Smoky Mountain Rider

For the most part, life flows along and you paddle with it as best you can seeking the most rewarding line downstream. Sometimes, you’re stroking like mad to reach a goal, others you just kick back and drift. This weekend I feel like I’m circling in a strange whirlpool, not quite sure why I’m not [...]

Image – The work in progressI’ve got the basic layout done on the first of at least three Virginia maps. At this point I’m only going as far north as the Blue Ridge Parkway. Even so, I’m discovering a wealth of great roads, far more than I expected. One of the greatest challenges has been [...]

Photo – It’s Good To Be HomeCame home Saturday evening. My niece was visiting Sunday so it was time to wrap things up. We spent the day whitewater rafting on the French Broad river north of Asheville near Hot Springs. It was the first time I’d been on that river. I look forward to returning [...]

Photo – Virginia RoadSurprisingly productive day. I didn’t expect to find so many great roads in this area, but they’re here. I covered about 332 miles in a 12 hour day. That’s not a lot of miles but it is a testament to the quality of the roads. The majority of the rides were on [...]

The Hardware Co. Restaurant, Hillsville, VA. I’ve returned to familiar ground. It was getting late, I hadn’t eaten all day, and I’d planned for this eventuality. I laid out my routes so I’d make a couple passes through Hillsville, VA. It was one of the places I stayed previously on my scouting trips. I knew [...]

I’ve pushed back my mapping trip to Virginia until Thursday. The gremlins won out as one electronic device after another failed. The battery backup died and screams kept coming from my office as infrequent power glitches lost data as I was working. I still need to replace that. Will do when I return and rebuild [...]

The Paper Shredder – a.k.a. Fabio. Don’t touch my box! Half the office has disappeared and the place reeks of fresh paint. Only the computers and printers remain and their associated furniture (plus Fabio and his box of paper). The remainder will be disassembled tomorrow evening. It’s all got to go for the new carpet. [...]

I thought I had things planned out. The roads told me different. That’s what I get for trying to rush things along. I had an ambitious schedule. Spend three or four days on the motorcycle finding the best map candidates. The rejects are usually quickly noted. I was hoping to hit two, maybe three maps [...]

Photo: Is your bike next? Discussion has been pretty widespread on the net re: the new law in Boston which bans aftermarket exhausts for motorcycles. Rising above the usual spew regarding such controversial issues I look for insight from within the industry. The issue has been posted on LinkedIn in the Motorcycle Industry Professionals group [...]