The Dragon...

Here we are…Heritage Soft Tail and me. Riding on back to the house from Smokey Mountain Harley Davidson, it feels nice. But what I love the best is the sound. There is nothing…I mean there is NOTHING that sounds as nice as a Harley. Deceleration…blam blam baam…you know the sound. We get back over to cousin Mark’s and I get to do my *most* favorite thing … (said in the best sarcastic voice I can muster up) …ride down his freakin' gravel driveway …on a bike I am not used to….that doesn’t belong to me. I made it fine…all is well in the universe.

It’s the last week in August. Temperatures are around 97… in the grass…so add a few degrees for pavement, slap on a helmet and let the sweating begin! Seriously, we packed water, sunscreen for my nose…why does my nose get sunburned before anything else and I look like W.C. Fields at the end of a ride? Mark and Paulette on his Road King…me on the Soft Tail and off we go. Soon I remember I have no gloves, I borrow Paulette’s. Nice gloves. I wanted to amputate my left hand before the day was over…there was a little bump or something in the leather….ah but I digress. We do some awesome riding down some wonderfully beautiful roads. Around lakes, through valleys, amazingly curvy and we are just cruising….or putting along if you will. You sport bike riders would have been in pure misery, had you been stuck behind us. Mark and I are kindred spirits…we like to putt through life. It probably has nothing to do with the many brain cells we lost as teenagers and on into our 20’s…we just move slow and enjoy the scenery of life. It takes us the better part of an hour to get up to “The Dragon.” We stopped along the way, fueled up, got advised by the gas station lady that I should not ride the Dragon. Mark was chastised by this stranger for wanting to take me there. We laughed and told her ‘Aw it’ll be alright.” He and I chatted about how the bike was handling. I felt the bike handled a little cumbersome, due to the engine protruding between my short legs and the balance was so much different than what I was accustomed to. Mark told me that when we got back on the road, there would be one more stop. The last stop before the point of no return. “If you feel uncomfortable by the time we get to the next stop its okay. We don’t have to go.” We passed three police cars, all whom had motorcyclists stopped. Yep, I am glad I am a putter. When we got to the next stop, this point of no return…I thought, “What the crap is the big deal? It’s just curvy road.” It was mid-week so The Dragon was not crowded. There were only 15 or so bikes stopped at this point. Great view and a photo op…met some guys from Pennsylvania and other places I don’t recall….they had traveled the furthest. After Paulette smoked her final cigarette (this trivia will become important later in the day at Cherohola)…we mounted up and took off to conquer the Dragon. 315 Curves. 11 Miles. NICE Ride. I could see however, that if one was to get impatient, ride beyond their skills or just plain go to fast…impending doom lie just around the next curve. Switchbacks and straight down the bank if you were to miscalculate your turn. Your tires go off the edge…you are toast. We make it to Deal’s Gap. Time for a burger and a t-shirt. You know what is lying in the parking lot that is awesome? There were thin, ~ 2”x4”, red, rectangular, hard pieces of plastic to slide under your stand to keep it from digging in and the bike falling over. They were just the right size…If I had been a stealing woman… I keep saying I am going to put a little piece of wood in my bag, but I keep forgetting. We finish our burgers … good burgers by the way….I get a sticker and a t-shirt…and we are off to the Cherhola Parkway. So far…Harley is doing fine…as long as I keep moving…

Stay tuned for Cherhola and other antics… AngelVal