Entries Tagged 'Must Do Adventures' ↓

Thermometer pegging 70 and clear blue skies – a perfect south Florida day to ride. Pearl and I headed out this morning toward the beach. No sign of the alien vehicle from last week. That one’s going to be chalked up to “resides in the hard drive to talk about when I’m 100″ so I can confuse the heck out of people. Some things are better left a mystery anyway…

A1A headed north was closed at Sunrise and the police were re-directing traffic back to US1. I headed north on US1 and took the next major road north back to the coast and headed South to see what was going on.

On the drive back south, Pearl and I stopped for a bit to soak up some sun and surf just north of Ft. Lauderdale.

We had some wind gusts last weekend that also produced 5-7 foot swells. It looks like all that weather pushed a lot of sand into the road. Can you imagine what it looks like after a hurricane?  The crews were working hard to get things back to normal.

I’ve lived in the Ft. Lauderdale area for 3 ½ years now and have never explored some of the neighborhoods along the ubiquitous canals that give the area its personality. Like a deformed giant with hundreds of fingers on each hand – canals everywhere you look. And not just any old canal either – these canals harbor some really big boats.

While most of us have a back yard with grass, a patio or deck; maybe a pool – how about this instead?

Ok, so I admit I’m partial to sailboats.

It was fun to ride in these neighborhoods and imagine what it’s like to be rich. But then again, I have Pearl and my freedom – all the riches I need.

AAA card or the phone number of your knight in shining armor? Why not both? Or in our case AAA cards and two knights…

300 miles from home on a 2300 mile round trip and my daughter’s little Buell signals it’s death with two loud backfires and puff of smoke. It’s back home but in the hospital today – I think it’s an electrical problem – we’ll know more tomorrow.

Our entire trip makes several stories, but the ending is best.  AAA is great, but the husband and brother and fellow motorcyclists are far better.  Stay tuned – more to come (and pics).

Riding the Dragon for the first time is very much like losing your virginity. Full of anxiety and anticipation of the thrill – only find that it’s everything you ever thought it would be.

My first dragon slaying was solo – on my first bike, a 883 Sportster. I woke up one morning and decided that I was going to become a biker that day, so I played hooky from work and took off for the Dragon. Ok, so I was only about 100 miles away, but it was still quite an adventure for a new rider all by herself.

After doing some online research, I planned my route and decided to ride up the dragon from the Tennessee side. I figured that I was much better at curves going up than down, so this strategy gave me a tiny bit of confidence. I don’t think I got above 30 mph the entire way – but I did it! What a rush. About midway, an approaching car blinked their headlights at me. OK, what’s coming up? A cop? An accident? I was so not prepared for what I encountered. After slowing to a crawl, I was primed to stop when the semi, jackknifed in the tight turn, came into view. Why would any semi driver in their right mind attempt a narrow twisty mountain road with bikers buzzing all around? Really glad I wasn’t one of those sport bikes with a need for speed at that moment.

After safely passing on the gravel shoulder (gravel still gives me gooseflesh), I was on my way to the top. I stopped at Deal’s Gap Motorcycle Resort in NC and purchased my proof of dragon-slaying – a pink dragon sticker for my helmet.

That first run was like the first ride on a new roller coaster – when can I do it again? I opted to take the Cherohala Skyway home and was rewarded with grand mountain vistas and gentle swaying curves.

Since that first ride on the Dragon, I’ve been back twice on my current bike – a 2000 HD Heritage Softail. The second ride was with a group of friends and was a lot more fun. I had more riding experience and handled the new bike much better. The most recent experience was with my hubby on a 2700 mile vacation trip we took in 2007. It was his first Dragon-slaying.

Like my favorite roller coaster – I’ll keep coming back.

What’s you’re favorite challenging ride so far?