Ride Report by Scott Craig
INVASION NASHVILLE! Yes, Nashville has been invaded. It was a two-pronged
attack. From the west AGirl attacked on her Suzuki V-Strom DL1000. From all other
points Gold Wings from around the country invaded from every point of the compass. I got
to see them both today, and it was a blast. It was a long, hot day but worth it in every
respect. I’d do it again in a heartbeat!
We met up about 6:30 this morning in Belle Meade. Since she and RTJohn are both going for
the Iron Butt Master Traveler Silver Award (for more details see her post
Here!) and there are a couple of stamps available at a reasonable distance down the Natchez
Trace Parkway we headed out down the trace. It is a beautiful ride early in the morning. There
is virtually no traffic whatsoever, no stop lights, no stop signs, no trucks, nothing but scenery
and smooth roads. We saw a bunch of buzzards, a bunch of wild turkey, a bunch of turtles
crossing the road (go figure!) and two deer. One of the deer is probably still running because
AGirl let loose with her Stebel air horn and scared the bejeezus out of the poor thing.
We rode from the Northern Terminus at Highway 100 at mile marker 444 in Nashville to the Meriweather
Lewis National Monument at mile marker 386 to get her a stamp from that national monument. On
the way we stopped at the ranger station at Leipers Fork to grab the one there. When we stopped
at Leipers Fork there was nobody home at the ranger station, however one of the rangers pulled up a
couple of minutes after we got there. He was great and she managed to get three stamps added
to her Passport book. We chatted about the history of the Trace for a bit, and then headed on
south to the Meriweather Lewis monument.
The run south to the monument is every bit as scenic. Beautiful sweeping curves on a perfectly
smooth surface. We did manage to “Tweak” the speed limit a little bit in places, but that road
just begs for a little flavor. Besides, we had just left the ranger with the radar at Leipers fork!
The Meriweather Lewis National Monument is dedicated to the memory of Meriweather Lewis of Lewis and
Clark fame. His remains are buried there, and the remains of the Grinder Inn where he died are
also visible (although barely!). When we got there a couple of maintenance workers were cutting
the grass and a couple of Gold Wing trikes were visiting the site. We looked around for the
Passport Stamp but couldn’t find it so we asked the maintenance people about it. One said he would
check with the other, and while he was gone we talked with the Gold Wing riders. They were a couple
from Oklahoma (I think) and were in town for the Wing Ding. AGirl explained the Passport program to
them and you could tell they were very interested.
The lady who was cutting the grass came back at this point and said she thought that she knew where the
stamp was kept and asked us to follow her. All four of us, AGirl, myself, and the two Gold Wing
riders proceeded to follow this lady on a John Deere mower to the ranger station. Ever tried to
follow a lawn mower on a motorcycle? It isn’t the easiest thing to do and we got a good bit of
“Friction Zone” practice.
Unfortunately the stamp was nowhere to be found. The maintenance lady made a couple of phone calls,
and tried her best to find it but it was apparently locked up in the head ranger’s office and she didn’t
have a key. I really felt sorry for her. She apologized over and over even though she had
gone out of her way to help us out. AGirl mentioned that one of her upcoming runs will bring her
that way again, so perhaps she can get it next time by.
Webmaster Note: I've been down to the Meriwether Lewis monument a couple of times since then in search of
that stamp (yes, AGirl did get me hooked on collecting those Passport Stamps as well!) and it apparently
no longer exists. The last time I was there I found one of the head Park Rangers and he looked
everywhere he could think of. Unlike the maintenance worker he had the keys to everything in the
office and it is not there. He said that the last time he had seen it was a couple of years previously,
and at that time it was kept in the "Cabin" at the monument. Since the pedestal on which the
stamps are normally kept is also gone it is safe to assume that this particular stamp is in someone
else's possession. If you have that stamp you have something unique now.
One interesting fact that the maintenance worker told me was that the two of them were responsible for
maintaining a 52 mile stretch of the Parkway. What makes this so remarkable is that on the stretch
we drove from Nashville there was no grass taller than a couple of inches, there was no trash whatsoever,
no tree limbs beside the road, nothing! The entire parkway was in pristine condition. These
people do a magnificent job of maintaining that roadway, and my hat is off to them.
