The long awaited DEALS GAP TRIP REPORT

[Racerboy]

It’s all about the food…..

Once again, our annual pilgrimage to Deals Gap set off on Friday night from Leon’s home. There were just 6 of us making the trip this year, Casey, Leon, Kelley, Harold, Mikey and Me. Leon, Kel, Harold and of course Lokee the Wonder Dog in Leon’s Caddy and Me, Mike and Casey in Casey’s F250 pulling a trailer with all 6 bikes. 4 GSXR’s and 2 Triumphs were going to take us for our week-long bliss in the mountains, one that as always, would be a trip to remember!! We also were able to hook up with three more guys, Chris, Anthony and Rob (who were up here at the same time last year) so all the three vehicles caravanned the 14 hour trek together into western North Carolina. The guys were all so jazzed about getting up to NC they took the largest dose of energy dinks I have ever seen! Personally I go for the sugar free 2oz, 5 Hour Energy shot but they decided for the 4700 calorie, 3-cup-of-sugar-super-tanker-of-the-energy-drink-world called Rock Star Super Mega Gallon-Put-You-Into-An-Eventual-Sugar-Induced-Coma-Trance which allowed them to drive 14 hours straight without a lick of sleep. Somewhere after sunrise, Harold had Leon pass us and while sitting in the passenger seat, pulled down his pants and gave us the moon-shot of a life time. None of us will sleep well tonight from the thoughts of what we saw…the biggest hairiest ass on the planet Earth!

You’ll notice in each of these threads, each day has a title which is usually nothing more than one or our many catch phrases from the week….there were many, most have a great story behind them, I have attempted to explain in a sentence or two so you are up to speed with what happened. Send a PM to any of us for additional detailed explanations.

We got underway later than expected, about 8:30 pm and were up north of Robbinsville at the rental house by 11:30am Saturday. The place is great!! The house is a two story with a two car garage that is almost double deep!! The driveway is not all too steep and the gravel is hard packed so the ride up and down is not too bad. There is even a two car slab in front of the garage, a first in the rental homes we have had. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths upstairs, a nice kitchen, a HUGE Living Room, Formal Dining Room, and eat in Kitchen (I am sure it has not been remodeled for over 30 years!) and also a nice laundry facility. Down stairs there is a Great Room with another Bedroom and bathroom and access to the enormous garage. Sadly there is no Jacuzzi but there are 4 fire places, one of them in even in the kitchen!!

After some unloading and relaxing, Kel, Casey and I headed into town for some much needed food supplies to keep us fed throughout the week. Food prices have soared so we got what we could and exceeded our $40 per person budget and will need to head back before the end of the week is out. We returned home, unpacked the food then proceeded to rearrange the cabinets as they were riddled with other people’s leftovers from previous stays.

We all decided to take a little ride to complete our day and decided to head up to Deals Gap and do a dry run. Since Harold was a Gap Virgin, this would give him the chance to see the roads and know what to look forward to for the remainder of the week. We rolled out, got some much needed fuel down the street on 28 (The Hell Bender) and followed that over to the Cross Roads of Time where we got a refreshing beverage before heading up the mountain.

There were 5 different photography people out taking shots as the bikes and cars cruised by, more than I have seen before. As Leon was passing the guys from US129 Photos, his right foot peg assembly decided it was no longer willing to be a part of his biking family and it departed in a most acrobatic fashion…..and I think the photographers actually got it all on camera!! This called for a special trip to Ken Wheelers place where Ken reattached it, spot welded the other one and game Leon some new hardware all for free!! Damn that guy is great!!!

Harold, Mikey and I headed back from the mountain so we could start dinner and Kel, Casey and Leon were still in town at Wheelers place….getting soaked as the skies decided to open up and drench the land. They make it back all wet and weathered but safe nonetheless, that goodness for that. Oh, I forgot to mention, Jared, (ThirdGenLxi) was up here for the weekend, Leon and Kel ran into him while in town

Our first dinner was Harold’s creation, grilled chicken corm on the cob, roasted potatoes and broccoli with cheese sauce. What a great ending to a very long but fulfilling day!!

