Weekend at Kickstand Lodge

The weekend of August 25 - 27, 2017 I spent at the Kickstand Lodge in Stecoah, NC.  Kickstand Lodge (KSL) is a unique place.  It is campground operated by riders for riders.  It leans slightly toward the "American Iron" crowd, but all are welcomed heartily.  Besides Mo, the owner, the best feature of KSL is its location.  It is truly some of the best motorcycling in the United States.  Some people save up to spend a week or two in the area and I am lucky to live eighty miles from this outpost.  Nearby is the famed "Tail of the Dragon".  A little secret here.  We send tourists to the Dragon so we can have all the better roads to ourselves!

Highest Elevation on the Blue Ridge Parkway

On the way to KSL I rode the Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville to Cherokee.  It was a nice day and I was in no hurry.  I passed by the Highest point on the Parkway.  I've been here many times, but always have to stop for a photo.

Brunhilde at Waterrock Knob

Here is Brunhilde (my bike's name) at Waterrock Knob.  I have ridden this ol' girl to the Arctic Circle and the Yucatan in Mexico.  She's been in 46 states.

Deal's Gap before the circus begins

Saturday Morning I woke up early and rode over to Deal's Gap.  It was early and the squids were not out yet.

Lunch in Franklin

Around noon I decided to stop for a gourmet lunch in Franklin.  After lunch I thought I would make a leisurely ride back to KSL.  Alas, it was not to be.  I saw an interesting road to the left off of Highway 28 (the Moonshiner road).  After about 5 miles the road became gravel.  No big deal, but this gravel road went straight up to a ridge via hairpin curves and straight down via hairpin curves.  Most of the hairpin curves were basically sand.  Not a favorite road surface of mine.

Somewhere in Western North Carolina.

I made it back to KSL (obviously) and enjoyed an evening of Mo and Bobby's cooking and socializing with the other riders.

The Sunday morning  ride home was uneventful.  It usually is.

Next post will be up next week and it will cover the Horizons Unlimited North Carolina Traveler's Meeting.  Stay tuned!

Horizons Unlimited - Appomattox, Virginia 2017

OK.  I know I am not the best at keeping this blog thing current.  To be honest I have not ridden much this year for some reason or another.  I promise I will try and do better in the future.  For this post I am going to have to go all the way back to April and try to catch up.  That will be only three posts and I hope to have them all up by next week.  The bikes have been a couple of "hangar queens"  this year.

Let's start with the Horizons Unlimited Virginia meeting for 2017.  The meeting was held April 27 til April 30.  For those of you that don't know, Horizons Unlimited is and organization for us folks that like to cross borders on our bikes.  No, I don't mean state lines... I mean borders.  For example, Guatemala, Mexico, Turkey, Poland, etc.  Around the fires you will hear conversations about the advantages of cross into Honduras at Corinto instead of Agua Caliente.  You will not hear conversations on which bar in Fresno has the coldest Bud Light.

The camping area with the bikes up front.  The make and model of the bike is not important.
What is important is that you ride, ride, ride.  Something I have been guilty of not doing
 this year.  By the way, that's my bike in the lower left corner with the read and green fuel bottles.

There were the usual presentations by folks that had ridden around the world or from Prudhoe Bay to Tierra del Fuego.  But what makes these events special are the people.  After attending these meeting for a few years there get to be a core group and the meetings become something akin to a family reunion.  We understand each other while many people don't.

The venue where the presentations were given.  This building also served as our mess hall.

It was great meeting and the weather was the best it had been in the three years since the inauguration of the Virginia Traveller's Meeting. 

The camping area before the unwashed masses arrived.