This is from Mac11

I met Ameristo on Saturday, March 4, 2006 at Paradise Truckstop located at I-20 (Exit 49) and Hwy 153, Minden, Louisiana. We made the transfer of the Mascot and I returned back to Ruston, Louisiana via Hwy 153 app. 3 miles to LA. State Highway 79 travels app. 35 miles east to Homer, Lousiana. From Homer, Louisian I took La, Hwy 146 (White Lightning) highway named for various reasons but mainly in the proabation area of folks hauling home made materials in the truck of their cars. App. 45 miles from Homer, Louisiana to Ruston, La. Total miles app. 166 miles. Ameristo is suppose to be sending the pics of our transfer, if he doesn't I have copies.

I met three friends of mine Bobby Ledford, Clyde Pesnell and a friend of theirs at our local Citgo station on Saturday, March 11 at 7:30 am and we traveled on La Hwy 33 app. 5 miles to I-20 traveling east app. 35 miles to West Monroe, Louisiana where we picked up another friend of mine, Chuck Adams and two of his friends. We had seven of us traveling I-20 east bound stopping at Visksburg, Mississippi to admire the old Mississippi River and to gas up. Leaving Visksburg, Ms our next stop was Forest, Mississippi where we met (nok1him) Mikeeeeeeeeeeeee and his friend at the Santa Fe Steakhouse at I-2- and State Hwy 35. One way was 195 miles and round trip 397 miles.

It was really good to get to meet another HDForums.com member and one of his friends plus we got to have fellowship with the other guys, as well as, introduce six others to the Mascot, included them in the picture and now hopefully we will hve six new memebers to join us. Mikeeeee should be sending you the pics of the transfer.

Thanks a million, it has truly been a very good learning experience on the forum, and its has brought those we would have never met together. How many times do you go on a trip and meet someone and they call you to make sure you made it home OK - That't the kind of friendship you make - Thanks Mikeeeeeeeee - Friends Always.

Mac

Mac11 (John) and No1Likehim (Mikeeeeeeee)

 

This is Mikeeeeeeee's story:

My time with the mascot began long before I ever saw it and held it. Around the 1st of the year I began posting like crazy to try to get it moving in my direction so I could participate in this forum in a whole new way. The mascot moved to Ruston La, to my new and good friend John McKenzie (Mac11). John PMed me and said “Guess what I got?” We agreed to ride rain or shine and meet in Forest Ms. That was 200 miles one way for John and 210 miles one way for me. I went to my best riding buddy Hal and said “you have got to ride with me to Mississippi!” When I explained what was going on, he agreed to ride with me.
We set out at 7 AM on the 11th of March, 2006 for Forest Ms. Most of the ride was non interstate on old US 80. We rode through one patch of rain, but it was generally a beautiful day with mostly cloudy skies.
Arriving at Forest around 11, we pulled into Penn’s Santa Fe Steakhouse and waited about 20 minutes and John and his entourage pulled in. After shaking hands and meeting everyone, we exchanged the mascot and took pictures. Out of 9 riders, John and I were the only forum members, but I’m sure some of the others will join.
We had a great meal and fellowship and got to know each other, but time came that we knew we had to leave to make it back before dark.
The trip back was nice and Hal and I split ways a few miles from home and I pulled into the driveway around 5 PM. 420.3 miles were on the trip odometer. Longest ride I have ever been on, but MORE than worth ever mile!

The following Saturday, It was around 50 degrees when Vicki and I left Montgomery riding 2 up on the EG Classic. Rain was on the radar all around us, but we suited up for rain before getting on the bike and determined that “Rain or shine” we were going to meet Oliver Clozoff (Brian Lowe) at Peach Park in Clanton Al. Brian, Bryon, and Heath were riding down from the Birmingham area to meet us.
The rain just seemed to dry up as we rode and we never caught a single drop. We rode up on I-65 north and got to Clanton around 10:45 Am. We went inside and grabbed a cup of coffee and waited for the B’ham boys to show up. Sure enough, right about 11 they pulled in and parked.
Handshakes, intros, and smiles. The mascot was exchanged and Vicki took pictures with 3 cameras! We went inside and had some BBQ and peach ice cream and talked for about an hour or so. Retiring outside we drooled on each other’s bikes for while and then Vicki and I suited back up and proceeded to take the long way home. Clanton is about 40 miles from our house in Montgomery. We rode back on old US 31 to Al 143 to Al 111 then US 231 home. A very scenic route that takes you by the Confederate Veterans Home and other points of interest.

