Ride the Blue Ridge Rally 2010

The Knob Mountain N.C. Motorcycle Chapter (Knobbies) hosted a great BMW rally in Morganton, NC. The weather was beautiful on Friday and Saturday. I did ride home Sunday morning in a downpour, however.

On Saturday the GS managed to find more gravel roads in Western North Carolina. The photo above was shot in Gragg, NC. This is a small community at the intersection of some gravel roads. Below is a closeup of the sign.


I rode to Mortimer and discovered a small general store in the middle of nowhere on one of these gravel roads. No, I did not hear any banjos playing anywhere!

The rally itself was held at Catawba Meadows, a city park operated by the city of Morganton, NC. The site itself was beautiful. The site was donated to the club by the city to help tourism in the area. I won a gift certificate to a local restaurant as a door prize so I know I will return!

Next weekend I plan on making an overnight trip to Cruso and on Saturday check out Balsam Lake. Check back next week!

Horizons Unlimited Traveller's Meeting - 2010

The weekend of September 10 - 12, 2010 found me at the annual Horizons Unlimited Traveller's Meeting in Stecoah, NC. Horizons Unlimited is a group of international motorcycle tourists and many presentations are given on topic ranging from border crossing to how to stay healthy on the road. This event is only about 80 miles from my home so I try to make it every year. Saturday was soggy one and well spent by listening to several presentations.


This year I was most impressed by Ileana LaTorre and Efrain Martinez. These two have started a charity trip called Moto Nomadas. They will ride from Charleston, SC around South America raising money and volunteers to help educate the street children on Central and South America. Please visit there web site for more details. Just when I seem to lose hope in the current generation a couple of kids like these step up and restore my faith. There is hope!!

Labor Day Weekend in Cruso

Over the Labor Day weekend, September 3-5, 2010, I camped with the GS in Cruso, NC. On Saturday I rode to the Nanthala National Forest to ride a little gravel. While walking on a swinging bridge over the river I saw an entire family of deer watering in this beautiful countryside.


It was an excellent day on the GS in its natural habitat. Although I am not that comfortable on gravel the GS loved it.


On Monday I rode the R80RT to Smoky Mountain Knife Works in Sevierville, TN to do a little knife shopping. It was another beautiful day, but no photos of this. I enjoyed the riding too much!!