Final Day - home for Mother's Day

Today is the final mad dash back home. According to the maps applications, if we follow the right path, we can be home after 8 hours of driving - with stops and border etc. 10 to 11 hours. I make the comment about following the right path - looking at yesterday's ride, I have no idea why the GPS took us to Marion first instead of straight on to 77/221 to 81/64.

The day starts with a constant rain, heavy at time - likely a harbinger of what our day is going to look like. Ah well, we get to test our gear and our will. The rain lets up a bit while we pack, and we overheat preparing the bike so we peel off one layer before hitting the road.

There is no direct route via major highways so we follow the GPS to State College and then follow secondary roads north. At least the drive north is almost a straight line. Almost immediately, the wind chill, which is magnified by evaporative cooling, causes us to pull over and put on the extra layer. At the next stop for gas, (no location because there is no 3G cell signal) Brian is freezing - the water is doing the capillary thing, and creeping up his front from where it pools in the lap of his pants, after rolling down the back side of his tank. That's a recipe for hypothermia - cold, wet, outside and inside. He uses the hand dryer at the gas station to try and get a bit dryer. I put on the heated jacket but don't plug it in. It's no good if I am toasty warm and Brian is near Hypothermia. It's best if I feel his pain so I know his condition when he calls for a stop. Good thing we have the communicators - one of the better safety tools on this trip.

Back on the road. Now it's nothing about enjoying the ride - it's just surviving the wet and cold and getting back to TO (or Burlington). Over a mountain, around some curves - Brian wonders out loud - isn't there a more direct route on a major highway? And the answer is no - 219 and it's variants are the straight line up. 77 is to the west and take us to Erie and add a hour, 81 and 15 to the east take us to Rochester and adds close to 2 hours. Once we get hit Penfield PA, 219 is by far, the straightest line. Unfortunately, I turn on the Spot tracker but forgot to hit the track button, so we don't have a record of our travels.

The cold sets in and it's time for a hot coffee by the time we hit the Penfield and we stop in the only place capable of serving hot food and gas (for the bikes). I pity to poor folk in Penfield because the food served in this location is appalling. I have beef coloured protein sandwich yellow coloured oil product that makes a weak attempt to mimic melted cheese (it comes mixed with the frozen plastic pouch, direct from the factory, so I can't order my meal without it.) Hey, these products are design so that the highly educated, 17 year old skater boy in rural anywhere, with the grossly deformed lower ear lobe, twisted into a gnarly shape because company policy does not allow him to wear his 3/4 inch plugs, can't screw up making the meal. At least we can taste the different coffee dispensers to find the one that does not contain burnt coffee. We are the only people drinking coffee in the joint. Most of the customers favour the mega sized, 1gallon, corn sweetened pops and blue or purple beverages that are emitted from brightly coloured dispensers, covered in posters that shout out for how much fun you'll have drinking this performance beverage.

A bit more time with the hand dryer gets all of the gear in ship shape and we are back on the road. This time, I turn on the electric heater, cause it really is cold. The rain has mostly stopped and we just go in and out of drizzle. It is getting colder though - what's going on? This is almost mid May, and we just left 28C weather one state down? We get a bit of sleet on the way and it's another stop - where we find an outfitter, where Brian can buy some extra fleece layers. Still not perfect but better than status quo. Brian promises to buy an electric jacket when he gets back home. At least we can smell the home stretch so it's press on regardless. When we see the signs to Ellicottville, auto pilot takes over for Brian and he gets a boost of optimism. We stop off at Coffee Culture, order a set of monster Americanos and sit by the open gas flame heater designed to attract skiers in the winter. Works for us as we bask in the infrared heat emitting from the flames. That stuff actually provides deep heating, which when combined with warm coffee, brings us back to life. We meet some harley drivers who ask about our trip and then share tales about great rides. It is amazing how many bikers dream about a trip to the Dragon or Blue Ridge, but then have excuses like "Don't think I want to risk scraping the floor boards on the tight turns" The answer is "just drive as fast as you feel safe, drive only as many miles per day as your body can take - but do it". You've got the bike - do it.

