Here I am wearing my Olympia Patton Mesh Tech Jacket

While I was planning my ride to the Emmitsburg, MD and then Mt Washington, NH, I started looking for another jacket to wear.  I needed another jacket as we only had one mesh jacket and several leather coats and we would be riding into temperatures nearing 100°F.  I had heard good things about Olympia jackets from my uncle that has one, and from the owner of the BMW dealership.  I decided to give an Olympia jacket a try, it was less expensive than some other jackets, but seemed to be built well.

I bought the Olympia Patton Mesh Tech Field Jacket from Mathias BMW in New Philadelphia, OH.  Here is what the Olympia website has to say about it:

We’ve reinvented the classic field jacket and combined rider specific function with rugged go anywhere styling. Constructed in authentic DuPont Cordura® with ballistic airflow mesh panels, this jacket offers maximum cooling with superior abrasion resistance. Patton’s waterproof Thermolite® insulated liner insures all weather multi season riding comfort and doubles as a great looking stand alone jacket. To enhance Patton’s all weather riding performance it’s also equipped with a stand up neoprene edged collar complete with throat latch detail and two large waterproof chest pockets.

 I immediately wore the jacket home.  I was amazed at the amount of air that was able to flow through the jacket.  We were leaving on our trip in two days, and this would be the real test, but I was impressed early.  I got a few reactions about the “fluorescent red” color, but this is exactly what I was after.  You can see this thing!

We left on our trip and the temperature was 80°F already at 8:00 AM.  I was very comfortable.  The jacket was a little stiff at first, but as I wore it, it seamed to relax.  As the day wore on, we rode into hotter temps and I remained comfortable.  When we got stopped by a bicycle race for well over on hour, the temperature was 93°F and I never took the jacket off.  I did get plenty warm while stopped, but not to the point where I felt the need to shed the jacket.

We did hit some heavy rain for a short time, and we rode on wet roads with spray for over 100 miles.  I did not have the waterproof liner with me.  I donned my rain suit pants, but not my rain suit jacket.  I got slightly wet where the mesh runs up the sleeves and down my sides.  My wallet and PDA phone stayed perfectly dry in the waterproof pockets.  The rain making it in the mesh was actually quite refreshing.  I have since tried the waterproof liner and it works as advertised.  I have not worn my rain suit jacket in about two months now.

The collar has neoprene at the top and makes it very comfortable to wear.    The jacket has armor in all of the usual places.  The armor is articulated and makes wearing the Patton Mesh Tech Field Jacket as comfortable as wearing my leather jacket that has no armor.  I do not have armor riding up on me like with my other jacket.

The price of the jacket was $249.00.  I think it was money well spent.  Eventually, I will buy another for Amy.  I have been very happy with my Olympia Patton Mesh Tech Field Jacket.  I am 5′10″ and 200 pounds.  I wear an XL jacket and have enough room for some layers beneath it.

Here is Steve at the base of Mt Washington programming the next leg of the trip in the GPS.

In early July, Amy and I visited Mt Washington, in the White Mountains in New Hampshire.  Our return trip took us across New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio entirely on “back roads.”  We never once had to get on the interstates.  

Our ride began following US 2 and US 3 until we reached Vermont.  Once in Vermont, we traveled VT 105.  VT 105 was a great ride, plenty of sweepers and in and out of the woods for the entire length.  We passed many a “Moose Crossing” sign, as we did in New Hampshire.  Amy was hoping that we would see some moose.  She has never seen one in the wild before.  I was hoping we would not see any in the road.  It had taken us a little longer to get to Mt Washington than we had planned, so we were a little later getting across Vermont than we had planned on.  

The scenery was like this for most of our trip across New Hampshire and Vermont.

Our trip continued on VT 5A to VT 58 to VT 100.  VT 100 was another great road full of high speed sweepers.  Both VT 100 and VT 105 took us past many mountains and beautiful streams.  Amy thought that these roads were some of the best of the trip.  We did not get many photos of this part of the trip, as we were traveling many miles before stopping.  

