Horizon Unlimited Traveller's Meeting - Virginia

The 2015 riding season has begun!  My first trip of this year was to the Horizons Unlimited Traveller's Meeting near Appomattox, VA.  The HU meetings are gatherings of like minded souls that like to travel internationally by motorcycle.  A normal group of people we are not!  The weekend was filled with several trip reports ranging from Mongolia (a favorite among us for some reason) to China to the Middle East.  I did not present at this meeting but plan on presenting at the October meeting in Stecoah, NC.

We were just a few miles from the Appomattox Court House where General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant.  This weekend was the 150th anniversary of the surrender.  At times we could hear cannons in the night while laying in our tents.  There were re-enactors on the site re-enacting the events of 150 years ago.

The camping area

A class on travel photography

It was a great weekend and I got to reunite with some old friends that I have not seen in years.  One had ridden around the world on his motorcycle since I saw him last.

There will be more events and weekends coming up soon, so stay tuned and check back often!

ADV Old School Fall Rally

The ADV Old School Fall Rally was held between October 16 and 10, 2014 in Tellico Plains, TN.  The weather could not have been better!  It was a great weekend to see old friends and ride the great roads of eastern Tennessee.

The banner welcoming us to the campground.

The rally is held each year at the Cherohala Mountain Trails Campground.  On Thursday night just a few of us showed up with the majority arriving Friday.

Cherohala Mountain Trails Campground

 On Friday I took a long ride through east Tennessee.  I rode to Reliance, TN which is basically a gas station / post office.  It's kind of a landmark for motorcyclist in the area.

Reliance, TN

The rest of the weekend was spent reminiscing about rides taken this past year and plans for next year.  The Old School rallies are my favorite rallies of the year.  They are small (generally less than 50 people) and more like a gathering of friends than a rally.

Doin' what we do at these things

My campsite

 On Sunday I packed up and rode home in beautiful weather.  This will probably be my last event of the season.  I already have some plans for next spring so stay tuned!

Packed for the ride home

ADV Nottarally

The annual ADV Nottarally was held October 2-5, 2014.  I rode up on Friday October 3.  Despite having organized camping, meals, rides, t-shirts, stickers, etc. this is not a rally.  Hence the name "Nottarally" does not make sense to some.  Those of us that are "initiates" understand the reasoning behind this name and we prefer to leave it esoteric.

Packed and ready to go.

I left on Friday and got to the site in Del Rio, TN before the rain began to fall.  The rain was predicted, but it was supposed to be a couple of bands and then move out.  Friday night a third band moved through to our surprise.

Set up and ready for the rain.

Thanks to a few volunteers we had a hearty breakfast and then most of us hit the road or trails to ride the day away.

Volunteers cooking up a high protein breakfast of bacon and eggs.

Riders getting ready to get dirty

I had a great campsite with a little stream running behind the tent.  During the rain I just laid in my tent and read my Kindle.  I really enjoy the sound of rain an a tent or the sound of a stream nearby.

The stream behind my tent

As predicted the temperatures dropped on Saturday night and we woke up to a chilly Sunday morning.  Some people broke camp fairly early and had to ride as far as Pennsylvania or even upstate New York.  I'm not sure but I think someone mentioned that we had visitors from our neighbor to the north, Canada.

I arrived home before noon and took a well deserved shower and took a much needed nap.  I don't know how many more weekends I will be able to get out this season.  There is one more event I know of in two weeks, but it seems that fall has arrived early (and I am getting old).

Weekend in Cruso

I spent September 19 - 21 at Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground in Cruso, NC.  There was no real reason, I just needed to get away and get a little tent time. There is not really anything exciting to report about this trip but on Saturday I did have a great ride in the Smoky Mountains.  Here are some photos from this past weekend.

Riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway

 

Balsam Lake

View of the Smokies near Devil's Courthouse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Packed up and ready to ride home on Sunday morning

I do hope to get out a couple more times this year before winter sets in.  Check back often!

Horizons Unlimited Eastern Traveler's Meeting 2014

The Horizons Unlimited Eastern Traveler's Meeting was held September 4 - 7 at the Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge in Stecoah, NC.  This is an annual meeting of international motorcycle travelers.  It consists of three days of presentation covering "how-to" and reports on trips taken.  Some folks are there that have never done long distance motorcycle travel and others have been on the road for years.  I gave my presentation on a 2008 trip I made to Alaska.

My bike and tent at the Horizons Unlimited Traveler's Meeting

There was a little rain, but since most the events were held indoors we were not bothered.  Iron Horse is a fantastic venue for such an event.  The food is also great!  The highlight of the culinary offerings is the prime rib on Saturday night.

