RainMakers Trip Log

[RainMaker]

Day 1

Left today for Britman Memorial Ride.  Got on the road at 1:30 after a couple of false starts but got to Hot Springs and my father-in-laws house about 6:30.  On the way up, heard some rattling up front that disappears when braking, so pretty sure I have a spring or clip that is sideways from the tire change.  I'll see what I can do in the morning - have all the tools so just have to get up early.

Was going to take a picture of a sign that said "Bill Clinton slept here" but there are so many of them all around the state, they aren't that unique.

Leaving about 6:30 tomorrow to head to Clinton, TN (Did Bill sleep there, too?) and will take a few pics when I meet up with the riders of the Volunteer state.

RM

[Disco]

Thanks for posting!  I'm really looking forward to riding vicariously through your log.

Be safe and have lots of fun!

[HayHauler]

+1 there brother blue.  Sure wish I could go on this ride.  Had planned on it, but wasn't in da cards at this time. 

Ride safe. 

Hay
Jimmyt

[Big Ed]

God Speed.

Ride Safe.

[flamingobabe #44]

be safe...have fun...keep posting to let us know where and how you are...

[Hoser]

Have you gotten wet yet?  Hoser    

[godfire]

If you get close to southern Indiana stop by brother blue! 

[RainMaker]

My father in law made me a good breakfast and sent me on my way today. 




Not wet (yet) though I did find a few hydrants and soaked my jacket to cool off.  Brutal run today - all superslab.  Tennessee must have a lot of money because they are fixing every highway in multiple places, allowing one lane thru.  Backups were insane.  Whenever the highway wasn't being fixed, there was a state trooper.  OH - THATS HOW THEY AFFORD TO FIX THE HIGHWAYS!

Arrived in Clinton about 30 minutes ago 

The AC feels really nice.

The rattle in the front brakes continues.   Was going to pull the pads but the cover screw refused to let go so can't get to the pin.  Even my big screwdriver won't budge it.  I may just remove the caliper and look if I feel so motivated.  It's not causing any problem in braking - just sounds strange.

My Kuryakyn voltmeter is either broken or I can run and start on 6 volts.  If I press on it, it reads correctly, so pretty sure it's the meter.  Plus, the cover is loose.



Last, my left cover almost rattled off - seems the tab broke between Arlington and Hot Springs.  Duct tape to the rescue - will fix permanently when I get home.



That's  all for now.  A little tired.

RM 

[Hollyday]

Rainmaker,

Take care, have fun and be safe!   Hope you have an amazing time!

Hollyday

[Red Diamond]

Enjoy your ride and do it safely. Keep those pics coming.

[john]

                            bring it all back home mark                   

[flamingobabe #44]

be safe...have fun...keep us posted....

[RainMaker]

Too tired to post yesterday.  Here's Saturday and Sunday:

Met up with a group led by Smokin' Joe at the Travelodge in Clinton on Friday nite after 700 miles.  Ate and then went to bed.  Got up early to try and fix the rattling brake - no luck.  

Met up at 8:30 and kickstands up from Hardees at 9:00 am for the trip to Lenoir.  Joe led us on a great ride to the Blue Ridge parkway and rode a leisurely ride for him, which means I was doing everything I could to keep up with the group.  On this area of the Parkway, you had to be very diligent and aware at all times.  There was no time or place for you to drift off - full focus was required to keep the bike on the road. Even looking in the mirrors was chancey - that brief moment of not looking forward caused a couple of close calls by the rider just ahead of me (and he confirmed he was checking his mirrors when those incidents occurred). I did pretty well, in my opinion.  Stayed up with the group, didn't fall behind, didn't have any brown pants moments.

We did come upon an accident during our trip where the road was blocked and we were detoured one direction  at a time through an overlook area.  Lots of emergency vehicles.  Saw a BMW GS series on it's kickstand in the main road with damage on it.  Found out later the rider had perished in that crash.  Sad for his family.

