The RTE/D&H Cycle Pilgrimage RR from a winter bears prospective

[Cav47]

The winter here is so awful at times. My daughter got this bear for Valentine's Day from her "friend" who is a boy. I still refuse to call him her boyfriend. I am not ready for this yet. So I have decided some ways to remain in denial. When she is gone, I take pictures of her bear in less than flattering situations. Sometimes I feel just like the bear during the winters here due to cabin fever.

My youngest is the Metaphor for Winter........the bear is me.

We have that kind of relationship that is sometimes dark but she gets the humor for what it is. Just a daddy trying to amuse his daughter.

I have a bunch of other versions of the bear but they involve firearms and torture devices.

When all I want to be doing is this.

So when FJRBandit suggested a RTE, I looked at my calendar and contemplated the logistics

The plan came together quickly and a meet up in Monteagle Tenn was set at the Smokehouse.

Turk(FJRBandit) and I got to the hotel about 15 min apart. I got held up in traffic in Nashville as my timing was absolutely awful. NorthWest side of Nashville at 4:45 on a Friday is less than optimal. An hour later of stop and go, I finally got going again. The sun dropped and I got a little chilly after sweating some in the city with the Gen 1 heating machine kicking on and off 4 bars.

399.5 Miles later, Turk had a cup of coffee ready and offered me one right away. I may have bumped it up a little to get the heat going again.

Do not forget to remind the restaurant next door that you are staying at the hotel. It equals a decent discount of 10 or 20%.

The food porn shall commence here. So if you are hungry. Do not look any further. Upon entry, diabetics immediately crash.

Turk did not drool on the glass. I would have not blamed him though if he had.

THAT WAS ALL BEFORE WE EVEN SAT DOWN.

A trip to the dining room yielded the buffet set forth. Menus were given, but not needed.

Proper order.

Soup

Salad

Entree

Entree continued

With Condiments, not that they were needed for this level of awesomeness. Just enhancements with repercussions possibly tomorrow.

Dessert

And second desert shots for those fully in a food coma.

To put Niehart and Marty into full arrest!!!

We were able to hear these guys the whole time. They made a good evening even better. Turk and I enjoyed the Band and drinks for well over an hour. BOTH of us needed some time before we tried to waddle out of there.

Some random shots on the way out. What this place is selling is like Cracker Barrel on Heroin. Full Smoked Hams in case you needed one.

Now that we could walk again, we headed back to the hotel to see Jim Beam. The weather was awesome and we spent some time exchanging stories in the parking lot and checking each other's bike out.

Next up Saturday's Travels to the Natural Bridge, University of the South, A Boat Dock, D&H, and the RTE Destination.

 

[Cav47]

A quick trip through University of the South was a trip back in time. No pics but I will go back and check the history of this place out. It is an island time capsule that needs to be explored further.

Turk set off for the a natural bridge nearby.

Obligatory beauty shot.

Just behind my girl about 40 yards is the bridge. Beyond that is the valley looking south. Beautiful country for sure

Best Shot. The bridge is straight, but the panorama affect makes it looked curved from the I-phone

We boogied through some great scenery as we crossed over into Alabama. I had no idea the riding there was so FLAT, Straight, and Boring. Just like Illinois. No pics but simply a joy.

We hit a gas station and sampled the food. In tradition of the south, Turk suggested a Chicken Biscuit. It did not last long enough for a picture, it was that good.

Arriving at the Boat Dock we waited for Hud and Griff.

The bikes here are good looking for sure.

After some short introductions and greetings, we hit the road to D&H

They are getting new signs soon. The place does not look like much, but this book has way more inside than the cover shows.

We were treated like family by EVERYONE there. Sales floor people, service techs, and owners all exuded why they have the reputation they have earned. We got private tours by the owners and all access to anywhere.

FIRST CLASS.......JSNS is perfectly succinct here in describing them all.

This is my second fav picture from the visit. Pics from FJRBandit.

Notice we all have Yamaha Hats from Jerald himself with D&H on the back. Should came with suckers!!!

5 min later, we arrived at the All Steakhouse. Food Porn to commence.

Hud asking who is gonna eat the first corn bread?

Fried Green Tomatoes offered up by Hud to share. Gratzie!! Delicious

Turk's order of Black Eyed Pea Dip shared well.

Griffs Pecan Crusted Tilapia.

Hud's Homestyle Hamburger Steak.

Same for Turk, with different sides.

My little sirloin. The stars were the salad and slaw.

These were the Bomb. While the steak was just okay, Orange Rolls were worth the trip for sure. Do not miss these.

The place is swanky and luckily there was not a dress code. A trip to the bathroom after dinner indicated this place was not the Oark Cafe.