It's even warm in Ellicottville, and ... the sun starts shining out of clearing spots in the cloud cover. This is starting to feel like a homecoming. Heck, even the thermometer on the bike is showing 14C - which is warm compared to the last 5 hours. We get back on the road, and aren't driving for more than 15 minutes and we see the fog ahead, accompanied by a 10 degree drop in temp and wind like crazy. Clearly, we have just hit the cold front of the system that is bringing all this goofy, unseasonable weather. This follows us right into Buffalo, where the clouds are replaced with clear, sunny skies, generated by the high pressure zone behind the front. Brian doesn't like the Erie border crossing so we head to Lewiston. The winds coming off the lake are so powerful, that the gusts push the bikes across half a lane in a split second. We had done so well driving in tight formation - a skill that comes with many miles, but the gusts force us to spread out a lot.

Turns our that every other person in Ontario decided to go to Buffalo for shopping that weekend. I guess to buy Mom that special mall gift so that they can play customs roulette and lie about what price they paid when hitting the border.  The back up of cars queueing up to return through customs is miles long. Screw this, we are not sitting in that, so we do what motorcycles are meant to do - find a thin line of the side of the road and follow the "motorcycle lane" to the front of the line. A few frustrated motorists try to block our path, but we adjust and go into the grassy section - hey, these are "adventure touring" bikes and they are designed for more off road that what that section could throw at us.

Big smiles and a quick chat, answering the the customs agent's questions about bike tripping and we are on the final stretch. Harriet invited me for dinner, but I just want to get home, so Brian and I say our formal good byes and hop on the bikes. It's a bit busy on the QEW with the traditional Canadian traffic pattern - Left lane bumper to bumper at 120km, right lane empty except for a few 80km drivers. It really is that obvious when you get back to Ontario. We say none of that in the US. WAKE UP Canada - learn how to drive.

Roll up the driveway. Julie and J are doing their thing. J gets me a beer (thanks) and I unload the bike. It takes a while to exit bike tour mode and switch to home mode and I wander aimlessly around the house, half dazed, not able to decide what to do next. My hearing is impaired from the massive wind noise in the last part of the drive - need to upgrade to moulded headset so that the communicator works or risk hearing loss. Off to bed early. Tomorrow is Mothers day and we have an action packed agenda.

I'll update the blog with photos and milage statistics. According to the odometer readings on my iphone, we drove 2,450 km averaging just under 410 km per day. To put that into perspective, most of our driving hours were done on roads that posted 45mph top speeds with sections that suggest 25 to 30 mph (for car drivers). You don't drive twisty roads if you're looking to make mileage records.

Great Trip Brian.

A great last day on the Parkway

The morning started with a bright and warm sunrise with clear skys - who could ask for anything more? By the time we had the bikes packed and ready to go, it was 26C under a hot sun. T shirts only under the Klim suits and a bit of schwitz to keep us cool. The road out of Lexington had us on the parkway in no time. In this section, the mountains are more like hills so it was still 22C on top and the roads were a bit straighter, less curvy, but still fun non the less. Long story short, a full day of fun driving where Brian really got into the groove and started feeling good about coming into curves a bit faster, leaning over a bit more in the apex and powering out a bit harder into the next curve or straight. Several times I would look into the rear view to see how he was doing and he scared the crap out of me because he as right on my tail (which motivated me to push harder).

