June 27/28, 2008: First a bit of background on my Pa’s riding status…
He’s had a little scooter for the past few years, and when I moved up from my 600 VLX to the 1100 ACE Tourer, I think that just set his mind to thinking. At 72 years of age, he decided to get his first motorcycle! I told him not to rush into it, and to take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Course, watch the Ride Like a Pro DVDs and to read David Hough’s “Proficient Motorcycling” and “More Proficient Motorcycling”. Also, when he decided on a bike, I said to look for an online forum that pertains to his bike. I belong to 3 motorcycle forums, and they’ve not only been a wealth of info, but full of supportive folks. I’ve met over 50 forum members in person, and many have become great friends. Well, Dad passed his MSF course, ordered the RLAP DVD, and also ordered a brand spanking fresh-from-the-crate AERO 750. She’s a beauty!

Dad joined a forum, and their rally was going to be held in Townsend, TN, in June. Dad lives in Wisconsin, but figured he’d take the trip of a lifetime and meet some of his online friends in person. He also figured it’s less than 400 miles from there to our home here in Danville, so he’d go to the rally and then ride to Danville for a visit so he could ride with John and me for the first time.

If you don’t have time to read the whole story below, then just check out the video of our whirlwind weekend with my Dad! Riding the BRP and seeing the sights around Roanoke…

We headed up to Roanoke on Friday to Mill Mountain and the Roanoke Star (where there was BIG lightning and a storm a-brewin’, so we didn’t stay long).

We tried to beat the heavy rain to Dixie Caverns, and we were pretty lucky, ‘cuz it didn’t start to pour until a couple minutes after we arrived. A good time to go underground for the cave tour!

Here’s my hubby, John and me in the cave under the “Wedding Bell” formation.

After our tour of the cave, we headed to Shoney’s for lunch and then a swim in the Quality Inn hotel pool (just what I needed). We hooked up with VTXRob and his lovely gal for a wonderful Mexican dinner and visit at El Rodeo (there was enough food on my plate to feed a family of 5).
On Saturday, we found the squiggly-est road out of Roanoke I’ve ever been on to head toward the Parkway. OMG!!! The road was 25 MPH, and some of the non-stop curves were posted 15 MPH, and even then I felt like I was pushing it! LOLOL WHAT A BLAST! We finally found our way back to the Parkway and were off to enjoy the ride, take pics at overlooks and head towards Tuggles Gap for lunch, then on to Mabry’s Mill (absolutely picturesque and historical).

John snoozes while Dad and I wander around the grounds…

It was a totally relaxing ride on the Parkway until a turkey hopped out into the left lane towards me at the same time a deer appeared on my right…I pumped on the brakes, the turkey hopped into the ditch…Dad never even saw the turkey when he STOPPED RIGHT NEXT TO IT! Then came the FUN part…

Coming out of the mountains on the downhill twistys, we had a storm DUMP onto us, with no place to pull over and a Hummer on my butt (just shush, I know what comments you’re pondering over that choice of words). Dad did fantastic riding on the twistys in the storm, especially considering he’s only ridden in one light rain before. Once we hit the flatlands, we pulled over for a break from the insanity, but of course we had gotten past the storm by then!

Dad had a great time meeting our riding group here in Danville, and of course, it was wonderful to be able to ride with my Pa for the first (and hopefully not last) time.

He packed up and began his long trek home to Menasha, WI, on Tuesday morning, and I heard from him around suppertime yesterday (Thursday) that he’d made it home safely. Pa put on around 3500 miles on this trip, and he’s surely been a trouper, considering he’s riding with a dislocated toe and a torn tendon in the bottom of his foot (from a little incident at his rally) - I’m so glad he’s got floorboards!

I got to take his AERO 750 for a ride last Monday, and it was nice bike to ride, but felt sooo very different than my T. That’s the first time I rode a bike with floorboards, and since I’ve been wanting some for my Tourer, Dad said he’d buy the right one for me if I could afford the left one! LOL! It’ll sure make it easier to use my heel/toe shifter if I’ve got boards.

Till next time, folks, please don’t ride faster than your angels can fly…
EclecticDawn

Here we are at the Smokeout on June 21, 2008!

Whew - what a blast! I never saw so many homebuilt bobbers and choppers in one place! I was prepared for a wild weekend, and surprisingly, it was actually pretty mellow. The wildest part of the trip was riding the crosstown expressway in Winston-Salem and trying to get off on the exit I needed when some guy was oblivious to me and was crawling up my bike’s butt. Wait, the wildest thing we SAW was a topless chick doing burnouts on a huge chopper in the Days Inn parking lot Saturday night!!

