Bob, the area around Pilot Mountain and Mt. Airy is really great. Scenery is not to be matched anywhere and the people are just so hospitable. I never found a place that somebody didn't want to talk, even if it was me. What must it have been like to lay eyes upon thses lands for the first time? Stories come easily to you, but that could be becuase you always find the beauty in your adventures. Nice, just simply nice.

 

you and Sheryl have wasted an hour and half of my time on this thread but I'm subscribed---thanks

 

Another great adventure, Thanks for sharing!

 

Thanks! No, it was a regular trailer. No salute required. I would love to be able to just hop on the BRP and take that as part of my commute. You're a lucky man.

Thanks! I have Gerbings G3 gloves and a Gerbings liner with Gerbing dual controller. Cheryl has a First Gear jacket liner with Tourmaster dual controller.

We're both considering pant liners and socks. Cheryl's hands don't get cold because she can put them in her lap or wear heavy mittens.

Thank you! It really is a great riding area. I'm surprised I don't hear more about it. Best kept secret?

It was pretty cold and they had sanded the road from the snow a day or 2 earlier so no board scraping.

You are right about all of that. You're lucky that you live so close to a lot of great riding. I'm envious. And thanks for the kind words. It's easy to write about something I'm so passionate about. But, only people who can relate can appreciate anything I have to say. Your average traveler would probably get bored with some of the minutia. But because we ride, we experience that minutia. It's a heightened sense of awareness on a bike that is lost in a car.

I am happy to waste your time

Anytime neighbor. Thanks for joining in.

 

Even in the more remote areas one is bound to come across a city here and there. Often is the case that a US highway will run right through the center of the city. The trick is, when choosing a route, to pick a highway that doesn't go through a lot of cities. They can really slow you down and typically, they aren't all that scenic. I don't recall what city we were in when Cheryl snapped this pic. Wytheville maybe?



I know it was Virginia for sure. What I'm not sure about is, what the significance of "I SPANK" is. I probably don't really want to know. But, it was around then that the banjos started playing in my head.

The cities along US52 are few and far between. And it doesn't take long to get through them. Very soon after the "I SPANK" encounter we were back in the country on the good stuff.





Virginia is a beautiful state - even without leaves on the trees. We entered the Jefferson National Forest, which we had been in on the way down east of here on Hwy 311. Again, when route planning, I try to choose routes through national forests. They rarely disappoint.



And like anywhere, there's some not so pretty stuff as well. I've traveled a lot in the south. Sometimes on dual sport bikes. I've taken gravel roads for miles and miles and come across places like this. One would be well advised to keep moving in certain areas. The drug trades are alive and well in some remote areas and people have gone missing when exploring these remote regions. I recall just a month ago when riding in the Ozarks. I had been off pavement for about 2 hours when I came across a 70s Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser station wagon parked at an odd angle. It was filled with all sorts of junk. One might have thought it was someone living in their car, but the two 55 gallon drums in the back may have indicated something entirely different. I was tempted to stop and take a picture, but instinct told me to keep rolling.



I've met a whole lot of friendly folks in my travels. Never a bad one in fact. But, that could be because I don't stop and take pictures of old station wagons with 55 gallon drums in the back. Not sure. Anyway, there's a lot of different ways to live out there. As one travels into the more remote parts of even an advanced country like the US, one is likely to encounter ways of life unlike anything they have seen before. That would be in full effect a few miles up the road.

But before that, more great riding and scenery. Those wet spots were cause for concern. It was below freezing on the climbs and I was worried those spots were ice. As such, I avoided them.





We were in the mountains that we had seen way back. The snow covered tress were a sight to see on a beautiful sunny afternoon ride.



And the descents gave us a bird's eye view of the region in which we traveled.



In addition to the occasional city, US highways will merge onto interstates. Sometimes the homing instinct kicks in and it's tempting to just stay on the "easy" road. You don't see as much, but you can really knock off some time. And when you are trying to make a certain distance by nightfall, the temptation grows stronger. As you can see from the above picture, highway 52 merged onto I-77. In this case to make use of a tunnel rather than a summit crossing.

The East River Tunnel.



That light at the end of the tunnel is almost a mile away.



Have I mentioned what a beautiful area this is?



Next up - Coal Heritage Highway and banjo playing zombies

 

Bring on the zombies! You've taken us on a great ride so far, I am eager to hear the rest of the story. It's about 40* here today; just finished a quick dash to Sturgeon Bay and back (in the car). Can't wait until we can get back on the bike and take the old road (County DK) again. Until then, I'm subscribed...

 

I think you can blame me for the Rt 60 to 311 leg of your journey. It's interesting to read some one else's opinions on roads that I get to ride all the time. Ya'll have a standing invitation to come back to WV any time and I'll give you the grand tour. So many great roads and vistas to explore. We even have our own Rt 66 that is good for a few kicks.

 

Great report......as usual.......glad y'all enjoyed your ride thru "our" mountains....ha.....Pilot Mt has a nice little hike around it.......back in the day there were stairs up to the summit.......park service removed them because of nesting birds.......now you hafta free climb up.....and, if you rode 52 outta Mt Airy you rode right by the Hungry Farmer diner!...... (in Cana Va).....

 

Dont Leave me hanging Bob...cant wait to see the rest of 52!!!the zig zag of the rest rd looks to be the best part!!!another stellar write up...I sure hope your keeping some kind hard copy of this at home as all your individual write ups will make a great book...I know you are a huge help to trip planning...

 

Thanks! Yeah, the weather is teasing us a bit. I was tempted to take a bike out on Saturday, but the salt covered roads talked me out of it. Zombies will begin tomorrow after work!

Well thanks for that and the invite - much appreciated!

Thanks for having us!

LOL - sorry. Still playing catch up. The story will resume tomorrow.

And I have been saving the stories. Cheryl and I are talking about writing a couples guide to motorcycle touring. We're kicking around a few concepts. One of which will be alternating his/hers versions/chapters of rides and touring. Maybe some regional books like the Southwest, etc. The goal is to share our adventures and get people comfortable with the idea of maybe doing couples touring. I did it solo for so long, and I can say with 100% certainty that I much prefer having Cheryl with me on rides. We know so many people who do separate vacations, and to us it's a shame not to share something so great with your better half.