Catch the Sport bike – Pass the Sport bike

The was taken on Deals Gap May of 2010. This just goes to prove that just because you own a Sport Bike doesn’t mean you know how to ride a Sport Bike. There is no way that I, riding a cruiser, should be to catch or pass any sport bike on the Twist-a-Thrill of Deals Gap. After catching this rider, they would not signal me to go around, they ignore my beep beep, so after following this bike for almost 3 minutes, I went around.

This is it. I have nothing else to post for this trip unless Lori find something unexpected. I hope to be posting more trips in the future as they come up.

Deals Gap a short 1:30 clip

Motorcycle Run North of Knoxville TN, US116

Zipline Video 1

Lori and I did a little Ziplining in Pigeon Forge, TN. and it was great. The guides and the people running the business were very nice and professional. It was a hoot to ride in the Miltary DEUCE AND A HALF and Halves up the side of the mountain and we always felt safe. Highly recommend if you ever get in the area.

www.ziplinesofthesmokies.com

Zipline Video 2

Here is the Second Video of Ziplining in Pigeon Forge, Tn.

Check out the Killboy Shots

While we were riding Deals Gap on vacation, they have folks on the side of the road taking pictures in order to make money. They take the shot in hopes the rider will order the action shots. Well after reviewing mine, I think I will have to order at least photo 422. Click the link below and then when the screen appears, click next until you get to img_422 listed right underneath the picture itself.

Do you see what I see? Lori holding the camera is one and sparks flying off the bottom of the bike is two! Looks like the entire left hand side of the bike is dragging but it is just the peg.

Slideshow from Killboy.com

Slideshow 2 from Killboy.com

Day 9 Decided to come home

After watching the weather channel and the local weather channel in Pigeon Forge, any hope of having a nice scenic alternate ride home went out the window. Sure enough when when awoke this morning we were greeted by rain. Not real heavy, but it was steady. So we packed our bags and just decided to make a Interstate 81 run for home. I knew by the forecast once I got the Bristol that I should be clear of rain. Just as forecast, we broke out about 10 to 15 miles south of Bristol and never saw another rain drop.

The further north we pushed, the hotter it got. Once we arrived in the Staunton Virginia area, I pulled off for gas and to drop all the rain gear. Ah, much better. From Staunton to Stephens City, we got caught in a nice draft of cars and was home in no time.

We had a great time on the trip and below you will find picture links for all the days that I could not upload the entire days pictures. I will also try to put the videos up as well. So keep checking back to see the videos as I get them edited and uploaded.

Almost forgot to mention, the total mileage for this trip was only 2217 miles. Just a baby trip

We are Home

We arrived home safely right 4:27pm and with the exception of Pigeon Forge, we hit no rain. I will post more later tonight.

On the road

We are in Wytheville Va on our way home. The only rain we had was within a 5 mile radius of Pigeon Forge. We are stopped for lunch and gas and then back at it. Should be rolling into Stephens City around 4:45pm.

Day 8 – Weeeeeee!!!

What a beautiful day today was. Sun, bright blue skies, 70 – 80 degrees depending on your location, so we could not ask for a better forecast.

Well Lori did it, she put her big girl panties on and rode 16 different ZipLines down a mountain from station to station without one little whine. I was surprised, but since it was her idea to ride this thing, I guess whining was not an option. We rode the first two or three trainer runs and the fourth was the first long run that you could actually make some speed. The fifth run Lori was zinging along, got herself spun around backwards and didn’t know when to apply brakes. She also forgot how to straighten out, so she came in hot and fast and the guide did a full bear hug to stop her from impacted the safety pad in the back. She giggled and then the guide showed her again how to straighten, and all was good from there. It was a hoot and I would love to go back when they have the 1800 foot run done sometime in the near future. Our longest run today was only 527 feet and I think maximum height above the ground was 100 feet. If I had to guess, max speed was around 30 mph. I would recommend everyone give it a try, if you ever get a chance. I will post the video from my helmet cam when I get home tomorrow or Saturday.

