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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…

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.