FBAD: Life on the Blue Ridge

[Fast Ferris]

Originally Posted by achesley

Great pictures and narration. Thanks for the time and work to share this area with us that don't get there too often. ;-) Totally understand the way and places you take the UAM to. One of the bikes I learned to ride on was a '47 FLH , tank shift, all gravel roads back then. Also had a DL1000 for about 14 months and 16,000 miles. Just to tall and never did like the way the engine pulled below 3500 rpm.

Achesley, thanks for the props. Typically the folks who don't "get" what the Road King (or any other Harley) is all about are the folks who've never really spent any seat time on one. I'm not a Harley snob - I love all motorcycles, and will ride with anyone, anytime (heck, I even recently spent a day hanging with Tastroman on his frikkin' scooter! ) - but there's something about a Harley Big Twin that really works for me, and it does OK-enough in places that it really shouldn't (such as off road or in the twisties) to keep most of my riding buddies honest. I wouldn't mind a dedicated "ADV" bike someday, but it'll have to wait 'til the RK is paid for... :-)

My DL1000 was a decent motorcycle. Too tall for me, too (in gnarly off-road stuff, perfectly fine on anything else), but that's more a function of my stature and less a knock on the bike. It was built to a price point, though, made all the more obvious since I'd literally just stepped off a '98 Honda VFR, arguably one of the finest motorcycles ever made. I bought the V-Strom in Colorado during a cross-country tour with JB2 and by and by we headed southeast, basically towards Deals Gap. By the time we got there I had the DL pretty much figured out, and thought it did an outstanding job on the Dragon. On top of that I found it extremely comfortable to tour on. When I got home from the trip (7500+ miles later...) I installed a set of Two Brothers cans, which really woke the bike up. All in all I enjoyed the 'Strom but not enough to keep it, so used it as trading timber for a Yamaha FJR.

Which is a whole 'nother story. :-)

Thanks again.

[Fast Ferris]

Originally Posted by scootac

Bold???
Yes,,, I suppose that's one way to describe it!!!!
Not timid by any means!!!
But he certainly makes it work!!!!!

Dewd, my helmet barely fits as it is......................... :-)

And Ferris,,,, I see you're still sending checks out. Just wanted to let you know I'm still waiting on mine! Yea, Yea, I know,,, it's in the mail!

Um, did I mention I sent your checks by Pony Express??

'Nother question or thought--- so many of your pics show old buildings and land that looks 'unused'. And a lot of the land looks like it could be farmed in some way or another and put to use. So, why isn't it,,, who owns land and just lets it set idle? I know a lot of your pics are on the BRP, so that answers it about that land. But the others? Always wondered about that when I've been in VA and WVA. Just curious,,any thoughts?
Here in PA,,, seems most land is farmed, forested or built upon. We don't have the areas you do that's just left alone with minimal maintenance.

Good questions, and one Denise and I have tossed around ever since we moved out here. Ya gotta keep in mind we were both born and raised on the West Coast, so we've only got five and a half years of being here in the Appalachians to go on, but we've often wondered the same thing: THIS side of the country got a big head start in development compared to the left side, yet there's so much land around here that's "idle," as you put it. We're not complaining, as we enjoy the solitude and isolation up here in the mountains, but often I wonder why it isn't shoulder-to-shoulder-to-shoulder people and development here in this part of the East Coast.

Let me know when your checks arrive (and good luck getting them to clear your bank...)

:-)

[Fast Ferris]

Hey Bobw, ya lurking? We sure enjoyed meeting and riding with you at Big Jim's Ride over Memorial Day weekend, and wanted to share with you (and the other four people who follow this thread) some pix from the weekend taken by our good friend Jim Corso, aka Pdxs3t, from Sandy, Oregon.

Please give a shout the next time you're headed up our way. :-):-)

Best,
Ferris & Denise

~ The group ride out to Lost Bridge Saturday afternoon ~

~ JB2 and his new Vic at Lost Bridge~

~ Paying our respects to Big Jim ~

~ Homeward-bound in the fog Sunday morning: FBAD, Twig and Bobw ~

~ ADV's own Bobw!! ~

[bobw]

Ha! Perfect timing, must have heard ya "calling" my name, been flat out and hadn't had much time on here.