We ended up getting fuel at on the parkway, at the Rockfish Gap Ranger station, which eliminated the need to get off the ridge and into a town. While we were dressing down to grab lunch at the restaurant, we met Bill, a 68 year old retiree from Monroe Louisiana, who was riding his bike to Maine, then via Canada, to the Sault St Marie and back down through Minnesota to lord knows where. He was camping at the park and saw Hans and Franz (that's what the harley boys call Brian and I - Euro bike boys) ride in for gas. He went to his camp site, grabbed his 2012 Triumph 800 Tiger (just like Brian's only with wire wheels), and rode up to meet us. We talked bike while Brian called the office and then invited Bill to lunch. He was a scientist who did research that resulted in the stantin family of drugs - everyone with heart ailments benefits from his research.

This is one of the great aspects of bike touring - you meet people everywhere. I have a wounded warriors sticker on my pannier - after sponsoring an fund raising event for that organization. In many of the every gas station we pull into, someone will notice, make a remark, and that leads to a conversation.  Last night, in Berkeley Springs, a vet approached us, advised us of the storm cells he saw on his iPad radar app, and then invited us to a Vets event that was starting in town.

In other cases, people notice the bikes and want to talk about their bikes and past adventures, their dream on own an adventure bike, it's incredible. The older guys talk about their adventures i.e. "you know you are wet when your boots overflow with water". We have heard stories about fixing Harley clutches at the side of the road, to where we'd find the best roads in America. I love bike touring.

We zipped through the Ridge and then jumped on the Skyline Parkway which took us to Front Royal. By the time we got off the mountain roads, both of us were tired from the curves. The concentration is intense and you get tired. We could see the storm systems off in the distance, but Front Royal as too far to make a mad dash home, so we pressed on regardless. I decided that Cumberland Maryland would put us west of the storms, and by luck, that guess was correct. We went through wet sections, with big lightning storms to the right (I mean big light show), and big rain to the left. It was so dark, Brian thought it was evening at 6pm.

The rain hit us when we got on Hwy 68. That is where Brian's iphone went flying after he accidentally tugged on the charging cable. The magnetic pouch, couldn't hold on and the phone sailed onto the highway. I didn't know this and was up front. When a mirror check say that Brian's dual headlights were no longer following, I went into slow mode which went on for too long, so I pulled over at a rest stop entrance and tried to call him. A futile effort, due to the crushed condition of the phone, which was getting run over by traffic, to add insult to injury. I was starting ramp up for a bad scenario (due to the length of the wait), when I heard a "beep beep" and Brian laughing as he recounted the story - whew relief that the issues was minor.

Cumberland is a sad town, that had great industry in the late 1800's. It just hasn't found it's mojo in this era, unlike so many other towns we have seen, that have vibrant historic downtowns. Ah well, we are just stopping by for a rest and then back on the road.

Today we make the mad dash home, trying to get back for mother's day. It will be a long day with a solid 8 hours of riding, which means up to 12 hours (including rest and gas breaks).

Thursday - Another fun ride...in the wrong direction

We started the day off at a reasonable time and then business got in the way for both of us. While I was finishing emails, Brian was talking to a Harley guy who suggested that we must try Highway 58, AKA the Crooked Road. Originally, we were headed for the Parkway and going north. Now we were heading east. A big part of 58 is regular two lane country highway but once the friendly "Crooked Road" sign points you to a left turn up the mountain - bingo, the personality changes immediately. The road follows several mountain passes and flips between valleys (over the tops, naturally). It's not the tight curve after curve of the Tail of the Dragon, but the turns were just as tight. In some cases, this was more dangerous because the longer straight sections, both up and down hill, let you gather more speed than on the Dragon. Overall, a road worth making a detour in order to enjoy the ride.

We had lunch at the Riverside cafe in Chilhowie VA. What a gem. Food (salads) was great and that VA hospitality is unmatched.

Now, we were no where near the Parkway and were at risk of making zero headway North, so we hit 81 with the goal of blasting as far north as possible Ronoake was the minimum target and we ended up in Lexington VA. Traffic was very heavy with single lane sections for bridge repair. The advantage of being on two wheels is that one can be an a$$hole and sneak up the side. Even the truckers that were blocking the second lane (a good idea from a traffic management perspective couldn't touch us.

