Yep, I sure do.

I made a date with my 7 year old daughter. She has been looking forward to it all week & not only is she excited, I am as well.

We are going to be taking the motorcycle up into the smoky mountains & ride the tail of the dragon a few times.

Grandma & my son will be following in the car just in case something happens to the bike (it is nearly 30 years old).

It might turn into a camping trip also. We are bringing everything just in case I can find a campsite.

Those are hard to find this weekend. When I made the date with my daughter, I didn't realize that it was a holiday. Plus there is a motorcycle rally going on up there this weekend also.


Wish me luck. Hopefully the old bike runs as good as it normally does & I am praying that I find a campsite.


See ya all when I get back!!!!!!!!!!

 

I thought real hard about getting a small bike for main transpo for the time being...

Keep the rubber side down! I want to hear from you again after the "crazy" weekend....


~Wolf

 

I was up there last year. I drove the wife and 9 yr. old daughter along the "Tail". I'm envious in that I won't get there this year. Have a great time for all of us.

 

G'luck and have lots of fun

 

Had a real good time.

July 2nd. 2005

My daughter & I left here on the bike heading for the dragon. Grandma & My boy were in the car following (just in case something happened, We had a ride home).

We stayed off the main highways & rode the back roads all the way up. Right before getting into Tellico Plains, TN I looked down & noticed that the bike was dumping gas out of carb #1. Shut the bike down in Tellico Plains for a closer look, turns out the float stuck (assuming elevation change), It was a quick fix & off we were.

Since we were right there, we rode the Cherohala Skyway over to Robbinsville, NC. Here is were we stopped & ate, I also gassed up the bike and prepared to slay the Dragon.

I didn't want Grandma to know where we were (she would have gotten scared), So I simplied told her to follow US-129 North & that Megan & I will meet her at the Foothills Parkway (on the other side of the dragon). I also told her that if she see's a bike behind her, that she was to pull over to let it go. Those bikes can round those corner's quicker then she could & it was just coutesy. And off we were, Old XS-650 air cooled twin screaming down the road.

We stopped the bike at Deal's Gap motorcycle resort just to look around and see some gourgous bikes. About 10 minutes later we walked out to the bike to she Grandma driving by. Megan (my 7 year old daughter) Said that we should catch her since she may get lost.

I looked at my daughter & simply said that I liked the way she thinked Off we were again. We caught Grandma quickly, I wish I would have seen her face as we went screaming past. We stopped at Parson's Branch & luckily Grandma saw us there, so she pulled in. We sat there for about 30 minutes and just watched the bikes ride by. I figured it was about time to tell grandma where she was at. I would put what she said here, but I can't think of all the words to rephrase her vulgarity.

After we rode the dragon going north, we continued on the foothills parkway. This was a scenic ride & we took a chance & found a campsite. I didn't think we would since it was a holiday weekend. After setting up camp we rode up to Townsend, TN & then to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area.

If you plan on riding a motorcycle to Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg, I highly discourage it. This is a very congested area. took up a few hours just to get from on end to the other & my old twin cycle was over-heating the whole way.

July 3rd. 2005

We woke up to a thunderstorm. This was a powerful storm, but interesting sitting it out in the tent.

Around noon the storm had passed, so off we were again to explore. We rode up to Cade's Cove to view the wildlife drive. This was a interesting ride but once again my ride was overheating due to the congestion.

My daughter & I had decided to head back to the dragon. Unfortunatly she didn't make it with me. She had second thoughts so I dropped her off at the camp & went on myself.

There weren't to many people up there since the road was wet. Regardless of the wet road, my old bike still grabbed and held it's own through the corners. I do have to check to see if I have a center stand left. I was dragging it through every corner with sparks flying.

July 4th. 2005

Today sucked. A perfect day for riding the dragon but I had to face reality & come home.

All in all the weekend was great. I got to ride the dragon, have a very interesting & scenic ride, spend time with my kids, took my kids on their first camping trip, & put over 700 miles on my bike all at the same time.

Didn't have any accidents or wrongful events except for the sticky float. Did come close to getting hit by a pick-up in Vonroe, TN on my way home. I just left the gas pump & he decided to leave his pump without looking. Nearly hit me (just a couple inches to spare), I twisted the throttle and got past him with no harm.

I was rather proud of my daughter. She kept perfect form the whole weekend. She was on the bike the whole time except for maybe 100 miles of the trip. This is when she felt sleepy & decided to ride in the car.

I'm looking forward to next time. I'm already planning on going back over labor day weekend. So if any of ya have bikes, I "Dare Ya" to come up and join me. I bet it will be fun for all.

 

Sounds like you had a great time. Sounds fun!

 

It was to late to edit, but BrianA are you catching the hint here?