There was nine riders in attendance at today's meeting at Timothy.

We kicked off the meeting with a 2013 Baloney Shop episode concerning judicial interference with Christian groups in colleges, an old story still relevant today.

Then we reviewed a ride route recommended for our August 13th ride  http://bit.ly/29V6xK0  Additional details will be available as the ride date nears.

We took a look at a few clips from our C-CW ride http://tlcmc.org/index.php/news/227-c-cw-ramble-july-16-2016 to see if there were anything we could learn from the two bike drops, one wet one dry, that occurred on the Helton Creek Road. After a lot of discussion we concluded the common element in both drops was lack of forward momentum exacerbated by poor footing.

Scott told us about a difficult and bizarre eye problem one of the congregants at Timothy is experiencing. While not exactly the same, this link takes you to an explanation of a similar incident that happened to another person http://abcnews.go.com/Health/EyeHealthNews/tarantula-attack-pierces-owners-eyes/story?id=9458010

Captain Crash gave some advice about riding on grooved pavement, both grooved for rain and grooved from an asphalt recycling process. The advice was the same for both--relax, perhaps slow down a bit if uncomfortable, and let the bars move as the tires hunt among the grooves.

Smarter Every Day demonstrated to airplane travelers, why it is important, in the event of cabin depressurization, to put on your own oxygen mask before attempting to help others, including children, with theirs. Depending on the airplane's altitude you only have seconds to act before losing consciousness.

Smarter Every Day also showed us, via a video demonstration, how a helicopter is able to land safely even if it loses power. 

Mel told us he has sold his house and is in the process of moving to Athens by mid August. Unless we take a ride eastward one of these days we are not likely to see him on our rides and in our meetings going forward. We wish Mel all the best and enjoyed having him with us.

Our next meeting is scheduled for August 27th.

Ten of us met this Saturday at Timothy to have an opportunity to relive and share the Big Adventure most of those present undertook earlier in the month, June ninth through the eleventh.

Dave had transferred his SPOT entries over to SPOT Adventures so all could see the actual route the riders followed over the three days. This can be seen at http://www.findmespot.com/spotadventures/index.php/view_adventure?tripid=344473

Three of the riders took photos/video that were integrated into a fifteen minute video that can be seen at

There was a good deal of enthusiasm for another camping adventure and a two day  (Fri-Sat) camp-n-ride was tentatively scheduled for early October probably with camping at T.W. of Suches (aka TWO).

A July ride was scheduled for July 16th with a route that will include the Richard Russell, Wolf Pen Gap, and a number of seldom traveled scenic backroads leading there and coming home. Details will be available as the ride date approaches.

Captain Crash, (via video) gave us advice for safe riding in the inevitable summer cloudbursts, and a few "Russian" clips showed us how lucky some folks can be avoiding injury unconsciously.

We adjourned at 11:15 am.

Our next meeting will be July 30th 9-11 at Timothy. 

Surprisingly, ten of us, almost all on bikes, were able to take the time this Memorial Day weekend to attend our monthly meeting. Bravo!

The collection of $20 to defray the cost of website maintenance is complete now, with  all those present having contributed, along with most other active riders. Dan has the dollars. Dan's is hoping to find a "lending library" module that fits our needs, to incorporate into the website.

Next on the agenda was an overview of what is planned for the Camp-N-Ride (aka The Dirty Four) set for June 9 thru 11. At this point, Larry, Dave, Steve D. and Steve G.are signed up, but additional riders are welcome. A pre-ride meeting is scheduled for June 4th at the Taco Mac in Woodstock. The meeting time is TBD.

No additional ride was set for June, though the possibility of a ride to Tellico Plains with a hop up Buck Bald was discussed. The Buck Bald video that shows the road to the top was AWOL at the meeting, but has since showed up and here it is.

The Weather Underground can hold their head in shame for predicting thunderstorms starting around noon, while our local guru, Kirk Mellish, had it right again, with sunshine prevailing, well into the afternoon.

Ten of us rode or drove in to meet and discuss plans for a May ride and the three day Camp-N-Ride scheduled for June. Larry took the group through a day by day itinerary for the Camp-N-Ride that starts out on Thursday June 9th with a scenic ride up to the Mile High or Balsam campground just off the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) in the vicinity of Cherokee, North Carolina. The second day, Friday, includes more rides on the BRP and the Smoky Mountains for street rider, or various off road tracks in and around the national park for dual sport riders. Both groups will meet up at the south end of the Dragon and ride together to the Iron Horse Lodge's campground near Stecoah. Day three's route is not yet defined but will head home with various side rides available. Larry is coordinating the event and will soon send an e-mail with more definitive details.

The group agreed on May 14th for the May ride. The route chosen would take the group up to Ellijay (the back way then over Fort Mountain to Chatsworth and lunch at Edna's. From Edna's the ride would continue south on the Old Federal Road, SR 136, Jerusalem Church Road, and Henderson Mountain etc, and home. More information will be available as the ride date approaches.

Dan (and Presley) joined us and brought us up to speed on the financial status of our website. About $215 is needed to cover the site's hosting cost into the next two years. Dan has been covering charges out of his PayPal account but the group agreed that active TLCMC members should foot the bill. This figures to about $20 @

Richard, Dave, Steve D., Larry, Bob (the younger), and Bob S.ponied up their $20 at the meeting. The rest of the active members (defined as attending some meetings and/or participating in rides at least occasionally) should either leave their $20 with their name noted in an envelope left in the Sullivan mail slot at Timothy, or bring it to the next meeting. Anything collected in excess of the $215 will be used for enhancements to the website, perhaps a Lending Library for  motorcycle videos  and books.

The remainder of the meeting looked at the history of BMW's GS series, an instructional video from Captain Crash and a few other video clips depicting other aspects of motorcycling.

Our next meeting will be Saturday, May 28th, same time, 9-11am.