On June 10th, Big Ed, Mr. Sarcasm, and I headed out for a week-long adventure to the mountains of southwest North Carolina. Before the week was out we had put 2,423 miles on our bikes; which included 1,192 miles of twisty road riding. Despite weather issues -- including one semi-tornado -- we made the most of the time, the miles, the scenery, the roads, and the camaraderie.
Getting there was half the fun, even though it was miserably hot with temperatures flirting with 100 degrees as we rode across Florida and Georgia:
Arriving in Dillsboro, NC, mid-evening on June 10th, we had to stop for dinner at Big Ed's favorite restaurant:
The real riding commenced early the next morning and continued all week:
Big Ed kept us well fed in the evenings, whipping up everything from grilled pork chops and hamburgers to homemade beef stew and roasted pork...and that's not even to mention the full-course breakfast meals he whipped up each day:
Beautiful scenery was everywhere we turned:
We found an abandoned tunnel at the end of a neglected mountain road:
Of course, abandoned or not, we just had to ride through the darned thing:
All sorts of mountain flowers were in full bloom:
And the mountain streams were gushing from all the rainfall that was going on in the afternoons:
Of course we rode the infamous "Tail of the Dragon" and got our photos shot by the pros in the process:
There was some serious riding happening on that ole "Dragon":
And Mr. Sarcasm was not slacking on the dragon slaying, either:
Mr. Sarcasm helpfully pointed out that if I could just squeeze another quarter-inch of lean out of my ST1300, I'd be on the tire's edge and I'd be leaned over almost as far as he was:
As mentioned in the opening, our cabin got hit by a semi-tornado late on Wednesday afternoon. This is an "after" photo of the stream that appears seven photos above. This photo was taken 15 minutes after the one that appears above:
The storm also knocked out all of the power in the area for almost four days, so we had to pack it up and head home a day earlier than originally planned. Lack of power on Thursday morning did not stop Big Ed from whipping up a great breakfast on the grill:
We left the mountains about mid-afternoon on Thursday and rode as far south as central Georgia where we stayed overnight in the comparative luxury of a fully-electrified motel. Heading out early on Friday morning it wasn't long before the temperatures climbed into the high 90s and finally hit 100 as we crossed into Florida. This last shot was snapped just north of Douglas, GA, and it is pretty much demonstrative of the heat and the need to keep drinking as much water as you could carry:
All in all it was a great trip that produced a lot of enjoyable riding and good memories. It had to be a good trip, because I'm ready to head out and do it all over again!!!
Getting there was half the fun, even though it was miserably hot with temperatures flirting with 100 degrees as we rode across Florida and Georgia:
Arriving in Dillsboro, NC, mid-evening on June 10th, we had to stop for dinner at Big Ed's favorite restaurant:
The real riding commenced early the next morning and continued all week:
Big Ed kept us well fed in the evenings, whipping up everything from grilled pork chops and hamburgers to homemade beef stew and roasted pork...and that's not even to mention the full-course breakfast meals he whipped up each day:
Beautiful scenery was everywhere we turned:
We found an abandoned tunnel at the end of a neglected mountain road:
Of course, abandoned or not, we just had to ride through the darned thing:
All sorts of mountain flowers were in full bloom:
And the mountain streams were gushing from all the rainfall that was going on in the afternoons:
Of course we rode the infamous "Tail of the Dragon" and got our photos shot by the pros in the process:
There was some serious riding happening on that ole "Dragon":
And Mr. Sarcasm was not slacking on the dragon slaying, either:
Mr. Sarcasm helpfully pointed out that if I could just squeeze another quarter-inch of lean out of my ST1300, I'd be on the tire's edge and I'd be leaned over almost as far as he was:
As mentioned in the opening, our cabin got hit by a semi-tornado late on Wednesday afternoon. This is an "after" photo of the stream that appears seven photos above. This photo was taken 15 minutes after the one that appears above:
The storm also knocked out all of the power in the area for almost four days, so we had to pack it up and head home a day earlier than originally planned. Lack of power on Thursday morning did not stop Big Ed from whipping up a great breakfast on the grill:
We left the mountains about mid-afternoon on Thursday and rode as far south as central Georgia where we stayed overnight in the comparative luxury of a fully-electrified motel. Heading out early on Friday morning it wasn't long before the temperatures climbed into the high 90s and finally hit 100 as we crossed into Florida. This last shot was snapped just north of Douglas, GA, and it is pretty much demonstrative of the heat and the need to keep drinking as much water as you could carry:
All in all it was a great trip that produced a lot of enjoyable riding and good memories. It had to be a good trip, because I'm ready to head out and do it all over again!!!
