Queens of the Road Take on the Dragon
Content contribute by GeorgiaGirl
On May 19, 2011 a group of us gals from the HDForums, Queens of the Road Section began making our way to beautiful Blue Ridge, GA in the North Georgia Mountains. We were: HarleyTrish, FLGirl, sjcboo, Blueyz0416, Jemini, TNTriker, Roux, GeorgiaGirl, Malteseyo, Sammy1200N and Geni Heard from Ft. Benning, Ga. HarleyTrish and FLGirl came all the way up from Florida clocking over 700 miles.
HarleyTrish organized this event and did an outstanding job of selecting a large cabin that would accommodate us all, which was high on a hill with spectacular views. Just riding up to the cabin itself was a major challenge with several steep inclines and hairpin turns, but all the ladies made it, several times over, without incident.
On Saturday, May 21st, six of us set out on a fantastic route chosen by Annette, TNTriker who knows the area like the back of her hand. We went to Blairsville on 515, then 19/129 to Murphy, NC. 19/129 to Topton, 19/74 through the Nantahala Gorge. Hwy 28 ( Moonshiner 28) to Hwy 143 over to Robbinsvills, NC. 129 through the Dragon and then left on 72 to Hwy 411. Hwy 411 to 360 to Tellico Plains. Hwy 68 over the mtn to Copperhill, TN. GA Hwy 5 back to 515 and then on to the cabin.
This was without a doubt the best ride on twisty roads that I have ever done. It was gorgeous weather on great roads through beautiful countryside. We traveled approximately 325 miles and I must say that doing it with six fabulous women was a real joy. Three of us had ridden The Dragon/US Hwy 129 before but HarleyTrish, Malteseyo and Sammy1200N had not and they hall had a blast doing it for the first time despite the fact that when we got up there it was shut down due to a nasty wreck where two bikers struck each other head on with one being ejected over the side of the mountain. Fortunately, he was in full leathers and survived. This had to be a rather daunting head trip for the ladies who hadn’t ridden The Dragon before, and HarleyTrish said as much, but they all did great. The ride back from The Dragon through Tellico plains was very scenic and mostly in the shade which we all appreciated as the afternoon had turned quite warm.
While we were out on this ride, it should be mentioned that sjcboo (Stephanie) very kindly devoted her day, time and effort to mentoring our two novice riders this trip, Roux and FLGirl who spent their day in the Blue Ridge/Blairsville area honing their skills on curvy steep roads under the excellent coaching of Boo.
Saturday night was very convivial enjoying the extremely nice accommodations of our cabin which had a wrap around deck, exterior fire place, hot tub and pool table. Unfortunately for you guys, we were all too tired to engage in any naked pillow fights. The most excitement after our long day was the adolescent raccoon who seemed very intent on sitting in TNTriker’s (Annette) lap, LOL! She was less than thrilled as you can imagine.
Sunday, we all pitched in putting the cabin back in order and headed out for breakfast together. TNTriker headed back home towards TN and six of us streaked down the highway and back onto the superslab around Atlanta to various points South.
What a great weekend with amazing women! It was absolutely wonderful meeting everyone; hearing their stories of what brought them to riding; and sharing the road and camaraderie. We all came from varied backgrounds, life experiences and professions and it was a very eclectic mix. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone and greatly look forward to future gatherings. I now know four more lady riders in my area and I look forward to our getting together and riding again sooner rather than later. I must say it was very cool riding in a group of such women and I’m sure it was an impressive sight going down the road and not something you see every day. I am very proud to be member of such a fine group of women riders. Until next time…
