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Motorcycle Show in Atlanta |
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Rollin' eZine Volume 1, Number 11 March 2001 =============
New and Used Cycles, news, reviews & info:
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International Motorcycle Show, Atlanta, GA February 16-18, 2001
Photos by Terry Brown The
more I ride long distances, the smaller those distances seem to become.
So, when we here at Rollin' found out that the Cycle World show was coming
to Atlanta, we said "Lets Ride!!" The trip from our offices in Melbourne, Florida, to Atlanta, Georgia takes about 9 hours, including a stop for at least one meal along the way (let's not forget that eating is an integral part of any riding adventure). Terry, Steve and I left on a Friday morning at 5:00 AM and made our way up the middle of Florida and into Georgia, arriving in the Atlanta area just ahead of the afternoon rush.
The traffic was getting heavy, but we were able to carve our way through and made it to the hotel before the flood gates opened all the way on rush hour. We were lucky enough to get a hotel within a quarter mile of the Cobb Galleria, the location for the Atlanta show. After getting settled in, we made our way over to the show just as it was opening. There was a line of people already waiting, but that was okay with us. I had arranged for press passes for us, and we were able to walk up to the desk, tell them who we were, and get right inside.
Walking into the show, we were greeted by a view of all the major motorcycle manufactures and their latest offerings. Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha... the list went on and on. The Cobb Galleria is a huge place and almost every square inch was occupied by either two wheels, chrome, or accessories. Taking time to check out all the booths and exhibits, we came away with bags of literature, give-aways, and brochures. There were even a few vendors at the show, although nothing on par with what I see at Bike Week each year. Still, the vendors that were there were doing a brisk business. Another thing I kept noticing was that a lot of folks walking around the show were wearing jackets with wires dangling off of them. It was a bit puzzling at first, until I remembered where I was. A Florida boy like me doesn't often have a need to warm himself up when riding. But, up "north" in Atlanta, the weather can get a bit cool from time to time and the added comfort of electric vest, jackets, and gloves can go a long way toward riding more comfortably.
Little did I know at the time that the sight of these folks was a bit of foreshadowing of just how cold it would actually get before we left Atlanta. After making a few passes around the floor, and after prying Steve off the FZ1 that Yamaha had at their booth, we headed back to the hotel to plan our next day. As we left the Galleria, we were met by rain and a windy night. The temperature had dropped considerably since we arrived. Damn! and we have a ride planned tomorrow with Billy Street. It's Not That Cold Saturday morning arrived with the rain gone, along with most of the heat. It was downright freezing out there. As we sat having coffee and waiting for Billy to show up, I began trying to think of a way to get out of this whole ride thing. See, Billy's idea of a good day ride from Atlanta would be to take in the Cherahola Skyway and Deals Gap. You know, a leisurely ride. Somehow though, I just couldn't see freezing my butt off. As I sat trying to figure out what to do, Billy pulled in and disconnected himself from his bike. (again with the electrics) It was getting about time for the show to open again, so I thought I would try and convince Billy to go to the show instead of going for a ride. So, I told him that Bruce could not make it, so I had a spare press pass. That worked, and we made our way back again to the show. Today, in addition to all the activities from last night, we also had the pleasure of finally meeting Britt and GT from TWO, as well as running into Skert. It was great to finally put names with some faces. Billy had a great time running around with a name badge that said he was Bruce. A lot of mileage out of that one for sure. And Steve ran into loyal reader and fellow '96 Triumph Sprint rider, Andy Tourville. They have been corresponding via e-mail for almost a year and Andy was at the show with his son, Phyllip.
We managed to kill a lot of time, and after a late lunch, I finally felt that it was warm enough to attempt a ride. Terry headed off to visit his mom, and Steve Billy and I pointed our rides toward downtown Atlanta and made our way to a place called Little Five Points. After some warm up coffee and a little freak watching, we made our way through Downtown and back out to the hotel {via the Saturday afternoon Mall Tour Route}. The sun was starting to fall, and so were the temperatures. We put in a whopping 40.9 miles that day! Another visit to the show and a late dinner and we were ready to pack up for the trip home. Yes, It's That Cold Sunday morning 8:00 AM. We are ready to get on the road and head back south. The temperature - 28 degrees. And no electric gear in sight. As we cracked the throttles and made our way up the ramp and on to I-285, the cold cut through us like knives. This is some of the coldest temperatures I have ridden in to date, and I am not in any big hurry to do it again. We made it about 50 miles, and had to stop and warm up. Another hundred mile burst and it was warm up time again. Finally, just south of Macon, the temperature warmed up enough that it was bearable. The rest of the trip home was uneventful, with the possible exception of the Bruce Barge memorial gas stop, in which Steve came into the station literally on fumes, something our own LDR correspondent has done on numerous occasions. And as a further tribute, we had some dayum fine "Q" at a Ma-n-Pa smokery at the same exit. We arrived back in Melbourne around 6 that evening, another thousand miles under our belts. |
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