Lost with Mike
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    • The South >
      • Merchant's Millpond State Park, NC
      • BRP and a visit to Charlotte, NC
      • South Carolina and Back on my GS (2011)
      • Jaw-ja Trip #1 - Visiting my Nephew
      • Jaw-ja Trip #2 - Cousin's Wedding
      • "You rode 1300 miles for BBQ?!?" (2010)
    • Canada (eh) >
      • 2012 - Beards to Canada >
        • Day 1: Arlington, VA > Arlington, VT
        • Day 1-2 (Continued) Back to VA!!!
        • Day 3: Newburyport, NH > Sandy Cove, NS
        • Day 4: Loafing around "The Neck"
        • Day 5: Sandy Cove, NS to Antigonish, NS
        • Day 6: Antigonish, NS to Meat Cove, NS
        • Day 7: Meat Cove, NS to Port Aux Basques, NFL
        • Day 8: Port Aux Basques to Port Saunders
        • Day 9: Port Saunders to Big Brook
        • Day 10: Big Brook, NL to Trans Lab Hwy
        • Day 11: Trans Lab Hwy to Pinware River
        • Day 12: Pinware River, LAB to Norris Point, NL
        • Day 13: Norris Point to Blue Beach
        • Day 14: Blue Beach, NL to Port Aux Basques Ferry
        • Day 15: Sydney, NS to Sandy Cove, NS
        • Day 16: Chillin on the Digby Neck
        • Day 17: Sandy Cove, NS to No. Sandwich, NH
        • Day 18: Sandiwch, NH to Arlington, VA (Home)
      • Algonquin Park 2013 >
        • Day 1: Home to New York
        • Day 2: Chataugay State Forest to Brent, ON
        • Day 3: Brent, ON to Nipissing River Portage at Nadine Lake
        • Day 4: Nipissing River @ Nadine Lake Portage to first island in Red Pine Bay
        • Day 5: Red Pine Bay to Hogan’s Lake
        • Day 6: Hogan’s Lake to Catfish Lake
        • Day 7: Catfish Lake to Cedar Lake to Fredonia, NY
        • Day 8: Fredonia, NY to Brookville, PA
        • Day 9: Brookville, PA to Alexandria, VA
      • Think I'll ride to Montreal this weekend...
      • Ontario on a Whim
    • Maryland >
      • How to Hit a Tree, By ME!
      • Ruckus Stealth Camping in MD
      • Ruck'n around Southern MD
      • White's Ferry and some Maryland Backroads
      • 1000mi right near da' beach (2010)
    • New York >
      • Cornell, Niagara Falls and PA Coal Country (2012)
      • Finger Lakes trip to NY (2011)
      • New York City Trip (2011)
    • Pennsylvania >
      • Early Spring in PA
      • Michaux Camping
      • From a Wedding to "Where-da-fugawi?"
      • Pennsylvania Leaf Peeping (2012)
      • First Big Trip to PA (2010)
    • Virginia >
      • From the Mountains to the Sea in Ol' Virginny'
      • What the Fog? (Northern Neck, VA - 2013)
      • Uncle Bucks Ride to Eat and Snowy SNP
      • Charlottesville Area Ride
      • Serious Helmet Time in VA (2011)
      • Ruck'n Across Virginia (2010)
      • Impromptu Camping with 'DC Rider' (2010)
    • West Virginia >
      • Rella-Vous and Skippii Rescue
      • New River Gorge Ghost Town Exploration (2011)
      • Five States from Laurel Fork (Spring 2013)
      • A Little Dirt, A Little Clouds, A lotta Fun, WV (2012)
      • GS and an NSX? (2012)
      • Seneca Rocks Camping Two-Up (2011)
      • Panniers Only Club at Seneca Rocks, WV (2010)
      • Laurel Fork Fall 2010 on the Honda Ruckus 50cc (2010)
      • Dog Days Rally and Rella's Gift (2010)
      • Pops and Richmonders in WV (2010)
      • Rocket Boys (2010)
      • New River Gorge and Rella's (2010)
    • Cross Country 2009 >
      • Trip Preparation
      • Day 1: (Sept 3, 2010)
      • Day 2: (Sept 4, 2010)
      • Day 3: (Sept 5, 2010)
      • Day 4: (Sept 6, 2010)
      • Day 5: (Sept 7, 2010)
      • Day 6: (Sept 8, 2010)
      • Day 7: (Sept 9, 2010)
      • Day 8: (Sept 10, 2010)
      • Day 9: (Sept 11, 2010)
      • Day 10: (Sept 12, 2010)
      • Day 11: (Sept 13, 2010)
      • Day 12: (Sept 14, 2010)
      • Day 13: (Sept 15, 2010)
      • Day 14: (Sept 16, 2010)
      • Day 15: (Sept 17, 2010)
      • Day 16: (Sept 18, 2010)
      • Day 17: (Sept 19, 2010)
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South Carolina and Back on my GS (2011)

4/11/2011

Okay...so it has been quite a while since I last posted to my mini-RR thread here. I have moved up to Northern VA and the cold winter months are finally starting to disappear. With the thawing ground and blossoming flowers, I figured it time to share my first short 1000mi trip of the year with anyone interested.

