Down Day

DAY 8, SUNDAY, JUNE 09, 2013

My alarm sounded at 6:30 AM.  Last night was another late night and I didn’t want to get up, but I did.  Chuck was my roommate last night and he slept.  I almost finished getting dressed when Chuck woke up.  I packed my bags and went out to take the cover off of my Motor.  Chuck and I packed a couple of our bags and then walked to breakfast.  J.B., C.E., ABC, DEFG, HIJ, Bruce and Ken were already having breakfast.  Jan and Greg finally came in.  The breakfast area was bigger that we have seen thus far.  The food was very good and there was an attendant, Mary, keeping everything stocked and serving us.  She was a very nice lady, and kept our cups full with coffee.  As we were eating, a lady came in and asked us if we were the Motorcycle riders from Phoenix.  We told her that we are and she told us that she is from Phoenix also, I-17 and Cave Creek area.  She was here for a wedding.  We talked for a bit and then she left, wishing us a safe ride.  The people we meet on the rides have been very nice.  We finished breakfast and returned to our rooms to finish packing to get ready for the day.  While Jan was packed and waiting, he checked the air in his tires.  I asked to borrow the air gauge to check the air in my front tire.  While checking my rear tire, I noticed that there was considerable damage, probably caused by the pot hole two days prior and the constant riding.  That’s it!  I was down for the day.  I told the others about the rear tire and they agreed.  Chuck and I were looking for a Motorcycle tire shop in the area.  Since it is Sunday, EVERYTHING is CLOSED!  We all returned to the front desk and extended our stay for another night. 

After seeing the extent of damage on the tire and thinking about yesterday’s ride, I knew that I was very lucky that the tire didn’t “blow” as we were going on a curve and end up going over the edge.  I KNOW that someone is watching over me…US!  I was in my room and the others decided to go out on a ride to check out the area.  I stayed at the hotel, as did C.E.

The guys returned at approximately 4:30 PM.  They had unknowingly gone on a very popular Motorcycle ride called, “The Snake.”  It is US 421, which is 33 miles long with 489 curves, 3 mountains and 1 valley.  They said that it was as good as the Tail of the Dragon; however, the road was rougher and there were cross streets and driveways.  They all enjoyed it.  They also got caught in the rain.  Meantime, back at the hotel, I just relaxed and caught up on some much needed sleep!  When they returned, Ken was M.I.A. (missing in action).  Ken had stopped at a store and bought some pretzels and beer.  That was very nice of Ken.  After a while, J.B. did some laundry.  Soon after, Greg did his laundry.  Jan, Chuck and Bruce went into the Fitness Center for about an hour.  C.E. caught up on his reading.  I caught up on the blog and pictures.  All this time it was raining.

The rest of the evening was spent visiting each other.  Towards the end of the evening, Chuck, J.B., Bruce, Jan and I went into the lobby and sat on the sofas talking, telling stories and drinking coffee.  We never had dinner because when we thought about checking with the front desk for a delivery service for dinner, they were all closed.  No big deal, we will just wait for breakfast.

Tomorrow, I am going to call a couple of Motorcycle tire stores to see if they can install a set of tires on my Motorcycle.  Thanks to the pot hole, both tires are damages.  We are also going to check Chuck’s Motor to see if the tires have any damage.  After I find some tires, AAA will be called and my Motor will be towed to the repair shop.  After that, back to the Blue Ridge Parkway!  So, until tomorrow…