We didn't eat lunch until around 3:00pm, so everyone was hungry and my sugar levels were not doing well.  I was starting to get light-headed.  After eating, felt some better and we headed back on the Blue Ridge parkway for the trip to Lenoir.  Unfortunately, I was NOT feeling great and the day before's long ride was weighing down on me and my focus was not 100%.  So I pulled over, waved the guys on and took my time riding with a plan to go directly to the hotel.  Wimp came back and wanted to make sure I was OK and we then rode and met the rest of the group at an overlook. Joe was worried that I thought he was going too fast, etc, but I told him that I was just tired, wasn't 100% and I was not riding my ride.  So, finally convinced everyone to go on and I took Highway 80 back, which was the twistiest road I've ever been on.  At 10mph, I was scraping the pegs to make the turn. So much for taking an easy way back!  After 10 miles of that, made it to I-40 and then on relatively straight roads back to the hotel.  Visited with some of the riders gathered here.  Got into a group having a spirited discussion about the darkside (they were against it) and then made a bee-line to the room, where a hot shower and a night of sleep beckoned me, and I obliged.  I think I made it to 9PM EDT before sleeping.

Got up Sunday morning feeling a lot better.  Went to the I/S and took off the caliper and found the clattering source - the retaining clip was bent back a bit and not contacting the brake shoe.  A few bends with needlenose and - no more clatter!  WOO-HOO!!!

Ate breakfast with another rider named Mark (2 years on his Valk).  Britman was also there and I asked if there would be two groups (one fast - one for the slower riders) and he said no, just one group of about 30-35.  

At 9:00am, our rider meeting took place.  Britman said he had 3 rules:

1) It is not a race
2) If you can't see the guy behind you in your mirrors, pull over and wait.  No man left behind ( I took out the colorful language, but with the British accent and use of words, it was great).
3) It is not a race.

With that, we lined up, the checkered flag was dropped and the race began.

The next 33 miles was twisties at 60 mph, up the mountain and back down.  It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.  The number of bikes, the other traffic and the switchback nature of the road made me push my own limits.

Some of us flatlanders (Mitch and Linda from Illinois, Wendell from Iowa, Mike from Indiana and Frank from Arizona) stayed near the back of the pack.  At the 33 mile stop and regroup point, Wendell's I/S started showing signs of a bad battery or alternator.  He did get it started with the starter, but the lights were starting to dim.  The main group took off but the gang of 5 waited to see if Wendell could continue.  He said yes, the battery must be bad and he'd just keep it running.  We then began trying to catch up with the group (rule 2 was not a rule, but a guideline).

The gang of 5 were all Interstates except for Frank - he was on an Ultra Classic.

4 miles later, just as we got to the entrance for the Blue Ridge parkway, his dashboard went blank and he pulled into a parking lot.  The rest of the gang of 5 followed.  We discussed the issue and figured the alternator was gone.  Then all the saddlebags opened up and enough tools came out from every Valk to rebuild the Queen Mary. A backrest had to be removed before the seat could come off, so that was about a 20 minute process. A pickup stopped and loaned us jumper cables, so got the I/S started and then put a voltmeter across.  Alternator dead was the diagnosis.  

So it's Sunday, we are 37 miles from a town in the mountains and we need an alternator.  Usually, that would be a problem,  except I have kept a spare in my saddlebags since before going to Inzane last year.  And now, it became useful.

Mitch is a diesel engine mechanic in his work life, so he immediately started working. In 10 minutes, he had the dead alternator out (didn't remove the center panel either).  He and Mike unhooked the cables, then they took the MARS unit I had, reattached and in about 15 minutes had the new one back in.  Used a little engine oil off of the dipstick to get the o-ring on the alternator to slip in a bit easier.  In 30 minutes, the alternator was switched out and he had never done it before.  Impressive.

Frank took lots of pictures to show his HD buddies and for a goldwing friend who gives him grief about his HD.  Pretty funny.

The seat was put on for a test and we push-started Wendell.  Once the bike was running, the lights were bright and he did a u-turn, came back to us and..... turned off the bike. As all of us were yelling "NO".  So, we turned him around again, push started and this time, he left the bike running with his throttle lock holding 2000 rpm.  Parts taken off during repair were re-installed, the bike was shut off and then we waited a minute until Wendell hit the starter button and it started.   Life is good.  How often to you get a real mechanic, all the tools you need and the part you need all together at the right time?  Life is good.  God is good.

Both Wendell and I had programmed in the route, so we knew where everyone went.  So, I began leading the ride on the Blue Ridge parkway and did so for the next 50 miles until a programmed gas stop. We rode on twisty roads with no vision around the turn, gravel in the turns, etc.  When we got to the gas stop, there was no sign of the main group.  We stopped following the route shortly thereafter and tried to cut off some of the ride to go to points where we thought they might be.  One or two stops for recalibration and then Wendell took the lead with his GPS.  After travelling a while, we got to a turn off and my body said "time to pee".  Right as we stopped, we saw one of the riders from the main group.  No one else was ready to potty, so I waived them on and went.  I knew the route, so no big deal.

