[ST] Awesome week on wheels and the East Rallye

["Scott" <98-VFR800@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Howdy,

	I left early for the East Rally. I rode from Huntsville, Tx.
(just north of Houston) to Guntersville, Alabama on Monday to stay with
a fellow VFR lister. Of the 760 miles, about 600 of it was rain. What
fun. I spent Tuesday running around the area and visiting old stomping
grounds in a small town called Jacksonville. It was great. Wednesday,
the fellow VFR lister rode with me for about half the day then had to
head back home. I cut over into the northwest corner of Georgia and hit
Hwy 52 East between Chatsworth and Elijay, I highly recommend this
road!! From Elijay I headed north to the Tennessee border and ran hwy
68 north to Tellico Plains and the start of the Cherahola Skyway. Hwy
68 is another great run. The Skyway is not to be missed! The others at
the rally that managed to hit it this time out can testify to that.
	I spent Wednesday night at the Gap. I had hoped to hook up with
Steve Duncan but missed him. Other than a couple camping, I was the
only other person at the Crossroads of Time. The guys that work there
took me in and made me feel right at home. They invited me to dinner
and then back to their place for a few brews afterwards. Mike, Duncan
and Francois are great guys. Thursday morning, Mike did a dyno run on
the VFR for grins. 95 hp at about 10500rpm and 53 ft-lb at 8500 rpm. I
must say it was fun doing it. Then it was new tires from Mike for a
GREAT price and a run up and down the Gap to scrub them in nice and
good. I hung around most of the morning hoping to run into Richard,
Lisa, Jim and anyone else coming through. Everyone did come through and
I managed to miss everyone of them! I left the Gap early afternoon and
headed for the Pisgah.
	The run up the BRP from Cherokee to the Pisgah with a full load
of GIVI luggage was a blast. The new tires gripped fantastic and I was
having a great time. Although, at 60 deg F, the Joe Rocket Phoenix was
a tad chilly. Upon reaching the Inn, I hung out in the parking lot
visiting with the other early arrivers waiting for the rest to roll in.
It was not long before they started trickling into the parking lot. It
is great seeing everyone again.
	Friday was rain for many of us. Chasing Paul and Dee up the
twisty rain soaked roads north of the BRP was quite a challenge. I only
had one pucker factor moment when both tires slid out on some mud in
the road at the bottom of a swithcback. A little dirt track style
riding on the VFR and I was good to go. Others were not so lucky :-(
Eric really knows how to pick some awesome roads! Jim Huber and I
swapped bikes for the last few miles of the BRP. He brought his 2001
SV650S all tricked out with the racetech and ohlins upgrades. I flogged
it down the BRP and then down 151 off the BRP. AWESOME. This is such a
great bike hehe. Light and flickable in the extreme. What fun!  Then it
was dinner and parking lot bullshooting for the evening.
	Saturday was dry, beautiful, and warmer. The run was mostly
south of the BRP. The stretch of Hwy 28 south of 19 heading toward
Franklin will no doubt live in Rallye legend for years to come. Think
of the feeling of sweeping back and forth on skis, sliding back and
forth in a rythm, carrying your speed and being smooth. This road is
definitely very high on the list of all time incredible rides. The Gap
is pretty low, highly overrated. The run up 215 to the BRP from the
south, and then back down the northern side of the ridge is great too.
Many people opted to skip this part of the route, their loss.
	The big shindig at the Inn was great. And like everyone else,
getting up and having to leave Sunday was tough. North Carolina just
feels so comfortable, like your favorite pair of undies. I could spend
the rest of my life there, lost in the back roads. The crazy old man
that people see zipping along the roads, heard giggling and cackling
from neath his helmet as he rounds the next bend and roars away.
	John Morin and I hit the Gap Sunday morning. He had never done
it. I declined to make the run. I prefer to run it early on weekday
mornings to avoid the crowds and morons. Thinking that he would be
getting a great deal on tires, John flogged his ST throught the Gap and
back pretty quick. His back tire was looking pretty bad. Bad news. The
shop did not have the 43mm Socket needed to remove the rear wheel, nor
did they have the 19mm hex head to remove the front. No new tires! With
1200 miles to go... hmmm
	We hit the Wendy's in Robbinsville. The parking lot was crammed
with Harleys. While inside we hear them all speaking of heading up to
the Skyway! Crap, we chug our food down and get out fast so we can get
ahead of them. Out in the parking lot, my centerstand has sunken nearly
an inch into the asphalt. One of the sociable Harley riders gives me a
friendly push. Not all Harley riders are obnoxious ;-)
	The skyway run was incredible. Much like my run with Dave
Viosca last year after the rallye. Although this time it was run at a
little more brisk pace. Then we headed south on 68 back into Georgia. I
had to take John across highway 52. He was not dissappointed! From
there we started running back roads across Alabama. A quick shower
soaked me before I could get the rain gear donned. Our detour through
the Gap had delayed us to the point where it was after 3:00pm before we
even got out of NC. So it was getting late as we neared the center of
Alabama. We dodged another rain storm and were presented with a
spectacular lightning display and a flaming sunset. Then the fog began.
	We hit I-65 North of Birmingham and decided to start slabbing
so we could see better and make better time. Or so we thought. We spent
a little over an hour sitting on I-20 on the west side if Birmningham.
A stolen vehicle, drunk drivers and an innocent run off the road, meant
a crime scene instead of an accident scene. This meant that no traffic
could get through until the "Scene" had been properly documented by the
investigators. We ran the shoulders to get to the front so we could
watch. Boring.
	We finally got through and got going again. We hooked up with a
guy in a Jag XJ12S and made really good time to Meridian, Mississippi.
1:00am and a little over 700 miles for the day and I felt like I had
been sprayed down with a big can of whoop ass. We got a room and
crashed. While I was standing in the bathroom getting ready to take a
nice hot shower, I kept hearing this zooming noise, sort of like an
engine revving high and then dropping back down, and repeating again
and again...
	8:00am, and we are back on the road. We drone across
Mississippi to Jackson and pick up the Natchez trace south to Natchez.
Then across Louisiana and East Texas. The pain from the previous day
was really catching up with us. By the time we reach Huntsville, we
have done about 500 miles. John still has another 150 to go and his
back tire is showing chords for about 1/3 of its circumference. He
calls a few hours later and lets me know he has made it home with out
incident.
	What a trip! Just over 3000 miles for me. Oddly enough, I drove
to work in the car Tuesday morning ;-) If you missed the rally this
year, you owe it to yourself to go next year. You won't regret it!

Adios,

Scott "Jap Dawg" Friday
98-VFR800@xxxxxxxxxxxx
1998 Honda VFR 800
2001 Suzuki SV 650 S
1999 Triumph Legend
http://sfriday.com/



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