Ride Report - Fall Colors Trip 2014 - Pic Heavy
#72
10-20-2014, 01:20 AM
Cruiser
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: england uk
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I had 5 days last year in DC, awesome place, 2 days spent on the open top bus taking in all the sights ,
Then we picked up a rental bike (Harley of course) and rode down to the Tail of the Dragon, 3 weeks riding your beautiful country
Thanks for the pictures K & M, I can now see Mary's mods on the backrest, looks good too,
Then we picked up a rental bike (Harley of course) and rode down to the Tail of the Dragon, 3 weeks riding your beautiful country
Thanks for the pictures K & M, I can now see Mary's mods on the backrest, looks good too,
#73
10-20-2014, 08:32 PM
Gorgeous photos! Man I am SOOOO Jealous!
I spent a couple days in D.C. many years ago... early 1970s. Never been back, nor will I ever go back. I got to see the Spirit of St Louis and the Smithsonian. Never made it downtown. No regrets. It's like a huge political Las Vegas. Lots of fancy fronts but a lot of seedy goings on behind the curtains!
Skyline Parkway... Stunning! Never made it there. One of my huge regrets.
I spent a couple days in D.C. many years ago... early 1970s. Never been back, nor will I ever go back. I got to see the Spirit of St Louis and the Smithsonian. Never made it downtown. No regrets. It's like a huge political Las Vegas. Lots of fancy fronts but a lot of seedy goings on behind the curtains!
Skyline Parkway... Stunning! Never made it there. One of my huge regrets.
#74
10-21-2014, 01:07 AM
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Red Banks, Mississippi
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I had 5 days last year in DC, awesome place, 2 days spent on the open top bus taking in all the sights ,
Then we picked up a rental bike (Harley of course) and rode down to the Tail of the Dragon, 3 weeks riding your beautiful country
Thanks for the pictures K & M, I can now see Mary's mods on the backrest, looks good too,
Then we picked up a rental bike (Harley of course) and rode down to the Tail of the Dragon, 3 weeks riding your beautiful country
Thanks for the pictures K & M, I can now see Mary's mods on the backrest, looks good too,
Will be putting up pics of how she made that backrest later this week or next.
Gorgeous photos! Man I am SOOOO Jealous!
I spent a couple days in D.C. many years ago... early 1970s. Never been back, nor will I ever go back. I got to see the Spirit of St Louis and the Smithsonian. Never made it downtown. No regrets. It's like a huge political Las Vegas. Lots of fancy fronts but a lot of seedy goings on behind the curtains!
Skyline Parkway... Stunning! Never made it there. One of my huge regrets.
I spent a couple days in D.C. many years ago... early 1970s. Never been back, nor will I ever go back. I got to see the Spirit of St Louis and the Smithsonian. Never made it downtown. No regrets. It's like a huge political Las Vegas. Lots of fancy fronts but a lot of seedy goings on behind the curtains!
Skyline Parkway... Stunning! Never made it there. One of my huge regrets.
Lots more to come...some great riding and fantastic countryside!
#75
10-21-2014, 01:11 AM
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Red Banks, Mississippi
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Today we started at the northernmost point of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our plan was to ride it all the way to Cherokee, NC. But it was not to be. 
It was a bit foggy when we first got on the BRP, but not bad....
...the road was great, the colors spectacular, it was even better than yesterday!
Everywhere we looked was like a postcard!
Simply amazing-
But then we started riding into the clouds....
But then after a few miles of riding in the fog, we would see miles of this-
And this-
I've mentioned it before, but not only is Mary an excellent partner to ride with, she is fantastic at taking pictures in all kinds of circumstances.
We wanted to go further, to see more of this....
....But then we rode into thick stuff...and even after over 30 miles of it, there was not a single break...it was just getting worse.
So we pulled off the BRP and stayed in Hillsville, VA for the night.
Much more to come!
It was a bit foggy when we first got on the BRP, but not bad....
...the road was great, the colors spectacular, it was even better than yesterday!
Everywhere we looked was like a postcard!
Simply amazing-
But then we started riding into the clouds....
But then after a few miles of riding in the fog, we would see miles of this-
And this-
I've mentioned it before, but not only is Mary an excellent partner to ride with, she is fantastic at taking pictures in all kinds of circumstances.
