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2013 bonus pie plus side visit

Joined
Mar 21, 2004
Messages
12,139
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1,358
Location
Cleburne
First Name
Leon
Last Name
Hogan
this past week was bonus pie run week and man the great smoky mountains was the perfect spot!

the trip started out with departure from the may pie run in Cushing. due to the distance involved and after watching the youtube vids of death and destruction, and reports of the dangers on the dragon I decided it would be best to be prepared and trailer up, not knowing that I would in fact need a trailer to get back home!

the drive up was long but interesting as east of Marshal the road gets curvy and hilly.
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after a overnight stop in Tuscaloosa Alabama we rolled in to the kick stand lodge 11 miles east of Robbinsville on NC hwy 28 at around 4pm

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and quickly set up camp.
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three feet from the opening of my tent there was what they call a creek, but in most of Texas we call it a roaring river!

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it took us a hour to get set up and the bikes unloaded for our first run up 28 to 129 and through the dragon. we were a bit worried it being memorial day weekend we expected it to be packed and when we arrived at the cross roads of time store (Deals gap resort) the parking lot was packed with bikes, but out on the dragon it was not bad at all.
after a whole bunch of curves we arrived at the tail of the dragon over look for the required pictures.
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while up there, we saw a group shooting video and pictures of three guys doing stunts on BMX bikes, they were sponsored by red bull and are criss crossing the country on Victory's and doing bike stunts along the way.
the bike you can just see the rear of on the right was a genuine Arlen ness edition Victory!
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we followed them a ways down the dragon before they moved over and let us pass so we could run into Robbinsville and get some dinner.
we will have to watch for the video, we may be in it and David should be in it for sure, but I will let him tell you why! :lol2:
 
Monday morning saw us getting up and doing the dragon Cherohala loop (130 miles) on our way to Lynn's place for the bonus pie.

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we missed Rich who arrived unknown to us early due to enjoying the ride and getting held up fo a bit on the Cherohala skyway while they cleaned up a crash of a rider who was doing a bit to much site seeing and hit the guard rail.
as we went through the rescue workers were still looking for her fingers.

arrival at Lynn's place
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pie!
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one for Chuck!
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after pie David had to go check in to his luxury suite at the motorcycle lodge he mistakenly booked ahead of time, Jeff and I went over and checked out Fontana dam, the tallest dam east of the Mississippi.

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Tuesday we got up and expected David to come down and we would head out and explore some more roads but for some reason he thought we would call him despite there being no cell service down at the camp!:lol2:

a group was headed out to go check out bald river falls so we joined them.

at a stop along the way I saw this guy down the hill and had to use a bit of zoom to get him.
a indigo bunting
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the falls.
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after a bit of a hike and climbing we were at the mid level of the falls at the mid pool.
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all that running water started to have a bad effect on my bladder so I hiked off the trail a bit and stumbled across a small water fall hidden back in the woods.
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the small falls actually run down and disappear under the rocks and if you don't go off the trail you would never know they were there.
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Great ride report and pics FF. I wish I could have been there. Well except for the missing fingers..:lol2:
I'm in......
 
I was only half done when either my service provider did a back up reboot or the forum did.:doh:
after returning to the KSL and dinner Jeff and myself decided to do what seemed perfectly logical to us but everyone else thought was insane, a night run on the dragon!!!:eek2:
we ran into Robbinsville for gas and to get the bonus three miles from the Fugitive bridge that are not official dragon miles due to a short straight.
we gassed up in town and I found the slight weep on the front of my radiator was a slight leak now, a bit of steam and half the upper row was wet but it was not dripping so we went for it.
when you cross the Cheoah dam bridge it quickly turns very tight and steep making the climb to the cross roads/ deals gap resort and as I come around a tight corner I am face to face with a tree taking a nap in the road! (should have took a picture and looked over edge for victims) I found a small gap and we squeezed through and head up the hill and pass the one car we would see headed the other way (to the tree) it was awesome!! totally empty except for a couple mountain goat deer Jeff saw. Jeff and my self have aux. lights that put out a semi wide angle of light perfect for this kind of riding, stock headlights even the rather good one on the ZRX would have made this adventure scary at best as nearly every turn on the dragon is a tight turn, to do the proper "look through the turn" riding you have to look nearly 90* to the side! we get up (or was it down) to the overlook and take the required documentation pictures.
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we spent 40 minutes up there and never saw a single vehicle, just total darkness and dead silence, it has been a long time since either of us have seen that many stars!
for the return trip Jeff was itching to go buck wild so I sent hit ahead and he was quickly tearing up the pavement at 9/10ths with me safely behind him at 8/10ths 30 miles later we roll into the KSL victorious!

Wednesday we got up with the plan of running up the blue ridge parkway and doing lunch in Virginia before coming back down but about a mile and a half up the road the radiator ruptured on my ZRX and I told the guys to go on up without me and I nursed the wounded Tyra back to camp and geared down and started some chores. Jeff returned shortly after deciding to not do the BRP without me :chug: we decided to take the van into town for lunch and it was there that it occurred to me we had a perfectly functional (well the rear air was on the fritz) minivan and we headed for the dragon.
it was without a doubt the most fun I have ever had without going to jail afterword's!! :rofl::rofl: brakes smoking tires moaning in protest catching and passing cars and bikes, we even cought a BMW K1600!
pictures are the proof!
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we stopped on the way back trough to get the big girl her well earned tramp stamp!
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a rider and his wife come up to kick stand lodge every memorial weekend and stay the week. he used to be a chef and he takes over the kitchen that week and does the cooking, that night it was very tender and juicy tenderloin steak and well seasoned chicken breast with pasta smothered in scratch made alfredo sauce garlic bread and the trimmings. a feast fit for a king!
Thursday morning was the return trip and we departed at 7:30 eastern time for the long drive back.
there was only one problem, we could not go through Birmingham trice and not stop atleast once at the Barber motorsports museum! and that brings us to the plus part of the bonus pie run!
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five levels of mostly motorcycles covering from the first real motorcycle.
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to modern works of art.
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after four hours drooling we get back on the road, and after dropping off Jeff at his house I rolled into the driveway Friday morning at 2:11 am central time.

147 pictures including many from barbers, most with pics of the bike info can be found here: 2013 bonus pie plus
 
I got through sorting and uploading photos yesterday. I guess it is time to start working on my ride report.
 
I am waiting patiently for the full story behind the techno color big toe!!:lol2:
 
Re: 2013 bonus pie>>>>> plus BARBER MUSEUM side visit

++++++++++++++

ONLY 4 HOURS! Seems like it took me all day to drool_____________

The "elevated" level of bikes there is astounding....as are the Christmas tree "ornaments"..... I HAFTA GO BACK THERE!
 
As a addendum or whatever you call up dated info:
Further investigation of my radiator issue, it had cracked where the coolant cross tube goes into the tank and further research shows it to be common due to the weight of the fan and how it mounts.
 
As a addendum or whatever you call up dated info:
Further investigation of my radiator issue, it had cracked where the coolant cross tube goes into the tank and further research shows it to be common due to the weight of the fan and how it mounts.

Does that mean new rad time, or can it be fixed??
 
I rescued the bike from lower Louisiana and the salty air there so it will be getting a new radiator.
I can get one on eBay for $100 shipped or less than a quarter of the price of a factory one.
 
I rescued the bike from lower Louisiana and the salty air there so it will be getting a new radiator.
I can get one on eBay for $100 shipped or less than a quarter of the price of a factory one.

Heck that sounds like a good deal. Make sure you buy a six pack for after the work... I'll come by and help ya drink one..:rofl:
 
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