RECENT ROAD TRIPS
Last weekend Dr. Bob and I took off to southern Tennessee to explore some roads. Doc found some that I had not been on, I hope to take Wes up there soon.
Wes had surgery on his right wrist and everything turned out fine. He has a lot of stitches and it will be a couple of weeks before he can ride again.
I am preparing to go to Jodi's in Jacksonville and help her move to Charleston. I will be flying. I wanted to ride the bike but the weather is just too unpredictable this time of year. Some of my relatives from the DC area are coming in and we will have dinner with them one night.
My cousin Holly and her fiance Jason will be tying the knot in Cozumel next week. Everyone is excited about the wedding.
Keep on riding,
John 3
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Since I took my last trip in October 08, I have been looking forward to getting out of town. I finally made it. Robert Nash, James and myself took off for the mountains on Friday. We left at 3:30 and arrived at our destination, just north of Knoxville around 8.
Saturday morning we started off early. The weather prediction was 60% chance of rain and 40% chance of sunburn. I applied my sun block and off we went. We rode about 200 miles before lunch.
We stopped in Boone, NC for lunch and that’s when we got our rain. Lots of it. After lunch we rode 50 more miles in a down pour. Then we decided to go ahead and check into the motel. We stayed in the Acorn Motel in Black Mountain. I have stayed here before, it is cheap, clean and comfortable. That’s all we needed.
After breakfast Robert needed to head for the house, so we followed him a short way on the Blue Ridge Parkway. James found an extreme twisty that turned off and we split to see where it went. We discovered that NC Highway 151 is just the beginning of a 600 mile route that leads right back home.
Recap: 3 Gold Wings, 2 nights in motels, 1 Chinese buffet, 20 miles of dirt road, 1023 miles of pavement, 9000 curves. PRICELESS!
Keep on riding
***************
Doc Bob and John Jr's trip west!
The boys are back in town. They had a 15 day trip and covered over 6700 miles. More details and photos to come.
Dr. Bob (left) and John Jr. / Dad (right) are on their trip to the Rocky Mountains. They have been planning this trip for the past several months. On August 11, they left from Dad’s house at 8 am. The trip will last for 18 days and cover 6700 miles. They will make it as far north as Glacier National Park and as far south as Albuquerque, NM.
On August 13 they made it to Beartooth Pass, Wyoming. This road is listed by many motorcycle journalist as one of the best rides in the Rockies. The next landmark will be Glacier National Park but, it is still about 500 miles away.
August 15, the guys will make a stop at the local Harley shop for a minor mechanical problem on Dr. Bob’s bike. I don’t know what it needed but they said it wasn’t anything that would interfere with the trip.
I found out today that the part on Dr. Bob’s bike that they had a problem with had something to do with the gear shift. The Harley shop had them back on their way in 20 minutes.
They rode through “Hell’s Canyon” today(8/16). US12 in Idaho is a great motorcycle road. The motel they are at is tiny and very old. No air conditioning or telephones. When they called Mom it was from a borrowed cell phone in the local bar. Sounds like they are making friends in Cascade.
Yesterday, 8/20, they rode into Crested Butte. Doc's brother once lived there. Since there is only one paved road that goes there, they decided to take the dirt road in from across the mountain. It was 25 miles long and took about one and half hours. The report is that is not a good road. Like riding on a washboard with rocks, and lots of traffic for that area. They are still having a good time and have had time to explore a few side routes.
As of 8/22 they are about 4500 miles into their trip. Last night they stayed in Grandveiw, CO.
On their way home now. Just crossed inside the Oklahoma state line from the west. They have about 900 miles to go.
Below is a list of the places they spent the nights on this trip.
Boonville, MO.
Alliance, NE.
Red Lodge, MT.
Great Falls, MT.
Polson, MT.
Cascade, ID.
Jackson, WY.
Laramie, WY.
Idaho Springs, CO.
