- Joined
- Feb 28, 2003
- Messages
- 51,676
- Reaction score
- 9,305
- Location
- Huntsville
- First Name
- Scott
- Last Name
- Friday
Okay, so I am going to start this over...
Roger RSquared is retired now. We've been doing trips together for years. I... am not retired. Fortunately though, he still pesters me about going on trips because... well... you just never really know! So he was planning to do the BMW Rally in Lebanon, Tennessee in mid June and was trying to get me to go. Having just gone to Arkansas for a long weekend Memorial Day weekend, I wasn't sure I could get away from work again so soon. So I said no a few times... and a few more times.
Then, things kind of start falling into place. Sitting on the couch one evening, I causally ask my wife what she thinks about me taking our son, Daniel (almost 13) on a week long trip riding to North Carolina. He had also gone with me on the recent Arkansas trip. Amazingly, and almost without hesitation, she says, "Sure." I get all giddy and then all panicky. I now have less than a week to plan a week long trip to North Carolina. Getting routes together won't be a problem. Finding places to stay might be. Later in the evening I fire off a message to Roger to see if he'd be interested in staying over beyond the rally to join us for a week of riding. Then I mention that it would be really cool if his son, Mason, could come with us. It is crazy short notice, but it can't hurt to ask!
Not so much to my surprise, Roger is good with it. Totally to my surprise, Mason is actually able to get off work on such short notice. Roger only has his new 2018 MW R1200 GS with him, and I know there's no way he's going to want to ride that on the routes I am planning. So the new plan is for Mason to bring the KTM 1190 Adventure and the KTM 690 Enduro up to my place so we can get them loaded in my trailer with my BMW R1200 GS Rallye. Mason will get here as close to 5:00pm on Friday as he can and we'll leave as soon as I get home from work. Daniel and I get all our stuff packed and in the trailer by Thursday evening so all we have to do is hug Beth and the girls, hop in the truck, and roll!
Friday arrives and all goes according to plan. We pull out of the driveway right around 5:45pm. We were a few minutes late because my parents stopped by to show off their new puppy
All tucked in for the ride. Once you go enclosed, you will never go back to an open trailer willingly!
The GPS said something like 15 hours from here to Dalton, Georgia, where we will meet Roger and start the trip. My ability to just suck it up and drive through the night is dwindling rapidly of late. So I've booked a cheap hotel with big parking in Vicksburg. The trip up US 59 to I-20 through East Texas is pleasant and uneventful. I-20 going into Louisiana is smooth as glass... until we reach Shreveport!!
Roger had already mentioned that I might want to be careful on the drive out because his new trailer suffered some damage from the rough roads when he left for the rally earlier in the week. It seems an axle carrier broke! As we start bouncing around I can understand why. The speed limit has been lowered to 50mph, no doubt because trying to go much faster on such a poorly maintained road could end in disaster! It cannot be a coincidence that so many of the road side bill boards are for attorney's asking if you've been injured in a vehicle accident Once we get clear of Shreveport, things smooth out and we are soon pulling into Vicksburg around 1:30am. Tomorrow will be a leisurely drive to Dalton, with an early arrival so we can get the bikes and gear ready to go, enjoy a nice relaxing evening, and then get a good night of sleep.
If I can get checked into the hotel in Vicksburg...
I hit the buzzer and wait... It is an outside window of THICK plexiglass with a slit at the bottom just big enough to slide some paper and a pen underneath. Just another reason why I like having an enclosed trailer. After a few more buzzes and no response, I finally look up the hotel confirmation in my email and get the number to call. I think the night clerk may have fallen asleep. She came walking out slowly as she was answering the phone. She was nice though and got us checked in pretty quick. The room was nice and clean, and we were soon snoozing away.
Other than plenty of parking space for the truck and trailer, the reason I picked this hotel was that it was right next door to a Cracker Barrel, one of my favorite places to eat! We head over for a nice breakfast. Afterward, we load up and pull out of the parking lot at the crack of dawn... 9:00am... Well... it's freaking early for me We have to do some on the fly navigation when we reach Birmingham, Alabama, because they are working on I-20. Not being familiar with the area, I don't catch it when pass the loop around downtown and we end up having to do a detour that takes us RIGHT THRU downtown! I can now say I have seen downtown Birmingham. Once is enough. Mason is on his phone doing the fast thumb navigation thing and gets us on I-59 heading North out of town. Perfect.
