Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Rides, Rallies, & Events GA Rally 1st experience PART III Thursday and were

Part III Thursday and were there


The morning breaks early, and its time to face the day…We got an appointment with, IBA (Iron-butt Association) member, John to witness our end time paperwork…and we still have a couple hundred miles or so to join up with the boys on the Thursday ride In Robbinsville at the Brushy Mountain BBQ at 1:00. As I roll out of bed I notice that at some point during the ride someone shoved an ice pick between my shoulder blades (which is still there as I type this) this is an very unpleasant development but not the end of the world, we make quick work of the re-pack and even though we have only had about 5 hours sleep, somehow I feel like I’ve had at least 4 hours of sleep…John shows up and we’re easy to spot in the parking lot we’re the guys who look like they just rode 1,037 miles and have had a solid 7-8 hours of sleep in the past 48 hours… he signs our witness forms and we mention Breakfast at the “Waffle House” across the street…he recommends a small diner just up the road a bit and gives us directions to get there…up the road to the next light then right and it just ahead on the left…we all nod and say that sounds good he leaves and we fire up the bikes and head straight to the Waffle House…the reason has nothing to do with us questioning his recommendation…why would we…so far he has been extra specially accommodating and helpful, I have had multiple email and phone conversations with him leading up to our departure…this had more to do with our tired little heads…when we pulled around the lot to check out there was the Waffle House…you see it required NO THOUGHT at ALL…point and shoot…the other place required thought…sure it might have been better…much better I’m certain…but, all that the waffle house required was that I navigate a single set of lights and a left turn…that cinched the decision for me…

We pull in and are greeted with that charming southern hospitality that never grows old to us yankees… a big smile and a “how ya’ll doin, coffee?” the three of us mumble incoherently and she instinctively gets that we DO want coffee and she doesn’t ask if we want caffeinated or not, she just grabs the high test and pours… Breakfast isn’t great but it defiantly doesn’t suck so in my book that’s a win. The map has come out several times to decide upon the fastest route to Robinsville…and the idea of skipping Robinsville and heading right to the Days Inn, has been mentioned…in fact the idea of going straight to the Days Inn has been mentioned several times and each time it is mentioned people speak of it like it’s the less desirable option…yet their body language and eyes impart their true desires…Days Inn, check in, crash, hook up with the guys when they return from the Thursday Ride…DONE…no further discussion on the issue is needed…

I call Chy to inform him of our new plan…and ask for the fastest way to Dahlonega from Asheville…he starts to rattle off several choices and soon I hear nothing but sound, but nothing that makes any sense to my tired little brain…so I pull out the GPS plug it in and let it think for me…It thinks we should go to dam near Robinsville and then down 129 to 19 and in to Dahlonega form there…we ride some kick-A$S roads back over the Smokies and into GA. The roads down here are fantastic, and on occasion I catch a whiff of burning wire, or perhaps it’s the smell of something else…BRAKES..OH SH!T…then it dawns on me that I’m not using any…it’s the trucks…but there aren’t any if front of us…the smell is just a permanent part of the landscape now…as we roll along the smell returns several times but in each case there is no one in front of us…

The sun is out today and there is no sign of rain, the road is beautiful, and GPS has selected some pretty back roads that cut thru some back country of NC, wind around a lake high in the hills and in general I am washed with a euphoric feeling (except that nagging ice pick) that THIS is what it’s all about…THIS IS MOTORCYCLING… I have no idea what lies ahead, only where I will sleep tonight and I have no idea how I’m going to get there…but GPS does, and so far it has selected so well that I’m tempted to let it make the rest of my life decisions…

Before I get into the whole ‘arrival’ part I want to take a couple of sentences to explain something (yeah right a couple of sentences…we’ll see) I live in NH, the road I ride to work is a twisty that goes over the top of a high hill, past a lake, and past some farm land, the road ¼ mile from my house is a stunning little 13 mile twisty that is listed in several riding guides, I’m only a few miles from the green and white mountains, and a host of other rides that many come here just to ride….I’m not living in the mid west where the road goes on for miles with barely a hint of a curve let alone a twisty…I live in some PRIME bike riding territory…I was STUNNED at the beauty of the ride I enjoyed in GA…and purely by accident it was a small part of the ride Chy had selected for us to ride…If you haven’t been to a GA rally you MUST GO!! The roads you get to ride thanks to fate or you charming host will rival ANY you will EVER ride.

