I would first like to apologize to my loyal reader for being M.I.A. New everything has consumed my time. I do plan to maintain at least a monthly posting.

Having been here in East Tennessee for over two months, I can say I am finally getting acclimated. The California-like weather over the past few weeks has definitely helped! Another great help has been making new friends in the area. For me this never seems to difficult!

A new friend was nice enough to show me the tail of The Dragon. "The Dragon" is THE destination for avid bikers and auto enthusiasts alike. This windy road consists of 11 miles and 318 very technical turns. People come form everywhere to ride this stretch of road in South-east Tennessee.

As most you know, I can't seem to go without a bike for long. Well it ended up being 42 days and 14 hours to be exact. My new CBR 1000RR was still back in California when I first moved here. That was okay at first because it still felt like winter. But once the sun came out and the frost went away, I was itching to get back on two wheels.

Enter a beautiful 2006 Kawasaki Ninja Zx6 (636). This was the last year of the 636 engine and a perfect example of a middle-weight superbike. I have had a 636 before, and really liked the whole package. After a few upgrades, necessary maintenance and fairing-off cleaning, it was ready for the road.

Turns out just like California, you can find a nice windy back road if you head out of town far enough. We stumbled across an exit for Raccoon Valley and Hwy 170. It started with nice back-roads likewise traveled with other motorcyclist. But it wasn't until I saw the "Switchbacks 10 miles ahead, no trucks allowed" sign.

We ended up stumbling on to a 25 mile loop that traveled along a nice recreational lake. To top it off there was a fraction of the traffic typical of Mulholland or Las Virgenes in the Santa Monica Mountains. Thus proving once again that this decision was a good one not only for career, but for fun!

Just don't expect me to start wearing UT orange just yet.

Ride on, Lance