Rode the Duc back to work at lunch yesterday and when I got off it was near dark. Saw a few deer but I was stuck with a tinted visor so there were probably more there than I saw. Was definitely a bit paranoid.
Used to be exclusive to Bell, the Transitions sheilds are pretty awesome. Some of the best money I spent on moto accesories. My rides used to see a lot of canopy roads. It's nice to have a clear shield under them, but have tint when you get out in the open. I don't notice the change when it happens. Doesn't take long at all.
My daily lid has an internal flip down tinted visor. I’ll never be w/o a helmet that doesn’t have that feature. It’s instant up/down as required. Yesterday I broke out the special helmet. Love this one but it’s a fair weather helmet that doesn’t get wore a lot.
Got into Asheville NC an hour and a half after dark again tonight but the local traffic on the Blue Ridge Parkway was quite heavy so no deer at all. Locals must use parts of it here as a shortcut is all I can figure. I’m getting compliments on my trailer a lot here in North Carolina. Tonight I stopped for gas and while I was filling up, an attendant was emptying the trash cans between the pumps. He looked at my trailer and asked about it. I told him it was a hard shell roof top tent mounted to a small motorcycle trailer as a diy motorcycle camper. He was excited to see it because his buddy needs something similar. He was vehement that I should patent it lol! I’m “camping” at the Comfort inn in Asheville NC tonight. I followed my Waze app directions to the campground I had reservations for tonight and it took me out in the middle of nowhere, no state park or campground to be seen. I was already riding in the dark for an hour and a half and too tired and cold to try to find the park so I put “hotel” in my Waze app search bar and went to the first one listed. Hot shower, warm comfy bed, free breakfast tomorrow morning. Yay!
I’m a member of a big motorcycle forum, Adventure Rider’s, and I’ve had a long running thread about my trailer design. Redesign, build and my journey so far. Like FHC, a tight knit bunch of nice guys. So far I have offers from forum members there for a room overnight during my trip in Blairsville Georgia and Orlando Florida. You bet I’m gonna accept that hospitality!
I use Waze daily. Do you keep it updated? Strange to mislead you, it seems pretty reliable ime. What kind of temps are you riding in?
Mount Mitchell is on the BRP and is the tallest peak east of the Mississippi. When we were there, there, the restaurant was open and had epic views. The food was excellent (but not cheap).
Yeah, I keep it updated but the locals here say that park is notorious for this problem. It was cold up on the 3,000 to 4500 foot elevations on the Blue Ridge Parkway today. I don’t know the temp but probably around 40•F. I had on my Dragging Jeans Kevlar long johns under my polar lined firehose work pants. And a regular long john type shirt, a heavy polar fleece jacket, and the ballistic hi viz jacket with the winter liner in it. And a medium weight balaclava and rain mittens over my cheap Amazon “winter” motorcycle gloves as windbreakers. I was comfortable most of the way, but the last 4500 foot peak I crossed I was getting cold.
I made it to Athens Georgia this evening, 750 miles towing my little trailer under my belt. A fellow member of the Adventure Riders motorcycle forum invited me to stay overnight last night in his spare bedroom in Blairsville Georgia. From there I went to visit an old friend near Cleveland Georgia. To get to his place I had to ride up, over and down the famous Blood Mountain on Route 19. Wow, what a ride. My friend snapped a photo as I pulled out:
Looks like a great time. All on a step through scooter! Love it. Tell the Beemer big bike crowd at ADV to take a bow. Heehaaaaaaaa.
I made it to Lake City Florida this evening, so 1000 miles under my belt! There’s a website called Bunks for Bikers where motorcycle enthusiasts offer free use of their spare bedroom to put up other traveling / touring motorcyclists and I’m staying with one such host tonight outside Lake City. (I’m sure some here are well aware of this but I just found out about it this week.) A real kind generous retired heavy equipment mechanic and fellow motorcycle enthusiast is my host. First thing he did was give me a quick tour, hand me a towel for a hot shower, and offer me a warm delicious bowl of homemade chicken pot pie and a soda. The motorcyclist community I’ve been exposed to via this trip is simply incredible.
At 12:30 I pulled into my primary destination, my friend’s home in Orlando Fl. It’s been a week long 1,200 mile journey on my Honda Silverwing. What a trip!! I’ll be here through Friday morning. Then I’m heading down to Ave Maria College in the Everglades to visit a good friend. He just got his first bike, a Honda CB500X, so we’ll spend the day riding. And I’m starting the long ride back north to Virginia on Saturday.
Greetings all from the Everglades! I’ve ridden my Honda Silverwing almost 1,500 miles so far on this trip. It looks like total miles will be over 3,000 when I get home to Virginia. I just stopped at a little restaurant about 8 miles north of Ave Maria University for lunch and this was the scene:
2100 miles down, 900 to go now. (I didn’t take into consideration my drive down to the Everglades when I first figured my mileage for this trip.) Today’s the first day I’ve had of riding in heavy rain. It ain’t fun. My “waterproof” rain gear … ain’t. I still have 160 miles to get to my hotel in Macon. Rain is forecast the rest of the way. Ugh. No more camping this trip, thankfully. I stayed again last night with a Bunk-a-Biker participant in Lake City Florida who hosted me on my way down. He let me leave my trailer at his house for a week while I was in Orlando and the Everglades. He snapped these as I was getting ready to leave this morning:
