I’d dropped the bike. Pulling out from a back road along the Blue Ridge Parkway, a car suddenly appeared out of the dense clouds rounding a curve and I stalled the engine on the incline.  It went down hard on it’s left side breaking a turn signal lens and mangling the clutch and shift levers. Minor damage considering I’d avoided the car, but it would prove enough to make the trip home a challenge.

The nicest weather came just before my meeting at the Switzerland Inn - http://SwitzerlandInn.com

Already modified from a prior incident (click to read about that debacle) the shift lever was now wedged beneath the side stand. The clutch lever flopped precariously but it was working, and with a decent foot effort I managed to pry the shifter upwards and snick through the gears to get moving again towards Asheville. It was when I tried to downshift for a curve the real problem became apparent. I could not shift into a lower gear.

Thankfully I was on the Blue Ridge Parkway, uninterrupted in its 469 mile length. No stops, no traffic lights, it would be a manageable inconvenience to be restricted to a single gear. The problems would come when I left the parkway and entered the city traffic. At least I’d have plenty of time to come up with a plan on how I’d get home without slowing or stopping.

It's days like this a waterproof camera comes in handy on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Trying to bend the shift lever into a more useful shape was a last resort. Previously bent once, it would likely break if I stressed it any more. I decided I’d need to find a way home where I would not need to stop even once.

Traffic was light. The weather was already miserable at these high elevations and would continue to deteriorate as a strong front moved in. The wind gusted powerfully, rain squalls spit at me, and I was enveloped by thick clouds as I passed by the signs for Mt. Mitchell, then Craggy Gardens. The low fuel light came on as I drew near to Asheville but I knew there was no way I could negotiate traffic, stopping was not an option. I decided I must go on.

In 20 miles or so I’d reach the US 276 exit south of Waynesville. If I could get off the parkway without stalling, then make it down through the switchbacks on the steep incline, there would be but one traffic light to gamble on to reach home.

Cresting the rise that led into Bethel, I saw the light blink from red to green and rolled on the throttle to cleanly pass through it. 10 minutes later I pulled into my driveway. Just another day on the road.

A little video from the day –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j57PPHa_vVI

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