I am honored to have carried and signed the Mascot. In the process I got to meet some new friends and went on the longest single day ride of my life. I learned that an Electra Glide is made for one thing – eating up highway, and doing it with the greatest of ease!

Thanks to Brian for meeting me in Clanton.
Thanks to John for meeting me in Ms. Thanks to John for being my newest best buddy.
Tim in St Lamant La. I’m sorry that the flu had you down man. I would have loved to meet you too!
Thanks HDForums for being there and making all this possible!







Brian and Mike



Forest1


John and Mike



Mascot Guys

 

On a chilly but beautiful sunny Saturday morning I got all my layers on, fueled up and headed west. I rode west on hwy 78 out of Douglasville passing through Temple,VOn a chilly but beautiful sunny Saturday morning I got all my layers on, fueled up and headed west. I rode west on hwy 78 out of Douglasville passing through Temple,Villa Rica,Bremen,and Tallapoosa, before reaching the GA/AL line. I had to make an unscheduled stop in Temple at small motorcycle shop called Hog Wild of Temple. You see, I had mt clothing planned well in all but one area, my neck! I had on layers and leather head to toe but my neck was bare. I stopped in at Hog Wild and bought a fleece lined leather neckerchief and continued west. One more restroom stop in Heflin AL (bathroom hand dryers are great for warming up road cold hands!) After a couple of passes through Oxford , I missed the turn to the dealership, I asked directions and was on course. I pulled up at Mt Cheaha HD at exactly 11:30 and was heading into the dealer when someone out front said "What are you here for?". There sat Oliver Clozoff (Brian) and mr McCool (also brian). We sat and talked for a but then they both signed the mascot and someone mentioned food. Having nothing in my stomach but a cup of Earl Grey that morning I was ll for some food and continued fellowship with some really nice guys.We had a long talkative lunch and then parted ways, me with mascot in saddle bag.

The next leg of my journeys with the mascot didnt start too well.The night before the missus and I had gone to a nephew's basketball game. With temps in the low 70s to high 60s we decided to ride the bike. After the game we exit the gym to see it pouring down rain I tell her to catch a ride with the others in the cage and I suit up. We ride a few miles down the road and the rain has stopped so we stop for dinner. We had a long dinner and then i went to gas up and it came a toad strangling rain! So for the next hour I splashed and sloshed my way home. The next morning I awoke a couple of hours before I needed to leave so that I could get my bike clean and presentable for the trip to meet Dexo54 (Robert). Upon waking I heard more rain so washing the bike was out . Dexo and I had PMed though and decided rain or shine So I went got all my stuff ready got on the bike and fired it up. As the bike idled warming up I began my usual mental checklist.OOPS! the mascot was on my owrk bench!!! How bad would that have sucked to ride to Clayton county HD to meet Dexo only to have to say sorry bro Ill hafta go back and get it! Luckily my mental list served me well. As Im backing out of my shop the neighbor calls over the fence asking where Im going so i explained. He said hold on he would gear up and come with me. So off we went to meet Dexo. We arrived to find him already there. Some good conversation and talk of riding destinations and we were off for home with the mascot heading on next leg of it's journey.

ApeKing and Oliver Clozoff at Mt Cheaha HD in Oxford Alabama



ApeKing and Dexo54 at Clayton County HD in Clayton county GA

 

From Cool Breeze (dexo54):

OK. Here's my story an' I'm stickin' to it.

