Roaming NC, VA and WV. Stayed in the Balsam, NC area for a few days, riding prime Moto roads. Then headed north through VA and WV. Currently in Caanan Valley, WV.
Balsam, NC
Shady Valley, TN
Caanan Valley, WV
Caanan Valley,WV
Had to get away for a few days. What better than riding and camping in the North Carolina mountains. Basecamp at Blueridge Motorcycle Campground. Camped there quite a few times, and the place still looks good. Had the campground for myself until Thursday afternoon, when a few more rolled in. Among them was about 10 riders from the Nashville BMW club. Great bunch of guys.
Headed out Friday up 276 to the parkway, and followed it until I turned off at the Asheville 25 exit. Wanted to pay Eurosport of Asheville a visit. Had heard a lot of good things about this dealership. Very nice place, great people.
Continued out of Asheville up Hwy 63, and NC209 to Hot Springs, both excellent motorcycle roads. Stopped in Hot Springs for lunch, before riding back down 209, through Waynesville, then into Cruso on 276.
Sat down with the Nashville gang after supper to exchange tall tales.
Went out again Saturday and planned to head up to Mt. Mitchell, but it just was not to be. At Craggy Gardens, The rain, wind and fog got so bad I could hardly see 10 feet in front of me, and I had enough, went back down to 276, and back to camp.
Packed up Sunday morning to head home. 4 days go by in a hurry when you’re having fun.
Good times. Nice riding. The XR is such a beast up in the mountains. Love it.
Packing our bikes up, and rode up to Shawnee State Park, OH (6/11 – 6/14), for a long weekend with motorcycle friends on ST-Owners.com. 450 miles later, we arrived, with beautiful weather. Had a little rain on the way up, however.
Excellent ride on Friday, roughly 220 miles of pristine OH, KY an WV roads.
Friday:
Saturday:
Some images from both days. There are quite a few hillbilly eating outfits that serve excellent food, and we sure took advantage of it. Excellent roads, Saturday in particular, dropping down into Daniel Boone NF, KY. The last few images are from the flood-wall in Portsmouth, OH, where the wall has been painted with murals for a 1/3 mile stretch. Beautiful.
Lois was riding her Can-Am Spyder RT Limited. I was on my BMW S1000 XR, the perfect bike for these roads. Love that bike.
We decided to ride up to the Western NC mountains for about 4 days to disconnect from the mayhem.
Stayed at Ironhorse Motorcycle Lodge. Nice place.
Haywood Smokehouse, Franklin.
Our home for the trip. Aspen Classic camper, towed behind a Can-Am Spyder RT
Aspen Classic.
Very nice trip. Lots of terrific roads up there. US28, Vayah Road, US178 and a lot more.
Will be headed up the the mountains Thursday 10/9 – Sunday 10/12 for the annual 2019 Blue Ridge Gathering at Moonshine Creek, Balsam, NC.
This is a gathering of motorcycle riders from near and far, getting together to camp and ride. There are plenty of excellent riding up there, and in my opinion one of the best riding areas in the country.
Taking the S1000XR, since it is made for these mountain roads. I can’t help it. It is just a beast of a machine, and riding it is a true pleasure, let alone on mountain roads in Western North Carolina.
Trying to get set up. Exped Downmat, Marmot Down Sleeping bag and Big Agnes Seedhouse II tent. Good stuff.
All set.
Below shots by my good friend Andy Morley.
Breakfast at Clyde’s in Waynesville, NC
Break somewhere on US 28 🙂
Hooligans
Yours truly on his S1000XR
Superb roads
