my other hobby

I know this blog is suppose to be about motorcycle trip's, but the past few weeks I have been enjoying my other hobby. A good friend took these pictures so I thought I would post them here.

4th of July ride_day 2and3

July 4th

London Ky.

We rise early today, 5am and we are on the road by 6. It is just after daybreak, light enough to see but the sun is not yet in sight. The temp. is 66 degrees, as we ride down I75 we can see the morning fog in the low lying areas. I do not like riding on the interstate more than needed, it's boring, however this morning we need to make time. This is going to be a big day, a lot of riding to do in Tn. and NC,,and we are in a rush to get there and get started.Just after 7am we pull into the Cracker Barrel in Lake city TN. Time for breakfast, the stop takes longer than I would have liked,,but at least we are not going to be riding hungry. Our next stop will be in Sevierville Tn. there we will check into the hotel and head out for a long day of riding.

This is the first time I have stayed in this area during a holiday, and I think it will be my last. After checking in and unloading our bikes, we head south through Pigeon forge and Gatlinburg. The traffic was awful in Gatlinburg, over an hour to get to The Great smoky mountain national park. Once we are in the park, we do the tourist thing, stopping for pictures. At one stop, the state line,,I step up on a stone wall for a better look. The wall is only about 3 feet high,,but that was high enough to hurt when I fell off of it. I banged up my right knee and ankle pretty good,,the very ankle I broke 4 weeks earlier. The brace was just taken off two days ago, yup,,I felt pain. I limp away and was able to finish the ride,,but I did have to dig out the first aid kit and bandage it up that evening.

From the park we ride into Cherokee North Carolina , where we pick up The Blue Ridge Parkway. Riding it to the next stop. Maggie Valley North Carolina is home to one of my favorite museums, Wheels through time. Looking around the museum is always a treat, but it is even more fun to do with Roger. My buddy Roger will turn 70 next month, as we walk through the museum he is telling us about many of the bikes . It is getting late in the day and we decide it is time to head out, being well past lunch time we stop for a bite to eat and hit a few of the shops in town.

We have a surprise for Roger, he has never rode The Tail of the dragon and has no idea that is the next stop. We take route 19 through Cherokee and follow it to route 28, also called hellbender 28. Traffic is light, the weather is perfect and we arrive at Deals Gap motorcycle resort. The problem is it is 7pm and Deals Gap closed at 6 because of the holiday. We wander around, talking to other rider's and taking some pictures,and show him the tree of shame..

OK, its getting late and we are getting tired and my ankle and knee are still hurting. 7:50pm we head out, only to be greeted by a Tn. state trooper telling us the road was closed and we had to turn around. This was not good news, we figured it would be a 50 mile ride back to the hotel,,now we had to go back the way we came,,90 miles to the hotel. Back in Cherokee we top off our tanks and head into the mountains, after dark..not good. The road is a little narrow and at night it is a little hard to judge the curves and watch for wildlife,,but we make it back to the hotel around 10:30,,,we started out this morning at 6am,,,16 1/2 hours ago!!! A pizza for dinner and we are out for the night.

Monday morning, we sleep in and do not get underway until 8 am. A stop for breakfast and we are on our way, today is about getting home. We do stop in London Ky., we are tired , I am ready to ride hard and get home,,but Doug is having a rough time and we stop and take several breaks along the way. 7pm,,finally home...

4th of July ride 2010

7/3/10 Chillicothe Ohio

I have been off work for four weeks recovering from a broken ankle. Two day's ago the Doc. said I could take off the brace,,just in time for our ride. I am meeting Roger for breakfast then we will make the 20 mile ride to Doug's house.I arrive at the restaurant at 6:45, 15 minutes early and Roger is already there waiting on me. We have breakfast and discuss the trip, south to ride some back roads in Kentucky, then on to Tennessee and North Carolina. This is a great morning, 56 degrees,,cool but far from cold. We arrive at Doug's house around 7:50,,we find him in the garage ready to roll. After a few pictures, we head west on route 50 to Bainbridge where we turn south on route 41. This is a route I have travelled many times. A mere 35 miles into the trip (PeeblesOh.)..Doug signals he needs to stop,he is hungry,,so we top off while there.

In Aberdeen we cross the Ohio river into Maysville Ky. Crossing the bridge Doug pulls along side me and ask why the grin,,cant help but smile every time I cross the state line on my way out there,,wherever there happens to be.

In Maysville we turn south onto route 11, we stop to top off in Mount Sterling Ky. The next stop will be in Clay city Ky at Carmichael leather . A nice break,,sitting on the bench out front drinking a soda and taking a minute to cool off.

The next stop, Nada Tunnel road, and Red River gorge area . I doubt I could get tired of riding this area, some of Kentucky's finest motorcycle riding is here. We stop for pictures, and head into the tunnel, exiting it you find a twisty,curvy winding downhill stretch of tarmac that requires your complete attention ,,somewhat reminds you of the tail of the dragon for a mile or so. We continue on past Gladie house and follow the road to our next stop,,,lunch at The True North inn.

After lunch we circle back around to route 11, head south a couple of miles to Natural bridge state park. Just like last time I was here,,we take the sky lift up to the top,,,ok,,I still have my fear of heights intact. Once at the top (600 feet up) we make the hike to the lookout point for pictures,,,there is no safety rail there, Roger and Doug walk to the edge and look around,,"not me, I can see back here just fine Thank you!!!" After playing tourist we jump back on the sky lift for the ride down,,damn was I glad to get off that thing!!! A quick look around the gift shop and we are on our way.

South on route 11 to Booneville Ky. where we pick up route 30 east. This is one of my favorite roads in Ky. A twisty two lane that runs through rural Ky. We ride along enjoying the afternoon , perfect weather, perfect road,,and perfect company. We pull up to a stop sign where rt. 30 takes a left turn,,I check for traffic,,let out on the clutch and ease into a left turn with Doug right behind me. I hear Roger stall his bike, glance over my left shoulder to see if he is OK . I hear him hit the starter so I continue on. I kept looking in the mirror but no one is coming,,huh,,what happened?? Sure hope he is not having mechanical trouble,,find a place to turn around and head back. What I see when I get back to them amazes me,,I cannot help but laugh,,still not sure how he did it,,but there sat Doug's bike,,upright in the ditch,,him and Roger standing beside it. Lucky for us there was no damage, a local stops and helps us get this 800 lb bike out of the ditch.

Back on the road we arrive in London Ky around 6:15,,head to the hotel,,check in and walk to the Shiloh steak house for dinner. I mention that I have some good curvy roads for us to ride tomorrow,,Roger pipes up,,"curvy roads!! well that will be a change!!" sarcasm..I love it!!!