Note for the uninitiated: for me, this weekend was not just the annual gathering of Eastern 'Maggots in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but the weekend I was to take possession of "Pegasus", the beautiful '85 V65 Sabre I had purchased sight-unseen over the Internet for a mere $1500. This was also my first SME, and Pegasus is the first bike I can call my own, my previous experience being on a borrowed '76 CB500T.
This won't be a typical trip report; I'm sure none of you wants to read a detailed description of 1900 miles in a Ford F-150 Pickup and 10 miles of twisties on the newly acquired Pegasus, so this is just the high points:
FRIDAY: Left home at 8:30 a.m. Only one packing mistake: carefully packed cigarette-lighter activated pump for air mattresses; left mattresses behind. Made it to Roanoke Rapids, (eastern) NC in 12 hours. Hit the Washington, D.C. area at 4 p.m. - bad timing. Thinking a bout Pegasus must be mellowing me; made it through without a serious rise in blood pressure. More importantly, Teri was still speaking to me (barely). Got my first look at Pegasus; wow, clean! Re-hashed history and filled in paperwork w/ PO, loaded him on truck and headed for Duke University in Durham. Got to nephew's apartment on campus around 11:00 p.m.; chewed the fat until midnight, then hit the sack.
SATURDAY: Got up at 8:30, showered etc., and spent pleasant morning with nephew: had tour of campus, took him to breakfast at his favorite restaurant - Elmo's Diner (Note to all: highly recommended if you're in Durham), then took him to his summer job at the Community Affairs Center; I was extremely jealous of his office which has an actual door (as opposed to my "Dilbert-like" cubicle). We finally hit I-40 west to Canton, then down 276 to the BRMC, arriving a 5 p.m.
Before we scheduled the visit with our nephew, I planned to arrive at BRMC between noon and 1 p.m., spend a leisurely afternoon installing Pegasus' new parts (while everyone else was out riding), and maybe get a brief spin in before dark. Arriving now just before supper, I'm figuring this opportunity has passed and I won't even bother to unload Pegasus. I should have realized these are 'Maggots we're talking about. Teri and I hadn't been in the 4-wheeled parking lot (BRMC is protected by a moat-like stream and only cycles are allowed across the wooden bridge) more than 30 seconds before a 'Maggot arrived at a trot. It is Steve Stokes, followed closely by Bob Peloquin et. al. "What are ya sittin' there for? Let's get this puppy unloaded!", he says. In no time at all, Pegasus was on the ground and I was paddling him into the campground, aided at key intervals by a push from Bob. Meanwhile, Steve was headed back to the truck with the campground's golf cart (ironically built by Harley-Davidson) to fetch Teri and all our luggage (the tools being the most important). I still can't believe anyone's interested in wrenching after a hard day of dragon-jousting, but Pegasus is soon on the center stand and every tool I brought with me was spread out on the top and both benches of a picnic table. Before I could even locate the chapter on cable replacement in my newly acquired Clymers or Honda Shop Manual, poor Pegasus looked like he'd fallen into a piranha-infested stream. He was stripped to the bone and a dozen 'Maggots were swarming over him like a pit crew at Indy. At least as many more stood by, offering encouragement and ready to step into the gap should one of the others falter.
I'm sure I'll leave someone out; my head was whirling from the activity and all the introductions, the Pelican being the only 'Maggot I'd met face-to-face before. IIRC, there were: Bob P., Steve Stokes, John Haydt, RW, Jack Hunt, ZimBob, ZimJeff, Beaver Koch, Dan Jones, and a host of others. In less than 2 hours (which included a break for dinner), Pegasus received new throttle cables, brake lever, battery, SuperBrace, main fuse (donated by Eric Kauppi), and a tail-light bulb (an unknown donor, maybe John Haydt?). The tank and seat are re-installed and, after an aborted attempt which required removing the left side cover and wiggling the connector at the main fuse, he sprang to life. Amidst a chorus of cheers and dialog from "Frankenstein" ("It's alive, alive!"), I'm encouraged to mount and perform a victory lap around the campground (on the scary gravel pathway - talk about pressure; Zimbob's advice was to just lay it over on its side right where it sits and get it over with). I managed the victory lap unscathed, park it by our tent with relief, and return to the task of packing all the tools away before joining the night's revelry.
SUNDAY: Arose relatively early Sunday and wandered around the campground with Teri, taking pictures of the magical panorama of "SabMags in the Mist" (I'll get any good ones scanned and posted somehow). The sight of a campground in the still morning air, with tents of every shape and design scattered about and an equally varied group of bikes parked outside each one is wondrous to behold. Of course, the lion's share of the bikes are our beloved V4s in all their incarnations. After breakfast, many good-byes, and some preliminary packing of our own, we got Pegasus fired up for a quick shakedown cruise to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a nerve-wracking experience: new bike, strange roads, riding 2-up, and trying to maneuver around posted-15-mph, gravel strewn, hairpin turns. That Rte. 276 is something, By contrast, the Parkway itself was relatively sedate (at least the 3 or so miles we do on it). We stopped about the 2nd or 3rd overlook (it was still very foggy), then headed back. We loaded Pegasus on the truck, packed up the rest of our gear, said a few more good-byes and hit the road
Despite a very kind offer from Carl Custer to put us up in Bethesda on the way home, we realized that we've started so late we won't get to his house until 11 p.m. and decided that's a little too abusive of hospitality. Besides, after witnessing the eastbound traffic on I-40 (we took the Parkway as far as Asheville), we decided to head north on I-77 to I-81 and avoid DC altogether. This proved a smart move; traffic was very light, the scenery was different, there were no tolls, and the total mileage was only 10-15 miles longer. We found a $34 motel in WV where we spent the night.
MONDAY: Not much to say - made it home by 8 p.m. in spite of hitting NYC rush hour traffic in Western CT. Pegasus seemed to take well to his new home; he whinnied with anticipation when he smelled the sea breeze as we crossed the Newport Bridges. All in all, a very successful weekend.
Random Musings:
Well, that's all for now. Thanks again to everyone who wrenched on Pegasus and/or encouraged me in his purchase.