Our stop for the night was in Burlington, Vermont.  We found a room at small motel called the Ho Hum Motel.  This was a nice little place.  It was clean, which was a plus after our stay in north of Milford, PA.  After checking into the motel, we went across the street to eat.  After supper, we returned to our room and we were asleep in a few minutes.  we had just finished a long day of riding.  We had gone from Milford, PA to Mt Washington and then to Burlington, VT.  We had traveled a little more than 500 miles, mostly on back roads, and stopping for a long time at Mt Washington.  

Here is a photo of some sailboats. Amy took this while waiting for the ferry.

The next morning, we woke up and traveled down Lake Champlain.  It was only about one mile from where we stayed.  I had decided to take the ferry to Port Kent, NY.  I had been on ferry boats in Seattle, but not on a lake before.  Lake Champlain is no small lake.  I live near

Here is the BMW R1200RT on the ferry

(within 60 miles) of Lake Erie.  Lake Champlain is not as large as Lake Erie, but it is big as far as lakes go.   The whole area seemed like it was a really neat area.  Amy and I would like to return sometime to Lake Champlain and Burlington.  It would make a great destination.

After getting off of the ferry, we rode for hours in Adirondack Park, what a fantastic place!  It is unbelievable how great the roads are in Adirondack

Park.  There were many dirt and gravel roads that we did not travel, but I may go back with a dual sport bike one day.  It is amazing how large Adirondack Park is.  According to Wikipedia 

The Adirondack Park is a publicly-protected area located in northeast New York. It is the largest park in the contiguous United States, the largest National Historic Landmark, and the largest area protected by any U.S. state.
The park covers some 6.1 million acres (24,700 km²), a land area about the size of Vermont, or of the Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier, and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks combined.
More than half the land within the Adirondack Park is privately owned, including several villages and hamlets.

Here is Amy on the "trail" that takes you to the Whiteface Mountain Castle.

After riding around for hours, we set the GPS to take us to Lake Placid.  We passed the entrance to Whiteface Mountain.  Whiteface Mountain and Lake Placid was the site of the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1980.  We traveled up to the summit of Whiteface Mountain.  It was a beautiful day, and the clouds were high.  Upon reaching the summit, we parked right next to a BMW RT, from Ohio no less.  The guides at the summit asked if we were traveling with the other people from Ohio.  I guess it would be odd to have two couples on the same bikes, from only a few counties away arrive at a mountain summit several states away within minutes of each other.  The view from the summit of Whiteface Mountain was breathtaking.  The high clouds reflected off of the lakes making them very visible.  Amy and I walked back a tunnel that was carved into the mountain to an elevator.  The elevator had the Olympic rings painted on the door.  There was an elevator operator that was a great person to talk to to learn a little about the mountain.  I guess it is a good thing that he knows so much, as the elevator ride seemed to never stop.  We arrived at the actual summit and took a lot of photos, then took the trail down to the “castle.”  After we had seen enough, we returned to the bike.  As we were getting back on the bike, a large group of motorcycles arrived.  One guy started looking for damage to his bike.  As it turns out, he had dumped his bike in one of the gravel areas when he turned off of the road to enjoy the view.  There was no damage to his bike that we could see.

We left Whiteface Mountain, and went to the Olympic Village at Lake Placid, NY to see the town and eat lunch.  We drove around town and finally came to a restaurant that had no real sign.  It had “Street Side” in the name.  They had some great barbeque!  The owner was the only person working.  He told us of his fascination with barbeque.  we ate on the balcony outside, nest to 6 other motorcycle riders.  I asked the owner about his business, as I loved the food, and he told me that it was his first full day in business.  He was having a grand opening in a few days.  

After out meal, we headed west, continuing toward home.  It took forever to leave Adirondack Park!  Again, the scale of the park is enormous.  We ended up riding to Rochester, NY where we spent the night.  This was the nicest place we stayed the whole trip.  I decided we were going to stay in a nice place, so we found the Doubletree.  Again, after a long day of riding, it took no time for us to be asleep, and this was quite possibly the softest bed I have ever slept on.  

More of our return trip in the next post

During the last weekend in June, I had to go to the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, MD for some classes. I decided to ride the motorcycle there rather than ride the bus. The last time I rode the bus the movies were lousy, the bus was crowded, and the air conditioning did not seem adequate. Besides that, it is not riding my motorcycle. People that know me will tell you that if I am somewhere, my bike is usually there too, so why should this be any different. My mother-in-law was attending classes there too, and she asked if she could ride along. She has just recently began riding with my father-in-law when he purchased a BMW K1200LT. Before that, she never really rode with him. Now she loves riding and has been the instigator of many a trip.

