Friday, May 23, 2008
Wednesday - I stayed in Newnan a couple days, which was fine because Tuesday it poured down rain. So when in Georgia where do you go? To the Gulf of Mexico of course. I decided I'd head toward Mobile Alabama.
Ever heard of the Tuskegee Airmen. I had so I decided to stop there and take a look around. The only thing better than a good war movie is a Clint Eastwood western.
This is where the military trained the first black pilots. They thought that they would prove that the black pilots couldn't physically and mentally have what it takes to be good pilots. They of course were proved wrong.
This is a painting of Daniel, James who was the first 4 star black general.
After leaving there I decided that I would get my bike through the edge of Florida while I was near it. Here is a shot coming back into Alabama. There wasn't much to look at down here wile riding and the sun was blazing!! It hit 95 my temp gauge said.
Ever not have enough time for Ice Cream? Me either, so I stopped at this place.
Mmmm
I'm convinced after visiting that place that ice cream is to old people like a light at night is to bugs. They were everywhere. I couldn't find a place to even sit outside because the blue hairs had the place locked down.
Some of the gas stations were selling "Alligator Ice". I'm guessing it's just a green slushy.
Off the highway I was looking for a place to crash and following the GPS's instructions as to where it shows a camping spot. The roads around here all look like this. Pines, but I did get to see some palms in some areas.
I was about 45 minutes outside of Mobile and this stupid GPS lead me to what looked like a swamp with some huts build along the side of it. There sure as hell was no camping there. I ended up having to offroad down this road and do a U-turn after passing a NO TRESPASSING sign and coming under the glare of some very unpleasant looking swamp rat guy.
I decided to head closer to Mobile in hopes that the KOA campsite my GPS was showing would pan out.
Big long bridge heading into Mobile County crossing some rivers flowing into the Bay and then Gulf.
The GPS pulled it off on the third try. I pulled into the KOA campground and noticed though that there were no other tents and then I saw this sign. Is that the reason there are no people in tents.
Well, the attendant was already gone so I setup camp and crossed my fingers that I wouldn't become gator food.
I was going to get a drink of water, but I had to get in line.
The whole time I kept looking over my shoulder for ninja gators.
Right when I pulled in and started setting up camp I met a couple guys and starting chatting with them. Turned out they were state cops and were part of the drug task force. There "job" from April to September is to travel around to different counties camping and staying in hotels and go out and destroy Marijuana fields that are spotted for them by a police helicopter. They had a trailer with a couple big 4x4 atv's on it. They spend most of the day riding the atv's destroying fields and arresting people if it's on their land. They were really cool and we exchanged some riding stories because they used to ride often. They gave me a shirt and hat that say "Alabama Marijuana Eradication" haha. They also gave me a couple bottles of water because I was running low and tossed me an apple. One thing that I thought was interesting was that I told them that I went to Tuskegee and they said that there used to be a Walmart there and that it was the only one that ever closed and it closed because the employee theft was so incredible that they couldn't keep it open. I don't know if it's the only one that ever closed or just the only one closed because of theft, but either way that's a LOT of stealing to shut a Walmart down.
The noises were insane that night. Bullfrogs, tree frogs, unfamiliar birds, things I don't know what they were, and some stupid little lap dog kept barking probably scared to death that his owners put him outside there. I sorta wished that an alligator would eat him after awhile.
Ever heard of the Tuskegee Airmen. I had so I decided to stop there and take a look around. The only thing better than a good war movie is a Clint Eastwood western.
This is where the military trained the first black pilots. They thought that they would prove that the black pilots couldn't physically and mentally have what it takes to be good pilots. They of course were proved wrong.
This is a painting of Daniel, James who was the first 4 star black general.
After leaving there I decided that I would get my bike through the edge of Florida while I was near it. Here is a shot coming back into Alabama. There wasn't much to look at down here wile riding and the sun was blazing!! It hit 95 my temp gauge said.
Ever not have enough time for Ice Cream? Me either, so I stopped at this place.
Mmmm
I'm convinced after visiting that place that ice cream is to old people like a light at night is to bugs. They were everywhere. I couldn't find a place to even sit outside because the blue hairs had the place locked down.
Some of the gas stations were selling "Alligator Ice". I'm guessing it's just a green slushy.
Off the highway I was looking for a place to crash and following the GPS's instructions as to where it shows a camping spot. The roads around here all look like this. Pines, but I did get to see some palms in some areas.
I was about 45 minutes outside of Mobile and this stupid GPS lead me to what looked like a swamp with some huts build along the side of it. There sure as hell was no camping there. I ended up having to offroad down this road and do a U-turn after passing a NO TRESPASSING sign and coming under the glare of some very unpleasant looking swamp rat guy.
I decided to head closer to Mobile in hopes that the KOA campsite my GPS was showing would pan out.