Kel was reading the guest book and the most recent entry was from a guy who calls himself SUZUKI DAVE who had some interesting things to say about being here at the house….here is a quote: “Great location, none of the neighbors heard the screams (hopefully) and the woods are secluded enough to make finding the bodes difficult” I love it!! This was just placed a week ago so if we are lucky, maybe we can locate the bodies they were trying to hide!!! We will have to place something equally as creative when departing next week….something for the record books!! Kelley is already working on something creative!!

Leon decided last minute to head back into town to get something sweet for dessert…I hope its ice cream!! More as the trip develops!!

Shut Up Mikey!

Sunday morning seems to have come and went….We woke up somewhere after 9am as we were all so completely spent from the first day of travel. Coffee and something breakfast-like was the order for the morning. Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and juice were the fare for the day. That, as well as a chocolate-banana-peanut butter-protein shake which Leon made was amazingly good. A good start to what should have been a great day…..but alas, it turned out to be a wash. The rains had come in the middle of the night and had decided to stick around throughout the day. This left a lot of time for the bikes to be cleaned and my frame sliders to get installed on the 675. If you ever need work done on your bike, call on the talents of Q-Ball Customs…aka Leon’s garage. They do great work at even better rates!!

Leon, Casey and I started working on the project when we realized we were missing a tool, a 6mm Allen key to remove the frame bolts. So it was off into Robbinsville for the tool or anything which would allow us to complete the task at hand. Oops, did I forget something? Yes, it’s a Sunday in the extreme western end of the bible-belt. Could I have thought this through better? Probably so. We stopped at a Dollar General store and asked the person with the most teeth in their mouth of they might happen to know of a hardware or automotive store that was open. We were ready to head over to the Wally World in Murphy when the woman behind the counter had an epiphany about a car parts store in another po-dunk town called Bryson City that was closer than the Wally World all the way down on Murphy, so back on the road we went. The trip should have been fast but the GPS was not fully operational and we were misrouted several times before finally finding the location where the tool we needed was hiding.

On the way back, there was one of many side-of-the-highway, Bobby Ray and Jerri-Sue owned shacks, selling boiled peanuts, a southern delicacy!! We of course stopped and loaded up with a bag of the culinary delights and headed back to complete the bike project.

The frame sliders went on without a hitch and the bikes all looks great but what to do on a cold a rain soaked day? Do the gap in the Cadillac!! Mikey and Harold were not interested so they stayed here and did a mind boggling puzzle while the rest of us headed over the Hell Bender to the Cross Roads of time and then on to the lookout. Even with the weather as poor as it was, there were lots of bikes out, including the photography people who captured us zipping by with the windows down in both directions sans the asses hanging out like on the trip up here. Check out the ZeeFoto.com Website for Sunday and see if we made it into their archives!!! There was also a nice looking R6 that was there, sadly on the back of a flat bed as it took a nasty fall through one of the turns. The police were there as were the rider’s buddies. We think he got out unscathed, the bike was another story. We came back down the mountain and were then legally able to place a dragon sticker on the Caddy. Whoo Hoo!!

Leon tore up the kitchen tonight with his High Flying Country Meat Loaf, served with Corn, Biscuits and Seasoned Rice. Beef, Veal and Sausage make up this culinary delicacy, one which needs to be added to the “Best Of” category in meals. This now makes two excellent meals here in the town better known by me as “Simpletonville”.

Mikey has an uncanny knack to make people laugh, sometimes a bit too much. I think that Kelley told Mikey to shut it more times than anything this whole trip!! We laughed until we cried then ended up assisting Mikey and getting a good portion of the puzzle completed, watched IRON MAN and then headed off to be for yet another good nights sleep.

I didn’t know they made those in girl’s sizes?

