Day 4 - Most Intense Day of Riding EVER

We've ridden a lot of great places and we've encountered some of the nation's most challenging roads. We've ridden Beartooth Pass, Lolo Pass, Going to the Sun Road, the Million Dollar Highway. The list goes on and on, and we have fond memories of every experience. Never, though, have we ridden so many challenging roads back to back to back. Oh, my! I am physically and mentally exhausted. The Waterfall Scenic Byway, NC 215, the Rattler, Big Laurel Road, the Devil's Whip, the Diamondback... the roads characterized by sharp turns an elevation changes just kept coming and coming. We rode them all as fast as we dared and had the best of times doing so. Oh, my indeed.

We saw some waterfalls along the way. I'll post pics soon. Now we're safe in our hotel in Boone, NC - ready to find new roads tomorrow.

These were definitely roads less traveled. Very little traffic today and a lot of freedom to ride. And Monday is another day!

Day 3 - Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina

Today... long, cold (morning), hot (midday), challenging, fun. We laughed a lot. We perspired. We were filled with wonder and awe once again at the majesty of our God reflected in all He has created.

That's all I've got for now. Because it's late, I'm tired, tomorrow is another long day, and I must sleep.

My family continues to improve. This is the work of God in response to your prayers. Soli Deo gloria.

** A little something more now that I've rested: The day started exactly at 7 AM as planned. Leaving on time was critical this day, as we had so many overlooks and scenic stops in the ride plan. We rolled out of Cumming to surprisingly cool weather. I wear a mess jacket with armor for protection and for easy access to things in my pocket on these long protection. This type of jacket is intended to protect without being hot in the summer. I was actually cold as we started riding.

After a quick run north on Georgia 400, we rode a very nice part of the Suches Loop on GA60. This was the first challenging road I had been on since last year's sometimes-daunting adventure, so I was a little apprehensive. I hit it hard and had a GREAT time in the curves and elevation changes!

From there, we rode the scenic Cherohala Skyway, the top of Moonshiner 28, the Tail of the Dragon, the Foothills Parkway, and the bottom of Moonshiner 28. All in all, Saturday proved to be a great day of twisties. The Tail of the Dragon proved to be a fail. We found ourselves behind a bad driver in a Toyota Corolla the ENTIRE 11 miles. (Most of us, anyway.) With 318 curves in 11 miles, there's really not a good, safe place to pass. (For most of us, anyway.) Nothing we could do would encourage this inconsiderate-of-riders person to use a pullout - so we just endured it. In contrast to that, we ended the day with a run on the bottom of Moonshiner 28 where we were free to run with hardly a car in sight - and this stretch of road was more fun that The Dragon - so all was well in the big picture.

The temperature did become almost unbearable for a few hours at midday, but the temps cooled down considerably as the hour grew late. Originally scheduled to be in to the hotel about 7:40 PM, we actually arrived early to enjoy dinner and a night of rest.

Here are some pics. These are Tami's because I'm not going to touch my camera tonight. Nope. Must sleep. I'll add more later. For now... here ya go:

Good News - And We're Ready to Ride

First things first. Family comes before the fun and the friends. So many of you prayed for our family over the last 24 hours and we believe the power of God was released through your request on our behalf. Lindsey sent us this message today: "Prayers are working so much." She went on to say, "I'm really encouraged for the first time in days. And I think I'M being strengthened by people's prayers, too." Thank you all for praying. Most of all, we thank the One who alone can heal for hearing our prayers and moving in a powerful way.

Today was a short ride day. We hung out at the hotel until just before noon as we waited for the New Orleans guys to arrive. We had a really good lunch at The Hound, a place near the Auburn campus and then walked down the block to the famous Toomer's Drugs for lemonade.

We then started the short-for-us (the New Orleans guys had already ridden nearly 400 miles) ride to Cumming, GA - just north of Atlanta. Knowing we wouldn't have time to navigate Atlanta traffic in the morning, we braved Friday rush-hour traffic this afternoon. If you know Atlanta at all, you know that was not so fun. It was slow and hot - but we made it. We're here and ready to start the real fun tomorrow.

One more time... thanks for praying for our family. Thanks for praying for those of us who are riding. Tomorrow will be jam-packed and challenging. We'll ride the Cherohala Skyway, Moonshiner 28, Tail of the Dragon, the Foothills Parkway and more.

I didn't shoot any video today and took just a few pictures. Tomorrow will be a different story as see some great sights in north Georgia, East Tennessee, and western North Carolina.

Here are a few pictures from the day.

On the Road Again

On the Road Again. Just about everyone knows the old Willie Nelson song. The lyrics of verse 3 are apropos:

Here we go
On the road again
Like a band of gypsies
We go down the highway
We're the best of friends
Insisting that the world
Keep turnin' our way

Nelson wrote the song about life on the road with his band. I think of the lyrics as representative of life on the road with our "band". And it's going to be a big band this summer. The last several years I rode solo to a predetermined rendezvous with five friends from New Orleans. This year, I departed Orlando with five friends from home, on our way to meet the South Louisiana guys. This should be fun!

We're in Auburn, Alabama tonight. The machines are free of love bugs after applying a bit of elbow grease and TLC. The first of the NOLA guys are meeting us here at lunch time. More will join us in Boone, North Carolina on Sunday. Today was all about getting here... turnpike to interstate to a pleasant secondary road. Tomorrow will be a short 150-mile day in consideration of the New Orleans guys, who will have already covered nearly 400 miles before connecting with us. We'll head north to clear Atlanta.

The real fun - curves, elevation change, and speed - will begin on Saturday. Let's do this!

I'll call it quits early this evening. Tomorrow, I'll sleep in and try to get rested up for the challenge of the the days to come while we wait for Randall and Steve to arrive. And then we'll do what we do. We'll pray together. We'll ride. We'll talk. We'll laugh. We'll deepen already-meaningful relationships. Yep. This is what we'll do on yet another grand adventure along the road less traveled.

Before I stop... for friends who follow along with us in words, images, and video... would you pray for our family tonight? I have a son-in-law and granddaughter in Orlando who are pretty seriously ill. And they're being cared for by a seriously pregnant wife, mom, and daughter of mine. I'll provide details when we have them. For now - would you pray? Thanks in advance.

Selah.