The following is a re-cap of a motorcycle trip that I took with Tad Gralewski to the Blue Ridge Parkway in October 1998. Our basic route from Chicago took us down through Indiana, east across northern Kentucky, into West Virginia, onto the Blue Ridge in Virginia, south on the Parkway to Asheville, North Carolina, and finally west through Deals Gap, into Tennessee, then back to Chicago through southern Illinois. We covered around 2500 miles in 5 days.
Day 1 - October 14, 1998 (Wednesday)
361 miles
Tad arrived at my house around 12:15 in the afternoon. Our CBRs (my 97 F3 and his 93 1000F) were already packed, so after a quick call to Mark Finney, we were on the road. We got caught in a little traffic jam taking I294 around the city of Chicago, but were soon into Indiana. Since we had plans to meet Mark around 4pm, we stopped for a quick bit to eat and to call and confirm our plans. Our first of many quality meals for the trip - a couple of Big Kings from BK. Oh, and a little java is always good when the weather is on the chilly side. Back onto the slab - next stop downtown Indianapolis.
We were a little worried about meeting Mark in the heart of downtown during rush hour, but he assured us "everything would be ok." I was amazed to say the least - no problems at all. Traffic in Chicago really sucks! A quick chat and some introductions, and we were off for a little detour away from the slab.
All I can say here is, Mark - you are a lucky guy. Your roads were totally awesome. Especially for being so close to home! The best we have near us that I *used* to think were nice are about 3 hours away, west of Madison, WI. (little did I know what "nice" really was) Good riding Mark, and thanks for the guided tour. It's always nice to meet fellow CBR listers too.
Tad and I split off, and headed toward our destination for the night - Madison, Indiana. A quick check-in at the Best Western and declaration of "Tad" and "Chad" land (our respective sides of the hotel room), and we set out to find some dinner. I had this great idea that Pizza Hut actually sounded good, and Tad agreed. (we must have had jet-lag, or something like that). A few beers and too many pieces of meat-lovers pizza later, and I was ready to crash for the night.
Pictures:
Downtown Indianapolis (waiting for Mark)
Day 2 - October 15, 1998 (Thursday)
518 miles
Since we had a lot of miles to cover, we decided to get an early start on the day. (well, early for Tad anyway). Our alarm clock (aka pager) went off at 6am, and I hopped into the shower. When I came out, Tad still hadn't moved and asked me "Did you make that coffee yet Bitch?" Excuse me? :) Oh ya, you're not a morning person, <beavis>"Ummm... sorry about that"</beavis>.
So yes, if you must know, I made a pot of coffee (BTW: hotel coffee sucks), and away we went. It was a little foggy for the first hour, and did I mention that it was C-O-L-D? After an hour of riding, and Tad doing a little peg dragging (really - but I'll let him tell you about that), we stopped for some mom-and-pop breakfast in Flemmingsburg, Kentucky. (I think that's where we were)
With the weather being cold, I wasn't really into the riding before breakfast. However, now that the sun was shining, and I could actually feel my fingertips, I was good-to-go! We hit some great roads, and stopped for several pictures throughout the rest of the morning. Every time we stopped, I keep saying, "Wow, this is scenery is amazing". Tad's response - "You ain't seen nothing yet!" (he was right, but I had no idea just HOW right he was). At one point, we were on this fairly straight road and I decided to see what the F3 could do fully loaded. Vrrmmm....135, not bad. Better slow down though, the roads about to turn again (already). So much for the long straight-away-make-your-tires-flat-in-the-middle roads I'm used to in Illinois.
In no time at all, we crossed into West Virginia, and stopped in Huntington for some more quality food. Lunch for me was Subway - but Tad just had to have some hotdogs. You know what those things are made of dude?
After lunch, we decided to hop on the slab to get around Charleston and avoid any traffic problems. Tad had warned me that the slabs out here were actually fun. He was right. I popped in a few tunes, and we cruised at about 85 for an hour or so. (that's how fast traffic was moving - with a posted 70mph). Another stop for gas, and we said good-bye to the slab.
Our plans were to take Route 19, then hookup with 82, and then 15 to our final destination of Elkins, WV for the night. However, there were several signs saying "Route 19 under heavy construction" and "Expect Delays". Tad and I both said forget that, and made a quick correction to our route. The next thing I remember is being on a most insane, freshly paved road. I did some of my best riding (up till now) on this road. We stopped at the end, looked at each other, grinning ear-to-ear, saying things like "holly crap - did you see that road!". A good detour, to say the least.
