SMC Road Test Weekend Part II – by Erik Bahl and Cecil Frost
April 17th, 2021, Dorsey, Kent, Erik, Mike McCloud, and Troy gathered at the Frost compound in central Alabama for another go at a Cross Country Chase test ride with Cecil.
Before we get too far into this day, I think I may have to join a new club. All’s this one does is lay around! Where do you find the real riders? The proof for my case is in the photo’s below:
Exhibit 1 – Dorsey practicing laying around the day before the ride.
Packed and ready for anything!
On the road… We decided to take Alabama Highway 25 from Montevallo to Vandiver. This is a great road traveling up the backside of Double Oak Mountain. There is a nasty switchback halfway up which we believed would be a good test for the Servicar.
Exhibit 2 – Dorsey explaining to Mike how to lay around. Mike is almost there – just a little lower…
After some mountain riding we heard Mike say “Had to remind myself we are in Alabama”. We headed west on Alabama 119 and made it back into Hoover. We then headed south back to Montevallo for the Arts Fest being held in Orr Park. It was a nice break and we were all ready for some lunch.
Exhibit 3 – Mike has the hang of it now.
We left the ArtsFest and headed toward West Blocton where we took a break at Tannehill Leather Company. This is where a couple of new nicknames were hung on the crew. One of the staff at Tannehill gave the nickname “Big Boy” to Kent and “Slim” to Dorsey.
Exhibit 4 – Yep! On the ground again – trying a new technique. Yoga could help here.
Doresy did get the oiling corrected on his VL, which was one of his main punch list items to work on during the shakedown.
It was a great day for the ride. There had been a chance of rain forecasted but we stayed in the sunshine all day.
Exhibit 5 – Finally I had to see what all this laying around was about. So, here is a view from the trees right above me. Yes, you might nod off to sleep.
In conclusion: We had a great ride in beautiful weather. I think we might have a winner in Cecil! They have a great Mexican restaurant in Montevallo and Dorsey decided to pick up the check for the table. He’s a handy guy to have around!!