ApeKing and I decided to ride rain or shine for the meet and handoff on April 1st. After gassin' up I left Macon about 9:30 am and headed north on I-475 to I-75 all the way to Clayton County HD in Morrow, Ga. Weather was calling for showers, but I only encountered a few sprinkles around McDonough, Ga. Otherwise it was a partly sunny day about 70*. I took the easy route up so as not to be late. I arrived at our destination about 11 am and within a few minutes Ape and a riding buddy of his pulled in. We did the meet and greet thing, handed off the Mascot to ME! took a couple of pic's and then walked around the HD store checking out the "stuff", we exchanged stories about bikes and different rides and things. We couldn't believe some of the prices in that store. Anyway, after a while and a few more good stories, we decided to head out. Left Morrow, Ga at 1pm heading south on SR 54 to US 41/19 south. After passing the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga (probably the best track in NASCAR) I stopped for a bite of lunch at Wendy's and could hear some stock cars racing or testing while I ate. Pretty cool. Now that "my" tank was full, I continued along US 41/19 south to Barnsville, Ga and rode US 341 for 10 or 12 miles and turned left on SR 74. At the JCT of US 341 and SR 74 I hooked up with 6 other bikers and rode with them all the way back to Macon. Turned out to be a great ride. Glad to have met you Kevin, (ApeKing)




Sunday April 2nd and on my way to meet JonHanna and ****** in Gainsville, Ga. Got up about 8 am, checked the weather channel, calling for cool/cloudy conditions, had a light breakfast/ coffee and was off at 9am. We all had decided to take the scenic routes on our way to meet, the interstate just sucks. I again started out on US 41/19 north from Macon, Ga and rode it to Forsyth, Ga then I turned right onto SR 83 north. The sun came out and it was going to be a beautiful day. After a while I rode through Monticello, Ga and learned it was the birthplace of C/W star Trisha Yearwood. I stopped in Shady Dale a few miles down the road for a great homemade biscuit and more coffee. Saddled up, took off and continued along SR 83 north to Madison, Ga. A picture perfect town. As a matter of fact, while passing through it a FOX Film crew from Hollywood was filming a made for TV movie called "Vanished" due out this fall, who knows, maybe me and the 'Glide will be a passing by, Hmmmm. Anyway, here in Madison I pick up US 129 north (ya'll know it as the Dragon up in Tenn) and ride to Bishop, Ga and decide to stop and call Jon and Rusty. Hey I've got a voice mail from Jon and we seem to be on time. I call them back, tell them where I'm at and will see them around 12/1 pm. So now I'm in Gainsville about 11:45 am and can't find the restuarant, so I stop in a local gas and go and ask for directions. The folks inside are from India and can't tell me anything. OK, so onto the next gas station. I go inside and ask, they are also from India and speak broken english, they tell me to go two lights down turn right and it will take me to Dawsonville. WTF! I don't want to go to Dawnsonville. I mean these folks live here, but don't know where they are. Hmph!!! Anyway I find the road that I missed and the Texas Roadhouse restuarnt was only 1/2 mile from where I was to begin with. As I pull in at 12:30 and put down the kickstand, here comes JohHanna and ****** at the same time, What timing, guess getting lost wasn't such a bad thing after all. We met and talked for a while, checked out the bikes, swapped stories took a few pics handed off the Mascot to Jon then onto lunch. Had a great time meeting Jon and Rusty. Food was really good too, thanks Jon for the suggestion as to where to meet. After lunch we gathered outside to again admire out trusty steeds and swap more stories and even plan a fut

 

From JonHanna

Tripper, here is my story.

