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View Full Version : 1700 miles in 4 days via motorcycle



joshs1ofakindxj
08-12-2012, 11:04 PM
We did this trip last weekend. The weekend before last weekend I moved into my new house so it was nice to go on a little vacation and think about life and that crap.

My bike is mostly stock but I have a few things done to it:
- 12V outlet (used a good bit on the trip for phone and ipod charger)
- Aerostich heated grips, a must for any bike, and progrip gel grips
- about $1000 worth of Corbin seats
- home made aluminum panniers and racks for all my t-shirts and stickers I buy along the way
- Touratech transmission frame mount reinforcing plates

Thursday morning we left SWPA and headed down through WV and had lunch at Tamarack. Cool stop showcasing everything made in WV and the food was great. There was also a stop at the New River Gorge on the way.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96/luvherinmyjeep32/deals%20gap%202012/IMG_2285.jpg

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Then we headed to the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) and got on near Fancy Gap and headed south. That is an amazing road with too many breath taking views to stop for, hand carved tunnels, and perfect pavement with no commercial traffic covering quite a length of the Blue Mts.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96/luvherinmyjeep32/deals%20gap%202012/IMG_2287-1.jpg

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A notorious sign on the BRP:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96/luvherinmyjeep32/deals%20gap%202012/IMG_2293.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96/luvherinmyjeep32/deals%20gap%202012/IMG_2298.jpg

Grandfather mountain, and look close to see the viaduct:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96/luvherinmyjeep32/deals%20gap%202012/IMG_2301.jpg

Our destination Thursday was the Little Switzerland Inn in Little Switzerland, NC and boy is it a nice place!

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The next day we continued down the BRP to Deal's Gap and rode the Dragon which was a blast.

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96/luvherinmyjeep32/deals%20gap%202012/IMG_2310.jpg

Notice the hand carved tunnel curving through the mountain:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96/luvherinmyjeep32/deals%20gap%202012/IMG_2316.jpg

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The tree of shame, which I did not contribute to:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96/luvherinmyjeep32/deals%20gap%202012/IMG_2326.jpg

We rode back and forth without issue, though you could see where a lot of people goofed up and left their mark on the road.

The view at the end of the gap was nice.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96/luvherinmyjeep32/deals%20gap%202012/IMG_2330.jpg

The Buell had a go pro cam and was following me recording my run so I can't wait to get that vid from him.

That night we had dinner in downtown Ashville NC and went back to Little Switzerland for the night.

Saturday we first rode Rt 226A aka the Diamondback and Rt 80 which are 2 very twisty routes, and then we toured the Biltmore and that was a heck of a place:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96/luvherinmyjeep32/deals%20gap%202012/IMG_2360.jpg

It is the largest private home in the USA and open to the public for tours for a mere $72, yikes! But it is kind of worth it.

After that we stopped at a fellow beemer nerd's house tucked up in the smokey mountains for dinner.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96/luvherinmyjeep32/deals%20gap%202012/IMG_2365.jpg

From there it was back to Little Switzerland for the night. Sunday was more miles north on the BRP and then eventually to home after a good Mexican lunch in Floyd. Sunday night it poured rain on us for the last 250 miles so that sucked but after all that, the bike did need a wash.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96/luvherinmyjeep32/deals%20gap%202012/IMG_2377.jpg

ridgerunner97
08-12-2012, 11:26 PM
The highest point on the BRP is awesome. I've traveled alot of the same route you did but via chevy impala SS LOL. Honestly one of my favorite places i've ever been to.

joshs1ofakindxj
08-12-2012, 11:28 PM
Car, motorcycle, motorhome, roller blades, etc! The BRP is a sweet ride for the views, regardless of how you go. The added bonus on a motorcycle is the pavement is so perfect on most of the road right now.

ridgerunner97
08-12-2012, 11:34 PM
We made some side trips off the BRP. We ran it comin up from North Georgia, neat place was graveyard fields, lots of humps from a forest fire I think it was that look like graves from the distance, really wild.

RalphDogg
08-13-2012, 07:26 AM
That looks so fun. I always wanted to go on a long trip when I had my bike. How do you find the time to get up and leave? I'm buying a house in 2 weeks and I'll probably be working on it non stop for the next 3 months. What am I doing wrong?

joshs1ofakindxj
08-13-2012, 08:02 AM
The home I purchased was "turn-key". I haven't had to do a thing to the house except clean out the old junk left by the previous owner in the basement. It was remodeled for sale and had all appliances so it was ready for move-in when I closed. The only things keeping me busy are the lawn, garage, and small barn.

The weekend after I moved in was not an ideal weekend to go away, but this week I'm starting a fulltime MBA program in the evenings so I definitely had to get this motorcycle trip done before classes start.

Powerguy37
08-13-2012, 09:14 AM
That looks so fun. I always wanted to go on a long trip when I had my bike. How do you find the time to get up and leave? I'm buying a house in 2 weeks and I'll probably be working on it non stop for the next 3 months. What am I doing wrong?

If you figure it out Ralph, let me know. It seems I always have something to do except have fun.

Super Scout
08-13-2012, 03:17 PM
Sometimes you gotta make it happen. But I know the feeling...
Josh has a lot of free time in his life now that he has Donnie.

joshs1ofakindxj
08-13-2012, 04:11 PM
Josh has a lot of free time in his life now that he has Donnie.

I might as well of rented a room to Section 8. Donnie doesn't do jack squat, except spin the electric meter with his window AC and window fan that blows the cold air in and sucks it out just as fast!

RalphDogg
08-14-2012, 07:04 AM
Is donnie a homeless man that lives on your couch? Just like the "Guy" in Half Baked that sleeps on there couch.

joshs1ofakindxj
08-14-2012, 08:36 AM
No, it isn't that bad, but he might be a member of the Occupy Turkeytown movement.

redbank
08-15-2012, 12:54 PM
looks like you had a great trip. I did the dragon last year. Just got back from Sturgis on Sunday. Going our west is a must, puts the views you seen to shame. Thought about selling the bike when I got back cause it just doesn't compare. I did a big loop around Yellowstone, Tetons and a lot of other parks and stuff. A few roads are a must, Chief Joseph scenic highway, Beartooth pass (actually snowed on us), a few other roads in wyoming. Also there is a road called the million dollar highway that we didn't know about til we got there, but it is in colorada I believe. Glad you enjoyed your trip and arrived safe.