Skid and Sandy On The Road: Fontana Village NC - WWR XIII Flat Tire and Cornhole Tournament

Friday, August 09, 2019

Fontana Village NC - WWR XIII Flat Tire and Cornhole Tournament

This was an eventful day.

After receiving the news of Scotty's passing, I also received a text from Steam that he and Melissa were in the area and would like to stop by for a visit. They hail from South Carolina and were regulars back in the Kickstand Lodge days but Sandy and I had not seen them for years. They had been very busy with the SC Patriot Guard Riders. They arrived a little after 9:00 and renewed some old friendships while meeting some new folks.

Steam & Melissa

Heading out

Brad aka Fatty and his dad Big Dawg getting ready to ride

And there they go

It was a lazy day. We sat around and greeted some new arrivals.

Talon, Sandy and Mas Tequila

Cheap B and a hiker off the Appalachian Trail

Wanda and Southern Charm

Kudzu arrives for the day

Phillip and Caleb arrive about the same time

Relaxing in the shade

I had a buddy for a while

Cheap B and I had talked about leaving at 3:00 PM for an early supper. The plan went out the window for me when Phillip came to inform me that the left rear tire on our Equinox was flat.

Phillip helped me locate the cause and then I tried to use a Stop And Go mushroom plug in it. My kit was designed for motorcycle tires and I had used it successfully twice before, but it failed to seal the hole in the thicker car tire.

That's about as flat as it gets

Looking for the cause

The culprit

The group of many assistants now proceeded with Plan B. Jack the car up with the Mickey Mouse hardware provided, remove the tire and take it to Robbinsville where we hoped to find someone to repair it.

The lug nuts had been torqued to the required 135 foot pounds. Kudzu broke four of them free with the sad little tire iron from the trunk. The last was more stubborn. We went to my trailer and got a heavier tool. Still no luck. Then someone, Kudzu I think, got the idea to put the jack under the end of the tire iron and jack it up. The weight of the car broke the nut free.

How many VROCers does it take to remove a tire

This is not NASCAR

Mas Tequila gave the tire and I a ride to Robbinsville. Talon came along and proved his worth when he saw the huge Bridgestone Tire sign in front of Midway Tire & Auto on the way into town. MT and I had been gabbing and would have missed it. The plugged the tire in short order and we were back on our way. As we were leaving, we met some of our riders (Kudzu, Phillip, Tbone and Mikey) heading towards R'ville.

This belonged to the lady who plugged my tire

As we were getting ready to leave Fontana with the tire, I asked Cheap B if he could take Sandy and proceed with the supper plans. She got to ride in the BMW with CB, Wanda and Linda. I thought they were going to Stecoah Diner but they went to Lynn's Place in Robbinsville instead. Phone calls to me letting me know went unanswered because my phone was still in my room. It looked like a fine time from the photos that Sandy took.

Cheap B piloting the Beemer

Sandy selfie

Lynn's Place - Robbinsville NC

Sandy's Salad

And cobbler

She looks happy

Cheap B had this peanut butter concoction

Looks like he enjoyed it

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we got the tire reinstalled and the tools put away in their proper places. Thinking that everyone had gone to the Stecoah Diner, I rode out that way but saw no sign of them. Turning around to return to the resort, I saw the four bikes we had passed earlier at the stop sign where 143 meets 28. Kudzu turned right to head for home and the others turned left. I fell in behind Mikey and we rode back to Fontana together. That's when I discovered they had gone to Lynn's instead.

Everyone got back just in time for the Cornhole Tournament. Several teams competed but, despite a strong and surprising showing by the Kaw team representing Illinois, the Indiana Team of Big Dawg and Fatty prevailed as usual. There was a short rain delay as darkness set in but they eventually finished the final.

Round One - Fatty vsSharon

And Big Dawg vs Ice Cream

Second Round - Mad Kaw vs Southern Draw

And Cheap B vs Frau Kaw

In a precursor of the final, FK vs BD

and Fatty vs MK

Almost done (note the wet pavement)

The champs won these boards

The runners-up won these boards

Thanks to Southern Draw for the boards and the tournament

After the tournament came the entertainment. I did spend some time talking to Dave and Donna, a couple from Wilmington, NC who were here celebrating their 29th anniversary. The party was in full swing with an entertainer and everything. Eventually, folks started to wander off to their rooms. It was 1:00 AM when Sandy and I called it quits.