Georgia Group Ride! 9/8/12

[DeviantTurtle]

Originally Posted by jhunter

Do I get to use a cool one as my profile pic on the forum? If so, I may be down for that.lol

Do you mean the handstand, making a face, clapping your feat, one hand belly rub during a wheelie why executing a corner at full lean at 105mph picture? Hmm, I think that’s about $1,000,000,000 photo! No guarantees that they will be cool though. Photos might all turn out totally lame, the share sight will make you pull your hair out and kick puppies!
You would be welcome to do as you please with any photo of you. I am positive I will take a lot of awesome photos. Question is, who is going to bring their party Ninja suite?

[jhunter]

Originally Posted by DeviantTurtle

Do you mean the handstand, making a face, clapping your feat, one hand belly rub during a wheelie why executing a corner at full lean at 105mph picture?

Yes, that one.

[BlueJeepYJ]

Got the new rubber installed. Hopefully can get a few miles on them before the ride on Saturday! That rear tire was a ROYAL pain to install!

[DeviantTurtle]

Originally Posted by BlueJeepYJ

Got the new rubber installed. Hopefully can get a few miles on them before the ride on Saturday! That rear tire was a ROYAL pain to install!

and thats the reason I take mine to cycle gear and let them do it

[BlueJeepYJ]

So folks! Any of our seasoned riders want to give us noobs some tips on group riding?

[kimboEX250]

Originally Posted by BlueJeepYJ

So folks! Any of our seasoned riders want to give us noobs some tips on group riding?

Once you hit the "twisties" it's easy to become fixated on the rider in front of you. you eyes will tell your body to react according to the rider ahead who is already in the apex of the curve while you are just approaching the curve. once in the curve, you realize your line, speed, and body position are all wrong, usually causing you to white knuckle the bars and grab a handful of brakes, both of which are bad in a curve. this is the same principle of object fixation, your eyes will lead you. relax and do what feels comfortable to you, ignore the rider in front of you, look ahead of the curve, and maintain your line. hope this helps, it's something you don't think about when ridin solo. wish i could go, sounds like a good ride. ride safe guys

[coolbreeze]

Wish I could join, but I sold my bike after the engine got screwed up.

[vman1313]

In order to make the ride as fun and safe as possible, I thought I would just rate the difficulty of each part of our trip so that us "NooBs" & anybody who has not ridden these routes has an idea of what to expect out of each section. I have ridden the "circle" we are planning to ride many MANY times (we will go right by my house at the end of the ride) so I am VERY familiar with the route BUT that does not mean I claim to know it all. If anyone disagrees or has something to add about the route in order to keep this ride fun and safe, please chime in...

1/10 EASIEST (doing 45 in a straight line with no other cars around)
10/10 HARDEST (?Tail of the Dragon doing 100 with semis coming at you the whole time?)

Hwy 139 & 9 == 5/10
pretty easy ride but a couple of twisty spots that sneak up on you

Hwy 60 to 180 == 8/10
this is twist after twist after twist - pretty views but pretty tight

Rt 180 to 129 == 10/10
this is the toughest road I have ridden (motorcycle or car)
tight tight narrow road / gravely especially after rains / uneven sections / very VERY TWISTY

348 == 7/10
this is just a fun FUN road - no where near as hard to me as 60 or 180

75 to Helen == 4/10
easy

Helen back to 400 thru backroads == 6/10
these roads range from 3/10 to 8/10 but have given them an overall 6/10 because there are some long straightaways AND some fun twists but nothing too crazy...a few stop signs, lights, and turns which make riding them as a big group a little more difficult to stay with each other

AGAIN - this is MY opinion and only meant to help! All I am trying to do is INFORM everyone as to what to expect as best as possible. Please add your own experiences of the route and/or difficulty of it all.

Can't wait to meet you all and have a blast carving through the North Georgia Mountains.

[DeviantTurtle]

Originally Posted by BlueJeepYJ

So folks! Any of our seasoned riders want to give us noobs some tips on group riding?

