Visian
look out!!!
It appears, ahem, that riders in the great state of Mountania are, um... kick dirt with toe, weather channels riders. 
the 2010 Ride 2 Q - while under-planned and almost unannounced - was an event to be remembered (less for its glamorous and influential guest list and more for its quality of experience, or QoE).
the ride was off to an inauspicious start... several of the cognoscenti declined on-line to attend, succumbing to the fear of the 3-day forecast.
but the true extent of the showing would not be known until 7pm at the Blue Ridge Motorcycle Camp.
Sixpacks of Sierra Nevada IPA, Stella Artois and Sam Adams Lager went unappreciated. I totally forgot to take a picture. Trust me.
Well, three of them were donated to a "good cause" before heading back to our nearby house. Why camp if all there is at the campground are FJRs and Harleys?
Welllllllll.... truth be told at 8:30pm, Q-Rider Wade... aka the MAN, called, saying he just got hammered with hail coming over Black Mountain. well, that's at least *sorta* like the summer pattern... rain late in the day.
The next morning, 9am, true to his word, Wade shows for breakfast.....
ok, that's my breakfast. Wade had coffee and Crackberry... he's a Ferarri restorer and rides a nice pinstriped R11R.
So, having been drenched and surviving the hail, Wade decides that home sounds better than Phil's Dream Pit BBQ for lunch. Can't blame the man, and I *know* from 2009 that his love for the Q is genuine.
so, it was north up NC209 to Hot Springs.... the *Goldwing* riders were out....
yours truly enjoyed the view....
about 90 miles of twisties ensued, ending at the door of the fabulous (and just one exit up from last year's national rally) Phil's Dream Pit BBQ. Unfortunately, it looked like my luck was holding.....
Simply unreal.
Well, the good news was that Phil was competing at Racks by the Tracks in nearby Kingsport, TN. Phil's wife was inside, preparing for another gig, catering Q to 200+ people. (Look closely in the window and you can see the coolers full of sweet tea....)
Punching the directions to downtown Kingsport into the GPS, it wasn't a half hour before I was approaching Phil's stand... he was asking "I brought the Q... where were you???"
Folks, let me tell you, Phil is a seriously nice man, and it's a loooooong ride between his dry rub ribs and anything else anywhere near as good. While I won't give away his proprietary techniques, let's just say that in the background of the pic above there's a BBQ technology that few other people have managed to figure out.
The result are the most moist and tangy ribs around. Suffer:
Well you missed it. And while I didn't stay around long after lunch and passed on the beer tasting, it sounded like there was some serious blues gonna get laid down that evening....
Ok, I can take a hint.... since no one else is along, I am going to take *my* way home.
well, truth be told, it did get a little rainy (and muddy) when riding by Max Patch, so my new camera stayed in the bag.
but I BTDT and got the t-shirt:
and... got a *nice* full rack from Phil in honor of my voyage. He couldn't believe someone rode from Atlanta for his ribs.
OK, *next* year, Wade is doing the organizing, I'll be handling the roads, Sibud will be bringing the Maker's Mark and we'll pay off the Weather Channel well in advance.
Sorry you missed it!
Ian
the 2010 Ride 2 Q - while under-planned and almost unannounced - was an event to be remembered (less for its glamorous and influential guest list and more for its quality of experience, or QoE).
the ride was off to an inauspicious start... several of the cognoscenti declined on-line to attend, succumbing to the fear of the 3-day forecast.
but the true extent of the showing would not be known until 7pm at the Blue Ridge Motorcycle Camp.
Sixpacks of Sierra Nevada IPA, Stella Artois and Sam Adams Lager went unappreciated. I totally forgot to take a picture. Trust me.
Well, three of them were donated to a "good cause" before heading back to our nearby house. Why camp if all there is at the campground are FJRs and Harleys?
Welllllllll.... truth be told at 8:30pm, Q-Rider Wade... aka the MAN, called, saying he just got hammered with hail coming over Black Mountain. well, that's at least *sorta* like the summer pattern... rain late in the day.
The next morning, 9am, true to his word, Wade shows for breakfast.....
ok, that's my breakfast. Wade had coffee and Crackberry... he's a Ferarri restorer and rides a nice pinstriped R11R.
So, having been drenched and surviving the hail, Wade decides that home sounds better than Phil's Dream Pit BBQ for lunch. Can't blame the man, and I *know* from 2009 that his love for the Q is genuine.
so, it was north up NC209 to Hot Springs.... the *Goldwing* riders were out....
yours truly enjoyed the view....
about 90 miles of twisties ensued, ending at the door of the fabulous (and just one exit up from last year's national rally) Phil's Dream Pit BBQ. Unfortunately, it looked like my luck was holding.....
Simply unreal.
Well, the good news was that Phil was competing at Racks by the Tracks in nearby Kingsport, TN. Phil's wife was inside, preparing for another gig, catering Q to 200+ people. (Look closely in the window and you can see the coolers full of sweet tea....)
Punching the directions to downtown Kingsport into the GPS, it wasn't a half hour before I was approaching Phil's stand... he was asking "I brought the Q... where were you???"
Folks, let me tell you, Phil is a seriously nice man, and it's a loooooong ride between his dry rub ribs and anything else anywhere near as good. While I won't give away his proprietary techniques, let's just say that in the background of the pic above there's a BBQ technology that few other people have managed to figure out.
The result are the most moist and tangy ribs around. Suffer:
Well you missed it. And while I didn't stay around long after lunch and passed on the beer tasting, it sounded like there was some serious blues gonna get laid down that evening....
Ok, I can take a hint.... since no one else is along, I am going to take *my* way home.
well, truth be told, it did get a little rainy (and muddy) when riding by Max Patch, so my new camera stayed in the bag.
but I BTDT and got the t-shirt:
and... got a *nice* full rack from Phil in honor of my voyage. He couldn't believe someone rode from Atlanta for his ribs.
OK, *next* year, Wade is doing the organizing, I'll be handling the roads, Sibud will be bringing the Maker's Mark and we'll pay off the Weather Channel well in advance.
Sorry you missed it!
Ian