The uConnect GPS in my truck has gone kaput. I've no idea what is going on with it, but it thinks we are out driving in the woods somewhere, going totally the wrong direction. So it is up to Mason to navigate the rest of the way to the hotel. Things are going great, but then start to get interesting once we get off of I-59. I really couldn't tell you what roads we are taking, but Mason urges me to have faith in the pink line on the map... I will say that these would be fun roads to ride, but not so much in the truck hauling a trailer! I really started to get concerned after he had told me to take the next left... five or six times... I mean, shouldn't we have done a full 360 loop by now!?
"Just do it. Trust the tech!"
No I am anxiously watching my mirrors as the right trailer wheels cover the white line and the left wheels cover the yellow line! The road twists and winds through beautiful scenery. I just hope anyone coming the other direction is paying attention to the road and not the scenery because there isn't going to be any swerving to miss someone! We miss a few turns and manage to find even smaller backroads to get us back on track, and then almost as if by magic, we pop out right in Dalton and the hotel is just across the highway!! Roger is already there and checked into his room. Time to get everything unloaded.
WELL lit and in view of the security cameras! The Red Roof Inn owner agreed to let us leave the vehicles for the whole week since we booked two rooms on each end of our trip That is Roger's new Taj Mahal on the right.
It sits a bit low, but it is a nice setup!! I think he plans to raise it a few inches.
Coincidentally, this hotel is right next to a Cracker Barrel as well So we walk over and have a great dinner before retiring to the parking lot to visit for a bit.
He is awake... and sober... I just have this super power that lets me catch pictures of people when the close their eyes.
Mason... IF the bike is not moving, his phone is out and on
My still relatively new to me 2017 R1200 GS Rallye.
After a few beers, we call it a night and head to bed. It is going to be an EARLY start tomorrow. We have to be ready to roll no later than 9:00am
Roger RSquared is retired now. We've been doing trips together for years. I... am not retired. Fortunately though, he still pesters me about going on trips because... well... you just never really know! So he was planning to do the BMW Rally in Lebanon, Tennessee in mid June and was trying to get me to go. Having just gone to Arkansas for a long weekend Memorial Day weekend, I wasn't sure I could get away from work again so soon. So I said no a few times... and a few more times.
Then, things kind of start falling into place. Sitting on the couch one evening, I causally ask my wife what she thinks about me taking our son, Daniel (almost 13) on a week long trip riding to North Carolina. He had also gone with me on the recent Arkansas trip. Amazingly, and almost without hesitation, she says, "Sure." I get all giddy and then all panicky. I now have less than a week to plan a week long trip to North Carolina. Getting routes together won't be a problem. Finding places to stay might be. Later in the evening I fire off a message to Roger to see if he'd be interested in staying over beyond the rally to join us for a week of riding. Then I mention that it would be really cool if his son, Mason, could come with us. It is crazy short notice, but it can't hurt to ask!
Not so much to my surprise, Roger is good with it. Totally to my surprise, Mason is actually able to get off work on such short notice. Roger only has his new 2018 MW R1200 GS with him, and I know there's no way he's going to want to ride that on the routes I am planning. So the new plan is for Mason to bring the KTM 1190 Adventure and the KTM 690 Enduro up to my place so we can get them loaded in my trailer with my BMW R1200 GS Rallye. Mason will get here as close to 5:00pm on Friday as he can and we'll leave as soon as I get home from work. Daniel and I get all our stuff packed and in the trailer by Thursday evening so all we have to do is hug Beth and the girls, hop in the truck, and roll!
Friday arrives and all goes according to plan. We pull out of the driveway right around 5:45pm. We were a few minutes late because my parents stopped by to show off their new puppy
All tucked in for the ride. Once you go enclosed, you will never go back to an open trailer willingly!