Make sure you know how to use your brakes properly, if you have not already, find empty parking lot and learn how your bike will react under heavy braking (Try not to flip over) make sure to use your front and rear brake 70% front 30% rear. Throttle control with leaning! More throttle to push outwards, less throttle to pull inwards (If I need elaborate let me know). Give yourself and the rider in front of you room for error. Never panic, hitting a small pebble/rock in the road is NOT going to wipe you out! The bike might wobble for a sec, just maintain your speed the bike will track true again like nothing ever happened. In the case where a bunch of gravel is in the road, try to slow down before you hit it if possible, whatever you do, do NOT grab the brakes in gravel covered roads, do NOT give the bike more gas in the gravel covered roads, just roll through! Pay attention to body signals! If you see the rider in front of you giving a signal you also need to give that signal for the rider behind you, communication is key to avoid hazards that could cause an accident. I am sure most of you are going to find yourself coming into a corner faster then expected, regardless if you think you are not going to make the corner go for it anyways, you are better off low sideing than you are going off the road into a bunch of trees!

[DeviantTurtle]

Originally Posted by vman1313

AGAIN - this is MY opinion and only meant to help! All I am trying to do is INFORM everyone as to what to expect as best as possible. Please add your own experiences of the route and/or difficulty of it all.

.

Thats look about 100% accurate, just a heads up! the picture below on 180 to 129, covered with gravel! that was the worst spot i saw on my last ride...everything else was pretty clear

[BlueJeepYJ]

Awesome post @vman1313 !!!!

Thanks for the heads up. The noobs will take it nice and slow and we can catch up with you pros down the road.

Feel free to edit the map linked in the first post and see how it looks to you guys.

Jeff

[Xoulrath]

Is 180 Wolfpen Gap Rd? Because that looks like WPG. FUN road. VERY FUN. NOT NOOB FRIENDLY AT ALL. Be careful guys, and ride at YOUR OWN PACE.

Unfortunately I am going to miss out on this one as I am going white water rafting on Saturday. I was hoping this thing would go down Sunday. Oh well.

I'll hopefully catch the next one.

I hope everyone has a blast.

[SharInATL]

Sorry guys, this ride sounds a bit more than what I think I'm ready for. I wasn't expecting level 10/10 roads for a noob ride. I hope to catch up with you all soon. Enjoy the ride and be safe!

[jmisto]

I'm with SharinATL. Hopefully I can make it next time! I need to get a bit more seat time first. I'm going to head to Warm Springs instead and check out the motorcycle museum and the covered bridge.

You all have fun!

[jhunter]

I think I remember that turn. The gravel caught me off guard. It also didn't help that my friends took me on that road the second time I had been out driving with my bike. "It's the quickest way for you to learn", they said. Sheesh!

Since I've ridden blood mountain before I'm ok doing this route but @SharInATL probably has a good perspective. If this route goes where I think it does (I'm horrible with road names) it can be fairly intimidating and probably not "noob friendly." It's certainly doable if you maintain a cautious speed and offers great views, but there's not much room for anxiety or bad decisions at certain points.

Just food for thought. If you're wanting it to be more friendly towards beginners, you might want to reroute the precarious areas.

[vman1313]

@SharInATL & @jmisto & others...sorry to scare ya'll off but this ride truly went from leisurely to HOLY $#!T! I figured rating the sections of the ride would help riders not find themselves overwhelmed or in bad situations or worse. It was with good intentions I did that...that being said...if enough people wish to skip the more intense roads, there are much more leisurely roads that us "NOOBs" can take while the "PROs" take the HOLY $#!T roads and we all still end up in the same place around the same time.

[jhunter]

You did good, Tony. No worries on the ratings.

[jmisto]

Originally Posted by vman1313

@SharInATL & @jmisto & others...sorry to scare ya'll off but this ride truly went from leisurely to HOLY $#!T! I figured rating the sections of the ride would help riders not find themselves overwhelmed or in bad situations or worse. It was with good intentions I did that...that being said...if enough people wish to skip the more intense roads, there are much more leisurely roads that us "NOOBs" can take while the "PROs" take the HOLY $#!T roads and we all still end up in the same place around the same time.

No worries. You all have a great time; Hopefully I can tag along next time!

[SharInATL]

Originally Posted by vman1313

@SharInATL & @jmisto & others...sorry to scare ya'll off but this ride truly went from leisurely to HOLY $#!T! I figured rating the sections of the ride would help riders not find themselves overwhelmed or in bad situations or worse. It was with good intentions I did that...that being said...if enough people wish to skip the more intense roads, there are much more leisurely roads that us "NOOBs" can take while the "PROs" take the HOLY $#!T roads and we all still end up in the same place around the same time.

