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Tomorrow I’m headed down the Blacksburg, Virginia to take a week-long class at Virginia Tech. I’ll be riding the Blue Ridge Parkway for part of it. It doesn’t seem like it’s been four years since that last trip, but I guess it has.

I rode down to a class in North Carolina in July of 2008, but didn’t take the Parkway. After that class I visited my brother and his family in Nashville, and then rode 1001 miles in 17.5 hours on the way home. It was a long ride, especially on the KLR 650. The first 800 miles were fine, but it got tougher once it got dark. After e-mailing the Iron Butt Association and not liking the attitude of the person I talked to, I decided not to apply for their silly award.

I’m bringing my digital camera as well as a new Chamonix 45n-2 large-format view camera, so maybe some good photos will come of this trip. Stay tuned.

Alright so it’s been more than a month since I got back from the trip and I still hadn’t posted pictures. It was a great trip. My friend John joined me on his Valkerie, which has an engine only slightly smaller than my first car, and considerably more powerful. Here’s another picture from the camp out. Have you ever seen a 1200 GS with a sidecar?

The ride was great again this year. Here’s a shot of the two bikes at Basin Cove Overlook. We hit great weather the whole time with the exception of a little bit of rain on the last day. Another friend, Steve, road down to meet us on his V-Strom for the last couple hundred miles. V-Stroms are fun to ride.

I really didn’t take many pictures during the trip this time, but here’s a photo of Mabry Mill. It’s a beautiful spot, right along the edge of the parkway. Next year I’d like to take three days each way and have a few days down there. There are so many fun roads in western North Carolina that I haven’t found a boring one yet. In addition to the paved roads, one of the riders down there said that the Forest Service maintains 9500 miles of dirt and gravel roads in that area.

John and Steve, thanks for joining up. I’m looking forward to riding with you again soon. Also, Rob, it was good to see you again. Next time, I’ll have a few more days to get dirty. Hopefully, Adam will be able to join us next year.

Tomorrow morning, a friend and I are headed down the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Horizon’s Unlimited meeting in Robbinsville, NC. It was a great trip last year, and I’m looking forward to the ride again this year. There are some great roads down in that part of the country. Last year I rode all 11 miles and 318 turns of Deal’s Gap. This year, we’re planning on riding the Cherohala Skyway, which twists through the mountain tops for thirty-six miles across the North Carolina-Tennessee border.

The bike has been running well, and John is a great mechanic, so we should be in good shape. It will be five days of riding, but there’s plenty of time to take it slowly and enjoy the ride. It’s 600 miles of gently curving road through the Appalachians with no stop signs. I’m hoping to take a bunch of pictures and post some of them next week. Until then…

Today was a beautiful day for a motorcycle ride. I headed out onto some of my favorite back roads in northern Baltimore county, headed toward Gettysburg, PA, and made it back six hours later. I should sleep well tonight.

Apparently, everybody else with a bike had the same idea. There were a lot of Harleys and a few sportbikes, but no dual-sports. I’ve still only seen one other KLR650 in the wild. I also a saw a couple of trailered railroad speeders heading north through Hanover, PA. There must have been a run somewhere this weekend.

I hope everyone had a great weekend.

I have finally uploaded some pictures from my trip to North Carolina and West Virginia. Take a look through the old entries. There are small pop-up images, but if you click the links you’ll see larger versions. I had a great time on the trip with my father and brothers, and the Blue Ridge Parkway is an amazing ride. I’m looking forward to riding there again next summer. Let this be a warning to my motorcycle-riding friends and family. Let’s find a few day stretch in June and go.

Here’s a quick note to let you know that I made it home alright. The last three days were a lot of fun. I’ll post more and add some photos after I’ve gotten some sleep.

I met my father and brother Ryan in Cass, West Virginia. Dad is a bit of a train nut, and has a small railroad inspection vehicle that is able to ride the rails. There’s a group of people who have these and rent time on various railroads to go for rides. The park service operates a scenic railroad in Cass with steam locomotives, and we were able to go for a ride on one of them as well. It’s a beautiful part of the country, and it was great to hang out with Dad and Ryan for a couple of days having fun. We stayed in a nice house that the park service rents out, though we tried to rough it a bit by turning the comfort level down.

The last message took a day to post. The email must have been sent via Pony Express. Last night I stayed at a motorcycle camp run by a guy named Will. It sounds like he’s done a lot of motorcycle touring and decided to build the place he was always looking to stay at.

A couple of differences from the usual campground are that there are no cars allowed and there’s only one campfire. Most campgrounds create cubicles for each group to keep to themselves. At this place, it wasn’t even clear where one site ended and the next one started.

Come to think of it, there weren’t any sites, just picnic tables sprinkled between the trees. It made for a very social place like the best hostels I’ve stayed at. Of course, that’s just speculation because when I rolled in at a quarter past dark I was the only guest. I’ll have to go back on a weekend. It’s at mile 177.7 of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Meadows of Dan, VA.

I’m in Roanoke now. I’ll get near the north end of the parkway today. I’m taking it easy, and finally learning how to use my camera. The sunset didn’t turn out to be spectacular, but the cows seemed to enjoy watching us take their pictures. I wish I would had this camera for the last trip, but I have a pattern of upgrading cameras after trips instead of before. I also wish I’d have brought my long underwear on this trip. I’ve wished that on past trips as well—you’d think I’d learn. In case you’re interested, it’s cold and wet in the Smoky Mountains in June, and it’s cold and wet in Hanoi in January.

Part of what I like about traveling is just being in motion. With my own wheels it’s even better. I’m feeling great, and having a good time. I wish you all were here.

Just a quick update. I’m in Ashville, NC. Last night I camped at Hot Springs. It’s a small town and a major R and R stop for hikers on the Appalachian Trail. I’ve been running into AT crossings throughout this trip. As a kid I thought I’d want to hike it some day, but now I don’t think so. If I had six months to kill, there are other trips I’d rather take.

It’s beautiful down here. There are mountains and streams everywhere, and the roads are great. On my way out of Robbinsville I rode through a section of road called The Tail of the Dragon at Deal’s Gap. It’s eleven miles long and has 318 turns. Here’s a ‘Before’ photo that didn’t end up being a ‘Last Known’ photo. A word to the wise—when you see skid marks on the road before a turn, this is useful information. Don’t just think “That’s interesting; people must have taken that one too fast.” Slow down! Sometimes 25 mph is way too fast.

The bike is doing great. Adam welded my shift lever back together on Saturday. It’s nice to have a brother with skills. I hope things are going well back home.

I just wanted to let you know that I made it to NC. I got in a few minutes before dark last night. I had to stop more often than I expected to. I’d like to blame it on the small tank of my motorcycle, but I can’t. The bike will do 280 miles between stops, but my rear end won’t. There were some detours from the Blue Ridge Parkway that added some time. There were twists and turns that I did in first gear. There are fifty of us sharing a computer, so I’ll write more later.

I’ve made almost Roanoke. Last night I camped out at the north end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Now I’m at a Shell Station and I’m going to hop on I-81 for a while to make up some time. The Blue Ridge Parkway is fantastic. It must have been built by a rider. I’ll try to catch up with it down the road a ways, and I’ll be taking all the way back. The bike has been great.