ChevelleFan

That's gonna be a chilly ride to Nelson in the morning. I'm not saying I won't make it, but it seems doubtful. -Dave

Painesville is quite a bit (north)east of downtown cleveland, maybe 25-30 miles? As to the 40k -- how many miles do you think you'll be putting on it? At 24 years old, that's only 1600+ miles per year. If it starts/runs/rides without any weird noises or vibrations, that should be a good price for an 1100. Guy says he'll deal, so offer him $1300 no matter what. -Dave

Hell no -- I can't imagine driving any sort of trailer through there. I mean, I could if I had to, but why clog up the road? I got stuck behind some dude pulling his boat through there (stopped in the pull-offs about 4 different times to let him get ahead) For the record, I did catch some pavement on my boots a few times, at the toes. I know I have a lot to learn (never done a track day), but it felt like a solid first effort. -Dave

I was just down in that same area Aug 5-9th. It was sooooo fun. I too saw my first bear, in the road as I was coming around a bend -- it was a cub, and he darted off in a hurry. I didn't stop to look or try to snap a pic, but I remember it vividly (on Rt 360). Got off the bike one day and went whitewater rafting down the Ocoee river. Beautiful area. Highly recommended for anyone who hasn't been there. -Dave

Thanks Gawd I just got back from there before it was officially declared un-cool. I rode it Wednesday 8/5 mid-day -- no cops, just a few slow harleys. There's some sweet photos of me on my SV (blue w/ soft saddle bags) on zeefoto.com. For my first time there, I think I did pretty good. But I can see what everyone is complaining about. Cherohala Skyway is cool because it's very scenic and all, but certainly not a challenging road. http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/orderpage.aspx?pi=0HH6014R040089&po=89 (pics 90-95) -Dave

This guy?

I'm going to be camping in the general area at that time. I think on those dates I'm staying near Tellico Plains area, but I don't think it's very far from Deal's Gap (40 min?) If you want to try and hook up for a ride while down there, let me know. I leave here Tues morning and will be down around the National Forests (cherokee, natahala, pigsah, etc) until sometime next week (leave the 12th-13th?) -Dave

I feel like a tard for not seeing the scroll bar. I was afraid that that's what it said. I've seen midget strippers once. Once. Scarred for life. -Dave

Uhhh.. just curious here, but what does the rest of the sign say? "7-8 midget ... " ?? -Dave

I'm heading down to that area in just over a week (leaving aug 5 or 6). Dragon, Blue Ridge, Cherohala, are all on my to-ride list. What's Hellbender? Any other suggested road or sites worth seeing? -Dave

Maybe someone could show these to Professor Gates. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2wOxnAiIVs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJfQevjpf_g Chris outlines a few simple rules to not get your ass kicked by the Police. Professor Gates missed the "STFU" rule. (and possibly the "get a white friend" rule) Cops show up at Gates' house right after he got back from an international trip. The house had already been broken into before this incident, as Gates stated he was having trouble with the door. Cops asks for ID and Gates shows a Harvard ID. Huh? Mistake #1. Show your f*cking driver's license or passport, that shows your address. If he's done nothing wrong, what's he afraid of? Cop calls Harvard Police to see if they recognize him. I see nothing wrong with that. When the cops eventually start leaving, he just starts yelling at them. Yell at the cops at your own peril. You want the cops gone? Say "Thank you, have a good day." I find it quite interesting so far that you don't hear about any of his neighbors sticking up for him. Except for his 'peeps, Obama. (what an idiot -- wont even bother with that, other than to say I bet a bunch of otherwise normal white moderates and liberals are rolling their eyes and beginning to see what they voted for.) wu tang! -Dave

Actually, the reason we went to PA instead of southern Ohio was because we all had relatively thin back tires (esp me) and I didn't think we could get there and back without showing cords. PA is good, but SE Ohio is better, IMO. Still a great ride, though. -Dave

Almost the same route I was looking at when I txt'd you. Let me know a good meet-up point and I'll be there. -Dave

Another OU alum here -- that's where I started street riding, on my '86 Radian around Athens, back in '94. Good times. I also have heard "Ohio's Dragon Tail" applied to mainly Rt 536. I've never ridden Tail of the Dragon, so I can't compare -- but when you've got all the great roads in SE Ohio, who cares? 555 is awesome, though. A definite must-ride. -Dave

