Labor Day Ride - Deals Gap 2010

Every year the MTF hosts a series of “Flower Sniffing” rides across the United States and in the past couple years there has been a ride that hasn’t been too far from home for me. Last years local ride was the West Virginia Summer Mountain Ride that was centered in Beckley, West Virginia. This year, the local flower sniffing ride was held on Labor Day weekend at the Iron Horse Lodge just south of Robbinsville, North Carolina. I was a bit unsure if I was going to make this trip since Labor Day weekend in the mountains can be a nightmare as far as traffic is concerned. However, after staying at the Iron Horse during the last night of the “End to Ender” ride, I decided it would be worth it; after all I hadn’t made my yearly trip up Deals Gap and the Cherohala Skyway.

After the End to Ender ride I was sure to call Jon Mock and Josh Beasley to inform them of the MTF ride at the Iron Horse and let them know that I will be going, and it would be in their best interest to come along as well. As you can imagine, I really had to twist their arms to come along.

Starting a new job just a month earlier I wasn’t able to get the time off that I really wanted since the ride was scheduled for Thursday – Monday. However, Curtis, my supervisor was nice enough to let me take a half day on Friday so I could get up there that evening and have all day Saturday and Sunday to ride then come home on Monday.

The week before, Hurricane Earl had decided that it might be changing some plans for us; fortunately it decided to stay on the coast and not come inland. However, Jon Mock, who now lives out in New Bern was a little unsure of everything, so he decided it would be wise to head up to my place in Raleigh on Thursday night and beat the storm. He arrived around 9:30pm and we un-hooked his trailer (he towed his bike this trip due to the distance now that he is on the coast) put it up in my garage and then headed out for a night on the town with some more friends.

After a long night on the town, thanks to the tow company, getting up early the next morning was bit rough. Once I got to work it seemed like that clock would never make it to 11:00am. Jon ran some errands that morning and finished up with the packing details so that when I got off work all I had to do was suit up and we could head out.

I think we headed out around 12:30 or so taking I-40 W to Winston-Salem, where we would meet Josh and then carry on. Josh was late, big surprise, so eventually we got back on I-40W and made our way to the mountains.

The FZ' loaded down and and ready to head to the mountains.

The quickest way to get to the campground was by taking I40 W to Asheville then 74 down to 19 and up 28. Talk about a boring ride, I was on I-40 for about 300 miles. Eventually we made it to Asheville, making a couple stops along the way to pick up some beer and refuel (Graham county is dry).

Right at about sunset we ended up pulling into the campground. We found some rain on the way in, but it was brief and looked as though it had moved through. However it wasn’t 30 minutes after we got to the campground and started setting up, the bottom fell out. Awesome.

A welcoming sight on the horizon!

Beasley in his new suit, boots and lid. Fortunately he was able to get his bike back together in time to make the ride. 200 miles of highway was a great way to break in that new rubber.

Jon's trailer queen :)

Coming into Asheville, avoiding the rain showers made for a great view.

The rain let up enough so that we could finish setting up the tents and get everything dried out. About an hour later, Jon’s father, Doc, showed up on his Harley. We helped him get settled in, parked the bikes, opened up the cooler and settled in for a night of story telling and laughter.

The next morning we got up around 7am, took showers and made our way to breakfast. We ended up leaving the lodge I guess around 9:30am or so and made our way east towards Cherokee to get on the end of the BRP. I told the guys how much fun the end of the parkway was and they seemed interested in it, so we took the parkway north till we caught 74 I think, just outside of Dillsboro.

The camp site for the weekend!

Best sleep ever when listening to this creek flow across the rocks.

Making our way through Cherokee was a nightmare, that town is a pain in the rear on Saturday mornings. Wow! We eventually made it up to the parkway and made a nice spirited ride up the mountain, pulling over from time to time to stop, laugh and warm up. It was cold up on that mountain! I think we all kind of underestimated the temperature that time of year at those elevations.

I had spoke with Jordan and Brooke a week prior to the ride and mentioned something about stopping and meeting Uncle Jesse at the Jarrett House in Dillsboro for lunch on Saturday. Once he got word of this he got rather excited and we made that lunch stop the only plan of the trip. Once we made it off the parkway we started on our way toward Dillsboro and made a lap of the town. As you can imagine that took a long time… Ironically enough we actually caught up to Uncle Jesse on the way back to the restaurant. I’d recognize that mini-van anywhere! (I think I may have startled him a bit when I pulled up next to him at a traffic light.) As we pulled up and circled the parking lot I was surprised to see Maw-Maw walking up to the restaurant as well. She had pulled a fast one and when she heard that we were all meeting Uncle Jesse for lunch she decided to come up, too.