Just loaded up the aprilia to go to her new home. Bitter sweet and it makes seeing a last couple photos of her very appreciated (they're all great)!.

Time to kick some tars and check out my short list to make it even shorter. I'm going to rent a couple different HD models to get Deb on board and get her feedback and then try to find time for taking her on some Victory rides in Charlotte or, or, or

I will give you a shout when I have a "test ride" ready to go. T'would be great to burn some processed dinosaur remains and to break bread with you!

Safe travels and Cheers

[Fast Ferris]

Kickin' tars is fun!! Good luck with it all; there are far worse things in life than shopping for a new motor.

Hope to see both of you soon,
FBAD

[Fast Ferris]

I got a come-on in the mail from Yamaha/Star motorcycles last week offering to give me a pair of new Oakley sunglasses if I'd swing by a participating dealer and test ride a new scoot. Kinda a no-brainer, even for a no-brainer like me! Triangle Cycles in Danville, Virginia turned out to be the nearest dealer playing along, so I was up early yesterday morning, headed their general direction, snagging some sunrise photos on the Parkway along the way:

That's Buffalo Mountain, Virginia on the left in the distance. This is a composite of five images, photographed back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back and post-processed with HDR software. In the first three images (shot at -1, 0 and +1 EV) the sun hadn't yet broken the horizon. In the second set of images, in the time it took to set up my camera to take another three-shot exposure (this time at -2, 0 and +2 EV), the sun had literally just begun to peek up over the mountains. Another tick slower on the shutter and this photograph would have looked (good but) totally different. Sometimes ya get lucky.

[Fast Ferris]

[Fast Ferris]

[Fast Ferris]

[tastroman]

Originally Posted by Fast Ferris

Tastroman, this one's for you:

Self-portrait, Bob White Covered Bridge
Woolwine, Virginia USA

Love it. Looks a hell of a lot better than my scooter would sitting at the end of Bob White. I've been out of town for a week and am just catching up on your wanderings. We took a family trip to Russell County Virginia last week and while hiking to a remote swimming hole you popped into my mind as the trail carried me to the most beautiful place I've ever been (seriously) and I was wishing I could capture it justly. It's about 4 hours away from you and requires a 2 mile hike with multiple water crossings but it's a place you just have to photograph.

Below is the best I could do.




If you have any interest I'll shoot you the directions on how to get there. This is just one of 4 swimming holes along the trail. We spent a day there and never saw another person.

[Fast Ferris]

Originally Posted by tastroman

...the trail carried me to the most beautiful place I've ever been (seriously) and I was wishing I could capture it justly. It's about 4 hours away from you and requires a 2 mile hike with multiple water crossings but it's a place you just have to photograph.

Below is the best I could do.

Wow Tastroman, that's an excellent photograph, amigo! Very, very nicely done. Superb composition, subtle but vibrant colors, wonderful sense of movement and yet peaceful tranquility. I wonder how many eons the waterfall has been slowly carving out that swimming hole?

Awesome, thanks for sharing!!

[scootac]

Originally Posted by Fast Ferris

Wow Tastroman, that's an excellent photograph, amigo! Very, very nicely done. Superb composition, subtle but vibrant colors, wonderful sense of movement and yet peaceful tranquility. I wonder how many eons the waterfall has been slowly carving out that swimming hole?

Awesome, thanks for sharing!!

Yea,,, if that's the best he could do ,,,,,











it's pretty damn good!!!!

[Fast Ferris]

I'm still headed for Danville, out of the mountains and into the Piedmont morning heat, and blew past this sign just east of Martinsville, Virginia. I'm a sucker for Revolutionary War history; we live right in the middle of where it all happened. I doubled back for a couple of quick docu-photos, then searched, briefly, for physical clues from the past. There were none to be found......this time. I'll be back.

[Fast Ferris]

[Fast Ferris]

~~~

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!
Patrick Henry
March 23, 1775

No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the house. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the house is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at the truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings. Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the numbers of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it.

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received?

Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlement assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation.

There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free--if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us! They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength but irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extentuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!