Skip to main content

Always Go With the Choice That Scares You The Most!


June 25, 2013

Summer Road Trip 2013_Day Five

“Always go with the choice that scares you the most. Take the road that has more curves, because these are the choices that are going to require the most from you. Never stop challenging yourself.”  Check.

I tackled The Gauntlet and Slayed (or is it Slew??) the Dragon ....all before noon today.  Since leaving home on Friday, Bessie2 and I have racked up 1200 miles, and its all good.  My anticipated partner for the ride in Georgia today just wasn’t an early enough riser....sorry, its daylight, Bessie2 and I are rollin....we will catch you on the trip back South Curt.

Gray clouds were heavy in the Georgia mountains this a.m. as I packed Bessie2; I needed  to complete the ‘other half’ of The Gauntlet before I left though. I said ‘goodbye’ to the group from Louisiana, checked the room twice for any ‘leave behinds,’ and bid farewell to the Copperhead Lodge early. My ONLY complaint with the accommodations here? The coffee situation; it was dreadful. The Lodge is in the sticks, so its not like you can walk across the street to the 7-11.  Accommodations here are not exactly cheap either, so why not coffee in the rooms guys??

My favorite part of the Gauntlet this morning was Wolf Pen Gap Road (180)...my least favorite part of the morning was the BMW’s (not the group I had breakfast with yesterday).  I appreciate the fact that there are all types of bikes and all types of bikers; what I don’t appreciate is when YOUR agenda on your bike jeopardizes MY safety on my bike.  Narrow mountain road, 20 mph blind curves, double yellow lines.....and these dumbasses are PASSING me.  20 minutes later, I see the whole grouped STOPPED at the Wolfpen Gap Country Store....the biker trash in me slowed down and wanted to stop to tell the whole group that they were world class dickheads, the educator/mother in me said ‘keep moving, don’t make it an issue.’ I hate it when she wins.

Completed the ‘other half’ of the ride, gassed up, checked the map, and headed north on 129 to Slay the Dragon.  129 between Blairsville, Georgia and Murphy North Carolina is a wonderfully meandering highway. Large strips of asphalt are lined with the most gorgeous tiger lilies; different shades of yellow and orange, that ripple in the breeze and seem to bow as we pass. And the hydrangeas!! I love hydrangeas and I’ve seen the most gorgeous bushes in every conceivable color of blue, purple, and pink! Fabulous explosions of color.

Before I really realized where we were...Boom, I was at Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort.  This strip of asphalt boasts 318 curves in 11 miles and attracts motorcycle enthusiasts from all over the world. It IS fun, it IS challenging...but its NOT the most challenging road I’ve been on......but, ya gotta do it, and check it off the ‘Bikeit List!’ And I realized that I NEED a helmet-cam....I’m not sure why I don’t already have one, but we will. I’m posting some Youtube video links of other Road Kings ‘doing the Dragon...check it out! The first one is 'how to sharpen your floorboards!!'



I felt a huge sense of accomplishment after the ride today; considering where I was a year ago after the accident. I navigated 129 North to Maryville....its a beautiful ride......where I stopped at Poncho’s for a Mexican lunch. The food was wonderful; then I braced myself for the scourge of traffic I knew was coming as I approached 75North and Knoxville.  I dug out the iPod, popped in the earbuds, and cruised North, rockin, rollin, and flirting with the truck drivers....not sure WHY, but a girl on motorcycle seems to be a big deal to truckers. And I have to admit, the BESt compliment Bessie2 and I received all week was when the owner of the lodge told me, ‘that’s a badass Chick Bike ya got there!’ You know it.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 26, 2013 at 9:02 AM

    Glad to meet you Debi and happy we could get your girl to hold her fluids lol leaks are not good! Have a safe trip and absorb the mountain beauty call if you need something and call anyway! ride safe watch out for the fireants (metric bikes)ha
    Curt Dempsey www.straightcount.com

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Knew Better

July 3, 2013 Typical Pennsylvania Road I always hate saying ‘Goodbye’ to my Dad. He won’t travel since Mom passed several years ago, which means I don’t see him except in the summer when I travel North - or every few years during the Holidays.  I’ve learned many things from my Dad; some of the lessons came hard, some of the lessons were difficult, and unfortunately, most of the lessons were learned much later in life. Had I paid attention the first time, my journey would not have been as rough, and my ability to grasp the many opportunities presented to me would have been easier. As my Dad and I both age, we get a long better, and our relationship had deepened after my Mom passed...for this I am grateful. I left Indiana early this morning - taking 35S  - the fields were shrouded in a chilly mist as the sun cast a pinkish glow to the East. I was filled with anticipation that I was going to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s ‘Falling Water’ home south of Pittsburgh.  Wh...
1 comment
Read more

Plan? What Plan?

"Embrace uncertainty. Some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won't have titles until much later." In the last few months I've been asked from several readers and followers, 'How do you plan your trips?' I also see the question asked numerous times (like over and over and over and over...) on the various biker-related groups on social media.  Penny Tours I confess: I'm not much of a planner! I ride in the spirit of the intrepid Bessie Stringfield, a pioneer of the sport of motorcycling who in 1930 became the first black woman to ride solo across the U.S.. Bessie was notorious for her 'Penny Tours.' She would toss a penny in the air and wherever it landed on her map of the U.S.....that is the direction she would travel. And yes; I've done the Penny Tour many times. Just a few weeks ago in Indiana; I had a 'free' day between events and tossed the penny on the map of Indiana. It landed in the northern part of the state near the ...
2 comments
Read more

Summer Road Trip_The Warehousians

June 16, 2012 In the summer of 1969, when everyone old enough and hip enough was flocking to Yasgar's Farm in upstate New York for a music festival called Woodstock, I and most of my friends were looking forward to starting high school. The tidal wave of rock n roll, free love, tye-dye, psychedelics, and peace was just beginning to roll across the country from the west coast; it would find willing participants in the sleepy little mid-western town I grew up in. It was music that brought us together in the early '70's at a seemingly abandoned building in downtown Marion Indiana (righteously name The 7th Street Warehouse), and it was music that brought us together Saturday night in a building once occupied by Freel and Mason drugstore in downtown Marion some 40 years later for a first attempt at a 'reunion' of sorts. Our 'Prophet,' Duke, started a Facebook Page about a year ago, called the '7th Street Warehouse People,' which mushroomed (no pun intend...
Post a Comment
Read more