Post by queenofslow on Jun 12, 2019 2:03:04 GMT -5
Greetings from Nantahala National Forest NC from the Silver Tigers.
Sorry for missing this month’s meeting, but the bikes had asked for a change in scenery. They had enough of heat, dust and fluffy sand. So we took them to Robbinsville NC in the Nantahala National Forest town for some dual sport action on interesting curvy roads and mountain trails. With new tires (swapping the sand paddles for dual sport Kendas) Rooster and the Pony adapted well to the change from Flatistan to Appalachian Mountains. After a couple of days of rainy weather the other member of the Silver Tigers joined us on his way to his summer home in Michigan. The two Ds (Darrell and Doug) had a blast up the mountains, practicing for next year’s Erzberg.
Your Queen of Slow rode around a bit as well, but with less enthusiasm. For some reason flirting with death on twisty narrow mountain roads carved in the rock with steep drop-offs without guardrails does not seem very enticing to me. Oh, and with reverse camber on the outside turns where the road surface is slabs of slippery rock ledges. Not difficult per se, but take the turn too wide and you end up in the bushes…. 1000+ ft down. The scenery was gorgeous, I am told, but I did not see much of it as I was always concentrating on the next turn (number? of thousands…). One of the routes we rode is known as the “Tail of the Dragon for Dual Sport”.
This will give you an idea...
All I can say is that some parts of my body are permanently fused together due to the “pucker effect”. Bottom line, I can ride those trails as long as I do not see the drop-offs… so I guess I will have to rethink our plans for Colorado next year. On the positive side, I have learned to use the front brake (untouched for years until now). Also remembered some of the prayers of my Catholic upbringing when dealing with those steep curvy downhills…. (dear God, please don’t let the brakes fade, I will be a good girl, I promise…etc etc etc).
We will be back in Flatistan next week, hoping that in the meantime the rain has made the trails in Ocala enjoyable again. The Silver Tigers will continue to train during the summer in preparation for next year’s racing season. Maybe by then Doug’s broken throttle hand will have healed up. Riding with two good hands may improve his lap times. Now Darrell is thinking about the Hatfield and McCoy trail system…. We shall see. I have to check the drop-offs first.
If anybody is planning a trip to Nantahala I will be glad to refer the house we rented in Robbinsville. Very inexpensive and functional.
Stay tuned for the report on the second part of the trip.
Sorry for missing this month’s meeting, but the bikes had asked for a change in scenery. They had enough of heat, dust and fluffy sand. So we took them to Robbinsville NC in the Nantahala National Forest town for some dual sport action on interesting curvy roads and mountain trails. With new tires (swapping the sand paddles for dual sport Kendas) Rooster and the Pony adapted well to the change from Flatistan to Appalachian Mountains. After a couple of days of rainy weather the other member of the Silver Tigers joined us on his way to his summer home in Michigan. The two Ds (Darrell and Doug) had a blast up the mountains, practicing for next year’s Erzberg.
Your Queen of Slow rode around a bit as well, but with less enthusiasm. For some reason flirting with death on twisty narrow mountain roads carved in the rock with steep drop-offs without guardrails does not seem very enticing to me. Oh, and with reverse camber on the outside turns where the road surface is slabs of slippery rock ledges. Not difficult per se, but take the turn too wide and you end up in the bushes…. 1000+ ft down. The scenery was gorgeous, I am told, but I did not see much of it as I was always concentrating on the next turn (number? of thousands…). One of the routes we rode is known as the “Tail of the Dragon for Dual Sport”.
This will give you an idea...
All I can say is that some parts of my body are permanently fused together due to the “pucker effect”. Bottom line, I can ride those trails as long as I do not see the drop-offs… so I guess I will have to rethink our plans for Colorado next year. On the positive side, I have learned to use the front brake (untouched for years until now). Also remembered some of the prayers of my Catholic upbringing when dealing with those steep curvy downhills…. (dear God, please don’t let the brakes fade, I will be a good girl, I promise…etc etc etc).
We will be back in Flatistan next week, hoping that in the meantime the rain has made the trails in Ocala enjoyable again. The Silver Tigers will continue to train during the summer in preparation for next year’s racing season. Maybe by then Doug’s broken throttle hand will have healed up. Riding with two good hands may improve his lap times. Now Darrell is thinking about the Hatfield and McCoy trail system…. We shall see. I have to check the drop-offs first.
If anybody is planning a trip to Nantahala I will be glad to refer the house we rented in Robbinsville. Very inexpensive and functional.
Stay tuned for the report on the second part of the trip.
