[ST] Rallye Report

[Richard & Lisa White <RedRiders@xxxxxxx>]

Well, the Eastern Rallye is over and those of us unlucky enough not to
have any extra vacation time to spend in North Carolina are already back
home.  What a Rallye!  The routes were excellent, as was the company. 
Our little group, me, Richard, David "Bird Dawg" Viosca, and Jim "Jedi
Dawg" Huber, trailered into Chattanooga on Wednesday, and road in on
Thursday via the Cherohola Skyway, Deal's Gap, and the Parkway.  We ran
into our first STs on the NC approach to the Skyway, and met more at the
Gap.  What a day!  STs, and the occasional RS and other Triumph were
coming in from all over.  We had a big group for dinner, and then it was
on to prepare registration packets for the next morning.  True to his
word, Eric was in a kilt, with dark red hair, and Union Jack boots! 
There were two other attendees who joined him in this attire--the kilt,
anyway--Neil Anderson and Kevin Liske.

The next day, registration began early.  The final number of people who
registered and attended was 61.  We also had a few TOA visitors Saturday
night, and Jerry Parrish was a participant in the Rallye.  He also made
sure that we had some really neat door prizes.  It was great to see
Triumph participating.

Unfortunately, on Friday, we experienced some rain which made
negotiating some of the curvy NC roads quite interesting.  Once we got
to a town, we stopped for lunch to rest and let things dry out a bit. 
After lunch, we did have an "incident", but I will let the parties
involved tell you about it if they so choose.  Let's just say it was
scary, and those involved escaped serious injury, very thankfully.  I
only saw the aftermath.  There were two other bikes damaged over the
weekend--John Morin's, as he has already explained, and one other who
will remain nameless unless he wants to tell you what happened.  Those
guys were thankfully uninjured, though their STs suffered cosmetic
damage.  The dinner on Saturday evening was quite nice.  It was great
seeing old friends and making new ones.

Saturday's ride was entirely dry, and what can I say, NC is just one big
curve!  The little parts of Georgia and South Caroline we entered
weren't that bad either ;-)!  The grin factor was quite high!  That
night we had our Rallye awards, some of which were quite interesting. 
Keith Peters won the distance traveled award, as he crossed the "pond"
to attend this event, and Chris Hull won the distance ridden award, as
he came down from Ontario to attend.  We'll let you guys know the other
awards in the TSRA newsletter or let the recipients tell you about
them.  The laughter that evening was quite loud, I must say.  

I really hated to leave on Sunday.  I was far more comfortable riding
these roads this year, even in the rain, and I know I was faster than I
was last year.  It's always good to note improvement.  Now I just need
to take that Keith Code class in October . . . . ;-)!  

Seriously, it was great to see all of you "old Dawgs", and to meet the
"new Dawgs".  Have I said before that this is an AWESOME group of
people???  What better combination can you ask for--great bikes, great
roads, and great company!!

Those of you who haven't made it to a rallye, we hope to see you next
year, and to those of you who have, until next time. . . . Keep the
rubber side down, and have fun!

Lisa

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