trip counter: 652
todays mileage: 178

Woke up in Hendersonville. Late start, out the hotel just
before 11am. Someone decided to use half of my parking
space to park there car in. Nice.

Breakfast at the gas station. Headed north to Asheville on
26, stop at the Farmers Market on the way. Headed into
Asheville with the intent of finding where I used to live.
I knew the street and the exit, but unfortunately, the
exit was “Haywood”. For whatever reason there are a couple
of Haywood streets in Asheville, and at least one “old Haywood”.
Didn’t help that some of the roads on my detailed Asheville
map were labeled wrong.

Roads in Asheville are horrible. No parallel roads, etc.
And I think there are about 50 “Brevard” roads.

Since I was in Asheville, I went though Tunnel Road.
Twice. Then wrong turn back onto 240, ended up on
Town Mountain Road which was cooler anyway.
Very curvy road over Asheville, which eventually
ran into the Blue Ridge Parkway. Headed north on
the BRP to Mt Mitchell. Road up to the top, saw another
Bonneville heading down. Lots of bikes out.

Went up to the top. Marked a waypoint on the GPS.
Went up into the tower and took some pics.

Someone asked if the bike was some sort of “cross”
bike. They weren’t quite able to convey to me what
they meant by “cross” other than not like a cruiser
or a dirt bike. Saw the GPS and asked if I geocache,
which I don’t, but keep meaning to try.

Down Mt Mitchell, then north up the parkway again,
was running a little low on gas so figured I’d get
off the next stop and fill up. Unfortunately, that
road was 80, and it was a long way to a gas station.
But 80 down to Marion is awesome. Highly recommended.

The road there mostly follows some river, which
I’ve forgotten the name of, but looked like it
would be excellent for white water rafting. So
road down the steep twisty road, with a white
water river on one side, and mountain on the
other side. Very cool.
I had sort of layered up to go up Mt Mitchell, but
it was actually pretty warm. So I unlayered in
Marion.

Which was a mistake, since not 10 miles north
it was thunderstorm time again. Stop and put
on my crappy rain gear, but I was already pretty
soaked. So kept riding up ?? towards Linville
caverns. Stopped there, but they were about to close,
so just hung out for a while. Then kept going up
north, figured I’d hit Boone.

Kept getting stuck behind these two guys on Harleys
who were running about 10-15 under the speed limit.
Every time I thought they had turned off, in a few
minutes, they would have taken some short cut and
gotten back in front of me.

Got to Boone, had trouble finding a room, but eventually
did. Even though it was warm out, I was riding around
soaked for about two hours and was pretty cold. So
took a hot shower and headed back out to get some
food and pick up a dry tshirt/socks from walmart.

Then back to the hotel, and watched some womens lacrosse.
Hmmm, chicks with sticks and funky goggles.

Not sure where I’m headed tomorrow. Might head north
to Tenn. Maybe west to Deals Gap. Maybe up the
BRP to Virgina.

Things learned:

my “rain” gear is not even remotely waterproof

Under Armor works great when it’s warm. When it’s
not hot and your soaked though, it keeps you
cold.

Strapping the top part of the modular tank bag
to the pillion part of the seat works well,
and throwing the reflective fest in the
map pocket works well.

Todays mileage: 247 miles

Up and out of the hotel by about 9:30.

Breakfast was a watchmacallit from a convenience store. Figure since I was in the town
I live in when I was 8, might as well eat what I ate when I was 8 as well.

There happened to be a Suzuki/Kawasaki place across the street, so picked up
a cable lock that I had forgotten to pack.

While there an older guy came up and said “I used to have one of those”. So
I asked “what year?” expecting to say something from 60’s. He answered “a
2005, just wrecked it last weekend.” So we talked New Bonneville stuff
stuff a little bit. He showed me pictures of the wrecked Bonneville. Apparently
a truck side swipe him. The pictures showed it wedge under the front of an
f-150. Kind of an ominous start of the evening. He pointed out the exhaust
pipes were blued, and made some upgrade suggestions (many which the
bike already has).

Drove around Gastonia a bit, snapping some pics now that it’s daylight.
Decided to eat lunch at the mall. Again, what would I of done when
I was 8. Plus I needed some table space to check out some maps
to figure out where I was headed.

Decided I was going to head up to chimney rock/lake lure, then through
Hendersonville, then Brevard, then though Pigsah forest via 74, then
down though Natahla Park in Georgia via 28, then into Sumter Park
in South Carolina, then back up north to somewhere.

Headed though Gastonia down 74? into Shelby. Made pretty good time that
way, aside from all the traffic in Shelby, of all places. As soon as I
turned off 74 to head towards Chimney Rock it started raining. Eventually
pulled into an abandoned gas station under the canopy, and started
talking to some other folks that had done the same (this seems to
be the biker equivalent of water coolers).