We got our sense of direction back, and again headed towards Elkins. (our little detour actually went the wrong way, but neither one of us cared) Our next stop was at dusk for me to change to the clear shield, and to take a few pictures. About this time, I started to realize exactly what we were doing, and how special it was. I mean, here we were, standing next to a little pond in the middle of West Virginia, 1000+ miles from home, with not a care in the world. The scenery was beautiful, the roads amazing - and best of all, my F3 took me here. It's hard to capture in words just how amazing it all was, but I was sure feeling it and totally enjoying myself! And to think, we hadn't even hit any really GREAT roads yet and still had 3 more days of riding to go!
After another almost 2 hours of night riding, we finally made it to Best Western #2. We checked in and asked at the front desk what fine eating establishments were still open. Her answer was, "Well - there's a Taco Bell down the road." Oh great, we think. Ok - let's skip dinner tonight. WRONG! 15 minutes later and Tad's yelling, "I'm hungry!" We think for a minute, then I come up with my second bright idea for the trip. "Let's order pizza for delivery." Once again, Tad agrees, and in no time, Pizza Hut is on the way again. (mental note here - Pizza Hut two nights in a row is not a good thing) Blaaa! And they didn't even have Coke to drink. Only that choice of a new generation crap. Ahh well, it was something to eat and drink after a long day of riding. I suppose anything would have tasted good.
Pictures:
A West Virginia overlook
Some West Virginia mountains
A West Virginia lake
The Goof at the same lake in West Virginia
A scenic Virginia road
Day 3 - October 16, 1998 (Friday)
570 miles
Three words basically summarize the entire day - Blue Ridge Parkway! But before we get there, I have to mention another insane road on the eastern edge of WV. Oh, and the breakfast we had. Our waiter (again a mom-and-pop restaurant, but mom was nowhere to be found), keep telling jokes the entire time we were there. Some of the better ones I can remember are:
"Bet I can tell you were you got your glasses."
"Well, they're right there on your face."
"Did you hear Hillary changed her name?"
"Ya, she changed it to Sharon Peters."
I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. Oh, and then the best part. Three locals come in as we're about to leave and start talking about a raffle they entered. First prize: A Four Wheeler. Second price: A 30-ought-6. Third prize: A buck knife. Something tells me we're not in Kansas anymore.
Back on the road, and up route 55 we went. A few minutes later we stopped at a gorgeous overlook and took a few pictures. Continuing up the mountain, we hit about 3900 feet (if I remember right). Then we started our jaunt down the backside of the mountain, still on route 55 into Virginia. Once again, we were in riding heaven. I mean this road was awesome. It was like 8-10 miles of almost continuous 25mph (ok, posted 25mph) turns. I was loving it, and started doing the beavis "faster... faster....faster..." line inside my helmet. At one point, I did a "oh..that's a little too fast", but instead of hitting the brakes, I just leaned the bike a little farther, more than I'd ever leaned before. After exiting that corner, I thought to myself, WOW - that was cool. Let me try that again. So I did. I must say, my confidence in my F3 increased tremendously from that point on. No, I wasn't dragging pegs (bite your tongue Jeff), but I was catching some great lean angles.
Once in Virginia, we hit the Blue Ridge and remained on it the entire day until Boone, NC. Tad had been on the Blue Ridge before, so he took off and road ahead which was fine with me. I was content dropping back and just trying to take it all in. I must have stopped about 15 times in the first 50 miles alone for pictures. I mean the Blue Ridge was amazing! We were there the perfect time of year. All of the trees had changed colors, yet hadn't really started to drop there leaves. Breathtaking is about the only word I can use here, and it doesn't even really do it justice. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the Parkway.
BR road picture #1
BR road picture #2
BR road picture #3
BR road picture #4
The beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway (my favorite scenery shot)
My CBR on the Blue Ridge
We stopped again around dusk for another shield change, and Tad got a great pond reflection picture by manually holding the shutter open. ( click here for Tad's picture ). A short time later, I had (and I'm pretty sure Tad did also) another one of them "Wow - this is amazing" type of moments. We stopped just outside of Boone to enjoy a wonderful view of the Milky Way. I could have stayed there forever!