Lunch was good, as always, and it was good to see Uncle Jesse and Maw-Maw again. It had been since the last Gap Trip that I had seen either of them due to some complications in the past year. A few other riders that I sometimes admit I associate with had made their way to the Jarrett House for lunch as well. We had originally intended on eating together, however due to my lack of understanding of the situation I completely blew it. They ended up sitting at a table across from us. Hammer Down Brown continued to scold me for my actions, however I was the bigger man I recommend some deserts for them to try that I knew they would love. We all left around the same time after cracking some jokes at each other and then agreed to catch dinner together that evening at the lodge.

After lunch we made our way down 23/441 like we did last year to Franklin. However, last year we were all a bit disappointed in the road surface on Wayah Rd, so we headed west across 64 to check out some water falls.

I did one at 33,333 miles at 33mph...

64 was a fun road, but unfortunately it was way too crowded and narrow to really enjoy in a sport fashion. It got a bit tight when two SUV’s met on this road, if that gives you an indication of how small the lanes were on it. However we did pass several waterfalls and eventually stopped at Bridal Veil Falls.

Hwy 64... a bit crowded and tight.

Jon being silly! Great shot though.

While at the falls we decided that we wanted to get back at a decent time so we could get a bite to eat at the lodge and then make it up to Deals Gap to make a couple runs before the sun went down and catch a sunset at the overlook. So to get back we decided the best way to go was south to go north… (it was my idea) Off we went, south down 106 into Georgia then back up 441 into Franklin to pick up 28 back to the camp ground.

Bridal Falls

Always having a laugh...

Doc getting some neat shots with his camera.

The southern side of Hwy 28 was a blast, lots of elevation changes, nice tight corners with large shoulders. (for the mountains) We were tearing it up and I could tell that I was holding Jon up in some the corners from time to time. This was the first time he had been back in the mountains in a while so it took him a little bit to get warmed up again. It became clear at this point that he was back in the grove and I was in his way! I found a wide spot, slid over in the lane and waved him by. I was doing my best to stay with him; however I was losing ground quickly. A few corners later we caught up to another bike, cruiser with a passenger, and they were doing all they could to get down the road. Jon was patient and waited for a good time to make a pass and fortunately enough the rider waved Jon around on a downhill before a left hander where the visibility was good. Jon took the opportunity and snuck around before the corner and railed the heck out of it. The passenger on the cruiser apparently really enjoyed the show because after Jon pulled the corner she turned and smiled at me and gave me thumbs up. The next spot to pass came up and the rider waved me on so off I went trying to chase Jon down…. Ha. I was dragging the pegs in every corner doing all I could to keep him in sight. I just couldn’t catch him. He was in the zone.

A few miles later we found our way to the intersection of 19 and 28. We all gathered up and talked about the last few miles waiting on Jon’s dad to bring up the rear. It wasn’t too much later that he showed up, but I have to be honest, he didn’t have the biggest smile on his face. Those tight corners didn’t make the ride easy on that big Harley.

Gathered up on the side of 28 and 19 when some nice visitors arrived.

Weeee.....

Lookin good from back here ;)

Doc pulling in after riding 28... them fore arms were tired!

For dinner that night the lodge was serving prime rib, which turned out to be out of this world good. Add on the baked beans and baked potato and it was a bit tough to get back on the bike after that meal was inhaled! Sure enough though we managed to saddle back up and make our way to Deals Gap to get a run in before the sunset.

We made our way up 28 to The Store on 129 in rather short time and managed to top of the tanks with gas before The Store shut down for the evening. Traffic seemed a bit heavier than normal for this time of evening but we took off anyway knowing it would get dark on us soon. As expected we ended up catching some traffic a couple miles into the run, however I was able to make a safe pass and get around the car. Unfortunately, the driver did not know what pull offs were or what they were intended for, so at the next short straight away I came to a stop which held the car up and allowed Josh and Jon to get around clean. Back to the fun! I pulled rear spot for about a mile, but I was feeling good and Josh was still getting used to the new set up on his bike and was holding me up a bit. After coming out of a right hander I had a good run on him which led to a short down hill straight away and then into a hard left. I flashed the lights, pulled the trigger and came around him before entering the corner. However, what made life interesting was that when I started to slow the bike up I hit the rear bike on the yellow stripe. The back tire started to slide, I released and hit it again to have it slide a bit more and start to step out. I pushed the ass end back straight and released, kick the shifter down once then hard on the front brakes for a second more, leaned off to the left, knee out. RPMs around 9000, through the apex, I grabed a hand full of throttle bring the bike back to vertical, catch third and then set in for the next corner out of the 318. Wow what a rush, I felt like Valentino Rossi out there backing it in to a corner. But then the fun stopped a few miles later as we found ourselves stuck behind an Escalade and a FJ Cruiser. After a few corners the Escalade, which was out front, found a pull off and moved over. We waved and carried on behind the FJ, hoping that he would follow suit… we were wrong. This guy thought it would be fun to race up the mountain, busting double yellow at every opportunity. The three of us weren’t amused; he was only racing himself since the three of us were riding with one hand through the corners…mainly because we were flipping the dude off every time he crossed over.

