Getting up at 5:30 in the morning on a Saturday is not normally my ideas of a good start to the weekend, however, this was an exception. We were to meet up at 8:30 at Flying J in Temple GA for the ride to Barber Motorsports complex for the "Ride to the Stars" and the AMA races. Maria and I met up with Doug and Teresa in Suwanee. The weather forecast was scattered showers until about noon then clearing. As we left the sky was threatening but it wasn't raining. We departed Suwanee and headed down I-85. As we approached downtown and I-20 the skies we darkening but we were turning away from the clouds and heading to the clear skies in Birmingham. Well, at least that's what we thought. As soon as we turned off I-75/85 and merged onto I-20 it started coming down. So, off the side we go and don our rain gear. As soon as we get back on the road and the rain had stopped. Of course the road was wet and the skies still looked uncooperative, so we kept the gear on. Good thing we did. By the time we reached the Flying J it was coming down steady.

At Flying J we met four riders from the Stone Mountain Chapter. They were already inside eating breakfast. We all sat and talked, and drank coffee to wake up, and tried to wait out the rain hoping a few more people would show up. After a little over an hour it let up. It was obvious we were the only ones coming so we took the opportunity to mount up and head on down the road. For the next hour it was pretty much a light rain. But, we could see ahead that the skies were clearing and that gave us hope. About the time the skies cleared and the rain stopped, we came to a grinding halt. I-20, middle of nowhere and we sat. We turned off the bikes, took off our rain gear and had a our own little gathering on I-20 for about 30 minutes. Turns out there was a bike accident down the road. We never found out if there were any serious injuries, but of course our prayers went out to the riders. The weather was now clear and continually improved as we finally headed down the road.

We arrived at Barber a little before lunch. Upon arriving we quickly headed for the special Star will-call tent to pick up our tickets and goodie bags. We then got back on the bikes and headed for the special Star area at the track. Star had a nice setup waiting for us. They were right in the middle of serving a great BBQ lunch, so we parked our bikes in the designated area to eat. The only problem, the parking was a grassy area, with WAS being the key word. The recent rain had turned the ground into a nice mushy, slightly muddy mess. Star provide kick stand plates for everyone. We all had fun as we tried to avoid what looked like soft ground only to step on even softer ground. But, food was the goal and we all managed to make it into the tent for some great food and cool drink.

After eating we headed out on foot to see some of the vendors in the area. After a several minutes we managed to find our way down to the track to see some of the qualifying races. We observed some really fast bikes and talented riders from a couple different corners before catching the provided trolley to venture off to another corner. The Barber track is almost 2.5 miles around and you are free to watch the racing from any spot on the track. The trolley, saved a lot of walking. By now the sun was out full force and temperature was up. There was a slight breeze to keep it bearable. We rode the trolley to another corner and watched with amazement as the riders took their bikes to the edge. After the qualifying was over there was a long break before a couple of final races would take place so we hopped back on the trolley and headed over to the museum.

We wandered around the museum for a while. Ducati was having the finals of their Monster Challenge. About a dozen Ducati Monster's were customized and on display for viewer voting. We all cast our votes for some very interesting bikes. As time drew near for the first race we decided to stay in the museum and watch from the air conditioned comfort it provided. The view from the museum was where the riders come out of a 180 degree turn before heading into some esses. A great spot for passing. As it turned out, due to the rains the track was seeping water right as they came out of the turn. If the riders hit that small, ever so slightly damp spot, they would get squirrelly and often lose a position. We ended up watching both races from there. It was a great viewing point.

With the end of the last race we headed down to the bottom floor of the museum for a quick view. Normally this floor is not open, but for this event they had opened it up. This is the floor where they do all the restorations and store the bikes that are not currently on display. There are about 850 bike on display and about half that many in storage. They rotate bikes on and off the floor. We then headed back to our bikes. Upon arriving at the bikes we discovered that one of our own had won "Best Chrome" A plaque was waiting on the bike. Congratulations to Chuck  for this award. Ironically, Chuck's bike is black and he is trying very hard to get rid of the chrome. After getting the bikes  out of the mud..it really wasn't too bad...we headed out of the track. It had been a while since lunch and being the group that we are, we headed for food. We went to a nearby Ruby Tuesday's for dinner. After  dinner we headed back to the hotel.

After cleaning up a little and changing into some more comfortable clothes, we all met up in the hotel's lobby where there was a tv and plenty of seating. We ended the day watching the NASCAR race and just sitting around, sipping cool drinks and talking about the day, things in general and making plans for the next day. Finally we all headed off to our rooms to get some sleep. It had been a long but very exciting and fun day.

Sunday morning we met outside the hotel at our bikes and guess where we headed? IHOP and food. While eating we finalized our plans for the day. We decided to ride over to  DeSoto caverns for the morning and then get back to the track shortly after noon to see the last couple of races. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men? Well, it applies to Star Riders as well.

The ride to DeSoto Caverns was beautiful. The weather could not be beat. It was perfect for riding. The ride there took about an hour. We arrived at the caverns about 12:00 noon to find a parking lot that was pretty much empty. Turns out, they didn't open until 1:00. We decided to wait. While waiting we looked around the park. There were lots of things to do when they opened, most of it geared towards smaller kids. They had an arena for water balloon fights, a maze that involved dodging water jets, two or three different stomach churners, some cars to ride, areas for pan mining...and more. Finally one o'clock rolled around, the doors opened and we rushed in to buy our tickets for the cavern tour. Upon purchasing the first ticket we found out that the first tour started at 1:30...another 30 minutes.

All I can say is that it was well worth the wait. A guide took us into the caves. The first room you enter is the grand room. It is twelve stories high and the size of a football field and very magnificent, the guide gave us some history of the cave, from its indian use to how it was used to manufacture gunpowder during the civil war, to partying during prohibition, to today. He led us through several small rooms including the bat cave (the bats are gone), a waterfall room and lovers leap. It is just something beyond words. There are some pictures below, but its something you just have to see.

By now it was about 2:30. The last race started at 3:00. Even riding fast, we wouldn't get to the track in time to see the end of the last race...so much for the plans of mice, men and Star Riders. I don't think anyone really cared though. The cave had been well worth the trip. So, we headed back to the hotel to pick up a car and trailer then headed home. After about an hour or riding it was time for....you guessed it...food. We found an Applebees in Anniston and pulled in. Knowing it would be the last stop we took our time eating and talking and enjoying the time. It was like we tried to stall the ending. Finally we slowly walked out the the bikes and reluctantly said our goodbyes. We rode together until reaching Atlanta and then each went our own way.

It was late when we got home...about 10:00, but already I was looking forward to the next ride. They always say it is about the ride, but I think we all agree, its as much the people as it is the ride.

ATTENDING:

Doug & Teresa Turco
Gary & Maria Kohl

 

BBQ	The first feeding	Lunch time	Zoom zoom	Why don't they fall over?
The zoo crew	The three wise(wo)men	YAMAHA
			Watch that knee	Ducati Monster Challenge
Ducati Monster Challenge	Ducati Monster Challenge	The museum has cars too!	More racing
Museum bike	Museum bike	An Awesome display	Racing bike on display	Winner's burnout
Salt Flat Yamaha	Waiting to go in the cave	Uh Oh...Bubba's been bad !!!	Crap...we got caught too	Wake up Cindy
And still we wait	The entrance to the bowels of the earth	The grand room	Formations	Formations
Formations	Formations	Formations	Formations	Formations
	The waterfall	The waterfall - back side	Lovers Leap