2010 TRTEAR Ride Report

By IceT - Posted on 03 May 2010

FBRs,

Here's a quick ride report from my 2010 TRTEAR (The Ride To End All Rides).

Friday

Show up at Jeff A.'s house
Greet Sarah and Steve H., marvel at how big Rachel has grown
GA-400 North
Go straight at the end of 400, and you can run down some pretty roads and pass the Frogtown Cellars Vineyard on the left
Left, right, left, repeat
Lunch at the yummy Tellico Grains bakery on the old town square in Tellico Plains
Check out the great motorcycle outfitter in Tellico Plains
Yummy mint chocolate ice cream in a waffle cone in Tellico Plains
Have I mentioned you should visit Tellico Plains?
Stop at Watts Bar Dam to recover from food coma
Learn about physics of nuclear cooling towers, courtesy of Steve H.
Left, right, left, right, repeat
Arrive at Pickett State Park at 5-ish PM
Take a nap on the back porch, enjoying the beautiful weather

Saturday

We had a great "street" ride that ended up traversing gravel, dirt roads and a wooden bridge.
When it started to rain, Bob said, "We'll let Jeff lead because he's on race tires, and he'll keep us at a reasonable pace in the rain."
I thought to myself, "Bob, have you met Jeff?"
I'm sure others will have more to say about this ride, but following the GPS blindly can result in stupid fun.

Sunday

Steve H., Jeff and I head out for Atlanta early.
Weather starts out cloudy and just turns more beautiful throughout the day.
Left, right, left, repeat
Steve and Jeff ask if I'm up for the long, scenic route. Well, yeah!
We head over the Cherohala Skyway and enjoy a pristine flight
By this point in the trip, I have been shadowing Jeff pretty closely, and I'm thinking to myself, "Wow, my riding has really improved!"
Jeff wicks it up a few times on the Cherohala to leave me pondering why I'm such a punk-@ss b!tch.
At some point, Steve closes in and shows he's been sandbagging as well. I wave him past.
More great roads from Clayton, NC down into North Georgia. I need to study Jeff's GPS file so I can travel that route again.
The standard GA-400 slab to Jeff's house, then we clean the bikes
I cleaned my bike, too, just so I could fit in with the cool kids
Then off for dinner with my girlfriend and her parents
My nerves are still vibrating as I sit down dirty, grubby and slightly shell-shocked from the long ride