No way am I changing my screen name to 'Biker *****'. Britman, if that picture shows up at the wrong time, well, I have your phone number and 3 in the morning calls aren't all that nice.....Actually, it felt a little wierd on the back. I'm not in the habit of not having the handlebars in my mits.
I'm happy everyone liked Ed and Carol, I do. They are my best friends, have been since I was 15 years old. I've watched their kids grow up, they have watched mine grow up. They stayed married the whole time while I went through 3 marriages finally ending up with Amy, who Carol introduced me to over 25 years ago. Now that's coincidence.
Putting the faces with the names was interesting in the least. How I had folks pictured and how they actually looked was a 180 degree twist.
We do need a tad more organization for next year. Personally, I'd like to see a RSVP situation and a small town, like Maggie Valley, which is my vote. I'm sure we could get the Cardinal Inn in Maggie Valley for a weekend and I believe 25 would be about capacity there. There are a couple (read more than one) Triumph dealers within striking distance of Maggie Valley. I spent a whole day before the Smashville trip deciphering the Triumph website's dealer list and catagorizing the dealers. The dealer listing on the website is cryptic to say the least. While none of the dealers are right close by, they are all within a half days ride. You have Kingsport Cycle in Kingsport, Tn., Destination Motorcycles in Lenoir City, Knoxville, Tn. and Triumph of Chattanooga in Chattanooga, Tn. I know that a few of those in attendance in Nashville have already rode the Parkway so they know what it's like and my posted pictures don't do it justice. It has to be viewed in person. For the braver souls, there is always the Dragon or the Skyway a few miles south and west of Maggie Valley. From what I've been told by the locals, the Dragon is actually rideable through the week with little traffic. It's the weekend that brings out the wannabe road racers and contributes to the death toll.
I joke about the Taliban 8 in Nashville but believe me, being a trucker all those years afforded me stay's in motels that made the Taliban look like the New York Hilton. I thought the attendants had a pretty dark complexion but by the time I got home I had 'em beat hands down.
I had a major brain fart this afternoon. My trusty laptop took a major dump as in smoke. I loaded the last of the pictures and it went insane and now it's a paperweight. It actually stunk up the computer den, oh well....destination, landfill.
Raymond;
I hope your cheapie T' Meister does the job. I accidently discovered that a slight downward twist on the bar end immediately releases the throttle barrell and allows the throttle to return to an idle.....I should patent the device but it don't cost squat. You have the extra washers, put 'em on another Rocket. You saw me do it, you can do it too.
By next rally, we'll have more throttle options in the way of my cheap digital cruise too. No one will develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from holding that wicked throttle open. Those Brits must have nerveless hands.
before cold weather comes, I may take a roll into the KC area just for kicks and giggles. I'll let everyone know what dates if I decide to make another ride. Until then, be safe. Remember, there are amateurs out there just waiting to become a statistic.