C.O.B.R.A. Adrenaline-Odyssey 2025

Kris S

​Eric B​

C.O.B.R.A.-FEST 2025

The Dragon. The Brotherhood. The Ride.

Kris:

The trip was set. I packed my saddlebags early that Friday—then snap—two straps ripped right off. First thought: Bad omen. Second: Hell no, I’m going anyway. I bungeed the bags down and rode to Houston, feeling both pumped and exposed. This was my first cross-country ride with everything strapped to the bike.

Eric:

My boi Kris shows up Friday. I’m kinda stuck with work but we manage to kick-off the trip in typical COBRA fashion! We do last minute stuff to the bikes, eat too much, drink too much, and have just about too much fun!

Monday, May 26 – Wet Roads & Texas Law

Eric:

We roll out in the morning, packed and pumped! On to The Gecko! Barely an hour out, we catch rain. Not too bad at first, but then it starts pouring! We find a small construction site with an overhang and hide from the rain for a little bit. We decide to forego The Gecko, since it is fairly tight and technical… and now wet…

We found a nice dry pocket to ride in and covered some miles. Kris (as he often does!) gets a little over-zealous with the throttle and helps us meet one of Texas’ finest. Super nice officer. We exchange a few laughs and he asks us to slow down a little and have a safe trip.

We get into Texarkana and celebrate an awesome ride!

Kris:

We tried to thread the needle in a dry pocket but couldn’t outrun the storm. My “water-resistant” phone freaked out from the moisture—little did I know, that warning would foreshadow a later problem. We eventually skipped the Gecko and pushed toward Texarkana. Then I got us pulled over—but the officer was cool. Told us to settle down and enjoy the ride.

That night I set off the fire alarm in my hotel room. Apparently, I looked so panicked, Eric couldn’t stop laughing. Said the color drained from my face.

Tuesday, May 27 – The Ozark Baptism & Kill Switch Kris

Eric:

While a die-hard Texan, I’ll be the first to admit- rolling through the Arkansas back roads and the Ozarks, this is HEAVEN! So pretty, such scenic views, such nice roads, fair weather…

We ride the Pig Trail and are having a great time… maybe more than the recommend daily amount! Kris forgot to mention- there was flowing water across the road when I crossed the yellow! I wasn’t about to grab a handful of brakes, leaned over, at a good clip, across flowing water :lol:… It was sketch, but never panic! I fell back on the basics and rode away!

At one point, we stop at the Three Points landmark. Beautiful valley below. But then I see this gnarly gravel and dirt road up the side of the mountain and decide it’d be fun to climb it. On street bikes. Loaded with luggage… DAMN THE TORPEDOES! Yeah… I won’t do that again… My bike tried to spit me off countless times, And the whole time, Kris climbs the trail like he’s riding a 400lb dirtbike! It was awesome to watch!

Kris is usually chasing my taillight (hah!), but at one point, he’s pretty far back. I slow and am watching him in my mirror- he’s obviously fidgeting with something. I’m concerned, but got this little voice in my head, saying, you better not of hit the kill switch :/ Yeah! And Killswitch

Kris is born! Long live Killswitch Kris!

Kris:

At one point I tried to adjust my cruise control and accidentally flipped the kill switch. I was waving frantically, bike dying beneath me in the middle of nowhere. Eric finally looped back and I confessed. Kill Switch Kris was born.

Wednesday, May 28 – Highway Glides & Green Dreams

Eric:

As we head towards Memphis, it occurs to me just how much of America I still want to see! Beautiful scenery all around, so green and elevation changes- not boring! We actually stop a little East of Memphis, comfortably ahead of schedule. And in one piece. And ticket free!

Kris:

We made it just east of Memphis. The roads were clean, traffic was light, and we were ahead of schedule. Felt good.

Thursday, May 29 – BBQ Lies and Southern Miles

Eric:

Thursday has us heading for Nashville. Great weather, great roads, easy traffic. We stop in Waynesboro for some “world famous Tennessee BBQ”… Uh huh, I’ll be the judge of that!

Y’all clearly ain’t ever had no Texas BBQ lololol…

Friday, May 30 – Mountain Homes and Curve Dreams

Eric:

We goof off, explore backroads and roll on to The Dragon. We park it in Crossville, TN for the night. Absolutely beautiful area and some of the most incredible homes with the most incredible views I’ve ever seen! You can keep your Riviera- I want THAT!

Kris:

We could feel the Dragon getting closer. We weren’t there yet, but we could almost hear it breathing.

Saturday, May 31 – We Meet the Dragon

Eric:

We finally made it! THE TAIL OF THE DRAGON! This has been my #1 bucket list item since I was 15yo! And now I’m here!

Every single road out here is epic! So many twists and turns and hills and valleys… Truly a motorcyclist’s dream! And we haven’t even ridden the Dragon yet! We’ll soon learn how The Dragon earned its reputation! It will not suffer fools! (and, amazingly… Kris and I survived… weird, that!).

Our BNB is this awesome little house on the side of a mountain with the craziest driveway I’ve ever seen! Even crazier than the wacky driveway up the mountain to our driveway! It was NUTS!

We have a great day of riding, keep it all in one piece, and are absolutely blown away at the real “fast” guys out here… Absolutely BONKERS!!!

Rule #1 at The Dragon- NEVER challenge the locals! Truly words to live by!

Kris:

Tight, technical, and brutal if you aren’t focused. It demanded everything we had—and then some.

Final Thoughts

Kris:

We set out chasing adventure, and it found us fast. Rain, tech failures, roadside laughs, and throttle therapy. Comfort is nice—but chaos writes better stories.

Eric:

And if you made it this far… Wow! You’re an even bigger junkie than us! IN THE BEST WAY!