Eventually we managed to get around him, can’t remember if he pulled off or not, but by time we did get around we were at the end of the run and close to the over look. Once at the overlook we started chatting about the events on the way up as I pulled out the camera and took some shots of the sunset. We chatted with one of the locals for about an hour then made our way back down to the store to meet Jon’s dad and head back to the camp ground.

Seeing this as a great opportunity to get some neat footage with the Go-Pro, I pulled the rear spot and followed Josh and Jon down The Gap at night.

Once at the store we gathered up Jon’s dad and headed back down 28 to the campground and called it a night after having a few cold ones.

The link below is for the video of our pass down deals gap at night. Video is taken from my bike following Jon with Josh leading.

Nightmare Run!!!

Catching the sunset at the overlook on Deals Gap.

The next morning was rough, it was colder than we expected and we were tired from the day before. Around 10am we we pulled out of the camp ground and headed north back up 28 and across 143 to run the Skyway. As we pulled out we followed a fellow MTF member in a car, pulling a trailer with a Gold Wing strapped down. To make this scenario more interesting the rider had gone to the Dark Side. (He had a car tire mounted up on the rear wheel) I suppose he was short on time this trip and had to trailer in or something, gotta do what you gotta do I guess. He was an MTF rider and as exprected he pulled over to let us by, however it wouldn’t be the last time. We passed each other probably 4 times that morning.

Once on the skyway I pulled over to take some pictures and let Jon’s dad read up on the road at the information pull off. We decided we would meet up at the peak over look and told him to just take his time and stop if he wanted to anywhere along the way as the three of us would probably be getting the job done going up. I mounted up the Go-Pro and we took off.

Father son chatting just before making the run up the Skyway!

Sure enough I forgot to stop at the overlook, we blew by it at some point, not really sure where to be honest…. But eventually we did pull over and within a couple minutes Jon’s dad pulls up with the biggest grin! He loved the Skyway!

We hung out at the overlook for a little bit before heading on down the rest of the way to Tellico Planes. As we got to the bottom I remembered going to a large waterfall at the base of the skyway just outside of Tellico with my parents once. So after discussing it with the group we headed that way. We spent the better part of an hour walking around the falls talking and taking pictures. When we left we decided to find some food near by before heading on down 68 which was off 143. We found a cool drive in next to the river that seemed to be the happening place and stopped for a bite to eat.

Lined up at an overlook taking a break.

Heaven, as far as I'm concerned.

Bringing back last years ride.... "Fire Power"

Yea Doc!

Serenity...

Team J^2

Up on the waterfall.

Look out below!

That water was cold!

Why so serious?

Go 49ers!

Rather large waterfall!

Below is the link to the video taken of our pass up the skyway. Camera is on my bike leading Jon.

Skyway Video!

68 turned out to be a fun road, lots of corners and elevation changes. Traffic was light and continued to thin out the further south we got. However we did find some traffic and managed to get stuck behind them for a while. I started to get antsy and when I saw a short straight I went ahead and passed on the double yellow, Josh followed. There was a slight left hand corner coming up so I checked up and settled into the corner after getting around the car. As I entered the corner I saw in the mirror that Jon was making the pass too, which was odd for him. He normally doesn’t attempt those passes, especially to be making it that late. The next thing I noticed was a car in the other lane coming at us. I looked back again to see Jon making it back into his lane and I continued on to the next corner. After rounding the next corner I looked back in the mirror to see Josh, but not Jon. Something was wrong; he was always right behind us. I turned around and headed back, no sign of him yet. So I turned around, heading back to where I saw him last...dreading to see what I knew had happened.

I came up on the scene that will forever stick out in mind and I will never be able to forget. Cars were pulled over on the shoulder, 4 way flashers on. Jon’s bike is laying on its left side in many pieces covered in grass and dirt. One of the drivers is on his knees talking to Jon who is lying in the ditch on his back, helmet off and looking at the sky.

