Triumphrat

burmbuster

The scenery was absolutely great.

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It had been a long day so we headed back to TWO for dinner. And to be truthfull we both still felt pretty good, even with the long trip up the night before. I surprised myself with the lack of fatigue or soreness for riding this bike for this long the first time.
We arrived back at TWO around 6:30 and noticed about ten more bikes were there than when we left. Good! There were quite a few locals there as well. Bobby and I ordered our meals and sat down to reflect over the days ride. What an awsome day we had. Perfect weather, nice people, good conversations. It doesnt get much better.
As our food was served we were approached by the couple from down the hall asking us if they could join us. Sure, why not. I'd like to hear about the BMW LT and from the sound of it this morning he probably has a few questions about my Sprint. So they joined us and we started eating. He is in his 50's and she is in her late 30's to early 40's. They are very nice but just something about them was odd. They shared the same plates of food. They got one side salad and two forks etc. They fed each other.***? We talked about bikes some and trips to here and there. they told us where they were from and about their kids etc. No kids together, both divorced and he had custody of his kids because he had always been a stay at home dad, she did not have custody and she was a ministers wife. ***? Is this crazy or what? Then they started personal conversations. No matter how I tried to change the subject to bikes or what not they would revert back to personal conversations that pertain to ex-spouses and so on. I kept trying to send the signal to my friend that we needed to split that it was freaking me out but he was recently divorced felt the need to spew his struggles to them like they had to us. I, for one, am still married. 14 happy years. I didnt need to sit and listen to this crap. So I excuse myself and up stairs I go. Bobby followed soon. The upstairs livingroon tv had the South Carolina vs. Florida game on which was great and the owners of all those bikes was sitting around watching the game, drinking a few beers, and talking. Come to find out they are all from Montgomery, AL. and serve in the Reserves together for over twenty years. Small world. Half of us were Alabama fans and the other half Auburn fans so we had alot of fun and spirited conversations. it was a blast.

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The rest of the night was uneventfull. We just watched the game, had a few beers, and talked bikes with our new found friends. The next morning was a TOTALLY different story.
I wake up to Bobby pushing on my shoulder.Bobby:"Brad,Dude, wake up. Wake up."
I thought maybe there was a fire or something happened to the bikes or something like that. He sounded urgent but he was trying to stay quiet at the same time.
Me: "Whats going on? Whats wrong?"
Bobby:"Dude, we cannot be the last ones up here when that couple comes out."
(I'm freakin laughing my ass off all over again while I type this)
Me:"What? What the hell are you talking about? Its only 7:00AM?"
Bobby:" Everybody else is already downstairs. You will know whats going on when you get in the hall."
So I get up and get dressed. I start to enter the hall when I hear it. Guys, they are rubbing one out like theres no tomorrow and I mean she's being LOUD! *** are these weirdo's thinking? So I tiptoe to the bathroom and rush to get my stuff together and down stairs I go. Everybody from upstairs is laughing downstairs. Come to find out they didnt even start up until everybody started moving around. They must be exibitionists? Anyway, that was one of the craziest things I have encountered. We laughed about that for hours.
We left the lodge and headed up toward Blood Mountain. That ride up Blood Mountain was awsome. Alot of history, which I like, and more great scenery.

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After conquering Blood Mountain we headed down a road called Richard Russell Rd. After that we would go to the town of Helen, GA. for lunch and then on to Anna Ruby Falls.
As we started down Richard Russell Rd. I noticed the drastic changes in elevations in turns. A ton of off camber stuff that was awsome. I have a great rytheme going. The temp is a bit cool and brisk but still, you can tell it will warm up nicely. As i'm riding I think to myself "ya know this has been the best weekend I have had in quite some time and this is definitely the best ride I have had, period. I'm grinning ear to ear in my helmet. Little did I know that my day would soon take a turn southward. This is the lookout from Richard Russell Rd.

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I want to buy a few things for the wife and kids while we are in Helen, Ga. so I leave the Panniers on. We start down the other side of the Richard Russell and Bobby is ahead of me. As i start down the mountain there is a nice lazy section of "S" turns but nothing spectacular. I approach a few more turns without any fanfare. Then I come out of a tight S turn into a left hander that looks simple but the deeper i get into the turn the more the grade falls off. I'm in too hot with the road both turning and a steep grade fall in the center. I've got her leaned over, my left pannier is scraping and I am running out of freakin road. Apex! Apex! Apex!!!I had two options: Stand her up and try and control her from in soft stuff (which we all know is a bad idea)on the road side or continue to try and save it by more trail braking and little more agressive steering (which we all know inevitably leads to washing the front end) . Look, either way, I going down.
So I try and stand her up and ease her off the shoulder(in the middle of the freakin turn). I was actually able to slow her a bit before we ventured off into the soft stuff. But once there, I gently low sided her as best I could.
Blam! just like that. Instant yard sale. I vividly remember riding it down and as I spun with the bike on the ground I was face to face with my headlights. Screaming inside my helmet the whole time, "DDDAAAMMMMMNNNNN IIIIIIIIITTTT". I came to a stop. The only thing hurt was my pride. I stood her back up and accesed the damaged. The R&G Sliders did an excellent job. If it werent for the ground being soft the damage would have been minimal and it still was to a degree.
This is one view of the scene of the crime.

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Heres another view.

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A small group of riders stopped and helped me bungy my pannier back onto the bike. Thanks for your help guys. I also lost the left foot peg so before we could proceed with our planned ride for the day we had to go back up Richard Russell and over to the next town for a few repairs.
Its Sunday but we were able to find a Autozone open. If you have never messed with the Sprint pegs your in for a treat. They have tiny roll pins in them. You need somethng the size of a freakin toothpick to get them out. Anyway, i bought a small kit that had roll pins, carter keys, etc. and we moved the passenger peg from the rear to the front. You can also see the rear hub was scratched. Again, alot of this damage would not have occured if I could have kept it on the pavement. The soft dirt allowed the sliders to dig into the ground scraping parts that normally would have been ok.

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The bar end was fine as was the front wheel asembly. My Zumo even stayed strong on its mount. The worst was the lower fairing and ignition cover. The pannier mounting ears also broke off.

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I received a dirty elbow. Nothing more. I was so pissed at myself I couldnt see straight for a few hours. Totally stupid mistake. Anyway, heres a pic of me in the parking lot of the auto parts store. Oh, and the tool kit that comes with the Sprint is very, very useful.

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So after that bit of misfortune off we go to Helen. I like Helen. Its a little touristy like Gatlinburg, TN. but I still like it. They have excellent beer there!