No need for apologies, I'm thankful you pointed these things out up front. I still plan to get out and ride Saturday and hope we can plan a more leisure ride for us true newbies real soon!

[SharInATL]

Originally Posted by jmisto

I'm with SharinATL. Hopefully I can make it next time! I need to get a bit more seat time first. I'm going to head to Warm Springs instead and check out the motorcycle museum and the covered bridge.

You all have fun!

Where is this? Are you riding Saturday?

[BlueJeepYJ]

Hey Folks! Im so sorry! I didnt mean to pick a 10/10, lol. I just picked the route based on what someone mentioned and picking fun looking roads on google maps . We can totally change things up to get everybody together!

Let me know!!!

[jmisto]

Originally Posted by SharInATL

Where is this? Are you riding Saturday?

I'm probably going to be riding on Sunday. The weather looks awesome. High of 80 and 0% rain. Anyone who doesn't feel comfortable with the 10/10 can come along. I'd say this ride is probably a 5.5/10 but it's a lot of fun. I am a bit farther out from the city though.

Shar, message me on Facebook if you're interested in coming along. If Sunday's a deal breaker, we could probably arrange for Saturday. My husband's very patient and he doesn't get frustrated with the noobiness. He's just happy that I'm riding

Here's a map:



Here's some photos from my husband's last ride out there:

[SharInATL]

Please don't change your plans on my account. I'll be watching football on Sunday lol. We will have to catch up soon for a ride.

[DeviantTurtle]

Looks like the MTN run is NOT going to happen, 60% chance of rain tomorrow. So new game plan

[jhunter]

Any recommendations?

[DeviantTurtle]

I am still willing to do a photo shoot with all of you! Wifey wants a adventure tonight, so probably be taking our boat out tonight. Not sure if anyone would be interested in meeting us out at Buford Dam around 7pm tonight? The view and roads at the Dam would make for some pretty good photos I think Thoughts?

[jhunter]

That would be fun, but I wouldn't be able to make it there in time. Sorry.

[fleemos]

Looks like almost everyone is out, so I think we should just cancel it.

[vman1313]

As long as the 60% chance of rain is in the afternoon and NOT for the morning as they are saying...I AM RIDING!

I am planning to be at the Holcomb Bridge / 400 Dunkin' Donuts at 8:30 for a donut or two or five......and at the Wal-Mart in Dahlonega at 10:30.

Even if we don't venture deep into the mountains, I am sure we can have a nice ride...hope to see at least a few of you there!!!

[Xz1atl]

Ill ride tomorrow too. Ill be at dunkins tomorrow...a ride is a ride... hopefully the weather man is wrong

[vman1313]

Originally Posted by Xz1atl

Ill ride tomorrow too. Ill be at dunkins tomorrow...a ride is a ride... hopefully the weather man is wrong

[Xz1atl]

Is there a final count on those who will definitely B going

[BlueJeepYJ]

I will be there! Even if its just to meet and greet and eat donuts!!!!

The count has changed... everyone chime in and I will update the first post

[jhunter]

I'm still game. Probably won't be there for the dunkin' stop though.

[SharInATL]

Let me check with my boyfriend. Maybe we can meet you guys at Dunkin and ride up to Dahlonega and decide from there where we will go.

[DeviantTurtle]

The wife and I are still in, maybe one Hyosung rider

[mangajulio]

Oh men, I really want to go with you guys but I can't have to work please let me know when will be the next one or of you guys cancel.

Have fun and post some pictures

[fleemos]

I'm in, see you guys at dunkin tomorrow.

[jhunter]

@mangajulio Bummer. You'll be missed. You're not that far away from me though, so if you have one day off during a weekend and want to go cruising, shoot me a PM and we'll see what we can do.

Outside of that, I think half of the riders are going to have a serious sugar crash about an hour into the ride.lol

[vman1313]

Awesome to hear we got a few willing to roll...see yall in the AM!

@jhunter...I thought about the sugar crash...thats why I am bringing a bunjee to bring an extra dozen along for the ride...HAHAHAHAHA!!!

@mangajulio & @jhunter - I'm only 15 minutes from Cumming...wow that sounded kinda bad......nevermind...anyway I'm only 15 minutes from ya'll so count me in on some rides if ya'll don't care.