After refreshing myself, I took off again.  Twisty after twisty, I was picking up speed.  After 30 minutes of hard riding, I caught the gang of 4 (now 5 again).  They had not found the main group.

We stopped and discussed another shortcut and I had the lead again.  We ended up going down Hwy 80 again, the same road I had been on the day before.  Still the nastiest, twistiest road I've ever been on. This waypoint did not find the main group, so we decided to head back to the motel, as we were not going to catch anyone at this rate.

It was funny coming back.  I pulled over on Hwy 70 to do a regroup and Linda (Mitch's wife) said she and Mitch were talking about how a drunk must have designed Hwy 70, since it was the only straight road around.

Arrived back at the hotel and Wendell brought out the beer.  He was very grateful and gracious to us all and after all of us cleaned up, we walked across the street to the Mayflower Seafood Restaurant and bought all of us dinner as thanks for our help.  The food was piled high - no one cleaned their plate.  

We then walked back across the street and found many had returned from the main group.  There was one spill in the main group but no one was injured.  Walked around a bit, found out my alternator was the talk of the town and pointed at Mitch being the reason we were back on the road so quickly.  

Wendell didn't have a good handle (he called himself CoOpMan) but he got a new one today - PushStart.

It's about 7:00pm, my belly is full and I'm tired, so I came back to my room to rest for a little bit before joining the beer drinking and bs sessions.  I figured 15 minutes would do it.  I woke up at midnight.  Was more tired than I thought.

So now I am on the computer.

Here's pictures from the last 2 days.  Not a complete picture log, but the Blackberry battery doesn't hold up all day when the reception is poor - uses too much juice to update.

Santa Tom wishing me a Merry Ride at breakfast Saturday


Gathering at Hardees






LaserPat was on the ride, too.


First stop Saturday morning for a "break" in Pigeon Forge


Second stop - the border.










What trip is complete without a visit by Santa to SantaLand in Cherokee, TN?


3rd Stop - highest point marker




Sunday morning - day of the Britman Memorial Day Ride








The 3 rules speech


We went on a ride and a wrench party broke out






Fits like a glove


and then, the battery on my Blackberry got too low so shut it off to use in case of emergency.

Tomorrow (today - it's 3:05am) heading into Virginia for an overnight stop, then on to Wash DC and Arlington National.  The rest of the trip is up in the air due to tropical storm Beryl.  Plan to stop in Raliegh, NC on Tuesday night to visit with old fraternity brother, but will then set my sights to the west on I-20 to try and stay drier than if I went further south.

More tonight.

RainMaker

[Disco]

All I can say is  !

[HayHauler]

Wow Mark, quite a story you have there.  Sounds like a great adventure.  It's lime we are there with you. 

Hay
Jimmyt

[Red Diamond]

Great reading Mark, keep that sugar level where it's suppost to be.

[Bullgoose]

Thnx Mon Feel like I'm riding with you again!

[RainMaker]

Day 5 was a blast up the east coast in preparation for the visit to Arlington National tomorrow.  Visited with a few of the guys this morning before leaving the hotel in Lenoir.  Found out that Mitch and Linda were heading my way so we rode together into Virginia, almost to the Chesapeake tunnel/bridge.  Then they headed to the coast and I continued north.  After paying a $12 toll, went onto the bridge, into a tunnel, back on a bridge, back under the bay.  An amazing technological feat.  Stopped and took a few pictures but this was pretty much a run hard and get somewhere day.  Still, with the lower speed limits, I got over 41mpg - the most ever.

I'll have a lot of pictures from DC tomorrow.  Here's the stuff from today:

Gas stop in Virginia


Maybe this is why the mileage was so good - Kangaroo gas!


Really bad picture of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel sign, but you can see the reflection of my valk in it if you hold your left ear just right


Here's a large ship passing over the tunnel I'm about to go into.




A fishing pier out in the center of the bay.


Time to head North...


At the other side of the bridge, there was an overlook.


A view of a part of the bridge


Looking back the other way




The Valk in Maryland.


More tomorrow.

RainMaker

[hubcapsc]

That's a good picture  ... thanks for posting them...