Unfortunately, our daylight was burning and we had places to be and in Hud's case had points to grab in a rally. Plans were hatched over the last few refills of coke and tea. Griff had a long way to go to complete his round trip of @750 miles and tagged along with Hud towards Atlanta. FJRBandit invited me to check out the Barber Museum about an hour south. I really appreciated the hospitality, but I needed to get Northbound to avoid a slab fest the next day. Great days have to end sometime and this was goodbye for now.

Bandit got out of there before I could snap him. Great Idea Turk.

I headed toward Muscle Shoals and the twisties beyond.

Pick this up tomorrow, I am tired and need to go home. This is the Wilson Dam. Funny how my class is learning about the TVA and their contribution to ending the Depression right now.

 

[hppants]

Best food porn ever

 

[BkerChuck]

Damn that looks like a fun trip! Barber has been on my bucket list for far too long, really need to get there.

 

[Tommy Kay]

I need the weather to break on days I am off so I can find an adventure that looks that good.

 

[Uncle Hud]

Carrot and raisin salad at the All-Steak was almost as good as the orange rolls.

I have a friend and professional colleague who grew up in Cullman, so I had to go on this trip, you see? Turns out she was great friends with Gerald and Renae's daughter. Their son-in-law was in the shop, he works for Yamaha corporate and was working on his highly customized R1 which -- I swear -- had burnt rubber at the very edge of the rear tire.

Great summary of a fun trip.

 

[griff]

Cav - Pretty sick what you did to that bear!! I think you need a Dolly like Bust had

 

[Cav47]

Cav - Pretty sick what you did to that bear!! I think you need a Dolly like Bust had

No bears were actually harmed in these photos. But the other ones are not safe for work. They involve guns and other ways to end a bear's life. Symbolism for what could happen to her "friend" if he doesn't treat my daughter right.

 

[El Toro]

Cav47 wrote: Turk(FJRBandit) and I got to the hotel about 15 min apart. I got held up in traffic in Nashville as my timing was absolutely awful. NorthWest side of Nashville at 4:45 on a Friday is less than optimal. An hour later of stop and go, I finally got going again.

*****************************

You were probably coming in on 24 from Paducah. You were probably heading for 65 southbound.

When you hit 155 on the north side of Nashville, it might be worthwhile to go west, pick up 40 on the west side, suffer through the outbound traffic for a mile or two (it's not so bad on the west side) and then pick up 840 and loop around all the mess. This is usually the best way to circumvent Nashville on the attempt to transition from 24 Eastbound to 65 Southbound. You hit 65 past all the traffic on the south side below Franklin.

One time back when I had my ST1100, I got the brilliant idea to run a loop, taking 40 west to Jackson and then picking up 70 for the return to Cookeville. I hit Nashville rush hour on the return leg, and had to clutch clutch clutch in stop and go traffic for a good 30 miles. Never again .

 

[FJRBandit]

Excellent report so far Cav! I glad to see that you made your way to the dam crossing in Florence. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I didn't even think to mention that to you. That's a pretty cool sight crossing the river/lake at eye level on one side and the long drop off on the other side, then rising way up on that little skinny bridge and crossing the locks below. Just imagine, that "bridge" used to be the main thoroughfare through the area. I have an aunt who lives in a residential area on the right just after you cross the bridge traveling north. I used to spend a couple of weeks in the summer visiting her and the slew of cousins I have in the Florence area. Crossing that bridge used to freak me out when I was a kid. Actually, that's where I first started riding motorcycles. Fun times!

It's interesting to me how we sometimes see things from different perspectives. I have been to the Smokehouse so many times now I didn't even think to take pictures of all the really cool stuff there, not to mention the amazing food porn that is simply everywhere. Same thing as Suwanee University, the architecture of the buildings is absolutely phenomenal, and again, because I have ridden through there so many times I didn't even think to shoot one single picture. Alas, here's a picture of the chapel from a previous ride back in the early spring of 2013 as a small sample of the architecture used throughout the campus.

Looking forward to the report of the remainder of your trip.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Looks like the four of you packed a lot into the weekend Cav!

Nice RR and narrative...the PNW crew will do our best to keep Niehart from going tilt with the pie porn!

--G

 

[Mihalis fjr]

Very nice ride report and pictures!!

Thanks!!

 

[TJ8]

Thank you so much for sharing this. Spring fever is killing me. Not being able to get out ride reports are the next best thing.

 

[Uncle Hud]

<deleted, since it was worthless>

 

[Cav47]

Riding toward the North with no particular plan led me to the TVA Wilson Lake. My 8th Grade class is studying the Depression right now, so I stopped to take some pictures. I used them in class to show some connection to the 2nd New Deal by FDR. If I would have got the pics from the internet, the kids would have been way less interested. But since they are from 2 days ago and taken by their teacher, they are somehow more effective. Whatever works.

I tried riding up to the main building for a better pic, but the guy at the gate was not having any of it. I left without much effort because it was just a main building and the dam was cooler.

