[ST] Ride report

["David Pullen" <dpullen@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I hooked up with Shane (my V-Rod riding buddy) this morning for a ride
through the mountains.  The weather was indescribably nice; in fact, this is
exactly the kind of day that I bought the bike for.  After weeks of heavy
rain, the air is clear, low humidity and low temperatures (unusual for
Georgia this time of the year), and the roads are in surprisingly good
shape.  Kudos to the GA DOT for clearing out the trees so quickly.

This time, we took a different route; starting off on Hwy 9, we went north
to Dawsonville, then took Hwy 53 west to Jasper.  Traffic was almost
non-existent and we got to have fun on the curves.  Continuing on Hwy 53
across Hwy 5/515, we took the Hwy 136 connector north to Hwy 136, then west
past Carter Lake.  This stretch wasn't all that exciting, but there were
some nice views.

Reaching Hwy 411, we stopped to warm up and stretch our legs.  Met a guy on
a Kawasaki Concours; he was just getting back into riding after being away
from it for 20+ years (maritally-challenged).  We pointed out some of the
roads around that he would have fun on and parted ways.

Going up Hwy 411 (boring), we came to Hwy 2 and went east past Fort Mtn
State park.  Great curves, great views, definitely worth doing again!
Unfortunately, traffic was heavier, and we didn't get to have as much fun as
we would have liked.  Most cars pulled over for us, but there's always that
one car who is hell-bent on staying ahead of you...

We stopped for lunch in Ellijay (the Pink Pig, good BBQ), then went Hwy
515/76 north (also boring) to Hwy 60 (extremely NOT boring) to Dahlonega.
Traffic was light until the last 10 miles or so.  We were passed by a guy on
some sort of Italian thing; I decided to chase the rabbit for a bit, but
after a couple of miles I noticed that Shane was nowhere to be seen (even on
long straight sections), so I slowed down to let him catch up.  At least he
knows better than to ride past his bike's limits.  One of these days, I'll
get him on a real bike... :)

On the way back through Dahlonega, I nearly had a run-in with a biped
(visions of Bob Nixon flew through my mind).  We were making our way through
the round-about in the town square, and had reached the other side where we
were starting to accelerate.  Out from behind an SUV comes this teenager
darting across the road, looking only to his right.  I swerved left, missing
him by inches, and he continued on his path, just making it across ahead of
Shane.  Had he been a hair faster or one second earlier, he would have hit
me; I don't know if it would have knocked me off, but it certainly wouldn't
have been pretty...

I hope everyone else had a chance to get out for a ride this weekend; keep
it shiny side up!
  - Dave



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