The locals were so afraid that there was going to be a problem with so many bikers that there were cops at just about every intersection on the way out to the dragstrip, and lots of cops on the grounds. You would have thought they were expecting WWIII to break out at the event, but the cops said that they have more issues in the WalMart parking lot on Saturday nights than they had at the Smokeout!

The ingenuity of the builders, and the tenacity of some of these riders is amazing. Some of them rode these bikes all the way from the Smokeout West in CA to attend this event - hardtails, no saddlebags, no fairings, no windshields. My arse hurts just thinking about it.

We really enjoyed talking to the other builders and painters and regular folk who shared their love of building, chopping, and tweaking bikes. What else can I say other than it was a wonderful weekend of hanging around with like-minded folks!
My $6 camera mount that I made for the bike worked out great, too. I hid the PVC piping with my little beanbag Patrick (Spongebob’s buddy), and he was a hit with the bikers - more than once, someone broke out into the Spongebob theme song! Nothing funnier than seeing a big biker sing that tune!

I would go to this event over Daytona in a heartbeat. This was the real deal. The Horse BAckstreet Choppers magazine is to be commended for a well-organized event, especially since this was the first time in a new venue. There was something for everybody - besides the bikes, there were rat rods, roller derby girls, anvil tossing contests, lots of food, live music, the obligatory wet t-shirt contests, informal drag races, and stunt riders…and I know I’m missing half of what they packed into the weekend!

I’ve put together a webpage of our pics (and a friend’s pics) from the event (warning, not all pics are family-friendly; if boobs offend you, then do not go to the page). All the little stories and cool bike pics and party pics and rat rods are there, so check it out!
Smokeout East, Farmington Raceway in Mocksville, NC, June 20 - 22, 2008

And here’s a video if you don’t have time to click through all those pics…

Till next time…never ride faster than your angels can fly!
Eclectic Dawn

Click to view the flyer for the The Rolling Hug.

The Rolling Hug started in California by Pete Friedkin in his wife’s memory. The hug was sent to me for reasons you’ll read in the flyer, and I am now passing it on to other bikers in Debbie’s name to share her legacy of love. I hope that eventually the hug will return to Pete after being passed through hundreds of fellow bikers. And hopefully some donations will be made to fight brain cancer.

The “HUGGER’S HALL”
(when, who, home town, where hugged)
If you’ve been hugged, send us your info and hug pic to be included in the “Hugger’s Hall”! And don’t forget to print a flyer to pass it on!

10/2007 Pete Friedkin (Laguna Niguel), original hugger in San Diego

10/2007 Glen “Ben Dare” (Las Vegas), hugged in San Diego, rode from Vegas, NV, to Pecos, TX, to deliver the hug!
10/2007 Chris “Gonzo” (Plano, TX), hugged in Pecos, TX, 940 mi. round trip!

5/24/2008 Dawn “EclecticDawn” (Danville, VA), hugged in my driveway by Gonzo - he rode up from Atlanta to deliver the hug!)

5/26/2008 Gonzo hugs Lisa & Tom B. (”Cleo” & “CleoBen” from Montgomery, AL) and Jim Mann at a Cracker Barrel in Tuscaloosa, AL

5/28/2008 Joanne “Sadie” R. (Orange City, FL), hugs Dawn in Danville, VA

5/29/08 Denise P (Kernersville, NC), hugs Dawn in Danville, VA
(no photo)
6/3/08 Joanne “Sadie” R. (Orange City, FL) does a group hug in Middlebury, VT, on the way to Americade. Right to left: Billy, Paul, Greg, Tracy, Kim, Michelle; in front: Joanne, her sis-in-law Kathy, and Jo’s brother Dave. The “hugged” are from Chicopee, Springfield, MA.

6/20/08 Dawn hugs Glen “Ben Dare” (Las Vegas, NV) in Danville, VA, to send the hug back to Pete in CA!!

6/22/08 Dawn hugs Frank after she tells him the story of the Rolling Hug in Winston-Salem, NC. Turns out Frank rode in the Ride for Kids last year!

6/27/08 Though I hugged Dad multiple times on his trip to Danville, VA, from WI, I claim Roanoke as our official hug location.

6/27/08Dawn hugs VTXRob in Roanoke when we meet him for dinner at El Rodeo restaurant.

Will you be next?