Monday morning brought us a brilliant day with loads of sunshine to start out the day. It was a bit chilly but the day had potential. Sausage, Blueberry and Banana Pancakes fueled us up and we called Chris, Anthony and Rob who were going to meet up with us at 11am just down the road from the house. Fuel was required so we stopped at the local mom & pop shop to gas up when we saw an ambulance and a couple of local cops race by….more on that later. The locals are quite nice but they seem to take issue with a female motorcycle pilot. Comments like, “A girl rides that?” or “You do anything special to get her to fit that thing?” We started our loop and made it to the turn off to go to the Blue Ridge Parkway when Kelley had an issue with her brakes. Kelley’s disc brake lock pin came out and she lost her pads and basically had NO front brakes! She, Leon and Harold headed back to Wheelers to see if they could get the parts and get the bike back under way. While they were doing that Casey, Mikey, Me, Chris, Rob and Anthony headed to Cherokee and then the Blue Ridge Parkway. The weather was picture perfect and the roads in great condition so we all rode as hard as possible. Out on the BRP, to route 215, north to Canton, then back down 215 to 64 west. We eventually stopped for lunch at a restaurant which was actually closed but as we arrived, so did the owners who went ahead and happily opened up for us!! There was a limited menu so we had some burgers, pizza and fresh caught trout. Great service, great people, a real find if you are ever there, please stop in a see Alicia.

We continued on 64/28 through Franklin and then 28 all the way back home. It was 7pm when we finally make it to the house just minutes after Leon, Kel and Harold got home as well, where we compared notes about how all of our days had gone and then Kel fed us with Chicken and pasta, enough to put us out for the night after a hard days ride. They ended up getting the bike fixed and ran the dragon for the remainder of the day….Leon says about 200 miles in total! Turns out that ambulance and cop scenario from the morning turned out to be someone who actually died on 28 while heading to the gap. Sad to hear but it’s a risk we take.


The VAG 750…..

Tuesday morning brings us more sunshine and some seriously sleepy riders! We were all in bed well before midnight last night but no one wanted to get out of bed from the hard day we had yesterday!! I prepared breakfast in hopes the aromas would rouse even the sleepiest of the South Florida Crew. It worked!! Cheesy grits, Oatmeal, Crisp Bacon, Toast with local made Strawberry Butter and Salsa Eggs were the fare this morning. The coffee finished, we called Chris, Anthony and Rob and made arrangements to meet up at the McDonalds gas station in town at 11:15am. Our route for today will take us through Robbinsville and then up the Cherahola Skyway into Telco Plains. The skyway was clear and the weather at 5300 feet was chilly but all in all, a beautiful ride. We stopped at Big Junction, took some pictures and continued on down the mountain into Telico. I was playing sweeper, taking up the rear of the pack to assure any stragglers were not left behind…you are only as fast as your slowest rider.

Once in Telico, we gassed up and got some more comments from the locals about Kelley and her being a girl and riding….its seems like this is something they have never seen before….hence the term Vag 750. We then headed out route 360 a nice semi residential area with some good sweepers as well as minimal traffic. 360 bring us to 411, a 4 lane super slab type road that was a necessary evil to get to 72 which would eventually lead us to route 129. At that intersection there is a place called The Motorcycle Pit Stop, normally a great meeting spot and nice place to eat but alas, it was closed. From there we headed south on 129 along the lake to a new gas station and restaurant called Tallasee Country Junction where we grabbed a bite and a needed break from the ride. The food there is pretty good for a little shop but it was the staff that kept us rolling the most. The three ladies behind the grill, cash register and the order taker combined were about 1200 lbs. They seemed to be interested in Harold more than anything although I think they would have attached themselves to anyone who would have given them the time of day. These were corn fed ladies, I am certain they are the pick-of-the-litter at the local or state fair level but not anything you’d want to get near on the back of a bike.

Once fed, we loaded up and headed to the Gap from the back side. I had been playing sweeper long enough so when Casey and Leon pulled out I jumped in directly behind them and we ran the Dragon pretty hard!! We didn’t stop at the overlook, just went straight on down to the Cross Roads of Time. There ended up being tons of Harley Traffic so it slowed us down enough that we actually pulled over two times to give them a head start before racing down the mountain. We all hung out at the resort until the Harley’s made their way home and then we ran it once again. I thought we were running hard when two locals came by us like we were sitting still! It was a great run, a break at the top then back down once again. The day was coming to a close so we made our way back to the house and Mikey prepared some Italian Meatballs and Pasta to close out the evening.