I got off the bike, took off my helmet and ran to him. The gentleman sitting with Jon assures me that he is ok, but says he took a nasty tumble. I begin going through the motions with Jon. Why is your helmet off?
(He said he took it off it was hard to breathe) I asked him to wiggle fingers and toes, count my fingers and watched his eye moment. I asked if anyone had called 911... There was no cell service to be had. Great.

I ran back to the bike and hit the 911 button on my SPOT, then back to Jon. At this point traffic was building up behind us. People were helping out and directing traffic around the scene. It wasn’t long until till I saw Jon’s dad pulled up behind a line of cars. I started waving my arms and motioning for him to come through and yelled at the people directing traffic to let him by.

A few moments later a couple of the neighbors had arrived, I asked if they had called 911 yet to which they informed me they did, but they were told that emergency crews were already on their way. Go SPOT!

First responders began showing up and taking care of the scene, not too long after them an ambulance arrived along with the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Once they were there I went back to one of the neighbor’s houses so I could call Mom and Dad to let them know what was going on because SPOT was supposed to notify them in an event I activated the 911 feature. Sure enough, they had been notified and they were very concerned. They were out for a ride that day as well and they had happened to be stopped in Boone for lunch. After I explained the situation they decided to head down our way and help in any way possible.

Back at the accident scene, Jon had been taken to the hospital via the ambulance. The THP was finishing up his report and talking with the witnesses. Before he left he made damn sure to talk to Josh and I which was understandable, however his words and comments to the situation really were not necessary and quite frankly uncalled for. I know he was doing his job, but seriously, some things are better left unsaid especially when it is quite apparent that Josh and I are extremely upset about the entire situation.

The neighbor that let me borrow his phone loaned us his pick up so we could put the bike in the back and park in on the side of the road near their house. He parked it just beside an old building so that we could pick it up later that night with Jon’s trailer. (Thank god he towed his bike this weekend)

After working out the details with Doc, Josh and I suited up and made our way back to the campsite. Unfortunately the quickest way back to the campground was the way we came, up 68 and across the skyway. Normally I would never turn my nose to the thought of riding that road, but at this point the last thing I wanted to ride were twisty roads…

The ride back to the campsite was difficult to say the least. To start, the officer that handled the scene rode behind us all the way up 68. Then once on the skyway, we tried to keep moving quickly but it was difficult to do because of what all had happened, in addition my nerves got the best of me a couple times and I almost pulled over just to let go. Though Jon was conscious and coherent when I last saw him, he was starting to panic just before I left. He couldn’t remember taking off his helmet, was losing memory of the accident and starting to panic. With an accident like this, internal injuries are always a possibility and though he seemed fine when I saw him last, one can never be sure. We made it back to the campsite an hour later I guess it was. We pulled in rather quickly, knowing we had to change clothes, grab clothing for Jon and his father, hook up the trailer and haul ass back the way we came to pick up the bike and then to the hospital. As we pulled in I could see riders making their way out of the campsite restaurant and making their way quickly to our site. Mike Newton (Grizz) and his lovely wife (Momma Bear J ) were leading the group along with Don Norwood. Once they made it to the tent, Josh and I were in a mad dash, throwing clothing everywhere trying to get things together and ready for a night at the hospital. After briefly explaining the situation, Don began making phone calls to the hospital Jon was at in attempt to find out his status. Grizz, seeing that I was rather upset and struggling to get my shit together pulled me to the side for a word.

After a few very kind words on Grizz’s behalf I was able to regroup and get things together in order to head back to retrieve Jon’s bike and go to the hospital. Grizz and his wife’s kind words meant a lot to me and will forever stay with me.

An hour and half later Josh and I made our way back to the accident scene and picked up Jon’s bike. Now at this point we were really scratching our heads because it took like four of us to get the bike into the neighbors truck earlier… and now there are only two of us. However, we are both engineers; surely we can figure out something. Well after some head scratching and pondering we finally got the bike out of the little pickup and onto Jon’s trailer and strapped down. Off to the hospital.

Back at the hospital, Jon has been released with a concussion and some bruises! That was a relief. Jon hugged both Josh and I (no homo) though it was a rather emotional moment for the three of us. We walked out of the hospital got in the truck and then made our way back to the campground to call it a night. Mom and Dad had arrived a few hours prior and reserved a cabin for the night and made sure to get Jon and his father a room as well so that Jon could be off the ground that night and get a good nights rest. Josh and I made our way to the camp fire with a few cold ones and began discussing what we were going to do next.

The next morning we got up slowly, packed up the camp sites and made our way home. Before we left we went up to the cabin to see Jon and say goodbye. He was getting around pretty good though he was a bit stiff and sore. We thanked all those that helped with the situation, Mike, his wife Cindy, Don, the management and staff at the Iron Horse and the various other MTF riders who were still around.