My trip down to SC was for a family funeral which was sad but visiting with relatives, close and distant, was both memorable and enjoyable. After the services, I departed Spartanburg for a ride to Brevard, NC to stay with my uncle and aunt. This first set of pics were taken along 176 and 11 through the Peach Country and farms of NW SC :ricky

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Feeling like spring down here with the Wysteria in bloom!
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MMmmmmm I cannot wait for some of these to be ripe and ready!
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Just making sure they work :nod

(Nice Kennedy 4.5" Hydrant by the way!)

A peach packaging operation

Yes Indeed!

Riding up 11, Table Rock
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Then turned up 178 for some twisty fun! I rode 276 a few times last year but haven't been on the less busy route to the south. What a great suggestion! Not too technical and many great spots to stop for pics.

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Playing with the colors :evil
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Self portrait! :wave
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Thank you Mr. Highway Engineer

Through the spokes...hey I need to get in there and clean a bit :augie

There were a number of "Fix-me-uppers" out there :nod

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This old logging truck just past the NC line was a wealth of photos waiting to happen!

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I made it safely to the cabin outside Brevard and enjoyed my stay with family. The furry family sure loves to bark at deer...and there are a LOT of deer :eek1
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I awoke in the morning after a round of heavy T-Storms rolled through. The air was crisp and much cooler than the warm 80's of the previous two days. I set forth into the wet morning and soon passed through Brevard and north toward Asheville. Pockets of showers remained hanging in the hills and the sky spit on me through most of the day.

My goal was to ride the BRP as far North as I could. Temps were in the low 40's and continued to fall as the elevation rose.

Then I had to rub my eyes...is that snow!?:huh
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Grumble

The lighting was beautiful as rays broke through the clouds
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I ascended and eventually reached a "Road Closed" sign that was only half open (the other half of the road had no barrier) so I continued upward imagining they were doing construction somewhere and I could possibly pass. As I rose higher, not far from Mt. Mitchell, the snow increased on the roadside and it was clear to me that the T-Storms in our area last night had materialized as Snow up here. The ice lined the edges of the BRP and in places, like moss on a wet WV back road, crept over the side stripe of the highway. When the conditions turned to slush I began to slow and look for a turn around area. It was just about then that a Park Police office descending the road stopped and flashed his lights at me. I pulled over in the adjacent turn around and he wheeled his cruiser around to interrogate the idiotic organ donor riding the BRP past "his" ROAD CLOSED sign :mulie

After some choice words with me, he let me go and I had to retrace my path South in the opposite direction of home. I'll chalk this one up to the "Young and Dumb" category of riding and RR's :nod

I sped down 70 to 40 then hopped on 221N through some beautiful hills and rejoined the parkway around the Linn Cove Falls area. As I wound back down the parkway, my spirits soared and the views were just wonderful! Then it began to snow. :vardy

Around Grandfather Mtn (pic above), notorious for it's weather patterns throughout the year, the snow intensified with 25mph winds and lower visibility. I was hungry but it was too cold to take my helmet off so I continued on into the white stuff...
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Here is the famous Linn Cove Viaduct with some flurries around
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Things began to clear up shortly after this but the winds were still high and the temps in the low 30's...I shoulda stayed in the lowlands...

Price Lake, a spot I camped at with Dad on our southern trip together was peaceful and empty
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So I took a walk down to the water through the dense Laurel
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Then continued North as the temps fell some more. Notice the ice on this sign for effect
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Things began to clear up and the Parkway had a "Closed to Thru Traffic" sign ahead so I detoured for gas into Sparta, NC via back roads. Man I love my GS for these sorta things :nod

And I love my G9 for these sorta things :nod

Eventually after Floyd, I joined the BRP again until Roanoke then jumped off on 460W via some back roads where I took this nifty picture:

The remainder of the trip was just a blast on home via 29>64>231 then through Orange and up 95 from Frednecksburg. I made it home in time to enjoy a delicious meal with my beautiful girlfriend and relax with a glass of Old Vine Zinn before work the following day.

