CSBA Deal’s Gap Rally 2005

By Jon Treese

Tuesday, May 10^th – This was the first organized day of riding and the day began at 8:30 with a riders meeting. Art led us today on a spirited ride that he refers to as the “Dragohala Loop” which starts at the Cherohala Skyway and ends running across the Dragon on the infamous US Route 129. About 10 miles into the ride, we hit the rain, at which point we had to slow the pace down. The rain began to let up as we started descending down into Tennessee where we pulled over at an overlook to wait up for those who fell behind. As we were waiting there at the overlook, Cathy Brown pulled in and had no clutch so as she slowed down, her FZR1000 just stalled. Bob Brown, her dad, and Russ, her brother, tried to get it going as best as they could and then Russ switched bikes with Cathy so he could try to keep it going the rest of the ride. We stopped at a little Italian Restaurant in TN to eat a buffet style lunch, which was excellent, by the way. After lunch, we then completed the loop by making our way to the Dragon. As a group, we went from the lunch stop to the overlook on the west end of US129. Instead of trying to go through the dragon as a group, we all left at different times to break it up a little. From the earlier rain, the dragon was wet, so we all took it slower than we normally would have but still led a decent pace. After crossing into North Carolina from Tennessee, we stopped at the Tail of the Dragon Store, which is where they sell Dragon stickers and t-shirts among other things. We all picked up our stickers and then decided to take the long way back to Robbinsville by taking 28 South to 143 West. Scott (VA) led us on a spirited ride and just as we starting making our way up the mountain on 143, Sarah told me over the radio that Pastor Dave’s (OH) RF900 just blew up! As I looked in my mirror, all I saw was a huge cloud of mist. I found out later that he had been having problems with his cooling system and the pressure built up too much and he blew a hose, which sprayed all over Shawn (PA). He decided to drive straight to Wheeler’s Shop on 129 instead of stopping. I followed him to the shop where I found out that Chris (AL) went down on the dragon with his Ninja 250. He was fine with just a small scrape on his knee and only had minor damage to the bike. After making sure he was OK, I went on back to the hotel which ended the day.

Wednesday, May 11^th – Today again started at 8:30 with a rider’s meeting. This was probably the best weather day of the trip and we decided to ride down to the Highlands and Cashiers area of NC via 28 South. That was an awesome road which we road on a very spirited pace behind our ride leader of the day, Scott (VA). The roads were great, no gravel, beautifully paved, and I couldn’t complain about anything. We then stopped at the Dry Falls, which is a unique waterfall that you walk behind the water as it falls. After a few pictures, we went back to the top where Pastor Dave gave us a sermon. After the sermon, we rode on through Highlands in Cashiers were we ate the Cornucopia, a very nice restaurant that had excellent food. After enjoying the food and fellowship, we decided to ride back on Wayah Rd., which is normally a great twisty road. The more experienced riders decided to start this ride and ride a fairly quick pace. Scott, Shawn, Bob, and I left out and rode the first half of the road, about 10 miles, fairly hard. We then started to come across a lot of gravel that was all over the road but more so in the center of each lane. At this point, Bob turned around to go give some riding tips to the less experienced riders and Shawn, Scott, and I kept on going. We then took it really slow so we didn’t go down in the gravel and kept on going to a little park where we pulled off into a parking lot. As we waited, Sarah Taylor pulled in and told us that Dave (FL) went down in the gravel and that his bike was damaged but that he was fine and they were coming but at a very slow pace. They pulled in and it was explained that he had some trouble in the gravel and went down on his CBR1000RR. Bob Brown took a look at it and said, “Oh, that’s an easy fix!” As we were waiting, Sarah and I decided to switch bikes because I was going with a few others to a church service in TN with Bill (TN) and she wanted me to give the ZX6 a good ride. I then unplugged my GPS and the tip fell out of the plug, shorting the outlet, which started a nice little electrical fire on my SV1000S. After cutting the cable and making sure nothing else burned, we got the bike running and the 4 of us who were going to TN, went on to the church at a very spirited pace because we were running a little behind. The rest of the group, meanwhile, went on back to a different church near Robbinsville, which ended up canceling their service that night so they just hung out in the parking lot and talked for a while. Those of us that went to Coker Creek Baptist Church in TN, Bill, Pastor Dave, Steve, and I met a very Godly church body and their pastor, Kenny. After singing about 8 enthusiastically sung hymns, Pastor Kenny gave us a great sermon on speaking to our friends about Jesus and not letting them go through life unsaved. After the service, the four of us came across the Skyway at night, stopping twice to look, first at the sunset and then, later, at the stars. We made it back into Robbinsville around 10:00 to end the day of riding.