After the Zip fun was done, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Subway and then hit the road to meet the Cassarly’s and to see the Motorcycle Museum that Gary Mace said was a must see. The ride over was an unexpected treat. When I turned south at Crosby Tennessee onto Hwy 32, I ran into a switch back heaven for a motorcyclist. I actually keyed the mike to ask Lori if she was getting motion sickness. It was great and some of these turns were so tight that first gear was required just to contain the speed in the corner. Not sure the distance of the run, but I would guess somewhere between 20 to 30 miles of twists. Now the bad part! This road ended on dirt, oh no!! Lori doesn’t like dirt, so what was I to do? I parked the bike, examined the dirt that I was going to cross and the grade of the road and made the decision to go. It was only 2 or 3 miles of hard packed dirt with only a few steep grades, but once again a piece of cake. The only issue was when an SUV came flying around the corner not expecting to see a Cruiser in the woods and he swerved a bit to give us room. Thanks!

In Maggie Valley, NC we entered the Wheels through Time Museum. What a treat this was. There was 38,000 square feet of nothing but old motorcycles, cars, and junk. The junk was even cool how he had it all laid out. I asked one of the women behind the counter if this was one man’s collection to which she replied, “Yes it is and he does the majority of all the restoration work.” To which I replied, “He must be single.” Got a laugh from her and the wife on that one. Gary was right, if your into motorcycles in any form or fashion, this is a must see and I kept my camera humming the entire time I was there.

We had just sat down outside at a picnic table in the shade when the Cassarly’s came cruising in. We chatted for about 30 minutes or so about our riding in the area and then we followed them down to a restaurant for some goodies. They were eating lunch, Lori and Mark were eating Strawberry short cakes and they were good. We sat around jawing about everything but work, except something about overtime, then we changed the subject. We parted ways about 4’ish and gave each other are standard one finger salutes as is customary in Bay 1 at the FAA and off we went. Lori just doesn’t get our salute, but it sure is fun!

Our perfect day has now come to close as is this vacation and I’m already starting to feel ill knowing that I have to transition back to the real world by Sunday. Ugh! Tomorrow there is a 50% or better chance of rain here, so we are going to get up and just point her north and 6 or 8 hours later be back in Stephens City, Va. :(

Day 7 Brisk – Sunny – Fun

We were greeted this morning with nothing but blue skies and sun with an occasional puffy cloudy here and there. I would guess when we pulled out of the driveway the temperature was around 58 to 60 degrees, but with our suits, it was not an issue. It was a picture perfect day, as far as the weather went.

We had to do a little tweaking of our route because sometime back in February, I can’t recall the actual date, there was a rock slide on a small portion of our route and it was still closed. Just a minor glitch and nothing the GPS didn’t fix on the fly.

My first entertainment of the day was as I was approaching the Cherohola Highway when I signaled a sport bike behind me, to pass me. I didn’t want to hold him up as we passed through some of the tight sweepers as we climbed into the Highway. I followed him for the next 20 or 30 miles while he attempted to leave me in the corners. They only time he created space was in the straights. He was willing to go further over the speed limit than myself. He would power up to the beginning of the corner then brake hard going into and through the corner. This is where I would make up the gap. This is actually backwards, because he had the better bike. He needs more practice. I did my best behaving across the Cherohola Highway and I kept the bike off the pavement the best that I can recall. The temperatures at 5000 plus feet was a bit chilly on the fingers, but the body suit did it’s job keeping both of us warm. In chasing the sport bike, I missed my turn for the Water Fall and I was having to much fun to turn around.

Then came Deals Gap. 318 turns, 7 miles and to tempting to behave on. Lori shot a very nice video and it is really hard to experience or see the speed on video, until the video shows us approaching a slow moving car or motorcycle. Ok, I was told that I was required to put this next bit in the blog, but I think it is silly. Lori say’s, I grinded or scraped foot pegs into the pavement 53 times while transitioning the gap. Who has time to shoot a video and count how many times the motorcycle hits the pavement? I having to much fun catching a sport bike on the gap, passing that sport bike on the gap, and not getting a ticket on the gap. I will post the video of that pass when I get home.

