How about an espresso?

The day started slow.

An anticipated 9:00 AM departure turned into 10:00 AM as our guests, Jim and Carrie, slept in. Pete and I exchanged "Harley rider” jokes while we waited. What’s the most important accessory for a Harley rider? A trailer! It appears an alarm clock is also necessary.

When we did start riding the sky was blue and the temperature was perfect. We headed towards Lake Lure with our guests in tow. After about 100 miles Pete and I realized we had not asked Jim or Carrie how long they were comfortable riding. Pete and I can ride for days, but what about Jim? Carrie had only 100 miles (last Thursday) under her belt. Just as we finished laughing over the obvious mistake on our part Jim comes to the front of the line with this look that one can only get from drinking multiple cups of coffee before chasing two Iron Butt guys for 100 miles. I signaled we had 10 to go. With relief Jim slide back to the rear of the line.

After a brief stop, Pete had a new road for us. Turns out Pete had found this road the previous week. It was a series of fairly high speed turns that was just the right start for Jim and Carrie. As soon as we hit the road Pete and I took off, with the plan to wait in Saluda for our guests. I have said recently that the Wing has made me a better rider. I am more confident on the bike and as a result can ride smoother and faster, almost catching Pete. I can only imagine what is like for the locals to see these two 850 lbs bikes fly down those country roads.

In Saluda the Purple Onion awaited us. The Purple Onion is a small, local place that has good food and as it turns out, a good cream stout. The conversation at lunch was about a certain road nearby that had risen up and bit Pete last weekend. You can get some idea of the road here. What you cannot see from this map is how steep it is. Pete’s mirror was a casualty and I could tell he wanted to tame the beast. The problem was we had our guests in tow and it is no place for rookies, even though Jim has many years on flat riding under his belt.

How about an espresso? I asked before promptly ordering two. Pete knew what was coming. We had picked up the espresso habit on our French trip and normally was a signal that the riding was going to pick up in pace. We laughed, told Jim to buckle up and we were off.

I lead the way down the Green River Cove road. Jim was doing fine and Pete was providing a running commentary of which corner was coming up and which one had jumped out at him the week before. Everyone got down safe, but there was still a demon in Pete. He had to go up it and prove to himself that he was in control. After a brief discussion Carrie and I headed down the road to find a place by the river to wait. Pete, followed by Jim, set out to concur what was left of the demon.

10 miles down the road Carrie and I found a place to pull over and wait. Carrie got off the Wing and proclaimed “that is the difference between a go-cart and a BMW, Wow, what a ride”. I laughed and waded into the river to see what the water was like. 20 minutes later Pete and Jim pulled up. The exorcism was complete.

My turn to show Pete a new road.

Pete and I turned up the ride again and rode around the less traveled side of Lake Lure. If you do stop to look at the lake you see the private side of life at the lake with the house boats and weekend cottages. If you don’t stop and look you can ride using all the rubber on the wheels, switching from left to right and back left again. It is a feeling that gets the blood flowing, and the mind completely clear.

A quick stop at Pete’s property and we were heading back to Charlotte. We had given our guests a great day’s ride.

Oh, and Pete and I had fun too!