One final thing, after dinner, we worked with Kelley and her body position down in the garage. Her riding skills are still a work in progress and teaching her to get off the bike in the turns will really help when it comes to her cornering speed. Tomorrow we’ll head somewhere twisty and have her apply some of her new found knowledge, I hope it pays off!

“Boy wants to know……”

Wednesday morning and the alarm clocks were not set so everyone slept in far later than expected. We finally got underway with breakfast by 9:45 of Southern Sausage Biscuits and Gravy, Fried Eggs and strong Coffee then sat around chewing the fat, comparing notes about the week, laughing the whole way through.

Today is turning out to be yet another beautiful sun filled day that will take us in several directions. I was thinking of heading over to Blood Mountain but it looks like the group wants to do Deals Gap so we are headed on a short run down South on 28 back into Franklin. We gassed up at the 28/19-74 junction and started on down 28. Within seconds we were getting flashed by an on coming driver telling us to slow down. Then a little old local woman stopped us to tell us there was a bike down just up ahead so take it easy. Once around the 3rd corner, we saw the downed bike, it was a Harley who took a turn just a tad bit fast and slide underneath the guard rail. It looked like he might have had a few scratches on him but nothing major so we rode right on by. He was probably an over zealous rider with cold tires trying to impress his woman….not the brightest bulb on the string.

The locals were not as friendly as normal when we were riding, some of whom would not get out of our way when we came up on their back sides….this can be extremely frustrating especially for those not aggressive enough to pass. We took a break at a gas station just outside of Franklin and let the locals have their way while we got a cool drink and we listened to the gas station attendant and her hick-speaking-son try to speak English….I felt like we were in an episode of KING OF THE HILL. The cashier mother had to translate everything the boy was saying, something that lead to yet another title in this blog….

Back under way we headed through Franklin and out 64 to Wayah Road, the same road where we rented our house last year. Casey and I took off ahead of the group and started ripping up the roads while Kel, Leon and Harold brought up the back taking their time on this technical road. Mikey did his best to keep up with the two of us and we raced over the mountain to the other side. It’s got lots of twisties but also a ton of loose gravel which was problematic for all of us, especially when you come up on the loose stuff in mid-turn!! Kelley sadly found the road stone a bit slippery and unfortunately went down on the left side. Nothing severe, just a few scratches on the bike and she was back up and running….GO KEL!!!
We finally made it up to Deals gap where were made a run up and down the mountain through the massive traffic which was plaguing the Dragon today. Its difficult to be there when the cruisers are going at 20 mph through the turns and NOT allowing anyone to make a pass all the while crossing over the center lines and just riding in an unsafe fashion.

Not wanting to play anymore and it was getting late, we decided to head back to the house and prepare dinner. Along the way, I came up behind the sweetest looking electric blue ’69 Camaro SS. When the moment allowed, he passed a slower moving minivan and started to carve up the mountain. WOW! I have never seen anything like what this guy was doing!! I ran behind him just about as fast I was able and it was all I could do just to keep up! At one point were running 120 through the fast sweepers!! This was awesome!! It certainly was a fun way to complete the day!

Once home, I fed everyone some Bill-Burgers, Tater Tots, Grilled Onions and a Fresh Salad, something our bodies had been lacking all week long. When we completed our meal, Casey and Leon decided it was time to run the Gap at night. Both have some pretty intense HID’s so seeing was not going to be too much of a problem. They pulled out of here and headed up, most likely so as it was a cool night and there were probably not going to be a ton of other riders up there. They ran the Dragon and then hung out at the bonfire which is roaring nightly at the Cross Roads of Time hotel. They got back here at about 1am, long after I was in bed so might first sight of them would be in the morning.

[Racerboy]

Looks Like a Carolina Burrito.....

