Friday 05/19/17 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• Dan is away this week, so I thought I'd plan a trip to The Purple Onion in Saluda.  If that sounds good to you, we'll plan to leave the Key Mart parking area at 10:30 am, on Friday.     Steve

Purple Onion Saluda

• Knowing there was only one possible rider that would not mind a ride in the rain (think OG Bob and free bike wash), I decided to head in a direction away from Saluda because the forecast had been deteriorating all morning.  I decided to try Hawg Wild BBQ and Catfish House in Clarkesville, GA.   The five riders joining me for the ride were Gadget, Len, David D., Russ, and OG Bob.  No one objected to the change in venue, but one rider did look disappointed.  We took the backroads through Oconee County and then into Georgia as we headed out for lunch.  As we got near Clarkesville, you could see clouds billowing in the north.  When we got to the restaurant, our table for six was ready, thanks to back-up concierge Paulette.  The restaurant was not crowded and we were served our drinks and food right away.  BBQ was a popular choice and  was quite good.  After the leisurely lunch, we made our way to the parking lot only to hear OG Bob say, "Uh-oh. I left my key on, again."  Thanks to the other five Harley riders being prepared, and after it was confirmed the battery was dead, OG Bob wheeled his bike around and got a jump to bring the beastly Yamaha back to life.  Feeling bad for OG Bob for the dead battery, especially after missing out on a bike wash opportunity, I succumbed to the suggestion to ride the tempting and curvaceous GA 197 to Lake Burton and return home through Clayton.  As you can imagine, by the time we reached the north end of Lake Burton, the billowing clouds we saw before lunch were now full fledged rain clouds and were settling in over Clayton.  Had it not been for a couple of slow drivers on GA 197 and Hwy 76, we probably could have stayed completely dry.  That was not to be.  As we sat at a light in Clayton, it began to rain pretty hard, but we were able to ride out of it in 3 - 4 miles.  It was dry and clear the rest of the way home.  All in all, it was still another great day on two wheels.    Steve

OG Bob tried rolling the bike and pop the clutch to start the bike, but that didn't work out so well.....