Mom, Dad, Josh and I rode home together and parted ways in Mocksville so I could continue on to Raleigh. I stopped in Burlington to have dinner with a friend that goes to Elon and eventually made it home later that night. For the weekend I logged close to 1200 miles, it was good ride/weekend considering the circumstances though it could have been much worse. It's times like these that you realize how special friendships are and how much people mean to you. We all learned a lot of from this weekend and I know I personally took a lot back from it. We were riding hard, too hard, and there is no since in riding like that on the street. Riding like we were belongs on the track, period. Lesson learned.

Mileage for the weekend.

Update:

Jon’s bike was totaled as you can imagine, however he did buy it back after looking it over very good and decided that it would make a great track bike in the future. Last I had heard, Jon had purchased some clip ons and I believe some rear sets and had her out on the street riding around a bit. He is currently looking for a new rear sub frame to replace the broken one and from there I have no idea what his plans are. Though he did buy another bike a few weeks back… however I’m sad to report that it has an air-cooled v twin power plant... and no it is not a Ducati. Oh well, at least he is riding again!

Below are the pictures from Jon's wreck. I am posting this after getting his permission to do so. Jon is a lucky young man and we all learned a valuable lesson from this. All motorcycle riders like to have fun, we all like to push it just a little bit harder each time. Public roads are dangerous, you never know what lays around the next corner.

I spoke that there is an image that comes to mind every time I think about horsing around on the bike.... these are those images.

Jon high sided in this accident. The black mark is where the rear tire slid. The end of the mark is where Jon was thrown from the bike. He is laying about 10 feet in front of the white truck.

Life Lesson: 3643...

Future Riding Plans (I hope, I hope, I hope)

After Dad and I returned from Florida we spent a considerable amount of time cleaning up the shop so that both bikes could easily fit inside and still have room to get around since I had brought my bike back home along with my garage stuff. While we were cleaning the shop I received a phone call from a man by the name of George Love who is the engineering director at Natvar in Clayton, NC. He had been in contact with one of my professors from school and asked him he knew any recent graduates that were interested in plastics. My professor gave him my number (I had given that particular professor my business card) and George contacted me and was interested in setting up and interview.

The interview went great, the guys working there were really nice and laid back and it seemed like a nice place to work. We shook hands and I went back on my way. A couple weeks later, just before the July 4th holiday, George Love called me and made me an offer! On July 26th I started working at Natvar as an R&D Engineering Technician.

I have moved into a one bedroom apartment complex just outside of Garner, NC and its taking a little getting used to. But work is going well and I am really enjoying it. They guys are laid back and the work is interesting and rather fun. Im slowly getting settled in and situated and ready to start riding again on a regular basis.

The first ride coming up that I would like to participate in is the MTF ride in Eastern, Tn. Being completely honest at this point, money is a bit tight after spending the money getting moved in and what not, so at this point the ride is up in the air.

However the next ride that I am really wanting to do will be in the spring of 2011. I would like to complete a BBG (1500 miles in 24 hours) on the way to the Jacksonville, Florida for the IBA party. I am currently working on the plans for this ride, figuring out the stops and planning how much time it will take. This ride is a very challenging one in that I can only stop for 10 minutes at each fuel stop, and that is it!

So thats its for now. Just sitting around, working Monday - Friday, putting food on the table and paying bills and looking for some time to ride. Welcome to the real world, huh?

Blue Ridge Parkway - End to Ender

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to live in the beautiful state of North Carolina, a state that has scenic mountains in addition to the amazing beaches and waterways. Since I was little I have always spent my weekends in the mountains of North Carolina. With my constant visits, I have gotten spoiled and realized after visiting Florida how lucky I am to live in/near the best motorcycle playground on the east coast.

One of the most popular roads in the Appalachian Mountains, The Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) is loved by more than just motorcyclists. On any given day riding the BRP one might encounter, hikers, RV's, horses, bicyclists and Floridians. Now in the past 5 years since the McCrary family has been riding street bikes we have always found ourselves on the BRP at some point during our rides and often we used it as a connector to the next road along our ride. With this, we have been on pretty much every part of the parkway at some point or another.

Some time ago, Dad came up with the idea to ride the parkway from one end to the other, in one ride. After this, we would know for certain that we had been on every mile of the 469 mile Appalachian tour. So the plans began...

