NASHVILLE ROAD KILL RIDE IN 2015

 

The Nashville Road Kill Ride In is an informal get together of Goldwing Trike Riders and some 2 wheelers that meet once a year and converge on Nashville Tennessee for some eating, riding, fellowshipping and general story telling.  This year, we all met in Franklin Tennessee just outside of Nashville, to better alleviate some of the traffic congestion that we have had in past years.

This year, Judy and I once again met Johnnie and Ruthie Lane in Mt. Vernon, IL and followed them the rest of the way to Nashville.

 

We met Johnnie and Ruthie last year and immediately fell in love with them.  They took us under their wings and introduced us to everyone and made us feel at home.

After a quick lunch in Paducah, KY, we hopped back on our trusted steeds and made a beeline for Franklin, TN.  We arrived at Comfort Inn in Franklin about 4:30 and immediately took our  clothes to our room.  Then back downstairs to meet and talk to old friends that we had made last year.

We were not there very long before our chief guide and program director, Randall, called everyone to another of his special meetings.  He discussed the eating destination for that night and it just happened to be at his home.  Randall kept all of the dinner ride destinations for the weekend a secret and we did not know where we were going until just before we left.

When Randall told us that we were all invited to his house, Ken and Johnnie, standing directly behind Randall, started licking their chops and rubbing their hands.  They were all excited to eat.

During our meeting, Randall told all of us not to speed, drive carelessly, or tear up his neighborhood.

Jo Jo looked disappointed when he found out that he wasn’t having steak.

Here we are on the way to Randall and Tammy’s house.

Randall and Tammy live in a beautiful neighborhood and have a lovely house.  They were so gracious to share it with us all.  What a fantastic couple.

We lined both sides of the street with our trikes, cycles, and cars.

 

I happened to walk through the garage and caught Johnnie Lane admiring Randall’s trike.   Randall had his bike custom painted and it was show quality.  I could just see Johnnie wishing that he could have one just like it when he grew up.

There were so many of us that some of us ate outside, and some ate inside.  Their back patio was absolutely outstanding.

While some of us were outside waiting for the burgers and hot dogs to get cooked, Doc was inside getting his shirt that was ordered from Nancy Leatherman.  Nancy custom made nice shirts with the “Nashville Road Kill Ride In” logo embroidered on them.  Doc just had to have a special one made for him because of all of the woman that flock all over him.

Some of the crew got some soft cushy seats and enjoyed each others company.

On our way out of the house for the ride home, I happened to walk through the garage again and saw Randall’s Corvette.  It was a thing of beauty.  Something didn’t look right, and upon closer inspection, I caught Ken sitting in the drivers seat making engine revving sounds and acting like he was driving it.

After stuffing our mouths and stomachs with enough food to feed a small army, we all headed back to our host motel to get some much needed sleep.  Many went into the lounge area and visited some more before heading to their rooms.

The next morning, we all congregated in the lounge for some Comfort Inn breakfast.  On our way to the lounge, I spotted these trikes just waking up after a long evenings nap.

Friday, we all split up into two groups.  Roger McClure, aka “mama chicken,” was in charge of taking one of the groups on a ride through the Tennessee back roads.  The other group  headed to Wing Ding in Huntsville AL.  We knew that it was going to be a hot day so we opted to follow Roger until it just too miserable to ride anymore.  Roger’s knowledge of the local area was second to none, and he took us over and through some very beautiful country side.  More on Roger later.

One of the first things on the ride that Judy and I noticed was this huge field with all types of brick wall, obstacles, and various junk.  We couldn’t figure out what it was until we got right in front of it and realized that it was a monstrous paint ball field.  It had to be at least a 4 acre field.

The next several pictures are scenery that was along our route.

 

As I have said in other post, I love old barns.  And there were plenty of barns in this neck of the woods.

 

Roger finally led us to a town called Lynnville.  It was a quaint little town with rich history.  We all ate a a local cafe and had some fine eats.

 

Below is a picture of Mike Easton Bauer. He is a friend that we met at this years NRKRI. Mike is from North Carolina. Great guy. You can see some of the decor in the cafe.  While we were seated at the table, Ken, one of our friends from Ft. Worth, TX area asked the waitress is she would turn on the ceiling fan over our table as it was starting to get pretty warm in there.  She said that she couldn’t because it would make all of the dust in the room fall all over our table.

When we finished eating, we bee lined it to the hotel.  It was getting warm and we were wanting to cool off.  After being at the hotel for a few minutes, 3 of us couples decided to head downtown Nashville and walk along the strip.  There is constant music going on along the strip and we wanted to experience that.  We were inside one of the businesses listening to some good old country music when one of the woman spotted something that they all just had to get there picture in front of.

All of the woman left there with “achy breaky hearts.”

Later that evening, we went to supper at a Mexican restaurant and had another fine meal.  I didn’t get any pictures of that evening though.

 

Sunday morning was the official end of Nashville Road Kill Ride In.  There were mixed emotions about leaving because we had met some wonderful new friends and had a great time.  But the emotions were held in check because several of us were going to extend the Road Kill Ride In by traveling over to Pigeon Forge for a few days.  

It was supposed to be pretty warm that day and one of our friends had driven their truck and trailer to Nashville.  Martha asked Judy if she would want to ride over to Pigeon Forge with her in the truck. Judy jumped at the chance.  She said in her mind, “ride a trike for 6 hours in the hot sun, or ride in an air conditioned truck for 4 hours.”  No brainer.  As it turned out, 3 other ladies decided to ride with them also.

