Tellico Plains the trip home will be down TN 68 etc.

An overnight trip was scheduled for May 16th (p.m.) and May 17th, camping at T.W.O.s Friday night. Saturday will be a Forest Service Road exploration by those equipped for gravel roads and mountain backroad riding for more street-oriented bikes. There will be more information on both these rides as their dates approach.

They had a discussion of the differences in fixing flats on tubed and tubeless tires. This was supported by a video from U.K. showing a preferred method of getting a tubeless tire repaired.

A number of short motorcycle videos were shown and a few humorous ones, capped by one that followed a GoPro camera accidentally dropped from a small plane. The camera landed in a pig-pen where an ever hungry pig attempted to eat it. It was all on the video card.

The meeting broke up around 11;15 a.m.

The next meeting is scheduled for April 26th, again at 9 a.m.

Ten of us got together this sunny Saturday to lay out our ride plans for the coming months. The Brasstown Bald Reverse Ride is next up, scheduled for March 15th. On April 12th we plan to ride the Cherohala east to west after approaching from Wayah Road. For May we're thinking of an overnight, camping at Tellico Plains then riding the Cherohala west to east, then the Hellbender down to the Nantahala. June would be a ride to Highlands North Carolina for the waterfall circuit.

There was some interest in having a family BBQ at Timothy or a family picnic at Fort Mountain. We'll explore these options at the next meeting.

We viewed video clips and discussed "riding in the rain" and had a lengthy discussion  about the effect of the upcoming time change will have on riding hours. Remember, Spring forward, Fall back, so later dawns and later sunsets but the same amount of riding time between

We lived vicariously through the adventures of three riders tackling the Siberian wilderness, and two Canadians attending a BMW rally in Pennsylvania. We also had a few laughs seeing how others handled their ice/snow events.

Our next meeting will be at 9 a.m. March 29th  .

Eleven of us made it to the fifth year kick off meeting this cold Saturday morning. Once again Larry gets the award for"Toughest Rider" as he rode in on his KLR. The rest of us caged it with heaters on.

We set February 8th as the date we will again attempt the "Follow The Leader Ride".
 A route and description can be found on the website's Calendar. February 22nd was set at the date for the next meeting and March 15th the date for the "Brasstown Bald Reverse" ride. A Cherohala ride was tentatively set for April 12th.

Much of the meeting focused on the basics of successful U-Turns. Three similar approaches were viewed and much discussion about individual experiences followed. A replay and practice session can be expected at a later date when temperatures allow.

The meeting got to see a Brazilian motorcycle hijacking gone wrong and an ill advised water crossing that resulted in bike and rider being swept down stream.

A number of short "Smarter Every Day" clips were seen with one spider-related one getting everyone's attention.

Larry received the "hard core rider" award for the day as he was the only one to ride in on this blustery almost-rainy day, while all nine of the others came on four wheels.Congratulations Larry.

Steve showed the group a nicely done video from the Two Parks Plus ride of a couple weeks ago, starring the cold weather four. Dan tried to preview a commercial he's entering in a contest, but the footage and available computing power somehow weren't compatible, so he promised a look through some other means soon (so we can vote for his production,Chicago style).

The group decided to forgo meeting the end of December and scheduled the next meeting for January 25, 2014, when TLCMC will start its fifth year. Two rides were also scheduled, one for December 14th, the other January 11th. Details can be found on the website's Calendar. Additional off-pavement riding was discussed, with the thought of  mid week days being a possibility.

A video on "lane positioning" was viewed, followed by a "forensic analysis" of Russian motorcycle mishaps with the hope of learning something from  mistakes made by other riders.

A few more light-hearted videos spurred a lot of give and take conversation, as is the norm for this group.

Larry reminded the group that the church needs some help setting up the Christmas tree and other Holiday decorations next Saturday, November 30th at 9 a.m. He estimated it would take a couple hours to get the work done.

Question for the day: can you identify the chip-cruncher in this video?