We wanted to go further, to see more of this....
....But then we rode into thick stuff...and even after over 30 miles of it, there was not a single break...it was just getting worse.
So we pulled off the BRP and stayed in Hillsville, VA for the night.
Much more to come!
#77
10-24-2014, 12:22 AM
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Red Banks, Mississippi
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#78
10-24-2014, 12:23 AM
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Red Banks, Mississippi
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We planned to stay in Hillsville, VA just one night, and then hopefully hit the BRP again.
It was not to be. There was a line of storms coming east and literally no where for us to ride except directly into/through a strong line of lightning storms that were also generating high winds with chance of tornado's.
We don't mind riding in the rain, we don't mind riding in cold, but neither of us likes to ride in lightning. So we stayed in Hillsville an extra day.
From Hillsville we were only 35 miles from Fox Creek Leather. Mary wears a FCL jacket, really likes it, we thought about going over there...but just stayed in all day.
Today is the second morning in Hillsville, VA, getting ready to head out...
...you may have noticed that we have a sheepskin on our seat, keeps us cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. We cover it with a plastic trash bag each night to keep it dry from the rain. Works out pretty well for us.
We really wanted to get back on the BRP, but the weather showed it was going to be socked in, just like the last 30 miles we rode on it. So we decided to make time on the interstate to NC and ride the Dragon this afternoon.
Even the interstate was in and out of the fog for awhile
It wasn't long before we hit the NC State line.
I discovered another feature of the GPS...Trip Summary. I checked and the gallons used, miles traveled and MPG all seem accurate, however the average speed is not. When I first saw it, it was displaying an average speed of 70 MPH, which seemed about right. I then held the speed at between 75 and 80 for the next 30 miles, but it never displayed an average speed over 70 mph.
Pretty nice feature though. Also, I'm pleased with the MPG I'm getting at 70-80, it is 3-4 mpg better that I was getting with the 2011.
It was a nice ride from Hillsville to Waynesville. About 220 miles, mostly interstate....
...a bit before we stopped in Waynesville, NC we got on the Great Smoky Mtn. Expressway. Really nice road.
We are now back in familiar territory. We've been out this way many times, both on 2 wheels and 3.
We stopped at the Super 8 in Waynesville, checked in, and then headed out for the Tail of the Dragon. Since we did not get to ride the BRP, I thought it would be nice to run over to the Dragon and ride it both ways this afternoon....
...almost as soon as we left it started raining pretty steady. I almost turned around, but right when I was about to do that, the rain let up to a light drizzle...
It's aboutt 100 miles from Waynesville to the Dragon, then another it would be another 100 miles back at near dusk....
...but as we got closer to the Dragon it stopped raining and the roads were dry.
I really wanted to make a fast run on the TOD and video it for all those that say a Tri-Glide cannot go fast in the twistys.
More in next post!
It was not to be. There was a line of storms coming east and literally no where for us to ride except directly into/through a strong line of lightning storms that were also generating high winds with chance of tornado's.
We don't mind riding in the rain, we don't mind riding in cold, but neither of us likes to ride in lightning. So we stayed in Hillsville an extra day.
From Hillsville we were only 35 miles from Fox Creek Leather. Mary wears a FCL jacket, really likes it, we thought about going over there...but just stayed in all day.
Today is the second morning in Hillsville, VA, getting ready to head out...
...you may have noticed that we have a sheepskin on our seat, keeps us cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. We cover it with a plastic trash bag each night to keep it dry from the rain. Works out pretty well for us.
We really wanted to get back on the BRP, but the weather showed it was going to be socked in, just like the last 30 miles we rode on it. So we decided to make time on the interstate to NC and ride the Dragon this afternoon.
Even the interstate was in and out of the fog for awhile
It wasn't long before we hit the NC State line.
I discovered another feature of the GPS...Trip Summary. I checked and the gallons used, miles traveled and MPG all seem accurate, however the average speed is not. When I first saw it, it was displaying an average speed of 70 MPH, which seemed about right. I then held the speed at between 75 and 80 for the next 30 miles, but it never displayed an average speed over 70 mph.
Pretty nice feature though. Also, I'm pleased with the MPG I'm getting at 70-80, it is 3-4 mpg better that I was getting with the 2011.
It was a nice ride from Hillsville to Waynesville. About 220 miles, mostly interstate....
