Luckily! We bought (and Packed!) a set of tools the night before. But while the engine guard did its job, it was bent enough that the floor board was held up and the control couldn't be shifted. Thankfully, she was just shaken, and not hurt. So I turned around and found her sitting on the side of the road with her foot pinned under the bike by the engine guard. I didn't see it happen, just glanced back in my mirror to see how she was handling the twisties and. Luckily, we were only going around 35 and it was on the best possible turn for that to happen since it was an outside curve that was bordered by a wide shoulder and mountain (versus inside curve with boulders and cliffs). Or, more accurately, reached out and pulled Priya off her bike. Around 10 or so, the second hint this wouldn't be a normal day hit us. The bear should have been our first hint this wasn't going to be a "usual" day. We did make a few stops, but mostly, just rode along the twisties. View attachment 61962 View attachment 61970 Startled the snot out of me to say the least! I was looking ahead at the next curve, so didn't see it until it was in the road, but Priya says she saw it appear at the ditch, look both ways, then burst into a full-out run. WE SAW A BLACK BEAR! The thing jumped onto the road about 20 yards in front of me and ran like the wind uphill. It was very cold, but really a beautiful day. The "plan" was to get up early, jump on the Blue Ridge Parkway, not stop so much, ride down to Roanoke, eat lunch, then head back. We were better prepared, had a plan, and were determined to stick to it. SATURDAY was "eventful" to say the least. But the longer we stayed out, the colder it seemed to get, so we turned back. Because it was such a nice day, neither of us thought to fully dress out for the cold. However, after 50 miles or so we decided to head back. After a couple dozen miles, her battery charged enough to not worry about being stranded. We ended up bending the battery cover open just enough to put the jumper back on and get it started again. The second they left, however, she popped her clutch and killed the bike. We got lucky the first time and someone had an allen wrench set to fit her cover. Unfortunately, while I packed a jump-pack, I didn't bring any tools. So about a quarter of the way up, she lost power. First, we made too many stops to take pictures and she kept forgetting to cut the key off on her bike. we wanted to ride all the way up to Front Royal, but ran into a couple of issues. We need to keep those around and make sure they don't get privatized. We did it anyway because I believe in funding for national parks. At $15 for a week pass, it's great for families wanting to picnic or hike or camp, but kind of expensive for a day trip.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |