Well it's official,I can still ride!!!!!!!

In the late fall of 2003 I made a ride I would never forget, a ride that opened my eyes to my true riding style, the birth ride of my long distance riding future,  I did my first Dragon Run!  Now up to this point I had done a few "long" rides.  I rode my 85 Wing to Tennessee and back, a journey of 550 miles each way and thought that was a real distance ride.  I was soon to learn different.  In order to understand the true significance of this "Dragon Run" phenomenon I should really tell the story of that first Dragon Run, the beginning of it all.

It was the last Wednesday of October, 2003.  I was sitting at a dinner with the Goldwing group we were a part of just talking rides and what would be next for a good ride.  I had heard about this infamous Dragon and had a great desire to do this road, but it was clear out in Tennessee and the chance to take the needed time to get there was not going to happen soon, after all, to travel the distance to get there, some 750 or so miles, would take days, then there would be the ride itself then the return ride.  The realistic time line to me at the time was that this was a ride that would take a week to do, and a week was just not on the timeline for me.  Many of the members had ridden the Dragon and I had heard how fantastic it was.  I guess that is how the subject came up that night.  Someone was talking about riding the Dragon during a summer rally in the Knoxville area.  This internationally famous eleven mile long road that lured riders with it's 318 curves in it's short distance seemed to entice me to want to challenge it.

The conversation came around to how unseasonably warm the upcoming weekend was going to be and somehow I made the comment that it would be a good time to ride to the Dragon.  I really wasn't expecting anyone to take the statement as serious, after all, it was a long ways to get there.  Two of my riding friends did take the statement serious.  Robert, a veteran distance rider was kind of the catalyst in the rapidly developing plan.  He told Tom and myself that this ride could be done over the course of a weekend, and we believed him.  Neither Tom or myself had ever taken on a ride of this distance in such a short period of time but Robert enticed us to the point of eagerly agreeing to make the journey.  The three of us agreed to leave Kansas City after we all got off work Friday and head east.  It was going to happen!



From the left: Tom, myself and Robert at the overlook on the Dragon, 2003

 I really didn't give a whole lot of thought to the upcoming ride on Thursday morning, after all I was at work and stayed very busy, until I got a phone call.  The two friends that I was going to ride with Friday evening decided to change the plan.  The phone call came in about 2 pm and was from Tom.  The jest of the conversation went something like this:  Tom: " what are you doing?"  The correctly simple reply on my end was "the same thing as you, I'm working."  I could tell by the pause, accompanied by the chuckle that I was working and he was not.  I had to ask him what he was doing, better yet where was he.  Turns out that Robert and Tom had decided to turn the little weekend trip into a bona-fide Iron Butt ride and had left town Thursday morning, intent on riding 1000 miles to earn Tom the coveted Iron Butt Association Saddlesore 1000 certificate.  I felt my heart drop, knowing that they had gone on and my opportunity to go to the Dragon had gone with them, after all, there was no way I was going to attempt a ride of that magnitude by myself.  That would just be insane, right? 

The weather Friday started out beautiful!  It was looking like the weather guessers got it right but the team-mates I was going to ride with were gone and I wasn't sure if I wanted to take on this kind of ride without someone else along.  The day went on and the weather began to take a dive.  The temperatures began to fall and it began to drizzle.  I was beginning to take all this dismal and now rapidly cooling weather as a sign that I was just not supposed to go.  To top it off, I got real busy at the shop.  Normally I would do an average of two clutch jobs in a month, well I did two in one day.  Clutch jobs are not hard, they are just strenuous.  The day came closer to a close and I had pretty much decided that I was just going to go home and relax when I got the phone call. 

The morning sky in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in the early morning hours

It was close to 330 or 4 when Tom called.  I was informed that he and Robert were in Gatlinburg Tennessee.  In an almost dare type statement Tom doubted that I would make the trip.  Well, anyone that has ever been around me knows how well I handle a dare, I am telling you that I handled this one the same as the rest, I accepted it!  Tom told me the name of the hotel they were in and then put a little more challenge in the quest. They wanted to be riding early and I needed to be in Gatlinburg by 630 am EASTERN TIME! 

I left work and with the support of my wife I left the Kansas City area at 630 pm CENTRAL TIME that Friday evening.  I rode in the cold and mist all the way to MT Vernon Illinois.  I was really wondering about my sanity at this point.  I was getting cold and miserable, not to mention that as I headed south on I-57 I started noticing another hazard I was not really used to, DEER!  There were deer carcasses everywhere!  Now it was cool, drizzly and I could meet up with a deer at anytime.  Just when I thought nothing else could impede this trip I got a message across the CB.  Apparently I had not considered the possibility of rain.  The challenge kept echoing in my head and I became more intent on getting to Gatlinburg. 

I neared Nashville and the stars began to shine, the temps started to warm and I was loosing my desire to give up.  It looked more like I was going to make it.  I trekked eastward on I-40, feeling better by the minute, except for the now present feeling of beginning to get a little tired.  I had been up since 6 am Friday morning and was starting to feel the beginnings of fatigue.  I made a stop at a little cafe and got a cup of coffee.  I fueled up and continued on my way.  Well, I had crossed into warm air, the sky was clear and I was feeling fine....until I started up the Cumberland slope.  It got rapidly cold and the temperature change combined with the humidity and the heat from the engine caused the windshield as well as my face shield to fog over rapidly.  I flipped up the face shield and stood on the foot pegs so I could see over the windshield.



The bikes in Paducah, Ky



The sun was just beginning to lighten the eastern sky when I turned south to head into Gatlinburg.  I arrived at the hotel and knocked on the door at 630 am EASTERN TIME!  I felt pretty good, I had just made a solo ride of 881 miles in eleven hours!  I felt I was officially a motorcycle rider.  Tom informed me that he and Robert were going to grab a bite of breakfast.  I realized that I was not the most alert person around at this point so I just used Tom's room for a brief nap.  One hour later we were all on our bikes to head out and ride the Dragon.  We rode in the mountains all day and headed west as the sun was beginning to set.  We rode until 10 pm that night at which time we were all tired and decided to stop in Paducah, Kentucky for the night.

I had done it!  I rode the Dragon, I made the trip and I had discovered that I really enjoyed distance riding.  This ride was a preface to what was to come.  My saddlesore 1000, my bun burner gold and my many trips around the country.  This was also the beginning of an annual event, My fall Dragon run, a ride that has happened every fall since 2003 with the exception of 2009 (more on this later).



Tom, Randy and Franklin at a scenic overlook near Sparta Tennessee, Dragon Run 2010



This ride has progressed to a more scenic ride but it is still a ride that covers a lot of miles in a short period of time.  The 2010 ride was especially monumental because it gave me back my confidence in distance and curvy riding.  When I had my accident in 09, there was a lot of self doubt as to whether or not I would ever be able to ride in the fashion I was used to.  On October 22 I set out with two friends and my oldest son to see if my damaged body and spirit could do this ride.  We rode just shy of 2000 miles over some of the most challenging roads I could find and I am proud to say I made it!  Not only did I make it, I didn't have any more aches or pains than those that were with me.  I don't know if the guys with me could tell or not but after completing the Dragon I thanked them over the CB for coming along.  No big deal except I did so with a huge lump in my throat.  I really did not realize just how much being able to do this kind of ride meant to me.  I literally had tears of joy in my eyes, I guess because I had found out that I was back, I could still ride, maybe not as comfortable as before but I could make the distance!  I came back to Kansas City with the confidence in myself that I so dearly needed.  I came back realizing that I can still ride!



My oldest son and me at the Dragon Resort 2010