...a bit before we stopped in Waynesville, NC we got on the Great Smoky Mtn. Expressway. Really nice road.
We are now back in familiar territory. We've been out this way many times, both on 2 wheels and 3.
We stopped at the Super 8 in Waynesville, checked in, and then headed out for the Tail of the Dragon. Since we did not get to ride the BRP, I thought it would be nice to run over to the Dragon and ride it both ways this afternoon....
...almost as soon as we left it started raining pretty steady. I almost turned around, but right when I was about to do that, the rain let up to a light drizzle...
It's aboutt 100 miles from Waynesville to the Dragon, then another it would be another 100 miles back at near dusk....
...but as we got closer to the Dragon it stopped raining and the roads were dry.
I really wanted to make a fast run on the TOD and video it for all those that say a Tri-Glide cannot go fast in the twistys.
More in next post!
Last edited by DK Custom; 10-24-2014 at 12:58 AM.
#79
10-24-2014, 12:57 AM
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Red Banks, Mississippi
Posts: 17,456
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We were almost to Deals Gap and the river had washed out the last little bit of road earlier in the day....
But I saw a few cars on it, even though it was blocked off, so I went around the road closed signs. River was up high, but they had fixed the road!
Finally we are on the Dragon....
...11 miles of nicely cambered road, with 318 curves...
...I have no idea how Mary took pics and held on at the same time. She's a champ, not a single complaint during or since this run...
...the speed limit is 30 mph with quite a few 20 mph curves and a few 15 mph curves. I video'd the entire run (Mary should have an edited video ready for youtube in the next week). I have never timed myself before...
...this time I did, I ran the 11 miles in a bit under 14 minutes, and that includes almost 2 minutes while I was stuck behind a couple of trucks moving at 30 mph and slower...
...that's an average of 47 mph. In the 318 curves in 11 miles I did not lift a rear tire one time, nor was I running anywhere near what I could have. The Tri-Glide handled it beautifully.
When we hit the end of the Dragon, we met up with a bunch of other riders. These 3 were riding together and one of them recognized us from our Alaska Ride Report. We talked bikes for awhile, then turned around a rode the TOD again, headed back to the motel.
When we got back to Deals Gap, we took a picture at the "Tree of Shame". Looked at some of the new parts hanging since the last time we were there.
Within 15 minutes of leaving the Dragon it started a light rain again....
...but it was a great ride back to Waynesville.
What a great day of riding. About 460 miles, with the last half in the Smokys and a lot of fun!
But I saw a few cars on it, even though it was blocked off, so I went around the road closed signs. River was up high, but they had fixed the road!
Finally we are on the Dragon....
...11 miles of nicely cambered road, with 318 curves...
...I have no idea how Mary took pics and held on at the same time. She's a champ, not a single complaint during or since this run...
...the speed limit is 30 mph with quite a few 20 mph curves and a few 15 mph curves. I video'd the entire run (Mary should have an edited video ready for youtube in the next week). I have never timed myself before...
...this time I did, I ran the 11 miles in a bit under 14 minutes, and that includes almost 2 minutes while I was stuck behind a couple of trucks moving at 30 mph and slower...
...that's an average of 47 mph. In the 318 curves in 11 miles I did not lift a rear tire one time, nor was I running anywhere near what I could have. The Tri-Glide handled it beautifully.
When we hit the end of the Dragon, we met up with a bunch of other riders. These 3 were riding together and one of them recognized us from our Alaska Ride Report. We talked bikes for awhile, then turned around a rode the TOD again, headed back to the motel.
When we got back to Deals Gap, we took a picture at the "Tree of Shame". Looked at some of the new parts hanging since the last time we were there.
Within 15 minutes of leaving the Dragon it started a light rain again....
...but it was a great ride back to Waynesville.
What a great day of riding. About 460 miles, with the last half in the Smokys and a lot of fun!
#80
10-25-2014, 01:36 AM
3rd Gear
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Wilkes Barre, PA
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Hey Kevin looks like an amazing ride, thanks for the photos. I have a question for you what heated gear are you wearing and how do you like them? With the season changing I have been looking at heated gear and it is very frustrating with all that is out there, plugged into the bike or just running a rechargeable battery. Thanks in advance and stay safe out there!