Anyway, onto Boone, and probably our best dinner of the trip at the Hotel bar. The beers were going down pretty good, and the food wasn't bad either. (and then there was the Disco music)
Day 4 - October 17, 1998 (Saturday)
329 miles
Another early start (Tad, are you getting used to this yet), and we're back on the Blue Ridge by 7:30am CDT. (the whole time zone thing was too confusing, so we just stuck with Central time for the entire trip) When we left the hotel, I had 106 miles on my trip. You know what that means when I start talking about mileage. Yup, I *@#$*@#$ ran out of gas on the way to Asheville, NC. :) Tad had slowed down, as he was also on reserve, and as he later told me, was "just waiting for me to run out." At 208.4 miles on the trip, the F3 decided that was as far as she wanted to go on a tank. So now what? Easy, Tad leaves his tail-bag behind, goes ahead for gas, and I do some climbing on the Blue Ridge to kill the time. Turns out, even though close doesn't count when it comes to running out for gas, we were 8 miles from Asheville. I think the most ironic part about it is I told Tad when we left the hotel, "I have 100 miles left on this tank." His response, ok, we've got about 100 miles to go before breakfast. I never did have breakfast this morning, but Tad did. He "got jiggy" with a few donuts at the gas station while I was "stranded" on the side of the road. This reminded me of a Beavis and Butthead episode where Butthead (aka Tad) left Beavis (aka me) at the vending machine while he went to get money and never came back. "ButttttttHeeeeaaaddd!" :)
After a little roadside gas action (thanks again Tad), we were back on our way. However, since it was now getting into the early afternoon, and it was the weekend, the Blue Ridge really started to fill up with cages. (that's car's for you non-motorcycle folks) We decided to leave the Blue Ridge and head for Deals Gap. (318 turns in 11 miles - again for you non-motrocycle readers)
We stopped for lunch about 100 miles later or so at McDonald's. Tad just had to mention about the grass-fed beef. I had to fight for the next hour to keep from chucking! It really affected my riding too, on top of my lack-of-caffeine headache. (remember, no breakfast or is that coffee) Once we got to the Gap though, I came around real quick like. We walked around for a few minutes to check for any "suspicious activity", then made pass #1. I must again quote Tad on his definition of the Gap. "Why would anyone build a road like that?" I love you whoever you are! Totally amazing! The F3 did well, and my tires showed it at the end. I keep looking at the back the entire trip, thinking to myself, I gotta lean this thing farther. However, a quick check of the front tire showed I was almost all the way to the edge. Darn that 170-60 they put on the back (I ordered a 160-60).
Back though the Gap, and now I was really enjoying myself again. (the McDonald's had finally calmed down in my stomach) Next stop, the Cherohala Scenic Skyway. Not much to be said about this road, but WOW! More perfect pavement, nice turns, and excellent scenery. We hit I believe our highest elevation on this road also, around 5400 feet. Tad dropped back and started really taking in the scenery while I rode ahead, in search of the next corners. We were warned that the Cherohala was heavily patrolled, but I didn't see any rangers the entire time. We also got a few cornering shots on this road. It was pretty cool. I'd stop and take a picture of Tad. Then he'd go ahead and stop and take a picture of me.
After leaving the Cherohala, our final hotel destination was in Crossville, TN - about 75 miles away. It was a nice ride, with a few high speed passes initiated by me (18 wheelers can't corner for crap!). We made it to Crossville in no time at all, and grabbed some Mexican food for dinner.
Pictures:
My F3 out of gas on the Blue Ridge
The Goof at Deals Gap
A view from the Cherohala
Tad leaning it over on the Cherohala
The Goof on the Cherohala (I love these
signs!)
Leaving the Cherohala
Day 5 - October 18, 1998 (Slab Sunday)
667 miles
Like it says, Sunday was a day for the Slab. We did stop and meet Gawain Reifsnyder, also from the CBR list, for some good 'grub in Lebanon, TN at a local Cracker Barrel. Then it was slab, slab, and more slab back to Chicago. We got rained on for the first time also, just outside of Nashville, until about Marion, IL. The weather keep getting colder, as did my seat get harder. One last quality meal at Taco Bell (I knew Tad was going home, so at least *I* was safe), and we got home around 8pm.
Summary
I can't say enough times how much I enjoyed the trip. There is no question in my mind about if I'll do more sport-touring. It's just matter of when. Tad - I am very glad you convinced me to take the trip this year. You see, I'm kind of debating trading the CBR for a VFR, and was going to wait for that. However, as I realized, sport-touring can easily be done on a GOOF. Yes, there are mods like Corbins, and larger windscreens which would make it easier, but they are not required. We did a total of 2500 miles in 5 short days. It sounds like a lot, but it really wasn't bad at all.
Till the next time!
Links:
All of my photos on one page
Maps from the trip
Tad's report
(and more pictures)
My homepage