We looked at doing Skyline Drive along with our ride and figured it would take us a good 3 days to complete this trip, but we would have to stay after it. We made a couple attempts to make this ride happen, however, school and other activities kept holding us up. To make things more interesting, last spring I had posted a video on YouTube of the BRP and was sent some information from the BRP foundation in regards to a certificate that is given to those that have been over the entire parkway. They called it the End to Ender. No need for documentation/proof, its an honor system thing. Once complete, the foundation sends out certificates to congratulate you.

Finally, after we got back from Florida and in between job interviews, Dad and I worked it out to make the BRP End to Ender ride. In order to do this ride on a budget we decided it would be neat to camp the two nights we would be on the road. While this would save us some money, it added alot of planning to the trip as we have never camped while riding the bikes before. We began looking for campgrounds within reasonable mileages for our days and were coming up rather short. However, after posting on the MTF about our ride some one mentioned the motorcycle camp grounds that are around the BRP. Duh! The first campground was in Stuart, VA off Hwy 58 which is one of our usual riding destinations. The second, The Iron Horse Lodge, which was on 28 outside of Robinsville, NC. These would work, but only if we decided to avoid Skyline Drive. After some thought , we agreed that starting at mile post 0 in Staunton, Virgina and head south to Cherokee, NC would be our best bet.

Fortunately for us the weather was looking good as far as that dreaded "r" word was concerned, so we grabbed the tents, sleeping bags and a few straps and began to figure out just how in the world we were going to pack for this trip.

The FZ' loaded up with the sleeping bags strapped to the seat via the luggage rack and grab rails.

Dad carried the tents using the same type of straps.

In order to pack light I only carried the basic toiletries: small shampoo, a bit of soap, a small thing of D.O. and a towel. To save space I didn't carry a pillow but rather a rolled up fleece blanket. I figured it would be warm and wouldn't need the blanket and could use it as a pillow. But I didn't want to leave home with out a blanket in the event it did get chilly, we were staying in the mountains after all. In addition to this I carried my flip flops, a pair of shorts, a couple T's and a spare pair of compression shorts. (Along with my rain gear)

We set off that morning (forgot what day it was now) and headed up I85 to Hwy 29 up through Virgina. On the way we made a quick pit stop and met our buddy Todd in the double digit large car. He hadn't seen the bikes yet and he had been wanting to show off the chrome in that 65mph pumpkin of his!

From there we got on 130 or 60, I honestly cant remember, but it was twisty! It was rather scary to be honest! It was the first time in several thousands miles that I have rode some serious corners and I felt a bit rusty. It honestly took me till day 2 of the trip to get comfortable in the corners again! From there we headed up 81 to 64 then on to the start of the BRP!

First Blue Ridge Parkway entrance sign!

We couldn't find a mile marker 0, so 1 worked for us!

Starting down the parkway, Dad and I found ourselves really enjoying the ride. Dad had been on the beginning of the parkway before, I think. The top of the parkway was much nicer than I had expected, due to what I was used to in Virgina. In my opinion, the NC side of the parkway is much nicer due to the elevation and road surface.

As we made our way down the parkway we made a couple stops to look at campgrounds that we were considering. One of which was Otter Creek. It was right off the parkway and was very basic. Small sites, enough for one tent each, a small store with coffee shop. However there were no showers. :(

Back on the road things were starting to flatten out, so I took advantage of the time and started playing with the camera...

When I stood up to stretch at one point I noticed this view. Kinda neat I thought!

Then I got to thinking about the chain and rear wheel...

Oh, hey there!

Dad though it would be neat to get a picture of him right, and I mean right, on my butt. I turned around after taking this shot to realize he was only a couple feet off my rear. While this may have not been the smartest thing in the world, Dad and I have been riding together for 18 years now and if there is one person I trust to do this kinda stuff, its him.

A bit later, and honestly I have no clue where we were, we found this! We were relieved to find out this was a church. (We thought it was a house at first) So we turned around and took some shots. Then I started getting all artsy-fartsy.

Always waving, no matter the terrain. (excludes ice and snow)

Now to be perfectly honest, I have lost track as to where I was at what time with all my photos, but at some point I started running low on fuel near Roanoke. So Dad and I found the next exit on the parkway and headed into town looking for fuel. We had got used to the cool temperature up on the mountain and when we started into town it felt like we were dropping into an oven! After getting fuel, we high tailed it back to the mountain to cool off!

A couple hours later we made our way into Stuart, Va and stopped at one of the restaurants there in town. Figured we would grab a quick bite to eat before we headed to the camp ground and settled in for the night. When we pulled into the camp ground we were surprised to see the place lined with bikes of all types! There were probably 30 or more there most sitting around the picnic tables bench riding with there fellow riders.

We made camp the first night just up from the creek next to a couple trees and then headed up to the fire pit to join the crowd for some cold drinks and story telling.

