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	<title>cold mountain &#8211; Smoky Mountain Motorcycle Rider</title>
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	<description>The Best Motorcycle Rides in the Mountains</description>
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		<title>Motorcycle Riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway &#8211; in January?</title>
		<link>http://smokymountainrider.com/motorcycle-riding-blue-ridge-parkway-january/</link>
				<comments>http://smokymountainrider.com/motorcycle-riding-blue-ridge-parkway-january/#comments</comments>
				<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:11:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Wayne Busch]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Maggie Valley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NC 215]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[North Carolina]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[smoky mountains]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Waynesville]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Winter Riding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[asheville]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cold mountain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[maggie valley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[motorcycle ride]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[motorcycle riders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[motorcycle riding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[motorcycling the Blue Ridge Parkway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mt. pisgah]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pisgah triangle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[US 276]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[waynesville]]></category>

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				<description><![CDATA[I should be in Vegas &#8211; luck is with me today. Although the weather has been unseasonably warm here in the Smoky Mountains this week, it&#8217;s also been wet. Not that &#8220;Old Testament&#8221; deluge kind of wet, but a wintery &#8230; <a href="http://smokymountainrider.com/motorcycle-riding-blue-ridge-parkway-january/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>I should be in Vegas &#8211; luck is with me today.</strong> Although the weather has been unseasonably warm here in the <a title="Smokies info" href="http://www.visitncsmokies.com/" target="_blank">Smoky Mountains</a> this week, it&#8217;s also been wet. Not that <em>&#8220;Old Testament&#8221;</em> deluge kind of wet, but a wintery wet with light but persistent rains.</p>
<div id="attachment_3824" style="width: 594px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/cold-mountain-view.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3824" class="size-large wp-image-3824" title="cold-mountain-view" src="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/cold-mountain-view-1024x680.jpg" alt="photo-winter-view-of-cold-mountain" width="584" height="387" srcset="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/cold-mountain-view-1024x680.jpg 1024w, http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/cold-mountain-view-300x199.jpg 300w, http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/cold-mountain-view-451x300.jpg 451w, http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/cold-mountain-view.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-3824" class="wp-caption-text">A winter view of Cold Mountain from the Blue Ridge Parkway near Mt. Pisgah.</p></div>
<p>In a normal year we&#8217;d have a bit of white on the ground, and I did see a rare patch or two today. It&#8217;s not the ideal season for motorcycling the <a title="Blue Ridge Parkway riding info" href="http://blueridgemotorcycling.com" target="_blank">Blue Ridge Parkway</a>. In fact, the <a title="Parkway info" href="http://blueridgeparkway.org" target="_blank">Blue Ridge Parkway</a> is normally closed to traffic through this season due to the frigid conditions.</p>
<p><strong>When I saw the sun this morning I knew a motorcycle ride was in order.</strong> There&#8217;s a weather front passing over with a few hours of blue sky before the snow moves in tonight. I wrapped up the mornings work and fired up the bike.</p>
<div id="attachment_3826" style="width: 594px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/jan-parkway-wayne.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3826" class="size-large wp-image-3826" title="jan-parkway-wayne" src="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/jan-parkway-wayne-1024x680.jpg" alt="Photo-wayne-on-parkway" width="584" height="387" srcset="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/jan-parkway-wayne-1024x680.jpg 1024w, http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/jan-parkway-wayne-300x199.jpg 300w, http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/jan-parkway-wayne-451x300.jpg 451w, http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/jan-parkway-wayne.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-3826" class="wp-caption-text">The weather looked great to the south, what a difference the other direction.</p></div>
<p>I just wanted a nice little ride. The threatening clouds on the northern horizon foretold this break in the weather was temporary, so I chose to just head south from <a title="Waynesville - town" href="http://www.townofwaynesville.org/" target="_blank">Waynesville</a> on <a title="US 276 motorcycle road" href="http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/nc_us276.html" target="_blank">US 276</a> and ride up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and back after running a few errands in town.</p>
<p><strong>US 276 is a well know road to motorcycle riders</strong> and part of a classic loop called the <a title="Pisgah Triangle info" href="http://www.visitncsmokies.com/fall-color-events" target="_blank">&#8220;Pisgah Triangle&#8221;</a> south of Waynesville. US 276 forms one leg of the triangle, the Blue Ridge Parkway the second, and NC 215 the third. It&#8217;s a &#8220;must do&#8221; fun ride if you&#8217;re in the <a title="Waynesville - town" href="http://www.townofwaynesville.org/" target="_blank">Waynesville</a> / <a title="Maggie Valley info" href="http://maggievalley.org/" target="_blank">Maggie Valley</a> area.</p>
