November Meeting, Sloan’s & Bell Buckle, TN

It was a little crisp as the Chick and I pulled in to RCPS a little after 8:00. I could see from the road that Russell, Jamie and Jason were already inside. Scott had the coffee ready and pastry's waiting for us. We drank a few cups while waiting for any late comers to arrive.

 

Jason once again made the trip up from Opelika leaving around 4:00. It seems he got a chance to use those heated grips and seat. Must not have been too cold, or those grips and seat did the trick, cause he wasn’t complaining too much.

Oh, by the way. Guys, you’ve got to watch out for this Vision riding, wife stealing, Tiger fan! I head to the little boy’s room for a quick pit stop and by the time I get back a plan has hatched! Turns out the Chick’s riding 2-up on a Vision and I’m left carrying the bags! What’s up with that? All kidding aside, he had promised to let her ride a while back and she was holding him to it. I should have known better than to let this happen. Now I have this little voice in my left ear saying “you want to buy a Vision”. It started the next morning when I woke up and now she’s got this grin plastered all over her

face. Thanks Tigg.

 

It wasn’t long and Juan pulls in the lot on that beautiful purple and black Kingpin. The plan was to leave out by 8:30 and we figured all those coming were here, so we thanked Scott for the coffee and goodies and hit the road.

 

We took Wall Triana to Old Railroad Bed and hit TN-110 taking us into Fayetteville (Feddvull as most of us call it), TN. From there we took the by-pass and got on US-231, following  it all the way to Murfreesboro, TN

By - Wendell Rogers - Aka: Rocketcitymadman

HoDVR visiting Murfreesboro, TN and Sloan’s Motorcycle-ATV

US-231 was a nice little ride on our way to Sloan’s

Since I had mapped the route on Google I was elected to lead the way. It’s pretty much straight two-lane till you get to TN-110. 110 is a nice stretch from Taft to Fayetteville with many twisty curvy sections and makes for a nice little cruise. Other than being a little crisp the weather was gorgeous.  We made a stop on the bypass in Fayetteville for a short butt break that, as it turned out, was not

Click on any of the pictures to see more pictures from that day.

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needed, and proceeded on. The sun felt good and made the Fall colors really pop; especially after getting through Fayetteville and onto 231 heading up the mountain. Sometimes its hard to keep your eyes on the road ahead when you have such beautiful surroundings. There’s just something special about an Autumn morning and the position of the sun as it paints a wonderful canvas. I just love those old rustic barns and weathered structures that settle in to the landscape; sitting there like an old dog on a front porch door matt watching over the rest of the world as it ambles by. I could spend all day with my camera in places like this along the ride but we would never get there.

Eye-candy along the way

We continued on making our way through God’s art gallery, gazing at each masterpiece as we crossed over the mountain down to Shelbyville and on to Murfreesboro.

Once in Murfreesboro we ran into a little road construction on  NW Broad St. that made us late by about 30 minutes. As we pulled in at Sloan’s, Drew greeted us in the parking lot. Once everybody was off the bikes and had the gear stowed away, he gave us the nickel tour of the facility. According to Drew the dealership has been around for the last 30 years or so and has really grown into a nice state-of-the-art facility. The sales manager Frank Poagg as well as the owner Bill Sloan  stopped by and spent a few minutes with us. They were excited about us being there and had a meeting room set up so that we could have our meeting. They also had

Host for the November meeting

some goody bags for us, filled with Victory detailing products and a Sloan’s ball cap. The meeting being at Sloan’s was a last minute thing set up by Drew but our hosts at Sloan’s told us that we would be welcome to have some of our meetings there anytime. They offered, with some advanced notice, to

Bell Buckle, TN - a nice train stop town oozing with charm.

send out mailers to the local Victory owners inviting them to the next meeting held there. We could not have felt more

welcomed. Two of the local Victory riders Arthur and George were there and sat in on the meeting as well.

 

After the meeting we gathered outside for a quick picture and headed out for a late lunch. Juan broke off from the pack to head back for a prior commitment on the home front while Drew, knowing the area, took the lead for our ride to lunch. I’m not sure of the route we took but at some point we ended up on TN-269 which brought us into Bell Buckle, TN.

Bell Buckle - what you see is what you get.

I believe it was dodat (Kevin) that suggested we come here for lunch and man he hit the nail on the head. This had to be one of the most charming little towns in Tennessee. Sitting at what looked like a once upon a time train stop, where TN-269 meets 82, Bell Buckle was a delight with it’s old, rustic, almost run down look and feel. From the City Hall to the hardware store and café, you felt like you had

They saved us a spot right out front!

stepped back 75 - 100 years. Of course while everybody else was stowing the gear and talking I was all over that sucker snapping pictures. I was in hog heaven (oops, wrong slang for a Vic rider, huh?). Anyway, Drew and Jamie took off for the café to get us a table, Karen, Jason and Russell shot the breeze while I got my photo fix.

 

Now, Bell Buckle Café is a sure fire addition to the “Good Eatin’ Places” thread. The food and the atmosphere were, to say the least, as charming as the town itself. I kept waitin’ to see my if my

Chow down at the Bell Buckle Cafe

grandmother was gonna step out from the kitchen, slap me on the head, and tell me to eat up cause she had plenty more where that came from. It just had that “make you feel at home” comfort about it. The house band was jamming’ in the back while we put away a good bit of vittles; and even a desert or two by a couple of us. By the time it was said and

The house band kept us entertained.

lick mine clean but I knew Karen would slap me from the table if I did. Hey, don’t laugh. It was the kind of meal where you wished you had a roll or a small morsel of cornbread left so that you could wipe the plate clean and have one last bite for the ride home. Let’s just say I believe that everyone there would be more than happy to come back. We sat there for a while letting our food settle and enjoying the company before paying the checks and making our way back to the bikes.

done I didn’t see a speck of food left on any plate at the table. I was tempted to

The Bell Buckle Café—If you get the chance, take it!

The afternoon sun was sinking low signaling the end of the ride was upon us. The appropriate routes home made for a division of the group. Drew and Jason needed to head east while Jamie, Russell and the Chick and I needed to head west. So we parted with the agreement to post upon our safe arrival home.

 

We crossed the tracks leaving Bell Buckle taking TN-82 to the west. The ride back was just as enjoyable as the ride out, and as the remaining light of the day was about to fade we hit the bypass in Fayetteville; stopping briefly

for the traffic light. Jamie and Russell continued toward home while the Chick and I stopped to spend some time with our eldest son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren. As part of the annual “Host of Christmas Past” festival, we spent the remainder of the evening strolling among the glow of the luminaries in downtown Fayetteville, listening to the occasional Christmas serenade from the porches of old homes. Nice! Till the next ride…...