Tell us about your Rally rides

[CycleRob]

Rode the 107.5 miles up from my house in Gainesville GA Friday morning, checked in my Robbinsville NC motel and went for a ride. I rode the Dragon through to the end and back on Friday early afternoon. I've ridden it many times in the last 9 years and actually prefer flying over route 28 and other nearby routes that aren't as slow, narrow, or with so many dangerous very sharp totally blind corners. The Dragon traffic was very light, but I still had to stop and wait 4 times for slow traffic (cars or SUVs that you cannot pass!) to get far ahead. The Harleys I just passed with a fist full of throttle in 1st gear at the slow-go hairpin exits. They love to hear that rice rocket sound blowing past them, I'm sure. There was one sheriff's Ford Crown Vic backed into the woods (perpendicular to the road) listening for and targeting the 10,000 RPM crazies while being very tolerant of all those below that that were obviously speeding well beyond the 35 MPH speed limit. Going out from NC to TN he's invisible, but the return trip he's easily seen. I just knew officer Buford was listening with his window down for those high RPM, high speed law violators, so I was 500 RPM either side of 3 grand with small throttle openings. I was more focused on maximum corner speeds than on acceleration or braking. Even at those normal engine speeds there is plenty of go and whoa with just the throttle and gearbox. Just a nice, fast, take-it-to-the edge ride.

After that and seeing no F800 riders at the Dragon store parking lot, I went looking for the group at Fontana village. Wow!! Route 28, on both ends that lead to Fontana Village, are absolutely great! Nice fast, sharp curves with elevation changes. Riding around the grounds I found their bikes and them eating a late lunch. Convinced a few we should RIDE. It was a good choice as the leaders found some great roads. In total it was a 231 mile day.

Saturday, I rode all by myself, as the Dragon is a frustrating/annoying zoo on the weekends. There should be a big sign there that says "No Harleys, Metric Cruisers or Gold Wings allowed!!" That would eliminate about 80% of those rolling chicanes. Picking up the Cherahola skyway in Robbinsville off of 129 after 5pm was another memorable cluster of curves and hills (and scenery that I missed). That road took me to 5,435 ft (Zumo450 GPS altimeter) where the temp went down over 15 degrees F to 48F. The air was so fresh and brand new clean it was noticeable. Over a mile high but the bike still ran and idled OK. My eyes were tearing and my nose was running from the cold. Extreme lean angles at 60MPH through fast, clear view sweepers reveal what a great (race?) bike the F800ST is!!

Saturday was a 235 mile day spent on route 28 and others to parts unknown using the compass as a guide. At the group dinner that night, my table mates will confirm this, I ate like a pig. I was so drained from overdosing on my own adrenaline the food and desert just vanished. Afterward, former R1150R.ORG groupie and now Microtel roomie Touchton and I still had the 18 mile ride back to our motel in Robbinsville, which was scarier than it should be after dark because of the dozens of really sharp curves. Gee, those same roads sure were awesome fun-tainment in the daylight.

BTW, even though the suspension/handling is dialed-in neutral, stable and riding-on-rails solid at any lean angle, my self imposed 98% safety margin meant that just under one eigth inch chicken strips still remain. That 98% was a promise to my wife I knew I might be punished by fate for violating. It is definitely Metzeler Z-6 Interacts from now on! Amazingly solid grip when other tires would be hinting something else. Also, other than occasionally stalling immediately after a hot start if no throttle was used, it ran absolutely perfect all weekend. Even after running 39.5 miles on the low fuel light on the way home today.

I had a blast riding really fast in the curves on roads that can only be described as MotorCycle Heaven. I did NOT almost run off the road, get arrested or stopped. Except for the Saturday morning fog that lifted by 10am or so, the weather was blue sky perfect by afternoon. ALL the roads were unusually clean too!! In all my riding the East Coast, there is nothing to compete with the road quality, curve quantity, relative lack of traffic or stunning mountainous scenery this area has. Rob's generous nature, openness to suggestions and extensive work behind the scenes made this rally great. Yeah, you dudes that have yet to attend a rally, that means you missed more than just the latest rally.

Rambling over. Can someone else step up and fill in the many curious readers about their own riding adventures . . . . in detail?

