MidSouth SV Rally

First off the map. I think that we figured it was right under 500 miles
of beautiful twisty roads in the mountains. And those who rode it all,
did it in 2.25 days.
Choices, choices choices. There are so many great roads up there around
Jasper. Ryan told me when we were planning the rally that he could put
two hands on the map around Jasper and not touch a bad road and really
that's very true.On Friday after breakfast we headed east on 74 to 123 and then south to
Pelsor, which is nothing but a post office and a general store that is
only open on the weekends. However, on the weekend you can get the
world famous "sanwiche." I don't believe anyone tried one.

From there, we headed back up 123, which was a fantastic road. Big
sweepers, great scenery and a section of 10mph switchbacks that are
twice as tight as anything I saw in North Carolina. Seriously.


From there we took 374 back to town and shot some photos at the
overlook.374, Jack and I agreed, was one of our favorite roads. It was a
fantastic ride. Fairly open roads with some tight sections and one
bastard of a decreasing radius right hander. I would put 374 and 123 on
the "must ride" list.

After that, we headed back and hooked up with the rest of the people
who had showed up. Fil, Terri, Charles and Andrew all showed up midday
on Friday. Then most of the group headed off to Boxley Valley to see
the elk while I diagnosed a charging problem on my bike. (loose
battery cable)

Friday night there was a bonfire and beer and a few shenanigans. There
were bets on the lawn tractor and after hours a little motorcycle
shuffling care of the Dallas contingent (Shelby, Andy and Patrick) that
had arrived around dinner time. We all thought it was good fun and a
reminder to lock our triple trees. The guy who wasn't from our group
who had to hunt down his Daytona 675 in the morning... well... he
didn't think it was so funny. HA! Oh well, no harm, no foul.
I really can't say enough about The Hub. A stellar location with
stellar people running it. They really cater to motorcyclists and
provide beer runs and firewood for bonfires. Hell he even got after his
dog with a shock collar when he started barking at motorcycles.I have to give all the props to the Bike-Shufflers for showing up not
only to the morning ride, but also to breakfast after a long night of
polishing off Teri's vodka. They redeemed themselves and had a good
introduction to the mountain roads.

After breakfast we headed back down 374 to 123 and then across 16 to 27.

374 and 123 were brilliant again. 16 was beautiful and was on my list
of really great roads. 27's only real attribute was that it lead us to
341 (Push Mountain Road) But first we stopped for gas and drinks in
Marshall. It was about noon and we lost the late night riders to the
hopes of a nap at The Hub. Meanwhile Teri decided she had had enough of
people giving her hell for a dirty bike and she was off to the car wash
to hose it off.... mid-ride... ha!

The rest of 27 and 14 were great roads on par with the rest of the
weekend and finally we got to Push Mountain Road. The road is super
fast and smooth with no traffic. It's got great rhythm, but you can
really get in too deep too fast if you don't watch it. We stopped and
talked with the guy shooting photos (a la Killboy) and watched Ryan
make a few passes on his home road.

Then it was back down 14 for a short stop in Harriet. At this point we
lost a few more riders to fatigue and the short way home and the pace
picked up a notch.

Then things got a bit frustrating. Being Saturday afternoon the
Harley groups were out and there was one group in particular that was
a total whipping. I will just say that Teri has some some serious
skills and if those guys only knew that it was a 40-something year
old mother of two that passed them like that... well they would have
turned in their assless chaps and brake lever tassels in shame. It's
really too bad that some people just have to be like that. No one
owns the road and it's so much easier to let us pass and never see us
again than to block the road and ride so tight and so slow that no
one can get around you. Not all the Harley groups are like this.... I
met a lot of really cool Harley riders on our stops and there were a
ton of groups that let us by. But NONE of the other groups act like
this, BMWs, sport bikes, dual sports, Goldwings.... everyone else
always lets us by and we let everyone by that is running faster than
us. It's just a shame.

And despite what my father says, it's not about hating Harleys... or
their riders... it's about a distaste for inconsiderate people on
the road. People who would rather spend 20 miles preventing you from
passing rather than spend a 1/4 mile letting you pass and enjoy the
rest of their ride at their pace.

P.S. We have plenty of power on tap. You don't have to actually stop
to let us by. It's OUR job to make a safe pass and we can do it...
all you have to do is just hold your line, ride single file and not
be an ass.
Here is Teri fueling up after the Harley Incident.
This kid rode a 1000 miles round trip and slept in a tent and still
rode well. Hard core guy.

After the fuel stop, the remaining riders decided that our feet
wouldn't leave the pegs again till we got to the Hub. So at a blurring
pace we hit 14-235-65-123-74-7. It was a great ride at a great pace and
ended with dinner and another bonfire and cold beer at The Hub.
Sunday morning, we rode out to Boxley Valley on 7, 74 and 21 at pretty
good clip. We didn't see any elk, but it was a great way to spend the
morning and the photos were nice.
I did meet one really really cool Harley rider. This guy bought this
shovelhead brand new in 1981 and has put 75k miles on it since (in
addition to a few years where the odo didn't function!) You should
have seen the puddle of oil under this beast and it had only been
parked for a few minutes. HA!

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