The truckers made riding difficult. The speed limit is not observed and they insist on driving at least 75 to 80 mph. With the large number of trucks, and the fact that it's not fun being on a motorcycle behind a truck, getting buffeted like crazy, we were forced to drive at speeds that my tires do not like. The result is my fronts have cupping already (a known Michelin Anakee 2 problem) and will need to be replaced before we go on the Colorado ride. I'll keep them for fall Ontario rides, where the knobbier pattern will be appreciated.

During the ride, one of the trucks I was following hit the brakes and started to weave. I hit the brakes as well and almost instantly, a fresh full tire carcass came bouncing out the back of the trailer. Brian and I had been discussion our planned actions under various emergency scenarios during lunches and dinner (you can never be over prepared on a bike), and this was one of those scenarios. So, I didn't have time to sh!t my pants, because I was standing up and timing a throttle crank to reduce the pressure on the font wheel. Fortunately, the carcass, which cover almost all of the lane was close to the road when I hit it, and the bike sailed over without catching anything. Brian was in formation behind me, and to the right, so he was able to manoeuvre to the side a bit and only touched the edge of the thing. Got a bit of an adrenoline rush - and then on to the next thing. Retreads should be banned and/or, a nano particle marker placed in the tread so that the companies that don't take care of their trucks can be found and fined/sued for the damages they cause. Thanks to rider Dave Phelan for that advice.

We ended up in Lexington VA, a university town that includes the Washington and Lee University and Virginia Military Institute. It's and amazing town with a good economy. We were staying at Hampton Inns, and this city had one so there you go. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the Hampton was part of historic Lexington and Brian and I got the last rooms available - in the historic Col Alto house. Very nice.

I went for a really enjoyable slow ride through town to soak up the history. Up on the hill is the impressive and imposing Virginia Military Institute. The buildings look like a place where a science fiction movie could be filmed - you need to be there to get the feeling (ha, Wikipedia says 6 films were made here including Speilberg's War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise. The grave sites of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E Lee are in the local cemetery. Very interesting place for a small town.

We had dinner at the Southern Restaurant - very fine dining with a really great meal and the normal exceptional southern service.

Today we are off to ride the last section of the Blueridge and Skyline drive, that ends up in Front Royal VA. From there, it's straight up north, but today could be interesting because severe weather is forecast for that area. We'll see how far we get.

Wednesday - a transition day

We had a late start - didn't get on the actual Parkway until almost 1pm. It was a fair climb to get onto the top of the mountains where the road heads north, but once we got on top, we almost immediately ran into heavy fog, so thick, that at time, visibility was down to less than 10 feet. Even the yellow lines were faint at times. Combine this with a stiff wind and cold temperatures and you have an "interesting" ride. When the fog is that thick, one can easily get disoriented and when the wind pushes and pulls you across the road, slow is the only way to go. Then, of course, you worry about on coming cars or worse, the butt head behind you who thinks he's invincible and will run you over before he sees you.

Eventually the fog went away and we were able to make some way, but by 3pm it was time for brunch.  We descended near Marion down a road marked 661. This was interesting. The roads were steep, narrow and very twisty. They lead to a highway that was equally steep and windy, only wider with plenty of truck stops, to cool brakes or pump up air pressure. Unbelievable since there were an incredible number of trucks wailing (I mean fast) up AND down the hills.

Had lunch and decided that we hadn't made enough headway for the day, and weren't going to make up much on the parkway, so combined with the fact that the valley was at 22C, we decided to follow a highway route to Mount Airy. From there, we could easily join the Parkway and enjoy a final day on the scenic route. We did miss a lot of twisty mountain roads with our short cut, but the rest of the road now is windy, scenic and a lot safer, we should be able to make a better average speed today. Plus, the weather today is promising to be the best for the entire trip. We may have rain for the remaining trip due to a low that is parked south of the great lakes and tracking north.