Camp site no.1 in Stuart Virgina

We got up the next morning, took our showers in the bath house and grabbed a cup of coffee on the way back down to the tents. It was 10am by time we got loaded up and back on the road again. We stopped for fuel at a little country store where they sell fresh produce and what not. So for breakfast I had a fresh banana and granola bar!

At this point, I was back on a section of the parkway I was familiar with. Before this trip, I hadn't been further north than Hwy 8 at Tuggles Gap.

As we carried on south the outlooks became more popular and as it was getting close to lunch time which ment that Dad and I were due for a stretch break. So we found the next pull off, got some pictures and looked at a map.

Matching tags and tag backs!

When I looked at the map I realized that we were getting close to Boone, and we were due lunch soon. So I asked Dad if he was in the mood for the best greasy burger hes had in his life. I had no trouble getting him to agree to that one, so off we headed to Boone Drug for a Parsons Burger!

Going back a bit, Alicia and I ate lunch at Boone Drug after the IBA Rally breakfast last August. We get there and she orders for me, we both get the burgers and fries. The food comes out and before I know it she has her burger gone! They were good! Dad thought so, too.

After lunch we walked around Boone and went into the Mast General Store just to check things out before heading back up on the mountain.

Some really neat tunnel (no clue where)

One of the large attraction areas in the Asheville region is Mount Mitchell. Dad and I have been by it a couple times but never made the trip up to the top to see what its like. Well, seeing as how we had time and were there, might as well right?

Its about 3 miles off the BRP and the road up it is a climb! But man does the air clear up and smell of fir trees! We parked next to a group of Wings, grabbed our cameras and began walking around snapping a few pictures.

Talk about a view!

We made our way up to the summit which was another 1/4 mile hike UP hill. But it was well worth it! Unfortunately all the pictures I took from up there show dirt on my lens which bugs the heck out of me... After taking some pictures and struggling to get some text messages out we made our way back down to the bikes to head on south.

Back to the bikes, and we packed away the cameras, suited up and starting making the decent. That's when it began. As we worked our way down we ended up catching a car that left shortly before us, a prius, yes a prius. How it made it up that road I will never know. Now there are only a few things that can get worse than following a prius down a mountain, and of those things is following a prius with Florida tags down a mountain. Guess what...

Well after making this startling observation, I let Dad know what we were up against and he began to howl with laughter. I didn't see what was so funny, this was seriously going to suck. I wont go into details why this bothered me because most of the people reading this are aware of the Flor-idiot driving style and the way the roads are in that state. Well when we made it to the bottom of the access road I was praying that they would head north, the opposite direction we were. ( I couldn't be so lucky)

So off we went, "chasing" the most hypocritical sales gimmick since those vibrating belt "exercise" machines in the 50's and 60's.

This guy was driving like a typical Flor-idiot, he would get those batteries nice and hot in the straights but then when he saw a corner I thought he was going to blow the bulbs out the brake lights. This made it extremely hard to get around him because the straights on the parkway are rather short and to make passing easier, the car being overtaken usually has to be going rather slow to get around safely. So this went on for a while until we got to where the road was cut out of the mountain and the rock face was exposed. OMG! The Flor-idiots were in amazement! The car slowed down to virtually a stop, in a corner no less. The passenger window was rolled down (I'm assuming the heat was on) and a out came the passengers arm with a video camera to record the rocks, yes the rocks. No, there were no animals or crazy things on them, just large amounts of rock! Alright, so I know what your thinking, "Bryan, your being a bit harsh. They were from Florida, so rocks, trees, mountains, corners and comfortable weather are strange to them." Yes, I realize this and their idea of a rock is a large clump of wet sand and any mound over 3 foot high is more than likely man made, I get it. But this didn't happen once... this went on for miles!!!! The driver would romp on it in the straights, brake like hell for the corners and the video camera came out every time we passed rocks. Oh and you can forget the idea of them pulling over at turn offs, they probably thought that was a waste of pavement and were thinking our D.O.T officials are idiots.

Finally, after several miles we caught up to some one that was going slow in the straights. This held up the Flor-idiot and his nickel factory machine for long enough in the straights that Dad and I were able to sneak around both him and our hero at the moment. Whew! We were finally able to exceed 10 MPH through a corner! Time to kick it up a gear and make our way south.

Now we were scheduled to be at the Iron Horse Lodge for dinner that night, which was being prepared at the lodge. That night they were serving prime rib, potatoes and other vegi's at a fairly reasonable price. Dinner was to be served between 6:30 and 8:30 if my memory serves me correctly. At the rate we had been going we would be cutting it close and Dad and I wanted to stop at the peak on the parkway to get some shots and we still needed to stop at the last mile marker for pictures as well. So off we went!

