Who rides motorcycles?

[MoPops]

Ha! I will never get used to sweet tea! Glad you had a good ride across KS and the Ozarks. There are some great twisty roads down that way. Our heat broke here last night. Hope you are riding in nice cool weather.
I'm headed out next Tuesday for three days riding off the tarmac down in the Smoky Mountains. I will post up a pic after the ride, if anything is photo worthy. The Smokys don't disappoint.

 

[IslandTractor]

Ha! I will never get used to sweet tea! Glad you had a good ride across KS and the Ozarks. There are some great twisty roads down that way. Our heat broke here last night. Hope you are riding in nice cool weather.
I'm headed out next Tuesday for three days riding off the tarmac down in the Smoky Mountains. I will post up a pic after the ride, if anything is photo worthy. The Smokys don't disappoint.

I'll just miss you. I'm planning on starting the Blue Ridge Parkway in Cherokee NC on Saturday.

I'm getting used to sweet tea but I'm still always surprised by unsweetened corn bread. I could get used to biscuits and gravy for breakfast but the quality of both in the motels I've been staying at is horrible. A shame as good biscuits and gravy is a wonderful way to start the day.

It has been over 90 everyday since I left Colorado. In Northern Alabama for a couple days and not expecting any relief until I get to the mountains of NC. It's OK while I'm moving but I drink like a fish and pee about once a day! I thought I'd timed the trip to avoid summer heat but not this year.

 

[/pine]

I'll just miss you. I'm planning on starting the Blue Ridge Parkway in Cherokee NC on Saturday.

I'm getting used to sweet tea but I'm still always surprised by unsweetened corn bread. I could get used to biscuits and gravy for breakfast but the quality of both in the motels I've been staying at is horrible. A shame as good biscuits and gravy is a wonderful way to start the day.

It has been over 90 everyday since I left Colorado. In Northern Alabama for a couple days and not expecting any relief until I get to the mountains of NC. It's OK while I'm moving but I drink like a fish and pee about once a day! I thought I'd timed the trip to avoid summer heat but not this year.

Hey Doc...have you ever heard of the "Tail of the Dragon" ?
http://tailofthedragon.com/

Tail of the Dragon Maps | Motorcycle and sportcar touring maps for western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and northern Georgia.

 

[IslandTractor]

Hey Doc...have you ever heard of the "Tail of the Dragon" ?
Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap – Motorcycle and sport car tourism serving Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap, Cherohala Skyway, Moonshiner28, Devils Triangle, Diamondback, Blue Ridge Parkway, and more.

Tail of the Dragon Maps | Motorcycle and sportcar touring maps for western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and northern Georgia.

Thanks Slash, I have heard of it but thought it was a part of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Looks like your maps (thanks) show it is roughly parallel but not the same. I'll do some more research.

 

[PJSprog]

Developing a taste for sweet tea.

Yeah, you never truly know what "sweet tea" is until you've had real southern sweet tea. Not sure I'll ever develop a taste for that. I like sweet tea, but wow, the tea almost seems like an afterthought down there.

Stay safe, IT.

 

[MoPops]

Hey Doc...have you ever heard of the "Tail of the Dragon" ?
http://tailofthedragon.com/

Tail of the Dragon Maps | Motorcycle and sportcar touring maps for western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and northern Georgia.

IT, this is great info. If you can, plug it in to the gps, and get over there. At least grab a T Shirt. Also, there are guys w cameras along the way. It's a good opportunity to grab a nice action shot of yourself on your bike. Cheraholla Skyway is another great road down that way. If you do decide to ride the Dragon, Saturday (unless you are really early) is a tough time to be there. Lots and lots of traffic, including crotch rockets trying to set speed records..

 

[IslandTractor]

I'll be traveling close to the "Tail" tomorrow evening on my way to Cherokee NC. I've read a bit about it including a couple of pieces that claim it more of a technical exercise done in the midst of yahoos driving cages and sport bikes trying to prove something. That and the fact that it would come at the end of a six hour drive from Alabama makes it less appealing. I've also just had a couple of days in the Ozarks and a week in the Rockies so despite a boring run across the plains, I'm not exactly starved of twisties. And, that I will spend the weekend driving almost 500 miles up the Blue Ridge Parkway makes it a bit less appealing than if I was just out looking for a quick joyride. 318 turns sounds interesting but spread over just 11 miles means a turn every 50 yards or so. Not exactly compatible with enjoying the scenery. I'll reassess once I get past Chattanooga. It would only add 50 miles or so to my route so it is possible.

 

[IslandTractor]

Yeah, you never truly know what "sweet tea" is until you've had real southern sweet tea. Not sure I'll ever develop a taste for that. I like sweet tea, but wow, the tea almost seems like an afterthought down there.

Stay safe, IT.

I've learned to ask for half sweet and half unsweetened tea. The waitresses don't blink so it must be pretty common. What I like is that they just keep filling the glass. It's been pretty hot so plenty of cool liquid is appreciated.

 

[CalG]

Heads up!

A well loved and respected member of our small community is now an accident victim. Stan Lynde.
Owner of Lynde Motorsports in serious condition after motorcycle crash | The Brattleboro Reformer | Brattleboro Breaking News, Sports, Weather, Traffic

So many injuries, ankle, pelvis, ruptured aorta, shoulder, blotches on the brain scan...... and others, yet out of induced coma.

Stan has been nothing but positive influence on my three children. And myself.

SMIDSY ... Left hand turn from the right hand lane. The most common bike accident.

Wag your lights! Let them know you are there!

Crash Course - The SMIDSY - YouTube

I'm going riding tomorrow to see how I might wince. Today, driving the "cube", I did wince at every motorbike coming my way. I could not help it.

Be Careful out there!

 

[Piston]

I'll be traveling close to the "Tail" tomorrow evening on my way to Cherokee NC. I've read a bit about it including a couple of pieces that claim it more of a technical exercise done in the midst of yahoos driving cages and sport bikes trying to prove something. That and the fact that it would come at the end of a six hour drive from Alabama makes it less appealing. I've also just had a couple of days in the Ozarks and a week in the Rockies so despite a boring run across the plains, I'm not exactly starved of twisties. And, that I will spend the weekend driving almost 500 miles up the Blue Ridge Parkway makes it a bit less appealing than if I was just out looking for a quick joyride. 318 turns sounds interesting but spread over just 11 miles means a turn every 50 yards or so. Not exactly compatible with enjoying the scenery. I'll reassess once I get past Chattanooga. It would only add 50 miles or so to my route so it is possible.

I camped down there for a few days and did the tail of the dragon a handful of times. During the week it's not nearly as bad. As amazing of a road that it is, it's more fun for the guys riding supermoto's and sport bikes. I'm more of a twisty scenic kind of guy vs. see how many times I can scrape my pegs kind of guy. Having done the Blue Ridge Parkway 4 times now, I'd MUCH rather ride the BRP. In fact, I've found some of the BEST (paved) roads I've ever ridden by randomly taking some of the feeder roads leading to/from the BRP.
If you get some spare time, take a few random feeder roads, I'd rather bypass the Tail of the Dragon and hit up the lesser known (almost as good) roads. Can't get enough of the BRP.