We set off Friday after a breakfast at Tims Tavern in Canton, OH almost in the shadow of the Professional Football Hall of Fame. I did not set the GPS to take me to Emmitsburg yet as I wanted to ride US 30 out of Canton to Gettysburg, PA. I love riding US 30 through the mountains in Pennsylvania, so I wanted to go that far before actually heading to Emmitsburg, besides Gettysburg is only about 15 minutes from Emmitsburg. Just before we reached the mountains, we were being waved off of the road by Pennsylvania state trooper. Once we were waved off the road, we were told to just wait where we were. Everybody on the road was being waved off. This was right at the base of the mountains. After about 10 minutes of sitting on the side of the road, there were several police vehicles that went then several BMW motorcycles with their flashers on and they were screaming by. A few minutes later the reason for the delay, a bicycle race. We were delayed by over an hour, but it was worth it to see the race. We were right at the base of the mountain where the bikes were flying when they went by. I never realize how loud the tires could be singing on the pavement. This was a large race. We ended up seeing posters for it later, I believe it took place over six days and covered the entires state.

After the we cleared the bike race, we started seeing Harley Davidson motorcycles everywhere! There were roads and businesses that were packed with Harleys and custom choppers. We began seeing “Bikers Welcome” signs everywhere. It was starting to rain, so every overpass that we crossed under was packed with bikes. We stopped just long enough to don our rain suits. It turned out that were were passing through during “Thunder in the Valley.” We stopped to eat at a small local joint, I am sorry that I do not remember the name. I had a good roast beef sandwich, with mashed potatoes and gravy, of course. The rest of the ride to Emmitsburg was uneventful, but wet. I do not have any photos up until this point, as I left the camera at home.

Sunday afternoon, Amy showed up at the National Fire Academy after class. Her father brought her out on the K1200LT. We made the switch, Amy continued the trip with me and my mother-in-law went home with my father-in-law. It was about a six hour trip for them to get to Emmitsburg. Amy and I decided to set the GPS to take us to the Mt. Washington Auto Road and avoid freeways.

The first notable place the GPS routed us to was Gettysburg, PA. I would love to stop there some day again. I spent the better part of a day there last year, and still feel like I saw nothing. Those that have been to Gettysburg will agree, that you could spend a week there and still not see everything.

After Gettysburg, we passed through Hershey, PA.

You can see snow on the next peak over from Mt Washington. This was around July 1st.

  I have friends that go there quite frequently, but this was the first time I have been there. Amy loved the streetlights that look like Hershey Kisses. I loved the smell of chocolate in the air. Once again, if we wanted to avoid the freeways, we had to keep moving for now so we could make some time. We had planned a trip that we needed to cover quite a few miles each day to complete and me to be at work on time Thursday.

 We spent the night in Milford, PA. We stopped to eat at 9:45 PM at the Milford Diner. Let me tell you, this place is amazing! I ordered a meatball sub that would have fed three people! Amy ordered something else, I do not remember what it was, but a family could have shared it. Their menu had everything you could ask for on it. There are photos of the Clintons everywhere here. It turns out that President Bill Clinton ate here. There have been some complaints in some review I have read about the Milford Diner of the place being full of smoke, but we noticed none while we were there. It may be because we got there shortly before closing. I still cannot believe the menu the have for being a diner. After leaving the Milford Diner, we went up the road to a Scottish Inn to spend the night. I stayed there because a relative of mine always looks for Scottish Inns on trips as he says the are always reasonably priced and clean. This place was reasonably priced, but we got the only room in the back of the joint. I was worried about whether the motorcycle would be there or not the next day! The room was small, the bed small and uncomfortable. Within minutes of laying down I was asleep as I was tired after riding all day in the upper 90s.

Steve on Mt Washington enjoying the view.