One of the guys mentioned that the pipes were blue (again, a recurring
theme, the guy in Asheboro mentioned this as well.) One of the
folks recommended something called Blue-Away to get rid of it.
Another mentioned ordering stuff from Chapparael-racing.com with
great success.

After waiting it out a while, and putting on the rest of any rain
gear we had, we headed off towards Lake Lure when it looked like
it had stopped. Only made it a few miles before it was raining
pretty heavy again.

At one point, the road side drainage had gotten clogged and now
water, mud, and debris were flooding out onto the road for
a few hundred feet. Flashbacks to riding dirt bikes across
and though, and occasionally up streams and creeks.

The group pulled over at another abandoned store and pulled the
bikes up under the awnings there, and waited it out a bit
more.

he Lake Lure area was interesting, not having been around there
in ~25 years. But an awful lot of cars and pedestrians right on
top of the road, esp when riding in a downpour. It did however,
eventually stop raining about this time though.

I met up with one of the folks I ran into at the gas station here,
and pulled over to chat and take off some of the rain gear. He was headed
towards Hendersonvile, and I was headed though Hendersonvile, so I
decided to follow him.

Chimney rock area was a lot like Lake Lure, as far as roads and traffic
goes. But they pretty blend together, so thats no surprise. Momentarily
thought about going in to Chimney Rock park, but decided against it.
Maybe if I hadn’t lost so much time waiting out the rain.

Road to Hendersonville is nice, if crowded.

64 through Brevard seemed like a nice ride. I didn’t see any white
squirrels or music school students though. So all my expectations
of Brevard were crushed.

I stayed on 64 from Brevard through Pigsah Forrest. At some point I
stopped and put the rain gear back on, because it had started raining
again of course. But even with the rain, and surprisingly heavy traffic,
the ride though Pigsah Forrest was great. Lot of twisties and pretty
decent road conditions. This included Lake Toxaway, Highlands, and
Cashiers. Really need to go back up some time when it’s not raining.
It might be an interesting road trip to take 64 all the way across
North Carolina at some point.

At some point, I decided I should run down though Georgia and South
Carolina, since there were right there so close at this point. So
I Highlands, I took 28 south towards Georgia.

That was an excellent decision. About that time, the rain
cleared up pretty nicely. Since not many of the “places to
ride” lists mentioned 28, I didn’t expect much. But it
was excellent. 55mph speed limit, lots of twisties, smooth
(and dry) roads. Especially once you got into Georgia. The
road starts in Nantahala National Forest, then changes to
Chattahoochee National Forest around the border, then to
Sumter National Forest in South Carolina.

My stay in Georgia was short, but one of my favorite parts
of the trip. I was starting to feel a bit stressed, being
kind of in the middle of nowhere, with no idea where I
was going to stay, and still a bit wet from the rain. Then
I pulled over at a random overlook. At first, I couldn’t see
the point of it. Just another random mountain overlook. But
then I noticed a huge waterfall tucked behind some trees
about a 1/4 mile away. I just kind of stood and watched the
waterfall for about ten minutes. I think one car passed the
time I was stopped. Then as I was about to leave, I noticed
a huge stone faced mountain that I had apparently been driving
around the last 20 minutes or so.

After I got back on the road, feeling a lot more relaxed, I
ran into something I didn’t expect. I came around a corner, and
about 50 feet in front of me was a young black bear. I’m no
bear expert, but I’d estimate it was probably a year or so
old. Maybe 3 feet tall at the shoulders. It just kind of
meandered across the road and disappeared into the woods.

Back to more riding, till I spotted a road side restaurant that
looked open. I hadn’t really eaten correctly all day, so I stopped
in. Had some good country ham, corn nuggets, hush puppies, and
a bowl of banana pudding complete with nanna wafers to top it
off.

More riding, into South Carolina. The roads started getting
a bit rougher around here (mostly storm debris), so slowed
it down a bit.

After getting mostly out of the mountains, I decided it would be
a good idea to head back north for the night, as waking up in
Greenville or Spartanburg didn’t have much appeal to me. I think
I took 28 to 183 to 11 to 25. Most of this part of the ride was
pretty boring, but the speed limits were higher so I was covering
some miles. Eventually hit 25, and decided to head north to
Hendersonville for the night, figuring getting a room would be
easier than in Asheville. Blasting up 25 to 26 in the dark at
~70 mph kept me alert.

Checked into the hotel. I’m not entirely sure, but I think the
desk guy was hitting on me. “Wow, you smell like leather. That
smells great.” Or he was just weird. Hard to tell.

Packed up all my stuff into just the expanded tank bag. Thought I was
doing okay packing wise, but the fully expanded bag is bigger than I’m
comfortable with. Plus, I had forgot to include the leather chaps[1]
in the stuff I needed.