We left the Meriweather Lewis monument without a passport stamp and headed back north for Opryland and
the Gold Wing Wing-Ding. A couple of stops on the way for photos, a stop at AGirl’s home to pick
up her father (thanks for the lemonade, it really hit the spot!), and on to Opryland and Wing-Ding.
Wing-Ding is an annual event put on by the Gold Wing Road Riders Association. This year it is in
Nashville (details are on their web site at http://www.wing-ding.org/)
and I have never seen so many Gold Wings of every description, color, and size in one place. A
very good friend of AGirl’s from Phoenix is competing in the “Top Gun” competition, and their final
practice was today.
We pulled into the midst of a herd of Gold Wings on a couple of V-Stroms and that got some attention. We
pulled up under a pavilion, the wrong one naturally, and as soon as we shut the engines off a man was bulling
his way over toward us. My first thought was that this must be some kind of world record for getting
thrown out of a place, but I was wrong. He just wanted to look at the bikes and talk for a few
minutes. He pointed us in the right direction, so we headed to the other side of the parking lot to
watch the “Top Gun” practice.
I’m here to tell you, what those guys can do with those great big bikes is something to see. They
were whipping them through paces that would make a sport bike nervous and making it look easy.
We met AGirls friends Jim Graebel and Charlie (sorry, I didn’t catch his last name) from Phoenix. We
talked bikes, learned a lot about Gold Wings, got really, really hot, and watched these big bikes do tricks
for a couple of hours. When the practice was over all five of us headed for Cracker Barrel for a
quick bite to eat. After that Jim and Charlie headed for their motel and AGirl, her father, and I
headed for Percy Warner Park for a quiet cool-down ride.
It was here that I had my most embarrassing moment of the day. We stopped at an overlook for a couple
of photos. I put the kickstand down, and leaned the bike over normally. Shifted my weight to the
right (for some reason), put my right foot down, and there was nothing under it! Next thing I know both
me and the bike are on the ground looking up. No real harm done, except to my pride. My Givi bars
have a couple of scuffs on them, the right front turn signal is cracked, and there is a scuff on the decal on
the right side of the fairing. Personally I’m still trying to figure out exactly what the hell
happened! I think the bike was right on the edge on the pavement with a few inches of drop down to the
shoulder. Just enough to get me overbalanced so that when I shifted my weight to the right everything
just kept going. Lesson for today: Make sure there is ground under the foot before putting it down!
Percy Warner park is a great place to ride. It’s quiet and peaceful and most of the roads are one way
and very twisty. Lots of bicycle and pedestrian traffic, but other than that it’s just the right place
to cool off after a hot day.
A long, hot day but worth every minute. I met AGirl at 6:30am and got home about 6:30pm. I put 230
miles on my bike, and had a blast doing it. This is an amazing lady that everyone who has the opportunity
to meet should take. I followed that “AGirl” license plate all day long and learned a lot just by
following her. She is heading out later this week for east Tennessee so you guys over that way take advantage
of the opportunity. She is supposed to be back here the weekend of the 16th so you guys over my way need to
put something together.
OK AGirl, your turn to add the photos and the things I left out.
Webmaster Note: July 3, 2006 was the first time I Met AGirl, and the first time we rode
together. Since then I've had the privilege of riding with her a number of times, I've worked
on her bikes a few times, and just generally enjoyed her company. In that time my respect for
her as a person as well as my respect for her abilities on a bike have only increased. I consider
myself lucky to have her as a friend, and also consider myself lucky to be her webmaster since I can
put stuff in her ride reports and there is nothing she can do about it!
Remaining Ride Report by AGirl on 07/04/06
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Delayed in responding because after meeting Scott I rode to Athens, Greece and back... here's proof:
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Ok, so the pic is really in front of "The Parthenon" which is located here in Nashville and is the
exact replica to the one in Athens. Had you fooled, huh?
Scott did an excellent job of recounting the events yesterday. It was a pleasure to ride with
him, introduce him to my family, my dear Gold Wing friends from Phoenix, and have a Stamping
Expedition copilot in place of RTJohn. The more I personally meet other V-Strom owners from the
forum the more I see a common theme of who a Stromtrooper is.... very caring, responsible, respectful,
and friendly. Hopefully when Scott and I ride again next week I can meet other forum members. Any
day of riding is a good day in my book; when it involves family & friends, both old and new, well, it just
doesn't get much better.