I didn't take as many pictures as I thought, here's your favorite road, 80:



-Mike

[Daniel Meyer]

 

[RainMaker]

Mike - what we call "twisties" in Texas are the roads you take to get to the twisties.  What an education on how low you can go with a Valkyrie in a turn and how well it can maneuver.

RM

[NCGhostrider]

Keep posting.  Pics remind me of the when I lived on the E. coast.   

Ride safe!

Craig
NcGhostrider
99 I/S

[RainMaker]

Day 6 (so far)

Got up early to try and beat the traffic into Washington DC - missed it by that much!

Arrived Arl National Cemetery around 8:20am.  Shifted stuff around so that everything except the helmet was inside the bags - the helmet, I placed the latch strap inside the trunk and closed it, which effectively locked it on the bike.  Nolans don't have d-rings.

What a fascenating place.  I got a printout telling me the section and the grave for General Hollingsworth.  After 2 hours, I found his headstone and then called my father-in-law and described it to him.  They were best friends from the time they joined the Army together until Hollie died, so it meant a lot to George for me to do this.

Then I visited the graves of some of the nation's heroes.  Omar Bradley, 5 star general of World War II and Alexander Haig were in the same section of the cemetery.  In fact, it was full of generals.

After that, had to go to the Kennedy family plot, the Tomb of the Unknowns and Arlington House.  I walked among the tombstones and cried for those lost and their families.  I held my hand over my heart as I walked and whenever I heard Taps or a 21 gun salute.  One Navy funeral there had the band, the 21 gun salute and the flyover of Hornets.  

Thinking of the sacrifices of these men and women to keep us free was overwhelming.  

I highly recommend a visit whenever you are in the area.

Picture time:

Section 30 marker - I'm in the area


Lt General James F Hollingsworth's gravestone




And, he was an Aggie


Alexander Haig


Omar Bradley



JFK


The Eternal Flame


Heroes


Arlington House


Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns


Shuttle Challenger Memorial


Shuttle Columbia Memorial


Arlington Memorial Ampitheatre


View of the city of Washington from Arlington House


Heading to Raliegh for the nite.

RM

[HayHauler]

Sad day for sure.  Glad you got to visit Arlington.  It's on my bucket list. 

Thanks for taking the time to share with us. 

Hay
Jimmyt

[Disco]

Thanks for taking the time to share with us. 

+1

[Red Diamond]

When we visited DC, we did not go to Arlington National Cemetery, wish we had done that. I have seen the National Cemeteries at The Presidio Military Base in San Francisco many times and also the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, just outside of San Francisco. Both are very impressive sites to see. Like Hay, Arlington on the list, I have a Cousin buried there, we are the same age. Keep the report coming Mark.

[chauffeur]

Finally got a chance to read this thread.  Great ride report Mark.  Thanks.

[godfire]

Hope you stayed dry today brother blue!

[lucky_1_chris]

The envy. It burns. Looks like an awesome trip so far! I hope the weather keeps cooperating.

Be safe.

[RainMaker]

Day 7

Spent Tuesday evening with Jon and Kim Cravatta in Wake Forest NC. Jon is one of my Frat brothers (Pi Sigma Epsillon). Lots of fraternity stories, BS and a coupla' beers before bedding down on their couch. Then up @5am to clear the bathroom and get on the road. Left in the rain @6:30am. Stopped after 100 miles to get bkfst at McDs as it was raining too hard to see cars w/o their lights on. Soaked the floor at McDs!  After coffee, took off and 1 hr later, out of the rain. Stopped and took off the rainsuit about 1:00 after hitting a few intermittant showers. At least the Valk is cleaner now!.  

Got 40 miles out of Atlanta and decided I was too tired to continue so stopped and got a room at Wingate, to bed @4:00pm. Spousal unit just called and woke me up. Can't go back to sleep so i'm posting.

Back on the road tomorrow!

Jon and Kim


RM

[BnB Tom]

What a GREAT TRIP! 

I guess I need to add BlueRidge to my bucket list.

  Lori and I visited Arlington National ten years ago. 

Once we got away from all the people with their noisy kids, it was a solemn moment for me to look at all of the graves and to close my eyes and think about the tens of thousands who died for what they believed in.. America.

  And with that.. 

Have a dry, safe return to the Metromess 

[hotglue #43]

Great Ride Report!!!!! Safe trip home!