Riding the Tail and Blue Ridge Parkway

What a day. We rode highway 321 out of Pigeon Forge to Townsend and then used the Foothills Parkway to meet up with the tame section of 129. 129 follows a reservoir on a flat road until it turns inland through deals gap. You know you are close to the "The Tail" when you see the signs warning truck drivers not to proceed, with a reminder that this is the last chance to turn around. Only a moron truck driver would continue, and some do every year.

Brian turned on his GoPro at the side of the road and off we went. I was familiar with the road from last time but did not have the turns memorized so i kept the speed down but accelerated aggressively out of the turns. Last year, the bike was shod with Pirelli Scorpions, essentially a street tire and they held well. This year, it was a lot colder and the Michelin Anakee 2's have a more blocky design, so there is less rubber contact, so I wasn't sure how the bike would respond. Good news is I didn't drop. Got a few wiggles on heavy breaking and throwing her sideways, but nothing out of the ordinary. Had a blast, but of course measured the ride my the number of mistakes made that lowered my time (way too many). Traffic was very light so we could have a lot of fun and no cops.

I pulled over to the side at one section and got video of Brian and John powering through a turn.

We had brunch at Deals Gap and relived the finer sections of the ride. Fun, WOW. We were all a bit sore from throwing the bikes around, but John really got a workout slapping that big 700 pound Harley in ways that just weren't meant to be.

John had to return to Atlanta so we decided to ride with him to Highway 19. On the way, we ran into road construction so the GPS gave us a short cut. Good line, except 9 miles in, the asphalt turned into dirt road. No problem for the GS, big problem for the Harley. Time to turn around and head back to the main road. Brian and I turned left to head back to Cherokee and catch the start of the Blue Ridge Parkway and John turned right. Great riding with you John. (John made it back under sunny and warm skys by 4:30)

Brian was getting emails from those watching our route, who commented that we were running in circles. They were right. This was not a fast route home - it was all about the long, fun way home.

The entrance (or exit, depending on your direction) to the Parkway is a long climb that ends in the highest point on the road. It's here, at over 6,000 feet, that the clouds were dumping sleet and hail on us. Good news - it wasn't wet, bad news, makes for fun mountain riding. Outside temps dropped to 4C, so the road did not freeze but it was steaming, which says the cold was a sudden drop.

Fortunately, the road starts dropping and temps warmed up and the sleet eventually went away. Unfortunately, we were in and out of rain all the way. With few cars on the road, we could set up a good cadence of sweeping through the turns. One learns a lot about the technical aspects of riding a bike in those conditions. We had a quick coffee at the Pisgah general store (which serves a still empty campground on the mountain) before dropping into Asheville, for a night in the Aloft Hotel. This is a very european styled hotel in downtown. A very funky overnight stay.

This morning, a fog covered the hill tops, sun came and burned off the fog and then clouds rolled in. There is a weather system north east of us, centred where Hwy 77 and 81 converge. Hopefully the Parkway will keep us from getting that far today, and that the weather clears for tomorrow. We'll play this one as it evolves.

Atlanta to Pigeon Forge

The day started out dry but over case and cool when Brian, John Burns and I hit the road from Marietta GA. Took 575 towards Ellijay, Blue Ridge, Muphy and Marble.

Rain it us as soon as we departed and as the attitude increased, temperatures started dropping. After an hour and a half, we had to stop for coffee to warm up, and to put on extra layers of clothing. Brian and I have the Klim Adventure touring suits so we were protected from the wet, but the wind chill combined with rain evaporation cooling was starting to get to us. At least we had handlebar heaters.

John, with his Harley, barely had a wind screen and was wearing thin rain cover - his face was freezing due to the half dome helmet. Felt sorry for him. His response is "I ride in GA when it's warm. Don't need heaters, full face helmets and stuff. The only time I get on the bike under these conditions is to ride with you guys. It's colder now than any ride this winter". Everyone put on extra layers, and I turned on my Gerbings heated jacket - so warm. That was a worthwhile investment.