Before hand we have been talking about this for weeks now. The Upstate South
Carolina guys got a thread going here. https://www.hdforums.com/m_342544/tm.htm

At one point we had an unoffical number of eight bikes going down to meet Dexo54
in Gainsville GA. As time drew closer the number of people got smaller. But
****** and myself stayed true to South Carolina and went along with the plans as
normal. Mapped out ahead of time through the trusty old South Carolina map. We
would meet at ****** and I's regular meet and greet, Hwy #11 and Hwy#14 in
Gowensville.
Meeting time:8:30ish
Kickstands up:9:00am
The moring of, I headed out for the meeting place around eight o'clock,
knowing it doesn't take 30 minutes to get there But I figured on gas'n up before
time to leave and have myself a wake-up drink and snack. After doing my
pre-check of the oils, leaks, air and lights, I started the Street Bob up,
strapped my on head bucket and I was off. 12 miles to the next stop.
****** came pulling up around 8:45. We said our normal "you ready to ride you
big ole redneck" and 9:00 we were off!!! Both of us wearing longsleeves and
t-shirts over them. That day raholw has come.
Leaving out headed south on Hwy 11 through the mountains, sun shining and real
cool in the lower shaded areas of the road but otherwise we couldn't have asked
for better weather for this ride. #11 is a scenic route that runs through and
right below mountians like table rock and ceasars head. All 2 lane, alittle
curvy and mostly 55 mph. So, after the first 50 minutes of riding we pulled over
just past the bridge that crosses over Lake Keowee, cause we figured by
mapquest it stated it was 120ish miles from Inman to Gainsville Ga by major
highways and ****** had already drove 20 miles or so just to the meeting place,
we thought we were about halfway there. We killed a few minutes, called Robert
to make sure he was in route and then headed off again.
Cruising at a good 60-65 mph nothing was gonna stop us. Slow travelers got
passed(2 cars illegally)on the way to hwy 123 in Westminister. Stopping again
right before we hit Toccoa Georgia for tobbacco, restroom break and check my
voice mail to confirm Robert was still in route. We should have about 45 minutes
till we arrive in Gainsville.
Running through Toccoa and checking my trusty mapquest road atlas we jumped
onto 23 south. A four lane highway nice stretches of straight wide open road.
With speeds hitting 75-80 mph in some spots, ****** was in heaven with that
trusty home-made windsceen. Here I was tuff'n it out with half helmet, glasses
and a minimal motorcycle getting pounded by kamikaze bugs of all sorts and sizes
on my sun burnt skin. Jumping ahead to arriving in Gainsville we stopped to
check our directions to the Texas Roadhouse. Exit on 129 into Gainsville(Jesse
Jewell pkwy) right on W. Academy st, turn left on w washinton st then right on
GA-52. Talk about planning, ****** and I pulled in right behind Dexo54!
We met, talked, exchanged the great mascot and went inside for a great lunch and
tea. Then Gassed up for the return home. I won't go on about that but it was
great and very nice ride. ****** and I are the Ironasses of the Upstate well
atleast off the HDforums. We returned to our starting point, exchanged the
mascot and split off on our different ways. Mission Accomplished!

Once again it was great to meet Robert(dexo54). And thanks for the lunch.
Our mileage was 312 miles round trip.
A few images

 

Hey Trip, it's me ******!
I just got in from meeting Redhawk (keith), sgtdiesel(Chris) and Chris's wife Courtney to pass on the Mascot
I left home ready to ride this Morning at 9am sharp. It was still a little cool, 47*, but Mr weatherman promised sunny skies and a High temp of 65*. I had made arrangements with Keith to meet him in Concord, NC which is just outside Charlotte. We had agreed to meet at the BP Gas Station just below Pat Rogers Harley-Davidson at 11am. I gave myself 2 hours to make the 90+ mile ride. Not knowing how much traffic I would encounter around the big City of Charlotte. Even though AuotFair was being held a Lowes Motor Speedway traffic was light and I made good time, arriving at the BP Station just below the HD Dealer at 10:30. I stretched my legs, got a Diet Pepsi and just milled around watching the people and the Custom Cars headed to the AutoFair. Keith arrived right on time at 11. He told me SgtDiesel (Chris) had called and was going to join us with his wife Courtney.
We rode on to Pat Rogers HD, shot the breeze while waiting on Chris & Courtney. After they arrived we got thru the introductions, picture taking and decided to ride to Morrow Mtn. State Park. Lunch arrangements had been made prior to leaving the HD Dealer, so we stopped had lunch, some more good conversation, then off we went to the State Park. Once inside the Park we made more pics, got to know Chris & Courtney a little better and took in the beautiful NC scenery. Then due to Babysitter restriction Chris and Courtney had to call it a day. Keith and I decided to ride thru the countryside so he could show me is home area. We rode about a 100 miles together before I decided I wanted to get home before dark thirty. All told it was a very fine day, I made two new friends and had a free lunch courtesy of Keith, and logged 310 miles on a beautiful Sporty on a beautiful day! And the Mascot is now in NC!