[HayHauler]

I agree with HG.  Keep the updates coming.  Ride safe.

Hay
Jimmyt

[NCGhostrider]

Great report again!  Wish I were riding along!!

Wake Forest has grown tremendously over the years.  I lived just up the road from it, and still have good friends there....  Nice area with a lot of good people.

Craig
NcGhostrider
99 I/S

[RainMaker]

Day 8 - Final report

Well, that stop 40 miles east of Atlanta was in a little town called Madison.  I slept until 6:30am, or about 14 hours in bed.  Whew!  Good news was that they had a nice breakfast, it was a clean, newer Wingate and the water was hot.  So enjoyed my time.  Met a retired couple there riding a Victory (not a Vision) and they had owned a Valk (sold it due to the poor mileage - could not get to places in Arizona due to limited range), a GoldWing and now the Victory.  They aren't so sure about selling the GoldWing now.

Anyway, we talked a while, I gave them a card and I finally got on the road about 9am after filling the tank.  Got to Atlanta and missed the rush hour, set the trek to go I-20 and that all went well until Birmingham.  There, they are working on the I-20/I-59 intersection and the detour signs were switching so slow I could not catch where I was supposed to go.  So I set the GPS to "go home" and it told me to head north 178 miles.  Now this is nuts.  Decided to ignore it and stopped for lunch to get my bearings.  My blackberry GPS showed me where to go and I took off down I-459 until it joined up with I-20 west again and I was on the way.  I stopped at a roadside park just after getting back on I-20 and it was drizzling, but I decided the rain would cool me off so just kept going.  This seemed to work out fine.

About this time, I figured out the GPS I was using was trying to go home to Pittsburg.  It is a loaner unit as mine was being repaired under warranty.  Duh!  So put in the home address and all went well from that point.

Stopped in Cuba for gas and then noticed the clouds were getting darker.  Such as I could not see them until all the other clouds got dark.  The road went to one lane, no parking or exits for next 9 miles and the rain started.  Made it to Brandon, MS and under a gasoline station awning before it really busted loose.  The wind was blowing pretty hard so being under only made me feel better - I was still getting wet.  So camped out for about 30 minutes until the hail and rain had died down, then drug out my rainsuit and put it on (knowing this would stop the rain) and took off.  Well, the rain kept going for about an hour and I was almost to Louisiana before it totally stopped.  I left the suit on anyway.  Ate dinner in Tallulah, got more gas, shifted around to keep blood flowing in the gluteus maximus and westward ho.  The rest of the trip uneventful, ending up parked in the garage at 1am after 812 miles of riding for the day.

The total trip ended up 3513 miles of trouble free riding on the finest motorcycle ever built.




Notes:

1) Them Tennessee boys can run the mountains.  As someone told me, you need to put on your "big boy" pants to do twisties with them.

2) Smokin' Joe is funny as any comedian on TV today.

3) Once you talk to Britman, you'll know why he's called Britman.

4) Neither on this trip nor the longer trip last summer did I see
    a) naked women walking along the road
    b) hot women in hot tubs
    c) hot women under gas station canopies

       What am I doing wrong, Daniel?

5) Gas is $3.08 in Hot Springs, $3.11 in Atlanta and $3.19 in Birmingham.  Here, it's $3.39?  I thought we had the refineries in Texas.

6) There are no better people than those who belong to the VRCC.

Over and out

RainMaker

[hubcapsc]

Smokin' Joe is funny as any comedian on TV today.

Shoot, he's more fun to listen to than any of those jokers!    I'm
laughing now just thinking about "the beer room" and what protected Hal
from going in and out of there at will... 

Great report and lots of miles... 500 miles per day to Texas is the most I've put in...

-Mike

[RainMaker]

Smokin' Joe is funny as any comedian on TV today.

Shoot, he's more fun to listen to than any of those jokers!    I'm
laughing now just thinking about "the beer room" and what protected Hal
from going in and out of there at will... 

Great report and lots of miles... 500 miles per day to Texas is the most I've put in...

-Mike

Thanks, Mike. It was good to meet you and as for the longer trips, you just gotta go fast and ignore pain

RM

[lucky_1_chris]

Glad you made it home in one piece. 

[HayHauler]

Great report as always.  Dam jealous. 

Hay
Jimmyt

[Disco]

Glad you're home safe.      Your report has me looking really hard at the 2013 calendar...