We woke the next morning, and resumed our trip. We had to get on the highway long enough to cross the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. Our first stop was at a McDonalds in Springfield, Massachusetts. Amy got to see and hear a mockingbird for the first time in her life. I had seen and heard them growing up as a kid, we had them in Kentucky and at my grandparents farm in Tennessee. We sat and ate our breakfast and talked to some great locals. They were older gentlemen who could not believe what motorcycle had become. They told us about when Indian Motorcycles was still in town. They told us to stop and see the Basketball Hall of Fame. These men loved the BMW R1200RT that we were on. One guy said he used to ride a Honda 305 Dream and he rode across America on it. It was one of the most pleasurable breakfasts I have had. All of these men were of the World War 2 generation. Sadly, we are losing too many veterans of this era everyday. I was glad to get to converse with these men. I learned a lot about their city.

We ended up getting on the highway just long enough to exit Massachusetts and Connecticut. While I would liked to have stayed off of the freeways, we were passing through every town on the map and there was no way to escape the constant stop and go of city traffic. Once we got into Vermont, we began running back roads again. We had to stop and put our rain suits on again, what would a ride be without that? We got rained on for the rest of the trip to Mt Washington.

Arriving at Mt Washington was great, we had just busted

Nobody told Amy it was windy at Mt Washington.

out from the clouds and rain. We paid our toll and climbed to the summit. I kept a distance from a tour van in front of us, as they were driving extremely slow. As I came around a switchback turn, on a steep hill, the van was stopped were I had to stop on uneven pavement. I was not sure I was going to keep the bike upright, but I did. The van never once turned into a turnoff to let people take photos, the driver just stopped in the middle of the road 6 more times during the ascent. After the second time, I resolved that I would pass the van if I came around another turn and found it stopped. I gave the van a few minutes to get ahead of me, and I never had to stop for it again, but it was close.

Amy was a little concerned when the road turned to gravel and dirt, but it is far better than the driveway at home, so I was not concerned. Arriving at the summit of Mt Washington, we could see forever. The weather lived up to its reputation. It was cool and windy.  The clouds were getting lower by the second.  We went to the summit building and got lunch.  When we climbed the stairs to the summit building, the Mt Washington Cog Railway was at the summit.  We took some photo and then went in to eat.  I had a chili dog that was basically a hot dog in a

Steve standing in front of Mt Washington Cog Railway locomotive.

bowl with a bowl of chili poured on it.  It was the best chili dog I have had.  I know that chili dogs do not usually become the topic of food reviews, but I was impressed by the amount of chili I got.  The dog costs the same as a bowl of chili, so it is like getting a free hot dog with the bowl of chili.  While we were inside, I heard the whistle blow on the locomotive, so i ran outside to watch it depart.  It was as foggy as it could be!  We had only been inside for about ten minutes.  They are right about how weather conditions can change in an instant at Mt Washington!  We killed a little time, looking through the gift shop and the museum.  I talked to the postmaster for a while and then a park ranger.  I learned much about the history of the park and the railroad.  I then heard the locomotive ascending the mountain.  I am a sucker for steam engines.  I have always been fascinated by them.  We took a few more photos and then left.  We had made it to Mt Washington!

Can you see me now? I would say my Olympia jacket is visible!

  I don’t quite know why, but that was our destination and we are glad it was.  We started the trip home, where we never once had to access a freeway!  

Look for more about our trip home in the next post.

OK, I have found what my employer needs.

Firefighting equipment on a BMW R1200RT. I could like being assigned to this unit!

Those of you who know me know that I am a career firefighter. I am volunteering to be the operator of the new apparatus. What I have found is a “Fire Motorcycle.” Now Harley Davidson has what is referred to as a “Fire Bike” but it is basically one of their everyday bikes with some different badges and paint, it does no firefighting. The bike that I am talking about is an actual firefighting vehicle. This would be a dream assignment for me, as it is even based on MY BIKE! That’s right people, it is a BMW R1200RT that has two tanks of water and a SCBA tank to propel the water. There is a booster reel where the trunk sits on my bike. Because this bike uses a foam solution for firefighting, it appears to be very effective in their propaganda videos. I would love to see this work in person and see how well it does work.

Another photo of the BMW R1200RT outfitted with firefighting equipment.

I can see the big advantage of this fire motorcycle would be the ability to get through heavy traffic faster than a fire engine. Even if there was not enough water to extinguish a larger fire, the water applied by the motorcycle could at least slow the development of the fire until a real engine crew can get there. It is a pretty cool concept, at least I think so. I love my job, and I love riding, so what could be better than being paid to ride?