Keith, ******, Chris

 

This is from Chris (SgtDiesel)

Hey Tripper,



Here is the latest chapter in the travels of the HDF Mascot. I suppose I should begin with the route it took back to Monroe, NC with Redhawk(Keith) last Sunday when we picked it up from ******(Rusty).

We met ****** at Pat Rogers' Speedway Harley Davidson just off I-85 at exit 49, Speedway Blvd. near Lowe’s Motor Speedway. We had a nice ride, though a slightly chilly one on over to Morrow Mountain State Park in Albemarle. After Morrow Mountain, I parted ways with Redhawk and ******, but the mascot carried on with Redhawk through about another 100 miles of scenic riding. First south on NC24-27 and NC205 then on secondary roads back over to Charlotte. There Redhawk and ****** said their goodbyes and Redhawk flew back to Monroe via US74. I've attached MapPoint maps of the exact route.

Yesterday, Redhawk and his wife Kelly left Monroe headed west on US74 to I-485 northbound and then took NC49 to Harrisburg, NC where they met my wife Courtney and me for the ride to Asheboro, NC to meet capn_buzzcut, a.k.a. Jim. From Harrisburg we traveled north on NC49 all the way to Asheboro where we hit I-73/74 South to the Business US220 exit. From there we took NC134 just about a mile to ***'s H-D.

It turned out that ***'s was having an Easter celebration and there were folks galore, including the Easter bunny, so it was a little hard to find Jim at first. We did meet up with him though and took a few photos before we checked out the festivities. The local HOG chapter was selling chili and they had some merchandise specials and contests. Kelly even won a gift certificate for $50 in H-D parts.

Jim had to take off with the mascot, so Keith, Kelly, Courtney, and I had a nice ride down through the NC sandhills... about 240 total miles for the day.

I've attached two photos. Pictured are (l-r) Keith(Redhawk), Chris(SgtDiesel) and Jim(capn_buzzcut) with the mascot and Kelly, Keith, Jim, Courtney and Chris in the group photo.

All the maps for the mascot route are attached. They are correct except for only a few miles around Charlotte where construction has been completed on I-485. In those areas, the mascot traveled on newly completed sections of the highway instead of city streets as it appears. They should work with any version of MapPoint or Streets & Trips. Let me know if you can't open them.

Chris
SgtDiesel





These maps just in from Chris:

 

capn_buzzcut's story:

Lee,
The kmz file I attached can be opened using the free "Google Earth"
software (http://earth.google.com). If you don't already have it, trust me you'll love it. The file is a track log from my gps, showing where I took delivery of the mascot and the convoluted ride to my home. If you can't make any sense of it, let me know.

Redhawk and I arranged to hand off the mascot at noon on 4.15.06 at *** HD just south of Asheboro, NC. None of my lazy buddies wanted to come with me, and neither did my wife, so I rode alone. I arrived a little early to find that *** was having an Easter celebration. I got myself a bowl of chili beans and watched as kids hunted for Easter eggs.

Luckily Redhawk and I had exchanged cell phone numbers. He called me about 12:00 and needed some directions. He was just down a couple of exits though, so it didn't take long for them to get there. Redhawk came with his friend SgtDiesel and their wives. Once we met in the parking lot, we all chatted just a bit, then took some pictures and did the whole mascot signing thing.

Before I left home, my wife had reminded me that our grass is about knee high and I've got a "honey-do" list about as long, so I fully intended to just make the exchange and hurry back home. Once the signing was done then, I said my goodbyes and headed back to do battle with the lawn. And The List.

