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At the beginning of the week I put some Pilot Powers on with plans to head to Deal's Gap to meet up with Ron and some of his buddies for a couple of says of riding. I'd only made one trip to work and home with the new tires before riding from Charlotte to the Gap. Fresh rubber -- woo hoo!
On the way to the Gap I mostly slabbed it to arrive at noonish. It was quiet and I made several passes, then sat at an overlook and watched to see if maybe I would see Ron fly by at some point. Once bored with that, I made a few more passes. I have come to the conclusion that Pilot Powers are faster than Katanas.
I was dragging knees, pegs, my mid-pipe, everything (yes, everything -- you'll see).
After a while, I was getting tired so I decided to retire to my parents' home in Bryson City. I got up early in the AM to head back to the CROT in hopes that Ron would keep with his Rally routine and make some Dragon runs early on in the day. Viola! At around 8, he and Ryan pulled in. Ron was on his new-to-him SV650 and Ryan on his 600RR. After some talking in the parking lot, we had breakfast and geared up to have some fun.
We rode like banshees -- they moreso than I, but I didn't lose sight of them immediately, as I would have expected. Boy, these tires are great! I am finding out that I was falling in love with an evil woman.
I pulled off and shot some Killboy style photos of Ron and Ryan (photos to come). Then we headed back toward the store to wait on Ron's buddy, Tim. Tim rides an Apillia Futura nearly identical to Ron's, sans some rash. After Tim ate and Ron and I hydrated, we loaded up again and headed up the Gap. Ron led, I followed him and Tim behind me.
Ron was doing his usual, I was hanging in there and Tim was watching from the back. We'd passed some slower riders so we were back to being pretty close to each other. Here's where the "fun" began.
I was setting up for a tight left out of a right and went to downshift and got (what I was told later) a false neutral. All I know was the bike made an awful clackiting sound, wasn't slowing down and was heading into the corner hot, hot, hot! Oh boy! I grabbed all the brake I could before leaving the pavement and
tucked the bike nicely to the ground on some loamy gravel. Ugh....here we go again. 
Damage report: Scratched fairing. Scratched engine cover. That's it. MAN these bikes are tough. Gear gear gear!!! I have a lightly bruised shoulder and dirty, lightly scratched leather. My helmet is dinged up a bit, but buffable.
We got me dusted off, the bike started again and set sail northbound. Same order. Ron disappeared leaving Tim and I to fend for ourselves. I was determined not to let the get-off spook me so I was pushing it just as I was before it, paying closer attention to my shifting this time. I glanced back in my mirror after coming out of a left-hander to see the red Aprillia on its side and Tim sliding off into the ditch with it. DAMNIT! Not a minute after my get-off, Tim goes down. Good Lord.
We must've looked like some real dummies to the people we'd passed after my crash and then we picking up another bike. 
Tim was fine save some rashed up leather (see the gear theme?). He'd have been pretty messed up without it as he did do some sliding on pavement before resting in the ditch. His Aprillia was rashed up, broken mirror, slightly bent shift lever and clutch lever but cranked right up after the tip-switch reset.
Oy vey, what a day.
Moral of the story:
A. gear helps prevent minor get-offs from ruining your day.
B. lying is BAD and your transmission shouldn't do it.
C. Pilot Powers are evil -- but in a good way....sort of like a really hot chick that makes you lose your mind. You spend money on her but she just messes your stuff up.
Waiting at the CROT:
Ron carving a line:
Ryan zipping by:
Probably my favorite of Ron:
Ron and Ryan a little close to center:
My run off, not my skid marks:
All you can do is laugh at this point:
Here's the damage:
Tim models his fresh rash:
Shaved a little peg feeler off:
Shaved a little mid-pipe, too:
On the way to the Gap I mostly slabbed it to arrive at noonish. It was quiet and I made several passes, then sat at an overlook and watched to see if maybe I would see Ron fly by at some point. Once bored with that, I made a few more passes. I have come to the conclusion that Pilot Powers are faster than Katanas.
I was dragging knees, pegs, my mid-pipe, everything (yes, everything -- you'll see). After a while, I was getting tired so I decided to retire to my parents' home in Bryson City. I got up early in the AM to head back to the CROT in hopes that Ron would keep with his Rally routine and make some Dragon runs early on in the day. Viola! At around 8, he and Ryan pulled in. Ron was on his new-to-him SV650 and Ryan on his 600RR. After some talking in the parking lot, we had breakfast and geared up to have some fun.
We rode like banshees -- they moreso than I, but I didn't lose sight of them immediately, as I would have expected. Boy, these tires are great! I am finding out that I was falling in love with an evil woman.
I pulled off and shot some Killboy style photos of Ron and Ryan (photos to come). Then we headed back toward the store to wait on Ron's buddy, Tim. Tim rides an Apillia Futura nearly identical to Ron's, sans some rash. After Tim ate and Ron and I hydrated, we loaded up again and headed up the Gap. Ron led, I followed him and Tim behind me.
Ron was doing his usual, I was hanging in there and Tim was watching from the back. We'd passed some slower riders so we were back to being pretty close to each other. Here's where the "fun" began.
I was setting up for a tight left out of a right and went to downshift and got (what I was told later) a false neutral. All I know was the bike made an awful clackiting sound, wasn't slowing down and was heading into the corner hot, hot, hot! Oh boy! I grabbed all the brake I could before leaving the pavement and
tucked the bike nicely to the ground on some loamy gravel. Ugh....here we go again.
Damage report: Scratched fairing. Scratched engine cover. That's it. MAN these bikes are tough. Gear gear gear!!! I have a lightly bruised shoulder and dirty, lightly scratched leather. My helmet is dinged up a bit, but buffable.
We got me dusted off, the bike started again and set sail northbound. Same order. Ron disappeared leaving Tim and I to fend for ourselves. I was determined not to let the get-off spook me so I was pushing it just as I was before it, paying closer attention to my shifting this time. I glanced back in my mirror after coming out of a left-hander to see the red Aprillia on its side and Tim sliding off into the ditch with it. DAMNIT! Not a minute after my get-off, Tim goes down. Good Lord.
We must've looked like some real dummies to the people we'd passed after my crash and then we picking up another bike. Tim was fine save some rashed up leather (see the gear theme?). He'd have been pretty messed up without it as he did do some sliding on pavement before resting in the ditch. His Aprillia was rashed up, broken mirror, slightly bent shift lever and clutch lever but cranked right up after the tip-switch reset.
Oy vey, what a day.
Moral of the story:
A. gear helps prevent minor get-offs from ruining your day.
B. lying is BAD and your transmission shouldn't do it.
C. Pilot Powers are evil -- but in a good way....sort of like a really hot chick that makes you lose your mind. You spend money on her but she just messes your stuff up.
Waiting at the CROT:
Ron carving a line:
Ryan zipping by:
Probably my favorite of Ron:
Ron and Ryan a little close to center:
My run off, not my skid marks:
All you can do is laugh at this point:
Here's the damage:
Tim models his fresh rash:
Shaved a little peg feeler off:
Shaved a little mid-pipe, too:
. 
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