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2 Wings + 2 Stroms =
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Edwin Warner Park:
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The Natchez Trace Pkwy was such a pleasant ride that I rode my Dad 2up down 75mi of it en route to
visit family today (Tues 7/4). I forgot to take a pic yesterday at the Meriweather Lewis site
so I did so today with my Dad:
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Riding my Dad 2up has been loads of fun but his mounting/dismounting procedure needs some work... I'm
not used to a 6'3, 215lb passenger climbing on board like they would a horse! Keeping the bike
stabilized while this boarding procedure is occurring has worn me out!
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The Natchez Trace Parkway is not a technical ride, just lazy sweepers on pavement that would pass for
track ready (do they sweep this thing by hand or something?!!):
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Entrance to Natchez Trace Parkway:
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Natchez Trace Parkway: http://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm
Webmaster Note: For those interested in more photos of the Natchez Trace Parkway, I have many more
on my web site at This Page. I've been
up and down it several times since AGirl and I rode it in July, and each time it just gets better. I
haven't ridden the entire 440+ miles of it, but I have been down it for about 130 or so. One of these
days I may just tackle the entire length!
Oh dear, the deer! Geez, I think the Stebel air horn has seen more duty in my 3 days here than all
the other days of ownership combined. I should probably say that one should be prepared if putting
the Stebel to use (inadvertently or not) when passing a bicyclist who, say, might be waaaay left of the
shoulder (hey, I really was pushing the turn signal!). I don't even have words for what kind of
reaction this might cause, which may include you laughing so hard that you could momentarily lose focus
of piloting your motorcycle. Anyway, I'm hoping RTJohn and I can ride the entire Natchez Trace Parkway
when returning to AZ and get the Meriwether Lewis stamp then. If Scott had told the maintenance grass
cutting lady, who desperately attempted to locate the key to the Ranger's office with the stamp, that I had
come all the way from AZ for the stamp I have no doubt she would have mowed down the Ranger's door with that
John Deere of hers. By the way, I think that thing had better suspension than my Strom does.
No exaggeration in Scott saying Music City has been invaded. The Gold Wings were going to try and set
a world record today for the largest contingent of Gold Wings riding in a parade when they ride from Opryland
to downtown Nashville. Would be interesting to see the reaction of unknowing bikers traveling East
bound as the Wings migrate down the other side towards downtown. Regarding our time at Wing Ding, I
spoke at length about the V-Strom with the gentleman who intensely approached us after arriving for the Top
Gun practice. I too thought we were going to be surrounded by Wings and escorted out so I told the man
before he had a chance to speak "don't hold it against me that mine can wheelie and your's can't." I was
rather relieved to hear him spewing nonstop V-Strom questions (Wing boys can be pretty beefy ya know!). After
attending a BMW rally recently and now this Gold Wing event I don't think I'll be surprised again when folks
approach me with great enthusiasm and endless questions about the Strom despite being surrounded by non-Stroms.
Today rain clouds loomed and I thought for sure the drought for the Strom would be ending but it
didn't. Yesterday returning from Wing Ding several drops of liquid hit my windscreen and I was ready to
mark the end of the drought but quickly realized the source was the car in front of me spraying windshield wiper fluid.
Tomorrow is the Top Gun finals at Wing Ding and I'll go cheer for Jim and watch him throw his Gold Wing around
like a bicycle (and hopefully win the title!). He's the Captain of the "Arizona Motorcycle Precision Drill
Team" (http://www.azdrillteam.org/index.html). He
and Charly are the guys Scott mentions in his report above.
AGirl
p.s. Keep your fingers crossed for RTJohn. His beloved new BMW 1200RT is practically disassembled at
the BMW dealer's in Phoenix with an under warranty transmission leak. He's apparently the first owner
of the new 1200RT model to hit 35k miles so parts and maintenance issues are not readily accessible. It's
been down almost a week and he's scheduled to leave for Boise tomorrow night. HANG IN THERE, RT!!
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