Kevin Daly
YES I ran the fatty over!!
WOW is my usual response to really WOW experiences. So i went for a solo ride today. Perfect tempurature; warm enough that your not cold but cold enough that the bugs arent out. Ended up in one of my favorite haunts, the old store on SR 50 in WV, which is surrounded by beautiful streaches of twisties. Pulled up to a nice ol'Buell and sat down for a snack on the park bench near a newly restored 20+ foot tall water wheel and a bunch of old steam engines. I was gettin ready to head out whe the owner of the Buell walked up and we started chattin about bikes. Turns out he (Todd) has a shop not too far from where I live, used to run some B&B bike tours and knows the roads really well so i thought i might tag along with him. As we were hanging out chatting an FZ1 rolls up. Didnt think much of it until it pulled up near our bikes. The guy got off and took his helmet off and headed into the store (which was packed for the lunch crowd). Ok so at this point let me admit my stereotyping kicked in here so I appologize in advance... As he took off his helmet I was a bit surprized to see such an "ol'dog" (see...sorry old dog"s) on such a crotch rocket bike. I mean FJR's I can understand but he looked to be outclassed by the bike he was riding (Ok so you know where the story is going). So this old guy comes out of the store and Todd and I strike up a conversation with him. As it turns out, we were all looking for a place to eat since the store was packed. A few miles up this twisty mountian pass is a small resturant by Cathedrial State Park in WV just before MD, so we dicide to head there together. So off we go, Todd, on the Buell followed by me and then the "old guy" in back (where he wont get into too much trouble on that rocket he has). We get to the base of the pass and shift down for the increadible 5 mile stretch that we are entering. I mean on some of the corners the camber is so steep, you would think your on a carnival ride turn table, stuck against the wall. Todd has about 3, 4 sec on me (my usual distance for anyone I havent riden with) and Dick the old guy in back by about 3 sec. I dont even think I made it to the fourth turn when I hear that FZ1 as it caught me and ripped past like i was standing still! From that moment the road opens up into a stretch of quick S-curves that gently wind to the left up the side of the hill and you can see 4-5 turns up ahead. I am pushing hard now, I mean I was just passed by gramps; I mean schooled!! I watched this "old dog" close in on the Buell in the span of those turns and the two disappeared around a sharp right in perfect formation. As I came around that right there was the FZ1 with 1 or 2 seconds on the Buell. Finally we caught up to a truck haulling a log cabin up the road (we gave it a 10 min head start and it still held us up).
So we get to the resturant (great burgers but FYI they dont take credit cards) and it gives me a chance to learn a bit aobut this old timer. 70 years under the belt (I will not longer call him old) and quite the adventurer Dick turned out to be; a very nice lunch. We ate and then the three of us sped off for the rest of the day and it was an utter blast. I cant wait to ride with Todd and Dick again!!
Here we are at some stream with nice waterfall:
So we get to the resturant (great burgers but FYI they dont take credit cards) and it gives me a chance to learn a bit aobut this old timer. 70 years under the belt (I will not longer call him old) and quite the adventurer Dick turned out to be; a very nice lunch. We ate and then the three of us sped off for the rest of the day and it was an utter blast. I cant wait to ride with Todd and Dick again!!
Here we are at some stream with nice waterfall:
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