Thursday morning and it appears that Leon and Casey made it home OK but no one in the house seems to be getting up very early. I was up at 7:30, Harold a few minutes behind, Casey somewhere after 9 and then eventually Kelley at 9:20. Mikey and Leon are still slumbering away and breakfast is already done and awaiting to be served. Just simple food this morning, Eggs, Potatoes and Toast. Where we’re heading is going to be split between three groups. Casey is going golfing so his day is set. Leon and Kelley are heading up to Deals Gap to go play on the Dragon….still with hopes they will run into CrazyKel who is down here with the crew from Canada. Mikey, Harold and I decided we would go to Blood Mountain. We pulled out about 11 am and headed into Robbinsville, then to Topton onto Route 19/74 and cruised the super slab down through Andrews and into Murphy. We took 60 Spur to Route 60 basically the reverse route to get here from Atlanta. Once past 515, we gassed up, took a breather and then headed through the good twisties towards Suches past Route 180 to Two Wheels Only Resort. That stop was only a few minutes as there was really no one around so we used the facilities and headed towards Turners Corners, the beginning of Blood Mountain. We told Harold what to expect and then started up the 19/129, the Blood Mountain Pass.

The weather was flawless, in fact a bit chilly which made for an even better ride up the mountain. The entire trip there were only two other cars on the roadway so it was all us. Heading up its mostly two lanes so imagine, if you will, there are 24+ feet of roadway to use so you can get some seriously great knee drag going on, extreme speed yet if feels so comfortable, almost second nature to go that fast and get so low. Once at the top it narrows to a single lane but the speed doesn’t end there, its quite the shot going down as well. If you get the chance to come up here, this is a road which makes the trip complete!!

We arrived at the bottom and into Blairsville at about 3pm and cruised on into KFC, for some reason we ALWAYS stop here…not that it’s the best place in the area for food, but its consistent and en-route to our next destination. The cashier was not all together very bright and she certainly tried to be nice….her only comment to us was, “Ain’t ya’ll hot in those things? You’s is wrapped up like a burrito” The break was great after some hard riding and about an hour later, we headed back onto 19/129 to the super slab and on our way back to the house. Total mileage was over 250 but well worth every bit of it. An 800 mg Motrin will be in order later on tonight, I am sure.

I stopped at Engle’s in Robbinsville for some additional breakfast items we would be needing which we had unfortunately run out of a few days early and while I was there, Casey pulled up to get some extra’s he needed for his Port Tenderloin Dinner he would be creating a few hours later. He took all my stuff home so I could ride back without having to haul stuff which was a nice way to end the day.

Arriving home here we found that Kelley and Leon were still out and had been at the Dragon all day. Kelly actually DID get to meet up with CrazyKel, they posed for some pics and I am certain they will be posted in the picture thread (or in this one) somewhere down the line.

Dinner tonight is a Dry Rubbed Pork Loin, Grilled Honey Butter Carrots and Roasted Garlic Potatoes. Nice!! Tomorrow will most likely be leftovers so this will be a great meal to close out the day.

The Devil Wears Red…..

While at the Engles Grocery Store, a little girl looked at me and said to here grandma, “Nanna, that man’s wearing red…..Only The Devil Wears Red!” I don’t think I have laughed so hard, ever!

Friday morning has arrived, the last of the days to ride. It’s going to be an early day and an even earlier night as we are going to load up before heading to bed so the Saturday morning check out with be as smooth as possible. Breakfast this morning consisted of Strawberry and Banana Waffles with Vanilla Whipped Cream, crisp Bacon and lots of strong coffee.

We were a bit more lethargic than I guessed and we ended up not getting out of the house until 12 noon, no where near as early as anticipated but at least we finally made it. This will be our final day running the Gap and we want to make it count.

The Harley’s were out in force today. When Casey and I pulled into the Cross Roads, there were at least 100+ Harley’s and most of their owners were walking around holding a 24 oz beer…oh great, just what we need on the Dragon at the start of a holiday weekend!! Casey was not happy to say the least.

The others finally made it and we started our first run up the mountain. The Harley traffic was overwhelming. Not only were they out in force, drinking like fish but they flat out would not allow us to make a pass on them!! Leon and I finally pulled over to give a little gap and then we would restart. The next issue were the police. They were everywhere!! One passed us while we were sitting on the side of the road….then another was on the side of the road up at mile marker 6.5….very close to a group of the photographers…..this was going to cause a serious dent in my riding as the posted speed limit is just 30 little miles an hour. BORING!!

