My Vetter lead the way - Ride Report

[brianinpa]

I’m back from a wonderful week where I put just under 2,500 miles on my bike. I spent a lot of time riding through Georgia, North/South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. If you ride on two wheels, you need to put that area of the map on your bucket list of places to ride. I do not think there is a bad road in the area.

North/South Carolina’s & Georgia’s Moonshiners 28 takes you from one twisty turn to another and there is always something awaiting around the next corner to make you stop and say... WOW! Georgia’s Six Gaps is just another set of mountain roads that do the same thing. Tennessee's Cherohala Skyway is a stretch of beauty that cannot be described by words. The roads that twist and turn throughout the Great Smoky Mountain National Park made me think I was on an amusement park ride and the sights made me think I was in a National Geographic magazine. Oh and did I mention The Tail of the Dragon? 318 turns in 11 miles! After my first time through it, I was spent! My muscles ached from being tense the entire time… demanding to say the least when you ride it on a 900 pound bike, but oh so fun. I had to do it two more times

To cap the trip off, I took the slow ride home and rode the Blue Ridge Parkway/Skyline Drive. Picturesque mountain views that I thought were only possible in Colorado and other points out West. I saw wild turkeys almost every day standing on the side of the road. Deer, squirrels, chipmunks, ground hogs and the other usual suspects were also there. I made it all the way to the 5 mile post of the Skyline Drive before my trip became complete when I saw a black bear standing on the side of the road.

One of those times in a life that make you just sit back and say… Damn! I wanna do that again!

 

[brianinpa]

Okay, so that is the readers digest version. If you want to see more... read on.

When I got home from work today my email basket had a photo in it!

Danm that thing looks sexy...

Okay enough of the bike... now for my sorry attempt at photography. First of all, I had about 200 pictures taken on my cell phone but the last time I started it, it got to Droid eye and just stopped, so several attempt to get it restarted led me to reformat the entire thing, so the pictures I had on that are gone. What I am left with are the pictures taken with my tablet.

For some reason there are a LOT of damn dams in that area of North Carolina/Tennessee. I guess the TVA had something to do with that (my history teachers would be glad to know that I remembered that!)

Funny that this was also overlooking the dam!

You notice that it is on a garbage can and not a car... I believe that the longevity of the car it was attached to would be seriously shortened.

Next as I was riding up the Foothills Parkway through the GSMNP sights like this were everywhere...

As I was at an overlook, two black labs came running up to me. Both had collars and looked well cared for, but there was no one around. I tried to look at the collars to see if there was any ID, but they wouldn't let me close enough, and just like that they were gone again.

Back to the story... As I continued through the mountain roads, it rained just enough to make things wet... If you ride in the rain, you better have a good set of rain gear: Frogg Toggs works for me!
I came around one turn and saw this sign, and wondered what it meant:

(not my picture because I had the tablet in the trunk due to the rain)

No kidding the road actually made one complete loop and climbed from one level of the gorge to another. AMAZING!!!!

Climbing all the way to the top at Newfound Gap and this is what I had in store:

Right after that if you take a quick left, there is a climb up to Clingmans Dome: 6643 feet. The parking lot provided these views:

.

Sadly the clouds that you see in the photos above prevent me from seeing what was on the other side. I also could have hiked the 3/4 mile trail to the observation tower, but there was no way that was going to happen! The parking lot was just fine for me because while 3/4 mile doesn't sound far, the amount of the incline made it look like it was 100 miles for a person with MS.

 

[brianinpa]

The next day it was time to head for home and as I mentioned I rode the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Skyline Drive the entire length where weird road signs were plentiful!

In the process of riding up the BRP I also stopped at Mt Mitchell which is the highest point east of the Mississippi River: 6684 feet. The way the clouds were rolling over the top of the ridge was awesome!

There is actually a State Park on the top where I guess if you want to, you could camp for the night. You better bring the cold weather sleeping bag though! I would have liked to have walked to the top as this trail was shorter and less steep, but time was not on my side so this had to do...

As I rolled up the BRP the sights never let me down...

but finally I had to stop for the night... It's not the Hilton, but for only one person, more than enough room!

I woke up early the next morning to Mother Natures alarm clock (LOUD birds right outside my tent). It worked for me because I was able to get everything torn down, packed up, and get back on the BRP before 7:00 and I had the road to myself. I got to see a pair of fawns standing right on the side of the road and they always worry me because you never know which way they are going to run. That put a new wrinkle in the seat. I found these in bloom everywhere! around our parts, these went out of bloom in June.

Being on the road early is certainly the way to do it because (at least on a weekend) it was long before I was no longer alone. I had to wait for 15 minutes to get this picture without anyone else standing in the foreground!

The rest of the ride up the BRP was the same, just more and more scenery. Mountains, valleys, and farmland continued. It struck me that the designers knew a thing or two about what they were doing. Even when riding through Ashville, NC unless I looked at a map I wouldn't have know that I was near one of North Carolina's larger cities. The Piedmont area of Virginia was just the same... it wasn't long before I became numb to it and just rolled on wanting to get out of the saddle.