This unit is being made by Firexpress A/S.  They have many videos and data sheets on their website at http://www.firexpress.com/script/site/default.asp .

Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

This thing looks great! I would love to ride one at work (I already ride one to work).

 
……

As I have written recently, Amy and I just got back from a great vacation. Tomorrow is my first day back to work in eleven days.  It seems like I haven’t been to work in a month.  I really had a great time.  I managed to add about 3200 miles to my motorcycle in the course of eight days.  We had a great time riding and spending time with family.  We got to ride some great roads, some that I have already written about, and many that I will write about.  One of my favorite rides was heading out of Knoxville and going west.  We ended up riding TN 30 for a long way.  That road has some great sweepers.  I will write more about that ride later.  I am fortunate enough to have a wife that loves to ride.  I have a few friends that would love to have a motorcycle, but their wives aren’t sure about the idea.

Here is Amy's new favorite photo of us together. This was taken at Bald River Falls just off of the Cherohala Skyway.

I took the bike to the store again today, and when I came out of the store, there was a BMW K100RS parked next to my bike.  I have seen this bike around town and I have been admiring it.  There is some missing tupperware, but the owner explained that the previous owner had laid the bike down and cracked the fairing.  He said he is going to attempt a repair of the fairing, as it is too expensive to buy a new one.  It turns out that we have secretly been admiring each other’s bikes.  I talked to the owner and his significant other (i think girlfriend, may have been wife, or maybe sister, sorry I do not want to make assumptions) and they were super nice people.  Hopefully Amy and I will have a few new people to go riding with.

I have been looking through some older photos on Amy’s computer.  It seems I will have enough material to keep me busy for years writing about some of the trips we have already taken.  With all of that plus future trips, this little project promises to have tons of content!  I am kind of a geek, so I love doing this website.  Look for much more in the future!

About one year ago, my Dad and Uncle had an idea that it would be fun to ride 630 miles for supper, then ride home the next day. Not being one to turn down a great meal and a motorcycle ride, I went along. My sister, who lives in Atlanta wanted to go along but could not get a flight into Akron Canton Airport. She did the next best thing and went to Cincinnati and we picked her up on the way. After picking her up, we headed for LaGrange, KY (where I lived as a small child). We met with my Uncle Greg in LaGrange and headed west toward Sikeston, MO, the home of Lambert’s.

Here are my family members that went with me to Lambert's Cafe. Uncle Greg and Aunt Jo on the BMW K1200LT. Dad and Stepmother on the Kawasaki Voyager. Not Pictured is my sister, as she took the photo.

Lambert’s cafe has been featured on the Food Network several times. It is “The Home of Throwed Rolls.” Their website is http://www.throwedrolls.com .  I have been to their Springfield, Mo location three times.  They have some of the best food you could imagine, and portions that keep them from selling desserts.  The first time I ate there, I ordered a full rack of ribs that was served on a plate that looked more like the lid of a garbage can than a plate.  The ribs were hanging off of the plate on both ends.  I was asked what sides I wanted and I replied “Okra and fried potatoes.”  I was told I could not order those, because the walk around with pans serving those to everybody.  So, I ordered two different sides and still got my okra and fried potatoes.  The thing that Lambert’s is most famous for is the rolls.  Here is a short video of the guy throwing the rolls.

They usually do not take it too easy throwing the rolls.  I have caught some fast pitches there.  If you miss, expect to take some heckling from the roll thrower and the crowd.  Lambert’s is a great dining experience.    If you ever get the chance to go there, do it!  Do yourself a favor and make reservations for a hotel (if you need one) ahead of time.  When we were checking in, there were two rooms available at two different hotels.  My sister ended up sleeping on a love seat (we don’t let Dad forget that one).  Check out Hotels.com
 for rates and reservations.

Here are Dad and Flo on their Kawasaki Voyager

The ride there was uneventful, but HOT.  It was a great ride.  It turns out the Lambert’s is on US 62.  US 62 runs right here through Canton, OH.  I had been out US 62 before heading northeast to go to Niagara Falls.  We took interstates to get to Lambert’s as we wanted to make it in one day.  We brought US 62 all of the way home.  US 62 has some great twisties in a few areas.  It is a great scenic route to take to avoid the freeways.  There are some areas where the going is slow, like in Lexington, Ky, but for the most part, you can make pretty good time on it.