Big long bridge heading into Mobile County crossing some rivers flowing into the Bay and then Gulf.
The GPS pulled it off on the third try. I pulled into the KOA campground and noticed though that there were no other tents and then I saw this sign. Is that the reason there are no people in tents.
Well, the attendant was already gone so I setup camp and crossed my fingers that I wouldn't become gator food.
I was going to get a drink of water, but I had to get in line.
The whole time I kept looking over my shoulder for ninja gators.
Right when I pulled in and started setting up camp I met a couple guys and starting chatting with them. Turned out they were state cops and were part of the drug task force. There "job" from April to September is to travel around to different counties camping and staying in hotels and go out and destroy Marijuana fields that are spotted for them by a police helicopter. They had a trailer with a couple big 4x4 atv's on it. They spend most of the day riding the atv's destroying fields and arresting people if it's on their land. They were really cool and we exchanged some riding stories because they used to ride often. They gave me a shirt and hat that say "Alabama Marijuana Eradication" haha. They also gave me a couple bottles of water because I was running low and tossed me an apple. One thing that I thought was interesting was that I told them that I went to Tuskegee and they said that there used to be a Walmart there and that it was the only one that ever closed and it closed because the employee theft was so incredible that they couldn't keep it open. I don't know if it's the only one that ever closed or just the only one closed because of theft, but either way that's a LOT of stealing to shut a Walmart down.
The noises were insane that night. Bullfrogs, tree frogs, unfamiliar birds, things I don't know what they were, and some stupid little lap dog kept barking probably scared to death that his owners put him outside there. I sorta wished that an alligator would eat him after awhile.
Monday
Monday - Adrian and I woke up at about 7am and tried to stay asleep and in the tent as long as possible because we could see our breath. It was damn cold. It had to be in the 40's I'd guess. We couldn't stay asleep so we got up and layered up in some clothes and hung around the deck and a pavillion where the sun was hitting.
Oh yeah, when I was talking about Adrian becoming obsessed, just ask him about his sticker. This little route 129 dragon sticker that he bought had a bubble in it when he put it on his windshield.... This was the day the earth stood still for Adrian... This Evil bubble would not let Adrian rest until it was vanquished. I probably cannot count on both hands how many times Adrian went on about this bubble. Adrian was entertaining me with this actually and I wondered if it would ever end. Adrian's plight finally ended when he went to purchase another sticker and they guy let him have another for free after hearing the horror story of the bubble. I've thought that maybe his nickname should change from "Asshat" to "Bubbleboy" or maybe "Sticker."
Moved the tent to the sun to dry off the dew.
Here's a pic of a couple of the cabins that you can rent.
We got everything loaded up and said goodbyes to Jody and Sherry who were sitting on their deck talking some business with someone. As we rounded a corner about a mile away we passed by their Punkin Center store and I honked at Burt who I saw setting up his displays at his spot on the side of the building. Couldn't have asked for a better time camping. http://www.punkincentermotorcycleresort.com/
We planned on riding the Cherahola Skyway which took us through the dragon again. The dragon just gets to be more fun every time you go through it. Even fully loaded we were pretty aggressive on the turns and reeling people in and then waiting for them to let us pass.
We had a little ways before we reached the Cherahola Skyway so we filled our gas tanks and then ate lunch at a Wendy's. Besides bikes ALL OVER there were also still some badass cars out here to drive these routes and we were behind a brand new vette with a license plate that said "180 PLUS" on our way to Cherahola. The little road up to the Skyway led us to a police checkpoint where they checked our ID's for some reason. No problem there and we were still behind the vette driving through some twisties and we were pacing right behind him, but suddenly the road switched to gravel where they were doing some construction. I thought the vette was going to come to a complete stop and the guy in the Vette was going to come to a complete stop he freaked out so much about his new car being on gravel. We made it through that and continued to stay on the Vettes ass until he pulled to the side and waved us around throwing up the peace sign. I'd like to think of it as he yielded to us because he couldn't out do us in the turns.
We finally made it onto the actual Cherahola Skyway and the road became smooth and more open as we headed upward in elevation. This thing tops out at over 5,000 feet. For a comparison I'd say that you could look at the Dragon's tail as an autocross course and the Cherahola Skyway as a large road course such as Gingerman or Buttonwillow, etc. This ride was nothing short of the most fun I've had on my motorcycle ever. We're talking 70 - 100+ mph sweepers in the mountains with a spectacular view.
We saw an ambulance and a cop car go flying by when we were at an overlook stopped and thought unfortunately there was probably an accident up ahead. We rounded a corner later and came upon a car stopped with a guy telling us that the road was closed and we had to turn back. This was just a regular joe helping out so we pulled off on the side and decided to wait and see if we could get through because we were already 45 minutes into the skyway and turning back really wasn't an option. Another guy pulled up with us on a Hayabusa and parked to see if we could get through.