When I came to the end, it was anti-climatic. I was expecting something that read "End of the BRP." Not even a sign that read Thank You or Hope you enjoyed your trip. Nope, just this:

(not my picture - I was too depressed to take any! )

That night I spent some quality time at a KOA in Staunton, VA... A word of advise. If you are camping in a tent, look around in the camp store before you pick your camping spot. If they sell DUCK FOOD buy the bread bag size, ask for a spot FAR AWAY from the lake. Those damn ducks and geese did not shut up the entire night!!!!!!

Again it was up early due to Mother natures Alarm Clock. I thought for sure I would find a dead duck outside because there was that much duck screaming going on, but sadly, all the webbed footed beast were still waddling around!

So I got to break camp and pack everything up one more time and head to one of my favorite breakfast spots in the South...

Boy they can make your arteries harden just by looking at the menu, but yummy - it's good food for when you are on the road.

I got to the Shenandoah NP gate by 8:00 so again I had the first third of the Skyline Drive to myself. More deer standing on the side of the road and that was when it struck me: these deer could have cared less that I was less than 10 feet away from them. I could have stopped, got off the bike, and walked up to them... The park also seemed different. On the BRP the shoulders of the road were well maintained and gave very wide shoulders. On the Skyline Drive, the shoulders of the road had an over-grown appearance to them... Until you got to a vista:

Often as I was riding I looked left and right only to see that I was on the top, so again the designers knew what they were doing when they cut the path for this road. Unfortunately my time was coming to an end though so I had to snap one more for the road...

34 years old and now I have over 116,000 miles on it and too many smiles to count. The only problem during the entire trip... I broke my cramp buster! Someone would claim that is poetic justice

 

[brianinpa]

I couldn't end this thread like this on a Vetter Forum so here is some more Vetter Porn! ops:

about 5 seconds after this photo the right floorboard rubbed and that was when I really knew I was having some kind of fun!

I am not a member of Florida Georgia Line, but this is How I Roll!

This trip really lived up to the theory that 4 wheels move the body but 2 wheels move the soul!!!! Where to next, that's all I have to wonder about now...

 

[MN80CX500]

That is God's country for sure! I visited a friend in GA and was amazed at the beauty of the back country.

 

[Epic Trekker]

Looks like a great ride!

 

[steppenwolf]

Fun ride Liked the pictures..did you campout the whole time or mixed it up with a motel to break it up a little.
Who took the pics of you riding? Skyline drive has the hardest ground to camp on I am like a two year old asking questions.
Glad you had a good time...how much rain? The Appalachians is a nice mountain range to ride in. I like it better than out west in the mountains.
Thanks for the report and pics.Enjoyed it.

 

[brianinpa]

My time spent at Fontana Dam was spent in the lap of luxury at Fontana Village Resort http://www.fontanavillage.com/ What a place!!! I would have rather been camping but early on in the planning stages of this rally it was discussed that the more people that stayed in the resorts facility would keep the prices down... so I took one for the team. I only camped while riding home along the BRP. I did the skyline drive in 3 hours time just so I could ride it South to North. A few years ago, I spent a few days riding it North to South so I didn't see much of anything that was new.

Pictures - Those came from http://www.killboy.com/ and http://129slayer.com/ that take pictures of EVERYTHING that comes down the Tail of the Dragon towards their little pop-up canopy.

Rain... only really rained one day while I was riding and I think it was more a matter of riding in the clouds than actually raining. However, thunderstorms at night were something to behold just like the views from the road.

 

[Kynan C.]

That is a fantastic pictorial and editorial! Thank you for sharing with us Brian. Sure looks like a fun ride. When I was reading through it, I was thinking... where are all the Vetter pics, and then! Boom! A happy ending. I felt like I was on the trip with you.

Next ride? Eastern states? I think my XS is ready for it!

 

[brianinpa]

Next ride? Eastern states? I think my XS is ready for it!

Bring it on... I'll find some time to ride along!

 

[Kynan C.]

We may just have to plan something! I am self employed you know, so I can get away.

 

[Larry Fine]

I'm in, if (everything that could go wrong) doesn't interfere. I love riding our mountains!

Many years back, my then girlfriend and I spent 10 days in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, camping in a primitive camp site, and on bikes.

 

[steppenwolf]

I like the eastern mountains better than the western ones,just like the roads better.

 

[brianinpa]

Now I am finally sorting through the videos, so here is the first.

 

[Kynan C.]

I almost fell asleep the ride looked to relaxing! So so green and cool looking.

 

[brianinpa]

Well let me tell you! If you fall asleep on that road, it will bite! When I was finsied riding the Tail of the Dragon the first time, every muscle in my upper body ached: not from being over used but rather from me being too tense. The day I shot that video was second time on the Dragon so I rode it a little better. Later that day I went back and the roads were dry... I wore some rubber off of the tires and the floor boards were rubbing more than I ever have had them rub before. I was relaxed and enjoying it. I just wish that the battery on the camera wasn't dead by that time of the day.

 

[brianinpa]

Here is my next video of what is called Moonshiner 28... This road was FUN... I just wish the Sunday drivers would pull over when they come to a pull off more often.

 

[Kynan C.]

Wowsers, then you throw in some Floyd! Sleepy time. Another cool vid! Thanks Brian.

 

[brianinpa]

I guess I'll wake you with the next one.

 

[Kynan C.]

Maybe some Rammstein?