Day 8

After I woke up Monday morning, all of the other guys had left. Cheap was kind enough to let me wash and dry clothes. While the clothed dried, I installed my frames back onto the bike. I said my thanks to Mr & Mrs Cheap for the awesome weekend. Thanks agin you guys. I loaded up the bike and headed out. I ran up the 77 to where the Blue Ridge Parkway crosses the 77. I pulled over, pulled out the laptop and searched where to go next. I decided to grab a room and hit the Parkway early the next morning. I used the rest of the day to load pictures and email a few to some of the guys. I called it an early day and went to bed around 11:00. There are no photos for the day. I rode a total of about 150 miles that day, just sightseening.

Day 7

Day 2 of the Rally was smaller, as some people went home, and some got sick. It was down to Cheap, Dirt, MIS3, Brian and me. We met one of Cheaps friends along the way, he was riding a good looking blue Harley. Cheap took us on more roads that were spectacular, in scenerey and twisties. We rode for a few hours till we stopped for a rest at the famous road known as "The Snake". We were unhappy to see that the whole area was covered with highway patrol. The Snake had 5 cops on it, so it made for a slow ride. At the end of the 1st run, a cop pulled in behind me and followed me for the last 2 miles. He then pulled the whole group over and asked where Brian's plate was. Well it had ended up pushed up under the rear tail and just needed to be pulled back down, he said ride safe and let us go.

We were taken to the "Hole in the Wall", it used to be a hole that a train used to go thru. It was a cool place and I got some nice pictures. The weather was perfect, and we rode +300 miles for the day. There was plenty of high speeds corners and slow speed corners. There was tons of wheelies and just great riding. I had a good nights sleep and was able to ride fast and safe, unlike the previous day. The day before I was tired and left the camera and video cam at the house. On the second day I was rested and mounted the video cam and took the camera. I was able to get some great pictures and videos thought the day. I set up a corner and had the guys run past me so I could get some action shots. We did this for some wheelie shots too.

After the riding was done, we met Mrs Cheap and kids at the local pizza parlor and I bought pizza for being so nice for letting us have the house for a few days. We then went back to the house where we drank a few beers and watched the videos and looked at the pictures that I took through the day. Before we turned in, we helped MIS3 and Dirt load their bikes onto the trailors and into the truck. It was a wild 2 days and I am so glad that I made the effort to be there.

Here is a video clip...


Clips of the Snake






Here are pictures of day 2...

The crew for day 2


The gracious host and tour guide


Random pics of the day...



A place called "Hole in the Wall"



Some action shots

Cheapbastard


DirtMcgirt


MIS3 on the new 675



Having fun


Wheelie fools...




The ride of the day, except for the po-po

Day 6

After I slept for a brief few hours, I awoke to a bunch of guys talkin smack about me in the Cheaps front room. They didn't know that I was awake, all I heard was "That dude made it in around 600am, what a crazy mofo." I walked into the front room and yelled "people are trying to sleep!" They all laughed, and we all introduced ourselves. Everyone was chipper and the day started out around 800am, and the ride was to start at 900am. I was working on like 6 hours sleep in 48 hours. I went outside and took the frames of the bike, and gave the bike a quick wash. Friends of Cheaps started to filter in, it looked like it was going to be a descent group of riders. There was a total of 8 riders, two Suzuk riders Cheap on a loaner Honda, and a Vmax. The rest were Triumphs, either Speed Triples, Daytona, or a Sprint. Cheap, Geno, and John were smooth, fast riders. We rode for a little while then we stopped at a Hardy's, where Cheapbastard decided to take my order and leave me to wait at the counter to get the order remade. Thanks Cheap....

Then it was time to ride, I stayed near the rear of the pack, because I was SOOOO tired. I was just glad to be riding with everyone. Cheap took us on some unreal roads, the surface of the roads were smooth and clean. The roads were twisty and full of great scenery, what a great place to live and ride. We were hauling along when the front of the group came upon a Porche and the chase was on, I left that to the guys that had a good nights rest. The Porche didn't give in easy, I caught up with the others at the end of the road.

We stopped at a town called Meadows of Dan, and had lunch. It was right off the Blue Ridge Parkway, it was a nice break. I was running on fumes because of the lack of sleep. All in all I think that we rode a 205 mile loop, it was so much fun. I gave Cheap hell saying that I didn't dive across the country to only ride a 205 mile loop. After the ride was done, we went back to the casa and Cheaps wife, cooked up some dogs and hamburgers. Thanks for the great hospitality MR & Mrs Cheap...you guys rock!

When we did arrive back to the casa, Jim from Michigan had arrived while we were out. He had the new Daytona 675 and the Speedie unloaded. Jim was a crack-up, there was much beer consumed and good times all around. I was tired and turned in around 1100pm. A little while later Jim decided to hit the hay too....he crawled into the top bunk and proceeded to kick off the guard rails to the top bunk. Man was that the beginning of a never ending story after Cheap entered the room the next morning. Of course he enters the room taking pictures and sees the broken bed....as you can imagine, the wild gay sex stories of Dano and Jim quickly grew.

