November 11th 240 miles

Today I rode with a group of 3 other people it was myself, Billy, Randy, and Stacey.  This is the first time I've ridden with anyone other than Billy so I wasn't sure what to expect.  Randy and Stacey ride quite a bit and travel with there bikes to TN, NC.  They have put around 10,000 miles on their bikes in a years time which puts the few miles I've logged, around 1,000 miles thus far to shame.  It's also pretty impressive because they haul their bikes on some weekends to locations and then ride from there for a day or two so the mileage is not from interstate riding but actual twisty road riding.

We all met at Riders Hill to start the day off.  After some quick introductions Randy was happy to lead the pack for the day since Billy and I are not in the habit of discussing/planning a route before we ride.  I'm writing this two months after the ride so I can't recall all of the route.  Additionally, I was just following and not giving too much thought about where we were riding but I think this is most of the ROUTE.

August 3rd, 265 miles

Another ride with Billy, since I had Friday off and the weather was nice.  Breakfast at Foothill Grille same as last time then up North.  The route more or less.  I had ridden US-129 AKA"Blood Mountain" the first time venturing up through North GA with Billy a few months back.  The most recent ride we didn't hit that road but came back from Copperhill/McCaysville on GA-60 which was fun but a little restricted due to a jeep we got behind for a large portion of it.  This time I wanted to link them both together.

One of my objectives for the day was to go by Mercier Orchards to pick up some applebutter.  We passed by Mercier Orchards on our last ride but didn't stop.  My wife and I honeymooned up in North GA 6 years ago August 5, so I thought that would be a good momento pick up while riding.  We also got some peaches which rippened up nice a day or two later at home.

You can't go up to North GA without a stop at Riders Hill.

To end the ride we met up with Billy's wife for dinner at one of their local places.  The Bourbon Street Grille  where I had a bowl of Gumbo, Billy had the special of the day Tuna steak over salad, and Missy had dirty Shrimp or dirty rice (I don't remember).

I also wanted to try out a seat pad on this ride with the stock seat.  Tons of people complain about the stock SV seat and I would agree.  It is not bad for about 30 minutes to an hour but much past that and it starts to really be a pain in the butt, literally.  I'm evaluating the following options: stock seat, sheep skin, wood beads (think old school taxi driver) , and a Sargent.  Last time I rode with Billy my butt was hurting by the time I got to our initially rendezous point.  With breaks about ever hour it was/is doable but I'm looking for some more comfort.  I had gotten a sheep skin from IKEA which some people had used with good success.  The results were pretty good but could use some more tweaking.  I didn't secure it at all,  just flung it on the seat and sat down.   This resulted in some movement and fidgeting around while riding.  At the end of the ride my butt felt better than the last ride but I still want to try out some other solutions in hopes of fun 300 mile days and very little discomfort.     

June 22 290 miles

I did a little riding and logged almost 300 miles by the time I got home.  This is more or less the route minus a few spur roads and some minor back tracking.  Met my friend Billy for breakfast at Foothill Grille then we made our way up to Copperhill TN.  Stopped at Horseshoe Bend Park in McCaysville to stretch and chat a bit.  Then we made our way back to Riders' Hill in Dahlonega.   
  Billy was kind enough to give me a rearstand that he was no longer using. This presented a small challenge on how to get it home.  The pictures show the story.  A little trial and error and a hand full of zip ties and it was secure enough to make the 65 mile ride home.  Now chain maintenance should be a bit easier.

Blood Mountain

Maiden voyage

Lookin' good

Work continues