Ramble on … June 2019
Ramble On. …
By JP Brady
WARNING: This could be dangerous.
That’s what the sign should have read. But it didn’t. In fact, the Alabama County Rd 548 sign was almost invisible. We missed it the first time by.
Leaving Marietta, GA and riding back roads on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, taking GA Hwy 78 over the GA/AL line, we quickly spotted our next turn, County Rd 66. Fine. So far. But where was County Rd 548? It was supposed to be our next right. Right.
Making our way into Heflin, AL, I realized we had missed our turn. Now please keep in mind, I DON’T use GPS. I don’t even have GPS. Nor do I want it. I like an adventure! So, I use JPS! Recalculating! U-turn. All eyes looking for AL County Rd 548.
We spot it! A small sign nailed to a pole off the side of the road, actually on 548. No warning. No heads up. Gravel. Not what I was expecting while riding my Road King. More suited for my old Buell Ulysses. Oh well, it won’t last forever. And we’ve done it before. Even on my old hardtail. Of course, we were younger back then. This time, it did seem to last forever. A challenge. But both a beautiful and fun road.
This Sunday afternoon adventure ride thru gravel lasted about 25 miles. An hour and a half, or so. And it wore my butt out! At least my wife Dana enjoyed it. We never saw another car. Or hiker. Or surprisingly, not even an animal. No squirrels. Thankfully no bears. We rode up to the Piedmont, AL area and caught 278 eastbound, homeward. Great ride but be forewarned!
Mother’s Day. My ride to Illinois to see Mom, and to test ride my new Metzler CruiseTec tires in the rain, was, well … didn’t happen. I knew it was gonna rain and rain a lot in North GA and all thru TN. Especially, around Nashville. I was prepared, so I thought. I was almost looking forward to it, especially to check out the new tires. Which, by the way, up until this time had performed flawlessly! And still, do.
I had the bike packed, rain suit out and ready. Full face helmet, even Rain-X on my windscreen. But taking one last look at the weather channel before I left, the thunderstorms and hail looked worse than I had expected. Why risk it unnecessarily? I took my car. Actually, a wise decision. I made it in one piece and had a nice visit with Mom.
Back in Atlanta, I traveled to the Harley-Davidson of Atlanta 10th Annual Hot Rods & Harleys event! WOW! What a great show! I captured some of the fun in photos to share with you. Great cars! Nice bikes! Good food! And how about the live music by Spanky’s Monkey. Those guys can rock! And roll. The beer garden always seemed to be the place to be. How can that be?
Cutting my time short at this great party, I quickly headed over to Hellbender Harley-Davidson for their Spring Fling Biker Bash. The music was great. The beer was cold. The food was delicious! Some people didn’t even notice the crawfish boil going on down behind the service department. So of course, that meant more for me. Just helping out. Going over and beyond the call of duty. Oh yeah, I did sample some of the sausage, corn, and pineapple too. Whatta feast! I should mention the bikini bike wash. Everyone gathered ‘round, eyes staring at the girls, just to make sure they didn’t miss anything. Yep, the guys didn’t want to miss a thing! And the girls did a great job washing, too! Thanks. We appreciate you. Good show!
Now, what’s up for June? Plenty. Just check out our events calendar. I see the Atlanta Ride for Kids happened on June 2. I hope you made that one. Then on June 8, be sure to make it to Frazier’s H-D Customer Appreciation Day. June 15, both Southern Devil has their CVMA 3rd annual Ride 4 Life, and the Amvet Riders Post 118 is having their annual run this year to help our Veterans. And one more poker run on June 29 at the Full Throttle Roadhouse, proceeds go to Healing for Heroes.
And that’s just in the Atlanta area! Like I say, check our events column for places to go and people to see in your area.
So, ‘til next month, “keep your knees in the breeze and stay riding free.”