It's Official....

....Best Garage Ever. It's so nice I sweep pretty much every time I work on anything in there. As for the need to post a new pic, well that would be to show off the new Kawasaki flag I purchased on fleabay. I have a second one I'm gonna hang on the left side. It's red lettering on black background with similar Kaw theme.

And in an effort to make this a completely random post, I decided to post pics of a house that I passed on my way to work this morning. It's on a side street within walking distance of my house. So when I got home this evening just before dark, I went out on foot and took a few "recky" shots as Chuck would say. Not sure what this place might have been before it was residential. Cool as all get out though. I think I could see a big tree growing inside, although I'm pretty sure it's a residence.

Route 2. Hot Springs, Roan Mt, and the BRP

This is a route that utilizes the corridor of the western Piedmont with which I am actually quite familiar. I think Roan Mountain and Linville Falls are a couple of the most beautiful places in the region and I wanted to include those on a ride. This is the suggested 330 mile route.

From Maggie Valley, we get to 209 and head east to Hot Springs. That is a GREAT stretch of road. Lots of hairpins. Then we head on to Roan Mountain where we can get off the bikes and trek to the top of a "bald" to see the view. The short "hike" is optional. On to Banner Elk and Jonas Ridge and we take HWY181 towards Morganton. Everyone has said that 181 is a great road and I do remember running it often (many years ago) in a car. Turn and head back north up HWY181 and stop off at Linville Falls, which is another very nice scenic spot. Another stretch of the legs to see the beautiful waterfall. Short hike....very easy. Here's where it might get tricky. We can actually pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway right there at Linville Falls and it will meander (and I do mean meander) all the way back to Maggie Valley via Asheville. I think this could be a bit on the naive side because I think I remember someone telling me that the BRP moves along quite slowly. But if we got tired of it, we could hop on a main road and jettison back to Maggie in no time. However, I've been on parts of the BRP and it is quite beautiful and I think it would be fun to take in as much of it as we can.

Here's a pic of the route and a LINK to the Google page.

I40 is OPEN!!!!

I know this may not seem like a big deal, but it is. This means we will be able to take the interstate pretty much straight into Maggie Valley, NC. No dodgin' opossum at midnight on back country roads while trailering our precious cargo.

ALSO, another HUGE benefit is that I40 is a connecting route to a ton of good roads in the area. So while we won't be on it much, it connects a lot of awesome destinations that may have been difficult to access via gravel forest roads.

Downside? The potential for being on the receiving end of one of those rock slides that closed I40 to begin with.

Route 1. Highlands and Lake Toxaway.

Hey all. I started a thread on the OA and have been asking for route suggestions for the Maggie Valley Roadeo. Here's one that I've mapped out on the Google. I got this one from "Flying Dave" off the board.

From Maggie, pick up the BRP (Blue Ridge Parkway) to 23. Head down to Sylva. Take 107 out to Tuckaseegee. Pick up 281 to Lake Toxaway. 64 over to Highlands and up to Tilley Creek road back to Cullowhee. Ride back to Maggie.

This appears to be about a 155 mile route, so we could make it a part of longer ride or whatever. Here's the Google link if interested.
Also, if you want to see the thread on the OA, follow this link.
More routes to follow and feel free to add routes of your own.