Gunnison, CO.
Grandveiw, CO.
Chama, NM.
Justin, OK.
6/23/08
Back from a second great weekend in the Smoky Mountains. Danny Gulley and I rode the best of the back roads up to Black Mountain. The same place that I stayed last weekend. This time we went up through North Georgia and rode the Cherohala Skyway and on up to I-40.
The weather was perfect until we reached the Blue Ridge Parkway. It started off as a down pour and got worse. My theory on riding in bad weather is, don't stop. You can ride out of it. Well after riding in a hail storm, seeing where a bike left the road, and passing two spots where the mountain had washed down on the road... I was right, we reached the sunshine again. Danny was a good sport and didn't complain, but he did comment that it was a little difficult to see in the hail storm. I thought he was putting it mildly, I hadn't seen the road in 30 miles. I would never admit that at the time and I just claimed to be riding between the rain drops.
The next day we went to Mt. Mitchell for a photo opp and continued riding the twistys. A little of US25 to Hot Springs and the NC209 south. These are some of the best little known roads. Another brief thunder shower near Andrews, past the Ocoee and back to Huntsville.
We added 900+ miles to our bikes and I only dropped mine once. What can I say, if I only drop a bike once every 150K miles, I am not doing to bad. I had a great time!
Up date on James and David. They have seen the upper peninsula of Michigan and are moving into Minnesota.
This coming weekend Jodi will be back in Huntsville. The week of July 4th I am going back to Florida with her. We will ride down to my sisters house in Cocoa Beach for the Fourth.
Keep on riding,
John 3
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This weekend we would ride out some of the smaller roads and see where they lead us. James has a new GPS and we couldn't wait to try it. Turns out the new one is incredible and has lots of good features.
The weather was perfect in the 70's and 80's most of the time.
We took several side trips off the beaten path and found some of the best little roads that we had been on. And, true to our reputation, we rode on a dirt road too.
We covered 1000 miles in two days. Only James rides with me on days like these. We had a blast and will do it again soon.
Keep on riding,
John
Taking a ride for Fathers Day
My daughter Jodi, came home from Jacksonville, FL to spend the fathers day weekend with me. So, we went riding. I actually had two of my kids on the ride. Wes rode with my father.
The ride we took was with the Redstone Riders and altogether there were 7 bikes and 13 riders. The weather was beautiful and hot. John Alderman was our Road Captain and took us to Soda Pop Junction in Lynnville, TN for lunch and then on to the bike rally in Lynchburg. The turn out in Lynchburg looked rather small but, I enjoyed it and we didn't have to stand in long lines.
Here is a self portrait of Jodi as taken in the back of my helmet. The picture is entirely a reflection in a black helmet, notice the backwards writing on her shirt. I thought this was cool and I have never seen a picture like it.
Us moving down the road.
Crossing Wheeler Dam
Headed into Lynchburg.
It was a great ride.
Keep on riding,
John
The weekend of June 23rd I went to Jacksonville, FL to visit Jodi and see her new apartment. One week earlier she had taken her brother, Wes, home with her so this trip would also serve as a way to get him back home to Huntsville.
The ride down was long and hot. 550 miles in 95 degree weather. She lives in a really nice gated complex with a couple of pools. While in Jacksonville, Wes and I rode around and checked out the beach areas and visited an alligator farm in St. Petersburg.
The WORLDS LARGEST HARLEY DEALERSHIP is located in Daytona so, this required a trip there. It was quite a site and I would recommend it to anyone that passes through this area. This place is known as Destination Daytona. It takes several hours to see everything. If you like shiny bikes with lots of chrome and custom paint, this is the place for you.
The ride home was much like the trip down. This was the longest ride Wes had ever been on. He was a great passenger and kept me entertained the whole trip.
Keep on riding,
John
PICTURES FROM DAYTONA
Click on any picture to open the photo album and see the rest of the pictures.