This was short lived as part of the parkway was closed due to a rock slide in the winter. The detour took us a little bit out of the way but ended up putting us on 276 off 64, which is one of my favorite roads. A couple guys on H.D.'s had been following through the detour since they were on the same ride we were. Dad got stuck behind them due to traffic and after I realized where we were I got on the radio letting him know that it would be in his best interest if he got around them before turning off 64...

Hanging a right on 276 in front of Pizza Hut, I kicked it down a gear and grabbed a handful. Motor was winding up, yes I had to wind it up, as I passed the truck advisory sign! Time to Play!

Traffic was a bit higher than I was used to but most of the drivers were nice and pulled over for me. I waved with my left hand as I twisted my right... I was loving life; braking late, diving in hard, dragging the peg feelers and making that 600 sing. Then I caught a group led by Gold Wing followed by a two cruisers and a Silver Wing. Doh!

The guy on the Silver Wing motioned me by at which point his buds followed suit when safe. However I think I kinda upset the Wing' cause when he waved me by his motion was rather rude. Oh well... a couple more miles of bliss and I was up to the parkway again. Going back to the off road days when I used to leave my Dad in my dust, I made it a point to get to a stopping point and pull my helmet off as fast as possible to make it look like I had been sitting there a while by time he rolled up. (snicker) Once I got the parkway I felt that this would be a great time to go back to those days. There was a small pull off at the intersection of the 276 and the BRP so I pulled in, threw the bike up on the center stand and started rushing to pull my lid off. Just as I got the strap loose Dad pulled up on the parkway! Damn, busted! But I was impressed!

We stopped for a bit, looked at where we were on the parkway and what we had left. At this point we realized it was going to be tough to make it to dinner that night. So we called the lodge and let them know. We explained where we were and the time frame we were looking at. To our surprise they said they would hold our dinner for us for a while after if need be. We just needed to let them know when we were getting close if possible!

About the time we were loading up a fellow rider came in on an older bike and at this point I have forgotten what it was exactly, but he was a local just out for an evening ride and looking to someone to talk to. 20 minutes later we finally got on the bikes and were on our way. He was nice guy and all, but we really need to be getting going.

A bit later we found ourselves climbing in elevation, ALOT! Then we found this...

Photo ops next to sign!

Then I got all artsy fartsy again...

The Flor-idiots would have gone crazy to see this one...

Looking to get back on the road after a long photo break we knew we were never going to make dinner, but as usual there was no cell service to be had. So we headed on down the mountain and with out going into too much detail, Dad and I came off that mountain! That was a hoot!

I took a moment to catch a picture of the sunset as we made our way off the last part of the mountain.

A little bit later we found ourselves at the end of the parkway, 469 miles of the greatest road ever made! It has its high points and it has its low points, but over all this is such an amazing road and I am so fortunate to live so close to it.




By the time we got off the parkway it was already 9:30 and we were still a bit from the lodge. But we kept on getting it hoping to be there by 11 or so, however after making a wrong turn and having to back track we ended up rolling in around midnight to the Iron Horse Lodge after catching dinner at McDonalds in Cherokee. We have ate better on our rides, but I be dang if it wasn't worth it to miss that prime rib. While we were on the BRP we stopped and saw so many things and enjoyed them while we could. Totally worth two McDoubles and a small fry...

So we rolled into the Iron Horse Lodge around oh midnight. Even in the dark we could tell we were at a nice place. We pulled in and walked into the lodge since it was unlocked. A few people were sitting inside at a table having a few cold ones and playing cards. We asked if they knew what we were to do and they explained the lay out as best they could. (They had been drinking for a while)

We found ourselves a spot right next to a running stream and under a couple a trees. I left my head lights on so we could see as we attempted to put up our tents and set up camp.

The next morning we got up and back on the road after a nice hot breakfast in the lodge. We headed south down into Georgia and made our way down Wolf Pen Gap Road. Dad and I had some fun making our way through the Georgia mountains, however as usual we found ourselves stuck behind the Floridians... However this one was in hiding.


Once out of the mountains we found ourselves on I40 just outside of Asheville. About 15 miles outside of Asheville we ended up getting stuck in some construction traffic. Then strangely enough we found ourselves riding with a fellow IBA member! How cools is that?
We were back home a few hours later with over 1200 miles on the clocks. What an amazing ride! It really was alot of fun and opened up a completely new side of riding for me. Motorcycle camping.

A couple days later we applied for our End to Ender certificate and within the week we received them.