Everything after Cherahola was like cake for me. Once I made it past that hurdle, I knew I could and would complete the ride. The cathartic tears I shed upon seeing the Cherahola Market sign combined with the phone call to theMomma was all the inspiration I needed. We had about 100 miles to go and something like 2.5 hours to do it.
All that was left:
Back on the road again:
We left Tellico Plains and went through Copperhill, TN and later Blue Ridge, GA. I was concentrating so much, I hadn't realized when we left North Carolina or entered Tennessee. Just as we entered Copperhill, there was a cop on the side of the road who lit up his blue lights as we passed. I don't recall that we were speeding, but I guess a group of sport-touring bikes warranted the salute.
Turn right up there:
A little while later, we were back on backroads.
One thing I noticed about the pictures toward the end of the day: I was always with the group.
I didn't think I was riding any harder than I had all day. In fact, I thought Mike slowed down because at the last stop he mentioned something about taking it easy on the home stretch. Tony said there was no difference to him.
Around Red Top Mountain
We rode through here that morning in dappled sunlight and again in the evening. With the sun in my eyes both times, I wished there was a way we could have ridden it so the sun was at our backs.
We Freakin' Did it!!
I promised myself when I got off of the Cherahola Skyway that when we were officially done, I was going to just lay down where ever we were. Michelle thought it was a good idea and joined me as I enjoyed a victory cigarette.
and the victory picture.
The feeing of satisfaction at having completed such a hard ride can not be put into words. Right after the ride, I didn't know if I ever wanted to do one again. As I write this, I think I will do another one. I never had the expected pain or exhaustion after this ride. I felt so good, I wondered why I had bothered worrying about it in the first place. I guess theWolf was happy too.
Right before we left to go back to Mike and Michelle's, I noticed I'd worn out my front tire:
I didn't think I leaned harder one way than the other. But I noticed a similar wear on the last BT021 front tire before I replaced it (not with the tread showing). Mike said he had a used front I could have and he'd put it on in the morning. Sweet!! Thanks Mike.
It's a good thing because by the time we got to his house, the tire was toast.
The whole ride that made me an official Twisty Butt Association Outlaw:
Sunday 28 Mar 2010: Getting a tire and saying goodbye
The next morning, Mike caught hell trying to get that thing off of the rim. But with a little ingenious thinking and help from Bobby and James, he finally got it off:
Of course, none of it could have happened without supervision from Joker the dawg
Balanced...
and Installed!
Not long after, Bobby, Teresa, and I left for home. I completed a total of 742 miles this weekend, the most on Baby in a single weekend yet. I still need to figure out the totals. I know I averaged 41.5 mph for the 502 miles of the Twisty Butt. I think I spent about $52 on gas but I was not careful about keeping the numbers to compute mpgs since I was using cash and not a credit card.
It was a great experience with great people. I feel we are all family now and can't wait until we can get together again.
Thanks for reading,
Patrice, theWolfTamer
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