On the way home, we got a late start and we spent the night in Bardstown, KY.  Those of you that drink bourbon should recognize that town.  It seems every bourbon distillery in the world is in Bardstown.  None of us in our group drink, so I guess it was a wasted stop for us.  You can see the massive distillery buildings everywhere.  It was pretty impressive to see the huge buildings up on the hills.  We stayed at a small motel across from the Stephen Foster Restaurant.  It was a nice old place.  you could tell that the place was kept up well, but they still had the old door hardware and bathroom fixtures.  The motel had small room by today’s standards, but I would stay there again.  

Here we are at the Cincinnati airport to pickup Liz. I am on the Honda CB900 Custom in the rear. In the front is Dad's Kawasaki Voyager

The next day, we rode the rest of the way home on US 62.  We ate at a Sonic about 20 miles east of Bardstown.  The girl working there asked us what happen if it rains, then she asked if a convertible top was stored anywhere on the motorcycles.  My sister, always a joker, informed the girl that usually when you are planning a ride where it might rain, you always take somebody with you on the back of your bike so they can hold an umbrella.  The waitress believed it!  I can’t imagine trying to hold an umbrella at 70 miles per hour!  

This was a great trip and I hope to do it again.  It is kind of funny trying to make time on a bike that needs to stop for gas every 160 miles and a seat good for 100 miles.  The Honda CB900 Custom doesn’t allow much air to hit the rider with the fairing installed.  The windshield is an extra tall one that has been cut down some so you can see over it and not have to look through it all of the time.  My wife did not get to go to Lambert’s with us because of work.  We hope to go there, maybe even this year.

I went out to start the truck today, and the thing wouldn’t start.  I have been riding my motorcycle so much that I have ruined my truck battery from nonuse.  It has been 2 1/2 years since I bought my first bike, and in that time I have driven my truck only about 4000 miles.  This is the second battery that has been ruined now.  I will try to use the “Desulfate” feature of the Battery Minder I have.  It has worked on a few batteries in the past, including my boat battery.

Amy had me go pay some bills, deposit a few checks, and pick up some groceries.  The weather was PERFECT today.  It was 78 degrees today and NO humidity.  I could handle this all year, but I know that the cooler weather will be coming soon.  After riding in the south with my bike reporting 104 degrees, this was a welcome change, but the scenery is not quite as nice.   As nice as it was today, I still have some people respond with disbelief when I am riding a motorcycle to do my errands.  I ride all year when there is no ice.  The coldest I have ridden in is 8 degrees.  Why would I not ride when it is 78?  You should see the guys at work when I come in on the bike in January.  We even rode to the Christmas party (we held it after Christmas in the second week of January).  We needed and ice scraper for the windshield of the bike when it was time to leave.  I didn’t even have a bike with heated accessories or a charging system to power a heated suit then.

We are home!  While I enjoy taking trips, I am always relieved to be back home.  We arrived back home last night at about 6:20 PM.  I took the motorcycle to Amy’s grandparents house to pick up Kaitlyn, our 3 1/2 year old daughter.  She was surprised to see us, as we weren’t supposed to be home for another day.  She was thrilled that she got to ride the Nighthawk 650 home with me.  That is one of her favorite things to do. 

On the way home, we decided to take the interstates, as there was some bad weather moving in.  We were able to keep ahead of most of it, only getting caught in a few showers, nothing that I even felt I needed my rain suit for.  I did stop and let Amy put hers on though, as she doesn’t have the weather protection that i do on the R1200RT.  Storms or not, I set the GPS to stop in Lexington, KY at the Taco Tico on Boardwalk Ave.  Taco Tico is one of my favorite restaurants.  Taco Tico is no five star joint.  It is a mexican fast food place.  I used to go with my father to Taco Tico when we lived outside of Louisville, KY and I have always stopped when I pass through Kentucky or Kansas.  I wish somebody would open a franchise in Canton, OH so i could enjoy their food more often.  I always get the same thing when I go there, a couple of combo burritos.  Their hot sauce is probably the biggest reason I go there.  I used to buy hot sauce from them every time I stopped.  I don’t know what it is about the sauce, but it has the best flavor of ANY hot sauce I have ever eaten.  

