Spending a little quality time on The Blue Ridge ParkwayMAN I love riding my Wing through the mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee and Northern Georgia!
I guess I ought to point the Wing in another direction next time I have a few days off for a ride, but I simply HAD to make another ride up to that beautiful part of the country at least once this riding season.
The ride was a little different this time as the group consisted of me, my dad, my buddy Clem and his dad. We had never ridden with Clem's dad before and since I've always liked that fella I was looking forward to spending a few days on the road with him.
We met up early on a Thursday morning in the parking lot of a Harley Davidson dealer that was pretty much central to all our locations. Some big genuine smiles...warm handshakes all around....sprinkle in some good-natured ribbing and a few complimentary comments on one another's rides....then we're ready to jump on the bikes and hit the road. However a quick stop for a hearty breakfast had to be the first order of business. I cannot figure out why breakfast on the first day of a ride tastes so good :)
Dad was riding his platinum colored Goldwing trike, Clem was riding his gigantic BMW Adventure, I was astride my silver Goldwing two wheeler and Clem's dad Tully was piloting his brand new crimson Harley Ultra Glide (what a beautiful machine!). We made an eclectic group of bikes and riders.
Day one was just over 400 miles. We started out in Birmingham, Alabama and worked our way up through some fantastic back roads, circumnavigated Lake Guntersville (wow the views of that beautiful lake from the back of a bike) and then weaselled our way up to North Carolina.
My dad was the Road Captain of our small band and did an excellent job of mapping out a beautiful ride that allowed us to pull into "The Dillard House" in Dillard, North Carolina for a fabulous meal of good 'ol home cooking. The view from the Dillard House was magnificent. I wish I had the photographic skill of many of you so that I could post a pic that would do that view justice. However I do not so we will have to suffice with the pic below showing a bit of the view. There is also a pic of the four of us pre-gorging.
After our bellies were filled to the bursting point we waddled back to the bikes and rode the remaining 50 or so miles to the Econolodge in Cherokee, NC. This motel would be home base for the next two nights as we rode around and through the hills surrounding the tourist town.
Not a lot to report other than another successful ride. Lots of fun and great fellowship. Quality time with family and friends. The bikes performed flawlessly. It was a little toasty (mid 90's) but all was forgiven as we would ride into the higher elevations and the cool air would begin to relax and refreshen you. As I pulled back in to the garage my trip meter showed 1024 miles over the three days of riding. I enjoyed every last mile of the trip.
One last "action shot" from my Wing - you can see Clem just before he enters a tunnel on the Blue Ridge Parkway
Time to start thinking about the next ride.....
10 comments:
Hey Dad! Looks like a fun ride! Happy Father's Day!
Just came across your blog. I have got ride through the south someday. That is beautiful country.
Hey Sarch! Loving the pics! Looks like you are settling into summer just fine there! I am off to see Jared's blog. I am glad that he is enjoying Blogland and that he commented so I know he is there!
Hope you had a Happy Father's Day!
Bet your Dad was loving this Fathers Day. To go on a great ride with his son, now that's priceless!
I have just one word to describe the scenery and that is 'Awesome'. It's not a very British word but is so applicable. I cna see why you had to go riding there again. It is just beautiful.
Love the pics and narrative as usual. You always make it sound like we're along for the trip too.
What a beautiful blog. The pictures are fantastic and your descriptions made us feel like we were there. That is great country. The bikes were quite impressive, especially to us scooter people.
Sounds like a great trip. I told my parents today that just once, I want to ride a motorcycle. Then I said that it would have to be just once, because I'd probably break every bone in my body.
To answer your questions:
Yes, I found a $100 sitting on the sidewalk in downtown Manhattan. As far as I could tell, no one else even noticed it.
I thought Children of Men was brilliant. It was one of those movies where, when it was over, all I could think was, "Wow."
The Blue Ridge is beautiful. When we lived in Maryland we loved to drive it (before we ever owned motorcycles) in the fall. What a great trip.
Thanks for sharing the beautiful views with us! looks like a hell of a ride!
Beautiful place for visiting.
Post a Comment