Expect some more pics in the weeks to follow as I have some camping planned :kumbaya

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  • Scoot
  • Paddle
  • Pedal
  • Moto
    • The South >
      • Merchant's Millpond State Park, NC
      • BRP and a visit to Charlotte, NC
      • South Carolina and Back on my GS (2011)
      • Jaw-ja Trip #1 - Visiting my Nephew
      • Jaw-ja Trip #2 - Cousin's Wedding
      • "You rode 1300 miles for BBQ?!?" (2010)
    • Canada (eh) >
      • 2012 - Beards to Canada >
        • Day 1: Arlington, VA > Arlington, VT
        • Day 1-2 (Continued) Back to VA!!!
        • Day 3: Newburyport, NH > Sandy Cove, NS
        • Day 4: Loafing around "The Neck"
        • Day 5: Sandy Cove, NS to Antigonish, NS
        • Day 6: Antigonish, NS to Meat Cove, NS
        • Day 7: Meat Cove, NS to Port Aux Basques, NFL
        • Day 8: Port Aux Basques to Port Saunders
        • Day 9: Port Saunders to Big Brook
        • Day 10: Big Brook, NL to Trans Lab Hwy
        • Day 11: Trans Lab Hwy to Pinware River
        • Day 12: Pinware River, LAB to Norris Point, NL
        • Day 13: Norris Point to Blue Beach
        • Day 14: Blue Beach, NL to Port Aux Basques Ferry
        • Day 15: Sydney, NS to Sandy Cove, NS
        • Day 16: Chillin on the Digby Neck
        • Day 17: Sandy Cove, NS to No. Sandwich, NH
        • Day 18: Sandiwch, NH to Arlington, VA (Home)
      • Algonquin Park 2013 >
        • Day 1: Home to New York
        • Day 2: Chataugay State Forest to Brent, ON
        • Day 3: Brent, ON to Nipissing River Portage at Nadine Lake
        • Day 4: Nipissing River @ Nadine Lake Portage to first island in Red Pine Bay
        • Day 5: Red Pine Bay to Hogan’s Lake
        • Day 6: Hogan’s Lake to Catfish Lake
        • Day 7: Catfish Lake to Cedar Lake to Fredonia, NY
        • Day 8: Fredonia, NY to Brookville, PA
        • Day 9: Brookville, PA to Alexandria, VA
      • Think I'll ride to Montreal this weekend...
      • Ontario on a Whim
    • Maryland >
      • How to Hit a Tree, By ME!
      • Ruckus Stealth Camping in MD
      • Ruck'n around Southern MD
      • White's Ferry and some Maryland Backroads
      • 1000mi right near da' beach (2010)
    • New York >
      • Cornell, Niagara Falls and PA Coal Country (2012)
      • Finger Lakes trip to NY (2011)
      • New York City Trip (2011)
    • Pennsylvania >
      • Early Spring in PA
      • Michaux Camping
      • From a Wedding to "Where-da-fugawi?"
      • Pennsylvania Leaf Peeping (2012)
      • First Big Trip to PA (2010)
    • Virginia >
      • From the Mountains to the Sea in Ol' Virginny'
      • What the Fog? (Northern Neck, VA - 2013)
      • Uncle Bucks Ride to Eat and Snowy SNP
      • Charlottesville Area Ride
      • Serious Helmet Time in VA (2011)
      • Ruck'n Across Virginia (2010)
      • Impromptu Camping with 'DC Rider' (2010)
    • West Virginia >
      • Rella-Vous and Skippii Rescue
      • New River Gorge Ghost Town Exploration (2011)
      • Five States from Laurel Fork (Spring 2013)
      • A Little Dirt, A Little Clouds, A lotta Fun, WV (2012)
      • GS and an NSX? (2012)
      • Seneca Rocks Camping Two-Up (2011)
      • Panniers Only Club at Seneca Rocks, WV (2010)
      • Laurel Fork Fall 2010 on the Honda Ruckus 50cc (2010)
      • Dog Days Rally and Rella's Gift (2010)
      • Pops and Richmonders in WV (2010)
      • Rocket Boys (2010)
      • New River Gorge and Rella's (2010)
    • Cross Country 2009 >
      • Trip Preparation
      • Day 1: (Sept 3, 2010)
      • Day 2: (Sept 4, 2010)
      • Day 3: (Sept 5, 2010)
      • Day 4: (Sept 6, 2010)
      • Day 5: (Sept 7, 2010)
      • Day 6: (Sept 8, 2010)
      • Day 7: (Sept 9, 2010)
      • Day 8: (Sept 10, 2010)
      • Day 9: (Sept 11, 2010)
      • Day 10: (Sept 12, 2010)
      • Day 11: (Sept 13, 2010)
      • Day 12: (Sept 14, 2010)
      • Day 13: (Sept 15, 2010)
      • Day 14: (Sept 16, 2010)
      • Day 15: (Sept 17, 2010)
      • Day 16: (Sept 18, 2010)
      • Day 17: (Sept 19, 2010)
  • Photos
  • Articles