The evening fire at Iron Horse.

Prime Rib dinner at Iron Horse.

It was a great week and it inspired me to reactivate this blog.  I had suspended this blog due to political considerations while I was overseas. 

Here are a few more photos from the week.

Tent city

Lots of bikes

A beautiful setting in the Smoky Mountains

I should have another posting in couple of weeks.  Fall is approaching and that is some of the best motorcycling weather in my part of the country.  Stay tune!

Cruso - July 2013

As some of you know I am preparing to spend six months in Europe and the planning and preparation for that trip has not left me much time to ride this year.  Also we have had rain, rain, RAIN!  This is the wettest summer on record and we are only about half way through!

I did get a chance to go camping at the Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground in Cruso, NC this past weekend.  Due to the weather there were very few campers and I almost had the campground all to myself.

My campsite at Cruso

I managed to get a good ride in on Saturday, but it did rain for about an hour.  Afterwards the sun came out and it began to "rain up".

Mist rising from the Little Pigeon River

This may be my last post of the year in my motorcycle travel blog.  Be sure to check out my other travel blog.  I will be driving to Texas and then to Philadelphia to board a freighter to Hamburg, Germany.  In Europe we will travel to Berlin, Poland (?), Austria and Bavaria!

Kickstand Lodge

I know I am VERY late in posting this, but it really was not much of a ride.  I rode to Kickstand Lodge in Stecoah, NC on Friday April 31 and returned home the next morning.  As I was having breakfast Saturday morning a guy comes by with a Smarty Phone and shows me the weather radar.  BIG storms were headed our way and I decided to pack up and ride for home.  The weather would not get here until Sunday morning, but I did not feel like packing up and riding home in the rain.

Since I had all day I took the long way home over the Blue Ridge Parkway.  When I woke up Sunday morning I found out I made the right decision.  Heavy rain all day!

Because of the trip to Europe later this year I really don't have any further planned trips on the bike.  Until I do...

Rick's Rendezvous

Rick\'s Rendezvous

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in North Carolina

The weekend of May 17-19, 2013 was Rick's Rendezvous.  This event was formerly called the Eastern Rendezvous but since Rick's death last year Silke and Hunter have taken on the task of keeping the Rendezvous going.

This year the Rendezvous was held near Hampton, TN and the weather proved to be a problem.  There was rain and more rain, hence no photos from this trip.  The cameras remained loaded on the bike and I never removed them from their cases.  The food and the camaraderie were outstanding.  The sun came out after the tent was packed and the ride home was uneventful.

This will be a short riding season for me because of my trip to Europe beginning in August, but stay tuned to see what else happens on two wheels this year!

ADV Old School Spring Fling

April 26 - 28, 2013 was the ADV Old School Spring Fling held at the Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground in Cruso, NC.  Our weather pattern for the last few weeks had been perfect camping weather Monday through Thursday and then a cold front would come through bringing rain for the weekend.  This week proved no different.  Many folks came despite the rain and some even came from as far away as Canada!  Those are some hardy boys up there!  As I mentioned there was a lot of rain so I left my camera equipment in the bags for the most part.  I did manage to get a few shots, however.

This was my first trip in my new tent and the tent held up well.  Despite three inches of rain over the weekend it kept me dry!  As you can see I also rode my airhead since this was an "Old School" rally.

One of our Canadian friends had starter troubles on the way down.  He had a new starter Fed-Exed to the campground and installed it Saturday morning.

We kept an eye on the Pigeon River as it kept creeping up!

On Sunday I rode home in pouring rain.  The bike was ridden hard and put up wet.  No problem with the equipment and the bike ran like a dream.  Hopefully the weather will get better next month!

International Motorcycle Show

On Saturday, February 23, 2013 I traveled to Charlotte, NC to attend the 2013 International Motorcycle Show at the Charlotte Convention Center.  I have been to this event before and there was really nothing new to see.  The usual booths selling leather and jewelry to the Harley crowd and a smattering of new bikes from some of the manufacturers.  I took the frau with me and she opted to read the German newspapers on her iPad in a local coffee shop while I browsed the show.  All in all I spent roughly 45 minutes at the show.

Moto GP Umbrella Girl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My kind of bike!!

 

 

Not my kind of bike!!

After the show we went to the Light Factory and saw an exhibit of photographs dealing with social media.  It was very interesting.

Afterwards we went to the Levine Museum of the New South and viewed different historical exhibits about Charlotte and the surrounding area.

The season should be picking up in the next month or so and there will be more posts.  Come on spring!!!!