Back on the road and right after Blue Ridge, we hit the narrow, twisty mountain roads that make this area famous. Took a little time to get back into the balance and rhythm of navigating the curves on these roads which follow creeks down mountain sides. You have the road, rock and dropoff. There is no margin for error. Drove the same section of 19 as last year's Dragon Trip, organized by my friend Tom Kowalski, with the same crazy amount of tar snakes, and wiggled over them in the rain (again). This time around, it wasn't as terrifying as the first trip. Tom, one views the trip differently the second time, and when leading the ride. This felt like a home coming - real good. Funny enough, we will be passing by ride tomorrow, when Brian and I get on to the Blue Ridge Parkway to take the long way home.

Interesting, as we hit these mountain valleys, the rain went away and the temp soared to 16C - brings a smile to you heart when you take away the pain.

After Cherokee, a quick left and we were heading over the Great Smokey mountains. Highway 441 rises quickly into the mountains providing hairpin turns and spectacular mountain vistas. Too bad you can't soak in the view when you are fighting to stay between the yellow lines and get a speed adrenaline rush. Over they intercom, Brian was yelling "Yeaaaa Baby" .... until we got behind grampa and his motorized wheel chair. I could not believe my eyes. This think was putting up the steep mountains and speeds that approached 15 miles per hour. Ruined a great section of road - good thing we have more than we can eat tomorrow.

At the top, by the North Carolina/ Tennessee border, we stopped to let traffic pass so we could hit it on the way down. Wouldn't you know, Grampa comes putting into the stop as well, so we get a chance to check out his machine. Turns out, it is a 300cc scooter that has training wheels bolted on. I was pissing myself when he was passing the big bikes and doing the "rider wave". He thought he was a biker. I am being cruel, 'cause that will likely be me when I'm 80. I just hope someone designs better training wheels, or, get a real trike based on a Goldwing or Harley chassis.

Trip down was fun. Familiar curves. Had to remember that the 20 mph curves meant second gear. Went into the first set of curves a bit hot but dropped my ass over the side like Tom taught us, and made it through OK, if not a bit wiser. Later I found out that John went in hot as well and ended up crossing the lane into the scenic overview parking area. There are parts of the Parkway that aren't that forgiving. Those roads need to be treated with respect.

Further down, we ran into tourists who were driving slow so they could rubber neck the abundant waterfalls splashing down the mountain side. Had to find a short straight section to safely pass (the idea is to get the bikes home in one piece) so I had a clear run at the 360 curve near Gatlinburg. Brian was adjusting his music when he hit the curve and I suspect he was thankful of the superior handling of his Triumph, which took care of it's wayward pilot.

Quick ride through the Niagara Falls of the Smokeys (Gatlinburg is a tourist town that magically appears, literally, as you exit the forest. One minute you are in a thick deep forest canopy that acts like a tunnel - sort of like a hike in algonquin park ... and then BOOM you are in Niagara Falls at Madame Tousaud.

John booked us into the Riverstone resort - normally a mega luxury 5 star, but since it's off season, we got in at a great price. Bad news, it's a dry county so no booze. Good news - across the street, we found a Texas Grill that just got a liquor licesne. Go figure.

Tomorrow (today) we are off to the tail of the dragon. John is heading to I75 so he can get back to the office and close the month. Brian and I will go left on 19, back to Cherokee and head up into the Blue Ridge Parkway. Hope the weather holds out.

Bike gear on a Bombardier RJ

The helmet and tank bag have no hope in hades of fitting in the overhead bins. Note to self for future rides: book a flight on a 737 or larger craft.

Looks like The massive storm is missing Atlanta so today should be good. Savannah is getting the storm right now so hopefully it clears by tomorrow.

Good thing this flight is not full.