Triumphrat

Rat-Sass · 06-29-2005

Great trip, Jason. Thanks for letting us ride it vicariously.
I didn't know you were involved in HU. How was the Eastern meet?

JasonS · 06-30-2005

Sass...

I really didn;t knwo a thing about them prior to the running into the meeting by accident... I do appreciate the concept and the spirit of sharing that the group represents.

Right now I do not see myself takign a world trip, but the thought is interesting!@

Rat-Sass · 07-01-2005

Not everybody on HU is a RTW rider. Just the lucky ones...
I like them a lot. It keeps me humble about my riding. Nothing like hearing about someone popping off to Tierra del Fuego for the week to remind me I'm an amateur.

But enough about HU and more about YOU.
Will you have more trip info for us soon?

-Stephanie

JasonS · 07-09-2005

Friday June 17, 2005 Local in Stecoa – Asheville for tires and Blue Ridge. 275

My appointment for this morning was 10am, as Meyers doesn’t get going until then. So I headed out for the Southeast side of Asheville, some 81 miles away according to the MapPoint software. After an uneventful ride I pulled in at 9:30 and checked in with the service desk. When I had made the appointment I had ordered up the rear tire, but on reconsideration I opted for swapping out the front as well. In the end this was good decision, as I would have ended up arriving home on a treadless front. I enjoyed banter with the crew at Meyers, but got the feeling from the sales guys that Triumph was inferior to the Ducati line they also carried. I ended up talking with the really personable service people instead. I do wish I could remember names, but I have always been bad at them.

Replacing the "tamper proof" ingition screw.

I was done at the dealership by about 11:30 and decided to jump on the Blue Ridge and ride it back to the Stecoa area. Once again, the day lasted longer than I expected and I didn’t get back until 4-5 pm range. I ended up going back through Cherokee again, and made my way down to Rt 28 and the road to the campground.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is an awesome thing. Beautiful lines, and the ability to see stunning vistas at every turn. I traveled the BRP in April of 2004 on my way to FL for a memorial service for my father who had passed the previous September. The differences in scenery, between that trip and this one, are remarkable. At this point in June, everything is either leafed out or flowered up, with smells changing with each turn and change in elevation. In April you travel in and out of spring as you rise and fall with the elevation, from barren trees to explosions of green. In the summer, it is all one big green explosion.

Here are a few pictures to give you some sense of what’s there.

Vistas Baby

Steep! I found it best to STOP to look around, as missing a corner can be very hazerous!

I had a great time taking pictures. There were so many opportunities that I realized I would never make any miles if I didn’t “just say no” on occasion. Too often a 5 minutes rest break turned into a 20 minute picture taking session, but then that was also a big part of the trip for me. It is a goal of mine to be a photographer in the financial sense, although it is a goal shared by many and realized by few. Because I chase after pictures for my own pleasure ( and to some degree the rewards of sharing with you), I’ll be happy in any event.

At one point I had a fellow ( again no names recalled) stop next to me to inquire about my bike. He was on a Connie and was bemoaning what he saw as its shortcomings. My Biz partner rides a Connie, so I snapped a pic. He had noticed me at some other point that day and when he caught a glimpse of me pulling into the bio break area, he zipped in.

[ This message was edited by: JasonS on 2005-07-09 16:12 ]

JasonS · 07-09-2005

Saturday June 18, 2005 Local In Stecoa – Deals Gap and Pictures 100+-

Friday night the Horizons group had a dinner and some presentations about the travels and techniques of various folks. I participated to some degree, but didn’t last long and nodded out by 10pm. In the morning, I decided to give myself the low mileage, low-key day that I had tried to get in, in the previous days but never managed to see. I had a great breakfast and lazed about until 11pm and decided to head on up to the Deals Gap area. I stopped at the resort on the NC side of Rt 129 and picked up a BBQ pork sandwich for lunch. My plan was to attempt capturing some interesting photos on the Dragon road but it didn’t work as planned.

My goal was to take a few open shutter exposures, but there was just too much light to make it work, as I could only manage a 1/2 second exposure.

The Dragon is an interesting place on many levels. As I said before, the road itself is a work of art. It also is a real challenge to anyones ability to ride well, and I enjoyed learning about my personal comfort level when pushing myself. Ones skill level gets shoved in ones face quite readily while challenging the Dragon. I had run it twice before this day and had no intention of doing anything other than "observing" today. There is a taste in the air around the base on a weekend day, and that taste is uncontrolled testosterone. It was like watching the wild west, where every set of male genitalia with a motorcycle is drawn to the Dragon in order to display themselves. Each one bent on impressing "enter target here", what I'm not sure. But they are there is force and just watching the circus is entertaining in itself.