Ok back to the tale…after riding in perfect weather, on perfect roads, having just completed a grueling, challenging, and very rewarding ride the night before, I was beginning to think that this was it, how much better could it get? Well it could and did get better…We pull into the Days Inn and check in, parked out front there are several bikes, some faces I recognize and some I don’t after some simple niceties and the other customary “tail sniffing” we (Lee, Poppy and myself) decide to enact phase three of our plan remember… Days Inn, check in, crash and so we do, and a nap is a wonderful thing…If I knew then what I know now…I would NEVER have complained when my Mom made me nap…after the nap we decide its time to relax a bit perhaps a stogie and….wait we have no booze…not that we need it now…but we will…the bikes ride soo much better when they’re not loaded down with two tons a crap you don’t need anyway…we blast to Wal-mart, Lee needs batteries for his camera, then it’s off to someplace called “The World Of Beverages” what a great sounding place this is…4000 miles later we find it…ok perhaps that’s a bit overly dramatic…but it ain’t next door…BUT it is the size of Wal-mart and they have a stunning array of beverages, most importantly (to me) they have a fine selection of single malt scotches I buy a bottle and Lee does also, we plan on needing two…

Upon our return there are several more bikes early indicators are that the ride has returned…ok time to say hello to all at Chys place…I again ask for directions and I again listen carefully and I again plug it into the GPS…except that someone gave me 704 as his house # not 709 after a brief driveway u turn we arrive…as we pull into the drive we are greeted by the sounds of screaming fans, ticker tape streamers, and a band playing a Sousa March inspired version of “what a long strange trip it’s been” they have obviously heard of our inspiring ride…ok I totally made that last part up…there was no band, confetti or screaming fans…but there were a bunch of friends some of whom I had met before and some I had yet to meet…hand shakes and hugs or hugshakes from all, and I collected a special I.O.U. hug from someone who claimed to owe me one for something I said once…although I merely spoke the truth…

Later after catching up with some and meeting others, we decided it was time for a meal…but this time NO power bars, NO crappy fast food, NO gas station cuisine, NOTHING that you have to look up at some signage to pick your food from, we want a sit-down-menu-reading-waitress-bringing meal. Since were in the south how about some BBQ…and as luck would have it there was a place called Shawns BBQ about 100yrds from our hotel…done deal. In fact better than done deal now I’m hankering BBQ…we pull in and walk in to find….. a menu board…we look up over the head of our “server” and order, albeit begrudgingly, from the signage…the food was VERY GOOD and they did bring it to us…so we let the sign board menu slip….we made some off color comments about a young lady who was cleaning the place…only to find out she was only sixteen…honest officer she looked at least 23 (and she did) after deciding we were just a bunch of dirty old men and we should be punished…and if she would just do the pun….never mind….We finished our very tasty meal and decided it was time to park them for the night and head out to the hotel…as were suiting up b717doc and BAMOM drive by and we wave…apparently they are just arriving and we are the first they saw…poor souls…as they pull into the sloping drive way and make a low speed left turn into the slope…well after we pick up the bike and make sure that the rider is ok (she was)
(Hey it’s one of those slow speed moves that hits us all so leave it, no shame in it…she rode like a trooper after that so there!!)....anyway we say goodbye, and head back to the hotel, open the scotch, spark a stogie, and sit down for a relaxing pm with our old and new friends. Then I here the sound of two Harleys and a Triumph pull in…I don’t recognize any of them…but the introductions begin and the only thing I hear is…”Hi I’m Yota, do I get a hug or a hand shake?” ….Now I know I’m at a GA rally……….

Awesome.

Rob,

This is just getting better and better.

nice. you saved the best part for last!

Rob, I have a question. Dumb as it may be, here goes. What is a witness form and what is that all about?

Bob,

When you do an iron butt run you need a witness at the beginning and one at the end.

Basically it is to prove you started and finished, check out the iron butt web site, everything you need is there forms and requirements tips and trips.

John

Well done Rob!
It was a relief to me when I knew you guys had arrived safely.

Rob, this is great stuff. You have a gift of story-telling and story-writing; you really could get this published.

Will

Ahh, we're there I can smell it.

great read rob, felt like i was there for the ride (not enough smoke breaks by the way ) .as has been said about publishing your story, i would submit it to torque mag and see if there interested . again great story cheers mate

Ya know what's really kind'a cool about your story, Rob?

It's that after having had the pleasure to have met Lee, John, and yourself at the NH rally this past winter, you make this story so vivid that as it unfolds I think I can actually see all of you guys' facial expressions and mannerisms at each turn of this trip.

(can't wait for Part IV)