After the gap, we drove through Fontana Dam, Cherokee, and through the Great Smokey National Park until we popped out into Pigeon Forge area. From here we made a bee line to one of our favorite restaurants of all time. The Apple Barn in Pigeon Forge. As soon as the waiter/waitress arrives they give you a basket of Apple Fritters and Apple butter, along with a fruity drink that had Pineapple, orange, and lemon mixed. I had Fried Chicken, Chicken pot pie, Chicken dumplings, along green beans. Lori had a slab of Meatloaf and mashed potatoes. We left happily stuffed!! The only bad part about the whole deal was now I had to let her go shopping in the gift shop. She never leaves empty handed and today was no exception.

After dinner we came back to the cabin and just crashed. Tomorrow no planned ride unless I can just squeeze one in after the ZipLine ride through the trees. I want to head to Maggie's Valley to visit, The Wheels in Time Museum, but just do not know if it will fit into our plans. We will just take it  as it comes. 

Day 6 – Internet is the pits!!

Getting pictures and videos up and running on this portion of the trip is not going to be good. The DSL line just refuses to allow more than 1 picture at a time and videos you can just forget it.

Today I decided to ride Cabin ride 3 instead of Cabin ride 1, just in case we get hooked up with John Cassarly, from work, and his wife. To throw more confusion at you, Cabin ride 2 might be cancelled because my brave little wife has decided that she wants to ZipLine through the tree top. You can see more details Here!  She will not smash a bug, but she’ll ride a Zipline? Go figure.

Today the weather was almost perfect. The temperatures hovered all day right about 70 to 75 depending on elevation. The clouds, sometimes looked threaten, but all floated by without as much as a drop.

We left the cabin around 9:30am and we drove for about an hour and half until we reached our target roads just north of Knoxville, TN.  When we made the first transition into some magnificent sweepers, I actually turned around so I could take some pictures. The view, the layout, the rise and fall in the turns were just pretty. So Lori got off the bike and took a few shots and then off we went. I asked Lori to shoot about a 1 minute video and when got home to view it, it to was incredible. I wish I had the Internet to upload it, but I will upload it the first opportunity that I get.

So off I went zipping from corner to corner until around the corner I saw a rather large 10 wheel dump truck pulling out in front of me. Dang it! That’s ok, I zinged him through the muddy coal dust  he was tracking onto the road. Few miles later, another beast of a truck, but he waved me by. Then all of a sudden, I came scooting around a corner and there was a truck so big, he covered both lanes. Not only was he big, he was spraying the road with water with a huge over the cab hose. This thing was throwing some serious water and I came to a screeching halt ! He eventually saw me, stop moving, shut off the sprayer and backed up and off the road. Thought I was going to get a motorcycle wash as well a full body wash. That would have been rude!

The rest of the ride out of this curly cue of a rode ended with several 180 degree switch backs at 10 to 15 percent downhill grades.

I’ll have all you lady friends of Lori know, that after this ride, I let her go shopping for as long as she wanted, wherever she wanted, and she only  stopped at one store and bought a just a couple of things. I think I actually got more stuff than she did!! Funny!

Tomorrow will be another long day for us, hitting the Cherohola Highway, Deals Gap, and at least one water fall, named Bald River Falls. Should be about a 270 mile day. So far this trip we have put 1362 miles on the Motorcycle and our butts. I figure we will double that when we end this trip.

Day 5 – Was Titanic

We said our goodbye’s to the nice folks that were running the Cedar  Crest Inn in Asheville NC and left determined to do our best to get back for a long weekend during Christmas. Anytime just before or just after would be great to see all the decorations at the Biltmore.

