Ride from Mt Mitchell to Gatlinburg Mon 9/21

[spyrog]

Ride from Mt Mitchell, NC to “Spyders in the Smokies” 9/21/09

Mt Mitchell is located on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Mile Post 355 (Rt 128). It is only accessible from the Parkway. At 6684 ft it is the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi. At the summit there is a tower that puts you at the very top of the eastern US. There is also a restaurant and gift shop at the summit.

My plan is to ride from the top of the eastern US (Mt Mitchell) to Gatlinburg to attend the “Spyders in the Smokies” rally. I plan to arrive at the summit at 9:30 on Monday September 21 and leave around 10-10:30 for Gatlinburg. Wouldn’t it be really cool to be able to snap a picture of the parking lot on top of Mt Mitchell with 200-300 Spyders parked there?

After leaving Mt Mitchell we could ride down the Blue Ridge Parkway with a stop at Mt Pisgah (MP ~408) for lunch and then on into Gatlinburg (96 miles). No one needs to ride in a group or formation, just meet up with folks at the numerous pull-offs and scenic overlooks to compare Spyders and experiences. The southern portion of the Blue Ridge is very scenic with 50-70 mile vistas.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a two lane road that runs along the ridge of the Appalachians from Waynesville VA (Shenandoah National Park) to Cherokee NC (Smoky Mountain National Park). From MP 0 at the northern end to MP 469 at the southern end there is not a single stop sign. It has continually been voted one of the top 5 motorcycle roads in the US. The speed limit is 45 MPH so it is a leisurely cruise with lots of easy to manage curves.

I am a young 64 year old biker and the Spyder (yellow BumbleSpyder ) is my 22nd bike. I’ve been riding for 38 year and have rode in 47 of the 50 states and 1 province. My wife and I live 4 miles off the Parkway and never get tired of riding its scenic roads.

Email me if you have questions. I am staying at the Little Switzerland Inn on Sunday night. The Lodge for motorcyclists has covered parking and my room was $65.00.

Whether you are going to Gatlinburg or just want to join us for the day, please come.

Ride Safe,
Spyrog (rogkyer@hotmail.com)

Have some folks coming down from NY and CT that are going to try and meet me there. Anyone else?

[spyrog]

I counted on this site and SpyderTalk. There are 9 Spyders on I-77 or west of it, 9 around Charlotte, 6 in the Triad, 4 in the SE, 4 in the NE, 9 around RDU and 12 in other areas.

How many of you are going to Spyders in the Smokies and are you interested in doing the ride from Mt Mitchell? It looks like I might have 8-9 Spyders from up east joining me.

[wildbill6565]

Love to but wife and I are riding our 's on Saturday 19 to Gatlingburg.
See you there!!

[Spyderjuice]

Spyrog,
I will try to join you at Mt. Mitchell for the ride to Gatlinburg. I will be in Candler just west of Asheville before the 21st and would like to meet you at MP 355. I will email you also.

Stan

[bigdog69]

we are going up on 9/21 if they can get my 2 bikes back right from the bad up date on them.

[spyrog]

I'll be there. I cancelled some other obligations and plan on staying till Thursday and maybe Friday. We should have a great ride. There is a group coming from NY/PA/CT that is planning on joining us. I think he said about 8 's so that should be great. They were planning on staying in Marion the Sunday night and will meet us on the summit.