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17 Sep 2006, 10:31 am / Relieved
Some New "Firsts" and a Couple of Close Calls
What an awesome day to ride yesterday. Weather was absolutely beautiful! Temperature was 80° with humidity in mid 50's, gorgeous blue skies with a few white puffy clouds. Simply wonderful! We headed out at 10:15am and rode 50 miles on the interstate with all the UT fans headed to Knoxville for the game against Florida. Met up with our SCRC group at the usual meeting place a Citgo station. When we got there, one of the other lady riders checked out the Chief and said, "Damn, that sure is a BIG bike! Aren't you afraid of it?!" lol. I replied, "Only on twisty curves going up or down hill!" 
We rode a short distance of maybe 20 miles to lunch. Lol. At lunch, our tail gunner got a call and had to leave. I was appointed tail gunner!!!  WHO ME??? I've NEVER been a tail gunner before! What the heck am I supposed to do???  Well, all I can say is I'm glad everyone in front of me was a competent rider!!!
We left the restaurant and headed out on our ride. As I've mentioned in the past, I am not comfortable doing twisty type curves going uphill or down hill on the Chief, but I got pushed out of my comfort zone AGAIN! It's all good; we (the Chief and I) did fine and we all got to our cook-out in one piece. Enjoyed some good company and good food, but as I watched the sun setting down behind the ridge my butterflies started. I knew we had at least an hour and a half ride home and I've never ridden the Chief at night before except in the city for four miles.  The ride home was on those uphill and downhill curve roads which included a few switchbacks. I can't see shit in the dark! 
Well, we decided to head out at 6:30pm at which point it was pretty much dusk
great! Right when the deer venture out!!  We didn't actually pull out till 7pm and it wasn't long before it was flat out dark. Although I had on a short sleeved t-shirt under a long-sleeved t-shirt with my leather vest, I started to get cold, quickly. We rode about 15 miles through those stinkin' winding roads to a gas station. I topped off and put my cotton-lined silk jacket on over everything I was already wearing and then my leather jacket. Changed out my fingerless gloves for full ones. Then it was time to head the 70 miles home. ~whimper, whimper~
Okay, so off we go into the darkness.. riding Hwy 52 which is not much of a "highway" for the most part! I hate it when people come towards me on those curves, because it blinds me and I can't see where the heck I'm going. And I can't stand it when those pick-up trucks ride my tail going around those stinkin' curves, because that adds to my stress level. The worst part about these roads is when you come up a hill and you can't see what's over the top only to discover it's a sharp turn. WHAAAA!!!!!! I was stressed out to the max, but at least I was warm! lol
Okay, so only two close calls.
One: We're sitting at an intersection waiting for the light to change. There's just enough traffic where we can't go through the red light, so we wait
. Finally, a vehicle pulls up behind us and it triggers our light to change. Just as we are entering the intersection, some (excuse my adjective, please) ASSHOLE cop decides he doesn't want to stop for HIS red light, flips his lights on as we are all entering the intersection!!! I slammed on my brakes, stopping at MOST maybe ½ a bike length from his cruiser.  He just slowed down and then kept going. No sirens. No lights until he entered the intersection.
Two: We are coming through a town and somehow I lost the road; just could not see where it went. Too much glare, lights, whatever, but all of a sudden the road curved and I almost lost it. Ended up in the opposite lane of traffic in a real low right lean trying to pull it back to where I was supposed to be. By the grace of GOD, I got back in my own lane. Hubby pulled over at the next lot and said "WTF was that?!" Thank GOD AGAIN
that there was no one in the opposite lane of traffic or the Chief and I would have been a hood ornament. The only thing I could figure was, with the combination of not being able to see at night (contacts weren't cutting it), everything being a blur, tension from riding the twisties and switchbacks in the dark with cars on my tail and cars coming at me, and then the near miss with the cop, I was pretty maxed out on the stress level meter.
We slowed things way down after that and the last 30 miles were uneventful. It did take us 2 hours to go 70-some-odd miles though! But come to think about it, that's really not bad timing considering the roads we were on.
I was flat wore out when I got home last night, but today, I'm toast. BUT!!! I DID IT! It may not have been a pretty ride, but I finally faced another fear and although I'm not all that thrilled with riding at night, I'm not as fearful as I was before. If it's on a straightaway, I'll be fine with that. It's gonna take some time (or a different bike and that AIN'T gonna happen) getting comfortable on those twisties and switchbacks whether it's daylight or night time. The Chief and I have come a long way, but we still have a ways to go. I opt for more practice! 
Hope ya'll had an awesome weekend!!!
P.S. I forgot to mention. When we got home and I put the Chief away, I got on my hands and knees and kissed the ground and thanked God we made it home in one piece. 
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