Re: [ST] Ride report, April 24.

["Jeremy Witt" <Jeremy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

That reminds me of my most recent ride from NH to GA in '04.  I was on
the little Hawk GT and my friend Marcus was riding his Guzzi Stone.  We
were heading South on the Blue Ridge Parkway in SW Virginia when Marcus
managed to stall his Guzzi after leaning too far/hard one too many
times.  He managed to drag the kickstand area hard enough that he
wrecked the "safety feature".  Ten minutes and a few bits of electrical
tape later, we were on the move again.  

Jeremy Witt
Newbury Partners
(o) 603-893-3022
(c) 603-475-4228


-----Original Message-----
From: st-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:st-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jack Hays
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 10:49 AM
To: st-triumphnet.com@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx;
st-triumphnet.com@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ST] Ride report, April 24.

Monday, April 24.
      I woke at 5:30 again and was up, showered, dressed, and packed
pretty
quick. It looked rainy so we wanted to get on the way as soon as
possible.
      I took a parting shot of the Guzzi and waved good bye to Bird Dawg
and lead us to the gas station and then south on Highway 23.
      I really hated leaving my riding buddy there but there were not
too
many choices.
      About three miles away at Webb I turned us left on Highway 309 and
we
made the run to the north side of Mount Magazine.
      Again, there were three construction zones we had to sit through
as
they prepare the road from Interstate 40 to Mount Magazine and the new
Lodge. Bummer!
      The north and south side of Mount Magazine are totally different.
The
north is open while the south is tighter and I made good time climbing
the
mountain and was a little cautious descending the south side with it's
tighter turns.
      Once at Highway 10 I took us back through Danville but got on
Highway
27 and rode a few miles to Rover.
      At Rover I put us on Highway 28 west to Brigsville about ten miles
away.
      We found a short fifteen mile road that just loops south of
Highway
28 at Brigsville and re-joins Highway 28 at Bluffton. It's a marvelous
little road running through a valley beside farm land and nice turns the
entire length. At the intersection of 28 I stopped and asked Ian what he
thought and he said "Great road". Try it, you'll like it
      We headed back west on Highway 28 as it is opens with really fast
turns through a national Forest. You can really pull the trigger on
Highway
28 through this section if you need to make up some time
      At the intersection I turned us south on Highway 71 to Mena where
we
gassed again at the same station.
      I looked at the sky and though we would get rain across the
parkway
and changed from the mesh jacket to the Motoport and Explorer gloves.
      A nice climb up the Talimena Parkway and we were off on a great
run
across the top.
      This was great run as it never rained but the clouds were blowing
through the trees pushed by a thirty five to forty mph wind that moved
the
bikes around and added more adventure to the ride.
      Sweeping, climbing, and falling we rode on and I grinned the whole
trip. This thing makes you feel like your running the Isle of Man nor
something and is just wonderful.
      I soon recognized the left hand turn that meant the final decent
was
just around the corner. I came down to the stop sign and started
planning
my next Talimena run!
      As we entered Talihina Ian dropped in at the restaurant we had
been
at on Friday night to leave a forgotten tip. While he was inside I
pulled
over at the VFW display to get a shot of Merlin in front of the big
mobile
howitzer as I always say I'm going to do that and never do. Now, I have!
      We then pulled into the B-B-Q restaurant on the north side of the
Highway as it's time to chow down. When I pull up the ground is pretty
steep and after killing the motor I place the transmission in first gear
to
stop any rolling backwards and the resultant expensive repair bill.
      We had pretty decent food and more nice sweet tea and then gear up
for the dash to Atoka and the final gas stop.
      I press the magic button and Merlin spins like a top but no fire!
What the heck is going on? I repeat this cycle three more times and
immediately think of Kermit the mighty Guzzi and her continued problems
including a no start a couple of trip ago. Sure glad Bird Dawg isn't
here
now. I tell Ian that I don't get it since Merlin had never failed to
light
right up and then remove my helmet and start checking everything I can
think of.
      First I remove the seat and check the battery leads. I don't know
why
I did that since she is spinning like there's no tomorrow but I do. I
then
reason that maybe the fuel pump fuse has blown and remove the fuse box
cover and one by one remove each fuse and give it a goof look over. I
can
find no problem and button everything back up.
      I decide to give it another try and I get the same results. I then
decide to sit on the bike and hold it straight up out of desperation and
BINGO. As I lean the bike upright I look down and of course the side
stand
is down as that's what was holding the bike up and it's in gear to keep
it
from rolling backwards. In gear with side stand down! Can you say safety
feature, and dummy in the same breath! I tell Ian I know what is wrong,
put
it in neutral, pull in the clutch, push the magic button and she's
running.
Boy would I have given Bird Dawg a rash over this type brain farkel. I'm
good now, let's ride.
      We rode back through Sardis Lake and headed west on Highway 43
toward
Stringtown once more.
      Ian took the front door and let's just say we made some time. I
stopped once to take a picture of thirty four coyotes strung along a
fence
and then lit her back up.
      At Highway 69 we turned south and then found all of that wonderful
traffic as we made our way closer to Atoka where we stopped for a final
refueling.
      At this point Ian and I split up as I had already had enough of
the
Interstate and traffic and was determined to get off the big highway as
soon as I could while Ian was riding it all the way to highway 121 in
McKinney.
      I took a long loop home to accomplish this but was happy with my
decision immediately.
      I pulled in the garage about 4:00 PM, unloaded, and showered. The
dogs were both happy to see me and likewise so was I.
      Great trip and I'm ready to do another one just like it again.
      Total mileage was around 1,250.

Tuesday, April 25.
      Back to work dang it!



Jack Hays
972-952-5065
"I'll see you on the dark side of the Moon"
Que Lastima
4 - 8 - 15 - 16 - 23 - 42
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