You know that you’re a die-hard race fan when the first thing you do, upon waking up, is check the race results! This was the case this past Saturday for us with American Flat Track racing in Ventura, California. The southern part of the West Coast swing for flat track fans is done and dusted with some shocking results in the Singles class.
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I first came to ride the Cherohala Skyway a few years after it opened, in 1998 or ’99. I rode up with a group of CMA friends from the Atlanta area, and we spent a day riding the parkway from Robbinsville NC to Tellico Plains TN. After a hearty late lunch at the popular Tellicafé on the western end of the skyway, the group turned around and rode back across that afternoon. It was early October as I remember, and the mountains were awash in the colors of autumn- gold, orange, red, purple, with pine evergreen interspersed.
It was magical. I was hooked.
While most of the time I feel like “cagers” (biker slang for automobile drivers) are aware of and largely respect us on the roads, it’s a sad fact that too many motorists don’t give us the margin and consideration that we deserve. We are often viewed as a traffic nuisance at the very least, and at worst are considered outlaw biker gang types or irresponsible stunters. Newsflash: While those elements do exist, the overwhelming majority of us riders are law-abiding citizens, with families and jobs, like our fellow “cagers.” Conversely, all too often we riders regard our fellow motorists as inattentive, distracted adversaries, who crowd us out and cut us off on the roads, with no consideration for our rights or well-being. Of course, we know that’s a generalization as well, aware that most motorists aren’t trying to kill us.
They are pretty distracted nowadays, however.
I guess you could say I am a “Kawasaki Man.” Out of the hundreds of bikes I’ve owned over the last 55 years, a bunch of them have been Kawasakis. I just like Kawasakis and always have. I owned two 2001 model Kawasaki W650s, both of which I kept for several years. I didn’t know much about them when I discovered a low mileage, custom-painted W650 for sale in a nearby town advertised on Craigslist. I got that first W650 in late summer of 2005, and then I picked up a second one just a few months later in St. Louis. I think I paid $3200 for the first one and only $2800 for the second one (it was such a deal I just had to buy it) and neither of them had more than 3000 miles on the clock nor a single scratch.
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News came today that Harley-Davidson’s CEO, Jochen Zeitz, is stepping down from his position. The company is now beginning the search for a new leader.
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4 1/2 years. That’s how long it’s been since the last time I rolled in and set foot on the grounds of Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge in Stecoah, North Carolina. Had it really been nearly that long? My memories of our last trip here in many respects feel like yesterday. Phil, Ted, my friend Lyle, and myself, all enjoying one of the most beautiful, colorful autumns in recent memory, up in the mountains of western North Carolina. We stayed in one of Iron Horse’s creekside cabins, waking to the gentle burbling stream every morning. Delightful meals, even more delightful people, nightly campfires, and exceptional hospitality by owner Jerry Goss and his staff. We even rode a trio of Yamaha Nikens, those mechanical silverback gorillas, across the famed Tail of the Dragon, along the Cherohala Skyway, and a stint on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Iron Horse owns and operates Wolf Creek Rentals, just down the street from the lodge. More on that shortly.
I remember it all as if it were yesterday. And yet it’s been almost five years. Too many years.
Over the winter between the 2024 AFT racing season and the start of this one in March, American Flat Track dramatically changed the rules and specifications for motorcycles used in their AFT SuperTwins class. For nearly a decade, Indian Motorcycle dominated the premier class with their incredible FTR750. The revived “Indian Wrecking Crew” tore up the class for years, with Jared Mees and teammates breaking records, winning races and clinching championships year after year since 2017. Early on, many thought the renewed legendary rivalry between Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle would make for incredible competition in the class. Turns out, Harley’s 750 machines couldn’t hold a candle to the FTR750 bikes, much less ever beat them on the track. By the 2024 season, the Harleys had all but disappeared from the class, with most teams utilizing the FTR750, Ysmaha’s MT-07, KTM 790 Duke, even a couple running the Royal Enfield 650, to name a few.
Now all that has changed. If you can’t beat them, eliminate them from the competition.
The air feels heavy from the recent rain, as if there is nowhere left for all the moisture to go. The saturated path is soft and spongy underfoot, and tree limbs hang heavy from the weight of the water drops. Overhead, black threatening clouds hang oppressively low, matching the darkness in my soul. It’s cool, not cold, but I shiver as I climb up into the dark, silent woods, alone with my thoughts. Just two weeks out of riding through the war in Ukraine for the last five weeks, yet I haven’t made it back yet.
Suddenly, a young dog comes racing around the corner, the first sign of life I’ve seen as even the birds seem to have stayed home today. Clearly inquisitive, but wary, he circles me as his owner comes into view. The quintessential Scottish dog walker- wax cotton rain jacket and rubber boots, the practical choice for these conditions. He has a shock of dark hair, a thick goatee beard covering his face and after calling his dog, we exchange pleasantries. Actually, we enter into a bizarre conversation that just seems to get stranger. At first, I think we must have met the year before, the way he greets me, so I ask how his dog has been doing. He tells me he only just got him, hence his untrained behavior. These disconnected exchanges continue as I conclude that we haven’t met before. Then he asks me a question that leaves me as stunned as I am bewildered.
“How’s the Mirage doing?”
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