Upstream behind the Dam.

As I went to slow down to take some pictures, I noticed a white pick up right behind me. I snapped this one as I was almost stopped and prepared to get a few of the down side of the Dam.

Guess who was in that pick up??? Yep, the guy from the guard shack. YOU CANNOT STOP ON THE BRIDGE!!!. NOT EVEN FOR PICTURES!!!

OKAY was about all I could say. He looked like the kind that would call the cops quick. SO, he took his job serious and I took no more pictures. I understand his situation, He has no idea how crazy I am. Lots of paperwork if I do something wrong. Off I went.

I missed a chance to get an Alabama sign earlier that morning with Bandit. So I pulled a U turn and took the obligatory one on Highway 17 out of Alabama and 13 into Tennessee.

I was getting a little concerned about where exactly I was going to stay as I rolled through little town after little town. Up 13 I went and the roads got better. Soon I realized I was going to riding after dark. The best of the roads lay ahead and it is Deer Thirty. I hustled as much as I should but as I was leaned over a little, I saw some puff of fur go running in front of my tire as I was focused on seeing and setting up the next apex. Next hotel was my stop.

I rolled into Buffalo at the junction of 13 and I-40. After heading to the McDonalds to poach WiFi, I realized this "town" was not a cheap one. Prices at the Days Inn, Quality, Best Western, and Holiday Express were not acceptable. I recall seeing a sign at the Scottish Inn that said all rooms were $29. I swung by there, despite the sketchy bar and truck shop out front, it seemed well kept. I looked up a couple of quick reviews online and they were positive enough. 35 bucks total including tax later, I had a clean room with parking right outside my door. The room was small and a little dated, but so what. I was sleeping here only and the guy gave me some ice for my beverage. Me and Jimmy B watched the Golden State Warriors on ESPN and woke up around 7 the next morning. I looked outside and saw that it had rained some in the night but was almost dry. I figured checking the weather and routes home would give the roads all they needed to clear the rest of the way. I was on the bike by 9.

My estimations of the weather were wrong and I rode until Cadiz in some type of wet roads. Then I got really rained on pretty hard for about 20 min. Had to slow way down and with no shelter to stop under, I just kept the screen all the way up and tucked behind the barn door winter shield I use during the winter. Left side was wet, but it will dry.

At the Ohio River Crossing, I pulled out the rain gear, but it was not needed........typical. Cave in Rock Ferry was running as expected.

This surface had me a little worried but with no rain it was fine.

Not a big operation here. The super duty truck makes the barge look smallish.

Looking back towards the Kentucky side. I guess I could have put my rain gear on in the little waiting booth.

After some jockeying around because of the river flow, the barge and tug docked with great skill.

Right up front.

Selfie was on accident.

2 man operation. One in the tug and the other on the gates, chains, and ramps. The kid told me they make 25 round trips during his 8 hour shift.

Center stands should be added to the sign. I would not be comfortable on the side stand. Lots of logs in the water. Some thumped the side hard enough to shutter the barge.

Panorama effect. The barge does not have a 90 degree bend in it.

Extra points for accuracy as we actually drifted about this far down river before getting lined back up.

I put the hammer down most of the way home. I had never been in this part of Illinois on the cycle. Some areas are very flat on the flood plains of the rivers. I may or may not have checked out the claim that the FJR will not pull all the way to redline in 5th gear.

Not sure I wanted to get home as winter was about ready to unleash another barrage upon us. We missed both Wed and Thursday of school this week because of heavy snow and blizzard like conditions. It just seems like the winter bear won't let go and let the riding season get in full swing.

If I do this to the WINTER BEAR, will it be 75 and sunny?

Can we go riding again yet???

Had a great time with Turk, Griff, and Hud. Looking forward to doing it again soon. Hope you enjoyed the report.

Reminder, no bears were harmed in the writing of this report. I apologize if the images are disturbing.

 

[Allen_C]

Glad your trip was enjoyable and all of you had a good time and good food!

 

[hppants]

That accidental selfie was cool. I think Yamaha was ahead of the time for Gen 1 styling. That puppy is as good looking today as it was 12 years ago.

Any thoughts on the new shock?

 

[Cav47]

Shock performed well over all the highway expansion joints on the way down. We never really thrashed the bikes properly on the way to the boat dock or to D&H. My ride towards home was around dusk and the unknown roads had some sand in places, so no real comparisons available yet. The next morning, the roads were wet and slimy from the night before.

All in all, I think the real test will be in a couple weeks in Arkansas or Missouri. The rear is way firmer and I know it sits an inch or so higher. I know this because I have to slide forward to flat foot at stop lights now.

I have set the shock up as well as I can after watching the You Tube Video and with my little mechanical knowledge.

Ready to test it out on Push Mountain in 21 days.

 

[Niehart]

Thanks for taking us along. Great pictures.