We made it to the top and took a brief break before heading back down, knowing where the cops were stationed was a good thing, as long as they don’t decide to switch it up while we were at the top, all would be OK. I followed Mikey down and he was really riding well, hauling ass actually!! Once at the bottom, we took another break and got some liquid into our bodies and chatted up a bunch of different riders, many who were Gap Virgins and a ton of questions.

Before we knew it, it was 3pm, time to grab a bite so we chose the Cross Roads Restaurant since we were there and had yet to eat there all week. Its kind of a grease trap and not what you need in your system when riding hard and its hot out.

Another couple of runs and our time at the Gap was done. We relaxed on the grass and talked with Anhony, Chris and Rob. Rob had a little spill....well not quite so little….and he near totaled the new CBR1000 he was on. 9 days old and its totaled. Great. Thank goodness he has complete insurance! He tells us it was caused by a truck and trailer combo which came across the yellow line and ran him into the ditch. Unfortunate but it’s what happens when you play hard.

Arriving back at the house, we loaded up the bikes and a good portion of the truck and I started dinner….warmed over leftovers left over from the last time they were warmed over. Ziti & Meat Balls, Meatloaf, Roasted Pork Loin, Salad, Carrots, Rice. Nice and easy!! I called Chris to see if he and the guys wanted to come over for our left over night but they never answered their phone, I assume they were out eating already somewhere else.

Later, after dinner, I tried to call once again to see if they might want to do the whole caravanning thing back home with us once again but this time the phone was busy on several calls….probably Anthony having good phone with his girl back home. The remainder of the night was spent relaxing until it was time to hit the sack and get as much sleep as possible before our 14 hour return flight home.

The Nature of the Beast

Saturday morning, 6am came earlier than I hoped. We got about 6 hours and now its time to make the final breakfast so everyone is nourished for the drive home. We left at about 8am and with any luck, that will put us back home somewhere around 10pm Saturday evening at Leon’s. As with all good things, we need to get back to the reality we call our lives in South Florida.

The initial start of the trip was uneventful but as the time rolled along, we entered the nastiness of the weather system Florida had been experiencing for the wee we had been gone. Every idiot and his brother was out on the roadway this weekend and when the rains hit, they all were rolling along at sub-par speeds with their flashers on, hovering in the left lane like it was their own personal hitching post from the 1850’s. What’s up with Florida drivers? Frickin’ Morons!!

Casey’s driving skills are much like his riding skills, aggressive and exciting. Certainly no match for the yee-haws in their Hyundai’s and Civic’s all afraid of the water droplets and in no way prepared for a 42’ behemoth of a truck and trailer to come by them at 75 mph while they site idly text messaging their best friends about the rain.

We made exceptional time so far….leaving at 8:10 am we were in Orlando by 5:30 pm and if we can keep pace (now that the weather has cleared a bit) we will be home in about 3 more hours. We still need to unload the bikes and get to our own respective homes but I won’t be long before we can all sleep in our own beds once again.

To summarize the trip, for those who really didn’t read the above daily reports, we had a fantastic time! Good Weather, Great Food, Fun People, and Excellent Daily Rides!!! I highly recommend you make it up there as there are few places in North America to do the things we did and for as little money as we spent. This trip gives me the peace of mind to stay sane and keep from going Postal for yet another 11 months and 3 weeks until next years event!! I hope you all enjoyed it vicariously via my writings and ramblings. Cheers!!

[derf]

That was too much to read, remember a picture is worth a thousand words, and by my count you owe us a few hundred pictures

[Racerboy]

Take 10 min and read it...very funny stuff....if you've been there already, then I can understand, but for those who have yet to go, very informative.

Kel, Leon, Mikey and Bich are all going to post up pics.....hopefully soon!!

[Ninjakel]

awesome Bill, as always!

I'll have pics up soon.

[Leon]

Here's some quick shots of the peg story. Pics should speak for themselves.

[Leon]

last one.

[Ninjakel]

I made the front page of US129photos.com

[Curb]

Great write up as usual, Bill.

Good save as usual, Leon...

Good shit, Kel...glad you're ok!

[Trip]

Let's just say I am glad you are a tourist and you aren't up this way much.