Me and Carolyn met up with Robert (2tonevalk) and Glenda when they came past Seneca (where we live) on
their way to Robbinsville... We had an enjoyable and uneventful ride through the twisties on hwy 28 until
we got to near where it turns to four lanes... we were behind a truck on some double yellow lines when
all of a sudden
some hoodlum Detn8er zooms up behind us and lays on the horn. We pulled over
at the little store at the place where 28 goes to four lanes, and Valkyries started coming out of the woodwork,
soon Ron and Caroilna Girl and Stanley Steamer were there too... off we all went (in an every man-and-woman
for themselves kind of way) for Robbinsville and a night of standing around the fire...
A bunch of us ate at the restaurant next to the motel... the food is pretty good there, I got a steak,
I wouldn't have been disappointed to get that same steak at a steak house. Me and Carolyn called it
a night around 10:00 or so... we were "uptop", so it was as if we were still standing around the fire when
everyone started chanting "FREE AT LAST" around 10:30
The biggest group left the next morning for the same roads we used to get to Robbinsville in the first place,
so a smaller group of us decided to head over the skyway, me and Carolyn, Magoo, Lee and Ron/CG... no
sooner did we get to mainstreet in Robbinsville and my front end started squealing - we decided it
was a front wheel bearing
I'd heard great things about some cycle shop in Robbinsville that could "get you back on the road"... so
Carolyn hopped on the back of Magoo's Gold Wing (oh great, now she's going to find out how comfortable
thatis...) and I set out in search of the shop...
"The Shop" turned out to be Wheelers (
https://www.wheelersperformance.com/)... I showed up as he was opening...
he had the bearings I needed, he replaced them, checked the front wheel balance, test rode my bike and got
me out of there in 45 minutes - all for 64 dollars. Last year he had two Valkyrie appropriate tires for Chromedome's
bike. Wheeler is
the man, I encourage you to give him your bidness...
I chased off over the skyway, expecting to find the rest on their way back over... but Wheeler got me going so quickly
that they were still at Bald River Falls when I got to the other side!
The colors I saw on the way over to Tellico Plains were awesome... cameras never do this kind of stuff justice,
especially my little on-board camera... the blue of the sky and the tree colors - better pay attention to the road!
It was past peak color at the top:
I was tooling along behind some Harleys and pickup trucks and stuff, I don't usually do much passing on the
double yellow lines... along came a pack of guys who were just flowing down the road, past any obstructions,
yellow lines or whatever - they were smooth, not obnoxious, just flowing along...
Before they all got past, we came around a turn, and the yellow line quit being double...
So I nailed it and rode with the flowing guys for a little while...
It wasn't long before we came to another obstruction, and I waved the
ones still behind me on by...
I guess if I got a Gold Wing, it would be a yaller one...
I forgot the little camera was on until I stopped at an overlook... there's
spy cams
everywhere these days!
After I caught up to the others, we rolled into Tellico Plains for some lunch - sat across the river
from a deep hole where there were some rope swings... there's not many things that are more
fun than sailing off the end of a rope into a deep hole...
We all made it back to Robbinsville, safely as far as I know, and burned more logs.
The next morning we woke up and Big Al was gone, so we all went looking for him... I don't
know if anyone found him, but we looked in all the most obvious places with no luck...
Finally, back home again...
Great to see everyone, Miss Reba likes us (and Joe in particular) so we're all set to be back
next year!
-Mike