The promise of rain was all that we thought we were going to get for our ride across the Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville to Cherokee. We donned our wet suits and started our journey only to be booted off the BRP about 10 miles into the ride. Appears a 6 mile section was under repair and there was about a 20 mile detour then back on route. Luckily the detour put us back on the Parkway just 3 miles away from the only stop I had planned and that was the Graveyard fields waterfalls. We made the hike to the lower falls and there we ran into 5 kids, I say kids but they were all college students at Clemson, that wanted their picture taken together. While Lori was doing this, I was taking a video and promised to email to them when I could. Unfortunately, where we are staying now is connected via DSL and it would take me forever and a day. I will post it to the blog if I can ever get it to upload. The waterfall was worth the hike, even though the climb back out in rain gear was a little hot.

Back on the road  we ran into a few sections of road that was foggy and misty, but for the most part we had good visibility and great ride. After dropping into Cherokee, we stopped for a snack and learned that Clingman’s Dome will be closed until May 28th, so once again I will miss this attraction. The last major leg of the day would take us over US441 into Pigeon Forge where the Titanic Museum is located and our cabin was in the  general area.

What a climb to the cabin! The road to the cabin was paved but the grade for the last mile or so was on a 25 to 30 degree grade. The driveway was mostly flat and paved so that was a relief. Let’s see, since we arrived at the cabin we have 4 very large wild Turkey’s, one with 4 little turkeys. Whatever you call their offspring. Then a raccoon came knocking at the front door, side door, and then back porch door. This little was not scared of humans at all and almost acted like he was expecting a hand out. Then to beat all, Princess, Lori came bouncing out of the bathroom sweaking bug! oversized creepy thing, so I grudging I walk into the bathroom look into the tub and said, “I’ll be damn”. We had a 1 inch scorpion looking dead, but he was alive. I crushed him and flushed him and world is a better place according to Lori. Let’s just say Princess is not dealing with a the critters to well.

The Titanic Museum was a neat place to visit, but I would not do it again. There was some neat details and they tried to play it up, but I guess to me, we all know the details and they have been exposed in so many ways.

Tomorrow we are expected mostly sunshine and good riding weather. The exact route has not been decided, but I three to choose from. Pictures? I might not be able to get everything done working on DSL, so picture might have to wait.

Day 4 – Asheville Loop was a hoot!

After breakfast this morning, which is one of the things that we are going to miss after tomorrow, we prep the bike, gear up, and hit the road. The GPS  and the operator had a minor miscue this morning, but it didn’t take me long to force the GPS back on route. Never seen that error message before, not enough memory to follow the route. I purged the tracks to maximize the unit, but nothing. Finally I just forced it to go to my first fix only and after I was clear of any crossing path/routes re-loaded my primary route to follow and off she went.

First stop this morning was Chimney Rock. The elevation is only 2280, but the views were spectacular. Once in the parking lot, you just take a elevator up to the base, then just 44 steps to reach the top. Now that’s not all, there are a few trails that are a must and all total there are, a lot of steps. I was sweating pretty heavy by time I reached the top, but it was worth the hike. Fee to enter the park is $14 a person, but I didn’t think it was over kill considering the facilities and elevator and the people running the place. Not a government thing, private.

Then it was time to ride. Highway 9 north and it didn’t take much more than a mile and I was grinding pegs in the asphalt. To my surprise, no pop in the back of the head from my quiet passenger. We blasted along, only sometimes being slowed by Sunday Church traffic and finally ended up in Marion, NC where we stopped for lunch.

Leaving Marion via 221 to join 226, I made a wrong turn onto 226-ALT and what a bonus pack that turned out to be. Tight twists with no traffic and add in a nice elevation change and that was a thrill. The only thing that I did overlook was to top off fuel at lunch time. I had only burned a half tank and knew I was going to be crossing I-40, but when I got there, no gas. Not good. I started scanning the GPS for fuel along my route but closest was 49 miles out. Bike range, comfortable 170-190, pushing it, 180-200, worried 200-220. Doing the math the total range is 241. That 49 mile run for gas would have put me in the 190-210 range. As luck would have it, ran into fuel station at the 177 mark and still had 2 gallons left. So technically another 60 miles left, no sweat. Right!

