Unexpected Course Adjustment...
It was my birthday, so I decided to just take a day off from the ride and lay around... I'm finding I can do lazy rather easily and well these days... It was a nice day, too, and not at all what one might expect. I did get lots of calls with well wishes and such, and it's always nice to chat with friends and family... Yes indeed, there were also a couple of naps squeezed into all the other non-activity...
Early that evening, I received a very unexpected text message... and it stood all of our non-planning on its head! My focus immediately shifted away from looking for the eye of a needle to thread in some rain headed our way in a couple of days to where a good meet-up location might be.
Yep, a good friend and occasional riding partner would be passing this way also, so we'd be needing a place to meet and perhaps share a meal... Sweet Cheeks was in Amarillo and would be in Fort Smith, Arkansas, the following evening, then somewhere around Nashville the next evening. We were in Tupelo, MS, so we were fairly close to her glide path...
I thought about meeting her in Ft. Smith, then riding back with her for that leg of her journey... On the other hand, I just couldn't get very excited about two long days of pounding an Interstate mostly back and forth across Arkansas... She had a destination and a time frame she needed to honor (attending the FCR), but I had no such things driving me forward. Then I had an inspiration...
Hey, I could just lay around another day in Tupelo, and then meet her for an evening in Dickson, TN, just west of Nashville. Yeah, I know what you're thinking... Why would any serious rider forego a two-day I-state blitz and simply lay around in a motel room all day instead? Like I said before... I'm finding I can be lazy rather easily these days!
Nothing to it, really... I just walked to the office and re-enlisted for another night, had my card keys recharged, and... that was that. I didn't even have to produce a credit card or picture ID this time. I did when I first checked in, of course, as that was serious business... not like merely voting for president or anything...
I then proceeded to go to a pizza delivery website and order a couple of sandwiches online... That way I wouldn't even have to go out for a meal! I would still have to ruff-it some, though... no delivery for candy bars, so a stroll to the vending machines would be required... See, it ain't all easy-peasy...
A nice leisurely glide up more of the Natchez Trace towards its northern terminus, then the easy jog near the end up to Dickson and check-in at yet another motel. I sent a text confirming my location, and the location was pretty good too. Yep, right next door was a Logan's Roadhouse restaurant, so din-din would not require any effort to speak of! My new partner for the meal arrived...
Sweet Cheeks arriving aboard one of her two Valkyries...
My good friend Janice...
We had a very nice visit... great dinner, then we split a room for the evening... and... the following morning stuff began to happen. Yep, one thing led to another and by 8am or so, I'd decided to attend the FCR after all. Heck, I'd been thinking I would miss all group activity for a while simply because I figured I needed the space, but...
There just seems to be some sort of spiritual magnetism amongst members of our very special tribe, and... Anyway, I'll be smack in the thick of things after all, when literally minutes before I'd been thinking I'd be absorbed in solitude for some time to come... Besides, Robbinsville is as good a place as any to wait out a bit of rain...
Janice and her old friend rode over to Etowah, TN, for the night before the big annual event... There we met up with Punisher who would become part of our mini-crew for the final few miles over to Tellico Plains and the meet up with SmokinJoe and the Kewl Kids.
Three old friends remembering another old friend... Wimp and I used to get an apple pie & senior coffee sometimes, so... we did in his honor.
I'd called my good friend Big Wolf and threatened him once again with a good time, and on this occasion he gave in! He'd been saying for a couple of weeks that he just couldn't get loose, but this time he'd be joining us the next morning for that final leg, too. Now ain't that something...?!
And so it was, we rode to Tellico Plains and there many of our pals were... already parked and heavily engaged in back-slapping and big-dogging. We just joined right in... A few more folks trickled in, and then AOS, KSU time came, and most took off for the Bald River Falls visit, then the first lookout rendezvous with those who'd chosen not to make the six mile ride out to the Falls. We didn't go with either group...
Nope, Big Wolf and I had waited until only we remained, then we'd made the wonderful ride to Robbinsville unaccompanied... We did find ourselves dodging sports cars, sport bikes, campers and an assortment of other vehicles all the way, as... we made our way at a leisurely pace 'over the hump'.
This time of year any elevated roadway is heavily traveled by leaf-peakers and others who time their events to coincide with that special season. Oh well, one has to expect such things and we had... No place or time for aggressive riding, we figured; more, it was time to watch out for those who were doing that... all too often without enough skill and with little caution!
We arrived at Ground Zero and settled in. What a great time mixing and mingling with all the boys and girls from all around who congregate there every year! This year there was even a surprise snack table set up (I didn't think to take a pic of it) with cake, cheese, venison, and other stuff to satisfy our munchie urges. Thanks Barb & Don! A very nice feature provided to mark SmokinJoe's retirement and to honor our departed friend... T-Bird.
Very near the snack table was another tribute to our late riding bud...
Well, afternoon passed into evening as merriment abounded and continued to build, as it always does. Lots of friendship making and renewals, and of course the annual 'run against the radar competition' was held. Only one injury reported this time that I heard of... Not sure if it was Stanley or Cletus, but... nothing too serious it turned out.
Gig and Lulu were there, and she had even brought an extra blanket for this temperature sensitive pseudo rider! Gotta love thoughtful folks like that!!! It occurred to me that were it not for Sweet Cheeks and our unlikely encounter a couple of days before, I'd have missed out on all of those wonderful happenings.
It just goes to show, I reckon, that no matter what we think or how we anticipate things should likely work out, life is full to overflowing with surprises for us. And, many, many times those surprises are far better than anything we might have expected... I'm mighty glad things worked out just the way they did... Yet another magical moment or two...
DDT
