flight report

Go! See! Do!

Hawk Flight South, May '00

Too many miles to go into great detail; I'd be sitting here for hours. But the Hawk Flight South was one helluva ride. I left CT on the i-road and met my buddy Jay in PA on Saturday the 13th. The next day started with more superslab to Harrisonburg, VA then we hit the backroads in the afternoon. We started out with mild sweepers until we began to climb up the mountains. There we got our first taste of what the week had in store for us. The smoothly paved, banked corners were mostly of the 2nd and 3rd gear variety. The Hawks were in their element. We went west into WV then back east into VA for the night at Staunton. Two Hawks in a hotel room makes a pretty cool picture.

The next morning we started out with the BRP to relax for a minute, then transitioned back to the roads with numbers. Once again, we found ourselves dancing left and right in tight corners, up and down mountain after mountain, on roads apparently omitted from all maps but ours. We had the playground to ourselves. We arrived in Welch, WV and decided that we would spend the night there. Strange town with a long and narrow shape. we rode all the way thrui t the far end to find a place to stay, Spratts Motel run by the Sweetest Woman on Earth. then rode all the way back to the other end of town to find a place to eat. It seemed like we passed by everyone in the town along this one road. Apparently they don't get too many motorcycle riders thru Welch, as all the nice people we met seemed to know us: "Y'all must be The Bikers." Jay joked that if we returned in a year, we'd find a statue standing proud in the town square. Two guys and two Hawks, captioned "The Bikers."

The roads in NC aren't paved as well as those in VA, but otherwise it was more of the same the next day: mile upon mile of Hawklove. That got us to a cabin at the Blue Ridge MC Campground on Tuesday night. Wednesday we were destined for TWO. This day turned out to be our only bad day of riding. It started out fine, with a nice morning ride on 215, but a right on route 64 was the end of happiness. Until now, we had been spoiled by the lack of traffic. But this road cured that right quick. We elected to head directly for TWO instead fighting traffic to play with a rain-slicked Dragon. The roads to TWO have a lot of potential for Hawklove on a dry day. But we kept ourselves in check in deference to the wet asphalt. Pete Tamblyn salvaged the day for us by throwing out the welcome mat and showing two road weary riders a little southern hospitality.

On Thursday, the three of us revisited the drying roads around TWO and headed back into NC to ride what Jay and I skipped the previous day. The weather reverted to what it had been for the majority of the trip: mostly sunny with temps near seventy. Perfect. Again, we had the roads all to ourselves. We were able to enjoy the wonderful scenery from the Cherohala Parkway and the glorious curves before and after. Pete gave us The Wave and headed back home to GA while Jay and I headed into TN. And yes, The Dragon is all that (11 miles never seemed so long), but it was not the best road we rode on this trip. Later, Jay and I slapped hands and he headed north, back to PA. That was the end of Hawklove. Friday brought a long day on the i-road. That's when I wished I had my stock, apehanger clipons. It's funny how you feel no pain in the mountains but discover all sorts of aches while languishing on the interstate. I arrived that afternoon in hot-n-humid New Orleans. Welcome home! The Grand Total was 2,620 miles in six days. So now my beloved Hawk rests, winterized in the Spring. Sleep well my pretty, for we shall dance again.