The last 2 hours of the ride we finally ran into rain. I finally got to test my new rain gear I bought last summer. I do not ride in the rain, no fun. We stopped, geared up, ran into the rain 3 miles down the road and stayed in the rain the last 80 miles of our day. We bumped into a nice lake, no name found, bumped into a waterfall, no name found, then we visited a planned waterfall, Silver Run Falls. Drove right up to it, with no hiking required. All in all, we had a good day. The Driver of the motorcycle had a fantastic day.

For dinner and our anniversary, I took Lori out to Texas Steak House  Saloon so she could have a steak. Bellies stuffed, butts tired, we made our way back to base camp and called it a night. Tomorrow we leave our cute Bed & Breakfast for a cabin near Pigeon Forge, TN.

Day 3 – Biltmore Estates

The morning of the May 15th and our third day of vacation was met with a little fog, but a weather forecast that promised partly cloudy skies, warm temps, but a few thunderstorms in the area. I can live with that. The Bread & Breakfast was quiet, except for the AC, and first thing in the morning we were starting to smell breakfast. We ate outside on the porch and were joined by a few other guests that were also staying the night. The staff served us fresh fruit including Cantaloupe, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries. Coffee, tea, or juices of your choice and then homemade French Toast and Bacon. They also served us some banana bread and blueberry muffin, all homemade. Very nice touch and all included with the room.

By 9’ish we headed out for our day at the Biltmore Estates. This was the wife’s day to tour, shop, and or do whatever. I guess 1 day out of 10 is not a bad deal for me. A little background on the Biltmore, built for a bachelor, built between 1889-95, 175,100 square feet, 250 rooms, originally 125,000 acres, now primarily 8000 acres but still 40,000 acres total remain. Sold 85,000 to the US Government to use as a park not to be developed. That park is called Pisgah National Forest.

Unfortunately no pictures or videos were allowed inside in order to preserve most of all the collectibles and art inside the house. What it must have cost in money, time, and labor to build this place is just unimaginable. I said it was built for a bachelor, but the owner did eventually marry and they had a daughter together. That daughter later married John Amherst Cecil. Now the only reason I mention this is, I have never heard use of, or heard reference to, my mother’s maiden name to anything. Cecil, well I’ll be damn. I might be a relative to a billionaire!!

Lori and I did a lot of looking, a lot of walking, and by 3 we were beat. That didn’t stop us lining up a Horse back ride that only got cancelled the last minute because the threat of rain and lighting. I think the later is the real reason. The rain never came. Oh well, we can ride horses almost anywhere.

Be warned that if you click the picture link below, between the two of us we took almost 80 pictures. To much to talk about but a lot we wanted to save and show for all.

Tomorrow it is back on the motorcycle for a scenic loop around Asheville on some more twisty’s , a little scenery, and one waterfall. 

Tomorrow it is also Lori and I’s,  29th anniversary. Lucky Girl !!

Day 2 was Awesome

When we left Natural Bridge this morning at first it didn’t look so good. There was patchy fog and a very heavy looking overcast. The further south we pushed the warmer it got and the skies started to part. By the time we pulled into Blacksburg for fuel, we were pulling off a few layers because temperatures were rising fast. After filling up we left Blacksburg and pushed toward Floyd Virginia to intercept the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Parkway ride was dry, warm, and free of any rains. We had partly scattered skies and views that were priceless. Tree damage along the side of the road was incredible and showed signs of a very rough winter, more on this later. Since we have done the parkway so many times, I just pushed to get to Grandfather mountain and did not stop at a single overlook. At lunch time, we bailed off on some side road in somewhere North Carolina and had our first vacation episode. When I pulled out my wallet to use the credit card for gas, it was gone. No where to be found!! Oh no!! I handed Lori the wallet and she start rifling through it and in the mean time, I reach in coat pocket and there it was. Whew! That was scary. I pumped the gas, pulled the receipt, reach for my wallet now it was gone. What?? Lori has stuffed it in the trunk of the bike while I was pumping gas and didn’t tell me. Ok, that whole episode was un-nerving, but no words were said in either direction, just a sigh. DisClaimer: Lori disputes she had any part in the incident. Hehehe…..For better or worse, and she just got some worse.