I was so glad that I had made it to the Rally, even though I was slow all day because I was tired. I had a blast and everyone was cool as heck.

Here are some of the pics of the day...


The players for the day, not all bikes are shown

Mine


MIS3's new 675 Daytona


Cheapbastard


DirtMcgirt


Tripeee



MIS3's Speedie


Cheapbastard's Brother in law


John


Brian

Night of Day 5

I arrived early in the morning and slept for a few hours, washed clothes and had dinner with them. The salad at Ruby Tuesdays hit the spot. After saying my goodbyes I took off to meet the guys at Cheapbastards place, arriving around 600 in the morning in King, North Carolina, unloaded the bike and crashed out for a few hours. The dive there was OK till I turned south from Bristol, Virginia and ran into pouring rain...it was coming down in sheets. I got sidetracked by going south on the 77 instead of the 74 where they split. That cost me a hour down and back, in the pouring rain. After I got back on track, I had a little trouble finding Cheapbastards place. I asked for directions then all was good. The rain also stopped after I got on the other side of the mountain. It was time to rest for the short few hours before meeting the guys and the ride began...no pics this day. I rode a total of 405 miles that night.

Day 5

After waking in Oklahoma, I cleaned the bike and loaded up. Time was ticking and I needed to be in North Carolina soon. So no more sightseeing for the next few days. I rode I40 across to Crossville Tennessee where I stayed at Todd & Lisa's place. It had been a long drive of almost 750 miles. I drove till late in the morning, around 600am. I unloaded the bike and hit the bed, man was I tired.

Day 4

After a good nights rest in the Motel 8. I woke up and rolled the bike out of the room and packed it up. As I was loading up, I received a return call from a fellow TRAT member, to bad that we couldn't meet because it was a work day. I called info and got the address for a local Triumph store, I wanted to have a bottle of oil to carry on the trip. While I was at the shop, I got to see the new Ducati SuperMoto, it looked like a fun bike, and it sounded great too. With the oil in hand and loaded in the luggage, I set off on I40. Within a few miles I ran into rain, so I pulled in under a bank teller drive-thru and donned my rain gear. I had the pleasure of riding for a few hours in on again, off again rain.

I saddled up and rode out to Amarillo Texas. During the ride I hit more rain....in the dry Southwest, whats up with that? So I decided to pull into the Big Texan and have dinner. I had a New York strip, salad and killer soup. I had the pleasure of watching one guy try to eat the 72oz steak. He didn't make it, so he Had to pay the 72 dollar price. I would have tried, but I had to make road time, and I didn't feel like sitting on a stage and having people stare at me while eating a 72oz steak. I also would have never been able to ride after eating that meal, heck even for a few days. So after a warm dinner, I grabbed my cowboy hat and saddled up once again and rode off into the sunset. I rode for a few more hours and then made it to Henryetta Oklahoma. The night driving was nice and the temperature was perfect. All totaled up, I drove 650 miles that day, even with side stops and a long dinner. This was the first day that I felt that I didn't have to be anywhere, I had finally let go of schedules and realized that I was free to do as I pleased. Man I slept good knowing that.

So here are some accompanying photos...

This the Big Texan stop..



Now I have proof....


This is what the Big Texan steak is cut from


The bike getting ready for bed in Oklahoma

Day 3

After I left the Grand Canyon the night before, I drove from the eastern rim of the canyon to Flagstaff Arizona. Flash forward to the day 3 morning and it was very brisk and partly cloudy. I was tired so I picked up a latte to warm and wake up. The I40 was the road of choice to make time across the country. After I left Flagstaff, I went to the Meteor Crater National Park. This is the place where a meteor impacted the earth 50,000 years ago. It is a few miles off I40 so...off I went. After paying the fee, I watched a movie about the park and a lesson on when and how it was formed. Then I went outside and walked around and shot some pics and videos. The pics don't let you see the size, scale of the place. It was a neat place, and a huge hole. But it paled in comparison to the Grand Canyon the day before. My suggestion....see the Meteor Crater then the Grand Canyon. After I got back on track and ran down I40 for a few hours, I ran into a few rock formations outside a town called Window Rock. These were interesting formations to me, they looked like people figures from a distance. They were also very colorful, it was a nice rest stop. I then decide to turn off the I40 and ran north on a Navajo nation road. This was a beautiful road with awesome nature all around. I stopped at one place and took lots of pics and a few videos. When I was finished with the side road, I headed out to Alb. New Mexico. It was a nice evening to ride, the moon was bright and I pulled into town around 930 at night. I pulled the bike into the room and sent and tried to hook up with a Triumphrat member from the area, no luck, maybe on the trip back. I rode a total of about 365 miles today, nice and easy with a few great side stops.

Here are some of the pictures captured along the way
This is outside the entrance to the Crator park


wide open spacs dude....


This is near a town called Windowrock on I40



This is on a Navajo nation reservation, it was a pretty area.