I'm Back!!!!!!!!

I realize I have not posted anything for about two months. I made a great three week trip out west with my wife in our little red Toyota Yaris. We were able to visit my family in Texas on our way out. We made a tour of the National Parks and saw Mesa Verde, Arches, Canyonlands, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Little Bighorn Battle Field and many other fantastic sites.

Last weekend (July 16-19) I managed to get a little jaunt in to Willville Motorcycle Camp in Meadows of Dan, VA. I ran into a few acquaintances and we had a good time despite the rain. There was a wedding, wine tasting, and a few water crossings made in a Honda Accord. It was one of those "you had to be there" things.

I do have a few events planned for the upcoming months. In September Horizons Unlimited is having its USA East meeting in Stecoah, NC. I will be there and give a full report. That goes for the ADV Old's Cool Fall Rally in Tellico Plains, TN as well. That event will happen in October.

Eastern Rendezvous, 2010 Edition

Last weekend I attended the ADV Eastern Rendezvous in Laurel Springs, NC. On the way there I rode through a terrible hail storm just after leaving Boone. Sorry, no pictures. I was too busy concentrating on keeping upright. The rally itself was another success put on by Rick, the Party Boss.
I did not ride at all on Saturday but I just hung around the camping area and caught up with some old friends. Here are a few photos from the Rendezvous.

A fellow named Chuck rode this from New Orleans, LA!!! He even got a speeding ticket on the way. He was doing 45 in a 35 zone. Oh yeah, and he was pulling a trailer!!


Learning how to make hobo scallops.


The camping area for the Rendezvous.


One of the landmarks in Laurel Springs, NC.


Another reminder for why I live here!


Well, I cannot wait for next year's rendezvous. There may not be much to post for about the next month. I will be headed to Grand Tetons and Arches NPs with my wife in a car. Be sure that I will make a longer trip. My school system has decided to start school early and this may kill my trip to Labrador. It is too early to tell now. I guess you will just have to check back and see!

Weekend Getaway!

This past weekend I rode to Cruso, NC to spend a couple of nights at the Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground. I had to take the long way around due to fallen trees on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The winter damage has closed a thirty mile stretch of the Parkway between Asheville and Mount Pisgah.


On Saturday I rode to the Nantahala Gorge to try and photograph some rafters. The wind blew some sand in my eye and blinded me for about 45 minutes. My eye finally cleared up enough to ride and I rode to the next country store and bought a bottle of water to try and flush the particle out of my eye. While there I met a young hippie type fellow named Chris who offered me a couple of drops of Visine. Now why would a hippie have Visine??!??

After arriving back at the campground a weather front move through setting us up for a windy and very cold night. Sunday morning was so cold I decided to eat breakfast at home.

Next week is the Eastern Rendezvous in Laurel Springs, NC. Check back for the trip report!

ADV Old's Cool Rally at the Minner!

I did not arrive at this rally until Saturday, April 24. It seems that the President of the United States decided to vacation in Asheville, NC and that really snarled traffic in the area. I took my students on a field trip and the bus got caught up in the presidential traffic jam causing us to arrive at our school late.

I arrived at Quiverin' Minner, TN on Saturday after riding through a thunderstorm all the way from Tellico Plains, TN. Most of the crowd was already there. After making initial greetings and what not I got on my bike to ride to the camping spot. The dreaded EWS! error popped up on my display and I began to sweat a little. I turned the key off and back on and everything seemed to be fine. I set up camp and met with the rest of the crew.

That night we had RAIN!!!! I'm glad we had the Minner to stay dry in. After an "all you can eat" barbecue dinner the place started rockin'! This was red neck central for the next few hours. It was a blast meeting some of the locals and observing their mating rituals! I finally crawled into my tent and slept well in the pouring rain.

Sunday morning I packed up and headed for a Waffel House for breakfast. I once again had EWS! errors but managed to get home. Since arriving home I cannot get the error to reoccur. This weekend I will be staying close to home, but check back in a couple of weeks. I will be riding to Buzzard Bottom or perhaps just over to the Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground. You just never know!

Quiverin' Minner Recce Run

In two weeks the Adventure Riders Old's Cool gang will be having a get together in Quiverin' Minner, TN. It's really a marina on Watts Bar Lake near Decatur, TN. I had never been there before so I decided to make a weekend ride and recon the place. I camped at Hunt's Lodge in Tellico Plains, TN. This was my first time to stay there. I is a really nice place with good folks running it.

I had Friday off so after riding to East Tennessee I just rode around and enjoyed the beautiful weather after a long hard winter. In Reliance, TN I came up on this old abandoned Baptist church. I love "Southern Architecture", unpainted wood with a rock foundation. I am actually doing a photographic essay on this called "Southern Ruins". You can see this on my photographic web site in the Project gallery. This particular church was the Hiwasee Union Baptist Church.


On Saturday I rode to the Quiverin' Minner. I think this is going to be a fun little get together if we have decent weather. Below are some pictures of the "Minner".




This was only the first ride of the season. This year's plans include a long ride to Labrador and New Foundland to complete my quest to ride in all Canadian Provinces. This should be in July after a trip out west to see Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Arches National Parks. That trip will be made by car with my frau.

Check back in a couple of weeks to see how the Old's Cool Rally at the Quiverin' Minner went!!

Spring has Sprung!