I carried my lunch up to a middle spot on the Dragon to take a few pictures but didn;t get what I wanted... but trying was fun nonetheless. I finished running and was passed by many real brilliant folks on all manner of propulsion, several treating the road like their own personal playground and taking some real chances with their manuevering... in other words being real frigging idiots taking risks with others lives as well as their own.. frigging bone heads... hopefully Darwin will remove these jokers from the planet before they take someones loved one away.

I got back to the Iron Horse after a horribly slow ride behind a line of "nose in the air" cruisers that ran the dragon at 10 Mph and all the way back down Rt 28 at 35 in a 50. I think their mirrors must have been inoperable as surely they would have allowed the 1/2 mile long line of traffic behind them to pass them had they noticed. I should have pulled over, but then so should have they... I don't mind people riding super slow, I do mind when they don't have the courtesy to pull over if they choose to run slower than the speed limit on roads where you can't pass.

Back at the Iron Horse the Horizons group was carrying on with presentations about world travel. I managed to catch a few hours of a presentation about what you need to travel the world, including how to get a passport for your M/C

Can you say Carnet de Passage?

These folks are really really avid... makes me look like a frickin day tripper on my Harley...

I ended the day a bit late as everyone was whooping it up a bit around the fires , eating dinner together and taking the group photo.

[ This message was edited by: JasonS on 2005-07-09 16:07 ]

JasonS · 07-10-2005

Sunday June 19, 2005 Stecoa, NC to Crabtree Meadows, NC on Blue Ridge Parkway 250

It was a long day. I got started by 10, after breaking camp for the 1st time in 5 days! But before we continue on, it is story time. The night before, I had noticed a green Sprint ST outside the common room of the Iron Horse, but when I got to heading out there I could see the bike pulling out. Bummer. I hadn’t seen any Triumphs on the road. I was then delighted to look across the bank from my tent site later to see it was back, and the owner with a white beard was setting up camp. I introduced myself a bit later, and had a great chat. Now during the conversation it came out that not only did he own the same bike as I but he had just traveled up from Fort Meyers. He had left a couple of days after me and ended up at the Iron Horse on the same whim I had. A humorous coincidence that really struck me! What *are* the odds?

As I started packing, I thought I missed a chance to spread out the load and take a picture, because as my new acquaintance later said, “it is quite a sight to see you break camp, all the while I’m thinking how the hell is he going to get all that stuff loaded on that bike.” Well it all does fit, and it amazed me every time I had to break camp for the rest of the trip. As I was topping up the water supply and wetting down the evapodana and the long sleeve shirt for the days ride he walked over and had a another chat.

I told him I had to have a picture of him, to go with the story and also had him snap on of me, and I must say I get some dorky looking in a few of these shots. LOL

So, up to the BRP and off we go. Even though I had just run South on the BRP, I wanted to ride the whole length, and frankly the ride south is just noting like the ride north. I dare say you could ride it north, then south, and then repeat it and it would still be a new experience. I started in Cherokee and I took a few hours to get to the Asheville area. Just north of there, there is a washout in the BRP that required a detour, but I messed up the directions and went up the parkway instead of the detour, and toasted some time and miles, still it was a nice ride. I managed to back track and traveled in a northeast direction south of the parkway until I turned North on Route 80. This road is a hell of a ride. A nice curvy run up into the mountains on a tree shaded road. Unfortunately it has showered a bit during my ride over to it and the roads were wet. With my full load pushing traction is not a good thing, and too much power applied going up-hill is a bad thing. This road is a recommended side trip!

I finally, or what seemed like finally, made it back onto the parkway, and proceeded north to my destination, which was on the other side of both parkway closures. Yeah, another closure, was some way up the BRP, but the detour was easy schmeesy, with excellent signage for guidance. Of course it then occurred tome that I hadn’t seen any sign on the previous detour, and here were signs every miles or so, even when there were no turns on the route to take.

As I said, it was a long day and I pulled into the campsite around 7pm, but it was worth the trip as the camping area was deserted. I noticed 3 other site occupied amongst what had to be 150 available sites. It was a mostly cloudy, but also mostly dry, day and it turned out to be a good day for picture taking.

Here are a few shots...

This is one of my favorites and I think it deserves to be a book cover or in a large frame at the end of a hallway.

Better here..

Or here...

I like the second one myself.

A bike shot...

Oyster · 07-10-2005

Great story, keep it coming! I miss that place, I lived down there for a short bit. The photo of the haze with the Rhodo' (or is that Mt Laurel?) in the front is awesome!