After our stop in Lexington, our next real stop (other than to let amy don her rain suit) was in Zanesville, OH at A&W for a root beer float and to let Amy have a break from the backseat of the bike.  I think that the front seat of the R1200RT is comfortable, and I have ridden on the back one time with another person driving.  I cannot stand that rear seat.  I don’t know why, but after 3 miles, I’d had enough.   Amy doesn’t complain about it until we do about 300 miles, then she needs a break.  I guess it is not too bad if you can sit in the same position for 300 miles at a time.  On the Honda CB900 Custom that we used to travel on, we were both ready to stop at 100 miles.  

Today, I had to get my hair cut, so Kaitlyn and I took the R1200RT down to the barbershop.  She had a ball.  She was waving at everybody, sticking her hand out in the breeze and gawking at everything.  She loves wearing her helmet, and doesn’t want to take it off when we stop at places.  She has a Fulmer youth small full face street helmet.

We are looking at taking a small trip with Kaitlyn.  We will probably drive the car, as she is too young for any motorcycle trips of any length longer than running to the store.  

We were able to stay with family during the entire trip that we took.  It helps when you don’t have to pay for lodging.  The trip I took before, when I went to Mt. Washington was fun when I stayed in some motels.  There were a few that I was just glad that my motorcycle was still outside when I woke the next morning.  I have decided that I will probably use Hotels.com to check places out and book rooms.  I have used them before and found the reviews to be dependable.  Give them a try, I am sure you will be happy with their rates.

Yesterday’s ride started much the same as others on this motorcycle trip.  We started off by going into Maryville to eat.  We wanted to go to the Cracker Barrel there, but opted for Lee’s “Famous Recipe” Chicken, as that sounded good to Amy.  It turns out that they have a few less menu items at their location than the one that is about 25 miles south of our house.  I like hot and spicy foods, and the location near our house has chicken with hot and spicy breading and noodles that are loaded with black pepper.  I do not know if either of these are common at other locations, but they did not have them in Maryville.  We still enjoyed our meal.  

After eating, we headed out of Maryville, TN on US 129.  This time, we rode a length of it that I have never been on, from Maryville to the Foothills Parkway.  After passing the Foothills Parkway, we rode “The Tail of the Dragon” for the last time of this trip.  We were not in the area to ride the Dragon, it just happened that we rode it several times as it was the best way to get to where we wanted to go.  After riding the Dragon, we rode NC 28 “The Hellbender” to US 19 then US 74 to Cherokee, NC.  We rode US 441 through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Traffic was heavy and the going was slow in Cherokee and in Smoky Mountains National Park.  I have been through this park so many times it is not funny, but I have never hiked (or walked on the paved path, however you may look at it) to the top of Clingman’s Dome.  I have been up the road to Clingman’s Dome several times, but only managed to make it as far as the parking lot, because nobody ever wanted to take the steep trail with me.  Here is a little information on Clingman’s Dome, from http://www.clingmandsdome.com

At 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome is Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s highest point. It is the highest point in Tennessee, and the second highest point east of the Mississippi. Only North Carolina’s Mt. Mitchell (6,684 feet) rises higher.Clingmans Dome is a popular Park destination. Located along the state-line ridge, it is half in North Carolina and half in Tennessee. The peak is accessible after driving Clingmans Dome Road from Newfound Gap, and then walking a steep half-mile trail. A paved trail leads to a 54-foot observation tower. The Appalachian Trail crosses Clingmans Dome, marking the highest point along its 2,144 mile journey.

On the road to Clingman’s Dome, we came around a bend, and there were cars stopped.  Amy, of course had the camera ready to go.  There was a black bear standing right beside the road, eating the grass.  It was pretty comical that people were in their cars, with the windows barely cracked and holding camreas out to take photos of the bear.  The people in front of us did not want to stop directly in front of the bear, I guess they were scared that the bear would maul them in their minivan, so they pulled past the bear and stopped.  You guessed it, this put us right in front of the bear.  Here is a photo.  

Here is a black bear standing beside the road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This is the first time that Amy has ever seen a bear in the wild.

 Now I was not worried one bit, sitting by that bear on my motorcycle, as it was a black bear, and I know that they are not usually aggressive.  Then when I got back to my uncle’s house, I was told of this story.