So spent some time at work not working, but attempting to strategical
pack. Ended up using the full tank bag, but strapping the small portion
to the pillion[2] area on the bike and securing it with a bungee net.
Oh and one other small problem with the tank bag: it’s not quite big
enough to fit the 15″ powerbook in it. I end up having one corner of the
laptop kind of sticking out of the bag.

I over packed, as usual. But I’m slowly getting better and better about
that. I can mostly avoid “The Jerk” style packing (All I need is this
pair of pants… and this chair… and that park bench…)

Suited up, and headed down the road. At about 4pm today, it was
pretty hot out. I was fine as long as I was moving, but some of the
long stop lights get a bit sweaty.

Headed out 64 to Asheboro, and then took 49 towards Gastonia. I decided
the end of stage1 would be in Gastonia since it’s a little more than
halfway into the mountains, and because I lived there for a few years when
I was young (roughly grades 2-5, a long time for me…) and was curious
how it had changed.

Somewhere outside of Asheboro on 49, I stopped and got gas and a beverage.
The guy in line ahead of me asked about the bike and we had a fairly long
conversation about motorcycles. He commented that he liked the bike a lot,
and once owned a Bonneville (this is a recurring theme…) and was glad
to see someone buy something other than a Harley. “They cost too much and
they’ve got too much money already”. He apparently rides a Honda Shadow, and
was getting ready to drive up to PA next weekend. Apparently as sort of
a trial run for a Iron Butt Saddle Sore 1000 he wants to try for. This
is a endurance context and the “Saddle Sore 1000” is sort of the low
end entry point. To get it, you have to document a 1000 mile solo ride
in a 24 time period. Interesting, I’ve just days ago finished reading two
books about the Iron Butt Rally, an insane motorcycle endurance trial that
tends to consist of about 12,000 miles in about 11 days. Crisscrossing the
country.

The guy also heartily and repeatedly recommended something call BOM. Apparently
some sort of uber polish/wax. I’ll have to look it and find it.

Made it to Charlotte next, where I was going to try to go though Charlotte,
then catch highway 74 into Gastonia. Except just as I got to Charlotte the
sky fail down. I had some good timing and spotted a gas station with a
awning and pulled in just before it starting pouring. Another guy got stuck under
the awning as well, and didn’t seem any more eager than me to venture out into
the downpour. I’m partially okay with riding in rain, but not lightning. Especially
not rain and lightning in Charlotte. There was pretty close lighting hits that
were very convincing. I took the time to pull out the rain jacket and the
chaps[1] and put them on, and to pull the cover over the tank bag. Since the
storm cell seemed to be pretty much just sitting on top of the area (UNCC
area), I didn’t try driving out of it.

By the time it calmed down to a light drizzle, and some sun could be seen
in the distance, I got back on the road. It was still raining, but not
for long. I barely made it to 85 before it stopped. Since it was
raining I decided it might be faster/better to take 85 instead of
74, and since I hadn’t been down 85 that way in a while, would be
interesting to see what I remember.

Made it to Belmont, when I recognized the exit, and knew it connected
to 74. My parents used to bowl[3] there. Headed down 74, remembering
lots of places as I went. The pipe supply store that used to
sponsor my parents league bowling team[3]. The skating rink I
used to skate at. A lot. The putt-putt, what used to be the
Gastonia dirt mall, etc.

Noticed a lot of motorcycles going in/out an intersection and
looped back to check it out. Apparently every Thursday there is a pretty
large biker (aka, mostly Harley) gathering at a steakhouse there.
Across the street is Carolina Harley, which was already closed, but
looks to be about the biggest Harley Dealership I’ve ever seen.
Stuck around a bit, then realized I had parked just over a median
from a vintage Bonneville, the only other Triumph there. Owner
wasn’t around, so didn’t get to talk to them.

Saw a Harley electroglide with an animated lighted American
flag on each side of it. Now that says “I am an America Freakshow”

Even though I intended to get to Gastonia, find a hotel and crash,
and wander around my old stomping grounds in the morning, I couldn’t
resist wandering around a bit. It’s amazing how much I recognize and
can remember even in the dark. Some things change, some stay the same.

Particular things I noticed:

Hospital area is huge now.
They destroyed the elementary school I went to and put up offices.
The “Ridgeway” is now a target.
The McDonald’s we ate at way too much is still there.
The Shoney’s we ate at way too much is gone
The mall looks almost exactly the same, aside for it’s onetime trademark
blue overhangs outside of Belks.
The two ice cream places I ate at are still there.
The church I went to[4] is still there and looks exactly the same.

Rode just about 200 miles.

[1] And I look damn sexy in them
[2] where the passenger would sit if there were a seat there, which there
isn’t anymore
[3] Have I ever mentioned I’m white trash?
[4] Things I remember about that church… being asked to “stop questioning”
and getting in fights every Sunday.