March 21: the Dragon, the Cleveland TN mausoleum, Chattanooga We started out Friday morning at the tail end of the morning rush hour, but unlike the rest of our suburban brethren who were heading south into the city, we were heading north and out of town! First, we stopped at Nora Mill in Helen to pick up some cereal and oatmeal; these would travel with us through our entire loop in Mrs AdvRydr's luggage. From here, we made a beeline to US 129, the Dragon. After the obligatory photo at the overlook, we stopped for a tasty camping-food lunch on the foothils parkway. Ask us sometime about the old dude we saw on his brand-spanking-new Harley, who barely made it out of the parking lot. Neither of us understood what someone so wobbly was doing all alone in the hills on a bike he could barely ride. I wish we'd gotten a photo, but more than that, I hope the fellow made it home ok. Then, we found Cleveland, TN and the blood-stained mausoleum housing the body of Nina, a child who was killed by a train in 1871. The story goes that the mausoleum, built of white marble, developed 'blood' stains that could not be washed or scrubbed out, despite the best efforts of the townspeople. The mysterious marble stains: 'Nina's little garden' Next, we continued on to Chattanooga, where we spent the night.
Saturday the 22nd, we headed out to Lookout Mountain Glider Park's launch point, where we hoped to watch a glider launch. We were in luck, the winds were just right this time... <p>Next, we headed south to Birmingham, AL, to enjoy the Barber Motorsports Museum. For the full set of photos, you'll have to start here, but here were a few highlights: A lot of other bikes there today, inside and out: including these two travelers, who had come all the way from Oregon and were well loaded down for the trip: We'll start with a Vincent Black Shadow... ...an MV Agusta 125 Gran Turismo from 1960... ...and some even older bike technology, such as a gaslamp headlight... ...a hand-sewn leather drivebelt... ...and an old-style odometer. A little more recently-made: the Captain America. Look at this crazy thing, a Britten V-1000: What sort of craziness is this? Something called a Jawa ice racer from Czechoslovakia. As you can see, it is only expected to turn left, ever. I always enjoy the sidecars. Then, we went outside, and Mrs AdvRydr 'enjoyed' the statues, from an 'artistic' perspective, of course. When we came out, we found that we had a new neighbor, a Honda Silverwing, driven by a gentleman with an artifical foot. This was the second Silverwing we saw this day, the first being a two-up couple at the Glider Park. From here, we headed into Birmingham...
Sunday morning, we decided we'd spend some time seeing some of the local Birmingham curiosities. First up was Kelly Ingram park, just outside the 16th Street Baptist Church and the center of some of the 1960s civil rights demonstrations. "I ain't afraid of your jail" In a somewhat lighter vein, we headed downtown to Five Points to see one of the famous pagan statues, the Five Points Storyteller fountain, where a friendly seated goat reads to an assorted audience. Next, the Vulcan statue at Vulcan Park overlooking downtown: Finally, we headed for the replica Statue of Liberty: From here, in the interest of making time, we made the mostly boring eastward slog on I-20 towards Atlanta, although we did make some time for one last bit of dual-sportin' behind an east Georgia truckstop with a major hill-climb, haha... we enjoyed a nice little picnic atop this rise before making our way home.