As some of you know I'd scratched up the side of my left saddlebag having a tip over in a gravel overlook.
I'd got the paint code and spoken to a few painters who quoted me 400 – 800 dollars.
That's a few nights motel rooms or gas and tires. Hmmmmmm.
Then I researched using some vinyl wrap. Watched quite a few youtube videos and read reviews of others purchases. I'd settled on a fake carbon fiber look because the bike has a few carbon fiber pieces.
And then I started seeing decals with quite a variety of designs and sizes.
I contacted
https://countryboycustomsstore.com/ and asked about a specific design they had and could they change it to cover the damaged area.
I sent a photo of the saddlebag and in turn they sent me an image of the bag with the decal superimposed. Not quite there so I asked for it to be changed to the carbon fiber look and to make the decal just a little wider. No problem I was told.
Order placed and I started thinking about how I was going to apply the decals. I'm not the most “handy” person but I watched some videos and had a plan I thought would work.
The tube with decals in arrived and with much anticipation I unrolled them. Looks great.
Walked down to the garage the next day and the decals are about 3 inches too tall and wide. Darn it.
I emailed the supplier and a few emails went back and forth. It got to the point that I decide I had to open a Paypal dispute to try and make them understand I really wasn't happy and it wasn't my communications that were at fault.
This led to a phone conversation where I told them I had a solution for both of us. I was going to meet Valkyrie riders in Sparta NC and their location was just over 100 miles northwest and I was more than happy to ride to them for the decals to be trimmed and applied.
This was agreed upon and I left home at 8 a.m. Friday morning. The ride to Raven VA is mainly interstate but much of it is 4/6 lane up and over the mountains west and north of Asheville. Zoom zoom.
An uneventful ride to Raven and after about an hour the decals were on and a much better application than I could have done.
Now it's a mainly back roads ride to the Allegheny Inn in Sparta.
If you haven't ridden it put Hwy 80 in VA in your to ride list. South to north.
Meadow VA to Haysi VA
Passing through Chilowie VA I see a barber shop to the side of the road and a much needed Shih tzu removal happened. There are 2 young tonsorialists at work and it quickly becomes obvious that they know all the clients and a lot of witty banter and repartee is flying.
I spent a short while talking at the motel and crashed early.
https://www.relive.cc/view/vAOZDApEKyqSaturday
Mike / Hubcapspc had a route planned out on his BFGPS and we left the motel about 10.15 a.m.
One of the first turns saw the group split as one rider DIDN'T wait at a turn for the riders behind to catch up. One of the most important parts of group riding is to wait at a turn if you can't see the rider / riders behind.
I turned back and waited hoping they would show up. Mike came back as well and waited for a while. They did arrive and we found the others ahead waiting.
At Grayson Highlands state park I turned right and left the group. There's an overlook I like in the park for photos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grayson_Highlands_State_Park
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL4PpUir8EQAfter that I stopped at a gas station that had some old tractors on display and a local car club meeting.
Three dead ends onto dirt roads and onto Shady Valley Country Store for lunch riding through the Backbone Tunnel
https://visitabingdonvirginia.com/landmarks/backbone-rockreputed to be the shortest tunnel in the world.
The store was busy but the guys in charge of the grill were quick and my burger was soon ready.
As I was leaving the store another bike was waiting to turn out at the same time. Rider on a Harley. Me motioned for me to go first. Onto Hwy 421 “The Snake” and I see the other rider is close behind me. I ride for a couple of miles to let my tires warm up and now I open the throttle – gotta be a kid sometimes – but not to much, this section of road can be well policed at times and my no speeding ticket streak needs to continue.
I pull over to take a photo of one of the hairpin curves and the rider following me eventually arrives and pulls over as well. He's a grizzled, heavily tattooed “biker” on a very sharp looking Harley. He tells me he “stopped to see what the bike was I was riding because it handles so well.”
We bike talk for a short wile and I continue on my way back to Sparta on roads never ridden before.
https://www.relive.cc/view/vevWQrxWYG6Once back at the motel I shower and ask if anyone wants to rid to Motley's BBQ about 10 miles west of Sparta. No takers and they all made a wise decision. I wouldn't ride/drive there again and that's all I've got to say about that.
More time spent in the circle of talk and a very pleasant evening. Some weather talk and hopes that riders would get home dry and rain free.
Sunday.
Off to the Blue Ridge Parkway and home. Ha! First a detour which cut off the first 15 miles of the BRP.
Once on the BRP I'm not so sure about my decision to use this for my ride home. Lots of low cloud reduce visibility to less than 20 feet a few times. But the low cloud does mean there aren't many other users and I can zip along at a little over the posted speed limit.
As the elevation of the road decreases and I'm riding in more cloud I decide to pull over and put on my rain pants. These are always a nuisance to put on and it's better to do it when it's not raining.
At the NC Hwy 80 junction with the BRP it's decision time. Stay on the BRP and ride back up into the clouds for the next 40 miles to Asheville or ride down to Marion, Old Fort and onto I 40 homeward and the possibility of rain below the clouds. No radar as I'm out of wireless signal. A mental coin toss and down the side of the mountain I ride.
Hwy 80 has been repaved recently and even though the road surface is damp the ride down on smooth blacktop is fun.
A right turn in Marion onto Hwy 70 leads me west towards Old Fort and the eventual merge with I 40. Another stop to put on my rain jacket – just in case – as the clouds ahead darken.
Merging onto I 40 the clouds compressing against Black Mountain hit saturation point and they release their contents in a gully washer. A work van ahead of me moves to the right lane and I tuck in behind as I can't see any lane markings. This does put me in the lane all the slow 18 wheelers use as they crawl up the mountain and I'm trying to stay away from the center of the lane where any oil and diesel would have collected. Looking down I can see water flowing down the mountain rippling over the road surface..
Once over the mountain the road dries out and apart from a couple of sprinkles it's dry all the way home and I 40 traffic through Asheville is minimal.
https://www.relive.cc/view/vJOKpyy5756