Riding back, the weather was simply perfect, the warmest it's been this year, and hardly a cloud in the sky. I decided that my plan to spend the day doing menial labor needed some review, so I stopped at Hooter's in Greensboro to give it a think. Home was only about 45 minutes away, so I figured that I would go home, just not so much straight home, more of a scenic route. Surely that would be OK.

I left Hooter's and headed West on I-40. Once in Winston-Salem, I took Hwy. 52 North. Outside Winston, I took a short little detour to ride up Pilot mountain, then back on the highway. On through Mt. Airy and up to where 52 crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway at Fancy Gap, VA. After filling up with gas, I headed North on the Parkway. It gets a little cool at 3000 feet, but I was fine in a t-shirt. I've spent a lot of time riding this area of the BRP, and I can tell you that any day you can ride without a jacket is simply heaven. I stayed on the Parkway for a while, eventually winding up at Roanoke, VA.

Once in Roanoke, that's when the cell phone started ringing. It was about 6pm. I had shirked my duties, wasted the entire day, and made a complete mockery of The List. So back home I headed on Hwy. 220 South.
Hang a left in Ridgway, VA and head South on Hwy. 14. About 7pm when I finally got there.

Once home, I received an informative critique regarding how I had spent my day. Worth it? Hell yeah.

capn_buzzcut

 

This from Jim Hubbard:

On Saturday May6, 2006, I met FBFletch at the Snappy Lunch in Mount Airy, NC (http://www.thesnappylunch.com). I traveled from home along NC Hwy 770, to 704, to 8, into VA, then to 103, back into NC, and on into town. I've been by Snappy Lunch many times, but never taken the time to stop there. It's a sorta famous place, made popular by the Andy Griffith show. It's a small restaurant, and the food is nothing special, but even on an ordinary Saturday we had to wait nearly 1/2 and hour to get in.

I brought along my daughter, and Fletch graciously paid for our meal (thanks again!). Afterwards, both of us had busy days ahead, so we did the flag signing thing and took a few photos, then parted ways. Thanks all for the opportunity to carry a piece of history.

 

From Clark Fletcher:

As Jim already recounted, I met he and his daughter at the Snappy Lunch in Mt.
Airy on Saturday, May 6th around noon. After lunch, Jim passed the Mascot off to
me and I left, headed for home.

I took Highway 89W out of Mt. Airy over to I-77. Took I-77 South down to I-40
and then got on I-40 West to Exit 123 in Hickory. From there, I took Highway 321
South about four miles and exited to my home which is just off Highway 321.

The next morning I left my home about 10:30 in the morning in a cold rain with
the Mascot safely tucked away in my travel bag. I once again got on Highway 321
South to Gastonia, NC. There I got on I-85 North and proceeded to I-485 toward
Rock Hill, SC. Had to stop as soon as I got on I-485 to put on another layer of
clothes as it was pretty chilly at that point I took I-485 to I-77 then I-77
South to Rock Hill where I got off at Exit 77.

Immediately off the exit, I stopped at the Cone Auto Plaza for gas and some
water. From there I took Highway 5/21 South to Highway 5 East. Had to stop again
on Highway 5 (small convenience store at the Bowater Paper Plant) to put on
another layer of clothes. Man it was cold. Continued on Highway 5 to Highway 521
South which I took to Lancaster, SC.

In Lancaster, I took Highway 521 Bypass to Highway 903 and Highway 903 to
Highway 151. Traveled on Highway 151 South through McBee, SC (pronounced MACKB
in these parts). Just south of McBee, I turned left onto Lake Robinson Road
which I rode several miles to Middendorf Road. Turned right on Middendorf Road
and traveled approximately 3 miles to the place I'm staying while working in SC.

So, that's where the Mascot is at the moment. Tomorrow evening, I'll be leaving
for the Myrtle Beach Rally. I'll provide an updated route of the ride to MB and
the Mascot rides at MB later.

Regards,
Clark Fletcher



Revised map from Clark; It appears road construction leads map updates. The red section is the actual route.