WANTED-Members to help keep our Mascot moving
 

We are moving the Mascot across this great country and need your involvement. Moving it can only be done by motorcycle, and it should be in Ohio within a week or so, needing someone to help it move along to greener pastures, a new locale letting other riders get involved in this longtime tradition.

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/hdfor...l#post11801782

Pm me if you are interested in doing a handoff and helping keep our mascot moving forward!

Mike, you know I'm always ready to help move the mascot. Where is it heading after ohio? I'm sure no one wants it stuck in the ne for the winter. Let me know how I can be of assistance. .. before the snow flies. I'm sure I can find someone interested in a ride with me to move this baby along and I haven't got to sign the new one yet. Any chance we can get it this way soon to let Chappy sign again? I haven't heard any news of that awesome man and his equally incredible spouse in a long while.

Rene has said he would like to see it move south so it might keep moving over the winter. I have sent pm's to several in Va, WV, Tenn and Ky who have said they want to participate, but only one has responded. I know I want to turn it around asap before winter sets in.....

I keep missing the ball completely. Just met up with Sony qotr from Tenn and Georgia a week ago. In at your service so if u need me you know what to do , Mike.

thanks FLYSBY!!!!

Location added, Dawn!

Hey, I'm in VA and didn't get a PM.

Heck, given enough lead time, it might be worthwhile to do an Ironbutt to move it along.

Let me know if it's within 500 miles of the Chesapeake VA area!

Keep in mind that there are already blizzards out in Sturgis!

I did return glideridemike's PM on 9/30 but haven't heard anymore about it since. I could move it southward to Knoxville on the first leg and then work on getting it further south after that, but probably the earliest I could make the meet-up ride to the likeliest rendezvous point (Lexington, KY) is the weekend of 10/19-10/20. Just let me know if that's what you want to do.

edit: I am west of Knoxville TN and that would move the mascot 379 miles south from Circleville, OH. Most likely meet-up point would be:

Man O'War Harley-Davidson
2073 Bryant Rd
Lexington, KY 40509

That is 192 miles from Circleville and 187 miles from me.

Thanks for chiming in, guys. This gives us two options to keep the Mascot moving.
1st Option could be Glideridemike meeting LeadSSled in Lexington KY;
2nd option could be Glideridemike meeting Mike_M in Charleston WV.

It's up to Glideridemike to decide....

Mike M, I didn't pm you because you were just a bit too far away. Instead I chose, due to distance, backroads-2 in Ky, SandmanWV in WV, hd20122 also in Ky, FatBob11FXDF in Va, 92FLHS in WV and LeadSSled in Tenn. LeadSSled is the only one that has responded even several of those people have been online here since I sent them pm's. I was trying to give them ample time to respond. But MikeM is right, winter is a comin....and where is Charleston, Va? Do you mean WV?

Moderator edit: Charleston WV

Looks like WV. FXD2003Rider has added "optional stage" routes to the map link:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid...8774,23.269043

The miles shown must be as the bird flies. I show 187 road miles with Google maps.

Sorry guys, my bad. It's Charleston WV.
I changed the crows flights into route lines resulting in:
Option 1 should be 157 miles
Option 2 should be 400 miles (being within the 500 miles range for Mike_M)

That makes sense. the 187 miles I came up with is to my street address. I didn't give that precise a pin location for the map. ;)

I got 197 miles to Man of War, but truthfully, after riding through Lexington this past summer, I want to steer clear of that city....lol.

Not set on Lexington - I was just picking a spot on the map between us. If you want it headed to Knoxville and there is another place you prefer to meet, we can consider that. If this is another Sunday ride like your last one, there should be less traffic than a weekday, especially in the morning.

How's Sat. sitting with you Lead?
I use to find a central meeting spot-
http://www.geomidpoint.com/meet/
and it says Lexington too, so it might have to be Man of War to be fair to all involved.

Or you can come up to the Circleville Pumpkin Show for the week of 10/16-10/19.....lol

http://www.pumpkinshow.com/

I am out of commission this weekend. I have a big BBQ smoke planned for Saturday the 12th. I've got a meat order showing up on Friday and customers waiting for the goods. Can't put that off. On the 13th I have a Ride Like a Pro class scheduled. The soonest I could do it would be the weekend of the 19th/20th. I'm not going to make the Pumpkin Show. I'm a tad short on vacation time for that. ;)

BTW, I like that meet in the middle website.

Yes that meet in the middle site is a good one. Too bad about this weekend, the weather is going to be choice. The weekend of the 19th and 20th is not good for me.

I just got a job and it will last for a few weeks, hit and miss, throughout the weekdays.

I just dropped a pm on jjnoble out of Louisville to see if he is still interested in being involved. I also dropped a message on a friend of mine down Knoxville way, Ohioskully, to see if he might want to ride up to Lexington for a handoff. Need to get it moving south....

Got a response back from Ohioskully. He is going to be out of town this weekend and cannot do it. Running out of viable options....

.........otherwise, how's the weather in your neck of the woods?? LOL 50 here and sunny with a predicted high of 70.

