EasyRector
06-23-2009, 09:33 AM
I rode my bike to Bonnaroo this summer. This rock festival, the best in the U.S., is held near Manchester, TN (just off I-24 between Nashville and Chattanooga), roughly 400 miles from SW Ohio. (http://www.bonnaroo.com) Due to the threatening weather and the unknown logistical challenges involved in taking a bike to a rock festival, I waited until the last minute before choosing the bike over the car. Overall, I think I made the right choice! I left home at 7:30 a.m. It was 60 degrees. I was prepared for the inevitable rain.
http://www.vn750.com/photopost/data/672/medium/Bike_Loaded_2.JPG
The rain started one mile later, pouring heavily, and didn't let up until I was past Louisville! But I had dry weather all the way to Nashville, where I spent the night. I tried to visit the Grand Ole Opry, but the doors were closed.
The next day I made the short hop to my hotel in Tallahoma, TN, choosing small highways over the interstate. Along the way I had to pause briefly in Shelbyville as a violent thunderstorm roared through, dumping buckets of rain and pushing winds over 60 mph. Fortunately, I found temporary shelter under the overhang at a BP gas station.
Needless to say, when I arrived, the Bonnaroo parking area was a sea of mud. (I'm glad I chose not to camp on site!) Fortunately, some kindly Coffee County deputies allowed me to ride in the grass along the fenceline and park my bike by their tent. My own personal security detail! The sergeant in charge rides a VN 1500, and so we talked shop while my pipes cooled. In his opinion the 750 is by far the better choice! Here is my parking spot and the sergeant in the background...
http://www.vn750.com/photopost/data/672/Bike_Parked_21.JPG
The next day I decided to park in the driveway of a nearby private home that was selling private parking. As I was covering my bike, there was an awkward moment when a group of ~ hmmm, "ne'er do wells"? ~ started a scuffle. Somebody had been hit on the head with a beer bottle, and tensions were escalating. But the owner of the house, speaking quietly yet firmly (and discreetly placing a large handgun out of sight but within reach), restored the peace. Again, my own personal security detail!
Bonnaroo was awesome. The headliner was Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. I wasn't in the VIP section in the very front, but I was right up front on the fence as they poured it on for 3.5 hours in the hot, humid night. My photos are blurry, but this one was taken by a Rolling Stone photographer...
http://www.vn750.com/photopost/data/672/Bruce.jpg
Other great festival bands were Phish, Wilco, Lucinda Williams, Ani DiFranco, Moe, Gov't Mule, etc. etc. I also saw ribald stand-up comedy by members of the Daily Show team, including Rob Riggle and John Oliver. But my favorite sets were in small venues by lesser-known musicans, especially Ben Sollee...
http://www.vn750.com/photopost/data/672/medium/Ben_Sollee_1.JPG
and Everest...
http://www.vn750.com/photopost/data/672/medium/Everest_5.JPG
And, of course, there were the sights and sounds and smells of humanity in all its diverse squalor and glory. Here's an aerial view of the festival...
http://www.vn750.com/photopost/data/672/Aerial_View_of_Bonneroo.jpg
On the way home I by-passed Louisville and took some blue highways through Kentucky. The rain resumed when I was just a few miles from home!
My older son is now riding a Suzuki Gladius (he passed his test yesterday), and I'm hoping we can go together next year!
http://www.vn750.com/photopost/data/672/medium/Bonneroo_on_the_Throttle.JPG
http://www.vn750.com/photopost/data/672/medium/Bike_Loaded_2.JPG
The rain started one mile later, pouring heavily, and didn't let up until I was past Louisville! But I had dry weather all the way to Nashville, where I spent the night. I tried to visit the Grand Ole Opry, but the doors were closed.
The next day I made the short hop to my hotel in Tallahoma, TN, choosing small highways over the interstate. Along the way I had to pause briefly in Shelbyville as a violent thunderstorm roared through, dumping buckets of rain and pushing winds over 60 mph. Fortunately, I found temporary shelter under the overhang at a BP gas station.
Needless to say, when I arrived, the Bonnaroo parking area was a sea of mud. (I'm glad I chose not to camp on site!) Fortunately, some kindly Coffee County deputies allowed me to ride in the grass along the fenceline and park my bike by their tent. My own personal security detail! The sergeant in charge rides a VN 1500, and so we talked shop while my pipes cooled. In his opinion the 750 is by far the better choice! Here is my parking spot and the sergeant in the background...
http://www.vn750.com/photopost/data/672/Bike_Parked_21.JPG
The next day I decided to park in the driveway of a nearby private home that was selling private parking. As I was covering my bike, there was an awkward moment when a group of ~ hmmm, "ne'er do wells"? ~ started a scuffle. Somebody had been hit on the head with a beer bottle, and tensions were escalating. But the owner of the house, speaking quietly yet firmly (and discreetly placing a large handgun out of sight but within reach), restored the peace. Again, my own personal security detail!
Bonnaroo was awesome. The headliner was Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. I wasn't in the VIP section in the very front, but I was right up front on the fence as they poured it on for 3.5 hours in the hot, humid night. My photos are blurry, but this one was taken by a Rolling Stone photographer...
http://www.vn750.com/photopost/data/672/Bruce.jpg
Other great festival bands were Phish, Wilco, Lucinda Williams, Ani DiFranco, Moe, Gov't Mule, etc. etc. I also saw ribald stand-up comedy by members of the Daily Show team, including Rob Riggle and John Oliver. But my favorite sets were in small venues by lesser-known musicans, especially Ben Sollee...
http://www.vn750.com/photopost/data/672/medium/Ben_Sollee_1.JPG
and Everest...
http://www.vn750.com/photopost/data/672/medium/Everest_5.JPG
And, of course, there were the sights and sounds and smells of humanity in all its diverse squalor and glory. Here's an aerial view of the festival...
http://www.vn750.com/photopost/data/672/Aerial_View_of_Bonneroo.jpg
On the way home I by-passed Louisville and took some blue highways through Kentucky. The rain resumed when I was just a few miles from home!
My older son is now riding a Suzuki Gladius (he passed his test yesterday), and I'm hoping we can go together next year!
http://www.vn750.com/photopost/data/672/medium/Bonneroo_on_the_Throttle.JPG