The GPS said something like 15 hours from here to Dalton, Georgia, where we will meet Roger and start the trip. My ability to just suck it up and drive through the night is dwindling rapidly of late. So I've booked a cheap hotel with big parking in Vicksburg. The trip up US 59 to I-20 through East Texas is pleasant and uneventful. I-20 going into Louisiana is smooth as glass... until we reach Shreveport!!
Roger had already mentioned that I might want to be careful on the drive out because his new trailer suffered some damage from the rough roads when he left for the rally earlier in the week. It seems an axle carrier broke! As we start bouncing around I can understand why. The speed limit has been lowered to 50mph, no doubt because trying to go much faster on such a poorly maintained road could end in disaster! It cannot be a coincidence that so many of the road side bill boards are for attorney's asking if you've been injured in a vehicle accident Once we get clear of Shreveport, things smooth out and we are soon pulling into Vicksburg around 1:30am. Tomorrow will be a leisurely drive to Dalton, with an early arrival so we can get the bikes and gear ready to go, enjoy a nice relaxing evening, and then get a good night of sleep.
If I can get checked into the hotel in Vicksburg...
I hit the buzzer and wait... It is an outside window of THICK plexiglass with a slit at the bottom just big enough to slide some paper and a pen underneath. Just another reason why I like having an enclosed trailer. After a few more buzzes and no response, I finally look up the hotel confirmation in my email and get the number to call. I think the night clerk may have fallen asleep. She came walking out slowly as she was answering the phone. She was nice though and got us checked in pretty quick. The room was nice and clean, and we were soon snoozing away.
Other than plenty of parking space for the truck and trailer, the reason I picked this hotel was that it was right next door to a Cracker Barrel, one of my favorite places to eat! We head over for a nice breakfast. Afterward, we load up and pull out of the parking lot at the crack of dawn... 9:00am... Well... it's freaking early for me We have to do some on the fly navigation when we reach Birmingham, Alabama, because they are working on I-20. Not being familiar with the area, I don't catch it when pass the loop around downtown and we end up having to do a detour that takes us RIGHT THRU downtown! I can now say I have seen downtown Birmingham. Once is enough. Mason is on his phone doing the fast thumb navigation thing and gets us on I-59 heading North out of town. Perfect.
The uConnect GPS in my truck has gone kaput. I've no idea what is going on with it, but it thinks we are out driving in the woods somewhere, going totally the wrong direction. So it is up to Mason to navigate the rest of the way to the hotel. Things are going great, but then start to get interesting once we get off of I-59. I really couldn't tell you what roads we are taking, but Mason urges me to have faith in the pink line on the map... I will say that these would be fun roads to ride, but not so much in the truck hauling a trailer! I really started to get concerned after he had told me to take the next left... five or six times... I mean, shouldn't we have done a full 360 loop by now!?
"Just do it. Trust the tech!"
No I am anxiously watching my mirrors as the right trailer wheels cover the white line and the left wheels cover the yellow line! The road twists and winds through beautiful scenery. I just hope anyone coming the other direction is paying attention to the road and not the scenery because there isn't going to be any swerving to miss someone! We miss a few turns and manage to find even smaller backroads to get us back on track, and then almost as if by magic, we pop out right in Dalton and the hotel is just across the highway!! Roger is already there and checked into his room. Time to get everything unloaded.
WELL lit and in view of the security cameras! The Red Roof Inn owner agreed to let us leave the vehicles for the whole week since we booked two rooms on each end of our trip That is Roger's new Taj Mahal on the right.
It sits a bit low, but it is a nice setup!! I think he plans to raise it a few inches.
Coincidentally, this hotel is right next to a Cracker Barrel as well So we walk over and have a great dinner before retiring to the parking lot to visit for a bit.
He is awake... and sober... I just have this super power that lets me catch pictures of people when the close their eyes.
Mason... IF the bike is not moving, his phone is out and on
My still relatively new to me 2017 R1200 GS Rallye.
After a few beers, we call it a night and head to bed. It is going to be an EARLY start tomorrow. We have to be ready to roll no later than 9:00am