[ This message was edited by: Oyster on 2005-07-10 21:59 ]

vwvectors · 07-10-2005

Absolutely excellent pics & I like the writing to . U really whetted my appetite for the Great Smokey Mtn area as I will be headed there in late September for the Dragon raid . I really look forward to your posts . Again the combination of writing & pics is superb . What brand of tires did u buy . Did u have any problems making it home after your ST tipped over & wuz it expensive to repair . Also wuz there big swings in air temperature relating to altitude .

JasonS · 07-11-2005

Hey folks!

thanks for the comments and compliments..

** It is a rhododendren

Temperatures do change with elevations, not as much on this trip in June as they did last time in April though...

I replaced the Pilot Roads with Pilot Roads.

The tip over damage was a bunch of scratches to the plastic and a broken clutch lever. I was lucky it didn't do more. I did have to remove all the baggage to right bike.

cheers..

I'm working on gettign the rest of the report done, but I fear it will be many days more before I find the time to make it happen...

JasonS · 07-18-2005

Monday June 20, 2005 Crabtree Meadows, NC to Doughton Park, NC 150 Miles

Sometime after I had lay down the night before, a throaty bike woke me up as it pulled into the adjoining camp site. I guessed that safety in numbers and a fellow bikers camp site drew him. We chatted for a bit in the morning, as he was packing up and heading south, looking to run the Dragon. I got on the road after some coffee

An aluminum mini loaf pan served well as a vessel for boiling water, to which was added instant swiss mocha coffee from a can. I like coffee with cream and sugar, so this concoction worked well for me. The stove is a bi-fuel pump up, that I had borrowed from my friend Chip. I was nearly out of fuel, and needed to pick up a syphon hose somewhere.

In examining the Mad-Maps, see above picture, I noticed that the road I had taken on the way to Florida, route 226 was marked as a must do. So, I did it again. It drops south from the BRP through an area called “little swizterland”. It is a very twisty road that drops well, and truckers are warned not to take it.

111 turns in 5 miles, while not the dragon was a great little run down and then back up.

I dropped into the grocery store to pick up grub and then went in search of cigars and more alcohol. Talked to a guy in the cigar shop a bit. He initially confused me with a Honda rider… lol… he warmed up when I told him I was on a Triumph. He treated me right and sent me on my way with a couple of fine cigars to enjoy later.

I actually counted the turns on the way back up, near the very top of the run I encounterd a pedestrian that I helped cross the road.

He was about 6”x4”x4”, so I knelt down and took another close up shot.

It was a great day!

Me destination was Doughton Park. I bought a bundle of wood at the park concession and headed into the tenting area. The park is set on a hill with roads spiraling around the hillside with about 150 sites… I ended up being the only person in the site other than the host, who I assume I met later. I toured the whole area and settled on the highest site in the park and not to far from the facilites. Once I dumped the major load, iheaded down to the honor box to fill out the form.

So I’m fumbling to get the form filled out and the correct bills counted out for the envelope and into the park enters Triumph rider number 2. a bright yellow Daytona, with a suited up rider. Off popped the helmet and “I made it!” came out of her mouth… I later learned that finding the bathroom was utmost on her agenda, and she was grateful. Only someone who has pushed for the next rest stop can empathize. Karen was her name, and she had dumped her job two months earlier, jumped on the bike and had been traveling the country. We chatted it up for a few minutes and she roared off into history, but not before a great pic… I hope she finds it here someday…

So back up to the campsite. There was a distinct positive feeling to the evening as I set up camp.

I’ll note that after I got all set up, settled in, dinner on, beverages consumed, did I think that maybe being on top of the hill with T-storms approaching wasn’t the best of location choices.

So there I am setting up camp and this dude, I say dude as he had a pony tail and seemed very hip and cool in the nicest sense, and calls out, “Are you Jason?” to which I was briefly surprised at, being on a journey as I was, and not one other person knowing, to my knowledge, where I was. As he held up a clear trash bag as he got closer and explained that he’d found it down at the honor box. Ding. I thanked him profusely, to which he humbly said thank you and departed. It felt like a movie. I stood there contemplating my good fortune, then kinda snapped to and managed to get this.

So I cook myself a foil bag of heaven. Chicken on a bed of veggies, with an orange, some tequila, single malt scotch, Tabasco and salt an pepper with those red skin potatoes. Yowser was it good. I proceeded to enjoy one of the best nights of the trip, as I consumed mass quantities of everything, including firewood which I scavenged from all the empty site sin the park. I even got a rainbow, so what if it rained.

But it didn’t rain. I always had clear sky above while the storms skirted around the hill I was on. Clouds rolled through the camp site a couple of times, but nary a drop of rain all night. Who know when I passed, err fell asleep.