<div id="attachment_3828" style="width: 594px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/parkway-view1.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3828" class="size-large wp-image-3828" title="parkway-view1" src="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/parkway-view1-1024x680.jpg" alt="photo-winter-view-blue-ridge-parkway" width="584" height="387" srcset="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/parkway-view1-1024x680.jpg 1024w, http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/parkway-view1-300x199.jpg 300w, http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/parkway-view1-451x300.jpg 451w, http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/parkway-view1.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-3828" class="wp-caption-text">Winter riding in the Smoky Mountains can be as beautiful as the summer, just in a different way.</p></div>
<p>It takes about 25 minutes to ride out across Bethel Valley then follow the Big East Fork of the Pigeon River in the Pisgah National Forest and make the steep and twisting climb to the heights of the Blue Ridge Parkway at the <a title="Wagon Road Gap info" href="http://www.virtualblueridge.com/parkway_tour/overlooks/00412b.asp" target="_blank">Wagon Road Gap</a>. The ramp to the Blue Ridge Parkway leads to the large parking area  overlooking <a title="Cold Mountain info" href="http://www.romanticasheville.com/coldmountain.htm" target="_blank">Cold Mountain</a>  (MP 412.2).</p>
<p>The overlook is accessible year-round. The parkway is gated on either side. The south gate (towards Cherokee) was closed, but the north gate to<a title="The Pisgah Inn" href="http://www.pisgahinn.com/" target="_blank"> Mt. Pisgah</a> was open so I took advantage of the opportunity to snap a few photos.</p>
<div id="attachment_3829" style="width: 594px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/parkway-view-winter2.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3829" class="size-large wp-image-3829" title="parkway-view-winter2" src="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/parkway-view-winter2-1024x680.jpg" alt="photo-clouds-on-the-blue-ridge-parkway" width="584" height="387" srcset="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/parkway-view-winter2-1024x680.jpg 1024w, http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/parkway-view-winter2-300x199.jpg 300w, http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/parkway-view-winter2-451x300.jpg 451w, http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/parkway-view-winter2.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-3829" class="wp-caption-text">By the time I turned back, those clouds had swallowed up everything.</p></div>
<p>The blue skies didn&#8217;t last long, and by the time I had turned around nearing Asheville, the clouds were swallowing the views. The wind was gusting and I started to hit some wet stuff on the way back. Some of it was white.</p>
<p>It was a rare treat this time of year. Next time you&#8217;re passing through, take a motorcycle ride on the <a title="Pisgah Triangle info" href="http://www.visitncsmokies.com/fall-color-events" target="_blank">Pisgah Triangle</a>. I had a great time on just one leg of it, and the other two are better!</p>
<div id="attachment_3831" style="width: 594px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Postcard-map-haywood3.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3831" class="size-large wp-image-3831" title="Postcard-map-haywood3" src="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Postcard-map-haywood3-682x1024.jpg" alt="haywood-county-postcard" width="584" height="876" srcset="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Postcard-map-haywood3-682x1024.jpg 682w, http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Postcard-map-haywood3-199x300.jpg 199w, http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Postcard-map-haywood3.jpg 853w" sizes="(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-3831" class="wp-caption-text">A postcard from Haywood County, North Carolina shows the Pisgah Triangle</p></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">__________________________________________________________________</p>
<div style="width: 114px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Profile-Pic-100x100.jpg"><img class="   " style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; border-width: 0px;" title="Profile Pic 100x100" src="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Profile-Pic-100x100.jpg" alt="Wayne Busch" width="104" height="100" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Wayne Busch - Cartographer</p></div>
<div id="attachment_3356" style="width: 160px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/TRT_Logox150.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3356" class="size-full wp-image-3356 " style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" title="TRT_Logox150" src="http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/TRT_Logox150.jpg" alt="Total Rider Tech Logo" width="150" height="43" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-3356" class="wp-caption-text">Learn Total Control</p></div>
<p>&#8211; Wayne Busch lives in Waynesville, NC, where he produces the most detailed and comprehensive and up-to-date motorcycle pocket maps of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains to help you get the most of your vacation experience. See them here &#8211;<a title="America Rides Maps" href="http://AmericaRidesMaps.com" target="_blank"> AmericaRidesMaps.com</a></p>
<p>Wayne is an advanced motorcycle instructor for <a title="Learn more about Total Rider Tech" href="http://totalridertech.com" target="_blank">Total Rider Tech</a> teaching <a title="Learn more about Total Control" href="http://www.totalcontroltraining.net/" target="_blank">Lee Parks Total Control Advanced Rider Courses</a>. It&#8217;s time you looked into advanced rider training to ride more confidently and safely, it will change your mountain riding experience. It worked so well for me I became an instructor! <a title="Learn more about Total Rider Tech" href="http://totalridertech.com" target="_blank">Total Rider Tech</a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">____________________________________________________________________</p>
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