Thursday, May 12^th - After deciding at our morning riders meeting to go to the “Field of the Woods,” the biggest display of the 10 commandments in the world, we left out of Robbinsville and took the Skyway once again and then Route 68 South. While on the Skyway, Marvin Gurganus led the way on his Concours and told us that if the pace was too slow, to just pass him. Well, there were some of us who did. Scott, Shawn, Chris, and I decided to turn up the pace and have some fun. We took turns on who was to lead our small group and just had so much fun it was unbelievable. We then came down to Route 68, which has many fast sweepers, and some tight turns so it is one of my favorite roads. After seeing the 10 commandments display, the group split in two. Bill took one group into Georgia for a longer ride and Scott took the rest of the group back to the Dragon so we could run through it a few times. Before getting to the Dragon, Chris and Rosi suggested that we all stop at the Bistro Restaurant in TN to have lunch. It was a very nice place to stop with some good air conditioning and sweet tea to cool us down. After we eat, we started to head back to the Dragon where we had the opportunity to enjoy fellowship with each other and get to talk to others who were hanging around there at the store and at the overlook. After running through the Dragon several times, some of us began to go back to the hotel around 5 PM and also to meet up with Ricky (VA) who had just ridden into town. As soon as we made it to the hotel, we were met by a few CSBA members who told us there had been an accident up on the dragon and they needed an EMT to go up there. Jason (VA) had already left and when he returned, he informed us that it was Rosi who had an accident but would be OK. She was being taken to the hospital by Bob Brown along with Eric, the man from New Zealand that collided with her. We received a call later that night from Bob who told us that Rosi and Eric would both be OK but had bumps and bruises and minor concussions. We also found out that the accident was not caused by inexperience or riding beyond their limits, it was simply Eric was from New Zealand and was used to driving on the left and was fighting the urge to drive in the left lane all day. When he went around the turn where they had the accident, Eric became confused with Rosi coming toward him in the opposite lane and instinctively he went into the left lane right into her path and had a head on collision with her. That was the end to a very long day and we were all glad to hear that both Rosi and Eric were going to be OK.

Friday, May 13^th - During the rider’s meeting, we decided to stick around the area and run the long way to the dragon and again, hang out there for the day. We took the long way once again by taking 143 East to 28 North. Route 28 has some great high-speed sweepers that are a lot of fun. When we got to the Dragon store, I decided to take out my video camera and film some of the dragon as we drove through it. I followed Sarah going west and then filmed Scott (MD) and Dave (NC) going east. The videos came out well and have been sent out to some members already. Low-resolution versions will be available online. We left the Dragon around 3:30 to get ready for the Spaghetti Dinner that was being held as a fundraiser at a local church in Robbinsville, NC. There, we enjoyed a great meal that was cooked by the church members followed by our CSBA service held in the same church. We were blessed to have singer from the Christian Motorcyclist Association who led us in some traditional songs and some new ones that were very refreshing. Tim (NC) then led us in a moving Bible study that was laid on his heart. After the service ended with one last song, we decided to go run the Cherohala Skyway at night. There were approximately a dozen riders joined us for the ride. We ended up going about half way across, about 20-25 miles and stopping at an overlook and talking and laughing about some things that happened during the week. After being there for 45 minutes or so we decided to head back, returning to the hotel in Robbinsville around midnight.

Saturday, May 14^th – Today we had about a half day to ride around before some people had to leave for home so we decided to run the Skyway one last time all the way across into Tellico Plains, TN. After donning our raingear, we split into two groups and then went into the gray fog that awaited us as we ascended up the mountain toward TN. It was slow going due to the rain and fog that was hanging around the upper elevations but most everyone said it was worth it when we came to Bald Falls on the TN side of the Skyway. The rain and fog lifted as we were descending and the Falls were absolutely beautiful and offered a unique photo opportunity because of a bridge that is just down from the falls. Plenty of pictures were taken of us on our bikes with the falls in the background. After eating at a local fast food place, we decided to take the ride a little more spirited since the fog had lifted and the sun even came out for most of our journey back to Robbinsville. We rode back into Robbinsville without incident and that was the end to most of our riding as there were only a few CSBA members left for the rest of Saturday and Sunday.

Overview – This was my time to the Deal’s Gap area and I had fun. It was great meeting so many people from the organization that I hadn’t met before and also meeting some others that I had met already at the Fall 2004 Rally in PA. Thanks to everyone who was responsible for making this week happen. I look forward to seeing some of you in PA for the Fall retreat this year.