Three for Three

Tonight I'm in Tellico Plains, TN, winding out the third of the three annual rallies organized by folks at BeginnerBikers.org. A lot of the folks took the whole day off and got here by early morning, but some of us have wrung nearly every morsel of vacation time out of the work rag, and I only managed to get a half day off.

However, the weather has been ultimado perfecto! Sunny and low 80s were as hot as it got, and the further up into the mountains I rode, the cooler it got. By the time I pulled in at the Lodge this evening at 5:00 on the nose, it was 60 degrees outside.

There was some typical Friday afternoon traffic to deal with (trucks hauling camper trailers and the occasional motor home), and I managed to ride through Hiwassee, GA, right when school was letting out, when cops were holding up traffic on the main highway. Overall, it was a good ride, and the last 30 or so miles were quite zippy :)

Once at the Lodge, one of the regulars from the forum (Bill, aka Calabash) saw me checking in and invited me out to the patio. I sat out there and we talked until a couple of the rider's wives, Anna and Brandi, showed up, and then another couple (Stephen and Jan), and another rider (Rick), until it was just a big ol' chat fest out there. Gradually, some of the other riders came back from an afternoon jaunt (Tyson, Larry, Clay, Mike & Angie, and James & Deanna), and eventually, everyone had something to eat, although it was done in about four shifts.

There was also a jar of moonshine passed around, which I got to sample. You don't want to have your eyes open too wide when you drink it, because the fumes burn, but it actually tastes pretty good (as far as whisky is concerned). Right after I tried a sip, and pronounced it good, Angie (hostess up at the Dayton Bug Bash rally) tried some, and, um, didn't like it so much :) Good job, Brewmaster Ty!

Tomorrow, folks are going to meet up at a gas station around 10 a.m. and then head to a bakery for breakfast. I'm thinking I might get up a tad earlier and do some riding before the official gather time. There are too many good roads up here!