[BrENDURO]

I came in from the east late Friday night. Due to work obligations, I was unable to leave at a reasonable hour. I didn't get to Fontana until 11:00pm. It was dark from Asheville - Fontana. I-40 wasn't bad at night; 74 wasn't horrible. 28 was pretty hairy. They don't call it the hellbender for nothing!
Saturday, slept in a bit and hit 28 to Deals Gap where I did a single run in both directions (2up). I'm waiting for those pictures to come up on killboy and us129 photos etc. Then I went back to the cabin and napped the afternoon away!
I can vouch for the Tennessee Sheriff's CycleRob speaks of. I saw him in the same spot Rob describes, and a handful of other spots. Most riders (myself included) were indicating cops were ahead. The police are very tolerant of fast-paced responsible riding.
Sunday, I got up rather late and headed west for Memphis (made it). That required 1 more ride through the Gap, which was a bit misty and damp.
Overall, the roads in the area are amazing. 28 is very well maintained. I don't even recall seeing gravel on the roads anywhere - and I was looking!

[ohg59]

"Saturday, I rode all by myself, as the Dragon is a frustrating/annoying zoo on the weekends. There should be a big sign there that says "No Harleys, Metric Cruisers or Gold Wings allowed!!" That would eliminate about 80% of those rolling chicanes. Picking up the Cherahola skyway in Robbinsville off of 129 after 5pm was another memorable cluster of curves and hills (and scenery that I missed). That road took me to 5,435 ft (Zumo450 GPS altimeter) where the temp went down over 15 degrees F to 48F. The air was so fresh and brand new clean it was noticeable. Over a mile high but the bike still ran and idled OK. My eyes were tearing and my nose was running from the cold. Extreme lean angles at 60MPH through fast, clear view sweepers reveal what a great (race?) bike the F800ST is!! "

There used to be a guy on a yellow wing nicknamed the 'yellow wolf.' "Ride-Like-A-Pro" did a video of him running down a couple of sport bikers with commentary/critique.

If you want annoyed, tried getting stuck behind a URAL hack or a Semi tanker that the idiot driver tried to take through the gap and dropped off the road.

[BrENDURO]

There used to be a guy on a yellow wing nicknamed the 'yellow wolf.' "Ride-Like-A-Pro" did a video of him running down a couple of sport bikers with commentary/critique.

The video you're referring to, I think. Crazy!

[RAD]

Me and SO rode in to Fontana 2-up from Charlotte, NC on the ST on Friday. A leisurely 9.5 total hours, no expressways, lots of stops here and there, beautiful sunny day, lots of twisties, drove the Cherokee Scenic Highway in South Carolina; up past Devils Fork State Park through the cities of Cashiers and Highlands on 64; up 28 through Franklin and the "Hellbender", arrived at resort just after dark.

Saturday we went with the group to Wheels of Time Museum. That owner guy, Dale, is a trip, he told us all about his recent coast-to-coast run in the Cannonball Run/Rally (check it out on Google), and the bike he rode, and he started up a bunch of old bikes.

Deb was quite freaked over Bob's wreck, as was I (I called it in to 911 emergency). After the museum she just wanted to go back to the resort. I dropped her off and after lingering a while, rode up to Fontana Dam and then over to the Dragon (beautiful ride over) and rode it, where I came upon another wreck - a sport bike was WAY down at the bottom of a cliff, I mean way down. The rider had JUMPED OFF the bike before it went over the edge, and was totally OK! Unscathed. He had kept his Crampbuster (same thing as a Throttle Rocker) on his throttle, and had not even adjusted it; he came around a right hairpin turn too fast, went to hit his front brake and accidentally goosed the throttle on the way. Obviously could have been a lot worse, as he crossed over the oncoming traffic lane. This version of events was told to me at the scene by a person who was riding in his group.

Further on the Dragon I rounded a curve and up ahead about 50 meters or less were 2 racer-types on the shoulder, looking behind themselves for an opening to get back on the road. I figured there was no way they would go before I passed them - there was no one behind me - I was wrong. They both darted out in front of me, and initially I was pissed, but not for long. One of them did a huge wheelie before the next turn, and they were gone in a flash and I never saw them again.

As the attendees know, there was also a Chrysler Crossfire rally at the resort when we were there. That is a car made by Daimler/Chrysler. On my way to the Dragon I counted 16 Crossfires coming back from the Dragon, so that was cool, as they were mostly gone when I got there, and I only saw 3 while on the Dragon.

I rode back to the hotel from Deal's Gap having hooked up there with a couple folks from the rally. I thought I was too late for the group picture so didn't go, turned out I was wrong about that, too. Way, way too many deer to venture out at night (you brave souls who did so I commend you), so that was it for Saturday.

My Sunday and Monday rides are detailed in another thread.

Thanks for setting this up, Rob. I vote for going back next year to same area. The quality of the roads is outstanding. But I'm sure there are many places in the world with such nice roads. I haven't ridden in any other country, nor even in western U.S., so I would love to hear from anyone who has ridden both in western North Carolina, USA, and anywhere else good (including the U.S.) who can give a comparison. Bicyclist?

bobby