An orgasmic plethora of random ride memories.......

[Stanley Steamer]

Like the smell of the exhaust first thing in the morning when you fire the old girl up....the sound of her  sweet music when you twist the wick hard in 3rd gear coming out of a long sweeper.....the smell of the dew on the grass....the smell of fresh cut grass out in the countryside....the feel of cooler air on your skin as you fall down into a low spot in the woods....especially when there's a creek there.....the smell of woodsmoke wafting across farms and fields in the Fall.......the look on some ppl's faces at gas stations when they are trying to figure out who makes the bike.....the double takes of other bikes as you pass them at 100 with your foot on the highway pegs....

Dang....supper's ready........to be continued.....

Feel free to add your own favorites smells, sounds, etc, etc of the "ride".......

[big turkey]

Real Men Of Genius - Silent Killer Gas Passer	powered by Aeva

Sounds and Smells don't always go together, Big AL

[Stanley Steamer]

The sound of the downshift when you're coming down off the mountain.....the harmonic resonance of the pipes when you're in a gaggle of Fat Ladies.......

[Disco]

the harmonic resonance of the pipes when you're in a gaggle of Fat Ladies

 

[NCGhostrider]

The sound of your girlfriend screaming as you round a corner and open up in 3rd!  And then the feel of her hand hitting you on the head telling you to slow down...

ah.. pleasant memories..  especially since I now am married to someone that doesn't scream when I round a corner and goose the old girl. 

Craig

[Big Rig]

Watching your harley buddies fade in the mirrors as you goose the throttle...

Also the smell of your favorite BBQ wafting thru the air....

[Stanley Steamer]

Ummm......BBQ.....love that smell....I'm thinking about riding up to Lexington, NC soon.....they claim to be the BBQ capital of the World.....or something like that....

[hubcapsc]

the harmonic resonance of the pipes when you're in a gaggle of Fat Ladies.......

And then Big Al cranks the throttle on his Harley... I'll always remember that mixture of sounds as
we all came back from the Blue Gray ride on 81...

-Mike

[Valkahuna]

The melodic whine of the transmission as the engine works its way through the power band...

The sound of my home built glass pack exhaust system as I accelerate up through the gears.

[slider]

  the first ride on your first valk,will never forget!!

[NITRO]

Hitting the line just right in a tight corner and cracking the throttle as you apex with boards dragging...

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

I'll add a few.
The smell of a corn field, fresh cut hay and wild onions. The sound of my Mark "T"s when I downshift to make a fast pass on the highway.

Hanging out with good folks on the Blue Grey ride and the valk supercross ride there. (You'll know what I mean if you were there.)

The elevators at the Executive Inn in Paducah.

Hearing the Duc Man singing "Orange Barrels" over the intercom while riding through road construction on our North West ride. Both of us singing John Prine songs on the same ride.

The ol' Lady's chest against my back when we were young and running way over 100 on the old V65. And her pretending to be mad as she pummeled my back after long wheelies on the same bike.

Ridin' on the back of my own valk with my leg in a cast while my son took me for a peg draggin' ride and some wheelies.

The smell of burning bugs. Oh yeah!

Almost handing an LEO my last "Fast Riding Award Warning" when I was pulled over in Montana. I keep them in the ziplock bag with my registration. Saved by the Duc Man that time.

The magic on a kids face at the car wash as he stares at the valk.

A gorgeous blond stopped in the rain at a truck stop to put on raingear and the smile on her face as she said "I hate to put this on, I'm hot already". Yep!!!

An open range cow trying to kick my son's valk as he threaded between it and an oncoming SUV.

Arms Wide Open on the MP3 player as I crossed from Kentucky to Tennessee on my way to Britman's ride a few years ago.

Sittin' down on a bench in front of an old store on a gravel road somewhere off the Blue Ridge Parkway with my then 9 or 10 year-old son Joe many years ago. Just us, a sleepy coonhound, and two or three locals with no teeth. They told us about making money selling old railroad ties to city people and we just took it in and wondered "how the hell" you get deer out of those mountains once you shoot them.

And last but not least, the smile I feel on my face as I fire up the Fat Lady after work and find myself free again for a little while.

[sugerbear]

riding with my wife when the weather is "just right" and she reaches up to pat my leg.

stereo off, motor running about 2800 rpm on a smooth blacktop with a curve sign ahead.
and i feel her(wife) set up for the curve.

passing and repassing my best friend and his wife on their I/S

riding anywhere new.

in the garage messing with the valks w/buddy.

[houstone]

Wow, awesome...I feel them all.
Pretty cool that you all can write this kind of stuff.  But, we have a common experience, so I guess that makes it easier.  In any case, it is really cool to "get it".
Thanks!

[solo1]

Thank you Stanley.  This is the best thread that I've seen for awhile.  That's because it's about only the special things that we experience while riding.  