Well, it has been a long hard winter in Asheville, NC this year. Yesterday was the first day of spring and I performed some of the annual maintenance on the GS. I am planning on making my first camping trip in two weeks. This year I will make a trip out west (but in a car) with my wife to Grand Tetons and Arches National Parks. There will be some photos for sure on my photography web site. I am planning on making a major motorcycle trip to Labrador and New Foundland, Canada in July. I have purchased a netbook to help with keeping up posts while on the road. Check back often to see my progress!!

Ride Safe!!!!

International Motorcylce Show, 2010 Edition

On Saturday January 9, 2010 I attended the International Motorcycle Show in Greenville, SC. There were a few new bikes to see, but all in all, I had seen it all before. I am really not in the market for any new motorcycle gear but it was kind of neat to be among fellow riders in the middle of winter. Here are a few photos from the show. Enjoy and let's all hope for an early spring!!!

Gaurav Jani's Visit to Asheville

There were showings of Guarav Jani's films Riding Solo to the Top of the World and One Crazy Ride in Asheville this past weekend. It was an honor for me to get to meet and speak with Guarav. For those of you not familiar with his films go to the Dirttrack Productions web site. His films are among the best motorcycle travel films I have seen. Even my wife likes them! Guarav and I spoke a little about what sets his films apart from other motorcycle travel movies. We agreed that it was because his emphasis was on the people he met and not the bikes.

Gaurav Jani

This fellow's name is Sobby. He was one of Gauarav's riding companions on One Crazy Ride.

It was also a beautiful weekend in Asheville and I managed to ride "the Bat" and a good stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Ride safe!!

Fred Fest 2009

On October 2-4, 2009 Fred Fest was held at the Kickstand Lodge in Stechoa, NC. Most people arrived on Friday and old friends were greeted and new friends were made.

Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day for riding. I started by riding into the Nantahala National Forest to Forest Service road 711. This was probably a well maintained road years ago. Now there are signs of neglect... broken pavement and potholes. In the fifteen miles that make up FS 711 I saw only one other person. It was a great ride.




From there I went to Wayah Bald. On the short gravel road I discovered Wilson's Lick. This was the first ranger station in the Nantahala National Forest. I saw rows of white and some white rocking chairs in front of the old ranger station and decided to investigate. It turned out that a wedding was planned for later in the day. Notice the box of Kleenex next to one of the rocking chairs. That must have been for the bride's mother!




I then rode on to Wayah Bald for some beautiful views! What a day to be in North Carolina on a motorcycle!!!



From there I rode to the infamous "Road to Nowhere". This road is just outside Bryson City, NC. In 1943 the government wanted to buy land from the inhabitants to flood and create Lake Fontana. The dam would generate power for the secret city of Oak Ridge, then working on the Manhattan Project. The creation of the lake would separate the inhabitants from a cemetery where many loved ones are buried. In order to secure the land the government promised to build a road linking the island cemetery to Bryson City. The government started building the road. When the war was over the funds for the road disappeared and construction on the road stopped just the other side of the tunnel in the picture. This subject is still a sore spot with many of the residents in this area. First the government took land for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and then the Road to Nowhere. It is no wonder that folks in this area distrust the government.






That night back at Kickstand Lodge we were treated to a rib dinner that couldn't be beat. That evening we were entertained by the band Peace Soldier.



Well it is the middle of October and the weather is getting less predictable. My plans for traveling next summer are either Texas or Nova Scotia. I will have a long winter in the Appalachian Mountains to decide which to do. I will keep posting at least once a month, so check back or subscribe via RSS.

To all my friends in the southern hemisphere that are gearing up for the riding season...Ride Safe!

ADV Old's Cool Fall Rally

The Old's Cool (Old School...get it?) Fall Rally was held September 25,26, and 27 in Tellico Plains, TN. I left Asheville about 3:30PM and by 4:00 I had on my rain gear. By 4:05 the rain had stopped but I cruised on to Tellico Plains, TN via the Cherohala Skyway. Got to the event and there was no food. Oh, well there was plenty of liquid refreshment to replenish my diminishing calorie supply.

The next morning stared off innocently enough. I had breakfast with Chromesux and Docwells at a place that had a really scary Jesus watching us eat. Chrome and I decided to head for the Joe Brown Highway. Once up on top of the mountain it began to thunder and lightning. We decided it would be best to go back to the campground.


Once we got back to the campground it began to rain. It was a good decision to get off the mountain when we did. We sat under the pavilion and it continued to rain...and rain...and rain! Soon the little creek where we were camping began to come up out of its banks. Some fellow riders were camped close to the creek and had to move their equipment before being flooded out.












It rained all day and eventually it stopped. The water receded almost as fast as it rose. When the rain was over we were rewarded for our perseverance with a rainbow.

That evening we had a BBQ dinner and most of us drifted off to bed to get some sleep for the ride home the next day.

The next day began foggy but soon cleared to be a great day for riding. On the way home I rode over the Foothills Parkway, through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.



















While riding on the Foothills Parkway I passed a bear grazing on the side of the road. Sorry, but I did not stop to take a photo!!!!



















While riding through the park I stopped at the Mingus Grist Mill to pick up some corn meal for cornbread!
































After riding through the park I took the Blue Ridge Parkway home for the last leg of the trip.


















It felt good to get home to a dry bed!