Earache

There's about 4 going from ChicagoRiders.com, me and a friend from Indy and Satan - so that'd be 7 of us so far. I think a guy from Chicago has a room with only him in it, so he needs a roomie. So does Satan - I think. We should pick a place in Lexington, KY to meet up. There's a Gold Star Chili just off of I-75 at Man O' War Blvd. Also has gas and other food at the exit. Just need to set a time window, etc. .

I've ridden in the UK many times and it kinda freaks you out when it first happens. Coming up on a car on a two lane road, the car will slide to the left and the oncoming cars will also slide over a bit. Makes a perfect lane up the middle. If you have a minute, checkout his video we shot from the bikes last year, you'll see what I mean; excellent example at the 3:07 mark.I think most states, Ohio included, don't specifically have laws against lane splitting, but they do have lane control laws that would earn you a ticket if you were to split. Anyone here know a cop that they can ask?

Temperatures are in the 70's there next week - hope that holds out!

You'll only see cops on the Dragon itself and not anywhere else. So the cops aren't an issue at all. Don't worry about them at all.

You showed great restraint. I'd have beaten their asses bloody.

Tires were made for wearing out. If ya want to last a really, really long time; leave your bike on stands all year and don't ride at all. I'm just kiddin'; of course - not blowing anyone shit at all. Buy a new tire a smoke it in April in TN and NC - it'll be fun and worth it!

Exactly - get through it and on to bigger and better things. That place is way too crowded with the HD crowd anyway.

Not really - it's only bad on the weekends if you want to ride up and down on the Dragon all day. Fuck that. I'll be on roads that won't have too many people at all.

Gotta watch the weather on this as well. It could be 80 degrees and sunny or it could be snowing that weekend. Going there this early in the season is kinda risky. But we can always cancel is the weather is going to suck. Better make some hotel reservations now if you think you may be going. Area fills up quick on the weekends. We're staying here: Hotel: Country Inn and Suites 162 Cusick Road Alcoa, TN 37701 (865) 273-2800 Rate: $243.70 for three nights $71.00 per night before taxes, etc You can book online at http://www.countryinns.com/ and cancel up to 24 hours prior with no penalty. I made my reservation about a month ago, so prices may have gone up a bit already. or not. Best jump on it ASAP.

These are the locations for vendors; There probably won't be too many "official" vendors as the Speedway and Dorna control that pretty much. All of the vendors inside of the track will sell pretty much the same stuff - official event shirts, hats and shit like that. The track has a lot of permanent stands set up for this and there will be a few truck trailers selling stuff in the Museum parking lots. Most bike parts and apparel vendors will be located outside of the track so that they don't have to pay the super high vendor fees that Dorna requires. Should be lots of them out there, too.

Indy isn't set up like that. They have a secured parkign area for the team transports - you'll not be allowed anywhere near that. There are no tents to speak of, but the area outsiude of the Museum will have some vendors set up. Most of the "tent" things you speak of will be located outside of the track, across the street to the west and south sides fo the track (along 16th Street and along Georgetown Road). The garage areas are really nice for the teams. But they have sliding garage doors that are usually kept closed. You'll not be allowed in this area at all. You can see into it a bit, but not much. GP racing isn't as "open" as we're used to; where you can just walk up to the garage entrance and peer in. Unfortunately, Homey don't play that. They tend to keep the fans at bay and out of the way. It's long been a criticism of the GP's are run. Here's the pit set up ... The green dots represent a chain link fence, this is as close as you get to the pits. The best place to get close to the bikes and riders would be at the entrance to the track from the pits. But they'll most likely just be zooming past you at this point.

Here's my usual route to TN from Indy.... It's 383 miles door to door. Pretty much the same distance from Columbus and about 100 miles less from Cinti. If anyone wants to come along, we could meet up in Lexington and then ride down. The route shows a fair amount fo inetrstate riding, but there are some decent roads that parallel the highway and are a bit more curvy.

Gimme the Hampton you're in again and I'll stay there if they have any rooms. Need to book that today.

I'll be riding south for the weekend of April 24-27th. If anyone wants to tag along ,let me know. We'll be riding from Indy to Lexington, KY and on into Alcoa, TN. Will stay in Alcoa at the Country Inn & Suites for the weekend. First longer ride fo the year - should be fun.

I hear ya - a Ducati would break down before you got to St. Louis.

Synchrony 2 speed. I plan on getting a bigger bike next year....

What is it with bikers? They're always broke! It's all priorities; kids, wives and work really can limit your riding time and the amount of cash you have to spend on it. Luckily, I have no kids, a wife that doesn't mind me be gone every weekend in the summer and pretty flexible work as well.

I never posted anything here that I know of. I did on Chicago Riders - maybe you saw one of the trips there. Joe had to buy a new chain once, but never wrecked or dropped his bike that I know of. But I have slept since then and may have forgotten. Never claimed to be too bright, ya know. Anyway, doesn't matter. Scrape up some cash and come with us this year!

I never posted them here and Joe ('Busa) never dropped his bike that I know of. Might have me confused with soemone else?

I've been at my job for a long time and get 6 weeks per year vacation. So burning a couple of weeks isn't all that big of a deal. If I had only 2-3 weeks per year, then I'd definitely have to rethink this kind of ride. Still, hope some is able to come along!

I don't think they take six months anymore - that was years ago. There is a fee you can pay for speeding the process up. Takes only a couple of weeks, but it is kinda expensive. I renewed mine last year and got it back in 3 weeks - without paying the fee.

The truth hurts. It's never gonna be cheaper than it will be this summer. So if you can swing the vacation time and cash, it's a ride not to be missed. I do some big assed ride each summer - either out west or someplace in Europe. Hoping to do Mexico soon , too. Anyone is always wlecome to come along.

There's some guys from CR that have been on it before and you'll see them next week in Chicago. You can ask them about the trips. costs: Rooms run about $100 per day on average and you'd split it with a roomie. So figure on $50 a day. Gas is whatever it takes for you to ride around 7,000 miles. It's about 200 gallons for me or $700 or so. Food and beer is whatever you wanna spend and so is gambling in Nevada. It ain't 'zactly cheap, but you'll not see this much of the USA for less money either. I pretty much know where all of the good roads and sights are along our route, so we'll see as much as we can. And we're flexible enough to see whatever you might want to see.

He did the last one an a 'Busa. Dave did California and back on an R6 3 years ago - and he's gonna be 40 years old this year. SAtill acts like he's about 15 though. My buddy Jason has done it three times on a CBR929.

Your bike would need new tires, oil and brakes before we left. We usually get tires and oil chnages on the road in Oregon or Denver on the way back. Have yet to find some tires that'll last the whole trip. There's an outside chance that Joe might trailer us to Denver and back. He has a race car trailer capable of holding 5-6 bikes. This would save 2,100 miles of wear on your bike and might eliminate the need for buying tires on the road. You could either fly to Denver or just drive out in a car. His truck is only an extended cab and isn't big enough for four on a 1,000 mile drive. If he does trailer, I think I may fly out. All guys going, with the exception of me, are pretty cool and easy to get along with.You'll most likely make some pretty good friends with them unless you're a real asshole or something. Let me know if you would consider the ride with us and I'll answer any questions you might have. Thanks! Eric