It was planned to be a combination day with the November TLCMC ride sweeping around to take in the Connections Car Show at The Savoy Automobile Museum in Cartersville, GA.  Unfortunately several things conspired to scupper the ride including Larry’s KTM service being delayed by the need for a special order cam timing tool, but as it turned out the weather on that Saturday morning was not conducive to enjoyable riding anyway.  Even driving up in the ’73 Mustang convertible included some interesting moments as the rain on the concrete roads made for some slick and slippery driving conditions.  

Arriving at the Savoy we were one of the small group of show cars on site, but as the morning progressed the rain stopped, the sky brightened, and the cool toys came out to be shown and judged.  

I relocated from our home of 35 years in Marietta, GA. to coastal North Carolina earlier this year. We moved to the town of Bolivia, NC, located about halfway between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach. Our families are from eastern NC, so we are close enough to visit but far enough away to not have them show up unannounced.

Two immediate differences in Coastal NC and north Georgia were immediately apparent. First, there are no curvy roads here. If you look at Hwy 17 on the map it is a straight line from Wilmington to Myrtle Beach. When I ride to the grocery store there are no curves at all in the 15 miles from home.

Which explains the second point. Almost all bikes here are cruisers. On one afternoon ride I counted 65 cruisers, 15 Tri-Glides, 4 sport bikes, and no ADV bikes.  The closest Triumph dealer is about an hour and a half away in Murrells Inlet, SC. I pass 5 HD dealers on the route when I go for service.

I recently rode to Southport, NC and took a ferry across to Fort Fisher and into Wilmington. It's a 30 minute crossing on the ferry . There are 3 more ferries up the coast that are on my ride list, going all the way up the NC Outer Banks before turning west at Nags Head, which coincidentally is the start if the TransAmerica Trail.