Gorgeous here too. High in mid 70's with lows in low 50's with no chance of rain. It has been that way since Tuesday and projected to be that way through next Tuesday. I'm taking a day off tomorrow to guide a couple out-of-town friends on a 200-mile back road ride that will include the Devil's Triangle. Weather is supposed to be PERFECT. :D

The 10-day forecast only goes out to next Friday 10/18, and you can take it with a grain of salt that far out. But for now they are saying high of 67 and low of 47 with 10% chance of rain on the 18th. We'll see how that forecast holds up but this is traditionally a dry time of year for us. ;)

Sounds fantastic down your way Lead. Always loved Tenn. Lived down there for a couple of years way back in the 60's. Bloomington Springs, Baxter and Columbia areas. Would love to retire there but would like to be on a mountaintop with ZERO people around me.....just seems those areas in Tennessee are now either full of peeps or they want too damned much money for places up there.

backroads-2 chimed in as well:

I have posted to backroads about a handoff this Saturday in Maysville.

Sounds good, Mike. Keep us posted!

Wildcat (London, KY) is even closer to me that Lexington. I could probably arrange a hand off there and bring it back to Knoxville if that leg makes sense.

Lead, get hold of Ohioskully down there in Knoxville. He has said he would do the handoff too. Maybe you two could ride up together.

Update:
The Mascot will be moved tomorrow, Sat Oct. 12.....

If the Mascot makes it to Knoxville TN, it should be great to let it experience a ride over "The Tail of The Dragon" (U.S. Route 129) and shoot a pic with the Mascot by the "tree of shame" in Deal's Gap...

cool :icon_biggrin:

I will be getting the hand-off from from backroads-2 in London, KY on Sunday 10/20 and bringing it back to Knoxville with me. I'll see what I can do about showing the mascot around our area before sending it south for the winter. The TOD is only an hour from my front door. :D

We get her out of the area just in the nick of time. Only getting up into the 40's this weekend. They said 60's are a thing of the past. Lows Sat night-the 30's.

We might get a day here or there in the 50's or 60's, but its the time of year here. Take the mascot down where its warm. Let it tame the Dragon......

Btw lead, did Ohioskully ever get in touch?

Never heard from Ohioskully, only you and backroads-2.

I was asked to chime in here to see if I could assist getting the Mascot to a warmer climate. As you can see I'm in Atlanta.

Going to be nipply this weekend, cold front screaming in, and will be tied up with a long weekend vacation in a few days.

What's the plan?

Wiz - No "plan" yet, just trying to identify the options. Honestly, I was hoping to find a willing contact somewhere southeast of here - on the other side of the Smoky Mountains. But that is driven only by my motivation to get iconic photos with Dale Walksler at the Wheels Through Time museum in Maggie Valley during the next hand-off. I also have promised to try to get photos with the mascot at the Tree of Shame at Deal's Gap/Tail of the Dragon. If the hand-off was at WTT, I could do that on the way over there in one trip. If the mascot goes a different direction, then I would have to make a separate trip to get those photos. But for that master plan to happen, I need a willing partner on the other side of the mountain. There has been zero response from that direction yet.

We are supposed to be cold Wed-Fri and then it warms again here in Knoxville. Forecast is for a high of 62 again by Sunday. I am out out town Friday until Saturday afternoon, so the soonest I could do it would be Sunday anyway. But, I would not have time for TOD pics before heading down I75 if that is hand-off day. The following weekend, I am out of town Friday-Sunday, so that weekend is out for me. I would have to do something the following weekend or sometime during the week.

Let's see what options present themselves over the next day or so and then start putting a plan together.

I've met Dale a few times. MV is a 4 hour ride for me. No worries.

I'm toast this weekend. Open after that. I work for myself so I could do this during the week as well. All I ask is the day to be above 60*. I'm old and rickety. Tuesday the 29th would work well. Going to get to 70 says the weather master.

Once in Atlanta there will be many avenues to the warmer states. Let me know.

:D

Wiz - Thanks, I appreciate your schedule flexibility. Understood on the temperature limitations.

I would have to take a vacation day, but I could probably make the 29th work. BUT there is one major issue with that plan - the WTT museum is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. So no photo ops there those days.

I'll keep you posted. And thanks again.

Here is the plan. I'm planning to take the mascot to the Tail of the Dragon for photo ops this Sunday morning 10/27. If a contact comes before then that can meet me at WTT in Maggie Valley on Sunday, I will do the TOD stop on the way. If not, no big deal. I will have that task out of the way and then only have to be concerned about moving it southward. That task will become easier by not having to go through the TOD on the hand-off trip. I'll touch base here early next week about options if nothing happens sooner.

Thinking about the future - Between my schedule and theirs, hitting the WTT museum may be a little tricky over the next few weeks anyway,
- Other than Sunday, I'm out for this weekend.
- I am out of town all of next weekend 11/1-11/3
- On Saturday 10/9 the WTT museum has their annual bike raffle giveaway. It will be a "zoo" there that weekend with thousands of visitors onsite.
- WTT museum is closed every Tuesday and Wednesday.
- I do have a window to do something all day Friday 11/15 or Saturday 11/16. But that is 2 weeks away in mid-November and colder weather could be a factor.

Other than the days mentioned above, I would need to take vacation time to move the mascot during the week. Just thinking out loud here...

If you look at the map just above... locate Blairsville and Murphy. I'll be at Lake Chatuge just to the east this weekend (Hiawassee). I can meet you at WTT Sunday but I'll be in my truck. It's a short ride but I don't know if that is allowed or not. Will be returning to Atlanta Sunday night.

The rest of my schedule is fairly open. As you stated... weather is a factor and for me to ride the trike all day in nipply weather, even though I have heated, gear is risky. I can do it but getting sick again isn't on my wish list.

I missed the first Mascot last time around and promised myself I wouldn't miss it again. If a truck carrying the Mascot to Atlanta isn't an issue then I can meet you at Dale's place this Sunday.