11/28/09 Holiday rides, good food and all that.

365 Group (f)

I looked over the weather channel and thought it looked like a good day for a ride through the hills. Ya know, a settling of the Turkey as it were. I figured on a quick 150 miles of twisties and in the process drop in on some relatives and "mooch" a meal (or several) of leftovers.

Pulling out from the house I eased down to the highway and drifted east. Thinking that I would just take my time and not be in any hurry I planned for traffic that is normally pretty hectic in this area around a holiday. Once on highway 412 I noticed that there wasn't any traffic. An occasional bit of local traffic was all. I found this odd for a few miles then it came to me. "Global Warming". That must be it. Man! All that mental preparation for the traffic on my part for nothing.

As I came into Huntsville I happened to look in my mirror and saw a neatly worded sign that read "Kenworth" . I gave this sign some thought and decided that I needed to get over on the shoulder and ponder it further. It was funny after the fact. I didn't hear the big rig come up on me. If I had I might not have gained more gray hair than I had when I started. After I got settled back down I pulled back over into the lane and opened up. Really it was shaping up to be a nice ride.

Coming into Marble I toyed with the idea of an order of hush puppies. But decided to pass in favor of some leftover dressing. Hammering on I hit 21 and ran over to Kingston got in behind some locals and was slowed down some. Once out of Kingston I had a real leisurely ride down to the Buffalo River. There weren't too many holiday weekend floaters out so I had the chance to stop and look over the Elk herd. There were a couple that I had heard about that were suppose to have massive racks. I wanted to get a couple of pictures of these guys. Looked like about forty of them were grazing in the field next to the road. The big ones I had been hearing about were with a smaller bunch across the field from me. Too far for a decent picture, but even at that distance I could see what all the talk was about. They truly were impressive. Next time I'll bring a bigger rig and maybe get my shot.

Leaving the Elk to do what ever it is that professional tourist attractions do I headed across the valley and up the mountain. As I climbed out of the valley I could feel the temperature change and ran through several pockets of warmer air which always seemed like a surprise treat.

Pulling into my place I saw several family member sort of lounging around the front of the house. Holiday dinners with my family usually last for a couple or three days. This was the start of day two. After a great lunch, most of the afternoon was spent nibbling and visiting and tinkering with the bikes. When it came time to leave I really felt stuffed. I said goodbyes all around and packed up a doggie bag, kicked the old bike to life and headed out wondering why it seems we only do this at holidays. Everyone was saying the same thing "we should get together like this more often". I agree, but then again, I'm always hungry.

The ride back up was a little more traffic filled and a lot of cross winds. It was like an 18 wheeler was passing you every few minutes. The kind of riding that wears you out.

Finally I pulled into the house and unsaddled. Radar came trotting over and gave me the once over sniff and decided that I was a keeper. I gave him and my little guys some of the glazed ham and cemented my position around here for a little while yet.

Ended up being one hundred eighty four miles and three dinners. Not a big ride. But not too shabby either.

This little "brat" is my niece She wanted a picture to remember the "moment"...?

It's always the ornery ones that get to your heart.

Catch ya on the road