Two great days of ryding in VA/TN/NC ... hoping for more

[bushrat]

I was dreaming of ryding my Spyder all the way from Peterborough, ON, to Central FL, this year, but it just got too cold before I could set out on Mon., Oct. 29. It snowed on the Sat./Sun., so I wound up hauling by trailer again, with stops planned along the way to get in some hills, twisties and fall colors mid-way to the South. I have not been disappointed.

Had to juggle my schedule back and forth a few times to accommodate a personal 'meet-up' along the way in PA, and to try to take account of weather forecasts - rainy weather on/off all along my route. Also, some long hauls interspersed with unloading/loading repeats. About 14 hours driving on Monday got me and the RAM hauling the Spyder to Harrisonburg, VA; then 3 hours Tuesday morning over to Bastian, where I unloaded and the Spyder and I navigated the "Bastian Loop", including the "Back of the Dragon". WOW!!! That was pure fun. Last year, I spent a couple of days just west of Maggie Valley, NC, in the Smoky Mountains and doing "Tail of the Dragon". I wanted something similar this year, and I got it. For me, the Dragon's 'back' was every bit as good as its 'tail'; my sense while ryding was that the turns were tighter and the drops and inclines even steeper/sharper on the 'Back'.

The fall colors are strong right now, for anyone hoping to enjoy that part. I even diverted and took a couple of other short forays around the hills on some back roads. I really wanted to spend more time and do the "Marion Loop", but time was short, so I loaded and moved on a few hours to Glade Spring for the night.

Left on Wednesday morning and headed for "The Snake" - Hwy 421 in northern TN. Would love to have been ryding the Spyder, but lack of time meant that I'd have to do this bit on 4 wheels, scout it out for another, later day. Well, the "Snake" was a DOUBLE WOW. Talk about twisties ... I don't believe there's a stretch of clear, straight pavement longer than 150 feet between Holston Lake and Mountain City, except maybe in the flats of Shady Valley, half way along. That road, with two mountains, is mostly one continuous series of curves and some of the tightest, meanest switchbacks I've seen in a while - steep climbs, sharp drops. The pavement looks to be quite new-ish, very smooth surface with obvious road-widening still being done. Makes for a great ride. The scenery is fabulous; the drop-offs at road side are dramatic - few guard rails and a long way down if you miss. It was great fun in the truck; I'll be back someday soon to do it on the bike.

About 2-1/2 hours hauling got me over to Banner Elk, NC, where I checked in, unloaded and set off to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway from Linville down to Little Switzerland and back. Already having had two really fun rides in the mountains, little did I expect another marvelous third, and even a fourth and fifth. Fellow SL member 'blacklightning' had encouraged me to take in the "226A loop" at Little Switzerland. Gorgeous ryding!!! More tight twists, turns, sharp descents, steep climbs. My biggest regret is that my Cyclops video camera malfunctioned and I have no pics to show - only memories in my own head. Anyway, I was too damn busy concentrating on the non-stop curves/climbs/drops to do much photography, and too occupied moving from place to place in a short space of time to stop for pics.

Have to say, the Blue Ridge Parkway itself was a pretty spectacular and fun ride in this area so, that included, gave me four nice events. After I got back to Banner Elk, and was about to load up again, I got greedy; there was still a bit of daylight left, so I jumped back on the Spyder and did a nice little jaunt on 194 over to Valle Crucis and back - more twisties and climbs. Sort of like desert!!

In the morning I'm hauling again, so I'll see the road from behind the wheel of the RAM rather than in the saddle of the Spyder. On my way down into GA, but I'll be doing another chunk of the BRP, down past Asheville, Skinny Dip Falls, and through the hills along 28 into northern GA. Love this part of the country; great ryding, lovely fall colors. Just fun to be alive and taking in the scenery and the people. Y'all should try it sometime if you haven't been here; come back again, if you have. I may even get tempted to stop, unload, go Spydering for another couple of hours before I leave the hills entirely.

My special thanks to Keith and others who gave me such great advice on where to ryde. And thanks to the Highways departments and road crews in the mountain areas for making it all possible. Cheers all.

[jbim]

and better be in the South than this miserable cold. Enjoy.

BTW, how much of a drop in fuel mileage do you get towing the Spyder with your RAM?

[bushrat]

and better be in the South than this miserable cold. Enjoy.

BTW, how much of a drop in fuel mileage do you get towing the Spyder with your RAM?