With gas and lunch done, we got back on the parkway and made it to the entrance of Grand Father Mountain. I was a little surprised when I pulled up to the pay station, they told me I would have to detach the trailer before proceeding up the mountain. Ok, but why, I thought to myself. We did the disconnect, lock the trailer to a post, and went back to the station. This time they handed me a paper to read for motorcyclist only. Because of the extremely tight 180 degree uphill switch backs, it is recommended that maintain a constant speed and not stop through the corners. Dropping the motorcycle is highly likely. Great ! Did I tell anyone I was afraid of heights?

Hell with it, we’re going. Let me tell you something, image yourself crawling up a roller coaster to be dropped down a hill. Now add turns that are climbing with no guard rails. Sweet !! I’m glad I wasn’t pulling the trailer, but I could have made! Right!

We climbed the rest of the way to the top and I managed to get wobble legs, (Lori), to cross the bridge, but it wasn’t easy. As we started crossing, suddenly I feel fingers locking into the belt loops of my pants. I thought I left the trailer at the bottom of the hill? Now I got a human trailer as in Lori! We got some great shots on top and as we started down the mountain, so I will upload those soon.

One of the employee’s and local said, December 24 they had a terrible ice storm and then Christmas day the winds picked up. With the cold temps and the branches heavy with ice, he said it sounded like a war with all the branches break for hours.

Once back on the parkway, the day events must have started wearing on me. My neck was starting to tighten, back was little sore, wrist were starting to hurt, and then I came to the conclusion that I’m not 35 anymore. Sucks getting older. Mt. Mitchell was totally in dark cloud bank and it was cold, so we by passed this stop to continue to Asheville. Good move on our part. Once we checked in, went back out for a quick dinner, got back to our room, boom thunder and rain unleashed hell on Asheville. So that 45 minutes to an hour that I save at Mt. Mitchell paid off.

We have our tickets in hand and tomorrow we will tour the Biltmore Estates and do the shopping that I promised the wife. Ugh! Tomorrow is a non-travel day so other than Biltmore there will no travel news, but I’m sure I will have some story to tell.

Check out are Bed & Breakfast pictures because this place doesn’t look like much from the road, but on grounds and inside are awesome.

Day 1 done, ready for more.

Today in Stephens City when it was time to depart, it was overcast, misty, and a bit cool. The weather forecast from the previous night indicated the further south we went the nicer it was suppose to become. That could not have been further from the truth. We were in and out of the fog all morning and it stayed cold enough that we never came out of our cold suits. I do not remember where we were, when on one section of road, but I could barely see through the windshield of the bike, the fog, the mist, and almost went into a corner with to much speed. That made me mess in my pants a bit!!

 We stopped in Franklin, WV for lunch and once we got back on the road, the weather and roads improved dramatically. I was so warm at one point that I had to come out of the cold gear. When we crossed back into Virginia it was was like a curse, the overcast, mist, and cool temps returned. Oh well, no rain and for the most part we had good time riding.

Causalities ??? Well today unfortunately I crushed a chipmunk that darted out in front of the bike while I was doing about 45mph. I saw the little guy way to late to adjust. The other victim I think survived, but he scared the bejesus out of both of us. The dang bird swooped in from the left, banged off my windshield, and as far as I could tell, just kept on flying.

My poor bike. I gave her a bath, a wax job along with a clay bar, but to look at her today? She is one ugly beast. But I did all this knowing she was going to get dirty, I just wanted to protect the finish and make it easier to clean.

