My EV Is Worth One Hundred Grand!

[Bill Hagan]

Miles, that is.

As I have likely mentioned before, Kathi and I return to Atlanta every month to spend a week helping with my mom -- who, btw, turns 96 next week!  Took this pic of her last night while she wore her led-flashing celebratory birthday "glasses." 





In winter or when time is short -- which even happens to retired folks!  -- we cage it down I-81, 77, & 85.  If time and weather permit, however, I or we take a Guzzi.  This time, for all sorts of reasons, we did both.  I rode the EV and Kathi followed two days later in the little, but indomitable, Fit.

I took all the long and charming back roads I could find in three days.  Even after all my trips, I still find some I've missed, and that happened on this trip, too.  If anyone really cares which ones, or wants some suggestions on routing along that "corridor," ask.

Kathi slabbed it until Asheville, then we spent the night at the Pisgah Inn, http://www.pisgahinn.com, on the Blue Ridge Parkway, https://www.nps.gov/blri/index.htm.

I stopped off along the way to see old metal and human friends at the N.C. Guzzi gathering at Cruso.

Kathi and I are still in Atlanta, but will head back home on Monday.  We'll not "convoy," as that makes us both nervous.   

Anyway, this slideshow tells the story in pix, including marking the EV's (first) 100,000 miles.  What a wonderful machine of joy it is.

I bought it as a leftover in August 2000 at Zen Moto in Atlanta.

Buying that sweet machine -- an accident, actually, as I was looking for the Honda dealer to pick up a 750 ACE -- has led to buying three other new Guzzis (with another 100K+ miles on those), lots of other expense$, but so many miles of smiles.

As always, probably best viewed in "full screen" and "slideshow" mode ... well, at least if you want to see read the captions. 
 

http://bill-and-kathi.smugmug.com/EVDoesFirst100K/n-Hnz9dw


Best from Atlanta and the top of Virginia,

Bill

[Tom]

 

[Cam3512]

Congrats Bill. Here's to another 100K.  Gotta say, you travel in style.  I wanna be you when I grow up!

[lost]

Great pics. Congratulations on the 100k.

[Markcarovilli]

Great pics Bill - keep having fun....

Mark

[Lannis]

All of my favorite roads, and a lot of my favorite people.   Looks like a really great trip and nicely documented!   I'd never get anywhere if I took that many pictures!

Fog on the Parkway - who ever heard of such a thing ... 

And the look of the HD&M EV only improves with time.

Lannis

[Texas Turnip]

Good to see you post again. Congrats on the 100K.

Mom decide, on her own, to go to assisted living in April. What a job in getting rid of a 40 year accumulation of stuff. GRR.

Ken Hand aka
Texas Turnip

[Lannis]

Good to see you post again. Congrats on the 100K.

Mom decide, on her own, to go to assisted living in April. What a job in getting rid of a 40 year accumulation of stuff. GRR.

Ken Hand aka
Texas Turnip

No wonder her boy has such good sense, Mother Hand can still make good decisions herself.   We (and they) don't always get that.   

When cleaning out my Mom's place, there was stuff no one had used for 50 years, and no one was going to use for the next 50.   We didn't even try to sell most of it, just gave it away ....

Bill, keep on staying close to Mom.   It's always the right thing to do and you'll never regret one second of it ....

Lannis

[Bill N]

Enjoyed your travel log. Great pictures and captions. I love my 98 HD&M. Looks like new and rides like a dream. Got about 127,000 on mine. I'm the original owner and consider it the best bike I've ever owned. Has 10's of thousands of mile throughout FL,GA, NC,VA,WV,OK,AL,SC,TN,KY,MO,&AR. The bike has never failed me and she looks so good. Thanks for taking the time to put together your report. I enjoyed every picture and the narrative.
Bill

[Matteo]

Hagan lives! Thought you might be busy fixing flats.

[ohiorider]

Congrats on the 100k miles on the HD&M.  It's only taken 6 years of Guzzi ownership for that color scheme to grow on me.

Wondered where you'd been these many months.  Obviously having fun and keeping in close touch with family.

Here's to another 100K on your Guzzis!

Bob

[Bob Wegman]

Bill,  As usual a great show and tell.  Congratulations to you and your EV on the momentous occasion.

[rodekyll]

Nice pics!  Tell mom I thought her glasses look swank!

So with 100k, do we get to know the average miles between tire patches?

[Zoom Zoom]

RK, that would probably be about 16.7 miles between patches.

Seriously, as others have already mentioned, Good to seed you posting Bill. (You too Lannis!)

Regards,
John Henry

[Cam3512]

You guys do know I DID get a flat while riding with Bill in PA over July 4th weekend.

After being "Haganed", hopefully I'm immune to that curse now.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Bellissimo!  Thanks!
 

[Mark in TN]

congrats Bill!  A long and winding road! Best wishes for 100 more.. Uncle Mark

[rodekyll]

congrats Bill!  A long and winding road! Best wishes for 100 more.. Uncle Mark

I'da gone with "long strange trip", but whatever.   

[Lannis]

If we're looking for a musical analogy of Bill's motorcycle journey through life, I think this one fits best ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZncehIh_Kw

Lannis

[rodekyll]

I don't do u-toobs, but I'll guess the song is "walk 500 miles"   

[kidsmoke]

very cool, the pics are great to page through. Very cool that all 100k are yours, particularly when noting the condition of that bike. Looks like it's hardly left the garage.

[Bill Hagan]

Thanks, all.  It was fun, and, as Kathi and I are still in Atlanta, it isn't over yet.  We head back home on Monday.  All sorts of grand roads 'tween here and home.  We'll not convoy, as that makes us both nervous, but will overnight together in Abington.  So, yes, more pix soon.  Be wary. 
 

If we're looking for a musical analogy of Bill's motorcycle journey through life, I think this one fits best ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZncehIh_Kw

Lannis

I don't do u-toobs, but I'll guess the song is "walk 500 miles"   

Thinking this "musical analogy" might deserve a separate thread, tho it may have been done along the way here, at least WRT favorite theme songs that we flatter ourselves might be how we are seen.  I am not sure I want to know the answer to that!

But, it is an interesting diversion.  And, naturally, Lannis, I had to look up R.L.Burnside, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._L._Burnside, as what I know about popular culture from c.1910 to the present is near zero.

And, rodekyl, it was "It's Bad You Know." 

We, too, have to be careful with Youtube, as we live in the boonies, and have a GB limit on data. I do love watching all the stuff there, and, while here, have pretty well exhausted -- using the nursing home's wifi -- every Andre Rieu vid there is.  My mom loves him, and we also close every night while here with this German (Disney) lullaby:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgg7E0KCGS8

Puts her (and, actually, us) to sleep in near seconds.   

Anyway, that song Lannis suggested was apparently attached to a clip from the 1968 movie, "The Girl On A Motorcycle," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEOwybriej4.

All of those folks -- or, at least their stunt doubles! -- could ride, whereas any sound track of me on any motorcycling vid would need to have a "voice over" of my screaming like a girl in my helmet on some of the curves I overshoot because I forget I am on the EV and not the Norge or Griso.  All my Guzzis are forgiving beasts and better motorcycles than I am a rider, but there is only so much forgiveness available for some sins.

Personally, while I cannot claim to have been to all of those by any means, I think I might prefer Steve Farson's motorcycle vid set to  Johnny Cash's "I've Been Everywhere, Man."  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84Jehn4ZsGY

Best,

Bill