After a Florida departure just a week prior, the epic SOHC/Four Forum cross country tour crossed through Georgia, South and North Carolina before taking a hiatus in Charlotte. This wasn’t a race, mind you, but a paced crossing planned to touch every state in the Union and every Canadian Province. It’s a seat of the pants, rather loosely planned six-month, 10,000 mile treck. And one of the humorous aspects of the ride is the rally/relay mascot, a small Godzilla replica, who made every mile of the journey.
So what does Godzilla do when he has a few days off from the tour? Why take in some motorcycle drag racing, of course.
Charlotte SOHC/Four Forum members spent the weekend at The Rock, aka Rockingham Dragway, supporting fellow forum member CBSam750A and MarkCB750 who were in the thick of the competition. Check out CBSam750A’s winning, first-round run:
And you can take a closer look at his race bike below in the photos. That uncharacteristic “big black thing” you see on the side is a torque converter.
But after a day a the races the Charlotte relay/rally/ride crew, drones76, wardenerd, Nikkisixx and Belcow54 headed for home. And what did they think of their side trip and meet up the race crew? “Like the slogan said years ago, ‘You Meet The Nicest People On A Honda!'” reported forum member wardenerd. Their portion of the ride picked up again that weekend, heading north to Fancy Gap, Virginia via the ultra-scenic Blue Ridge Parkway. All were focused on the current weather forecast as rain and much cooler temperatures are in the picture. In fact, plans were to move the handoff to C’villechopper a day early, March 26, to get ahead of storm.
Meanwhile, the next phase of the ride through West Virginia, Kentucky and points south confirmed that their visit to the Barber Motorcycle Museum and Motorsports Park will include a paced ride around the track there. A number of member riders intended to camp out at the facility. A few riders from the Atlanta, Ga., area who participated in the first leg up from Georgia to South Carolina were planning to make the trip to Birmingham to join in the track lap and get in a few more relay miles. Guess they just couldn’t get enough of the ride on their first leg.
The next leg had every possibility of being the toughest segment yet. Heading through the mountains of North Carolina and West Virginia that time of year is dicey at best. No matter how much fun this ride is about, a cold rain or even snow at higher elevations is all in the cards. Check back in a few days to see just what hand this relay/rally/ride dealt. – Steve Shanesy