Head nodding and oh yeah, and how could I forget,  and remembering, are much better than getting Pi**** of at each other about bad times and things that we can't change.

Thanks again.

Wayne, Solo1

[fudgie]

The smell of the June flowers as we cross into alabama from TN on the way to Cheaha.

The smell of the alfalfa blossoms as the SD prairie winds blow.

Riding with other Valks as the tires and roads hums in sequence.

A cold beer in the Badlands.

A special area in Spearfish Canyon we stop at every year.

The sound of thousands of bikes heading to a common home.

Watching the sun rise and the smell of a cool morning as the phesants roam.

[Big Rig]

Dropping into a hollow with a 15 degree temp drop and the morning dew hovering right above your head....happened this morning on my ride in...

[Stanley Steamer]

Dropping into a hollow with a 15 degree temp drop and the morning dew hovering right above your head....happened this morning on my ride in...

Riding on the BRP in a gaggle of Valks with fog so thick you could barely see the tailight/s of the bike in front of you.....

[Stanley Steamer]

Thank you Stanley.  This is the best thread that I've seen for awhile.  That's because it's about only the special things that we experience while riding.  

Head nodding and oh yeah, and how could I forget,  and remembering, are much better than getting Pi**** of at each other about bad times and things that we can't change.

Thanks again.

Wayne, Solo1

Thanks Wayne.....I sincerely hope to have MANY more years of riding ahead of me....I hope to be able to ride as long as you have.... .....I know a lot of us enjoy your stories of rides past....keep them coming if you can....

I'm going to take a one night ride this weekend as a matter of a fact....I haven't even picked a direction yet.....sometimes those rides are the best......

[fudgie]

Thank you Stanley.  This is the best thread that I've seen for awhile.  That's because it's about only the special things that we experience while riding.  

Head nodding and oh yeah, and how could I forget,  and remembering, are much better than getting Pi**** of at each other about bad times and things that we can't change.

Thanks again.

Wayne, Solo1

Thanks Wayne.....I sincerely hope to have MANY more years of riding ahead of me....I hope to be able to ride as long as you have.... .....I know a lot of us enjoy your stories of rides past....keep them coming if you can....

I'm going to take a one night ride this weekend as a matter of a fact....I haven't even picked a direction yet.....sometimes those rides are the best......

You could ride up to Indiana and..............

[Stanley Steamer]

Thank you Stanley.  This is the best thread that I've seen for awhile.  That's because it's about only the special things that we experience while riding.  

Head nodding and oh yeah, and how could I forget,  and remembering, are much better than getting Pi**** of at each other about bad times and things that we can't change.

Thanks again.

Wayne, Solo1

Thanks Wayne.....I sincerely hope to have MANY more years of riding ahead of me....I hope to be able to ride as long as you have.... .....I know a lot of us enjoy your stories of rides past....keep them coming if you can....

I'm going to take a one night ride this weekend as a matter of a fact....I haven't even picked a direction yet.....sometimes those rides are the best......

You could ride up to Indiana and..............

give MY girl Kit a big hug....smooch.....and.....,,,,,,,,Naw........it'd take me two days to get all the _ _ _ _'s in!!.......

[Stanley Steamer]

Hearing some Fat Girls firing up first thing in the morning while laying in the hotel room.....the ones who have a longer ride home than you do....cause you can get started just a little later on..... .....

The sound of the air horns as they pull out of the parking lot and goose them on down the road....love that sound!!

[hubcapsc]

The sound of the air horns as they pull out of the parking lot and goose them on down the road....love that sound!!

I'm not sure if I love it so much when 12 of them blow their air horns inside a BRP tunnel
when I'm in the middle 

-Mike "blew my quad horns in a BRP tunnel last weekend..."

[Black Dog]

I've had my 'Phat Gurl' for 11 of her 13 years, and I never tire of any experience we share...  I've riden with many folks, in many locations...  I've also put many miles riding by myself, the 'Mental Floss' that has become a necessary part of my life... 

Like many of my fellow Valk riders, I love the 'harmonic' waa-waa-waa between two or more Valks, when everything just seems to be in 'balance'...  The sudden chill, when decending into a 'frost pocket' in Wisconsin's Kettle Moraine'...  The sight of a sea of Valks, from the balcony of my hotel at any VRCC event... 

But my favorite thing, is riding with a buddy that you 'know'...  He's in your hip pocket, or you are in his...  No words need to be spoken, no wondering if you both can make the pass...  Two bikes move as one, as if controlled by one rider...  A twist of the wick, and three cars and a motor home are over taken in the blink of an eye...  Days riding like that are some of the best conversations I've ever had...  Not a word is spoken, but when the kickstands go down, we both understand that we've shared a moment or two that few will ever get to experience...

Black Dog