The Grand Vista of Bards

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Gina
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Real Name: Regina Russell
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Location: London, KY

Re: The Grand Vista of Bards

#61 Unread post by Gina »

We got back from our trip to Gatlinburg and riding the Tail of the Dragon last week. We were hot and sore and very tired. The temperature was in the 90's most of the time. It felt like we were riding in an oven. But there was some relief. In the shadows of the Tennessee mountains, the cool air was so refreshing. Now if I could just have had a dip in one of those mountain streams...
We had 20 bikes in our group this time and several delays as one guy kept having to deal with a bad battery. When we'd get back to our motel after a long day of driving, nothing looked better than that little outdoor swimming pool. It felt wonderful!
Before we got to Deal's Gap, I found myself having a little trepidation about it. I remembered how it was from the year before. I worried that people coming around those curves on their crotch rockets toward me might go over the center line or that somebody would pass me because I wasn't going fast enough for them and cause a wreck. But everything went smoothly. I kept up with my husband this time although that was not my goal. I was determined to ride at my own pace just like I did last time.
I guess one of my problems is that I watched a youtube video from the Discovery channel and it really tried to be dramatic and make The Tail of the Dragon sound as scary as they could make it sound. I think they overdid it but I couldn't help but remember the girl rider they interviewed when I got to mile marker number five. I'll put a link to the video on here in case any of you want to see it. It's interesting but take it with a grain of salt if you're going to Deal's Gap and just be careful. What's really surprising is that there are not more wrecks there than there are. I think that's a testament to the skills of most of the drivers but it's definitely not a place to go to see the scenery if you're the one steering the bike. Without further ado, here's the link you can copy and paste to Hell Roads: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmVaV3fj ... re=related
Help me, Jesus!
www.reginarussell.weebly.com

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Gina
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Re: The Grand Vista of Bards

#62 Unread post by Gina »

While I'm at it, I'm going to share a link to the video trailer of, "As if They Always Knew." It's a Christian Biker Love Story. How many of those have you read? :-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05C1uCC6W1g
Help me, Jesus!
www.reginarussell.weebly.com

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JackoftheGreen
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Re: The Grand Vista of Bards

#63 Unread post by JackoftheGreen »

Gina,

I don't believe we've met before, but I read through your blog when it came up on the New Posts list and I'm impressed. To go from big scooter, to small scooter, back to big scooter, and then to step up to an Intruder and finally the Boulevard -- hats off. I'm going to make my mom read it, and then give her a helmet for Christmas...

I watched that video on the Tail (and then watched a dozen more youtube vids on the same road), and I want nothing to do with that asphalt. I'm sure it's not nearly as bad as the videos make it sound, and I'm also sure that us laid-back, relaxed cruiser riders are far less likely to eat it than most on that road. But as long as those speed junkie sport bike morons are treating it like a closed course complete with fans on bleechers, I'll stay clear. Besides, I'm thinking we probably have half a dozen roads here in Utah just as challenging, but no one knows about them yet. (-: That said, quite a feather in your cap to have rode it.

Safe riding to you.

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Gina
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Re: The Grand Vista of Bards

#64 Unread post by Gina »

Hi Jack,
Thanks for the compliment. Has your mom expressed an interest in riding? I know starting out on a scooter isn't for everyone but it was good for me. It allowed me to learn to ride before I had to deal with changing gears. To deal with everything at once might have been too much for me. Maybe it had something to do with my age. Maybe not. But I just sold my Yamaha Majesty to a lady older than me and I hope she has as much fun on it as I did. I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up riding a motorcycle along with her husband too. I will have to say that as I was riding the Majesty downtown to the courthouse, it rode like a dream--no gear changing and it was just plain fun. I hated to see it go. But I never ride it so it was living a useless life parked in my garage. But I rode my Suzuki this afternoon even though it was around a 100 degrees outside and I enjoyed every minute of it. I just didn't stay out there too long though. Heat does me in.
But if your mom is really interested in learning and she's never ridden before, starting off with a nice 250 scooter is a viable option.
Help me, Jesus!
www.reginarussell.weebly.com

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Gina
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Re: The Grand Vista of Bards

#65 Unread post by Gina »

Hey y'all! Does anyone have any advice about staying cool when you're bike riding on such horribly hot days? We've been reaching into the 100's and more here in Kentucky and I've never been able to stand the heat. No matter how much water I drink, the heat makes me miserable.
Help me, Jesus!
www.reginarussell.weebly.com

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Gina
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Dogs and more dogs...

#66 Unread post by Gina »

My hubby and I rode our bikes about 60 miles today. We had a meeting to go to and then had lunch with my middle daughter and her husband at Taco Bell before coming home. On the way home, my husband had got ahead of me by quite a bit and I'm not one to let him run off. So, I decided to step on it a little bit and catch up. That's when I noticed something going back and forth in the road which caused me to change my mind and slow down. At first I thought it was a large rabbit but as I got closer, I could see it was actually a small dog.
I don't remember if I've written about it in this blog or not--it certainly seems like something I would write about but we were coming home one night a year or two ago, when I noticed my husband's tail-lights go up and down as though he had run over something. (I usually travel behind him.) There was a rise in the road anyway and everything was black, including the animal in the road so I couldn't see it. If I had been a better driver, I would have tried to slow down and get over a little bit so I wouldn't be riding right in my husband's trail but I wasn't and I didn't.
The next thing I knew I was going over whatever it was. I was pretty sure it was a dead dog in the road. I was on my Suzuki Intruder when it happened. I only had pegs to place my feet on and I could actually feel the body of the dog touching the bottom of my boots as I drove over it.
When we got home I told my husband to shine a flashlight because I knew good and well that part of that dog was still on my bike and my boots. It was.
I rode out the next day to check and I saw what was left of a small to medium sized black dog.
I'm glad my story today doesn't have the same kind of ending. But I have wondered if I did the wrong thing. When I got close to the small dog, I saw that it was a little Yorkie. It didn't seem to be afraid of the bike heading toward it either. It kept running back and forth as though it were going to play a game with my motorcycle.
Fortunately, my horn is as loud as a car horn and upon hearing it, the little dog decided to vacate the area in front of my bike. However, I couldn't understand what an expensive little dog like that was doing out in the middle of the road. Should I have stopped and picked it up? I started to worry about it. I hope no one else hit it. It was obviously someone's pet and we were in a residential area (a residential area that has a 55 mph speed limit.) I hope the sound of my horn alerted someone to the fact their dog was in the road.
Then I remembered a story a man told us about a wreck he had on his bike. He said he was coming around a curve and a small dog ran right under his tire and he went down. The accident tore his bike up pretty bad but even worse--it put him in the hospital with a knee injury that required surgery.
But while he was lying in the road, a man ran out of his house and accused, "You ran over my dog!"
Oh well. It takes all kinds.
Help me, Jesus!
www.reginarussell.weebly.com

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