While we were stopped at an overlook just east of Warm Springs, I noticed a Kayak coming down the stream. It looked as if he was having a good time.

Once we approach Natural Bridge and the end of ride for the day, we stopped to eat Mexican. With bellies full, and legs stretched, we jumped back on the bike to finish our day and begin a nights rest at the Natural Bridge Hotel. Nothing fancy, but nice place to visit.

Today we completed 322 miles of the planned 380. Mark was tired, hungry and had had enough of the wet and foggy roads. I would love to do the leg again in the sun.

Tomorrow we will blast 60 miles on 81 south to the Blacksburg area and join the Blue Ridge Parkway. We will visit Grand Father Mountain, Mt. Mitchell, and end up in Asheville, North Carolina. We are looking at about 315 mile day tomorrow.

Franklin WV

We are in Franklin WV stopping for fuel for both bike and human. First leg this morning was wet, misty, but no rain. Temperatures were between 50 and 60, so Lori is cozy. Time to get back on the road.

Could be an If’fy Start….

Looking at the Weather for Stephens City Thursday looks and little iffy, but the destination of Natural Bridge, Va. is looking good. Rain or shine we will be off.

        Stephens City                                 Natural Bridge

Day 1 Route

We will leave Stephens City, Va. blast down 81 south for 25 miles, then we spend the rest of the day on nothing but two lane, twisting back roads.

Come on sunshine and a little more heat.

A 2 hour trip that I will make in 7 hours.

Valkyrie and Trailer

Over the weekend, Lori and I took the trailer out for a shake down run just to make sure that when I put new tires on her that all was ok. Well the trailer did fine, everything worked as far as lights, so we are ready.

I washed the Valkyrie and then gave her and the trailer and good coat of wax, so when I get home, cleaning off bugs will not be so bad. Sounds like fun, cleaning bugs, Huh?

Next post will have the map of day 1.

Here we are, 2010

May begins another season of riding for Lori and Mark. Our first trip of the year will be through Virginia, North Carolina, and a tad bit of Tennessee. We are to leave May 13th, travel 400 miles, 7 hours to Natural Bridge  and snake though Virginia and West Virginia. For the normal car driver, this is 135 mile, 2 hour trip that I converted into a 7 or 8 hour trip by taking 90% back roads twisting through the state.

The next day we connect with the Blueridge Parkway near the Blacksburg's area to Asheville North Carolina with a couple of stops along the way. We plan to hit Grandfather Mountain and do whatever hiking we can get in and then swing down to Mt. Mitchell. This leg is 314 miles long and will take most of the day.

We will be staying at a Bed and Breakfast just a couple blocks from the Biltmore and it is called, 1891 Cedar Crest Inn.

Day 3 will be spent at the Biltmore Estates in Asheville, NC and the surrounding area touring, eating, and shopping with no motorcycle riding planned.

Day 4 we will do a scenic 286 mile loop around Asheville with stops at Chimney Rock an Silver Run Falls.

 

Day 5 we will transition from Asheville to Pigeon Forge area to stay in Cabin  just outside town. We also plan to visit the Titanic Museum this day.

Day 6 back to touring on the motorcycle with a 220 mile loop though Deals gap and Cherhola Highway.

 

 

 

Day 7 we have a 190 mile loop around the Northeast side of Great Smokie National Park with pass through of Cherokee and hopefully Clingman's  Dome in the sunshine. The last two times I have attempted to visit this place it has been overcast and misting.

Day 8 180 loop around the north side of Knoxville Tn. through some of the tightest switch backs that I have stored in my little peanut of a memory. The call this area the Atomic Triangle, because the discovery of the Atomic bomb in the laboratory was located here during World War 2.

Day 9 depending on the weather and wife, I have laid out a 580 mile 11 hour trip home with no built in stops, which is half scenic and half just getting home. The decision on the route home will depend on wife, weather, and if anyone is riding with us going home. There is a small, small, chance that friend from work will hook up with us sometime during this trip.