I just had to share my latest experience with some more of Greensboro's
squidly boys.
As some of you might recall, I was rear-ended by a shithead on his Ducati
748 last year and sent off a ledge on my GTS. Well, those wounds have longs
since healed and when new riders show up for our Sunday morning rides I
always let the group head out, wait 5-10 minutes and then ride up at my own
"Pace" and usually meet them at the top of NC 66.
This has worked like a charm, and I now have a couple other riders (with
known skills) who have chosen to follow me and stay away from an all too
predictable situation. Yesterday....was predictable. I noticed a new Yamaha
R6 sitting in the parking lot. The rider was wearing a windbreaker and
fingerless gloves. He was a ex-marine Greensboro cop (Not that there's
anything wrong with that) who had been invited by his fellow officer to
experience the wonderful mountain twisties....66, 614 etc.
By the time I had reached the top of 66, the group was standing around
examining the damage...to the R6. It wasn't too messed up as he simply
decided that he couldn't make a turn, uprighted, ran off the road and
lowsided in a small field. Mostly dirt with some cracked plastic. He was
really intent on finding a water hose to rinse off the dirt because he
didn't like the way people were staring at him and his bike! We all offered
to drop our pants and give it a high pressure wash, but were kindly refused.
As the group left for the next destination (Poor Farmers Market, Rt. 58
and BRP) I again waited 10 minutes. When I got there, the group was absent.
After a few minutes they slowly pulled into the parking lot with NEW damage
to the R6! AGAIN, he overcooked a turn went headlong into an embankment. The
bike was barely noticeable, yet rideable. Insurance? Liability only and he
was worried about what his wife would say!
Personally, my own ride was fantastic! Beware though as the TLLP (Two
Legged Leaf Peepers) are starting to show up in large numbers around the
Blue Ridge Parkway.
Kevin Hawkins // Greensboro, NC
AMA #609423 // [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.geocities.com/~raddboy
Y2K Kawasaki ZRX1100 // '93 Yamaha GTS1000