Jim (Wheels) Leatherman volunteered to lead those of us who where riding our trikes over to Pigeon Forge.  He chose some great roads that contained straight sections, long curvy sections, and some just downright 90 degree turns.  As it was getting close to lunch, we decided to stop at a gas station and refuel.  When I got off of our trike, I noticed that the gas station had a guard  chicken.

During the time that I was refueling, I kept watching that chicken and my mouth was watering for some good old Southern Fried Chicken.  We finished refueling and continued on our way.  We were having a difficult time finding a good eating place so Jim asked Tennessee Charlie to lead us to a good restaurant.  Charlie, who lives in the area took us to a great little buffet.  I was so hungry at this point, I could have eaten a dead dog with maggots all over it.  When I walked into the buffet, I thought that I had died and gone to heaven.  Just what the doctor ordered.

By the time that I had finished eating all of this, I didn’t even have room for free dessert.  Now anybody that knows me knows that I must have really been full because I would ordinarily eat my main meal just so I could get to the dessert.  I failed to get any photos for the rest of the trip but we rode through some fantastic countryside with large hills and curvy roads.  While climbing one of the hills, Ken (4cranch) Crawford said,”Is this heaven?”  It was so beautiful and full of God’s creation.

When we arrived at Pigeon Forge, we rested for a bit then headed out for supper.  Some of the group opted to order in pizza and some of us walked down to Ruby Tuesdays.  After supper, it was time to hit the hay and get some much needed sleep.

Roger McClure,  that I had mentioned earlier in the blog, was supposed to go back home from Nashville.  Randall and Jim talked to him and persuaded him to take a few more days and travel to Pigeon Forge with us.  Roger does some extensive riding around the area and knows some great roads and off- the- beaten trail areas to ride.  He was our guide for the day and although we didn’t know where we were going, we were very confident in following him.  We were to meet up at 9:00 a.m. the next morning.  Some met in the back of the hotel, and some met in front.  Johnnie and Ruthie were on their trike when Ed walked over to their trike and tried to shoot the moon when I was taking their picture.  We were glad that he decided to leave his pants up.

We left the hotel and after a few minutes, we were away from the hustle and bustle of the strip and traffic.  Roger took us on some great roads.  We traveled at a pace that Judy and I are accustomed to.  We like to ride and see things.  We do not like to ride as fast as we can so that we can get from point A to point B.  We rode along some roads in the Gatlinburg area and ended up at a crossroad of 321 and Hwy 32.  Oh my!  Highway 32 has to be ranked up at the top 5 roads that Judy and I have ridden on.   There was not a straight part on any of this road.  It was curve left, curve right, downhill, uphill, curve again.

My arms and shoulders were starting to get sore from turning the trike so much, but the shear beauty of the area over road any soreness.  All of the while, Roger was on the CB letting the rest of us know what was happening in front of us.  I remember going around a blind curve and someone saying on the CB that a car was entering the road at the middle of the curve.  I am glad that I heard that because sure enough, the car was half way on the road and stopped.

It is hard to express my emotions that I was having on this highway.  I was afraid that Judy was scared every time we entered a curve and finally got up enough nerve to ask her.  She said no, she wasn’t afraid and she was thoroughly enjoying every curve.  Before long, we heard over the CB that the asphalt stopped and turned into gravel.  Again, it was nice to know what lay ahead.  We came down the mountain on the gravel road slowly, very slowly.  At the bottom of the mountain, there was a crossroads with signs saying no parking along highway.  I guess when a person gets into Tennessee, they loose their ability to read.  Our famous leader pulled over, then the rest of us followed.  Evidently, none of us could read.  Ha Ha!

 

After a brief rest, we hopped onto I-40 for a few miles.  We traveled through some tunnels.

 

We pulled off of I-40 and entered into the small North Carolina town of Maggie Valley.  We were needing some nourishment and found a restaurant that could accommodate all of us.  After filling our bellies, we hopped onto the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Judy and I had ridden the full length of the Blue Ridge Parkway several years ago.  So we knew how beautiful it was.

Heavenly scenery isn’t it.  The next picture is one of many tunnels along this route.

More scenery.

 

Several years ago, the pine trees in the Smokies developed either a bug or fungus that started killing many of them.

Although  it killed many of them, mother nature will eventually replace and repair the area.

We exited the Parkway onto U.S. 441 that crosses the Great Smokey Mountains.  It is another scenic byway.

Roger again performed his guiding skills and lead us through the mountains and before long, we were entering into Pigeon Forge again.  Several people had seen a ride that is located on the side of a mountain.  It is a roller coaster so to speak.  It pulls you up the mountain and then lets you descend the mountain on rails.  You have at your disposal, brakes, if you so choose to slow down.

Jim and Nancy Leatherman dared everyone to ride and most could not say no.  Judy said that she would not go but after some  coaxing, changed her mind.

Here is a shot of Johnnie, Ruthie, and Patrick Wright waiting their turn to climb the mountain and experience the joy of messing their pants.

Up the mountain we go.

This is a picture of our friend “Doc.”  Doc is an amazing man that doesn’t let his age hold him back.  We met him last year at the Nashville Road Kill Ride In, and strive to do half of the things that this man does.  At 83, he can keep up with all of us.

Judy and I thought that last years rally was a great rally, but this year’s get together just set the bar for future ones and will go down as one of the greatest weekends that we have had in a long time. We left with great memories and new friends.

It amazes me that people from all walks of life can get together for a weekend of fun, food, and fellowship with the only common denominator being a piece of steel, rubber, and covered with plastic. A love for having the wind in our face, and the fragrance of flowers, trees, and an occasional hog farm. Ha

We feel privileged to have been part of this great gathering.