 

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) — Officials at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park say a black bear mauled an 8-year-old Florida boy and the boy’s father was injured while defending him.

Park rangers later killed a bear matching the description of the one in the attack.

Park spokesman Bob Miller says the bear approached Evan Pala of Boca Raton, Fla., while he was playing in a creek at about 7:30 p.m. Monday. Miller says the bear attacked the boy, was driven off and came back a second time.

Miller says the father was able to chase the bear away with rocks and sticks.

 

The boy suffered some puncture wounds that were serious but not believed to be life-threatening. The father, John Pala, suffered several cuts during the attack.

So much for my career as a park ranger. My guess is the bear that attacked had been fed by humans.  That always ends bad for the bear.  People think it is “cute” to feed the wildlife, never thinking about the outcome.  There are people around here that feed ducks and geese, then they end up dying in the winter, because they don’t migrate.

After making it to the parking lot of Clingman’s Dome, we hiked up to the top.  Just as when we visited Mt. Washington, it was beautiful when we pulled into the parking lot, but by the time we hiked to the top, the clouds rolled in and we couldn’t see a thing.  Oh well, we got to go to the top and see the bear too.

We left Clingman’s Dome and rode back to the house via US 441 to US 411.  It was a slow ride going through Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.  This ride took about 6 hours with the hike included.  It took so long mostly due to the heavy traffic, and the steep hike to the top of Clingman’s Dome.  We had a great time, but it is not a ride to take if you want to go fast, it just won’t happen. 

I wonder why they call these The Great Smoky Mountains?

I love this photo. The blur of the pavement adds to the look of going fast.

Yesterday, we decided to take a short ride.  After days of leaving early, returning late, and eating supper at 10:00 PM, we thought it would be nice to be back at a decent time.  We left and set out to the Foothills Parkway to US 129 “The Tail of the Dragon” and then went past the Horse Creek campground in the Joyce Kilmer Forest.  After passing through the Joyce Kilmer Forest, we headed out the Cherohala Skyway toward Tellico Plains, Tennessee.  This road is a great road for motorcycles as there is almost no traffic.  The sweeping turns are great and plentiful.  There are pull offs with scenic views it seems almost every mile.  There are some photos from the Skyway on one of our previous posts.  Yesterday, the pace was more relaxed and we made several stops.  Amy was taking photos almost the entire time.  I am so glad I do not buy film anymore.

I like this photo too, probably because of the yellow line. Amy really had to hang off of the bike to capture these.

When we made it to within 14 miles of Tellico Plains, we came to another pull off, but this time there was a US Forest Service truck blocking the roadway just before the pull off.  There was fire truck in the pull off with its emergency lights on.  I told Amy to get ready with the camera, as there was probably a helicopter coming.  It turns out that there had been a motorcycle crash about two miles up the road.  

Video of Helicopter Landing on Cherohala Skyway

We passed the accident, it was a black Yamaha sportbike that looks like it “low sided” in a turn.  The bike was pretty damaged.  We don’t know how the driver turned out, we hope that he is OK.  

We finished riding the Cherohala Skyway and stopped for a drink and an ice cream bar at the gas station in Tellico Plains.  Being from Ohio, we do not get to enjoy Mayfield Dairy ice cream, so I take advantage of being in the south.  I was sitting outside on a bench eating my ice cream and a cool hot rod pulled in.  I told the owner that he had one car that I could love driving.  It looked like they had fun climbing in and out of the car.

We decided that we had so much fun on our ride, that we just turned around and did the exact same route on the way home.  It took a little longer going that route versus going the direct route, but I would ride from Ohio to do this route.

On our way back toward Robbinsville, NC, we came around a turn and saw an animal on the roadway.  We weren’t sure, but it looked like a black dog.  As we approached, it turned sideways and we could see that it was a wild hog and there were four others with it that ran out in front of us.  We did not get to the camera in time to get a photo of them.  By the time we got the camera, all we captured in the photo was trees.

Does this dam look familiar?

This is the dam that appeared in the movie "The Fugitive"

Our “short ride” took us several hours after the wait for the helicopter and the sightseeing, but it was fun.  Later we went to El Sazon in Maryville, TN for supper.  It is a great mexican restaurant that is a favorite of our family.