First, we've got dumb & dumber: Two Riders with Learner's Permits run into each other, neither wearing a helmet. One is life-flighted. http://www.newsnet5.com/news/19820444/detail.html I ride through this intersection quite often. It's one park road intersecting another. Epic fail to crash here. I guess both riders should automatically have their permits revoked. Next: we've got freak accident. Car hits, deer --> deer knocks motorcyclist off bike --> rider gets run over by Ford Explorer --> motorcycle continues and hits Dodge Dakota. Rider died at the scene. Again, no helmet. http://www.newsnet5.com/news/19811927/detail.html I don't know how people can ride without a helmet. I've bounced my head on concrete while working under my car and it *hurts*. That's only couple inches off the ground and 0 mph. The 2nd accident just goes to show it might not be the rider's fault at all, but he suffered the consequences. -Dave

The north end of Skyline Drive (Shanendoah Nat'l Park) is in Front Royal, VA. Skyline drive is, I believe, the northern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Well worth the trip, I went last summer. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=hilliard,+oh+to+front+royal,+va&sll=38.926519,-78.185095&sspn=0.108171,0.136642&g=front+royal,+va&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=7&saddr=hilliard,+oh&daddr=front+royal,+va If you want to make a *fun* trip out of it, as soon as you cross in to WVA on I-70, pick up US-250. It'll take you to the southern end of Skyline Drive (105 miles south of Front Royal). It is top-notch riding. -Dave

As far as the off, all I know is that at some point, the road curved, and I didn't. I wasn't even going fast or trying to be aggressive at that point. I dunno if I just had my head up my ass, if something else had caught my attention or what, but I came over this rise, the road went right and I realized I wasn't gonna make the turn. Ended up locking the rear brake, going across the opposite lane and ended up in small patch of grass -- in front of a cemetary (Creighton Ridge Cemetary). The slighly personal part of it is that my dad had wanted to name me Creighton when I was born (thank you MOM!) , so here I am, essentially wrecking, almost into a cemetary that bears a name almost given to me. It sorta spooked me a bit. Mike had been behind me and he pointed at the cemetary's sign and then at me, as to say "that's where you are gonna end up." I never went down or anything, just off the road. No damage other than a bruised ego. If you see this in time, send me a txt when you head out. -Dave

Lost, Mike (Duc Monster) and I rode the lower half of your posted route on Memorial Day Weekend, spending a night in Marietta. (555 --> 32/7 --> 26 ) We took 260 and it's really fun stuff. Not everything is well-signed, though. I had my first-ever 'off' on 260 at a place called Creighton Ridge Cemetary. 26 is indeed in excellent condition and good riding. And yes, that would be a lot of riding to do in one day from NEO. Not impossible by any means, but you'd be pretty tired by the time you got back home. -Dave

I have a Tour Master TB-12 magnetic mount on my SV and it stays put -- tested into triple digits. (has provisions for strap mount too)On the whole, I like it a lot. The only time mine has scratched the tank was when a little piece of metal got attached to one of the magnets and then I put it on the tank. Very handy, but I don't have much to compare it against. I keep my rain pants in there, and after seeing Lost's picture, I put both my Leatherman and Gerber tools in there too. (stock toolkit remains under the seat) It's big enough to accomodate my junk for a 3-day solo trip. (various car chargers, a couple bottles of water, a hat, wallet, phone, camera, snacks, etc, with room to spare) Others have mentioned the map pocket. If you actually put maps in there, try to make sure you get one that doesn't require you to mangle your map. Mine sucks in this regard. I've put my dad's GPS inside the map pocket and that works well too. Another thing regarding GPS's, get a free one. In Cleveland, Key bank (key.com) is giving away a free Garmin Nuvi 205w for opening a new checking account and two doing direct-deposits (or 2 automated bill payments) + 1 debit card transaction. Not sure if the offer is still going, but I know you have to have the transactions completed by July 17. They did a similar promo last year for 4gb Ipod Nano's, and I got one of those too (then closed the account). I'm not affiliated with Key, just happy that they keep offering stuff for free that I can use on my bike! I think the 205w goes for around $140-150. -Dave

As I'm 'that guy' (well, 1 of 2), I can say Lost leads a good ride. I live out in Chesterland. Most of my weekday riding is limited to commuting, but on weekends, I'm up for anything from an hour or two, up to an all day 500 miler. Riding in the rain builds character. It makes you appreciate warm, sunny rides that much more. Mike (the guy with the Monster), myself, and a couple other guys got caught in the rain for a whole day on a trip through WV last year. It sucked for sure, but it made the next day's ride that much sweeter. I'd like to do another Sunday ride this weekend, but so far weather.com is showing rain for 4/19. -Dave

+1 on Cycles R Us in Chippewa. I recently found them via ebay and went down to the store to pick up my part. -Dave