We talked to this guy a little bit and he was up from Florida to ride here. Turns out we were right around the corner from the accident and didn't know it. We heard that it was a group of about 8-10 guys on full dresser cruisers and one took a tumble for some reason. He wasn't moving someone said. Including this, it was the third accident in the last two days. Two were on the dragon and they were involving two cars and the other was a van and a bike where the rider had to be airlifted to a hospital. I'm thinking that they were either planning on airlifting this guy out or he was already gone because the ambulance wasn't taking off with him. We were finally let through and I could see that his bike was slammed flat somewhat in front and the windshield/top was knocked down. Hope he was alright.
We finished the Cherahola Skyway and rode through some more scenic routes down by a river and then pulled off at a gas station. This is where Adrian and I said goodbye and we parted ways down the road about 10 miles. He was going to see a friend in Kentucky and then head back home. I headed off to Newnan, GA to visit family.
Oh yeah, when I was talking about Adrian becoming obsessed, just ask him about his sticker. This little route 129 dragon sticker that he bought had a bubble in it when he put it on his windshield.... This was the day the earth stood still for Adrian... This Evil bubble would not let Adrian rest until it was vanquished. I probably cannot count on both hands how many times Adrian went on about this bubble. Adrian was entertaining me with this actually and I wondered if it would ever end. Adrian's plight finally ended when he went to purchase another sticker and they guy let him have another for free after hearing the horror story of the bubble. I've thought that maybe his nickname should change from "Asshat" to "Bubbleboy" or maybe "Sticker."
Moved the tent to the sun to dry off the dew.
Here's a pic of a couple of the cabins that you can rent.
We got everything loaded up and said goodbyes to Jody and Sherry who were sitting on their deck talking some business with someone. As we rounded a corner about a mile away we passed by their Punkin Center store and I honked at Burt who I saw setting up his displays at his spot on the side of the building. Couldn't have asked for a better time camping. http://www.punkincentermotorcycleresort.com/
We planned on riding the Cherahola Skyway which took us through the dragon again. The dragon just gets to be more fun every time you go through it. Even fully loaded we were pretty aggressive on the turns and reeling people in and then waiting for them to let us pass.
We had a little ways before we reached the Cherahola Skyway so we filled our gas tanks and then ate lunch at a Wendy's. Besides bikes ALL OVER there were also still some badass cars out here to drive these routes and we were behind a brand new vette with a license plate that said "180 PLUS" on our way to Cherahola. The little road up to the Skyway led us to a police checkpoint where they checked our ID's for some reason. No problem there and we were still behind the vette driving through some twisties and we were pacing right behind him, but suddenly the road switched to gravel where they were doing some construction. I thought the vette was going to come to a complete stop and the guy in the Vette was going to come to a complete stop he freaked out so much about his new car being on gravel. We made it through that and continued to stay on the Vettes ass until he pulled to the side and waved us around throwing up the peace sign. I'd like to think of it as he yielded to us because he couldn't out do us in the turns.
We finally made it onto the actual Cherahola Skyway and the road became smooth and more open as we headed upward in elevation. This thing tops out at over 5,000 feet. For a comparison I'd say that you could look at the Dragon's tail as an autocross course and the Cherahola Skyway as a large road course such as Gingerman or Buttonwillow, etc. This ride was nothing short of the most fun I've had on my motorcycle ever. We're talking 70 - 100+ mph sweepers in the mountains with a spectacular view.
We saw an ambulance and a cop car go flying by when we were at an overlook stopped and thought unfortunately there was probably an accident up ahead. We rounded a corner later and came upon a car stopped with a guy telling us that the road was closed and we had to turn back. This was just a regular joe helping out so we pulled off on the side and decided to wait and see if we could get through because we were already 45 minutes into the skyway and turning back really wasn't an option. Another guy pulled up with us on a Hayabusa and parked to see if we could get through.
We talked to this guy a little bit and he was up from Florida to ride here. Turns out we were right around the corner from the accident and didn't know it. We heard that it was a group of about 8-10 guys on full dresser cruisers and one took a tumble for some reason. He wasn't moving someone said. Including this, it was the third accident in the last two days. Two were on the dragon and they were involving two cars and the other was a van and a bike where the rider had to be airlifted to a hospital. I'm thinking that they were either planning on airlifting this guy out or he was already gone because the ambulance wasn't taking off with him. We were finally let through and I could see that his bike was slammed flat somewhat in front and the windshield/top was knocked down. Hope he was alright.
We finished the Cherahola Skyway and rode through some more scenic routes down by a river and then pulled off at a gas station. This is where Adrian and I said goodbye and we parted ways down the road about 10 miles. He was going to see a friend in Kentucky and then head back home. I headed off to Newnan, GA to visit family.
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