The RAM is a brand new 1500 Hemi V-8; I'm just breaking it in, only has 3000 km on it, so not expecting very great gas mileage just yet. Seem to be averaging around 16 L per 100 km at moment while hauling and less when not. But that is while travelling Interstate speeds, not wasting any time (70-75 mph). I was driving a V-6, 8-speed Grand Cherokee before this, burning about 13/14 L/100 km when hauling. So, yes, a little more money to get there with the truck. My trailer is aluminum, 350 lbs; Spyder is another 950, so total hauling weight is maybe 1400 lbs. tops; not a lot. I expect things will improve. I'm also carrying the little trailer for the Spyder in the back of the truck; another 150 lbs, plus clothes and gear inside the truck. At this point in life, I've decided to have fun, not worry about too much about the little things... and if I blow the kids' inheritance, too bad. I earned it; I'll spend it!!

As for Canadian winters, I used to enjoy them; looked forward to Old Timer's hockey and all, as well as a nice warm fire in a wood stove. But this Spyder thing is addictive, and southern roads are just too much fun. Besides, it makes the motorcycle a 12-months a year investment opportunity. Cheers.

[Little Blue]

Thanks for the information about your Trip. Sounds like a great Ryde Time.

[blacklightning]

Really glad that you are enjoying your trip through our little part of the world. Yes, you did get to do some great riding. I actually did the 226a loop on Sunday as part of a day trip that I took from the Apex/Cary area. Total of 469 miles. I had a little extra air in the rear shock from the trip to the spyder rally in Maggie Valley 2 weeks ago. I found out that it was just the thing that my sore butt needed. 100 mile stretches were no problem. Ride safe and enjoy the rest of your trip.
Here is a picture from this past Sunday.

IMG_20181028_132717995_HDR.jpg

And here is proof that I rode the Snake.

CAM00196.jpg

[spyder01]

I put on 2000 miles in and around Maggie valley in september.This is the best riding area in the east IMO.

[bushrat]

I'm over a week late with this, but thought I'd add it on. I had a third day of riding in NC before arriving in FL. Left Banner Elk on the morning of 1 Nov; went west into TN and picked up I-26 at Unicoi. What a great bit of road engineering in the mountains! At this point, I was really hauling the Spyder with my truck. Beautiful big hills, long climbs, great views out across the mountains. Then, south to Asheville, NC, where I again entered the Blue Ridge Parkway and headed SW towards Skinny Dip Falls. First part was decent weather; overcast, but dry. Then, somewhere in the vicinity of the intersection of Pisgah Hwy. we rounded a turn, went through a tunnel, came out on the other side of the mountain and abruptly ran into dense fog and rain. At that elevation, I believe we were actually driving inside low hanging rain clouds you can see in a couple of the photos below. Visibility about 20' to 30', at best. Well, the good times don't last forever!! Luckily, I picked out the tail lights of a little blue car ahead of me, slowed, and drove at his pace for almost the next hour. The fog remained dense the whole time; no let up. There were others behind me; not sure who or what may have been ahead of the blue car. There were moments when I'm sure none of us knew just quite where we were as we picked our way slowly along the mountain side not wanting to lose the road. I didn't stop for Skinny Dip Falls, as planned; there was no point. Eventually, I found my turn off to the south at Hwy. 215. As I descended, the fog dissipated and the rain stopped; the sun began to reappear and the scenery improved as we dropped below the clouds; 215 turned out to be a really enjoyable route with more twisties. Coming at me as I descended were a series of sport bike crotch rockets, all screaming their way upwards. I confess I kind of grinned while thinking of the surprise they were about to get 2 or 3 miles ahead of them and another 1000' or so higher up. I hope they all realized in time .... meanwhile, I kept moving; found Route 64, then 28 (in spite of a couple of GPS screw-ups), then on down through Walhalla, SC, to Atlanta, GA, just in time for afternoon rush hour tie-ups. Managed dinner in Perry, then decided to push through to Central FL. A long, long day. A couple of cat-nap sleeps at rest stops. Made it to my winter home, where I have been catching up on maintenance ever since. Thus the delay in this further ride report. Found a few pics of my ride along the BR P'kway (prior to the fog). Learned that I may even have some actual video footage saved in the Cyclops (that I thought had malfunctioned the day before). A project for a later day, to see if I can retrieve. I do want to ride these roads again. Absolutely lovely, thrilling. Thanks to all for your supportive comments along the way.

[bushrat]

two more shots along the BRP just before entering the foggy side of the mountain:

Look closely at the one which at first seems only to be brush along the roadside. Middle of the pic, about 1/3 the way up from the bottom. Looks like just more twigs? It's really a thin ribbon of road along the floor of the valley, way across on the other side. What look like buds on the branches are really houses and barns a long way down and across. I could see them from where I stood taking the photo; the camera has a more difficult time picking them up. Second pic shows those rain clouds that surrounded us on the other side of the mountain.

[ARtraveler]